How much do you spend on gifts for your child for christmas? Birthdays?

[MommyJack]

As a Mom with 3 kids, they don't always realize what things cost. My youngest want's an xbox he has no clue what they cost or if it's a lot of money. They're allowed to dream too. Just because their parents may not have money it doesn't mean that they can't want things.

They wouldn't be kids if they didn't want the same things most all the other kids have. It's a "wish" section, not a "you will buy me these things".

Just because they are poor doesn't mean they stop wishing and hoping.

As far as the OP, it entirely depends on what your financial situation is. We've spent less some years and more others. This is a "more" year.

I really don't think that's what she meant. I think she was saying that the parents should have told the kids that those items might not be appropriate for such a list. Like on Halloween when people told my kids they could take a much candy as they wanted, I made sure they only took a few pieces, not the whole bowl.

As for my gift expenses - I seem to fall right around everyone else. We have two and spend 100-200 for birthdays and 400 for Christmas. Although this year they both needed new bikes, so we we went over budget to get them good bikes.

 

[bigbabyblues]

We spend about $50 for birthday and $200-250 for Christmas on each child. However, there are my parents who spend entirely too much just because my mother likes to buy a lot of things (stuff they don't even want or use, just as long as there is a lot of it, she doesn't care--I finally gave her a limit last year and told her anything over that # of gifts would be donated because the year before she brought each of them 25 gifts), then there are DH's parents who probably spend as much as we do, then there is DH's grandma who also spends about $200 on each of them (Christmas), then there is my brother who buys them a few things each, and there is my grandpa who gives them money, and the list goes on.

 

[jm-mom]

For birthdays we usually spend around $50 on gifts and then do some kind of party for $200 or less. Christmas is harder because our girls really don't want much or much that's expensive. I would say Christmas is $100-$150 per child. They do get a few gifts from extended family but not a huge amount. My girls are 8 & 11 and even at that age get overwhelmed by too many gifts to unwrap so I try to keep it simple. Also, Santa brings 2 items and the rest are from us.

 

[hineshm]

I normally spend about $500.00 for Christmas for each kid and about $100 to $150 for birthdays. They do not get much throughout the year, so we splurge for Christmas and Birthdays.

 

[KNovacovschi]

My daughter is 14 today and I spent $185 on a Bench winter jacket for her. This is not normal for me however she needed a winter coat and has been asking for one for almost a year so I know she will take care of it. Christmas however I have always spoiled her but this year we are down to one income due to me being laid off of work and am scared she will be disappointed in the amount we spend. I'm planning $250 max, that includes the stocking stuffers.

Would it be wrong to buy her a name brand sweater & jeans and then give her $100 cash. I just feel this would be impersonal but she already has a netbook and Blackberry.

 

[ajwomic]

Ours get 3 gifts from Santa, representing the 3 gifts brought to Jesus. They also get 1 from us. They also get gifts from grandparents, etc. We spend 150 at Christmas per child and try to sponsor a child as well from about the same. This keeps me from over buying an really, they can only focus on a bit at a time. They are 12,9 and 6. I feel as a culture we have bought into the marketing schemes of every child needs a "good" Christmas and if we don't go overboard, we are not showing love. I guess I am weird, but that's o-kay!

 

[bearloch]

my only is 12 and i have gone on both ends when shewas little I would get a TON of stuff after christmas for dirt cheap and have it to give for b-day and christmas following yr.. did same when neices and nephews came along now its what she wants BUT her want item list has to be under 300.00 this yr its a nook, with a gift card to get a few books and 1 ds game and a 1 wii family game BUT i also make up a nice card with a family activity something really special of a small weekend trip.. last yr it was to Great Wolf Lodge, year before good ( really good) seats for a hockey game. that we do after the new yr as a family.. this has worked really well and the stocking stuffers are related to the family trip or activity..

 

[DAPford]

I have an only as well she will be 16 on wed birthdays we never bought a gift instead paid for her "party" and allowed her plan and invite and I am so glad because as we are celebrating her sweet 16 on sat we have been able to look back and remember the roller skating party, the hayride/bonfire, the magician, the spa, the pool etc all great days full of friends and memories. on average it was at least 100-200 (the sweet 16 is a bit more but this is the last one and as my husband grew up in a hispanic culture it is an equivelent of a quincenera type party which is inportant to him in addition we have lost my dd's grandmother and aunt this year so a reason to celebrate is much needed)
for Christmas we set a budget and work really hard to stay in it as she has gotten older we ask her what she would REALLY like and go from there This year our big family gift (christmas and our 20th anniversary ) is our NYE cruise on the Dream followed by a few days in the World. this will probably also be our last trip with just us three ( i have 2 older stepsons and a 3year old granddaughter and one due in Jan so this years summer vaca will be an extended family beach trip and my dd is a junior now so time is running short )
now we need to start setting the grandkid budget LOL

 

[nikkistevej]

We usually do around $300-400 for our DD9- she is an only child. We do $100-150 for birthdays, but we do usually have it at a place(Pump it up, local swim place, and chuckie cheese)- so that adds to the price.

 

[ceecee]

First off I think how much you spend depends 100% on your financial situation.

 

[torinsmom]

DS17 is an only. When he was younger, I would buy throughout the year and birthdays were about $75 plus the party. Christmas was probably $200. As he got older, the numbers went up. He is into computers and guitars, so it can get expensive. For his birthday is August, I spent $450 on a gaming computer. He did not have a party, so that helped a little. Last Christmas, he got a new guitar and a huge amp, $500 combined and then some other smaller gifts. I would say I spent around $750. His dad tends to get him something he(the dad) would like. Last year it was one of those huge checker sets in a UNC theme. DS doesn't play checkers and is not a sports fan. He does usually get a $50 gift from my parents and a $30 gift from my sister and her family.

