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Christmas

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Original poster

Don't hate me. I need your help. How much do you buy for a 9 year old for christmas without going OTT or looking like scrooge?

124 replies

PhantomOfTheChocolateCake · 26/10/2008 01:33

I have gone OTT for the last few years and I looked at how little my neighbours child had last year and was shocked as he only had 5 presents, is this right?. I know that christmas isn't all about presents but is there an amount that is just right? I never intend on spending alot but it always looks like soo much. I'm going to give myself a limit of something. ARGH!

OP posts:
Eniddo · 27/10/2008 12:39

leaxx this thread is about 9 year olds anyway if you read the title properly

bigscaryorangespiderami · 27/10/2008 12:46

£200 - that is obscene!!
Really truly, he will not appreciate it - especially at that age!

And if you start off with so much money now, where will it end when he is bigger?

Surely being sensible with money is a far greater gift to your ds???

My two (ds age 9 and dd age 5) get a stocking from Santa which contains little bits and bobs - colouring pencils and playdough for dd, a new belt, and a book for ds, along with a chocolate santa and some sweets.
Oh, and they both get some socks in there too.

The main present from us will cost no more than £50 each. Ds wants a guitar, so we are getting him a secondhand decent one, along with some sheet music. (and will find a guitar teacher after Christmas)
Dd wants various games and books, so will buy up to the value of £50.

I truly believe they appreciate it more if they are not innundated with gift after gift after gift.

I like 2-shoes's idea of spreading the presents. We too travel round to MIL's for lunch and they get her present, and those from my the few aunties / uncles then.
On boxing day we see FIL, so they get his present then.

PhantomOfTheChocolateCakeAvena · 27/10/2008 12:49

It's easy to spend alot. A couple of presents a week, £15 each mounts up and can be a silly amount when you add it up or look on the floor on christmas morning but when you think back to last year, did your children just rip the paper off to glance at what was inside before moving on to the next or did they take the time to look at it and say how happy they were with it and want to play with it, leaving the rest unopened? It's easy to buy alot of things but how many are left unplayed with 9 months later? Would they notice if you wrapped them up again and gave them to them next christmas? It's not the quantity, it's the quality.

I'm going to take ds shopping with £100 so he can choose. If he wants Lego then he won't have alot as it's expensive. He'll also get santa's 5 presents and ones off family and friends. He gets enough books/Lego/days out etc during the year.

bigscaryorangespiderami · 27/10/2008 12:49

Sorry, I know Leaxx is not the OP, but could not resist reacting to her spending. Wow, you are lucky if you have that amount of money spare!

OP - I think rather than go for a set number of presents for a 9 y.o., I prefer to go by value - so up to a set £.
Ds (just 9) really wants a guitar, and I have told him that there will be no other presents. He understands and appreciates this. His wish for a guitar is such that he is willing to forgo a pile of say 5 presents.

leaxx · 27/10/2008 12:49

i have a mortgage and bills to pay just like the rest of u's,but kids rnt kids for long and id spent the extra cash on them havin a brilliant christmas rather than myself. like i said in my last post its only once a year and surely ppl cud have saved more than £60, £70, £80 from last christmas???

ledodgy · 27/10/2008 12:51

Funnily enough I don't equate having a brilliant Christmas with having to spend hundreds on my children. A brilliant Christmas here is about family time, seeing relatives catching up with friends etc. All of which I think are better values to teach your children than money = happiness.

ledodgy · 27/10/2008 12:52

Ahh first post today I see.

ledodgy · 27/10/2008 12:53

Why oh why can't trolls be funny anymore?

Eniddo · 27/10/2008 12:54
Eniddo · 27/10/2008 12:54

lol

bigscaryorangespiderami · 27/10/2008 12:54

I agree with Ledodgy. Christmas is about family time, some nice food etc. Not about £200 of presents.
Especially for a one year old. You are going to end up with an overwhelmed, over-tired, over-excited one year old. It is all for you - he will not understand nor appreciate.
And if you start liek this now, what will he expect when he is 5??

Great if you can afford it, but in this financial climate perhaps not the most sensible?

TheFallenMadonna · 27/10/2008 12:54

I think if you're spending that much money on a not quite one year old then TBH you are spending money on yourself. Because you get more out of it than they do at that age. And that's fine. I get a huge amount of enjoyment out of doing things "for the children" that are really and truly for me.

But I think you should acknowledge that and not be at how other people do things.

(Says theFallenMadonna - at the piles of presents other children seem to get )

bigscaryorangespiderami · 27/10/2008 12:55

Argh, troll? Actually I hope it is, because if some poor woman really believes she needs to spend that much money on a one-year old to give him a good Christmas then heaven help her!

TheFallenMadonna · 27/10/2008 12:55

Oh!

DId we always have this many trolls? Or am I just a bigger sucker now?

Marne · 27/10/2008 13:00

We put money back each week for x-mas, we have 5 children to buy for (3 step children and 2 of our own), because we put money back each week we can afford to spend more at x-mas.

I also sell all the dd's old toys on e-bay to raise funds.

We buy some 2nd hand where we can.

