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?

In previous years has been over, but last year and this I am gradually cutting down the costs bit by bit.
I am hampered by DH to cut it much further still.
I would have cheaper turkey and less spent on kids.

Have managed to cut down kids presents budget a bit, and less on food between xmas and new year.

I too reckon on £800. Now got it down to £700.

A grand this year. Including food. We host everyone here

I have got:
Gifts - £1100
Tree - £50
Food - £250
Various events - £350

In the last week I've spent nearly £100 on 4 secret Santa presents, teacher gifts, wrapping paper, various school requests for charity/raffle etc). So I am up to £1.8 already which is staggering.

I'm horrified by the gift budget in particular, this represents £250 for each child, £100 each for me and DH, £50 each for stockings and new pjs (not matching 😂) and a further £200 for other friends and family and I'm unwilling to cut any one of them any more.

@NoSquirrels I think you are right, it has always been like this, I just didn't know. Terrifying clarity is exactly what I'm experiencing right now!!

Off topic, but I'm very interested in how you managed a week in Africa for so little!

Food?

Sorry ignore my post, I misquoted you @xogossipgirlxo

£700 including a Christmas day/night out.

No idea what I spend but it's not that much or rather I can afford it fine (it's relative)

We go away kids are adults no grandkids, it's not an expensive period

I have a gift list app. It helpfully tells me I've spent £704. Still got my parents, bil & DH to do. Eek.

Panto £160
Crackers £7
Xmas food £300
PJ's £130
Cheese £40
Drinks £???

About £1500. It's up this year though...
& Doesn't include all the kids Xmas school stuff.

I don’t budget. I spread the cost, as long as I don’t spend more than what’s available to spend in the bank each month I’m happy. Everything is usually bought by beginning of December, except food, but we don’t go mad on that, and I may twitch but nothing extreme.

This year the main gifts have been cheaper, got great discounts in prime day sales, but I’ve found little things have been more expensive, chocolate advent calendars, bags of sweets & chocolates, stocking filler type gifts, so not bought as much.

Rough calculations, I’ve spent approx £200-250 on each DD, DH about £40, he did buy himself a ps5 recently which we have logged under birthday & Xmas present. £70 on DNs &Ns (5 in total 3 get £20 each & 2 only babies so got token gifts), £40 so far on in-laws, I may add something to MILs as definitely looks like FIL has far more spent on him and £80 on decs & festive bits, but that’s including new tree lights I didn’t realise we needed & a couple of external bits because we can’t put our inflatable up anymore due to change of garden.

Ive not done teacher gifts but bought several box’s of chocolates/biscuits to put in the staff room, approx £20

So what’s that, approx £1000 probably less, but rounded up, spread over 5/6 months

Food will be covered in our normal food shop.

I don't keep a tally because we're in a fortunate position.

I should add, included in DDs are what many don’t deem gifts as they are “essentials” new coat, clothes & PJs. But my DDs will appreciate them as gifts.

We've booked a week abroad for Xmas😄We shall see how it compares cost wise out of curiosity!

What is YNAB?

This year our family are not doing individual presents - we are doing a Secret Santa for 12 of us so each couple spends a total of £ 50 - 2 presents @ £ 25 each so I am spending around £ 300.00 altogether on gifts. None of the family will be with us on Christmas Day this year so I will probably spend about £ 50 on food above our normal shop so we have some alcohol and treats from Christmas Eve until after DH goes back to work.

We put away £100 a month Jan-October so have £1000 ready to spend come November to spend on the kids presents, family presents, Santa tickets and food etc. This doesn't include presents between me and DH and we both usually spend £250ish each. We've definitely gone over budget as haven't included the little bits like fancy advent calendars, Xmas pjs, new decorations etc. Probably all in about £1700! We can afford it but written down does seem a lot but we love this time of year!

Just booked it through easyjet holidays. I basically picked flights we wanted and then they suggested a few hotels and car companies and I picked ones I wanted (hotel was stunning but really cheap) then they put it together as a 'package' holiday so its protected and all goes through them (rather than seperate bookings).

