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How much do you spend on Christmas presents?

(109 Posts)
minimo Fri 10-Nov-17 13:53:13

My OH has just asked me what our budget is? First time he's ever shown any interest in any Christmas planning by the way! I was dumbfounded I'll admit. I have absolutely no idea. I just keep buying till everyone has a gift. I'm not particularly extravagant - we don't have the money to be - but it still adds up. If I think how much I've spent so far I'd guess it's approaching £200 shock and I'm probably not even halfway yet. There seem to be a large number of people to think of. Think I'll go hide my head in the sand again... blush

Luckygirl Fri 10-Nov-17 14:19:31

I spend £50 each on my DDs (sometimes they and their OHs receive a joint present that comes to about £60). Otherwise I spend about £10-£25 on their partners.

GC (7 of them!) get a present valued at about £30.

OH and I usually get something for the house (a stick vacuum this year - how romantic!) . or contribute to a joint present each with the DDs.

Siblings get a poinsettia or similar sent to them.

That's it - I'll just do the maths............... (sounds of brain wheels turning!).....c. £500!!!! I have never worked it out before and am beginning to wish I hadn't! grin

tanith Fri 10-Nov-17 14:22:04

To my great relief our family now do a Secret Santa for adults, we set an amount and all do a wish list. Cuts my present buying down a whole lot. It wasn't ever about the money but the sheer hell of choosing them all gifts.
I now only have buy the Secret Santa and then half a dozen grands and Grt grandchildren. It also means I can spend more on them but I don't have a budget just what I think they'll like.

Cagsy Fri 10-Nov-17 15:07:44

If I'm honest? Between £2,000 - £3,000!

Teetime Fri 10-Nov-17 15:10:09

I don't have many presents to buy but usually about £50- 100 a head and more for DH- comes to about £750.

cornergran Fri 10-Nov-17 15:14:30

As a family we ageeed not to buy ‘proper’ gifts for adults now, although we do give a small gift to any adult we see on Christmas Day, a little more to whoever is hosting. We usually get a small gift from thengrandchildre, often home made. Mr C and I sometimes buy each other a small gift, sometimes nothing, sometimes a joint gift, depends how we feel each year and how the budget looks. Grandchildren have a top budget of £50 each. Only 3 of them. There are two or three friends we exchange a token gift with, usually something daft or edible. Overall it’s usually about £250. Not sure if that makes us mean ?

harrigran Fri 10-Nov-17 15:17:40

About £4,000 which includes the Christmas meal as it is a gift to all family members.

Maggiemaybe Fri 10-Nov-17 15:30:30

I've just consulted the oracle spreadsheet (how sad am I? grin). Last year I spent £460 on presents for 22 people, many of them bought on offer, 3 for 2, etc, so the value of said gifts was £690. I'm quite proud of my bargain hunting! DH and I, the DC and DILs do a Secret Santa now and just buy/get one present each for £30, so that's cut down the expense considerably, as well as making present buying much easier. Though I do still make up a stocking for any adults here on Christmas morning, and they can be surprisingly costly!

From what I've got so far, I think I'm going to be spending around £600 this year - we've an extra DGS for starters! smile

Maggiemaybe Fri 10-Nov-17 15:38:12

harrigran, ouch! I can only say, in the oft heard words of my DH (Yorkshire through and through) - " 'Ow much?! "

Maggiemaybe Fri 10-Nov-17 15:39:20

To be honest, I'd be hearing those words if he even got wind of the £600. grin

M0nica Fri 10-Nov-17 15:41:41

My total budget for everything, presents, stockings, food etc is around £750. DH pays for tree and booze (we are not heavy drinkers) and DC supply cheese, nibbles and anything that takes their fancy that they think we should have.

I thought that was quite extravagant, even given that we have a more than comfortable income, but hearing what some are spending and comparing our spend with our income, I now look like a miserly curmudgeon.

BBbevan Fri 10-Nov-17 15:49:06

We give a main present to the adults. The 2 DGDs get a pillow case of 1 main present plus bits and bobs. Then we have a small afternoon present. Also we give our DD and DSs families a gift of money. All in all about £2500 . That is not including food etc.

pollyperkins Fri 10-Nov-17 16:41:39

Ive never worked it out. Used to spend £30 on children and partners and also grandchildren. That's about £390. Then about £15 on our brothers & sisters and partners plus great nephews and nieces, That's about another £200. So about £600 altogether not counting anything I might buy for DH .

Nowadays we do secret santa for all the adults in the family which has cut it down a lot.

