What's your budget for your DC?

[crymeout]

Hi all,

I just wondered how much you're budgeting for your DC's this year? Obviously the cost of living has gone up so it might be less for us. Usually budget £500 for presents and stockings for 2DC (age 3&5) but I think that DP is thinking more in the £300/350 range (for both of them). Also, do you split the budget equally or that they have the same amount to open? TIA.

Young children need stuff though. We don’t have large family buying, so anything Ds needs is from us.

He got a first bike for his birthday a couple of months ago which he’s loved all summer. He could just not have a bike and I’m sure would survive fine, but it’s a nice thing to have, skill to learn, and it’s a pretty cheap way now of daily entertainment.

This Christmas I think it won’t be as expensive as he doesn’t need a large item. Probably add to something he already has. But I also don’t like just filling stocking with rubbish, so it’s things like a schleich animal, small metal toy car, brio train, art bits. All things for the next year use

I never really set a budget as so changeable each year but usually end up spending around the £150-200 mark for each child. Thinking they'll both want new trainers this year and as they both have adult sized feet I'm aiming for a pair of trainers each and a stocking with bits and pieces in.

Oldest DS will be 14 - up to £500 max. He won't have much to show for it.

Youngest DS will be 4 - up to £300 max

I don't have a budget.

We do -
Something you want
Something you need
Something to wear
Something to read
Plus stocking from Santa

Possibly a main gift/large item (eg new bike or sharing gift like games console).

The kids get some much from grandparents and friends. I don't think they need a huge amount from us.

I hope i dont get trashed for this so ill start off by saying i do a spreadsheet every single year so i keep a close eye on costs.

For birthdays we spend around £70 on presents.
They dont get presents throughout the year.l

So last year on 3DCs ( 8,6,2) we spent £1400 on the altogether.

We save all year to afford it, we dont get into debt and i think very carefully about what im buying them instead of loading it with a load of crap., at the moment we can afford that and i love doing it.

Some years we have spent alot less.

I don't set a budget as such. I go by what I think they need (they're too young to express wants at the moment).

DS will be 3 at Christmas and if past Christmases are anything to go by I'll probably spend about £150 on 10-15 gifts (not all toys), plus a very small stocking. I aim to get one main present, a couple of medium toys, books, games, then practical things like dressing gown, slippers, backpack etc.

He's getting a bike for his birthday so I may get a scooter for christmas as his main present.

The baby will be 10 months old and I still have all her brother's baby toys so she'll only get practical things unless there's something really specific that I want to get her. I hated DS's walker so I'm going to sell it and get her a different one as her main present.

Budgets are a tricky one. We spend around £250 each on our girls (13 and 10) we spend about the same for birthdays too. However we don't buy anything throughout the year (except the odd charity shop/car boot find or book).
Anything they want outside of birthdays/Christmas they can use pocket money or sell something of theirs to fund it.

When they were younger I used to spend about £100 as I bought alot second hand. When dd2 was 2 I bought a big box of happyland from a church fair for £3, that was her main Christmas present that year so her gifts came in under £40 in total!

Last year mine were 5 and 2. We spent a lot more on the 5 year old because they both had new bikes from us (DD1 was a second hand frog so ££) and DD2 was DD1 old bike which we had been storing in the loft.

We are over run with toys and we did fewer gifts last year and it worked well. Now I just need to rein in PIL.

I’m thinking of booking Disneylandparis for 3 nights so that will be there main present and then il buy stuff to about £100.

we are away over Xmas staying in a log cabin with a hot tub and we don’t want to take loads of crap with us.

we do have a lot of family though so they will end up with a good £400 worth of stuff each from the rest of the family.

I save all year for All presents - have 1 DD (6) and we only buy for children in family (neices and nephews)

I don't specifically have an amount i will spend on DD and will be led by what she asks for, her interests and what I would like her to have.

I'm always a bit 😲 at those that say £50 and list one doll, 2 puzzles, a book etc - is this 2nd hand? (Nothing wrong with that) but honestly 1 LOL doll (big barbie size one) is like £40. I try and use offers and deals where I can but come on can someone tell me how they are getting so much for so little?

You don't even get much for £100 these days

I agree. I spent way too much when dc were babies. I think we had the whole vtech range at one point. I think of all the hundreds of pounds we could have saved. Especially when giving away toys hardly played with and some still in their packaging. My dc will be 9 and 11 this Christmas. I don't have a budget but I certainly don't go.mad these days. I remember one year I bought so much stocking filler things they ended up having 2 stocking each. Its too much, lesson learnt! Doesn't help they have October and December birthdays.

