How Much Do You Plan of Spending for Each Child for Christmas?

How much do you plan on spending this year for Christmas for each child?

 

Ever since my boys were little we have given them three gifts each because that is what Baby Jesus received. We spent under $50.00 for each of my boys. They got three small gifts each.

 

I am not sure how much we will spend I will have some amazona gc. that I will get free, and thne money we are spending right now is from my dad, the gifts are from him, he spenhds $100 on each of us (my dh ahd I buy for each other from him)

 

Well, I put 101 to 200 but really it will be more than that for each kiddo till it's all said and done... esp when you figure we bought them a Wii and a bunch of accessories on QVC for $300, and just the other night we spent about $75 on each, hubby got Garrett a HUGE collection of Corvette things (Hotwheels, large dicasts, posters, etc) in payment for a job he did (the guy owed $75, they are valued at an easy $500. or more). The only one who won't get a ton spent on him is the baby

 

you guys will love the Wii......... our kids have some games on their wish list too

 

By the time it's all said and done, we'll spend a little over $200 including stocking, gifts, etc. However, its mostly clothes, etc since all three of mine are teens. This is something that they not only want but can use. And since my husband and I both have part time jobs in the retail industry, we're able to get employee discounts that help tremendously this time of year!

 

Man, I am a Christmas freak. This is my time of year. I always go overboard. No matter how hard I try, I can never manage to spend under $400 per child.
One year I told the kids we were doing 3 gifts only like the kings bought Jesus. Well, I still ended up spending a bunch of money. I guess because Christmas was big in my house when I was growing up. We were taught the true meaning of Christmas but there were always gifts on top of gifts under the tree.

 

I think we are going to spend around $50 per kid this year. Most of the gifts are handmade but they really needed new bedding and I found some on clearance at Walmart for $17 so I splurged and it will still only total around $50 per kid.

 

I cannot really say how much I plan to spend as there is usually a main gift type thing and then there are little things to fill stockings and such. What is bought is not generally a money thing but rather what is needed/reasonably wanted/etc. For example, my oldest needed a computer for school work so he did get a laptop this past year. We never spend that kind of money, but since we knew a lot of the high school level work would require computer access, we decided to make that a traditional present for the 8th grade year so they have it for high school. My daughter is getting a viola, she really wants one. I found it used on Craigslist for $200. $200 is usually my max, but it is a viola. I probably would have bought it anyway for educational reasons. Overall, I generally try to keep what I buy under $200.

For others, my parents, I spent $150 this year. I spent $130 on my inlaws and will be spending about $130 for each of my sisters.

 

This is the first year I've ever purchased everything ahead of time. Most years I'm running round like crazy the last week. This year I actually got everything on Black Friday.

This is also the first year I've shopped on Black Friday and it was surprisingly mellow out there.

I bought each of my daughters a coat, a pair of jeans and a nice shirt. Those ended up being about $50 per child. Then I bought each child one gift, the total for all 3 was around $60. So, on average, we spent about $70 per child.

 

I just did all the shopping today. I bought each girl 5 gifts and it totalled $70 per kid.

I also bought them each a $5 ornament at the Disney store because they were on sale. It is our tradition that they get to open a gift on xmas eve and it is always a new ornament. The one I got is a small picture frame with Mickey and Minnie & 2009 on top. We are going on vacation for the holidays so I figured we can take a photo of them in the snow to put in them so they will always remember the trip.

 

We are spending under $50 per child. We are hoping to put money towards something else this year, a family in need, not sure. My kids say they don't want anything, they don't need anything so we will try to give to someone less fortunate. Most our gifts for everyone else are homemade so we are not spending alot this year.

 

we've had a lot of unexpected things this year...so Christmas will be sparse, we have a few gifts bought earlier in the year and then we have about 25$ per kid for stockings and gifts.

 

I don't know, either. Carl has put back a certain amount of cash, and I think that's what he wants to spend total for EVERYONE...extended family included. I have bought a small gift for Faythe, but I bought it a long time ago, so it didn't come out of that funds. I bought Phillip his Rip Stick on Black Friday, and my mom ended up getting a Wii for all of us. That was expensive, so she won't be getting anything else. She usually gets books for the kids, and Rachael knew EXACTLY the books she wanted from G'ma, so I will probably get those for her. The kids need both a basketball and a soccer ball; a football, too, but I know Dad got Phillip one for his birthday (10 this Saturday!).

 

For dd11, my compettive swimmer, I got a new practice swimsuit (clearanced for $20), plus a bungee strap for her googles and a new swim cap for her stocking- all necessary items, but still "fun" and new for her.

 

Mama Bear! We do the same sorta thing!!! They get three gifts, usually.

This year, we're a little tight, so they're getting 2 gifts and their stocking stuffed (I'm big on stocking stuffers. LOL ).

I was feeling guilty about this, that somehow we're not giving them enough....but the reality is, they get SO MUCH this time of year between all the grandparents and stuff. I don't want my kids to be really materialistic....at least I'm afraid they will be if we just shower them with STUFF.

We're almost done. Just need stocking stuffers for my boy.

 

I started shopping after last Christmas. I bought hallmark ornaments at a fraction of the price for their ornament for this year. I also have been buying through out the year and set it aside. We're not sure what we're going to get the kids this year other than some new bmx gear for racing which alone will cost over a good hundred bucks each. So, after that I'm not sure what we're going to do for them. We don't spoil them to often during the year and this is one time of the year that we have a lot of fun getting them things they want versus things they need. We draw names for my side of the family since there are 7 kids and two spouses to those kids and it just gets to expensive. With my dh's side of the family we buy for each of them since it's a smaller group and it works out well. We also have a Christmas eve party at our house every year that we do a white elephant gift as well as a pot luck dinner.

 

Do most of you have grandparents/other relatives who do lots for your kids? We keep Christmas pretty simple, but my kids also get very little from anyone else. My granddad sends money that I buy new pj's with. (That's what he bought when we lived closer.) My parents send money (nothing extravagant) that I usually use to purchase a family gift. They'll get a small gift card from my two sisters and $10 each from dh's grandmother. His mom sometimes does something and sometimes doesn't. Basically, they don't open actual gifts anywhere but at home. I'm not complaining, I just noticed many of you say you keep it simple because others do so much for your kids.

 

Same here. Dh was laid off from his job so we are trying to keep spending to a minimum. We are making gifts because we enjoy it too. This week we are making recycled decorations out of coat hangers and other household items. The boys have fun making gifts and so do I.

 

My dad gives the girls 2 or 3 presents each every year and sometimes my mom or my mother in law will buy gifts for the girls (it just depends on how much money they have that year). Then my husband has an uncle that will send each of the girls $10 cash every year.