How much do you spend per child for Christmas?

[TravelingChris]

I don't have a budget for Christmas. I know what they need and want and then give it to them. So my oldest is getting about $170, my middle about $400, and my youngest also about $400. But I generally put things they need under the Christmas tree so any clothes they need in winter usually goes under there. This year, since the girls are singing Christmas Eve before we open presents, I told them not to wrap their dresses. But they are gifts from us anyway. So my oldest needed less right now- a new hard drive, jeans, and some purely gifts. My middle needed a tv in her dorm room (not a true necessity but definitely an accessory that almost all the kids have at college), and my youngest needed a new desktop to replace her increasingly malfunctioning old one.

 

I do find it much more expensive for Christmas now that they are all older. Their clothes are more expensive and the gadgets and electronics they want instead of toys are much more expensive.

[*********]

I just checked.

 

We budgeted $90 per child for each of the four kids. That's down from the $100 we budgeted per child last year. Dh likes to try and cut the budget each year, and see how creative we can get. :001_smile:

 

We spent $290 total; low total was $61, high total was $99.

 

That averages $72.50 per kid; only 81% of what we had budgeted. Huh. Dh will be THRILLED when I tell him. :D

 

(And we don't 'do' Christmas, but we participate in the tradition of giving gifts at this time of year. :tongue_smilie:)

 

Everyone will be VERY happy with what they got. For example, this is what dsd is getting:

 

• A gift bag full of new clothes from Sears/Kohls/Old Navy. There's two pair of skinny jeans, two pair of pj pants, a t-shirt, a plaid flannel shirt, and a package of socks. All things that are her taste/she asked for/she needs. I spent $7 total. Yep. (The Sears Outlet by us has a promotion where you can get one free piece of clothing every Tuesday. Jackpot!)
  
• A very nice tambourine that someone here helped me find. :D I got her a tunable one with a plastic head (she's vegetarian, so no calf skin head for her). She specifically asked for this. I think it was $30ish.
  
• Homemade vegetarian marshmallows, along with the recipe and a bag of xanthan gum. She asked for veggie marshmallows, and will LOVE this. The bag of xanthan gum was $14.
  

Her stocking, which totals $15, contains:

 

• A pastic pony, 'cause the girl thought she was funny and asked for a pony when I asked her for gift ideas. :D
  
• A full set of strings for her acoustic guitar.
  
• A package of Fender guitar picks.
  
• A nice pair of headphones. She keeps complaining that the headphones she buys at the dollar store break easily. :001_huh: You think? :tongue_smilie: I got these from CVS as part of post-Thanksgiving shopping. They're nice ones, and I got a good deal.
  

The olders get what they ask for, generally speaking, with a surprise or two. The youngers want and need nothing, so dh and I had a BALL making/picking things out.

 

I like gifts for our kids to be things they want and/or things they will really enjoy. It's not about the money to me. But, we do try to spend as little as possible, since we are convicted about excess in our lives. It's a balancing act, to be sure.

[HollyB]

We don't usually budget, but this year we spent about $50 total. My parents buy them a few things, and my grandmother gives them $20 each.

[leeannpal]

We only have one child, and, I'll admit, that we probably buy her too much. This year, the total was around $400.00 with half of that being the Kindle Fire that is her primary gift.

 

We are really trying not to make Christmas all about the gift giving. This year, it has been easier because she no longer believes in Santa. I really enjoyed sharing the story of the "real" St. Nicholas" with her. She also participated in caroling at a local nursing home with kids from our church.

Tonight we will attend church because Christmas Eve is holy for us. All that being said, I will love the look on her face when she opens gifts in the morning. Since her birth, I really do understand the saying, "It's better to give than receive."

[momsquared]

Not sure. A couple things I got in the summer at the Target toy sale. They are going to dd - truck and toy horse. DS got a bitty baby and a Melissa and Doug train set. They both got sleeping bags and a tent from Santa. Dd also got a DS game and Star Wars action figures. DS is also getting a Thomas station for his set.

 

Together it's probably $250-300?

