Christmas budget

[Beachbreak2411]

I have £500 saved and probably £150 spare from this months pay check. I’m a skint single mum and saving the above has been hard. Am I completely unreasonable spending the £500 on my daughter and splitting the rest in my parents, brother and my boyfriend?

My dd has a very healthy bank account. She did child modelling from 3- 8ish and has big amount from that. I put £50 a month into her account from when she was born.(from child benefit)

£500 is a lot for a ten year old, it’s not how much you spend but how you spend it that matters. And I agree you shouldn’t have to feel you’re keeping up with the Jone’s.

But having said that if you’ve saved hard then it’s entirely up to you how you allocate the budget.
If it’s going to leave you skint then maybe I’d spend less, but if not then you do what you think is right.

I’m sure your dd will have a great Christmas!

£200 on your DD, £50 each in the adults and meet he rest as savings for a rainy day

@Beachbreak2411

My dd is 10. She doesn’t have a father involved so i do feel I need to make it up.. and only one set of gps. I’m v lucky and go to my parents for Christmas Day so don’t need to buy food.

I think a) £500 is an awful lot b) you can't make it up anyway.

Spend less on Christmas and put some away for a treat at another time.

What other savings do you have? If £500 is your total savings then it is madness to spend it all on presents ...in fact it is madness to spend so much on a child anyway.

For context we have very substantial savings but would never spend more than £200 on our DS for Christmas.

Please don't fall into the trap that 'spending money means you love your child more'.

Please don't fall into the trap that 'spending money means you love your child more' Yes I agree - we spend way less than £500 and our kids feel very well loved.

I'm planning to spend about £100 on my 6 year old, and that's including presents from her grandparents.
What do people buy for Christmas?

There's nothing wrong at ALL with spending smaller amounts on dc.

However all the 'OMG HOW could you EVER spend £500 on a ten year old' posts - come on. You really can't imagine it? 🙄

My dc are definitely not spoilt and nor do they have huge piles and piles of gifts. But I can easily imagine how to spend £500 on a child.

My middle son is 11 so only slightly older. A basketball hoop set - £165. A (decent, game grade) basketball - £35. Two hoodies and a pair of joggers - £60. 4 books he' ll love - £30. One Xbox game he wants - £45.

Thats £335 already. And it's not piles and piles of stuff. Stuff he'll love and use yes, but not an excessive volume imo.

I can't imagine knowing your child so little that you literally couldn't imagine how you'd ever spend money on them to be honest. Whether you do or can is another matter...but to not even know is odd.

@SingItToWinIt

There's nothing wrong at ALL with spending smaller amounts on dc.

However all the 'OMG HOW could you EVER spend £500 on a ten year old' posts - come on. You really can't imagine it? 🙄

My dc are definitely not spoilt and nor do they have huge piles and piles of gifts. But I can easily imagine how to spend £500 on a child.

My middle son is 11 so only slightly older. A basketball hoop set - £165. A (decent, game grade) basketball - £35. Two hoodies and a pair of joggers - £60. 4 books he' ll love - £30. One Xbox game he wants - £45.

Thats £335 already. And it's not piles and piles of stuff. Stuff he'll love and use yes, but not an excessive volume imo.

I can't imagine knowing your child so little that you literally couldn't imagine how you'd ever spend money on them to be honest. Whether you do or can is another matter...but to not even know is odd.

No I really can’t imagine it sorry- maybe a teenager a few hundred but if I’m spending £200 quid on a hoop set I’m not buying any other expensive presents like a 60quid hoodie

The £60 is for two hoodies and joggers...I'd baulk at £60 for one hoodie!

@SingItToWinIt

The £60 is for two hoodies and joggers...I'd baulk at £60 for one hoodie!

Ok well in your scenario you still haven’t spent £500- it is loads, more for a 10yr old grant you. But it’s crazy to me if that’s what people are spending.

I would say you're looking at it backwards.

Find out what your DD wants/what you want to get her, either she writes a list and you see what you can do and arrange with family to get stuff off her list, or if she doesn't ask for much you curate her a nice collection of stuff - e.g. a few main presents, a nice outfit, cosy clothes, and a good quality stocking.

You don't start with a big number and try and reach it! That's just not sensible regardless of whether you have a big or small budget.

She will have a lovely Christmas btw, it sounds like you work really hard for her

It's your money OP, spend it however you want.

I can't imagine knowing your child so little that you literally couldn't imagine how you'd ever spend money on them to be honest

A hilarious, passive aggressive comment!

@Comedycook

I can't imagine knowing your child so little that you literally couldn't imagine how you'd ever spend money on them to be honest

A hilarious, passive aggressive comment!