We aim to spend £100 each but this year i have made more money selling dd's toys so can aford a little bit more.

I don't see the problem with spending £100-£200 if you have it.

We don't spend alot on them during the year, we don't go on expencive holidays, we don't spend alot on birthdays, we dont buy expencive things for ourselfs or pay any school fee's like some do.

We try and make x-mas last and we open some presents on boxing day when the step children come over.

£200 is alot for a one year old but if you have enough money then its your choice. Not sure if i could find enough things for a one year old to spend that much unless buying clothes.

aGalChangedHerName · 27/10/2008 13:02

I wouldn't spend that on a 1 year old either. You can easily spend it on a teen/older child so save your pennies till then!!!

leaxx · 27/10/2008 13:05

troll????

my goodness, didnt set out for all this but each to there own, suppose im just doin for my son wot im used to,growin up i always had a huge amount of toys (money spent)on me at christmas, and yes most of it was probably threw in the corner after it was opened but i always had till the next year to play with them all.although this is completely different to what my partner is used to as well and he sees it as bein too much also,

sorry anyway, maybe should have read threw alot more threads before i started posting to see what kind of reactions to be ready for. and money dosnt = happiness, i no that and so will my son but to him this is santa bringin his toys not his mum and dad bein out of pocket, hope u all have a merry christmas anyway, it isnt long round the corner

MmeTussaudsChmberOfChocHobnobs · 27/10/2008 13:42

200 pounds is an awful lot to spend on a 1yo, even if you can afford it. I am actually finding it difficult to think what you could buy for that age group that would cost so much. You must have bought loads.

My DB and his fiance always buy tons of presents and their son has so many toys, he does not play with half of them. You can hardly get into his room. They also overspend on our DCs which is embarrassing for me. I refuse to spend as much on their DCs as it would be more than I spend on my own.

Do you think that he has a better Xmas than mine? That he feels his parents love him more?

We could afford to spend more, but I don't think that it is good for the DC to get so many presents.

CharleeInChains · 27/10/2008 13:51

I daren't add up the money i have spent on my boys in the past

I go way overboard with xmas as i am still a big kid at heart but i do shop from Jan onwards and get tons of stuff on sale so it makes it a little better.

I wouls just go with what you can afford and are comfortable with he's your son after all.

ramonaquimby · 27/10/2008 14:07

I think people do go overboard, I really do, and don't compare what your kids get to what other kids get - there will always be those that get more and those that get less.
If it helps(!) mine get a stocking (strictly no tat!) and an outfit and 1 biggish thing that won't fit in a stocking - Until they are bigger I won't worry too much about spending equal amounts - ie dc1's big present is a bike as they have outgrown other one, dc2 is a scooter and dc3 is a playmobil set - so price goes down as they get younger! But they dont'/won't notice that.

leaxx · 27/10/2008 14:35

MmeTussaudsChmberOfChocHobnobs, i never said or intended to imply that my son would have a better christmas than ur children or that i loved him more than u love ur kids, i came on this thread and ppl wer stating how much they wer spending on there kids, and yes i was shocked because its not sumthing that im used to hearing ppl say they spend under £100 for there children for christmas. then all of a sudden im the bad guy here, i by no means have a lot of money or am braggin about how much ive spent on my son up untill now,i like evryone else before me was just sharing my opinion on wot i do for christmas, but in sayin that my son was only a few weeks old last year and my house was still crammed with stuff-mainly from my parents because this is there first grandchild so tbh this is my first christmas as a parent but as i said before this is wot im used to, i always had a sofa full of presents from santa, a stocking, a few presents from my parents then the rest under the tree from family/friends, and u must not be thinking too hard if u cant think of things to buy for a one year old that amount to £200, nothing is cheap these days and if u pop down to elc u could spend that in 10 minutes

PhantomOfTheChocolateCakeAvena · 27/10/2008 14:38

I used to get alot at christmas but it was mostly clothes/socks/pencils etc, fuctional things rather than toys. I was one of 5, we would take turns to get a 'big' present (a radio), but they were never as costly as the wii/computer/play station that our children want now. There were never alot of toys, always things we needed and smellies (and sweets). There's too much availiable now, there's alot of pressure on a parent to buy this overpriced toy. Christmas should be about spending time with loved ones. I remember this more than the presents I recieved as a child.

Leaxx. People are sensitive when it comes to money at the moment. I agree that at one, your little one will want to play with the paper and boxes more than the toys so I wouldn't go too overboard. It can be so easy to buy lots of things for them and it can be hard not to go OTT, which is why I started this thread. It does cause problems in future years if a child has been given alot as they see this as normal. It takes some of them a log while to understad that things get alot more expensive as they get older so it will make life so much easier to not go OTT. Remember the first Harry Potter film when it's Dudley's birthday and he throws a paddy because he's got 2 less birthday presents than last year?

PhantomOfTheChocolateCakeAvena · 27/10/2008 14:41

I'm having problems with the n on the laptop. Sorry about my spelling.

filz · 27/10/2008 14:42

is this a bad grammar zone or wot?

PhantomOfTheChocolateCakeAvena · 27/10/2008 14:43

wot?

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