Holiday Shopping Budget???

[powellrj]

Our Christmases are so much different now that my kids are older. When they were younger and I was working I spent around $300 on each of them. Now that they are adults, I spend $100 on each kid plus my DDIL. I will spend around $50 for her niece and nephew. (I would spend more on them, but they combined all of their gifts so they don't know who got them what) I will got my 2 nieces something around $40 each and my parents something around $20 each. My mom has dementia and my dad loves puzzles so that is why I don't spend much on them.

We also do charity at the holidays so I need to budget around $200 for those gifts, plus I have 3 gift exchange gifts at $10 that I need to buy for.

I no longer do christmas cards so that is off the list and also the pictures I sent out with the cards.

I start buying food in the next few weeks to spread it out. The turkeys and hams will go in the freezer and the rest of the staples will go in the pantry so I will just have to buy perishables when the time comes.

 

[pryncess527]

We set aside money each month for Christmas. This year, we also set aside money in a non-gift category to cover the extra food and gas costs at Christmas. I never realized it before, but last year I learned what a huge impact holiday baking & cooking Thanksgiving dinner had on our grocery/gas budget, so this year I set aside some extra money for those types of holiday expenses. I'm excited to go into this Christmas better prepared than we ever have before!

No kids, and our gift list is pretty small overall, so food ends up being a surprising chunk of our holiday expenses.

 

[msmama]

I'd guess my son is probably in the $500 range. He's super lego kid so usually one larger lego set ($100+). Last year he got a Wii U and Disney Infinity so it was a more expensive year. I'm debating the Marvel version of Disney infinity still. I try to set a limit of 5 toys, additional 3 from Santa. Pajamas or new clothes (which I'd buy anyway, but save for opening because it's fun) don't count towards a total.

I start buying baking stuff now so it doesn't all come at Xmas. Frankly, the stores make me with all their pumpkin stuff this time of year - makes me want to bake even non pumpkin stuff!!

I do have family visit which tends to double the grocery budget as I'm cooking for twice as many people.

I'm an only child so I spend more on my parents. Pretty much get what they ask for so usually significantly more on mom than dad.

Other than that, I try to keep gifts to others between $20 & $30 and I'd say about 10 others (family, friends, friends kids, etc).

Then GC's for teachers, aides, people at school, gymnastics, etc. My son has 3 aides in his classroom this year!!

Wow, so I guess I spend a lot more than I though!!

 

[tina.tina]

$300 each for kids, plus I pick up stocking stuffers all year long
$25 each for my parents and DH's parents
$20 for my 13 year old brother
$10 each for nieces and nephews
$10 for my uncle who spends Christmas at my parents' house
$5 tacky ornament for DH's exchange at work
homemade candy for teachers, bus driver, plus DH's co-workers this year
$40 each for DH and I

Since I am not working right now, it is really fun and easy to surprise the kids and DH with different homemade treats like cookies and candy. I've also started making smaller batches for us to keep at home of whatever I take to Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners because DH likes leftovers. Several years ago, DH decided to start making a turkey the day before Thanksgiving so we would have leftover turkey!

 

[JanaDee]

Christmas spending accounts for somewhere between 1%-2% of our income.

Same for us. It includes presents, food and decorations. I don't send cards anymore.

This year, for the 2nd time, we are spending the weekend after xmas in the Dells at a resort with my family. No gifts for anyone.

 

[MomToOne]

I will spend right at $600 on DD14 this year, for under-the-tree gifts and stocking stuff. No apologies or excuses for it - it's just what I want to do But I keep a detailed spending log, so no fooling myself about it being lower than it really is.

 

[disney212]

About $500 on each kid(25 & 26), no spouses or significant others right now. On my brother, SIL, nephew, dad, work, MIL, hubby, niece and 3 kids on DH side (no gifts after high school is his family rule) a total of about $700. Food, parties, travel budgeted separately.

 

[nikkistevej]

So funny I stumbled across this thread today, just did my Christmas shopping spreadsheet(yes I know I have issues- LOL) anyway, we do:

We have an only child DD12-so honestly whenever we feel like she is done. LOL Usually $500-600ish......