Don't have a budget because it depends what they want or need.

In the early days we would spend about £50 for birthdays and Christmas.
My youngest (19) needed a new phone a couple of months back so I got him an iPhone 13. Thats his birthday and Christmas sorted. Last year it was a couple of books and £100 cash.

My oldest this year will be getting 1k for baby things.

I think those people the children aren't bothered by a specific doll or toy. For example the barbie sized lol dolls ive seen them in sales for around £15 (smyths have some at the moment) Puzzles and books are really cheap in poundland or places like the works so you could definitely do several presents for £50. Or even somewhere like Facebook marketplace/vinted/ebay you can buy new but less than rrp.

So if your child is happy with anything you could get loads for £100 especially in places like the entertainer, toysforapound or shein. I filled a basket on toysforapound of stocking fillers for my 2 girls for £30. The entertainer has games for £5, squishaboo teddies 2 for £10 instore. We got matching pjs from shein last year for £6 each, better quality than primark still worn loads through the year and look new. Shein has loads of stocking bits, cuddly toys, things for their bedrooms.

I don't set a budget but wouldn't want to spend more than £250 each really.

I have only once spent anything near £40 at xmas on one gift and that was 8 years ago on a 'technically' second hand but still BNIB (unwanted duplicate gift someone got) Xbox 360 with games for £60.

Frankly £40 on a single doll seems to me like someone doesnt know how to prepare, research, budget and bargain hunt.

Seem a problem of the people that leave stuff until the arse end of December then run around like headless chickens when half of everything is sold out and everything is at maximum peak time price between sales.

£100 here. 9 year old
It's absolutely plenty if you plan in advanced and make the most of offers.

Last year there was a lot to open and I noticed it was overwhelming for them. They actually had "present opening fatigue".

Best gift was a Mini Google Home which was free for whatever reason

£75 each, their dad the same (was £150 when we were together) may be less I do t stick rigidly

Budget for dd1 is usually £150-170 however I’m planning on getting her a Nintendo switch this year so it will be higher as a one off.
dd2 is only 2 so probably won’t spend more than £80 on her.

@ReginaFilange001 we monitor prices on Camel Camel Camel. Recently we were hunting for a large Lego Ninjago set. DH got an email to say it was reduced by 30% so we bought it straight away! It was very expensive at full price so a great bargain.

Stocking wise: I buy a couple of small things each month and keep them aside.

Our baby will only be 18m, so probably nothing! We bought them a George Jensen Christmas bauble last year for their first Christmas and will probably do something similar this year. They’ve no idea what’s going on and grandparents will spoil them anyway. Possibly a new car seat as they’ll need one by then!!

Mine are teens now. When they were little i'd spend £25 each (unless they needed a new bike or something similar) on them but also bought stuff through the year as they needed it. I never bought for the sake of it, and when they were little I'd spend slightly different dependent on what they wanted/needed/liked or what we had as hand me downs I could wrap up.
I also wanted to avoid overstimulating them /freaking them out with to much.
Now their older they get £100 each which if they don't want much they get the rest put into their bank account. Once 18 they get £50 cash and a gift to open. Dc3 wants a ps5 and has saved up all year for it and I will add my £100 to that at their request.

We don't particularly have a set budget - it varies year to year. This year though we have 2 teens having new xboxes so that's £900 gone before we 'start'...we'll still get them other smaller presents, plus dc age 5 - but he is a lot cheaper to please! In total this year with 3 of them it will probably be £2k overall. Other years have been more like £500.

My 6 month old will get a few teddys , a rattle ... I'm going to keep loads of coke bottles and fill them with glitter and food colouring and glue them shut and wrap them indervidualy so maybe about £20
Then my DS5 I think about £100-£150
We normally buy 1 big one 1 medium one and lots of small things from Poundland

Both will get a book and PJs in the stocking

If I have any spare money I'll put the rest in their bank accounts (this will be even amounts) maybe £50 each

We tend to do one big present (£50ish), but has sometimes been more if tech (tablet/yoto player/similar), 2-3 smaller toys each, then a big pile of books/boardgames which are usually 90% secondhand. Our kids are 5 and 3.

But we don't save up things like bikes/scooters for Christmas as it just seems like the wrong time of year

I am with you on this one. Whole different ball game!