What is your Christmas budget?

[KittyPup]

I’m considering trying to cut back a bit this year as DH thinks I go a bit mad at Christmas. I’m not sure I agree so I’m just gauging what others do.

I put away £250pm all year and everything Christmas related comes out of that 3k. This includes gifts for our 2dc (approx £400 each), gifts for each other and dc in the family, Christmas food shop, Father Christmas trip, Christmas jumpers, any new decorations / wreath making workshop, fresh tree etc. Basically anything Christmas related in December and then the day itself and a few days in between.

Can I ask what your Christmas budget is? Or do you just not track as you’d rather not know?

Last year we went to tesco and literally put what we wanted in the trolley and it came to £400. Bought meat separately around 80.

Then presents etc its around £100 per child as they get more from grandparents etc. Don't have a massive family to buy for so maybe £200 tops for other people.

We are not big spenders at Xmas

About £8k on gifts, advent calendars, trees/decor, charity donations, lights trail, theatre trip, market, new outfits, a couple of nights out with meals and drinks, food and drink and a long weekend with friends.

Cheapskate!

I think it makes a huge difference if you have a wider family/grandparents/aunts etc who buy for your children. We only have me.

The young children will have around £200 spent on them, adult children £20-£50…I’ll give the little ones £10 pounds each to get something for me so they can enjoy the giving. They’ll make things for each other. I’ll have a good look in the charity shops from now on. Food - I only buy for one “nice” meal and that’s pretty understated tbh, so maybe £50. £50 for a tree. I will be taking them to the panto this year, that will be the most cost as I have to add petrol money (3 hour drive)

I do miss when I used to feel more festive.

I hate these threads. Folk outdoing each other on what they can save and spend. You do Christmas according to your budget, cut back the years you don't have money. Be generous when you do have money. Don't get into debt for Christmas.

Probably about £800 - £1000 all in. We don't really get each other gifts.

We don’t have a very big budget for presents, although this year is an exception for DD16 as I am paying for My Chemical Romance tickets on Klarna. Normally we spend about £100 - £150 on DD. DH & I spend about the same on each other, sometimes less. Then around £30 each for close family members. I stopped buying gifts for friends quite a few years ago. DD has a lovely GF (she was in a toxic relationship previously) so I will buy something for her around £20. Then there’s little extras like advent calendars etc & DH normally gets me some smaller surprises on top of the main present, spending around £20. Sometimes join in Secret Santa at work but probably won’t bother this year as there’s always the risk of getting something you don’t like & my colleagues don’t seem to put much effort in.
I buy lots of cards in the sales, including the individual family cards, but send fewer than I used to because of the astronomical postage costs! So say £30 for those. I have wrapping paper & tags from last year but will no doubt need more so at least another tenner there.
The biggest food expense is the turkey as we get a Norfolk Bronze bird from Asda which was just over £60 last year. Neither of us drinks although we get AF equivalents. I would say about £150 on food altogether but it’s likely more when you count boxed chocolates, posh biscuits, smoked salmon for Christmas morning etc. Last year I bought a non alcoholic Christmas pudding liqueur for £20 which was absolutely gorgeous.
Our tree is usually around £30 - £35 & I buy a few new decorations annually. I get a very good discount at work. Often buy a new snow globe but this year, I will ask for one for my December birthday. I sometimes buy a festive water feature - one year it was The Snowman for about £15 I think.
We haven’t had many Christmas trips or outings for a few years. A friend & I are going to a candlelight orchestra in our local cathedral which cost just over £30 each. DH & I might book panto tickets which will be around £70 I reckon. Possibly more. DD has no interest.
Clothes wise, I sometimes buy a new party outfit or Christmas Day outfit. Lost loads of weight over the last couple of years so I have plenty in my wardrobe to choose from.

About a thousand pounds probably but less on gifts and more on experiences for the kids - they are both disabled and not really into stuff but love light trails and things like that.

Just wondering what advent calendars you have?! Mine was £2.75!

As little as I can get away with, but always too much.

Approx. £200 including food and any extra drink.

Three young kids of friend and niece get money, one small present for a relative.

Two of us for Christmas lunch.

