spend on your kids at Christmas?

I realize that it is kind of a personal question.   Sorry.   I just always get down because I feel like all of my kids' friends get more than they do.  I have great kids though...  they never complain.  

As they get older, the things they want are so expensive.  I just hate that they only get a few things.  I know that that is not what Christmas is about but I can't help feeling like I'm not doing enough.

PF wishes!

Jeannie

We spend what we can. Not much this year. My wife and I are making presents by hand.
"We'll have to make presents this year". "So Christmas will be like Christmas used to be". It is not what you give, it's that you give what you have. If I can squeeze this lump of coal it will become a diamond. ;)
all the best and a merry X-mas.
the bb

Amount per child varies each year with the available funds budgeted. I use performance awards from my employer for Christmas gifts,so the year end balance is the budgeted amount

I know that's not much help.....but for this year it's 300.00 per.

B

Brew and I were just talking about this.  Used to be you could spend $100 and have a HUGE pile of goodies under the tree for the kids.

Now $100 won't even get you an ipod . . . .

Mine is 17 this year so he wants money and musical supply giftcards.  Gonna look mighty lean under that tree this year!

Never really went overboard, and never "bought into " all of the commercialism..................and depending on the year.
I also feel that throughout the year I give them both things, so it's really okay if we just spend the time together and not concentrate on the material things. And we have each other.
This year is a tough one,, and have not decided if I will buy them anything.  My son is buying the tree, and we will just be thankful that we are here to enjoy the season.
We will have a houseful for Christmas Day, I will prepare homemade appetizers, a lovely meal, etc. OH!! & thanks to Dennis I found out what a Cupcake Tree is and am busy looking for an awesome idea for one of the desserts!
Whatever you decide, Jeannie, will be a great decision. Believe me, your kids are better off getting less than their friends.  They will appreciate things more.
debs

When I was a younger man with five younger children in the house, there was no budget. I don’t mean we didn’t spend any money, I mean there was no budget. Christmas debts were sometimes paid after the excitement and half the stuff was forgotten. Sheer embarrassment of my stupidity keeps me from admitting how many thousands of dollars were squandered. Santa was good in those years.

Reality set in along with the Orthodontist and Dermatologist bills as the older one’s got there. Santa was re-born as Ben Stein.

To this day as adults, all five Daughters are quick to thank us for teaching them the value of money when they see their peers whining about some superficial “thing” that they can’t have. I truly believe that spending less was better for them - and they agree!

Marc

Nothing like previous years Jeannie !

The adults have all agreed we can only give "recycled" presents this year i.e. secondhand or unwanted gifts. Have found some gems of things for people in our charity shops and on Ebay for pennies!

Oddly, my son's Santa letter had a much smaller list on it than previous years which is really unexpected as he is 9 and usually always wants something expensive.

Luckily the credit crunch here has caused huge discounts online so have managed to get the Wii games he wanted quite cheaply by shopping around online generally and on Ebay where prices have really plummeted. Some presents are secondhand.

His "Santa" presents and Christmas stocking presents are just fun stuff which costs a few £'s (he is still convinced or pretends to be convinced Santa exists- I think perhaps he is just being "cute" because he knows it means 2 sets of presents)

I would guess the total of all of it for a 9 year old has been about £45 (about $60 I think?) which sounds a lot but is much less than any other year.

Luckily I only have one kid!


Bless him, he has made all his presents this year, and lovely they are too. Wooden bird feeders and Christmas tree decorations made from pine cones for everyone whether they like it or not!

Wendy


P.S. Just a thought but if money is really tight- presents mean nothing really and are soon forgotten or discarded. How about an I.O.U for a day out when Mummy does no chores or work, and your kids get to choose what they do with Mummy (within reason) OR a day when they get to BE Mummy and call the shots (a bit dangerous that one!)

The MOST precious thing we give our kids is our time and attention so I bet they would love a Mummy IOU.