Mind you, to that add panto tickets, all the cards, food, Christmas tree, crackers etc etc and the cost is huge! Makes me feel guilty when I think of all the poverty in the world.

pollyperkins Fri 10-Nov-17 16:43:07

But it does depend on the size of your family, Mine is quite big. I do try not to overspend, but usually fail.

Charleygirl Fri 10-Nov-17 17:13:54

OMG I must be Scrooge's wife. I got fed up looking for presents for friends who have everything from January onwards and never seemingly getting it right so we agreed not to exchange gifts.

I do not have any family alive in this country or Scotland.

I send one cheque! Simples.

lemongrove Fri 10-Nov-17 17:36:11

With a small family, and our friends all agreeing to the no presents rule, just a card, we don’t, thankfully, spend very much.
However, as another poster says, Christmas food and drinks and panto tickets etc all adds up.
The main thing is that all get a present that they actually want and like, you don’t have to have a big budget for that,

teifi Fri 10-Nov-17 18:48:37

We've agreed this year to small token Christmas presents (up to £10 or so) for the adults in the family. Will give money (£100) towards bicycle for younger GS, and the same in actual notes to older GS (12yrs) who is saving for techy stuff, plus one or two wrapped fun things. DH & I buy the 'festive' meat/veg box (which was ordered today) - another £120 or so. I haven't yet worked out how to post/send a gift to DS2 & partner who are in Australia this year - anyone any tips?

Marelli Fri 10-Nov-17 18:56:27

Same as last year, I’m asking friends and family, who would normally give us presents, to spend that money on food for the local Foodbank, and that I would do the same - buy for the Foodbank instead of buying presents. In our area, as in so many other places, things are dire, with much child poverty and fuel poverty.
We have a 7-year-old Gt. grandson and we will probably be buying him football stuff, or whatever his mum thinks he might like. He’s the only wee one in the family now.
DH and I are going to Lindisfarne for Christmas ?, so that’ll do us fine!

Serkeen Fri 10-Nov-17 19:20:03

Around £700 and there are 10 people to buy for

I spend around £100 on food

MissAdventure Fri 10-Nov-17 19:36:03

Depends on how my finances are. If they're not very healthy then I would spend no more than 50 each on my two grandsons, and 50 on my daughter. If I was better off, I would spend around 100 pounds each. On principle I wouldn't spend much more, even if I could afford it.

Jalima1108 Fri 10-Nov-17 19:46:47

teifi I have given up - the postage is extortionate.

You can order stuff or vouchers from Australian websites (a particular jeweller I have used is brilliant (I think they are called Gilletts, and will wrap and deliver promptly) otherwise, money - the postage can cost as much as a gift.

KatyK Fri 10-Nov-17 19:54:02

We spend too much. I'm trying to cut down this year (again). We only have about 8 people to buy for but we go our for a family meal sometime over the Christmas period, so that has to be paid for plus taxis. Then the family come here Boxing night and we provide food and drink. The other bits and bobs add up - such as friends saying 'we must meet up for a drink or lunch around Christmas'. Then there are cards, wrapping, postage stamps.

Coolgran65 Fri 10-Nov-17 20:01:27

We have 4 offspring, their wives, 6 dgc. That's 14 at about £50 each, = £700
Plus 4 of the dgc all have birthdays within a couple of weeks of Christmas, another 4 x £50 = £200
Plus 3 siblings, plus 4 friends, plus 4 other friends' children = about £200
That us up to £1050. That's just off the top of my head, there's probably a couple I've missed.
Then the Christmas meal, extras.

I do try to buy as I see through the year and today pulled out my 'box' from below the bed to see what I had. e.g. a winter coat from M & S for 1 yr old which was reduced from £40 to £3.99. A p-leather silver biker's jacket for 10 year old dgd from TK Maxx reduced to £16.

The dgc used to get about £100 gift but as they became more, now 6, I've tried to cut down nearer £50.

Gift to each other.
I have tried to suggest to dh about a family adult Secret Santa but he continues to want to do 'proper gifts'.
I think he's not wanting to look cheap !!

Maggiemaybe Fri 10-Nov-17 20:05:00

Oh dear, I've never worked out how much all the food and booze costs. Perhaps I need a new tab on my spreadsheet, or perhaps I'd feel better not knowing.

I've just wrapped up a little gift to post to my niece in Canada. The main criteria was that it was very light, but I must say I'm quite pleased to have managed to get together a little package of coloured nail buffers, pretty floral nail files and a couple of L'Oreal nail varnishes for £4. Bargain! I just hope they don't have Poundland in Canada.

Willow500 Fri 10-Nov-17 21:18:16

I daren't add it up but this year we've also paid for my son and family to come over from NZ so it's a lot.