I guess since we went off peak things where cheaper (it was a winter break but never less than 22 degrees while we where there). The hotel was also pretty far out of the way (probably why it wasn't busy) but it was actually lovely staying away from the busy city (the city seemed hectic when we where there) and the grounds where stunning we also got to see the beauty of the land on the tip out there (across the sahara and up the tallest mountain).

The 'hotel' was actually just an active olive grove (so massive secluded grounds) with our room as a stand alone building in the middle and we where the only guests there so basically saw no one unless we went up to the pool/resteraunt area in the gate house which was ran by one man who seemed to only be there to help us.

It was pretty amazing given how cheap it was, Kind of once in a lifetime/honeymoon type holiday. Would love to go back but getting all the vaccinations and medical checks before going was a PITA.

I am not even going to put what I spent down because I am ashamed of it looking at what others have spent. I really need to look at my spending. I think it was cheaper when the kids were small. Teenagers and young adults cost a fortune.

I used to save £60 a month for Christmas and then we had a second child so hubby started putting away too. I should imagine we’ve spent £1500 but that includes a first birthday, overnight stay to peppa pig world, U.K. 4 night break and 2 days at longleat. Also all presents, days out and additional decorations and events.

We are already at £1k on presents and probably have another £130 or so on gifts. Food will be less than normal this year as we are away Xmas Day and Boxing Day so £70 ish. Probably another £400 on Xmas trips out - meals/cinema with friends and family etc

I am aiming to do it for £500. £400 on presents for dc. 100 on extras. Dc are having dinner with their Dad I’m going to drink Prosecco and eat smoked salmon bagels with a friend after they go. Panto is £10 for all of us, community funded I pay throughout the year in time, baking and donations. Christmas fair £20. Jumpers still fit from last year. I don’t do cards or gifts outside the Dc. We make our own decorations with willow from the garden. Foraged stuff, bits of ribbon. Kids are all very keen. We made stars yesterday 5 bits of willow tied with wool. Dc were. Enthralled.

I buy a lot in the sales and book ahead but still manage to blow the budget.

Food - we’re at mums for Christmas and my sister for NYE so that’s remarkably low, but we’ll take a bottle of champagne to each as a thank you for hosting - £60

Clothes - Christmas PJs and jumpers etc bought in the sales last Jan, so probably around £20 all in. Nativity costume for DD was £20.

Holiday club for DD as she breaks up before I finish work - £60 for 2 days.

Activities - we’ve booked Santa, the Nutcracker, Christmas lights and a panto. Total spends probably around £200 but booked months ago so I can forget about it 😬😬

Gifts - I’ve spent about £100 on each DC, £50 on DH, £300 on family. Then £20 contribution to DDs teacher gifts, and £30 in gifts for DDs nursery. Plus a fiver on a tub of choc for after school club staff.

Decor - we bought 6 new baubles at a cost of a tenner, plus the tree for £40.

Eek! So over a grand!

All done:

DS and DD £450 each
DH £85
Me £77
Xmas food £141
DM £20
Work secret Santa £10

Worked hard to afford stuff for the kids this year as was panicking how we could afford it, selling bits and being careful with spending, not buying treats like alcohol. Usually me and DH get nothing so nice to have something under the tree for once. We rarely buy for people outside the family

That sounds really lovely, and something that me and DD would love (not sure about the men of the house but there you go!) Unfortunately with a very busy new job and various commitments I am time-poor (and possibly lazy) so always seem to choose the less homemade, more expensive option!

Having spent years worrying about money, I am delighted to say I have no idea, I don't go mad it is not in my nature but I will not scrimp on the turkey or the tree, or a warm house.

The money spent in the years where we travel to my home country makes anything I spend here look barganacious.

Petrol to ferryport

Ferry A quick squizz just now at the ferry website including club class is coming up at £655. 😱

Petrol to home county

Meals out, drinks out.

We always bring wine and crackers and cheese and crackers and lots more besides.