How much do you spend on Christmas presents?

Thanks Maggie maybe. We do have a little ritual here of ' 'doing banks' when I visit. Neither of them have a clue as to value of money but the onus is on the older one to remind me and the younger one is now catching up on the game and joins in. I don't often forget but it has been known.....

I feel rather ashamed to admit how little I spend, especially after reading this thread. I totted up that I buy 13 presents in all, 5 ladies, 5 men, 1 teenage boy, 1 girl and one secret Santa which must not exceed £4.
I'm a bit strapped for cash so I try to limit myself to £5 for each present so they only really amount to stocking fillers BUT I remind myself that the two youngest get absolutely loads of stuff and those of us of a certain age already have most of the things we need. I chose each gift with care and to absolve myself of any guilt this year I've made little patchwork coasters with their initials on which I hope they'll like. A few of the 'giftees' I only meet once a year so it seems silly to spend oodles on them as I'm unfamiliar with their tastes. So a happy Christmas to you all.

Maggie Maybe - I like the idea of 20p for money boxes (for the tinies.) Might try that in future.

I mentioned this thread to my H and he was appalled at how much I spend. He's really no idea! But when I broke it down for him he agreed that it does cost that much. He said -' What about my present?" I didn't count that!!! I think I shall reduce the amount I spend on close family, though it seems a bit mean.

Blimey, never added up before, but it comes to about £400 thats 4 teenage Grandchildren, my Son and Daughter, their partners and one partners Son, then DH, then 2 dogs, on top of that is the food, not a lot of booze, it looks mean when I compare to others, it will end up more than £500 I think,

Years ago we cut out all the adult siblings and friends and just gave to their kids. Now lots of the kids are off the list as they are grown up. Some friends wanted to start again giving to us but we said no as we were all giving each other stuff like prosecco & chocolates. We come from a huge family, so I save up goodies all year round eg smellies, candles, books for the kids etc. Our 2 sons still live at home and probably get about £100 each spent on them. Hubby and I usually swap small gifts eg he gets whisky & Jelly Babies then we go away for a wee treat on the New Year. I never add up how much I spend but everyone knows I like a good bargain! It's important to have fun without ending up skint!

Kim19, your post struck a chord with me. We’ve set a monetary limit for the four DGS (the same for each) for birthdays and Christmas, and ask their parents what they would like. Sometimes it’s been a particular toy or toys, sometimes they’ve bought premium bonds or a day out or a treat later in the year. This saves them from getting swamped with more “stuff” and is particularly good for DGS1, who has a Christmas birthday. And like you, after 4 years I’ve learnt not to turn up with a treat in my pocket. It might have been just a few candy sticks or a Freddo, but sometimes it just wasn’t the right time for it, and of course they never wanted to put it away for later. To soften the blow, I now just give them a 20p coin for their money boxes.

We have 4 adult children. 2 who live local and 2 abroad. We have 2 grandsons and 1 son with a wife to consider. I also have 2 brothers and 2 SiL we also have my hubby mom and 3 young nieces to buy for.

I have cut down in the past few years what I spend on the youngsters. They get around £100 each all together. We spend around £1000 including Christmas extras including food, family meet ups etc.

It used to be more than that when the children were young

£50 each for my 3 children . £30 for 2 mums and 2 siblings. £25 each for 3 children on law. £25 each for 7 grandchildren. About £75 for the much beloved. Food drinks tree wrappings cards etc , around £300 I expect. Daren't add it all up.

I am an expert in shopping in the sales all year round, so when Xmas arrives ( or birthdays ) I have a big box full of lovely bits at half the cost. I have loads to buy for and hate shopping crowds, so this is perfect for me, stress free and very cost effective !

I spend about £100 on DGSs, DGS1 has new football kit (£60) plus stocking fillers & books, DGS2 will only be 7 months at Christmas so it's new clothes, books & toys, most of this will go in his stocking. DD & her OH I treat them to their favourite chocolates & money (£30). DM is most difficult at almost 89, this year I have bought a magnifying glass which she chose herself & a card with £10 in it for Christmas Day (she lives 300 miles from us so no visit). I buy for 2 friends/neighbours about £10 each. My DD does Christmas Dinner, I provide "posh" crackers.

I treat myself to food I like for when I'm at home on my own.

My present from DD this year will be a toaster at my request.

When DH was alive we often bought "for the house"

Lucky legs, I'm with you in that overindulgence is the name of my game. However the revolution is about to take place and all because of a young lady I saw on TV recently. The topic was about children having too much stuff. She said her place was always a clutter with limited storage space and half of the toys were never touched. Her next part was heartfelt, sincere and grateful when she said 'My Mum only ever gives them one gift each, Bless her. THANK YOU Mum'. That hit the spot for me and I'm going to discuss it with my family when we meet next week. I want my grandchildren to have the moon and I now realise that's selfish and wrong. I get such pleasure buying even the simplest of things for them. I purposely do not take a treat on our regular meetings in case they do a 'have you anything for me?' or a search for sweets in my handbag. It has taken me a whole five years to reach this decision. How sad is that?! I have been troubled by their amount of 'stuff' but I kept contributing to it. Crazy! It will be very interesting to discover how my family confab goes. I feel resolute and that much painful self control will have to be exercised but I genuinely believe it's the correct way to go. Here's hoping.........

I am nearer to Cornergran than anyone else's estimate. I add hand-made items made throughout the year (or in December but I like to think I am on top of things). This is mainly from my 'stash' which will otherwise outlive me so I don't count it as a cost.

