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?

That's all you spend! Scrooge you.

I spend about £1500 with the florist so that kind of sets the tone for the rest of Christmas!

but I absolutely love Christmas, it brings me so much joy and I love ensuring everyone around me has a wonderful Christmas

I don’t have a set budget. Never have done but I am fairly careful to always save money and I just transfer it back at times of the year with higher expenditure. This year I’m guessing about £500 on gifts and some money on going out but not fixed. Adult children and my parents cook!

I spend max £150 per child 8 and 10 years old

My daughter is too young for anything like that (6) as we don’t allow screens yet apart from
TV. But they won’t be Christmas presents in our house when she is older. I don’t believe in expensive gifts for Christmas. Just not the way for our family.
I’m sure she will have some electronics but she’ll have to save up for them. She gets generous cash from grandparents so for example might need to combine Christmas and birthday money when she’s a teenager to buy something. But I’m not spending lots at Christmas on that sort of item.

Things like bikes, scooters etc are secondhand- can afford new but like buying used. But we buy as needed, not specifically for Christmas.

I know but one doesn't want to rub the staffs noses in it.
One diamond crusted pony is enough for any toddler.

I find Christmas really hard. The more I read the more I think we’ve all completely lost our shit. We budget about £800 and use a bit from the month of December. It’s like a circus to me and makes me feel like I’m living in a goldfish bowl with everyone peering in with all their judgement whilst all the difficulties are amplified. That said, I appreciate most won’t feel like and love it all.

I spend roughly £500 on each teen. Only stuff they actually want or will make use of. Sometimes this is a bit higher, rarely a bit lower.

DH does the stockings. No idea how much he spends. Maybe £200 each?

Around another £500 on all other gifts. Just token gifts mainly. Me and DH don’t really get each other gifts these days as we just buy whatever we want throughout the year. Gifts seem pointless.

No idea what we spend on Christmas dinner as DH does all the food shopping. But he tends to do it Christmas Eve when M&S and Waitrose have everything heavily reduced.

£90 on a tree. All other decorations come out of the cellar as have been built up over the years. Might get fresh lights this year though.

That’s about it.

I wasnt criticising. I was saying in some houses 5 trees would fit no problem.

We've stopped doing adult presents in the family so just the kids. Also, for friends it's a mutial bottle and sth else, so not huge. For dinner we all contribute by bringing a couple of items for the dinner and Nike naks.

So it's not as expensive as it used to be but we still save and splash out to enjoy the season.

Lots of activities for the kids and work dos, all adds up, just spend as it goes.

Couldn't add up an amount without going through all numbers but defo a lot more than an average month! Lots of birthdays in December so it all just rolls into being prepared beforehand. Xxx

Sorry I realised, I had meant to reply to the person you were replying to.

Bedroomdilemmas113 I think your Christmas sounds amazing, and I’d definitely have 5 trees if I had space. I’d also love to be able to be so generous to my family.

It is totally possible to have a lovely Christmas on a very low budget (I’ve done it myself, and my childhood Christmases were always magical even though my parents were really struggling at times). But it’s not some sort of moral failing to spend a lot if you can afford it. There’s an environmental consideration obviously - I don’t think mountains of plastic for the sake of having a huge pile to open is a great idea, but it’s ok to be generous with gifts and splash out on socialising if you enjoy it and the money is there.

To add, it's such a shame that there to seems to be an obligation, reinforced by SM, to have a million wrapped presents, wear matching outfits, show off the latest technology etc.

I'm so glad I grew up in a time when we got a few wanted presents and were over the moon, not unwrapping big boxes of plastic crap that are recycled a few weeks later as too many and not played with.

Having crossed the boundary into this new age and fallen into the same trap, what a waste. Got to make the pile and see the excitement, then for 90% of 'have to get to make up' gifts for the sake of it.

Not all I know, but most kids do have what they need and want throughout the year so often parents are trying hard to think what they can buy as a special trust. Your DC have their x box, phone, clothes, so many toys...

I used to spend more when kids were little but now they are teens, this year I’m doing £300 per dc (2 kids). Me & hubby only get each other something small. £20 per niece & nephew (5 kids), £50 per parent (3 parents). £300 for Xmas food. Bit of money for Xmas days out. So all in all I think £1,000 this year. I’m not buying any new decs.

