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Only Grandson

(59 Posts)
Mel1967 Sun 07-Jan-24 14:32:46

Just wondering, those of you that have grandchildren do you regularly treat them with gifts, money etc or just wait until Birthdays or Christmas ?
And if you only had one grandchild would it make any difference as to how you treated them?

Chardy Tue 16-Jan-24 16:01:06

DGD gets a crazy number of presents Christmas and birthday, so I tend to buy things for her as and when through the year. I do get her a 'little' present Christmas and birthday.

Nannashirlz Tue 16-Jan-24 13:58:39

I’ve 4 grandkids ages from 3-12 live in down south in two different places and 2 near by. One is step grandson he gets presents for birthday and Christmas doesn’t visit me he used to before his dad was back in his life. The youngest comes for tea sleepover and gets treats out etc and but he’s my son’s and 2 granddaughters I treat them when I go visit and send oldest money she is 12 the youngest is only 3yr she quite happy with a video chat at min but she gets treats when I’m with her like her sister. I also have a savings account for when they are older which they don’t know about parents do

luluaugust Mon 15-Jan-24 09:41:56

I have seven GC. Three are now over 21 and the others young adults. We give presents at birthdays and Christmas mostly cash now and help with cash as they go through University. We try to keep things as even handed as we can.

Justwidowed Mon 15-Jan-24 09:40:42

I have 12 grandchildren and greatgrandchildren under18.They all get £25 every Christmas and Birthday supposed to go into Premium Bonds, some
does and some doesn't ! It's a big chunk of money especially at Christmas but luckily my four weekly RP occurs twice in November !!

25Avalon Mon 15-Jan-24 09:10:53

I have a young gs and gd. I give mummy £10 for each of them to spend when they are on holiday. I always ask what to get for birthdays and Christmas and always ask if they can have sweets and chocolate - I always keep some in. I don’t want to be like my mil who always did things without asking and was ott with most things.

HowVeryDareYou2 Mon 15-Jan-24 08:58:53

My 3 GDs are 12, 9 and a baby of 6 months. I treat them quite a lot - hair and toiletries for the eldest, clothes for the 9 year old, and clothes/toys for the baby. Just yesterday, I bought the baby a sleeping bag and babygrow, and a few bits and pieces for the other 2.

Latootle Sun 14-Jan-24 17:41:45

I treat mine when I feel like it. And not with expensive things. Isnt that what g'ms are for ? Sometimes a bag of sweets they like (the 20 yr old likes malteasers) and soetimes a fun tee from Primark. For their birthdays I do push the boat out further !

Saggi Tue 09-Jan-24 19:10:28

I have two grandkids…boy 16 and a girl of 12 .For passed three years I’ve put £20 each month into their Go Henry accounts….thats now stopped for 16 year old as he’s closed the account …for a adult account ….and has failed to supply details to me ….the 12 year old still receives her ‘pocket money’ which she saves diligently!
Feel I can afford that did just 2 kids ….10 of them and it would be just Xmas and birthdays!

kircubbin2000 Tue 09-Jan-24 14:54:18

I have a standing order giving them all a small amount to a savings account. Their parents still expect a birthday gift too.

jocork Tue 09-Jan-24 11:24:35

Mostly birthday and Christmas, plus small treats if I'm visiting such as an ice cream on a day out or a magazine in the supermarket. I also save money for them in a kids regular saver account which will give them a significant amount when they are a bit older. I live 200 miles away so don't see them as often as I'd like but try not to always arrive with gifts as my in-laws did that and my DS came to expect it. He got so excited about their visits we had to stop telling him in advance, and when they arrives he rushed to the door and asked where his present was! I was embarrassed but in a way I thought they brought it on themselves. In the end I asked them not to bring so many gifts.
My MiL lives even further away from her GC and GGC so rarely sees them. I heard recently that she has set up an investment account for each GGC which will be so much more valuable for them in future. My GC have so many things already they really don't need extra gifts.

Hellis Tue 09-Jan-24 10:09:18

I have 7 grandchildren ranging from 11 years old down to 8 weeks and have the eldest 3 most weekends and some of the school holidays. I don't give them regular pocket money but they do like to earn a pound or two for little age appropriate jobs around the house. Apart from Christmas and Birthdays, I only buy art and craft supplies to keep them busy when they are here

Gwenisgreat Mon 08-Jan-24 22:59:59

I have only two GC I do give them for Xmas and b/days but if I spot something at a good price I will get in when I see it, and give it to them. It's usually clothing or books.

