Christmas

[reeree1805]

How much does everyone spend on their children.
My son wants track suits and trainer. £100 doesnt go very far . My daughter wants toys again £100 doesnt go far . Its my daughters birthday January also she wants a xbox 😳.

Definitely not over £100. My DC are 11 and 13. Most years £50. Perhaps your daughter and son could have the xbox for Christmas? Ie. share it? My DD has a December birthday, so I know how hard it is.

It depends what they want/what we have.
This year we might get them tablets, so more than usual, but it's more for our own sanity in the car! This year I think we'll spend around £250-£300 in total with all the little bits, but last year we only spent around £30 on DD but more on DS.

Theres just not much u can get . Always looks like such small piles . Thank you for answering xx

We try to stick to £100 for each child

So hard isnt it . I look at tracksuits and trainers before . 1 tracksuit and 1 pair of trainers theres a £100 . Not much is it 😑😶

We are about £200 per child (we have 3) for everything. It’s not excessive for us, a bike can be £100 or so and then some other bits. It adds up quickly.

I save up for high street vouchers from Park. It's a good way to budget and save over the festive period and when the vouchers come it's a brilliant feeling.

I think the issue is as children get older the kind of toys they want seem to get more expensive!!!! There's a lot of pressure on parents and so many people get into debt trying to keep them all happy.

My friend who has 3 daughters has only just cleared her credit card from last year and is about to start spending again for this year. She says it's like a revolving cycle!! Xx

I spend between £200-300 each on mine. As they are getting older the things they are asking for are more expensive. I spread it out throughout the year so it's not one big hit.

Why don’t you have a joint Christmas and birthday present for the Xbox, you could probably pick one up second hand with an few games for your budget.

We usually spend a fair bit at Christmas - around £250 each - but not very much for birthdays ( which are both a few days after Christmas) so it evens out.

This year dd mostly wants clothes and trainers and like you say money doesn’t go very far when the trainers she wants are £80!

Going to try and stick to £100 each this Christmas. Went too far last year and ended up battering credit cards. Actually saving up this year and setting a budget.

My kids are only 3 and (will be) 5 though so easier to please with less spending.

I understand how ur friend feels . My daughter believes in father christmas and thinks she can have everything. Where i can talk to my son n tell him how hard it can be. Its me i feel terrible if they only have a few presents to open 🙈

It depends, OP. I don’t have a budget as such, I just buy things I think they will love or know they want, but that’s obviously dictated by some common sense - if one child wants an Xbox or iPad or laptop they won’t be getting much else.

I do think an item of clothing they’ve had their eye on is a lovely gift for teens and things like cute socks, makeup (for girls) and hoodies are nice too. But I don’t have an extended family so all gifts are from me. As a result I do go over £100 but the key thing is not to get into debt or trouble.

It’s different every year depending on how much spare cash we have and what ds has asked for. I agree money doesn’t seem to go very far at the moment, prices for everything keep going up and our wages haven’t!

Thank you everyone not only do i feel better im not the only one but also feel better as not to spend lots. The park vouchers sound a good idea too x

I probably spend £300 if you include clothes and shoes on each child but we can afford it.
When money was tight we spent less. I wrap up clothes and pjs that they need so would have bought anyway so the piles look bigger.
Generally they get a big present off Father Christmas up to £100 depending on what they have asked for ( last year my eldest got a second hand phone so cost £10 for a top up). Then other thing they have asked for. Realistically these days games for DS, board games etc cost £20 plus and I get them 3 sets of clothes plus pjs and then usually some
Dance shoes or uniform so while I'd have to get that stuff anyway I include it in the Christmas present.
Money doesn't go far and as long as I don't go into debt to pay for it I'm happy.
It's harder as they get older as clothes get so much more expensive!

2 children: We budget £75 for a main present from us and probably £50-75 for presents from Father Christmas including stockings. They know Father Christmas brings the stuff in their Sacks but have been told he doesn't get expensive toys as he has so many children to get things for (he also doesn't do live animals). If they want something expensive they can put it on their list and the extended family may club together to get it for them (A Nintendo Switch to share probably this year). The mumsnet Christmas bargain threads have saved me a fortune and got some great gifts!

I usually spend about £200-£300 but I save up all year and only have about 3 other people to buy gifts for and their budgets are way smaller

We spend about £200 per child ( 4 kids) but this is only because we have no family really so they don't get presents form elsewhere and don't have to buy any presents for others.

About £300 each
They 14 and 16

I used to spend a fortune at Christmas but it was just ridiculous (we're talking between £500-£1000 per kid) & they really didn't need it so over the last few years I've cut way back & last year it was approx £300 each with DS getting a bit more as he got his PS4.

This year their requests aren't that expensive except DD2's Michael Kors bag request so it's currently looking at around £150-£175 each.

They all have birthdays just before or just after Christmas so it's a lot of careful planning & they all get gifts from 4 sets of grandparents, godparents, aunts & uncles so they're not exactly going to miss out.

I wouldn't do Park vouchers, a similar scheme Farepak went bust a few years ago. Why not open an account and put a bit in each month- maybe a building society with no on line access?

This thread makes me feel a little bit better. I feel so much pressure to give them these huge piles of presents, I don't use Facebook or Instagram anymore so I'm hoping to feel less of a shitty mum this year!

Please don't feel like you're a shit mum because you don't buy piles of tat for your children at Christmas, it means nothing. I remember very little of what we were given for Christmas as children, although I know the volume was vast.

Probably £100-150 for DD who will be 5 thus Xmas

I second putting money away in your own account rather than using Park, just in case.

I try not to spend more than £200 on each of mine. DH would rather budget £20, but he’s stuck in 1970 when it comes to spending on Christmas.