I once read a book about the five love languages and I am definitely one who shows loves by giving gifts. I'd rather see the look of happiness on my son's face than buy something for myself.

 

[jm-mom]

My daughter is 14 today and I spent $185 on a Bench winter jacket for her. This is not normal for me however she needed a winter coat and has been asking for one for almost a year so I know she will take care of it. Christmas however I have always spoiled her but this year we are down to one income due to me being laid off of work and am scared she will be disappointed in the amount we spend. I'm planning $250 max, that includes the stocking stuffers.

Would it be wrong to buy her a name brand sweater & jeans and then give her $100 cash. I just feel this would be impersonal but she already has a netbook and Blackberry.

Your daughter is very lucky to already have a blackberry and netbook and a very expensive winter jacket. With you being out of work and her already having such luxury items, this is the perfect year to do a little less gifting. She should be old enough to understand that with less income should come less expensive gifts. She should also know that she's incredibly lucky for the items she already has as most kids I know that age do not have such things.

 

[pennypinching4disney]

Thank you so much for all of your advice. It is VERY helpful. I spent $90 for his 2 birthday presents (duplo firestation and duplo hospital) when there was a buy 2 get 3rd free deal(put the other away for christmas . Used $10 off any purchase at Kohls to buy a $11.16 matchbox set. I'm trying to be creative to keep it under the $100 mark. My parents give me a hard time about the amount of toys my son has. ZBut he is an only and they had 6 kids. Thanks again for your help.

 

[DisneyLoverUSA]

We spend $75 per kid for birthdays and $300 per kid for Christmas. On birthdays they are just given the money to go shopping and buy what they want, at Christmas it is gifts bought from whatever wish list they have given me before Christmas.

This year DD11 wants an Ipod Touch and DS10 wants an Xbox 360. That is what they will get. Not much else.

 

[NYEmomma]

DD is 2 and currently our only child. I don't really have a budget for her. Her birthday is the week after Christmas so I shop throughout the year and then just divvy up the stash when it comes time to wrap for Christmas.

She's all bought for for Christmas & birthday this year aside from her stocking stuffers & while I haven't added up a total amount, I'd guestimate that I'm at around $300 for Christmas and $150 for birthday.

She is VERY spoiled by my parents so I don't feel too bad about not spending a ton on her (I was VERY spoiled and still am by my parents so it feels a bit odd/sad to only be able to spend $150 on DD), though I do wish it could be the other way around.

I'm sure things will change as she gets older, as our financial situation changes & as we add to our family next year.

 

[Mom2apirate&princess]

I have two kids, ds -14 and dd - 9. $250 to $300 for their birthdays and I've spent $300 a piece for them for Christmas this year. I am done shopping for both of them. It was harder to stay at the $300 range for ds, because all he wants are video games that are $60 a piece. It's so much easier to buy for dd, it's all about Littlest Pet Shop this year!

Normally I spend around $500 per kid at Christmas but we are going to Disney and that is part of their present.

 

[heatherleigh]

I haven't really broken up the amount for each child, but I do know that we do not spend as much on the youngest as we do the others. My Christmas budget for all 4 kids this year is $1K-$1500 total.

 

[Colleen27]

For us it depends on what the kid is asking for, since we stick to one big gift rather than many smaller items (because we do have grandparents, aunts, and uncles that spoil the kids). For Christmas they get one "wish" gift from us, a smaller gift from Santa, and PJs, a book, and stocking stuffers. At birthdays they get a nice gift and an outing/nice restaurant dinner of their choice.

I don't really think about it in dollar value, I think about how to get them the thing they want most for the best price. Sometimes that is expensive; DS13's combined Christmas & birthday gift this year is finishing 1/3 of our basement into a workout room for him, complete with equipment, and that will likely run us close to $1000 even with getting his Bowflex second-hand. Sometimes it is cheap; for her birthday all DD3 wanted in the world was a Pluto pillow pet which thanks to Disney Movie Rewards didn't cost me a dime. What matters to me is the "wow" factor when they unwrap just what they wanted, and I'm willing to adjust the budget up and down within reason to make that happen.

 

[jm-mom]

"I once read a book about the five love languages and I am definitely one who shows loves by giving gifts. I'd rather see the look of happiness on my son's face than buy something for myself."

Me too! It's so fulfilling to see that you've made your child happy. I love to sit with my hot coffee and watch my girls open their stuff on Christmas morning. I never even think about what's under the tree for me. My husband is the same way. We're almost 50 and have all that we need so Christmas is for our kids.

 

[angierae]

Love this!

In my personal experience there are lots and lots of people out there who want to buy a nice gift for an underpriviledged kid. I've seen it done countless times. Especially the types of gifts the kid sees all of his/her peers getting multiples of and tons of ads for on TV.

However, I really feel that if a person is going to give that it's important to give without reservation and with your whole heart. Otherwise it's best not to do it at all.

We do this in our office (we get a bunch of kids that are in foster care in Michigan, and we usually buy gifts for 25-30 kids.)

I work in an attorney's office. Usually the attorneys will grab the kids who have bigger wishes. We have sent seven or eight bikes at times, my boss bought a DS for a kid one year, etc. This year I have a 23 month old girl and I'm really looking forward to shopping for her, but obviously her gifts won't cost nearly that much.

So I think that when it comes to stuff like that, pick a kid whose wishes line up with what you're looking to spend, and hopefully someone in a financial posistion to grant those wishes will.

Last year the radio station here in Detroit was doing "stuff a bus" where they try to fill three school busses with toys for underpriveledged kids. They were saying on the radio that they hadn't received a lot of gifts for teenagers and older kids, and someone showed up with 10 iPods.