Parents: how much do you spend on your kids for birthdays?

I’m probably lucky (I shouldn’t say that really ) if I get a card .
The latter half of my life I’ve intimated that they put their money into charities of their choice .
Hopefully they have ,tbh I think they have but there are more depending on charities than ever than when I was young imo .

 

Strange names for kids, mate

 

For me the party is the killer. My daughter has got loads of friends and always wants to do something active with them. It's her 8th birthday coming up and she's just started a new school, so she wants to invite a few from there, plus her friends from her previous school, and a few others. Fifteen in total, meaning I'll be lucky to have change from £400 by the time it's done and dusted. She's old enough to understand that if she wants a massive party it means her presents will be very modest.

 

All Cerys wanted last year was one of those WWF rhino things last year where you sponsor it. Cheap but not tacky. I’ve taught her to value people not consumerism though to be fair I’m a soft touch and if she asked she would probably get what she wanted. Too much present buying is about an attempt to buy affection or show off to other people it’s not about caring or showing affection.

 

Aye the party is the thing. Georgie wanted a build a bear one last year we had to invite what seemed to be the whole population of China and I was amazed at the end of the day that I didn’t get to keep the shop. Still she knew that she wouldn’t be getting much other than that.

 

My biggest takeaway from that is why on earth would anyone have a £60 a month phone contract? That's nuts! Over 2 years that's £1440! I'm betting they don't shop around for the car insurance either!

 

It sounds like a shocking figure to non-parents like me, but going back to the dark ages when I grew up in the 80s, I remember receiving e.g., a snooker table, an atari console, a bike, etc as the main present then a number of smaller presents as well. My parents weren't well off at all, but I was an only child, i.e., a bit spoilt at Xmas. I remember the atari console being just shy of £100, then each game was £29.99, then I received other stuff as well. So with near to 40 years of inflation on top of that, £700-£1000 might just be about right. Wow.

 

I budget £200 each kid at Christmas and £150 for a birthday. Plus £120 each for birthday parties. The kids are 1 and 3.

I know that amount will need to go up as they get older.

 

What is build a bear? Is it that thing where you get a load of eyes, some fabric and some sequins and at the end you've got a soft toy which looks like an extra from a Steven King film?

This year, Isla is having a mystery quest on roller skates. It actually sounds very good, and the best thing is that it means we won't then need to go ice-skating when it's minus fifteen outside, which is what she does after her party every year. I do question her sanity sometimes.

 

Good to see the spirit of giving is alive and well. We celebrate Christmas in October with our friends in France and last year none of the presents I gave cost me anything, just my time and effort. That must have been some seriously cheap tat, eh?

 

^^^^^^^ This all day long.
Bugg*r all JC and I agree on re politics, but this is a great post. The best present a parent can give- not just at Christmas and Birthdays but all year round is to spend time with their kids, reading to them, teaching them a sense of value and respect for others and people's property.
Grandparents, aunts and uncles can spoil them. Too many parents buy stuff to keep their kids out of their hair or as a show of wealth to others.

 

I av 2 daughters 36, and 33, a son whos 35. a son in law and daughter in law, we put 20 quid in a card on birthdays for a drink and the same at xmas, then we've got 9 grand kids, they each get 50 quid on Birthdays and 100 quid at xmas. I KEEP saying give em a tenner at, xmas and birthdays, i'm a tight ****, but HER in doors sez its the norm I FOLLOW THE FLOW.and its peaceful.

 

It was living hell

https://www.buildabear.co.uk/brand-help-party-home.html

She’s still sulking about the football and refuses to understand why Conor doesn’t play for us anymore!! Every time I take her she asks me where the pretty one is...

 

Thankfully they don't appear to operate in St Petersburg, Yet. Did they turn up at your house? We had the birthday party at our place once, never again. The only consolation was that there was a fully stocked fridge. Though I didn't allow anyone to drink anything from there until most of the kids had gone home. By god did we need to clear the contents of it that evening.

 

I don't get involved with buying presents but I can remember my daughter showing me an hand bag she had got for her birthday . I said to her ' is that all you've got'? she replied "yes, but it was £500 " . I nearly fell over . My first car cost me £100 .

 

3 kids. £150 to £200 each for birthdays and probably double that and a bit more for Christmas.

Oh and just for clarification we care about our kids and show them affection the rest of the year aswell and certainly aren't attempting to show off to anyone.

 

Load of B0llocks.

Not only that but that appears a lot like shaming people who cannot afford more. My daughter is now 19 months old so doesn't know what money is anyway. She's had one birthday so far and we spent a very small amount on her. Each year that passes it will get more, but we won't be skinting ourselves. What fun would it be for her getting older if her parents spent a lot on her for the sake of one day, only to realise they couldn't afford to do much for the remaining 364 days of the year?

I always say if you can afford to spend a lot then that's fine, but just bear in mind that other people at your children's schools aren't as well off and may just end up getting bullied for it. When you start talking about spending 500 plus on a birthday then I think it's OTT.

 

Not kids, but the wife pointed out to me a handbag that would cost £1k. This surprised me as she is not a brand snob,nor is she, or has she ever been into consumerism really. I said, would you prefer a carrier bag with £1k cash in it instead, and she said no as she really liked the handbag. All I know is, she still would like the handbag but realises she isn’t going get it anytime soon.

 

Approximately £100 / £150 per child for their birthday and £250 approx for Xmas when they were kids.

 

No chance would I have a party in my house. I’d need to be back on the Mitshus to even consider it.