We even share the cost of Christmas dinner. He/she who is in funds that year will contribute appropriately as will those who are not. As I am probably the poorest bar those who are students I do crackers - and I am making those with little personally selected presents this year. One year I made Santa hats for the backs of the chairs which are produced each year.

The young people do the washing-up etc. One year, when my son was still at University he cooked lunch as his contribution and it was wonderful. He is 40+ now and well able to pay for their Christmas Day but when they come back from the beach he is the one who butterflies the leg of lamb and cooks it on the barbeque.

I love the everyone mucking in bit of it and it is good for the children growing up realising everyone has something they can contribute but that's just how we do it and everyone is different.

£50 each on DD. £25 on there partners. £30 each on GC.£10 on close friends. £5 on the dog.Mmmmm and buying myself a Chrissy prezzie.

After much browsing sales, I've done grandchildren for under £30 each- granddaughter gorgeous (1/2 price!) MS coat, cardi & Boots dress-with-tights. Plus I've knitted her a set of baby dolls. And some (50p each) Wilko bath bombs. Grandson's got a designer brand sweatshirt (£14 TK Max) also Minecraft book (£8 same store) & a very flashy Tesco tshirt. Result!

I tend to accumulate stuff through the year for the Gc X6,then have a last minute splurge on the 2 for1,s for the. adults approx,plus take Gc,s to pantomime etc in xmas school hols,so pricewise, about 500pounds. When I was working we had secret santa, ( work colleagues)and we all agreed to spend 10 pounds for a stocking of stuff from the pound shop,......that was brilliant,as I got things like a mug,de-icer,smellies,potato peeler,chocs,etc in mine,and was fun.

We have 6 children, all of whom have partners so we allow £50 for the kids and £20ish for the partners. We have 8 grandchildren so that's £25 a piece. I also have 5 parents, along with an aunt and uncle, a couple of good friends and the dog! I reckon that works out to about £700ish which is why Christmas makes me wince.
We used to give the kids £100 each when they were younger but can't afford to do that now they are procreating and my husband has retired.

We spend £100 each on 3 adult children plus about £35 on bits for their stockings. £50 for my only dgs, about £30 for Sil. £25 for any nieces/nephews still In education. This year dh having suit so £250. Dh stocking £50. Mil and fil £30 each plus stockings £30 each. Bil £30. I don't buy for my sisters at their request but treat them to meal out each time i go to see them 6 times each year. I send 6-10 Xmas shoebox to charity each year at about £25 each and now £5 postage. I spend far too much on choc and food.

I buy a joint gift for DCs & their partners usually something for their house so about £150 spent there.
For dgcs 7 all over 14yrs we put money in a card for them £30.00 each.
This year I can go baby GGD shopping for cute stuff again as she is 21mths at Christmas and I can really get into the special buying mode which I haven't done for a few years.
OH and I don't bother with special gifts but will treat the house to some thing nice.
I also pay for all the food at DDs and enjoy being head chef for the day when everyone drops by on their way to visit other members of their family.

I might add that I only buy for my husband, three adult children, one partner and two grandchildren, so the money goes quite a long way.

I didn't even factor in food costs. A four bird roast from the butcher sets me back around £70. I don't even want to think any further than that!

Every year I do the "penny challenge" whereby every day you save 1p more than the day before. (I don't do it daily, as I'd have mountains of pennies around the house, so I put the month's worth away in one go!)

I end up with around £650 in December, so that's my budget. If I manage to get the gifts I need for less, then it's a bonus and I spend the balance on me - win win situation!

I always used to feel I had to spend the exact same money on each of the kids, but now I just make sure they each have the same number of gifts to open. So that could include socks just to make the numbers up.

Less and less - books for family children/one present each for GC strict instructions from son/ bed linen for other son/holiday for us. Only sending cards to very elderly this year.
Total £200 max ( not counting holiday or food)
As for the cost of store adverts, it's obscene puts me off going to the big five or however many.

A few years ago when several family members were financially stuck with retirements, redundancies, and maternity leave we all agreed for a small secret Santa for the immediate adults and small gifts for all the under 18s . It's worked very well . I also buy small things for DDC to put in their little one's stockings as I remember it was a struggle to fill our DC when they were small. We stopped giving pressies to other relatives and friends long ago .We share the cost of Christmas dinner each bringing something for the meal , so it shouldn't be too much I hope . I bought my charity Christmas cards in the sale last year .Probably no more than £250 and I have a large number of Nectar and Boots points to spend! Unfortunately for my DDiL and DSiL their families still want to participate in the crazy present giving for all, so much stress and waste .

Its the same every year, I swear I'll cut back but buying throughout the year helps. I buy for Son, Dil, Daughter, 3 grandchildren, 2 close friends and 2 not so close but good friends. I would like to either stop or at least cut down on the latter but haven't got the courage to suggest it. Its difficult to work out how much it costs. I also send my charities a small amount, plus a once a year donation to Crisus and a one off gift too a big issue seller so it all adds up but how much, I've never worked out just glad I can.

I have just joined in with a similar discussion on MN. (They were more concerned about stealth/wealth boasting on bookface).
I only really concentrate on my dd and dgd. It really depends on how much money I actually have. As I'm unable to work at the moment I will not be spending a huge amount this year. But I refuse to buy tat, so what I will by will be well thought through.
We don't buy for siblings. I do get a small something for my niece and nephew and I do buy for my mum. Never anything large. It's the thought for me rather than the cost.