total christmas cost?

[giveyourselfashiny]

How much have u spent in total for Christmas? I'm thinking about starting saving for next yr and just wondered how much people actually spend? I know I spend more than I think cause I buy bits over the yr, but in total, for everyone for everything inc food, drink and night out we have prob spent 600! Which is mental, and will be coming down next year!

I think about £1000 all in.

Presents, food, entertaining and going out.

400 flights to visit family
100 fill up car that relatives let us use
200 presents
50 NYE fireworks
100 contribution to food bill

too much :)

but no debts

About £1500

About £1k

About £350 on presents (me and DH to each other, 3 DCs, my parents, ILs, niece and various godchildren).
Nothing on food as we went to my ILs (we did offer to bring a contribution but they refused).
Petrol £40.
Pre-Xmas drinks, meals etc £200.

Loads. But for the first time ever we can pay off the credit cards in full in Jan so I don't care. We had an absolutely lovely Christmas and New Year.

£600 all in.

Food, presents for DD and DFD (they both got exactly the same) a token gift for DP from the girls, no adult presents.

Didn't go on any trips out apart from a huuuuge party for the girls which I bought them both a new outfit from Monsoon for (included), which they can wear now throughout the year.

Realtives bought the girls so much it's unreal, though. I was very surprised at their generosity to the point where I wondered if they could afford to spend that much :(

Oh, and I did Christmas dinner for 9 with drinks as well.

£50 on each DS so £100.

Probably another £300 on presents for friends and family.

£300-£400 on food and drinks.

£25 on panto.

Another £50 on stuff in general like decor etc.

So probably about £800 in total.

First time we are 'hosting' Christmas (usually, my ILs do it) and we love it despite the expense, it was more relaxing and more enjoyable all round in our own home!

About £300 on presents on Christmas day and also St Nicolas, (6th December, in Belgium it's the day children get their presents) for 4 children, that includes a DSI they are sharing between the 4 of them. Only buy for grandparents and cousin on top of nuclear family. About £50 extra on food. About £50 extra on taking the family twice to the Christmas market. Oh and we bought a charity Christmas tree this year which was £30.

We nearly always travel to London after Christmas as a treat, ferry is paid for (hubby's only work benefit for working abroad), youth hostel is paid for with Tesco vouchers, only cost is fuel and anything we spend on transport and outings in London, I expect it will cost in total about £200 for the 3 days. The children know this is part of their Christmas present.

So that adds up to around £630 for a family of 6.

Each to ones own, but some of the amount others spend seem incredible to me. Maybe I'm just naturally frugal. Our children are spoiled rotten with love. If we were completely broke, I'd still like to thing the children would have a good Christmas, even if less were spent on them.

Including xmas cards, dd's presents, gifts for family, xmas eve dinner and movies (hadn't been to the cinemas in a while so the cost of that was a real , xmas day dinner (£130 restaurant), petrol, and then groceries inbetween and for NY....about £600ish.

All cash nothing on the cc and no additonal new debt to pay off so even though the entire cost could be lower, all in all I'm pleased.
Don't know where it came from, but I know it helps that I browse and buy during the year. Dd is 5½ so won't always be able to shop in advance.

About £100 (counting materials for handmade gifts, additional food spend). We've probably used an extra half tank of petrol on visiting relatives too, so I suppose I should add another £40 or so on there.

£500 on flights home (Mainland Europe to UK)
£300 on fiance's gift from me
£400 on gifts for family (my parents, nephews and nieces etc)
£6000 on fiance's gift to me (an engagement ring, hence the ridiculous amount)
£2000 on flights to his home in February for 6 weeks (Australia)

£9200. Ouch.

Obviously take out the cost of the engagement ring and we would spend that pretty much each year. It's the flight costs that get us tbh.

So normally £3000ish.

It's all relative to how much you earn and how frugal you are during the rest of the year. We are pretty frugal!

Got some good tips from this thread, thanks, and I'm pleased that I already have cards and gift wrap ready for next year. Dd's main birthday or xmas presents already bought (thanks to the sales).

I think it helps, or rather your money goes much further if you shop wisely.
We don't have a large income coming in and I only work pt so not too bad really.

Bugger, I forgot about cinema tickets.

£600, no debts and we had a lovely time meeting up with family and friends.

Thanks to my anal Christmas ap () I can tell you I spent £1200 on gifts (two dc and a massive extended family, step parents and children on both sides etc), £90 on two meals and nights out, £70 on day trips out for the children and £80 on alcohol and treats. My DH paid for the Christmas food shop for eight people and a party we had here for NYE and I dread to think what that cost but it was our turn to host both.

Not a cheap year but we aren't in debt and it's the only time DH gets any real holiday from work so we make an ocassion of it.

About 700/800 all in all, presents food everything.

I have gone into 2012 pretty skint and on a tight budget but whats new i'm always on a tight budget! I scrimped and saved for Christmas and we did actually make cutbacks and i certainly didn't buy as much for the kids as i have done in the past.

I know that i will have to be very careful throughout January moneywise but all the bills are paid. We didn't go out and do anything over christmas, didn't have the money for that sort of thing!! But i brought presents for everyone and food for family to come over etc.,

£280 family present of annual passes for Disneyland, Paris.
£450 for hotel, fuel, tolls and food money to visit DLP for 3 nights and validate passes.
£30 for cheaply Christmas meal/crackers etc the week before.
£250 for presents for presents for 12 children( nieces /nephews/friends etc)
£150 stocking presents for DS (clothes/Lego/DVDS/books/necklace etc)
£55 ( half of wii-DS had saved up for other half)

We could afford it - just, and are looking forward to using the pass at least twice this year.

We had 2 birthdays sorry no 3 just before and on Christmas day so that makes it a very expensive time of year for us. Incredibly I can't really add it all up as I start buying stuff way early in August or thereafter. I learned from experience that we just can't always budget for it near to Xmas as too much is going on - parties etc. etc. We also had lots of other expenses going on but in short we managed to get wii and super mario with extras etc. a lovely melissa and george wooden castle, a beautiful dress up unicorn outfit, a few playmobil (from F.C) kits, a few 'opoly' sets, and a whole bundle of beautiful ELC snow fairy, swan, unicorn, IVGC pretty stuff from ebay and more (I have a stealthy, steady, and enthusiastic gift purchasing skill, learned by necessity this time of year). My DH and I made do on small bookish type gifts (always lovely of course) as we had had to get new laptop, fix washing machine, pay for music tuition, repair tv and more......
If I get time later I'll try and put a price on all that.
BUT anyway we had a great Christmas, the best (with kids) by far, lots of ooooh and aaaahhh at other peoples gifts as well as their own. RESULT.

Oh yes, you have reminded me, another £100 needs to be added on for DS's birthday present. Born 25th December. I forgot but we do make a fuss of him and he has his cake at about 6ish

Your very own Christmas miracle, Married!

We didn't do dinner, but otherwise, food, presents, decorations etc. £387.60
I too, have a spreadsheet.