I know! May as well say “can’t believe your child has so little that you need to spend £500 for one day to make up the short fall”

OP I'm guessing you can't mean 'skint' in any literal sense as you will have managed to save £650 this year whilst also putting £600 into your DD's bank account. So are you're clearly not at all skint, I wondered why you used that word? Is it because sometimes you feel like you and your DD can't do some of the things you want to do during the year? If so, if it were me, I'd spent a great deal less on her at Xmas so you can, instead, do some of those things. In terms of splitting the funds very much in your DD's favour, absolutely not unreasonable at all. Many people don't get presents for adults and those who do often get quite a token present. £150 between your parents, brother and boyfriend seems absolutely fine. Maybe £20-25 on each of your parents and brother and the rest on your BF - if there's something he actually wants for that much and not just for the sake of it.

And yes I can totally see how you can spend that much unfortunately.

My DD is just 6 and has only asked for a few things but those things are:

Sing along Elsa - £45
Sparkle and Sing Ariel - £35
Magic Mixie - £70 (!)
Ladybird (Miraculous) Yoyo - £10 in a set
French knitting set - £10
Colour Reveal Barbie - £20
Tea Set - £15

That's already over £200 and that's hardly an excessive amount of things. The knitting mushroom is tiny, stocking filler worth by sight, so is the Ladybug yoyo. And then I always get a nice outfit, a snuggly outfit like pajamas or onesie, a book or 2, and do a good stocking.

So even without getting piles yes it can easily add up. I dread to think how much in total I've spent but like you OP I save up as I have almost no one else buying for my DC, so it all comes down to us and my mum. Some people would scoff at spending over £100 on a child but might then have 10 other people buying that children a gift.

buying that child a gift*

It's not about the money really. It's that You describe yourself as skint. I think it's not a great idea to spend £500 on your dd if money is tight.
Ask her What she wants. I don't necessarily budget a set amount for Christmas. I buy my dd what she wants. I've spent around £150 and she has everything off her list. If your dd has a list and it comes to £200 why spend the extra £300 for no reason. If she has £500 worth of stuff on her list then that's different.
If I was describing myself as skint I wouldn't spend this money, what if your boiler/car/washing machine breaks? Do
You have £500 spare to fix them?

I think if you're skint, and struggled to save what you already have then I wouldn't spend it all for one day! I'd use half for presents, then put the other half away to help with the big days next year.
£500 is a lot for a ten year old, and really quite excessive if you don't have the means.

I think things add up so quickly these days.
Spend how you wish op but I'd also treat yourself.

DS is getting a £340 bike as his main present and I still won't be spending £500 on him. We're also not 'skint' and can comfortably afford it. £2-300 is still a lot to spend on a ten year old, put the rest into a savings account

£500 is a lot to spend on one individual regardless of age, unless there is a singular big ticket item your dd needs, such as a laptop (for school as well as generally being online). It’s your money OP but I’d think it unwisely spent if you got a mountain of gifts in order to keep up with others.

Do whatever you see fit. Ignore the "it's disgraceful" brigade. It's your money, your daughter, your Christmas and your choice.

Everyone has different budgets, different opinions on what is too much and what is too little. Skint means one thing to one person and means something totally different to someone else.

People get so defensive when someone likes to splurge at Christmas, lamenting that it doesn't mean you love your kids more or "I spend 60 quid in total on my 3 kids and that includes all the Christmas food and a stocking for the cat and they feel SO loved" or other such absolute shite.

You do you and enjoy every minute of it. You earned that money and don't let twats on the internet tell you are wrong for how you spend it.

I hope she loves whatever it is you decide on.

@Whatiswrongwithmyknee

OP I'm guessing you can't mean 'skint' in any literal sense as you will have managed to save £650 this year whilst also putting £600 into your DD's bank account. So are you're clearly not at all skint, I wondered why you used that word? Is it because sometimes you feel like you and your DD can't do some of the things you want to do during the year? If so, if it were me, I'd spent a great deal less on her at Xmas so you can, instead, do some of those things. In terms of splitting the funds very much in your DD's favour, absolutely not unreasonable at all. Many people don't get presents for adults and those who do often get quite a token present. £150 between your parents, brother and boyfriend seems absolutely fine. Maybe £20-25 on each of your parents and brother and the rest on your BF - if there's something he actually wants for that much and not just for the sake of it.

I say skint as I work bloody hard with a disability that should take me out of work but I don’t want to be off. I’ve had the standing order set up since her birth so I don’t even miss it. I don’t drive, haven’t had my hair cut in about 8!years. I use all my spare money for my daughter;