That's it.

We spend £250 each on our 3 children, £100 for us. £50 for stockings, £20 for advent calendars and the rest is spent on other people. We also spend money on the panto and Christmas food but that isn’t in the budget.

It’s a lot more than it used to be in the early days of married life when I counted every penny and put into ‘club’ money with someone from work.
I also used to save all my nectar points for a big festive shop. Nowadays, since DH and I have both progressed on the career ladder and i had some inheritance money it is not such a worry and I appreciate not having to count every penny though I do still buy presents for the following year in the January sales.

£300 on gifts for each child = £900
£150 on DH gift
DGC x 3 - £225
£300 on other family/ friends/ dog
£400 food and drink and tree ( we usually host)
Various social events around Xmas - £500

Approx £3k

I think that’s your answer. If you can afford it and you enjoy it then it is worth the expense.
You get one life and enjoying Christmas with your family is everything no matter if your budget is small or big. 🎄

£200 for gifts. This includes gift to DS, DP, DSS, niece and nephew. We don't do adult gifts to wider family.
£300 for food. This includes hosting 14 people on one day.
£100 for Christmas tree and new decorations.
I've moved from a flat to the house 2 years ago and am gradually buying more decor.

Can't wait for Christmas lights and decor to go up. The best time of the year

We don't have a budget but never go into debt for just one day either.

about 30 quid.

I really don’t know, I don’t track it, rightly or wrongly. At a very rough guess, including gifts, festive days out and mini breaks (we do a Christmas market and longleat’s festival of lights every year), food, drink.. maybe £3k. Probably more, I expect I’m underestimating. It is a little alarming to think too hard about it!! We have a couple of kids and both DH and I have large families and buy for some of the extended family too so best part of £1000 goes there if not more really, plus we host several times over the Christmas period, reasonably big dos with lots of good food and plenty of drink all round, we have a couple of real trees and real garlands (that I cannot make myself, try though I might!) plus lots of days out.
I just adore Christmas!

I put 50pm away into my present fund.
20pm into Xmas food and 20pm into NYE.
NYE is currently empty as I had to spend it on something else and Xmas food only has 90 in it at the moment.
But there's also Decembers pay to top it all up.

We spend £250 on each of our 3 children, then about £30 for there stockings and another £60 on a combined Eve box including new pjs. Then £30 gift/ cash for each of our 4 nieces. And an about £200 on other family members. So all in about £1300 then every other year we have Christmas at ours. (This year is our year) we do one year with my family and one year with his, ours is the biggest house in my family so we host. So it’ll be another £100 in food and drink for that, but my family all bring something, my mum does the turkey, granny does the veg, so we all contribute. We don’t drink because my uncle is a recovering alcoholic so that saves us a bit 😬

About £1000 all in. We have a £15 limit on gifts for the family but I spend more on my children and probably around £250/300 on extra food and entertaining. We reuse all Xmas decorations and tree so I might just get a couple of new things for the tree. We have a very good Xmas on that amount

last year, Benefit (tween) and a Soap and Glory one
Molton Brown (me)
coffee (husband)
beer and Lynx ones (adult son)
plus a chocolate one each too

Just added it all up. About £1200 all in. There’s lots of costs like work Christmas do, panto, Christmas lunches out etc in the run up. About £750 presents but I’m lucky as still have all my family alive and well to buy for. I don’t resent the money as December is special. I don’t specifically save for Christmas, I save in general and don’t mind using some savings for Christmas as that’s always been my intention when saving.

For us - the extended family is something nice for my niece and nephew. If we didn’t take them, we would spend the same budget on our nuclear family but go somewhere further afield.
Everything else is genuinely because I thoroughly enjoy every single bit of it. I’ve tried to pare back this year but there’s not a single thing I would be happy to not do. Obviously if we couldn’t afford it that’s totally different - we have done Christnasas (many of them) on less than triple figures in total, when we had less and still had an amazing time (kids were tiny).
Money doesn’t buy happiness but it does mean you don’t have to think twice before booking something that’ll make you happy, I guess.

Times are hard.
Had to fly scheduled this year to the private island in the Indian Ocean.