11 Plus Exams Forum

Just curious how much you are spending per child for christmas gifts....DD is nearly 10 and am not sure how much but £100 top max (the less I can do it the better). I have DS 18months and mayspend about £50 on him.

I nearly passsed out reading a thread at money saving expert and most people spend at least £150. I felt like I am the most mean mum in the world

DD doesnt get pocket money either, but we occassionally give her money like recently she got £20 from DH just to get herself whatever she wanted

Also what are you getting for them, not sure yet but last year we got her a karaoke system it was about £90 on littlewoods but used £30 off voucher so cost was £60...Sad thing is the system was only used for a few days and its just rotting in her bedroom now....When she was 7 we got her a bike. I have asked her what she wants and she want the WHOLE argos toys catalogue. All those argos toys advertised on TV, she wants them.

Sherry D- We normally spend about £120-£150 on them each but this year it's going to be less, more like £80-£100.

I do think you are right to keep the money down for your 18mth old because they really do not need that much, but perhap's just lot's of littlep resent's because it will be the opening of the present's and playing with the paper that they will love

We are also running out of room for big toy's so this year we had to think about what else we could get. DD is getting arts/crafts and some cookery things, DS2 is getting action figure sets and DS1 is getting some Warhammer and Yu-Gi-Oh stuff so nothing major.

For years we never bought our kids any Christmas presents because they got tons from the the extended family. Now they are at an age where all they want is computer games and these do add up or every 2-3 years they may need a new bike and although we try and find a bargain that can be over £100. They do not get any pocket money or go on holiday so we probably do spend between £100-£150 on each but they get virtually nothing else throughout the year and they do not get loads of presents, it's just that the ones they get are expensive. They rarely open more than three from us.

To be honest I have no idea what to buy them. Their birthdays are late October and November so they have already had gifts and we are stuck to know what else to buy. DS1 is 11 and isn't interested in buying clothes yet and he never spends any money that he gets given. They have all the pc games they could ever need - any advice?

Get them in to Warhammer The tiniest little figure's which cost alot but take up no room

Got into Warhammer and then after laying out a shed load of cash they got back out of it! Lesson learnt!

Mine are getting DSi's. I've managed to order the elusive hamsters too.

Another thing I don't get is the desire for the Guinness (sp?) Book of World Records. They got it last year, so how much can have changed?

I was going to cut back this year, but I don't think I've managed it...

DS is a November birthday and we finally gave in after years of resistance and bought him a Wii and the Wii fit plus which cost a b***** fortune! So this Christmas will be a more frugal affair for him and he knows this!

He will get a powerball (because he is obsessed by balls) which is a fun ball / gyroscope thing that strengthens wrists and arms, a new hoodie (because his arms are poking out his old ones), i-Tunes voucher, a Wii points card (so he can go online and download little games for the Wii) and a Wii game (Amazon have a sale on games at the moment and we will save about £15 on that). Oh and a new fountain pen (because he has lost the one I bought in Sept and his teachers say that without it it looks as if he has 'attacked the page with a pen knife' ). This will come in well under £100.

DD has just had her tax, MOT and insurance paid for so she isn't expecting much this year either. Probably a gadget that will allow her to play her i-phone in her car, an i-Tunes voucher, couple of tops and some cash.

We have got a multi games table, you know, ping-pong/pool/footbal etc That was £85 and is for all the family. The girls ate getting a DS game each(2 for £25 at ASDA) some bath fizzers (97p a pack at Wilkinsons) DD1 has a Dr Who 12 book set (£9.99 from thebookpeople) and DD2 has a Madness CD/DVD (£9.99 from Tesco)
Out of curiosity, How may other 8 year old girls love 80's ska music?
All in all I will probably spend £150 between them as I'll probably get them an outfit each too.

They don't need any more, or have room to store it.

I'm not saying what dd is getting because she knows I use this site and sometimes reads it!

We usually buy dc's one big pressie each and then loads of other stuff on top.

T.i.p.s.y wrote:Got into Warhammer and then after laying out a shed load of cash they got back out of it! Lesson learnt!

Warhammer is fantastic for those that like it; hours of play per pound, and more social than many electronic games. And you can start with a smallish investment to see if they like it.

If they don't, you can sell on ebay, though you get a better price if they're undercoated black rather than painted!

As for our DC, both teens, we'll be spending a little over £100 each, but I haven't totted it up exactly.