Witzend Mon 08-Jan-24 17:35:03

We have 3, from 4 to 8, and will buy them treats when on days out. These will occasionally be fairly expensive - Gds fell in love with a cuddly toy gorilla in the London Zoo gift shop and there was once a plastic battleaxe in the Tower of London gift shop, but that was relatively cheap at a fiver.
Presents are largely just for birthdays and Christmas, though.

We haven’t yet given them any cash on a casual basis but for some time have been putting money into junior S&S ISAs for them, to be accessed only at 18. By which time we will pray that they’ll have the sense to save most of it.,

harrigran Mon 08-Jan-24 17:25:47

I have two GC. Paid the school fees and give them a large sum of money for their birthdays and at Christmas. They get a monthly allowance as pocket money and a little extra at holiday time to spend on themselves. The money is in addition to gifts.
As my grandmother used to say " there are no pockets in shrouds ".

Mouse Mon 08-Jan-24 17:24:48

I have four grandchildren aged 3, 9 and 13. They get a decent present (or money for the older two) at Christmas and for birthdays. I take sweets or chocolate with me every week when I go to see them. I’m on a very limited income so can’t afford to go over the top even if I wanted to. I do buy the odd book or dinosaur on random occasions.

Tilly8 Mon 08-Jan-24 17:19:03

I have two grandsons - one from son and daughter in law and one from daughter and son in law. Both families are financially comfortable so I decided to support two little boys through Action Aid as a thank you for the blessing of grandchildren. I buy for Christmas, birthdays and occasionally on days out as I see them regularly so buying something every time we went out would become expensive. I’ve not opened savings accounts for them.

Oopsadaisy1 Mon 08-Jan-24 15:42:37

We certainly couldn’t afford to fund the University living expenses if we had had 8 Grandchildren.
We also paid for trips abroad for them, half of their education fees, something else we couldn’t have done for 8 GCs.

Norah Mon 08-Jan-24 15:34:55

Mel1967

Just wondering, those of you that have grandchildren do you regularly treat them with gifts, money etc or just wait until Birthdays or Christmas ?
And if you only had one grandchild would it make any difference as to how you treated them?

Regular treats, not just birthdays and Christmas.

No difference in what we'd give if there was one GC instead of 8 (plus GGC and GGGC).

Harris27 Mon 08-Jan-24 15:26:36

Birthdays and Christmas and the odd tenner when I visit which isn’t very often. Love the four of them hope they know it.

DeeJaysMum Mon 08-Jan-24 14:57:30

My mother has 5 grandsons (now all grown adults), but there was a 7 year gap between the first 2 (both mine) and obviously, as the first was initially the only one for many years, he was totally spoilt. But then along came the second and she 'acknowledged' his existence, but never really wanted a lot to do with him.
Another few years passed and along came GS no 3, followed another few years later by twins (all from my sibling) whom she was more involved with, but definitely not to the extent she was with the first GS.
She's been known to only tell people about her 4 GSs (not the 2nd, which came back to bite her when he did some work experience at her place of work because she never said a word about him), but the 1st always has been, and still is (now mid 30s), her admitted favourite.
Thankfully, my second son now doesn't care that she's not interested in him, but he was very upset about it when he was younger.

Sennelier1 Mon 08-Jan-24 13:24:28

I have 3 grandchildren, one nearby and two abroad. The GC nearby is often with us, I regularly pick him up from school, take him to sports and playdates etc. And yes when I see something nice while shopping I do just that, buy it and give it to him. But I do the same for my grandchildren abroad! Of course we don't see as often (we travel evey few months) but I buy them small gifts, things I know they like, and every few weeks I mail them a big box. They love to open a giftbox from grandma!

Bluedaisy Mon 08-Jan-24 13:07:14

I have 1 DGS aged 14. We give him birthday and Christmas presents, usually money now he’s older and since he was 9 years old we’ve given him pocket money each week into his go Henry account as his other grandparents are not in his life and his parents give him money just if he needs it. We up his pocket money by £1 a week each year. He’s very good at saving up if he wants to buy something or if it’s a big thing he saves half and his parents pay half. If he goes on holiday I’ll always add extra into his account so he’s got some spending money.

Beautyandthebeast Mon 08-Jan-24 12:53:54

I treat my grand children often to meals out toys clothes etc not just birthday and Christmas xx

123kitty Mon 08-Jan-24 12:31:58

My three grandchildren receive presents for Christmas and birthdays. Plus £20 spending money for their holidays (and boy do they have lots of those each year)! 🤣

cc Mon 08-Jan-24 11:52:21

We've cut down quite a lot on Christmas presents now as one set of GC are older and prefer cash. My daughter always suggests that we we give the other two a small token present and give her some money to buy them something if they see something they like.