Is your DC the only grandchild?

[nappyaddict]

If so how much do the GPs spend at Christmas? My mum goes ridiculously mad and I am trying to show her that other GPs spend less despite there only being one GC. I have told her to spend about 10-30 but she reckons this is too stingy when she hasn't got any other grandchildren.

I wish! DD (3 mo) is number 5 on one side and no. 6 on the other. The GP's spend £20 ish on each so your value fits with that but overall they would spend a lot more.

However if she wants to spend more is that a problem if she can afford it. Can you direct her to suitable presents or things that DC would like or needs?

It really depends - my parents often get one main specific present, whether that's expensive or cheap.

DS is two (and the only grandchild on both sides, and DH's parents are divorced, so three sets of grandparents!). My parents were going to get him a balance bike (at our suggestion), which would have cost £80-£100, but we then realised he had similar things already and wouldn't get much use out of it at this time of year. So instead they're getting him some toys and clothes, and probably spending about £40.

DH's parents probably spend around £30-£40. So yeah, I'd say about £40 in general.

If there are likely to be other grandchildren in the future, could you say that your current DC might not understand when they suddenly start getting much smaller presents as they're not the only one any more?! (not an issue with us as I'm an only child and DH's brother is single)

I have made a few suggestions of presents but she usually gets what she wants. I just think he has too many toys and clothes as it is so what's the point in getting loads more of the same sort of stuff.

I'd prefer her to just put the money in the bank or buy him a day out or something.

Yes he's the only GC and yes they spend lots as they can afford it. I have 2 siblings, both younger who spend about £20 each on him too. I did worry that they wrer steeing themselves up for a fall, and should do the same for all GC, but think they financially could anyway and that he'll have to learn he is not having as much if any more come along.

I just accept its their money and up to them!!

They do always ask us for advice though and what he needs/likes, so it's not too hard to direct them. Two out of the three sets are also okay to get mostly clothes if we say he has more toys than he needs!

Ds is an only on my side, and my parents spend about 150 - but 100 of that is in investment bonds. They buy things off his Amazon wish list which I set up for him normally. I have one sibling who doesn't buy for ds, and no other relatives who buy for him either, so they like to compensate a bit.

On dhs side, there are 5 other grandchildren, and they spend about 30 quid each

My toddler is the only one on my side (I'm also an only child) and there are two on my husband's side. I had him late in life and both grandparents completely dote on him. My father had given up all hope of ever having a grandchild.
Both grandparents are very generous - capital to invest, school fees etc. They also give money for birthdays and Xmas.

DD is the only grandchild on both sides. I'm not sure what the grandparents spend on her - I would guess £40ish from my parents (Lego Hogwarts game from them this year, which is £20ish, plus some books and no doubt other bits), quite possibly more from the in-laws, who we don't see as much.

Of course other only grandchildren do get spoiled silly - I will confess I did succumb to the only child stereotype once, asking my colleague if his daughter happened to be an only grandchild as well as only child, when he told me the spec of iPod his parents were buying her.

only on one side. I THINK this year they have got him a pack of books for under 10 and a boot jack for 3.50.

Other GPs have multiple GCs and at a guess spend 10-20 per child.

Short answer:
£70.

Long answer:
My MIL and mother both have just the one DGD (my DD). Both are retired and have decent pensions and spend on average £70 on a big gift per birthday and Xmas as do my DH and I. So this year my MIL is getting her a wooden toy piano, my mum is getting her a wooden toy cooker and we are getting her a wooden tool bench (she has plenty of plastic tat - mainly handed down). Then a few stocking fillers from each eg my MIL is getting her a Peppa Pig DVD, my mum is getting her a Toy Story 3 DVD and we are getting her some small HappyLand, Zingzillas and Peppa Pig characters.

She rarely gets any toys outside of her birthday and Xmas. Except for books - books we will never ration and she gets them all year round!

One one side 8y DD is the only grandchild. on the other side she now has two younger cousins.

However, I leave both sets of grandparents to chose their own budgets for DD's gifts. Both spend a fair bit more than £30 on DD thouh.

Just to add, I don't mind at all spending more on DD at Xmas and for her birthday (and neither do her GPs) because we have a rule about trying NOT to buy her toys outside these occasions. I was an only child too and my parents were similar and I really valued the gifts I got on special occasions because toys were seen by me to be a treat. I've drummed this into both GPs and they don't bring toys every time they see DD (not even small ones) - so I don't mind them spending more at Xmas etc.

UniS I think 10-15 is a good amount. It's what I got as a child. Is it the same for birthdays?

But if you got £10-15 as a child yourself, with inflation surely that must have gone up a little bit?

my kids are the only three on both sides and dp's mother gave 150 euros for us to buy them stuff and my mother has been singlehandedly buying up all stocks of sylvanian families locally by the sounds of it.

I was an only grandchild on my fathers side and was spoiled rotten... loads of gifts, treats and pampering by them and I also had trust funds and shares given to me by my grandfather. My inheritance paid for our car insurance on our first car (over 3000 euros), our suite of furniture in the living room (far more expensive than we could have afforded ourselves), a superking size mattress, my digital bridge camera, part of my current OU module and apparently i still have some left.

HulaBaby I don't know how much does inflation go up each year? It's only 4 years ago I stopped getting money off my GPs.

On my side of the family my DD is an only GC. We live overseas so not as much is spent as if we lived there but my DD gets sent a package with a gift every 2 weeks from abroad and at xmas gifts are ordered on the internet and sent to my DD to about the value of £150.

£10-£15??? That dosen't buy much more than a box of chocolates these days does it??

10-20 seems to buy jolly nice birthday or christmas pressies.
a bit of lego, a lot of toy cars ,a DVD and a book, Farm animals ( they arrived in a cardboard box that grandad had covered and decorated as a barn), a toy tractor, bike helmet, LOTS of things boy has been given at that sort of price range for birthdays or Christmas from various relatives.

Last year I gave each niece or nephew a book and a craft set and something else small but right for that child and spent less than 10 quid a kid. I have several N&Ns and that's a manageable budget for me.

We tend to find my brother is the extravagant one... but by that I mean he's the person who gave DS a lego advent calender for christmas. They cost about 25 quid.

I actually think a smaller budget buys a more thought out present. I know when I have tried to stick to a budget I shop around so I can get as much as possible for my money and I try to get something they will really like. With no budget I have been known to walk into a shop and pick up the first thing that catches my eye without really thinking about whether it is right for that person or if I could get something better for the same amount of money.