Usually about $100 between DH and I

My mom $75
My sister and BIL- $40-50 each(don't exchange with DH's sisters)
DH's parents $50 each
5 nieces/nephews (between my sister and his sisters)$30-40 each
god-daughter $25
DD's BFF's (2 for $20 each)
DH's extended family does a "dirty santa"(steal the gift-game)$25 and the kids draw names $25
Usually buy $10 gifts for my 2 supervisors

Food, parties, cards, baking- seperate budget.

 

[disneychrista]

If the kids (23 & 21)are still into it we are skipping presents this year. No one knows what to buy anyone and they Both work and can buy whatever they want.

 

[ammag]

Last year I spent about $250 on my two kids, about $30 for parents, $10 for grandparents, $20 for teacher gift (class gift, we all give that amount) that's about it.

This year I only have about $300 total so cutting down once again. I miss being able to spend. Lot more money, in the past....but mostly because it makes it easier and more fun shopping. I do Black Friday, this year I am hoping to find a few specific items but we will see!

 

[AZMermaid]

I have little ones (2.5 and 4). Last year I spent about $300 on each, which was fine money wise but it was way too much stuff. I bought too early and didn't realize how much I had. Stuff is still in the closet unopened (which will go to toys for tots this year). I'm trying not to make that mistake and wait till November, but I got a Bitty Baby on Zulilly last month for DD. With that and a few accessories, she is probably 75% done between that and two princess dresses I got during the costume sale. I will probably end up in the $300/400 range each. Same with DH. He likes to spoil me at Christmas and I gave finally accepted that and try to do the same. We spend $50-100 each for extended family, which is another 7 people. I'm a teacher who doesn't drink coffee. Last year, I got over $200 in Starbucks gift cards, so coffee drinkers got mugs and regifted cards, which they all loved!

 

[dylans mommy]

I have 2 kids ages 5&7. Our budget for them is around $225 for each one of them. It's a little bit higher then we wanted but they need new bikes.

DH and I have a budget of $100 for the both of us. We usually don't do big gifts to each other. This year will just be small things.

The other things in our budget is....

$100- Baking and extra food (Christmas eve and Christmas dinner) we do not live near family so we just have small holiday meals. But I don like to bake during the holidays so this will cover all of that.

$25 for bough sets of parents. This will be something homemade by the kids and we will send it to the grandparents.

$30 for all the Teachers. I have 5 to buy for. YDS has 2 teachers and ODS has 1 teacher and 2 supplemental teachers. I am thinking of doing a mason jar filler with lip gloss, hand sanitizer and a few other things. I'm trying to stay under $7 a piece.

$50 for Christmas activities. We go to a lights festival every year that we ride on a trolley and really enjoy as a family. We have fun activity money in our regular budget all ready so this is just to help supplement it.

Our total budget is $755.

 

[KKB]

We do not trade with adult siblings & we not longer trade with cousins--most are teens & it just became a gift card trading session. Now we relax & just enjoy one another's company. We do bring 2-3 unisex gifts under $10 for bingo on one side of the family & pass the trash on the other--the kids LOVE these games. They still get gifts from grandparents.

DH & I do not exchange birthday or Xmas--we travel a few times a year & prefer to spend our $ on that.

We have 3 teens & I strive to keep it below $200-300 each. I ask them if they could have ONE gift, what would it be? I think this year DS19 wants car speakers, DD16 wants Hunter boots (looking for a deal). DS14 got iphone this year AND a built in basketball hoop so Bday/Xmas are WAY good. Last year they each got a couple items totaling about $200 each, a clothing item, PJs, & a book. Looks like this year will be the same. DS14 just PJs, book, clothing item.

We probably spend about $50-100 each on our parents. They are tricky. They just don't need much!

SO about $1200 ish?

(I do not buy decor any more...we are good; we do have Xmas eve dinner at our house but it is chili, soup, cinnamon rolls, so nothing out of the ordinary dining budget)

 

[richmond282]

I love Christmas! I love buying gifts too!