This year is definately tighter!  We usually don't go by dollar amounts in our household, but rather number of gifts per child.  This year they got the same number, but less than years past.  Plus, Santa is only getting them 1 gift each and filling thier stockings with less expensive goodies.

Also, hubby and I arn't buying a thing for each other this Christmas, and our nieces and nephews, along with our children, exchanged names.  Another change, is we got our Godchildren (3 of them) 1 gift apiece instead of 3.

I am proud to say that everything we bought for everyone cost $550.  That is down from about $1500 for Christmas gifts!

My girls are 24 and 22 now. A month or so ago I was trying to explain how broke we were when they were growing up. They didn't believe me. They never really took note of all the crap we didn't buy them. You do the best you can and you love them. It all works out! ;)

Joe

I usually spend about $100 for my daughter but she is my only one.  ;) This year she has decided that EVERYTHING she wants is electronic. (she is 5) She informed me that she wants a cell phone, nintendo ds, ipod etc. and is convinced that because it is on her list she with out a doubt is going to get it.

Umm she is not, I repeat not getting a cell phone!!! ;D and I downgraded her other gifts from a nintendo DS to a Leapster2 and the ipod is an mp3 player at 1/3 the cost. So still getting similar items but cost this year will be more. I miss the years of being able to go and buy a 10.00 baby!!!!

This year will be at least 150.00-200.00 total for her.

Gina

I only have the two cats and Rasco... so I'd guess I can do the whole celebration of Christ's birth for under 20$.

They will undoubtedly pout and compare their gifts with the neighborhood pets gifts but I will sit them down and explain that it is the birthday of baby Jesus. Not a celebration of consumerism. ;)

Each year starting in october I have a niece in-law who begins her very aggressive lobbying efforts for her 3 children. She actually has the balls to call me and ask what on the list I will get them.  :o

She is working full time makes a great salary and her husband works no less than 50 hours a week. Together they bring home around 140k a year. :-?

I make somewhere around 7k a year.... I tell her that I will buy them each a box of frozen fruit popcycles... when they're done with the healthy treat... they can use the sticks to build things. :-X

... I'm not a scrooge... nor am I cheap... I just hate this blatant commercialism and all of the emotional damage it encourages.  :-*


with warm regards,
Tony

This year we definitely spent less.  We used to get them one big shared present and then a bunch of other things seperately.  This year they each wanted bigger electronic things ( ipod nano for daughter) and nintendo ds for son.   This year though the other things I bought them were things I knew they needed in addition to the santa list.  We'll probably have spent about $300 per kid

For example, my 7 year plays on a travelling soccer team.  She plays year round and has practices and tournaments throughout the winter months.  Her soccer club has a warm up suit that can be purchased for discounted club rates.   While she wants it , it wasn't on her santa list.  But she does need it- so she's getting that.  



My kids still get less than their friends do and they are getting used to it.  I send my kids to a private school where most of the families are much much wealthier than we are.  They have gotten pretty accustomed to going to friends houses and seeing what they have compared to us.   It sometimes makes me feel bad, but we give them what we can and we think thats enough.  Also,  every single one of their friends would rather spend the night over here because our house is more fun than theirs.   ;)  

Kelly

 

Thanks guys!   I really do know that Christmas is not about what I give my kids.  I really don't mean to sound so shallow.     I'm guessing that we'll spend about $150 to $200 per child.  My 10 y/o wants a North Face and a bike and some Knock off Ugg boots.  That will be about all she gets.  She says that she'll be happy.  My son, almost 16, wants money and maybe some basketball pants.  As Pat said, it will look pretty bare under the tree!  

I have to say that I am very grateful that my kids don't seem too upset about not getting EVERYTHING.  I guess I should learn from them!

