Total cost of Christmas?

[AltheaVestr1t]

Not a competitive spending thread! I thought I had budgeted and saved well for this year, but it's only the 7th of December and I can already tell that my estimates were significantly off. I'm not sure if it's the cost of living or just a general under-calculation of the associated spends - Christmas markets, teacher's gifts, secret santa, advent calendars etc.
I have started YNAB this year so it's highly possible it has always been this much, I just didn't realise.

All in all, I think I could book a week away for the price of Christmas, which is shocking! Does anyone have their Christmas budget nailed, or do you also find it always costs more than you expect? If you have it pinned down exactly, what do you think the total will be?

Not too bad imo. We don’t buy much and don’t have lots on. Approx:

Tree, entry to advent place, Christmas market, random extras - €200

Ds gifts - €100
Dh gifts - €100
extra little gifts for friends/ teachers/ family - €100

Food - €30 extra? ( usually spend approx €120-150 a week on normal shop)

About €550-600. That’s covering all the extras for the entire December, through Christmas and new year.

@Caspianberg what about presents for you?

I have started YNAB this year so it's highly possible it has always been this much, I just didn't realise.

You already know the answer!

Honestly, YNAB is amazing but the terrifying clarity of what we spend on Christmas (or other stuff) I sometimes wish I could do without…

I haven't added it up but yes pretty sure we could have a nice week away for the cost if you include everything.

We spend around €800 on gifts on family, my husband has a very big family so there's a ton of nieces and nephews to buy for. This year we have our own son to buy for too but he's only a year old and has too many toys already so I wont buy much for him. We don't buy Christmas gifts for each other.

My husband's workplace puts on a big family Christmas party with free santa and stuff for kids that cost us nothing. My mum group also had a Christmas party that only cost 20 per family and was absolutely lovely. We're not doing any other Christmas events this year because our son is so young.

My parents are hosting us for Christmas dinner. My husband's workplace has a free meal and free bar for his Christmas party so that costs him nothing. I'm a nurse and we pay for our own Christmas party so that'll maybe be €130 on food, drinks and taxi home.

So probably a grand all in.

My costs are pretty well nailed: it's always about £200 more than I budget for 😂

What is YNAB ?

Wondering that too!
Sounds like I need it! 😆

It’s a budgeting/money management app. It’s brilliant (but terrifying). Takes a while to get the hang of but it honestly gives you so much information about what you choose to spend your money on.

www.youneedabudget.com/

DH gift £120
Family gifts £50
Tree £25
New decorations £12
Food £100

Total £307 (I might have missed something, but not major amount of money)

I usually budget 1200 which is roughly half on presents for our own four dc and half on presents for everyone else, food and drink. This year it’s coming in at around 1800 but we are hosting so cooking for 18 for three days and I’ve bought extra drinks which in reality will probably last us all year! Such a lot of money but we do love Christmas!

God knows. All in I would guess about £800

It’s the extras that add up - things like table gifts, a centrepiece, extra plates and bowls that I bought as we are hosting. None of these are essentials, and we could obviously do without them. They’re things that I like to have but forget to budget for.

Around £700 maybe. I'm not finished yet!

I don't go mad for birthdays or any other time of the year so I don't mind for Christmas and I've cut down from the other years.

I haven't added it up but if you include all gifts, new Christmas tree, panto, christmas light trial, santa visit, all food (we are hosting) and alcohol we have probably spent about £2k. We save all year for Christmas so it's affordable for us but I know it's not for many.

I buy things like advent calendars, crackers etc in the post Christmas sales and buy presents throughout the year. The food bill is always a shocker, not just this year, as I think it's just a couple days worth of food but seems astronomical.
I have a fairly limited present buying list, just my immediate family, sisters and stepsons (adults and both have new babies so token for adults and cute clothes for kiddies), and the school has a school wide collection. My mil is in her 90s and for the last few years send her a Christmas bouquet a couple days before that she can use on her table. Don't buy for friends which is relief in both sides!
So my spending is fairly consistent year to year.

I have a spreadsheet 🙈

I normally come in slightly under then spend anything left over in the sales.

All in I have budgeted £1750 (massive families) and it's looking like I will spend about £1350 - left over this year will go to savings though as we just bought a house and want a buffer

@PuttingDownRoots - yes I guess. Dh will spend around €100 ish the same.

We will spend about £100 more on food and drink but DS has offered to chip in and buy some booze, he is an adult I’m not raiding a child’s piggy bank.

DH will be collecting MIL so all round trips will add up to 800 miles so lots of extra petrol.

Gifts are very variable, I had a gaming laptop one year that cost almost 1k and then last year I had a pair of cashmere socks and a foot massager so probably £60.

Only children are bought for.

This year I saved £100 per month in a separate savings account for Christmas. £1100 (started in Feb not Jan!) and it’s basically all gone on presents. Works out about £250 on DS, £100 on DH, the rest on family and friends. It adds up very quickly!

Trips out - we’re doing panto (£72) and a light trail (also about £75ish). The light trail I booked and paid for ages ago.

Food, we are hosting this year so it will be quite expensive. Probably £250ish I reckon. Trying to do very small shops for the next few weeks to eke out our usual food budget as far as possible to cover it!

We had a week away peak summer holiday in france for £300, 10 days in africa for £350 and a week away this year (UK) for £400 etc... so I DEFINATELY know I could have a week away less than xmas.

I never realised people though it should be less than a holiday, with 3 kids + activities, food and other family doing it under £300 would be miserable.

I spend on 'gifts':

£5 per child st nick day (total = £15)
£12 per child xmas eve (total = £36)
£6 per adult xmas eve (total = £12)
£8 per child santa sack (total = £24)
£7 per child stocking (total = £21)
£10 per adult stocking (total = £20)
£110 per child gifts (total = £330)
£65 for DH gifts (total = £65)
£50 on family gifts (total = £50)
£12 per adult 12 days (total = £36)
£5 per kid 12 days (total = £15)
£5 per kid befana (total = £15)

then other stuff:

£35 for pantomime
£50 for xmas photo
£3 for table game
£5 for crackers
£16 for st nicks day feast (this year)
£40 for xmas day dinner (added a margin incase we forgot anything)

so if my maths right thats £788 (so round it up and say £800 budget in case of little emergancies items needed) is what I have recorded.

That doesnt include our 'normal expenses' so a meal out once a week, a takeaaway once a week and the weekly shop etc... which we do all year round.

We spend about 500 euro on presents for our DC. Another 600 for each others present. Then 500 for family and about 700 for tree, food and drink. So around 2200 euro. In Ireland you can't get away with spending 20 on family though. Gifts are expected to be generous.

Between gifts, food, teacher collections, secret Santas, grotto visit, panto etc I'd guess £1500 at least 🥴

Hmmm.
£55 on tree, collection of tree and charity donation
advent calendars £47.40
new decorations budget £16
Christmas fayre and Santa £18 plus spending money
gifts for family £165
teacher and volunteers volunteers - £28
cards and stuff from ptfa - £18
stamps £5
kids gifts - around £175
Food - probably around £100 but it’s very ish
Gifts DH - £30/50 we just do stockings

£950

It’s more than I realised. There will be others things which I’ve missed.

• school play costumes
• Christmas T shirts
• Christmas nights out

It very quickly adds up!

I save each month for birthdays and Christmas. Christmas/New year is expensive for us not just because of gifts, entertainment and food but because of travel costs. My Mum lives in France and it costs over £500 for us to visit. My husband’s family do not live close either and including siblings (on both sides) we spend another £200 travelling. I budgeted this year for £2000 and we will spend it.