This is the first year we aren’t doing a giant sack for each dc and their partners.

they normally get a giant sack filled with stuff plus main gift. Plus under the tree gifts.

two of them plus their partners don’t even live at home,one is still a teen and does so we’ve told them this year
the adult dc and partners will get £150 per couple to do as they wish with,and a hamper per couple I’m making up of some nice treats.

plus we pay for their Xmas day meal out @£130per head each

this year we are eating out Boxing Day which is much cheaper aswell so even better

the teen at home will still get her sack and main as they’re still a child

both adult dc have had a fair bit of financial help throughout the year from us this year for varying needs and situations and we’ve decided it’s time now to reign it in

my in laws only continent gifts for us and vice versa and my parents I spend abit more on as the rot birthdays are in December

I’m not going mad on food either this year so hoping it’s a much more civilised year financially

We save £100 a month all year and put £25 a month into a supermarket saving account, we also take into account 2 weeks of no fuel expenditure (dh gets 2 weeks off work at Christmas) and 2 weeks not buying food ( massive shop before Christmas) so about £2k we don't do any trips etc as our kids are grown, but have 3 plus partners, 4 grandchildren, 3 parents and a few friends with kids, hate winter but love giving and hosting.

Presents: me, DH, 2 x adult kids plus their OHs - including stockings £1500

Tree, booze, all the special and extra food (they don’t live close by so come to stay for a week) cards, stamps etc £500
Total = £2000
I save all year for this

We probably spend:

500/600 for DS gifts

roughly 600 for the food and drinks - we like nice meat, cheese and wine over Christmas. Tend to have lobster Christmas Eve. Always a goose and a turkey.

150 for real tree, wreath and nice candle

50 on good chocolates

700 on gifts for the rest of the family

1000 on a weekend break - usually just before

200 on a meal out between Xmas and new year

probably 100 extra on beauty treatments before Christmas

A lot of people feel like you do, or at least find Christmas bitter sweet and stressful. Try to step away from concerning yourself with what others think. Often people worry about being judged by people who they don’t even like. Life’s too short. Your own views, beliefs and decisions are valid and often more sensible than those of people who’s views you are worrying about 💐

This is the first response that I feel parallel to. And I don’t feel we miss out or under indulge in the season at all!

Child gets around £5/6/700 depending on what he's in to. He's 4. Me and husband do small gifts to each other £30/40 max.
parents £20 each
nephew gets £50.
one aunt who gets £10 on token gift.
then £150 on food.

this year we have a trip to Lapland that's costing around £4000 but it's not something we would usually do.

Approx £3k also - all in , presents for dc, family. Disney on ice in Dec ,Santa trips, food. I end up putting most of it on paypal credit and pay it back within the 4 month interest -free term.

My entire Christmas comes in at about £250, in dollars. That includes gifts for five DCs (all adults). When they were younger, I'd spend about $50 - $75 each, and then food on top, so closer to $4-500, including a real tree every year, which I still do.

We never went to Santa's grotto, nor did we do wreath making or any other activities that required expenditure. All the Christmas clothes were hand me downs or bought on the after Christmas sales in anticipation of fitting DCs the next Christmas. No special Christmas pajamas, no Elf.

I have one DD and her birthday is two weeks before Christmas so what I tend to do is get 20 presents and that’s 10 for each day her dad also seems to have taken the 10 presents each day so she’ll have that plus family. I try and spend around 500/600 on her in December as then it should last her until summer when she will need outdoor toys/ clothes for summer etc. however I’m running out of ideas as she’s got an iPad, a bike, a scooter everything a role playing baby would need a toy kitchen and all the food you could imagine from last Christmas and throughout. I think I might look at shifting towards booking an experience and cutting the amount of presents I do down because she’s got her birthday in December it kind of helps to do it big and then through out the year she’ll get around £40/50 a month from like march between me and her dad on little things she sees or wants in the toy shop.

I don’t do the food shop unless it’s for me and her snacks as we go to my mums for dinner. So I’ll only buy the things I know she’ll eat and snack on or drink.

I found that an interesting exercise. I love Christmas it’s my best time. You will find me on the Poncetastic Christmas thread!

About £2000 on gifts and decorations ( I redecorate our sunroom every year in a new theme. I started when the DGC were small and it continues….)

£100 each for family presents ( DH, 3 DC, SIL, 3D). £800
£10-£15 each for 25 friends and family £300

Sunroom this year about £100
Tree. 8 foot real one.

and one for DD £150

Tickets for shows. £150

Food. 10 people for 3 days. All family live close so come to us each day
£500?
My annual trip to London to see family. Maybe £300 on flights and trains £100 on west end show. Say £500.ish.

So a lot more than I thought! But I do it in cribs and drabs and we can afford it.

£2500 in all. But we don’t do big ticket holidays and take enormous joy in having the family around us. I do love Christmas!

Oh and our local food bank gets £100 as well as the standing order every month.