Jeannie

OK for those of you worrying about a bare Christmas tree get creative! I have a 23 and 25 year old and have many CHristmas's when they may have got one present but who says it has to be wrapped up in one box?? Ryan asked for money for a ski trip one year. I think i must have got 20 various packages and wrapped up different denomonations of bills. It was fun watching him unwrap and count. If it's electric, split up the batteries, and the cords, ect. It made the tree look pretty with all the different boxes. Add some little ones with candy like a Reeses peanut butter tree, a $5 McDonald's or Subway coupon, ect.  I even was given a box of dog biscuits one year. My final present was a really nice piece of jewelry nestled in the tree. This approach adds a different approach to just opening gifts.

Charlotte

When our drought was at its worst, people were allowed only four minutes in the shower and that was that.  

There's three kids I know who for almost a month secretly cut their shower-time down to three minutes so that, come Mother's Day, they'd built up enough "water-credits" that their mum could treat herself to a real bath.

There's giving and there's giving.

While putting out my Christmas decorations, I got to remembering where some of them came from -- the wooden carrolers, Bev (my best friend) MADE for me when she was into her "wood" stage - about 20 years ago - they're still beautiful and to me "priceless".  The ornaments on the tree - some Caleb and I made years ago - one he painted with fingernail polish - priceless (and ugly, but we love it), one Buddy made in grade school - really priceless (and unreal that I've saved it all these years). The bells made out of small flower pots - gifts from long ago and still priceless today - they were MADE with LOVE.

The store-bought things I've received over the years - I don't remember. I'm sure they cost a lot and were nice, but they've come and gone, but the things that were MADE with LOVE, I've KEPT and use, put out for others to enjoy and appreciate each year. To me that's the JOY of Christmas. The memories and the LOVE.

This year I'm making my presents and not spending a lot of money. I've put time and thought into them and while they're not store-bought and maybe not exactly perfectly made - they're made with love and my time.

To me, this season is not about who gets the biggest gift - it's about enjoying your family and friends and loving each other.

Hugs BD

I usually decide on a budget, but I've already forewarned my daughter that there is a necessity to be extra careful with money this year, of which she's well aware.  She also goes to a private school where most kids already have anything she wants, so it's hard for her not to want the same.  But she's got a good head on her shoulders and has worked had this year to get where she is, so I saved up ahead of time and got her ONE gift that I would never otherwise have purchased.  Anything else is gravy.

We adults had agreed not to get eachother anything for Christmas, just the children.  Things are tight all around but to me, I'd like to give something.  

Reading your comments..You all just gave me a wonderful idea.
Things I will give:  a full Saturday of housecleaning and re-arranging furniture, as preferred...two weekends of Saturday night baby-sitting... a full dinner, start to finish, on any designated evening of a weekend....a daytime or evening playdate, on any Friday, Sat. or Sunday (day).  

These are all things that I just know the grown-ups want or actually need and its definitely different.  

Thanks for the inspiration!!

Pepp  [smiley=bath.gif]

MY kids.........well, one is in a position where she can afford more than we can, the other can't afford to breathe, so we decided to forego the 'luxuries' and do for the one who has needs. Christmas will be mostly for my grandson-and I'm really not certain how much we've spent on him. The down n out adult child will get a pre-loaded Visa, and some admonishment that it be used for necessities, like clothing....a gas card...and some fast-food cards.
For our friends, getting together for a fondue dinner has become tradition. That is our gift to them. My clients get a fast visit from me on Christmas Eve, as I drop off sweet rolls, ready to finish baking for a special Christmas morning treat .
Gil and I are getting a new house....what more could we ask?
The tree looks sparse, so, in the past, we have put a Christmas train around the base..........this year, it'll just have to be sparse....coz the cats like to sleep on the train........
My favorite gift ever was a nativity my daughter created from Fimo clay. Very simple figures of Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus.
I love the Holidays, go waaay overboard decorating, but the gifts just don't mean much...it's the love........

Wishing you all the spirit and the joy of Christmas.

Cathi :-*