Christmas spendings?
 

Christmas is nearly upon us...again!!!
what I want to know is how much should ya spend on each child for xmas??:confused:
and do you believe in quantity or quality??

I believe in quality, than quantity:p

Re: Christmas spendings?
 

I would say that it has to be up to the individual involved. It's dependant on a persons finances and how many children are involved. I dont think that the amount spent is directly relative to how happy or otherwise Christmas will be for child or relative.
At least It shouldn't be.

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i usually spend about £200 on Reece, although this year he hasnt a clue what he wants, ive got him a few bits, already spent £50 on him but it looks like the other £150 i'll be giving him in money

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mine differs every year, i have 3 kids to buy for, usually its between £150-200 each child, i usually go for 1 main present each and thats usually the most expensive, i try to find the bargains like 3 for 2 or spend £100 get a free £10 voucher, every little helps,

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Mine changes every year.

i usually get them a main pressie each, then make up on the little things they have asked for.

Bloody expensive do!!

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i wish i got everything i asked for as a child lfor xmas ol

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I didn't have Christmas as a child so I tend to spoil my son to make up for it. I suppose it depends on your circumstances and point of view as to how much you spend, I know some people who only buy 1 present for their children, some on principle and some because of financial restrictions.

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ive no kids this year but next year i want to spend around 70 pound ish on her

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Really think far to much empahsis is put on how much is spent on pressies these days. Peer pressure has a lot to answer for with kids who haven't got all the latest gear becoming a target for bullying. I am just grateful that my kids have grown up and I don't have that problem to contend with. My daughter does try to spend the same amount on each of her three, they get far to much as do most kids these days IMO.

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It never occurred to me to spend a fixed amount on presents for my children or my grandchildren. When my children were young they got a couple of presents each from me and their dad and others from grandparents, aunts and uncles etc. The presents from us might be fairly expensive or relatively cheap, depending on what they had shown an interest in. We never felt we had to make up to a certain amount with other things, though we always spent a similar amount on all of them, and they were always happy with what they got.

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I suppose the easy answer to the question is you should spend what you can afford to, but I know a lot of people don't.

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I guess we spend/spent around 100 quid per child. Cindy usually keeps some of the expenses a bit secretive from me so it could be more. They both get quite a bit from the Grandparents (that's Cindy's parents). My parents think that $20 each is a big splurge!

We really try to emphasize various fun traditions rather then lots of "stuff" being the focal point. We play alot of board games, watch family movies, the lady's prepare the foodstuffs and the guys gather wood or go off exploring. It's neat that the simple things can bring alot of peace and serenity. Much more than getting it from a box. (IMO)

Brian

Re: Christmas spendings?
 

I dont think there is any need to spend hundreds in kids, my son is 2 and he got about 10 presents already for xmas, thats not including the clothing i got him, altogether i have spend about £50 , and he has loads, at that age they only interested on wrapping paper, still i will never spend a fortune on a kid, i never had much as a kid and i was happy so im sure they can be happy as well.

Re: Christmas spendings?
 

well said, think about what u can afford , thats without using the credit card, think about the stress u going to have when u have to repay everthing, thank god i hate credit cardshttp://www.accringtonweb.com/forum/i...ons/icon10.gif

Re: Christmas spendings?
 

Ive not got children,but for them who has it must be hard for you at xmass.

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Re: Christmas spendings?
 

agree with west ender, it never occured to me "how much" to spend on each child, peer pressure has much to answer for.to me its too easy to get in debt these days due to it. get what you can afford, without the debt, plenty of love n happyness n any child will have a great xmas.

Re: Christmas spendings?
 

The best gift you can give a child is your time....

Re: Christmas spendings?
 

the thing is you can spend £100 on just 5 toys so when im spending £150/200 on each child and you think thats too much!! well its not when it only buys you a a main present and a few smaller presents, my kids dont have a huge pile of toys the money doesnt actually go that far

Re: Christmas spendings?
 

My daughter is spending £150 each on her three which is a lot in my eyes. They also get loads of stuff off extended family, all in all I think kids today get far to much. It is time we got back to good old traditional values IMO.

Re: Christmas spendings?
 

Too many people think they must spend serious money on children at Christmas or they will appear mean and unloving. Too many children, and their parents, feel they have to keep up with the Joneses with the latest "must have" items. What's good about a parent spending a small fortune, only to spend the rest of the following year worrying about paying off the credit card bill? It's not what Christmas, really, should be about.

Re: Christmas spendings?
 

children are told that if they are good santa will fetch them what they want... this means that parents will over spend to make sure their children are not disapointed... i save all year and buy presents in the new year and summer sales to make sure my lad gets everything he asks for... sometimes if i get something he doesnt know he wants yet.. i mention it a few times, it usually ends up on the list...

