How much to spend on your kids Xmas presents

[Kissesandcakes23]

I know this is probably asked every year but I am wondering what people's plans are now with the cost of living crisis.

Last year I went overboard and I really don't want to do that but I also don't want to be stingy. I know my kids aged 4 and 7 will be happy no matter what but the mum guilt of giving them likely less this year is hard to accept.

I’m budgeting £100 for one 3 year old.
ive been buying on Vinted as and when I see things she’ll like, and she’s getting one ‘big’ brand new present

Well.. we can easily afford this so here goes:

Half term trip to Disneyland - £2k and then £300 per child on “Santa” presents.

We like Christmas. I’ll spend £200 on both sets of our parents.

Really???

£500 each, they’re teens now though, at 4 and 7 probably around £300 each at a guess, I’ve always had quite rigid budgets for Christmas.

I honestly have no clue what I spend, but it’s always within the parameter of what I can afford.

I put away £50 per month so I have £600 to spend, but I use that for everybody - partner, kids, my parents, siblings, niece, nephew etc.

But on top of that, from August, I begin to put away bits I might see for the kids. For example, last week some magnet tiles I’d been watching on Amazon reduced in price so bought them, and yesterday on Vinted, I saw a brand new, in box, pair of football boots for £18 I’ve bought. In Aldi last week, they had fun stationery sets on sale for 89p each so got a few different ones for stocking fillers.

I don’t tot it up, I just buy as I go if I can afford to.

About £300 each including stocking. But they are teens now, used to be about £150until they reached about 10. And the requests become a bit more on the expensive side. Tbh I usually go over budget because I impulse buy a few things here or there if they are on a very good deal

I haven’t although I need to, I’m terrible at saving and amazing at spending so that’s why I was doing it this way. I don’t have a set budget but the thing is I literally then don’t buy anything till summer apart from the odd bit here and there.

Op only you can decide what is right for your family, income, budget, what they want etc.

Some kids get little for parents but tons from elsewhere.

Some kids get tons from parents and nothing from family.

Some will have a huge budget but included things like a year's worth of pants and socks and a years worth of piano lessons in the budget.

£250 per child, me and DH spend around £200 on each other. Only other presents we buy are one for mil and something for DH little niece and nephew, probably £30 each. We don’t do presents for the rest of the family but do meet ups with my family for meals out in December.

No fixed amount.. depends on their needs and wants for that year.

This year, looking at what my son has been wanting, it will probably be quite a cheap year. There isn't anything big or expensive that he wants, so I'll spend less. No point in forcing myself to spend an arbitary amount.

There will be other years when it will be a lot.

Cheaper years can be 100-200, and more expensive years depend completely on what the bigger item is, bike, PC, etc.

That said I don't live in the UK, and things are generally a lot cheaper here. Not big items but smaller sticking filler type things. 100 goes a long way here still, whereas in the UK I think I'd struggle.

Also in my experience there is a big class based difference in present giving.

You get a lot of upper middle + upper class families who give very little on Christmas. Who look down on poorer families who "spoil" their children.

Yet in reality for the working class families that is it. The kids get all of their big things at Christmas/birthdays.. while the richer families will by them though the year, whenever they want or feel like it.

In the end all the kids get a lot, the richer probably more, and yet they still feel supirior for not spoiling their children and spending so much on Christmas...

I’ve gone crazy in the past (£1k) can afford it. DD loved waking up to a room full of presents…. Forgotten about by the time lunch was served. Toys have gathered dust thereafter- ridiculous.

I’ve noticed that parents to be cutting down on presents at Christmas, affluent families so money no issue. They seem to be following the rule of a stocking and just a few inexpensive gifts.
DD loves playing board games over Christmas do I get her a few of those, she likes ‘skincare’ from Sephora but she’s got perfect skin, so I bought the empty, plastic bottles with Sephora emblazoned on the front and filled with SPF 50 and I don’t mind lip glosses. Last year she asked for £100 Roblox gift card - that was it. I did buy more, but again she didn’t really play it beyond the day itself.
I think activities and memories are better.

I have had a budget of £100 per child for over 20 years. They do get presents from grandparents and a couple of aunts and uncles as well so there’s always plenty to open, maybe £200-worth of presents per child in total.