 

DH got a North Face and so did I. He then surprised me with a new Skagen watch. I am spoiled.

[VeteranMom]

$300./child for Christmas. My kids are 10, 10, and 9. They all have birthdays in December, too. We spend $75.-100./child for birthdays. We save all year for December.

[Tap]

We spend 3-400 per kid but there is always something practical in there that racks up the price. This year, dd13 is getting a laptop for school. She saved half of the money herself, but we put in the other half. Ds17 is getting a suitcase and items for a mission trip to Haiti in the summer. DD5 is getting some toys that are for her therapy.

 

I probably spend $100 or so on each for non-practical items.

[jennynd]

ds about 200, dd maybe 150

[QuirkyKapers]

It varies but I try and keep it around $100

[fourcatmom]

I spent about $75 on each girl and that was about 5-6 presents each. Then we are giving a family gift that was about $200 but that was a special case and not typical. Their Dad received a special bonus and we wanted to something that they could have fun with but they could also use for school.

[Matryoshka]

I budget about $100 per kid, but with stocking stuffers and maybe a small surprise, it may come in a bit over.

 

I spend about $25-$30 on my nephews, about $15-$20 each on my brother and SIL, and $30-$40 each on my best friend and her dd (my godchild) - I wouldn't spend so much on them, but she's got a very different family culture, and she always way overspends on me and my kids (even though I tell her not to and I can't keep up), so I feel cheap if I give less. My parents and dh it varies a lot by year depending on what I can find for the people who have everything. We adults don't care that much.

[melissad2]

I put my kids stuff on layaway at Kmart back in Nov. and the total there was $500 for so $250 each there. Stocking stuffers probably anothe $20 each and a few odds and ends totaling around $100. Too much I'm sure but I don't buy a lot of other gifts because Christmas around here really is all about the kids. My mom and dad are getting them a trampoline so they will have that too.

[Daisy]

We don't spend a lot of money for presents on Christmas. Most of our kids' gifts are for everyone to share (Snap Circuits, Books, Games) and I buy those things through-out the year but probably don't spend more than $200 total. Their stocking stuffers are specific to that child and we bought them each a new Bible this year.

[MHowell]

I think I spent about $300 per kid this year. I spent around $50 for my nephew, $100 on my nieces (I think it was like $40-$60 each), and aunts/uncles around $25 each.

[KungFuPanda]

I won't post the amount because it would seem excessive, BUT since winters don't really get cold here until after Christmas, MOST of their winter clothing and outdoor gear ends up under the tree. Besides, we it's funny when they try to be polite after opening another pack of socks :D. They're getting the last laugh though, now that they're older, they're starting to seem genuinely pleased with a wardrobe restock.

 

This year I resorted to a few as-seen-on-TV gag gifts to amuse the parent spectators :D

[ScoutTN]

$75 , but mine are little still.

[SpreadingtheFeast]

$170 in total for everything: gifts, stocking stuffers, extra food, cookies etc. :001_huh: You guys spend a lot! :lol:

[TravelingChris]

Well we may be spending a lot but my children don't receive any gifts from any family except the one uncle who does come for Christmas. We also tend to spend more on Christmas gifts then for their birthdays. Their birthday presents are usually more like a hundred dollars.

[Mommee & Baba]

We average about $200-$250 per child. This includes their stockings too. As they get something they asked for small in their stocking as well as atleast 1 thing they asked for under the tree and for now we've been able to get them each what they asked Santa for..as they know Santa does the stockings with small things and 1 gift. So they thought long and hard.

 

From us they get to list a couple things under each category when they start their list. We do.

 

Something to play with

Something to read

Something to wear

Something to share

Something for creativity/crafting

 

Then depending on the remaining budget amount I will fill in if I find deals. I do tend to get the kids the same number of gifts each year. So if I find a deal on something for 1 of them, I need to be sure I've got the budget left to make sure the others get another gift as well to match the numbers. Most of the time I'll toss things in the stockings as they don't get even amounts, but very close to it.

Edited December 24, 2011 by mamaofblessings