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My granddaughter wants a wii and she's going to get one - with her birthday and Christmas money in the new year. She's asked relations for money and vouchers, in lieu of presents, and saved her birthday money from October (she was 8) so she can buy one. No particular reward for being good, she's expected to be good no matter what, and she's never disappointed because she doesn't expect to get everything she'd like.

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Think it has gone to far in the direction of kids getting everything they want. They should be able to behave all the time otherwise you would spend all year buying treats as bribes.

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Too true, Bernadette. The only "bribe" I ever used with my kids was the threat, if there was an incidence of bad behaviour near Christmas, that they would get absolutely nothing if it happened again. :D

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That was the way I was thinking rather than you can have everything you want if you are good, You will lose a present if you are bad.

Re: Christmas spendings?
 

I suppose you and I would be accused of being "negative" by today's forward thinkers. You haven't to punish bad behaviour, you have to use "positive reinforcement". I accept it works quite well when training dogs but kids just won't perform well for a biscuit. :D

Re: Christmas spendings?
 

positive reinforcment means rewarding the child with a treat,or a smile and attention when they are good and ignoring the bad behaviour.. this works very well with attention seeking behaviour...

Re: Christmas spendings?
 

A biscuit they want a computer game if they are good these days:p

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Thats my eldest on permanent ignore then, at that 'orrible age where the completely deaf ears kick in & they know it all more than u stage, that absolutely drains the patience of a saint - even threats of having nowt [& its not empty threats either]:mad::mad:

Someone just wants to be on santa's naughty list of having nowt:rolleyes:

Re: Christmas spendings?
 

been shopping the other day and i havent a clue what to get them....its mostly last years stuff!!

AAARRRGGGGHHHHH!!!

oh well, no matter what i get it will probably be played with for a bit and shoved in the cuboard in the new year, with the rest of the stuff!!
maybe i,ll wrap some old xmas toys and see if they notice....lol;)

Re: Christmas spendings?
 

Go on let us know if they notice:D

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LOL...they will probably chuck em at me!!...LOL

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Brian , Do you live in a little house on the prairie ? , enough with the Laura Ingalls :D :D

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Beam me up Scotty.:rofl38:

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:pEven better Jack. For Thanksgiving (with my coonskin hat on me head truly) today it's more of the same. However, unlike in past years, it's 11 a.m. and my 18 year old daughter and 15 year old son are merely lounging watching the Thanksgiving Day parades.

Also, Joshua has informed all of us that he won't be dressing the part this year. That means I get to keep my moccassins and deerskin pants in the closet. That'll make the boys against girls football (American) game easier.

(Oh now this is just !GREAT! Now the kids are fighting about playing croquet instead of football!!!!) What is that boy thinking . . . Croquet on Thanksgiving . . . must be the French Canadian in him!:p

Finally, we actually do live pretty far out in the country with no other houses in site!:p:D

Dag, was that the Thread wander of the year or what? Sorry Mates and thanks for bearing with me!

Brian "John Smith Sir Walter Raleigh Winthrop . . . ."

Now Cashy, from you I would have expected more support! :>)

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Lancyorkyankee.... please will you adopt me as well???

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Dream on Brian.:p

actually was refering to the "crap" here,rather than ridiculing yours.;)

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Anybody started wrapping yet? I went shopping this afternoon and now I'm in the middle of wrapping!!

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Can't really avoid it here as we have all the grandchildrens stuff and you know how they like to try and find stuff. If its wrapped they won't be able to peep. (hopefully)

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Wrapped all my pressies and wrote out family cards. Just got to put up the tree now. but i'll hang fire for a couple of more weeks. lol

Re: Christmas spendings?
 

That is what I call organised:)

Re: Christmas spendings?
 

I'm the world's worst gift buyer .... the harder I try, the worse I get. So instead of waiting to see the politely veiled disappointment on the faces of the few I buy for, I give money. Cut out the middle man and get right to brute force of cash.

Happy Thanksgiving, Brian.

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Why do I always buy things that are awkward to wrap? Bought some really cute cuddly toys and they were a nightmare to wrap!!

Re: Christmas spendings?
 

You'll find it easier if you are sober:D

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I have given up trying to wrap awkward shaped presents. No matter how hard I try I always end up with something that looks like either the Post Ofice wouldn't handle it in case it exploded or a 2 year old made it at playgroup, held together with half a mile of sellotape. I only wrap square items in paper now, anything else goes in those rather nice gift bags which come in all sizes. I staple the top of the bag so the recipient can't see inside until they open it, stick a few curly ribbons on it ... et voila! Perfect. :D

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I'm going to have to start buying my christmas pressies.

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i might make the effort in a couple of weeks time,:p then again,probably 3 weeks.:rolleyes:

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Excuse me I was sober!!!!:p They were really awkward to wraP:)

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ive not even finished buying yet, never mind bloody wrapping!!!

come to think of it, i havent even bought some wrapping paper :eek:
looks like ill be busy tomorrow!!!