how much !birthday? christmas? easter ?

[mamof3]

hi all ,
im just wondering what other people think is acceptable amounts to spend for their children on birthdays and xmas etc.
i have 3 children, son age 6, 2 daughters age 20 month and 8 month and to be honest i always go way over board, but with this credit crunch i really need to calm down lol.
thanx
emma x

Easter - one egg each - this year £2.99 (its a tin with little sweets and eggs)

Christmas - usually about £50-75 each total inc stockings

Birthdays - £35 each

Mine are 4,3 and 16mnths.

I am teaching them the value of money and not getting everything they want, but we also live on a budget so cannot afford much else.

Basically, I spend as much as I can afford! DD knows about the cost of things and always has. It's not about the amount, but the sentiment. If I've only got £20 to spend on her, then so be it. Some years are better than others.

For Easter this year she has a Green and Blacks Egg. Cost me a tenner, but I only have one dd and only one egg to buy!

Christmas - about 75 pounds each.
Birthdays - about 30 pounds plus a party
Easter - about 1.50p!

DDs are 14 and 11.

Easter - £5 (not an egg but a little toy, he gets loads of chocolate).
Birthday - Will be £40 this year for a cheap digi camera.
Christmas - £50 - 75.

DS is 6. I went totally overboard last year. DS lite and party for 13 friends for birthday so I refuse to do that again.

It depends what you can afford. My friends only spend a tenner for birthdays/Xmas and nothing for Easter, but they have 6 kids and are quite skint.

We are quite financially comfortable, 4 DC age 1-9. I have a notional birthday/Christmas budget of #30 for the under 6s, and #60 for the 6+. Every previous year the dc were bought Easter eggs but for some reason none this year(!). So I am going to get them something for Easter this year, first time ever. Maybe spend 3 quid each or so.

easter - £1.50 (bogof too, so just £1.50). they get eggs from grandparents etc too.

Birthdays - about £20 each

xmas - depends on money at the time - this year we had a DS between all of us, and about £5 of anything else each

Would love to spend more, but it just isn't there if we want to live a decent life the rest of the year (ie odd outings etc)

I have 9 grandchildren and 5 children[+dps]I do extra work all year and have a present fund of about£25 for birthdays and£50+ for Christmas[I also do stocking fillers].Easter no more than£3 for children nothing for adults.If a child has a big 'dream'present and parents cant afford it we help out.When dgs was 2 all gps and dd and s-i-l clubbed together to buy and furnish a wooden Wendy house for he garden That was nearly £500 all together but very much a one off.

Easter - Kids get a Christian book or CD each and this year 6 hen sized eggs each, for an egg hunt. So I guess 5Pounds each.

Birthdays - It really depends on what they need/want. DS's birthday recently, about 20-30 Pounds on lego and other small bits, but DD is ready for a new bike soon, and so she will get one for her b'day and I guess that will be 100 Pounds.

Christmas - about 30-40 Pounds - they get one 'big' present and two small things from us.

My DC are still very young... so we buy according to their development, rather than their pester power!
I only spend what we can afford.

A family friend with a dd younger than mine asked what we got our dd for her 2nd birthday... I listed a few things (that I could remember off the top of my head, having just had a new baby and all ) and she was most insistent- 'but what was her 'big' present?' she asked a few times... don't think there needs to be one tbh- children just love presents full-stop.