I do think it depends on what else you buy through the year. My kids have had high-value items such as bikes, musical instruments or laptops but they have been when needed rather than as birthday or Christmas presents.

Is that a consideration , how long it takes to unwrap? Mine is an only as are myself and her dad so she’s presents from us, her grandad, grandma gives money so she’s had that with her card before and a present from two honorary “aunties”. We don’t buy loads so it’s never taken long.

we take it in turns to unwrap something although of course she’s mire stuff.

It got to about £150 per child before my divorce 8 years ago. Now I spend about £80. They are now adults though. I don’t believe in buying unnecessary tat instead I prefer to treat them to a show, a spa trip or something when I see them both which is rare due to where dd1 lives

@Xnz2022

you are partially right about a class divide but actually nobody I knew spoiled them in the year either, upper middle class (for want of a better description) were keen on charity shops and handing down too. Experiences are more important in my opinion, we took ours to places that they are still talking about 15 years later, I don’t mean these Christmas attractions, they didn’t exist, we took long road trips in summer

My kids are teenagers now and the things they want have got more expensive - so the amount we’ve spent has gone up. They get one main present from us (they also get gifts from family) - that used to be a doll or medium Lego set and cost £30-50 when they were primary school age, but now we probably spend £100-300 each.

Two kids 4 & 8 last year spent around £350-£400 each but that does include stocking and a toy/lego advent calendar. We put money away all year so have a pot ready to spend however going to try and spend less this year around £250 each and be more intentional with what we’re buying.

@Hungrycaterpillarsmummy

We have done this since they were born. They are now 14 and 12.

it generally took about an hour when they were little. They wanted to play/read/try on what they opened before opening something else.

There are also gifts from grandparents and godparents to open.

We really try to make celebrations about people; not things.

We generally spend about £350 each. They’re 9&7, we also have a 1 year old but will only spend £50-£75 on her.

About £50 for DD who is 18 months and maybe more like £75/ £100 for DS who is 5. I get lots in charity shops or on vinted! It's not a money thing just they have enough stuff and there is enough stuff in the world! Teenagers I think there will be more cost.

We budget and save all year. No credit card debt. We aren't high earners. We spend £100 on each child who are actually adults now. It was less but inflation! They also have stockings but they have small, low cost stuff ...hair clips, tissues, Christmas decoration, food they like, sweets, random things.
We went through a phase of pyjamas, when they were young, but don't do it anymore.

Your £100 a child must buy a whole lot less now than it did twenty years ago.

But your kids are probably earning adults or at least with part-time job.

But its a good point about people buying as needed rather than at one time.

Mine both have winter birthdays and there has been the odd bike bought as needed rather than waiting 6mth to Christmas. But bikes have also been handed down.

We do a present from each of us to each of us, plus stockings for children (they can ask Father Christmas for one particular thing but that has to be able to fit in the stocking and not be device based). The children have to put some of their pocket money towards their gifts to each of us, and choose them themselves.
Stockings are opened in the morning but the under the tree presents are opened after Christmas lunch is all washed up from and when we can all properly relax…we take turns as well. I’ve done this since the children were tiny. It helps to spread the excitement out over a longer period for a smaller amount of things, which is a big help nowadays!

Costs-wise, I suppose £150 per child. They know just to get me books from a charity shop so I’ll be £10.

I hate how careful I have to be. I hate that I live so rurally we have no fb pages for cheap secondhand toys. But I do know the children will be really happy and enjoy the day.

Only advice I can give is that I work in an area of poverty with children and families. every year I love asking what the little ones got for Xmas.

It always surprises me how much some children get. Far more than my own children which always makes me re-assess if I am being tight. Invariably it’s the perception of what families think the better off families can afford and over compensate .

4 and 7 it go for big box wow factor. I dined out on years of massive presents from Costco for under £20. Some of my friends children’s favourite gifts. If you have a card or someone to go with. One year I bought a crane toy from home bargains was £15 it was massive and the favourite present on the day amongst far more expensive gifts.

we spend £150/200 each but always do a pre Christmas Day out that we exclude from the budget. We’ve also trimmed heavily xmas entertaining as wasn’t at all reciprocated