To be delighted about what I have spent so far 😅

[Positivenancy]

Feeling quite delighted to have most of the dc’s shopping done and under €500 so far! I can tend to go crazy at Christmas 😬

I have spent €436 so far. And I have bought

DD11
Jumper
Nike leggings
Sephora goodies -bath bombs, lip gloss, hair oil, travel containers.
Initialled Glass cup
Small panda bag for accessories
Panda Teddy
Sanitary wear bag
Slushy maker
New York jigsaw
Eiffel Tower puzzle
Socks
MGA miniverse set
Full length Mirror for her bedroom
clothes rail for her bedroom
Small panda ornament
Panda hair towel
Panda face mitt
Nintendo sports game
Nintendo sports accessory pack

DS9
Hoody
Lion teddy
Elephant teddy
Football pen Holder
Vbucks voucher
Fidget popper game
Darts board

I still have a good bit to get for DS though he is getting a PlayStation (second hand) and a game and couple of Lego sets.

DD is pretty much done I might pop into primark and get some baskets for the bottom shelf of the clothes rail and pjs etc

Have you totalled your spend so far?

I've spend way too much really and I still haven't quite finished, but I'm currently on maternity leave and have had far too much time to start planning Christmas! (I think August was my first purchase!)

Books have always been something we've bought all year round. Once my kids were secondary school age, apart from having to have an actual physical book every day with them for school, they read on a kindle, which they prefer.

Wow, so unbelievably judgemental and IGNORANT!!
Do people not realise that people from different cultures and backgrounds celebrate and do things differently.

You and your family might be happy with a second hand present etc but others like to save and spend and spoil their children at Xmas. Might be the only chance some people get to really treat their children.

For those of you saying that she is showing off etc
Can the same be said when people talk about owning houses, getting renovations, going on holiday, or any of their other first world problems?

I am a single parent, living in social housing, working full time to provide for my family.

I do not claim benefits and I do not treat myself to new clothes, luxury items etc

I make sure my children have healthy balanced meals, are enrolled in extra curricular activities, go on at least one holiday a year, have lots of fun and educational days out and have a clean and safe home.

I spoil them at Xmas, with gifts and love.

I also donate to dog charities every month, cancer charities, sponsor an orca for my son and support a donkey sanctuary.

We donate to food banks and homeless and elderly charities at Xmas and my children donate old toys and choose a new toy from their savings to donate.

Is that ok with you judgemental so and
sos out there?

For all of you complaining about how much the OP is spending on her children - what exactly are YOU doing to help others?

Clearly not being kind with your words…

Can I ask why the OP’s daughter should/would be embarrassed about sanitary products?
Are we really not teaching our daughters and the males in our lives that periods are NOT shameful, dirty, embarrassing etc
This attitude concerns me.
Good for you and your daughter OP for having such an open dialect about menstruation.

Quite.

Those people saying the bag is not a suitable present, despite OP saying her daughter will love it. because her dad and brother might see if snd therefore she'll get embarrassed, really need to do better as parents.

I have bought

Dd (14)

Drink cup
Make up contour case
AND a make up advent calendar so I'll probably be struck down

Ds (17) turns 18 at Xmas and I haven't a bloody clue what to get him

Bought my mate's dog an advent calendar - well it's his 1st Christmas!!

So cute!

Agreed

Well said

To a lot of families this sounds miserable .
Probably best to understand that families approach Christmas differently .

But not everyone . Nothing wrong with OP happy with her shopping . The board is for everyone irrespective of income / savings etc .

I put a phone charger in my dcs’ stockings last year and the year before! We always give the essentials at Christmas - pants, pyjamas, socks, toiletries.

Only on here would someone support someone else who says children should be saving their money to buy what they want through the year, rather than their parents getting them Christmas presents

It's like some weird competition to be the most "purest"

Its almost as ridiculous as people commenting on a celeb thread saying "ive never head of David Beckham" or the competitive undereaters "you ate pasta twice in a week? Gosh OP, 1 bowl of pasta fills me up for a month"

Or someone has £600 to spend on a big "£600? On a bag? Goodness me, I've been using my Aldi bag for life that cost me 10p 10 years ago and does the same job.

Making your children buy their own Christmas gifts through the year or only giving them family heirlooms for Christmas doesn't mean you're parenting better, your just parenting different

I admire the confidence that you think you're correct though

I honestly think the ones piously saying ‘we only give one family heirloom a year’ are the ones who in real life have mounds and mounds of pound shop presents under the tree, that they proudly put photos of on social media with the caption ‘Santa’s been’.

Yeah I didn’t respond to this idea at the time because I just thought it was ridiculous! I literally know NO ONE who does this to their DC. My DD is a great saver…unlike her brother!😂 but he’s getting better and if they want to save for something then they can…if they want to ask for it for Christmas then they can. My DD asked for the clothes rail and stuff for her bedroom as her main gifts. The Nintendo items are a bonus gift from me as she is the best child, she has had a tough year with her parents separating. She gives me no grief, she’s dedicated, plays sports, plays guitar and works hard at school. She deserves every single thing she gets.

Ignore the idiots OP, well done for being so organised. Im also an early starter, these are my lists for my 2 girls- ages 15 & 13. Spent around £750 so far - with more to get

The point being life is not about stuff, tho you have been generous

I’m very aware that life is not about Stuff, as are my dc.

Then I’m not sure I’d put any sanitary type products in there. Stocking yes, tree no (for me).

So much of this needs to go on the ‘Only on Mumsnet’ thread 😁

Maybe the poster is actually a Windsor. Didn’t Diana get a toilet seat once.

I feel the need to defend myself here. You have bought your daughter 22 presents so far. I assume she will get more from other family members.

I'm reminded of that scene in Harry Potter where Dudley Dursley throws a fit because he "only" got 37 presents.

I feel we were both being polite to each other in earlier posts but you're the one now labelling my views as "ridiculous". Fine, you're entitled to your opinion of course, but I would argue that you are the outlier here, not me.

For the vast majority of people on this planet, 22 presents from just parents alone is not the norm. It is not ridiculous to suggest that children don't need such a mountain of stuff. None of us do, to be frank.

@BunnyLake but as I said, I don’t do talking we don’t do stockings in our family it’s not a thing. So for me to suddenly start a stocking would be weird. I don’t do stockings in my house. Everything goes in a pile under the tree. Presents from Family and other people don’t go under the tree they get given in a bag after Dinner and I will tell them who it’s from.

They are not all huge gifts, a good portion of them are tiny little gifts that some people would call “stocking fillers”. I don’t do a stocking so for me, I just buy the little cute things I wrapped them and I put them under the tree. My DC have never in their lives counted the number of presents under the tree. They are very grateful children and they accept everything they get and they are always delighted. And you’re right, we will both do what we need to do to make our Christmas special.