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Christmas

From present ideas to party food, find all your Christmas inspiration here.

How much are you planning to spend on Christmas gifts this year?

65 replies

NoNamesLeft234678 · 19/09/2022 16:56

How much are you planning to spend on Christmas gifts this year?
Can you afford it?
Who are you buying for?

So far I have a few little gifts for my little one, pjs, a little toy and a book for his Christmas eve box and 5 things for his stocking.

I've bought 1 gift and part of another for my boyfriend and a little thing for his stocking.

I have a little present for my boyfriends mum and my friend but other than that I still need everything else for them and everyone else :/

OP posts:
mam0918 · 19/09/2022 17:10

my budget sheet is:

£130 each for my children (st nick, xmas eve, gifts, stocking, santa sack)
£75 for DH (xmas eve, gifts, stocking)
£35 for myself (xmas eve and do my own stocking, sad I know lol)
£30 each for close family (parents/siblings - stocking)
£10 inlaws (token gift)

£5 token gifts for others like cousins and aunts/uncles etc... usually (might stop this as several havent been exchanged the last few years due to covid so I have unclaimed gifts sat in my house)

Im hoping I can afford it, I feel Im falling behind because Im watching my bank balance more and I usually would be mostly done by now - we arent 'struggling' but I am aware my safety net saving are going down rather than up this year.

I'm also selling old stuff too to make extra money.

Mischance · 19/09/2022 17:12

My children - £50 each.
My Grandchildren - £50 each.

That's it.

They all regard this as generous and are very grateful.

Mischance · 19/09/2022 17:12

My siblings and I have an agreement that we do not buy presents for each other.

BuffaloCauliflower · 19/09/2022 17:17

My budget for Christmas is £1000. That’s to cover all presents for my own child, DH and me (though we never get each other much) wider family (my side of the family we only buy for kids now, but DHs side we buy for a few adults) and food/drink etc, maybe any extra decorations or things I buy. We won’t host any bit but will contribute elsewhere. I save all year so have been putting some aside all year. If it’s not all spent it’ll roll over to next Christmas. It should be more than enough.

user1583920194858592910103848559201 · 19/09/2022 17:19

My kids are making presents this year for grandparents so token gifts.

My husband and I are giving token gifts to one another from the charity shop. The kids have £5 each to pick a present for one another.

I've one thing left to buy dd and a couple things left to buy ds but I've got everything else in for them.

psuedocream3 · 19/09/2022 17:52

I can't really afford Christmas this year, I will be buying for our five children and husband, I am aiming for around £100 per child which doesn't go very far when they get into double digits. Plus three have birthdays between now and Christmas so expensive time of year.

I've finished Christmas shopping for the older three, I have asked them several times what they want and they said 'I don't know' or 'It's too early' so I've bought stuff I know they like/into. They all have decent things thanks to some intense bargain hunting, discount codes etc. The £10 off £25 spend, £5 off £15 spend and £7 off £20 spend Amazon codes, and the ASOS 85% sale & additional 30% off saved us an absolute fortune and meant I could afford decent gifts they actually would want within budget, the middle children have for lego sets each amongst their gifts. Plus AliExpress for the niche anime merch that clearly Amazon sellers got from china (figures etc) but at fraction of the prices they charge.

Only have the four year old and 1 year old left to do and have £200 set aside, and stockings. I usually try for £20 each but expect it to be less this year.

JenniferWooley · 19/09/2022 18:57

DD1 - £100
DD2- £250
DS - £250
DGS - £100
Mum - £75
Dad & stepmum - £100
Godchildren - £30 each (4 of them)

So just over £1,000 for all, I've cut back massively this year as last year I spent approx £2,500.

Devo1818 · 19/09/2022 19:00

Maybe £500, all in? That's just me, not DH's contribution. I tend to spend more than him. Maybe £700-800 together although I dont really know what he spends on me.

Yes

DH, DD6, DS4, parents, Dsis and her DH and their 2 sons. MiL, FiL, DH's 5 x nephews. 2 x friends' DC and probably a work secret Santa. Childminder, teachers. Probably a bottle of wine for each neighbour.

HappyPeach · 19/09/2022 19:03

£100 total for the dc to share between them

TokyoSushi · 19/09/2022 19:04

£1000 all in. Includes:

  • 2 x DC
  • DH
  • 2 x sets DParents
  • 2 x DN
  • 3 x Friends
  • Christmas treat good
  • Any additional Christmas decorations

It's tricky but I do a lot of mathematical gymnastics and it works!

HappyPeach · 19/09/2022 19:04

Most of you sound minted.

