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girley_05
Yahoo User
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 Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2007 6:16 pm Post subject: how much do you spend on your children at x.mas???? |
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| My son is three and he has asked for a few things for x.mas, i'm happy to buy him a big gift from santa, a main gift from me and some smaller gifts but i've just added up the cost and it's going to be about £250 (for the gift from santa and gifts from me and hubby) it sounds like a huge amout of money but is actually only 4 pressies and some small stocking fillers!!! my friends have said it's about right for children these days but my mother in-law thinks this is boardering on 'spoilt rotten'what do you think? how much do you roughly spend on a child of around 3-years-old, is £250 ($500) spoilt or just average these days???? thank you in advance!!!! xx |
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Sunshine
Yahoo User
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| Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2007 6:19 pm Post subject: |
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| $500. for a 3 year old?I spend about $400. for all 4 of my children.I downplay materialism as much as I can. |
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newgran
Yahoo User
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| Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2007 6:21 pm Post subject: |
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| Mother in law is right in her thinking for her generation .BUT in her day it would probably be more than the total sum of money spent at Christmas on presents for everyone.If you only have one child then £250 is okay to spend these days.I've spent £150 on my grandson of 21 months |
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Kit Kat
Yahoo User
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| Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2007 6:22 pm Post subject: |
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| i do not think it is spoiled. i use to spend children over 2,000$ on gifts, but my children grew up and moved away...... They are doing just fine. Remember that for one christmas, he is only 3 once, you want to make him think that it is his best christmas so far. he is only 3 once. |
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SASSY J
Yahoo User
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| Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2007 6:25 pm Post subject: |
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| $100.00 dollars is reasonable, if your only child, you probably could do $200.00 |
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superduper
Yahoo User
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| Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2007 6:29 pm Post subject: |
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| My daughter is 9 and my budget is 450 for her. I dont think that is too much, if you think about it everything is a lot more expensive now. Not that it matters how much you spend as long as you have a lovely xmas. As mum's you want to make it special and magical for your children. People might say that you are spending too much on him but its your choice and your money so dont feel bad about it. By the way my budget has'nt always been that its just crept up a bit every year because as she has got older her list didnt get bigger but the gifts got more sophisticated, naturally. This is the last year Im going to get aaway with Father Christmas's visits so Im very sad about it. You do whatever you like, memories are precious.Hope you have a wonderful xmas. x |
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lyndseybirds
Yahoo User
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| Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2007 6:31 pm Post subject: |
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| i tend to spend roughly £75 - £100 on each of my kids (i have 3) if i spent more id be broke!!My mum says that as they get older and know exactly what xmas is then you have to spend more as a child (10yrs old) and as a teen my mum spent about £300 but i have 2 sisters too so that was like £900.If you can afford to spend £250 then go ahead, but dont get into debt over xmas it aint worth it in the long run |
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sweetie52379
Yahoo User
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| Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2007 6:39 pm Post subject: |
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| I typically spend around $100.00 for each of my children. They are 7 and 5. I don't buy them much because their grandparents do enough of that. For instance for this Christmas...my mom bought them a real horse and my inlaws bought them a 4 wheeler. Plus they are still buying more stuff. |
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squeaker
Yahoo User
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| Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2007 6:41 pm Post subject: |
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| i spend about 500 on my daughter's 3rd bday and my hubby spent 300 (he was deployed at the time and we came home one day to find a giant playhouse in the backyard set up by his shopchief)however a week before her birthday we got rid of 90% of her toys and we will do the same thing before christmas (she has 3 sets of grandparents ,one of which works for sugarloaf, so we accumulate more toys way to much)so spending that much money doesnt cause materialism it is actually encouraging giving since she doesnt get new toys till she gets rid of the ones she doesnt play withthis year we have a smaller budget of 500 for the entire family so we are only buying her 3 big pressies and a few small ones she is getting a wii remote (we have a wii)books for her TJ beary taleswalkie talkiescare bear hide and seek bear dress up clothes a couple of movieswe always get her 1 thing we KNOW she WANTS and will be disappointed if she doesnt get (santa brings it) that away we know she's not disappointed at christmas (i've had to many christmases i didnt get squat from my family and i refuse to let her know that feeling) |
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Sexy Mama
Yahoo User
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| Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2007 6:55 pm Post subject: |
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| my 9 yr old daughter this year i will spend roughly $600 .00 on her as her tastes are getting more expensive...the 2 big items she will be getting are a electric scooter and a trampoline with a bunch of other $20.00 to $50.00 items. when she was 3..i spent around $250.00...toys are expensive so i understand. who cares what your mother in law thinks, it's your money and your child. My son is 21 months old and i will be spending around $100.00 on him as he could care less. |
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**Charli**
