How much do you spend on DC at Xmas?

[Starlive23]

I know its only September! Just wondering how much the average family spend on presents. DH thinks I'm insane for spending about £100 on each child (3 and 1) but from what I've seen on fb it looks quite reserved compared to some of my friends, some of them seem to rival a toy factory.

I think £100 each is more than enough. I assume as they get older they will want more but I still can't imagine spending more than that.

About £150 each here, but sometimes less and rarely more. One year I got my daughters main present in a clearance sale for only £10 so the total was less that year.

It depends on your income. If you can easily afford £100 then its a reasonable amount. If you can't, its not. That's pretty much it!

I would really recommend starting to look now in clearances, Facebook marketplace and just general offers which may be on as things only get more expensive as Christmas aproaches

Is that including stockings?

I used to spend about 200 quid each on my step children(2) when they were younger including stockings.

Though it varied on what I could afford, what they wanted etc

Now, we have a third child. Therefore I have kind of gone to 100 - 125 quid, even with stockings as they don't need the tat as I call it in their stockings anymore (I think that can cost more then some presents too!!) so this year I'm doing deordrants chocolate and that sort of thing in stockings

😂 Talk about Christmas all you want I have brought most of my kids presents!

At aged 3 £150
At aged 1 £100

It increases as they get older plus relatives and friends buy for them also. I would spend as little as needed and just get some things that they need for their development and learning.

To be honest I'm not sure I will even spend £100 on the youngest as we kept baby toys etc from DC1 and seems utterly ridiculous to buy even more but obviously want to get him some bits as it's Xmas.

And I'm with the PP in terms of buying early, I'm about half way there and got some great bargains which is always a nice bonus!

I budget £75, often go a little over that but never been more than £100. We have 6 kids and our eldest 2's Birthdays are in the week before Christmas so it all adds up quickly.

That sounds like quite a lot. Especially at a young age kids won't know the value of things yet. Spend what you want / can afford but I wouldn't care what people on FB are up to. My LO will be around 1 at xmas but I can't see me spending a lot of money. Lots of things are available second hand anyway.

We spend what we need to, within what we can afford. Last Christmas dd 6 got guinea pigs and a scooter. Probably £300 for those. We'd have bought them at some stage anyway. The other two (3,1) had much less spent, maybe £50/£20). But it all looked the same, encouraged gratitude and they hadn't opened everything by Boxing Day.

Depends on what they want really 🤷‍♀️

One year all DS wanted was a "spotty bus" which cost a grand total of £8. Last year he got a £650 PC.

Spend what you can afford and ignore everyone else.

I went to Smyth's today as my DD is 4 next week and omg the prices have shot up!! £300 for 4 items!! X

As little as possible when they are young …probably £50 max until they were 4-5 .

i don't know how anyone only spends £100!

I've just bought a pair of new boots for DD (£35), a Hype jumper thing she was after (£40) and some perfume (£20)

That's £95! I can hardly wrap 3 presents for Xmas and go 'there you are!'

I buy 20 small presents for each stocking (reackon that costs £50 per stocking) and then spend about £350 on each child.

I don't think they even have that much to open either which is a scandal really! Mind you, my kids don't have any other presents to open as no relatives, so they all have to come from us.

There is no right amount. It depends on many things...

Who else buys for the child
Age
Family income
Wants/needs.

Weve spent as little as £10. (DD2s first Christmas... her sister is only a year and a half older, big family so loads of other presents)
Last year we spent about £150 each... on camping equipment which will last them years. They were 7&9.

Golden rules... don't buy for the sake of it, don't go into debt and don't compare.

We spent a lot last year, it was his first Christmas where he really got it, I had some vouchers to spend and we tend to wait and get lots of toys at Christmas, so wait throughout the year until Christmas.

*I've just bought a pair of new boots for DD (£35), a Hype jumper thing she was after (£40) and some perfume (£20)

That's £95! I can hardly wrap 3 presents for Xmas and go 'there you are!'*

Why on earth not? One main present plus 20 stocking presents seems like plenty to open. More than that seems OTT to me. Christmas should be about more than materialism.

£100 to £150

@DoucheCanoe

Depends on what they want really 🤷‍♀️

One year all DS wanted was a "spotty bus" which cost a grand total of £8. Last year he got a £650 PC.

Spend what you can afford and ignore everyone else.

This. I have always just gone with what they would like - there has never been a set amount per child either. Some years are more expensive than others. This year is set to be quite a cheap one as there are no 'big ticket' tech items to buy.

About 100 to 150.
I wouldn't spend more really, even if I could afford it (I think, anyway!)

Sheesh how depressing.
1 and 3 a stocking and some toys. Spend as little as possible and put the rest away if it’s buying a whole in your pocket. What other people show off on Facebook shouldn’t factor.

So my LO is going to be 9 months at Christmas - her gift as an invested present is a bean bag chair. £60 and goes up to age 7. Yep she probably going to need developmental toys but first Christmas 3 sets of grandparents who I know have said they will give money. So I plan to use that. That's all I will probably get her apart from some chocolate buttons and a Xmas decoration for tree 🤔 I know I said 100 to 125, but think it does always depend.

Tbh I have always made a bigger deal out of the dinner 😂 I'm a foodie with the crackers etc. So if one year we can't afford much meh 🤷🏼‍♀️ it happens.

My other 2 kids are starting to understand the value of money now... So that helps, 🤷🏼‍♀️ I'm honest and say this year you don't need much as you got everything you want so that's the way cookie crumbles.

Between £100-£150 on their main presents each.

Maybe £100 each on their stockings.

I buy from September onwards don't notice as much

4x DC and max is about £150 each

Depends more on what he wants. I don't subscribe to a minimum spend or outrage that they only have a certain number of presents to open. And I don't care what Jo bloggs on Facebook is doing either.

As long as you can afford it without making yourself uncomfortable then go for it.

I spend about £300 on DS but he is my only child and I can afford it. It's so subjective though, depends what you can afford and what they already have, how often they get new toys throughout the year, if you know lots of other family members will also buy for them etc.

FWIW I don't think £100 is over the top at all, nor do I think it is not enough. I'm sure you will manage to get them lovely presents and manage to be far less wasteful than the ones you see on social media with piles and piles of presents. And most importantly I bet your children will love it no matter what!

It depends what they want/need.

Some years DS's biggest want has been a rugby ball, sometimes it's a games console.

I don't worry too much about things being financially equal between the children year on year either. If one's having a console, I'm not going to by "stuff" to make up the value for the other one if there's nothing they really want. It works itself out over time.

I start shopping in the new year too... 😂 First year I did it it was very expensive but now I don't notice it