TokyoSushi · 19/09/2022 19:05
  • Christmas treat FOOD
properdoughnut · 19/09/2022 19:05

£15-£20 each. Hopefully using boots points for some of it

OneFrenchEgg · 19/09/2022 19:11

Same as others - I have a spreadsheet going back to 2012 and track spending and gifts. I've managed to cut some people off, and do family rather than individual gifts but presents, donation in lieu of cards, wrapping etc come to £1200. I don't count food as I tend to just buy a couple of extra things with the shop - I realised ages ago we just eat extra in terms of tubs of sweets, Pringles, fizzy drinks and wine / Bellini rather than needing loads of cake or biscuits etc.

OneFrenchEgg · 19/09/2022 19:12

^^ I set a budget and stick to it. So this year all children except my own will get a £20 voucher.

YumYummy · 19/09/2022 19:16

About £650
£150 each for three adult DC
£150 for DH
£50 for DM
We do tend to spend a lot on Xmas activities such as panto tickets, trip to a Christmas market in Europe,
posh NYE mini break abroad, light shows, meals out etc.
I don’t really notice the extra food costs.

FourTeaFallOut · 19/09/2022 19:21

All in, about £1400. It's saved and ready to go. 3 kids, dh and I, three parents and a glut of siblings, nieces and nephews.

mam0918 · 19/09/2022 19:26

HappyPeach · 19/09/2022 19:04

Most of you sound minted.

Not remotely 'minted', Im part time self employed and even at my best I made less than 12k a year.

I just budget well, save up all year, buy early in sale, bargain hunt and pre-plan everything - the amounts aren't crazy they perfectly in line with the national 'average' range (although actually on the lower end of the scale).

Trytoavoidthebastardbus · 19/09/2022 19:28

I don’t understand how these threads are useful/ helpful, I could say £2000 or £200 both with the same income as it depends on priorities and other expenditures throughout the year.

OneFrenchEgg · 19/09/2022 19:39

23 people plus a donation. It's madness but lots of kids/teens and adults who are child free. Plus our kids and parents.
I've cut out as many as I can.
I don't enjoy it; I'm just doing simple gifts like hampers and vouchers to avoid parking and time costs.

JenniferWooley · 19/09/2022 19:40

HappyPeach · 19/09/2022 19:04

Most of you sound minted.

Not remotely minted. I budget well & start early for example I only have about £45 left to spend on DD2.

I also take full advantage of special offers - I got £130 worth of Liz Earle for DD2 for £52 using special offers, a discount code & the extra freebies they pop in when you order direct.

She has a Pandora bracelet so I'll wait until the 3for2 offer comes on & buy a charm for her, one for my goddaughter & the freebie one for myself as DS's contribution to my Christmas.

I ordered perfume for DD1 from Boots online (as I stood outside the shop) as to buy the same one instore was £40 more.

SnowJamz · 19/09/2022 19:56

£150 between 2 DC.

Then about £50 for rest of the family.

Me and DH aren’t buying for each other this year.

Snog · 19/09/2022 20:12

We usually buy for 15 friends and relatives and usually spend a bit more than £1k in total on presents.
I keep suggesting a no present Christmas but the troops won't have it.

I buy for fewer people now that there are no child's teachers or work friends/colleagues in my life and much of my family live abroad or have died.

Ragwort · 19/09/2022 20:18

We will give our 21 year old DS cash (£100) but have agreed that as a wider family we won't exchange gifts this year ... to be honest it's not so much about the ££s as we are in a fortunate position compared to many but the utter waste of foodie/drink/tat etc gifts ... we can choose what we want ourselves - and yes, of course I give to charity at Christmas (& other times of the year).

purpledagger · 19/09/2022 20:44

About £200 each on the children - but it depends on what they are getting.

£600 on gifts for family - this seems a lot, but we have 15+ people to buy for. Most people have a budget of £10-£50 and I bargain hunt.

£60 on a real Xmas tree, we reuse decorations, although we may buy a couple of new ones every year.

£50 on Xmas dinner, which is just a slightly fancier version of what we normally eat, plus another £30-£50 on nibbles.

I shop for presents throughout the year and will grab presents when they are on offer, to save money.

I buy wrapping paper in the sale on Boxing Day and forgo fancy tags and ribbons.

I start buying long life food items from September and hide them away until Christmas.

We don't go overboard on the xmas dinner, as my children wouldn't eat it. Nibbles are Pringles and those big tubs of chocolates. Again, my children won't eat anything fancy, so there is no point in splashing out.

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