How much do you spend on Christmas, all in?

[walkwalk]

Just wondering as growing up we didn't have much, so didn't spend much. Now I am a bit more financially comfortable and we have a budget of £750 this year - that's for absolutely everything (tree, food, booze, gifts, treats, activities...). It feels like a LOT but then I read on here about some peoples traditions (Christmas Eve hampers with new games, treats and pj's for whole family), and very impressive gift lists for the kids etc.. sounds lovely but it's kind of blowing my mind, doing the mental math, they must be spending thousands??

Just curious, obviously look away if you prefer not to talk money! :)

Dual income of 95k that means we are okay but no big splurges usually, as we don’t go in the red. I honestly get palpitations reading about what people spend on their children how do you improve year on year?
20£ budget for all extended family, children about 200£ plus stocking up to about 50£

I’m feeling very guilty this year to have spent about a grand. Honestly, I probably spend that most years but it’s across a whole festive season - so the Christmas budget would include hosting Christmas dinner and at least two parties, a budget for new year, a trip to the theatre, going to see Father Christmas and some other kind of festive event like lights or Christmas market, plus added tat and mulled wine type stuff. It would include the Christmas tree, probably a new decoration or two, and all the gifts and stockings and food and drink for the festive period.

This year there is no Christmas market, no lights, no FC, no events, no theatre, no new year, I am hosting Christmas dinner but only for seven when it would usually be 12-16. I am hosting Boxing Day but only for eight when it could easily be 30 some years...

Basically it’s extra food and drink for a few days, a tree and Ive spent way too much on presents to make up for it all being somehow lacking. I shouldn’t, as we’ve lost income this year but somehow I have done it anyway and I’m feeling a bit angry with myself.

£1500 on gifts
Maybe £500 on food/drink ( 3 of us)

Wow I clearly spend way too much! 🧐

About £100 on gifts and food and drink in total for 5 people. Not because I'm a scrooge, I'm just on a strict budget. We'll have a big roast, one gift each, chocolates, a couple of beers and board games.
It's been surprisingly stress free and I'm looking forward to it.

I don't buy new clothes or decorations for Christmas and food, other than for the main couple of days is just regular food. I have spent quite a lot on dd, but she doesn't get presents from anyone else, plus has been a star this year, so I wanted to spoil her a bit. Prob £750 all in including presents for other people. Stamps for the few cards I send was infinitely more than I expected (and more expensive than the cards!)

Oh gosh.
Myself and DH spend £1k+ on each other (no kids).
Presents for others - £500
We’ll often go on a city break to a Christmas market (not this year) so another £1.5-2k. Activities, meals out and seasonal events another £1k.
Food on the day (we pay for the wider family meal out) is around £500-£600.
Decorations and home stuff probably £300.

So between £5k and £7k depending on the year. I’ve never added it up before and it seems a lot but we love this time of year and I a chunk of that is a holiday.

Probably about £500 - £800 all in, which is about 12% of our monthly take home.

We save over the year for it.

Probably about £1000 all in. That's gifts for immediate family (DH, DDs and me), then our parents, siblings, and nieces. Food. Wrapping paper, Christmas tree, cards etc. Tank of full. Day trip that's still happening at the moment(£90).

The lack of Christmas parties will be a significant saving. And no theatre visit (pantomime or ballet).

Umm never worked it out properly but definitely over £1000. That's for our two children, mine and OH's gifts to each other, my parents and step mum, OH's parents and step parents, my grandparents, OH's grandparents, 4 siblings between us- all with partners, and our two nieces. Oh and a secret Santa at work, small gifts for DD's teachers.

Food will cost more this year too because we're cooking Christmas dinner for the first time.

My guess is around £700-800. Gifts, events like Santa's Grotto, food, decorations and tree, odds and ends. All adds up.

Decorations 0 we have loads.
About £200 on food/drink and £200 on presents, this is more than usual but we need a treat.
I'd usually buy an outfit and wear it to all the parties, the spend a couple if hundred at the parties, food, drink, taxis etc.
So I'm probably spending about the same as usual but on different things.

