santa...whats aresonable amount to spend on kids

lisa.c · 2005-11-20 15:08:31

just did the santa shop have one child spent €420.... is this to much? not enough? just right? what do you all spend and your kids? when do you realise its time to stop that they got enough!!!! i feel i want to fill the room with pressies but i know this is wrong. i did good this year by sticking to a list. but its just so…

20-11-2005 04:08PM

#1

lisa.c

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just did the santa shop have one child spent €420....

is this to much?
not enough?
just right?

what do you all spend and your kids?
when do you realise its time to stop that they got enough!!!!

i feel i want to fill the room with pressies but i know this is wrong. i did good this year by sticking to a list. but its just so god damm hard to stop buying santa pressies!!!:o

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#2 20-11-2005 04:16PM

Zayn Noisy Signal
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420 is way too much in my opinion. But I did grow up with really scabby parents. I remember when I was about 12 or 13 my dad said he wasn't spending more than 40 pounds on presents and he was serious. That's all I got, and it was the same most years. The biggest thing was a CD and then maybe a jumper and some chocolates/sweets, and I don't get presents from my grandparents, aunts or uncles! On the other hand, there were kids in my class who got a Playstation, a pile of games, a bike, rollerblades, etc, which is way too much.

It depends on the age of the kid but in general I wouldn't spend more than 150 per child. What on earth do they need that's so expensive? Maybe a one off like a Playstation but if they got that I wouldn't get them anything else expensive, just little gifts. There's no need to be getting 2 or 3 'big' presents

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#3 20-11-2005 04:18PM

Sarky

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€420? I wouldn't spend that much on myself for Christmas.

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#4 20-11-2005 04:19PM

Pigman II

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420? **** sake! I wish I was a kid these days. Even the equivilant of 150 would have gotten me my wildest dream-toy back then and then have money left over.

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#5 20-11-2005 04:23PM

Rb

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Well, there is a parenting forum under Soc here.

Ask the other parents of your kids friends how much they got/spent for their kids, then get the average and maybe give/spend that amount or a little more on your own.

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#6 20-11-2005 04:27PM

*Oul_Doll_Cork*

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It all depends on what you can afford really!!... €420 is a good amount to spend on your child for christmas!..
.... People forget that these days things aren't so cheap and you wouldn't get a whole lot for €450!!...
..... Its your first and only child so its understandable that you want to give them loads and want them to have a great Christmas!!!...

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#7 20-11-2005 04:30PM

lisa.c

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i actually thought that was being scabby.
considering we (me and partner) dont go out or drink we live with parents and have no major bills... and next xmas our cicumstances could change and we might not be in the position were in now!!!
any way the price of toys now days.. i doubt 150 would go far!

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#8 20-11-2005 04:34PM

Pigman II

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lisa.c wrote:

next xmas our cicumstances could change and we might not be in the position were in now!!!

Well theres mistake number one as far as i'm concerned. You start getting a ton of great stuff for your kid this xmas and you've (whether realising it or not) just 'set the bar' at that level. If you can't match it for every subsequent xmas and bday then they're not going to be too impressed.

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#9 20-11-2005 04:35PM

Zayn Noisy Signal
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Scabby? Hah. I love what Christmas has become.

What did you actually get for 420 then?

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#10 20-11-2005 04:46PM

Supercell

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Jebus!, one year a got a second hand Hockey Stick..did it leave me bitter hmm....

Screw it, spoil them, but make sure they understand its not something to take for granted..otherwise its only going to get more expensive each year.

https://www.loughlinstown.ie/

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#11 20-11-2005 05:04PM

lisa.c

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i got him the
v smile from vtech and 2 games bob the builder and sponge bob and carry case
hot wheels gorillas
willy wonka chocolate maker
buckaroo,operatiom and guess who
ripped my pants sponge bob
madagascar marty teddy
fantastic four hot rod
voice changer
roobots noise boots

not a lot really!

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#12 20-11-2005 05:12PM

crazymonkey

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whats wrong with spoiling them once in the year,, if you can afford it of course,, when i have kids i would want them to have everything i didn't,,

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#13 20-11-2005 05:14PM

Cake Fiend

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€420 sounds like a lot for one child to me. As Pigman II mentioned, there's a danger of the child expecting at least that much spent on them every year now.

On the other hand, it's probably only a couple of times a year that they get a big allowance of presents (birthday, Christmas), so the desire to spoil them is understandable. Plus, the price of children's toys has become extortionate! :eek: So you don't even get that much for €420.

If you have other children, try to maybe spread the cost over them by buying something they can all enjoy, and preferably play with together.

