I can’t believe this hasn’t been discussed before, but I couldn’t find the topic, so here goes. I wonder how much other people spend on their grandchildren for birthday and Xmas presents and how they decide.
I worked abroad for years, and earned enough to agree to most requests. The request to finance a school ski trip to the tune of £2000 stopped me dead in my tracks though!
Now that I am back in Europe, earning a nice low European wage, approaching retirement, and my uk granddaughters are teenagers the gap between their requests and my budget seems to be increasing somewhat.
The most recent request I sent for an early Xmas present present of a new school bag, Swedish brand, which retails at £75/90. This seems a lot for a school bag although I appreciate that a good one may be justified as she now has to bump a school laptop around with her.
I am going round and round in my mind about her perceived need for ‘street cred’, my desire to economise generally over the next couple of years before I retire (god help them then!), my son telling me that their mum (his ex) spends all her money on the horses and thus they don’t have any extras/luxuries unless he or I provide them and the knowledge that I have trained them from birth to expect me to buy them things. (Rod for my own back as they say!)
I can, in fact afford the bag, but am wondering whether this is the right way to proceed.
How do others deal with this?
To obliterate your address on packaging
Tales about "stingy" guests and hosts.
sticky labels on apples - remove before washing!