This year (roughly):

Decs, wrapping, tree: £200
Presents: £1500
Food: £500

We usually host and all in I’d say about £1600 but this year aiming for £1000 as not seeing anyone. Presents are £800 ish for everyone, but the biggest cost is all the booze (we like a drink)

Probably around £1000. We spend about £700 on presents - spread across 23 people, about £150-£200 on food and drink for the Christmas week and then £150-200 on other bits like activities, any new decorations, Christmas clothes/pjs.

I feel like it's an awful lot for one day or even a few days when it's written there but we put money aside every month so it doesn't feel like a huge amount coming out of just our November/December wages.

Last year we spent around £900 all in, but that included most normal food, bar things like milk that need replacing, and all treat food and drink for 3-4 weeks, hosting 2 parties with games and prizes all presents, etc.

No set amount, have never really checked, would guestimate £3-4k.

@CuteOrangeElephant

70 quid on all new decorations and lights (international move) 30 on a tree 30 on DDs presents No more than 70 pounds on food and drink.

So about 200 pounds.

No turkey then?

What do you eat and drinK?

Food has come in under £70 - been purchasing items since sept and put away to take advantage of various offers.

Presents for DC approx £100.

Alcohol £0 I have unopened bottles from last year I was gifted as presents so may drink them if I cba to drink. Plus whatever is in there that’s open.

Decorations, I need to get a tree, donated my massive one earlier in the year. A small one will cost maybe £20. Everything else I already have and have used them for a decade.

Wrapping - we have reusable wrapping so £0.

About £3k I reckon all in 😩😩😩😩

Thinking back to when we were growing up and how simple Christmas was. We had no expectations of huge presents ‘to spoil us rotten’ but still had a good time. We didn’t drink gallons but had fun.

I wonder how some others feel when they read about the huge amounts being talked about here? I guess the message we need to be giving more than ever is that plastic tat, overindulgence, piles of presents and the biggest stocking in the world is not the way to create happiness. Almost the opposite in fact.

We spend a fair bit usually, but maybe we’ll do less this year and return to more simple joys. Maybe any chocolate we are given can go to the homeless shelter or food bank and bring me more pleasure than a tighter waistband.

@CherryPavlova

Thinking back to when we were growing up and how simple Christmas was. We had no expectations of huge presents ‘to spoil us rotten’ but still had a good time. We didn’t drink gallons but had fun.

I wonder how some others feel when they read about the huge amounts being talked about here? I guess the message we need to be giving more than ever is that plastic tat, overindulgence, piles of presents and the biggest stocking in the world is not the way to create happiness. Almost the opposite in fact.

We spend a fair bit usually, but maybe we’ll do less this year and return to more simple joys. Maybe any chocolate we are given can go to the homeless shelter or food bank and bring me more pleasure than a tighter waistband.

I had simple Christmases,they were also miserable and all about the grownups and the prep and the cooking and cleaning and people coming over. Not to mention my very close to Christmas bday. I got a few presents but then ignored or told off for being in the way because of all the prep. Never got what I wanted either (books or a doll were things I often asked for).

Meh, DD is getting ALL the presents,and attention and fuss.

Easily 1200 this year.

A lot of is decoration & kitchen stuff, as it’s our first Christmas on our own. So it’s an investment for future years that we won’t need to pay out in future.

Presents-wise, I’ve probably spent about 600. Food-wise, I’ve gone a bit overboard, but I’m also 38 weeks pregnant so just generally stocking up for those first few weeks of newborn life when we aren’t going to want to be food shopping.

Usually about £1000 all in - gifts, food, theatre trip. We’re not big drinkers

I feel like I have overindulged on presents, but to be fair to the ghost of Christmasses past, I haven’t made large piles of presents or splurged on plastic tat, I have bought the three people who are closest to me each a special thing that they will really, really like and will not expect to get. The bill came to just over £600 for three gifts. I don’t regret buying them, and I will enjoy giving the,, but I do wonder what my motivation really was. I’ve asked for nothing for myself to try and atone for the overspending.

But, I’ll definitely be drinking quite a lot of wine, I’m not sorry about that in the least and I’ve been doing “dry” November and december up to Christmas Eve to compensate slightly!