Yahoo User
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| Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2007 7:15 pm Post subject: |
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| This year I have spend over $1500 on 2 kids. They are my babies and mainly it is the bigger toys that cost us. Things like a swing set, trampoline, pool. They also got new bikes and clothes.They don't get much during the year and for their birthdays. We love spoiling them at Christmas. I don't see a good reason not too. You only get one chance.You pay a lot more for good quality. The main of their bigger items will last the distance. |
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SmittyJ
Yahoo User
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| Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2007 7:17 pm Post subject: |
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| I have a two year old son and am planning on spending about $200-$300 on him this year. In my opinion, It really depends on what's right for your family financially and shouldn't be dictated by what others feel is appropriate including your mother in law. If you and your husband have a very dependable income stream , plenty of disposable income after expenses, and a well funded financial plan with an emergency savings account, a well funded retirement account for your age/income bracket and a college savings plan for your son then in my opinion, spending $500 on gifts for your son wouldn't be outrageous...it's Christmas after all so spoil away. If your finances aren't perfect however, maybe you should consider cutting back a little and putting the difference into savings...make it a tradition and call it an annual Christmas gift to your family's financial well-being. If you cut your Christmas spending in half and invest $250 a year for the next 15 years at an average 8% annual return, your son would have about $7k more than he otherwise would have for college. Regardless, holidays are for the kids so spoil them as much as you can within a limit based on your financial situation and not others. |
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Lisa T
Yahoo User
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| Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2007 7:30 pm Post subject: |
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| This is a difficult question to answer but maybe the following will help . I think the amount you are able to spend depends on two things: 1. You & your partner's personal values 2. Your family budget & what you can realistically afford to spend. $500 may seem a lot to one family but is nothing to another. When gift planning & shopping we follow this procedure: 1. We have always given gifts from Santa & family (meaning us mum & dad)2. We do ask the children what they would really like santa to bring for christmas. 3. There is always a small gift from our children to each other. 4. We do write a list5. We do tell the children that they will only get some of the things on the list not all of them. As santa has to provide for all of the children in the world. This removes the expectation that they will get everything on their list. We started this when they were very young. 6. If our son really wanted a fire truck as he did one year, we got one - but not necessarily the most expensive. In the instance of a fire truck we would go for something that looks good, is sturdy, safe & makes sounds etc. At the end of the day he wanted a fire truck which had siren sounds and a ladder which went up & down. A three year old does not know the difference between the most expensive brand & say the middle of the range brand. 7. We talk to our children about families who cannot afford christmas gifts - without ruining the joy of christmas. When our kids still believed in Santa - we told them that some children are so poor their mum & dad can't afford to get them a gift. Our kids did ask asked if Santa would give them a gift and we would say yes but everyone should receive at christmas time something from family like we will do for you. Then we take our children & they help choose an affordable gift for a child of their own age. The children help to wrap & label the gift(s)and it is placed at a giving tree or given to a charity. If we thought our very young child may not want to give up the item - we would just shop, wrap, give without them until they were mature enough to do so. We would explain the concept by standing at a giving tree & telling them why the tree was there & why people were putting gifts there. Now they no longer believe in santa & understand we did all the purchasing; they still insist every year that we shop for a disadvantaged child. I shop for a disadvantaged mother, my partner for a disadvantaged father, my daughter for a disadvantaged 15 year old & my son for a disadvantaged 13 year old. This instils the value of the joy of giving and everyone feels great about doing it.8. Quite often the cheapest stocking filler was the thing that our children when very young loved the most. They still liked the major santa gifts and gift from mum & dad but would play & play for hours with the $2 stocking item. So dont feel you have to go too overboard with the other gifts. 9. We do wrap things individually. So if for example we were giving a doll & accessories or a set of something - we would put some smaller accessories in the stocking & wrap the others - making it look like there are a lot more gifts than there actually is. Have a wonderful christmas with your three year old - it is truely a wonderful age for them at christmas. They are just starting to understand. |
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Jenn M
Yahoo User
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| Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2007 7:45 pm Post subject: |
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| I have 3 kids and last year I spent about $300 on all of them but I didn't just buy them toys but clothes and other things as well. I normally get them 1kinda expensive gift and then the rest is little things. It's not all about the gifts!!! |
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!
Yahoo User
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| Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2007 7:54 pm Post subject: |
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| It varies from year to year b/c at different ages you have different prices for things. But we usually stay at about $125-$150 per kid. They have so many people buying them things and they get WAY too much stuff! Personally I think that $500 for a 3 year old is ridiculous. You need to keep in mind that if you start them out expecting that then when they get older and stuff is more expensive for them you are going to go broke! And at 3 yrs old most kids would be happy with a box, a stick and a rock! (at least my 3 yr old would...she's like her dad...easy to please!) No need to spend that much. Better idea would be to get smaller gifts and put the rest you were willing to spend in a savings account or a cd/bond for when he's older. |
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