Our budget:
myself, DH DD10- $400-$500 each
nieces/ nephews (8 total)- $25 each
Parents (2 sets)- $50/set
DB, DSIL, DSIS, DBIL- $25/each
teachers (8 total)- $5/ each
friends/ coworkers (8-10 people)- $10/ each
Total= $2000ish

I DO shop sales and spend less whenever possible. I use a WHOLE lot of GC credit (amazon, best buy, walmart, target) earned through swagbucks and Perk TV. I currently have about $400 in my amazon account from swagbucks and about $450 in other store GCs from perk TV. DH has about $300 in amazon credit from Swagbucks as well. We will end up only spending about $400-$500 OOP when all is said and done.

 

[disney1990]

Just heard on the Money report today that the average American family will spent $684 Total on Christmas present for 2014. We are planning just a tad above that - less that $100 more.

 

[MouseClubMama]

For years we went all out and spent quite a bit on our kids. Now that they are adults, we have really downsized our Christmas budget. The older you get the more you realize that the most important gift at Christmas is to be with your family, so the focus is on our big Christmas dinner, and I would say the dinner probably costs about $150. We have cut out all sibling and cousin gifts, and no more mail out gifts either. I buy one pack of Christmas cards, and a book of stamps. Each adult child, and son in law gets $50 along with a small gift to open, about $20 per gift. We spend $25 each on the four wee ones, $50 each on my parents, and DH and I spend about $50 on each other. I always have to factor in DD's birthday (Christmas baby) so that's about $75. So I guess our total budget for everything comes to about $800.00.

 

[my3princes]

Shhh...this year I'm getting WDW annual passes for DH, myself and our 3 boys. We have a trip to FW planned this summer and we'll do a DVC trip the following summer. Our oldest started college this year so between the tuition and setting up the dorm rooms we spent a small fortune. We told the kids that we'd do a none park trip if we couldn't afford tickets, but I've managed to scrimp and save for the tickets. In addition I budget $30/wk toward Christmas. Not sure how that will factor out this year as I haven't seen the Black Friday ads yet. I tend to buy practical gifts that can be used for upcoming trips etc, DH and I will exchange household or camping items that each of us want (as opposed to need) etc.

 

[Patience]

This year, we are spending about $250 on our 7 year old and about $350 on our 20 year old so $600 total for the kids. I'm not counting stocking stuffers in that total because I bought the stocking stuffers for the youngest after Christmas last year for not much money and I put useful things (razors, body wash, chap stick) in my oldest daughter's stocking. My husband and I will probably spend about $100-150 on each other and then another $200 or so on gifts for other family members. So we will spend somewhere between $1000 and $1200 for Christmas.

I've purchased some of my 7 year old's Christmas gifts already. She wanted a few items that I thought might be hard to find close to Christmas so I went ahead and bought them. I have Snow Glow Elsa, Puppy Surprise, Sew Cool and a Zoomer Zuppy already hidden away for her. For my oldest, I purchased some Michael Kors earrings during the Bloomingdale's Friends and Family sale and a Patagonia vest that I ordered today with a 15% off coupon (it's hard to find discounts on Patagonia stuff).

 

[luvsJack]

This year's budget:

Mom and MIL--$50-75 each $150

Each adult son and dil--$100 each $400

Grands--$100-$150 each $600

DD--haven't really set a budget on her. She just got a car so will be getting floor mats and seat covers and all the little pretties she wants for it. Clothes of course. A few phone covers. A Guess purse. And at least one pair of Miss Me Jeans and maybe some boots, if she looks at any besides UGGs or if I can find a great sale on UGGs. I have tried to set a budget on her and its hard. She doesn't ask for a lot of things but it adds up quickly. And I don't buy things for her constantly so the clothes she gets will be her winter clothes. Like her oldest brother, she has expensive tastes. I tend to buy most of it on sale at the best price I can find, but it can still add up.

For me and dh, well it just depends on what we need/want. I want new flooring in my living room and for the room to be painted. Guess my gift will be on the more expensive end this year!

 

[lauradis]

We have just under 7k in xmas fund right now.

Never spend it all more like 2500-3000

What doesn't get spent moves over to the vacation fund.

Are prices vary from year to year. I do try to put a limit on how crazy husband goes.