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#14 20-11-2005 05:17PM

ferdi

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i'm not a parent but 420euro on one child....hmmm. sounds like you are spoiling him

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#15 20-11-2005 05:18PM

LegacyUser

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what could you buy for 40 quid these days?? It is a difficult call.

I think thats a lot of stuff for one child

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#16 20-11-2005 05:19PM

Tusky

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I think it depends on the kid. If you think he will be able to enjoy the presents without turnign into a spoiled greedy **** then why not splash out. If the kid is demanding presents and is already greedy/spoiled, you aint sending them a good message.

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#17 20-11-2005 05:21PM

jesus_thats_gre

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lisa.c wrote:

just did the santa shop have one child spent €420....

is this to much?
not enough?
just right?

what do you all spend and your kids?
when do you realise its time to stop that they got enough!!!!

i feel i want to fill the room with pressies but i know this is wrong. i did good this year by sticking to a list. but its just so god damm hard to stop buying santa pressies!!!:o

When I was growing up, my parents used to spend around 300 punts or so on myself and something similar with my sister. That was 15 to 20 years ago.. They just made a big deal out of Christmas

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#18 20-11-2005 05:21PM

LegacyUser

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+1 @Tusky .. I think thats what it boils down to. It depends on the child.
I know that my parents went out of their way to make our Christmas fun and special. I'll always remember asking Dad on Christmas day at 6am .. "Dad, has he been yet, has Santa been here".
I remember Dad saying "Shhhh, can't you hear that .. hooves on the roof .. I think he's still down there .. leave it for a few minutes for him to finish off what he's doing". We'd eventually go downstairs and there would be a little section of the sitting room with toys laid out for me and my brothers. One corner for each of us. Looking back on it, we didn't get LOTS of expensive presents .. but Mum used to lay them out nicely and put a lot of thought into what we got.
My parents spent just the right amount on Christmas, they saved a lot for our education and when we needed grinds etc .. the money was there. We had a great Christmas each year, (except the year Santa didn't put up my Wendy House).

If you can do it without spoiling the child, or jepradising something else that is more important, then why not.

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#19 20-11-2005 06:35PM

mad m

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I have two kids 10&7 and they both have birthdays in december as well, and at moment christmas presents for both is around €250 plus my daughter has already got her birthday present as it was a bike(wanted to give it her sop that she could enjoy it before winter sets in) so another €150 on that.I'd say over all for the two of my kids plus birthdays €600.

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#20 20-11-2005 06:36PM

iguana

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lisa.c wrote:

i got him the
v smile from vtech and 2 games bob the builder and sponge bob and carry case
hot wheels gorillas
willy wonka chocolate maker
buckaroo,operatiom and guess who
ripped my pants sponge bob
madagascar marty teddy
fantastic four hot rod
voice changer
roobots noise boots

not a lot really!

Tbh that sounds like too much, if you give too much to a kid then they are hardly likely to appreciate it. You say you are still living with your parents and hoping that that will have changed by next year, but if you were a bit more reserved with your spending, perhaps you would be in a position to afford your own home now.

When my parents bought their house the expense was pretty crippling. (It would be comparitively cheaper for me to buy the house at it's current value, based on my salary than it was based on my dad's salary 19 years ago.) Our first Christmas there I got presents totalling under £10 as did my younger brother. My youngest brother's present was gotten for milk tokens. But we never felt hard done by.

Making Christmas special has nothing to do with how much you spend. My favourite X-mas present would probably be the crib my Dad hand-made and painted for me to put my baby-doll into. Most importantly I love my parents more because of the sacrifices they made for us, not for the material goods they gave me.

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#21 20-11-2005 06:49PM

TerrorFirmer

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My parents have always spent a minimum of 300-400 each on my sister and myself since as long as I can remember.

It doesn't make us snobby people, or spoilt, it's just different parents believe in different approaches when it comes to gift giving much like in many other areas of parenting. At the end of the day, we always appreciate what we get, and we don't forget to thank them for the generosity. I myself love to spend all the cash I have on my girlfriend and friends at Christmas. It's not because I'm spoiling them, its because I love having the ability to spend my money on making other people happy and knowing I've made them happy makes me happy....:v:

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#22 20-11-2005 06:50PM

Reaver772

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Four hundread and twenty quid!

For fecks sake a bag of coal is less than 20 quid and if the kid doesn't like it you can always hit him with it. Everybody seems to have forgotten the true meaning of christmas - making your family suffer!

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#23 20-11-2005 06:59PM

Binomate

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A bag of apple is more than enough for any kid.

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#24 20-11-2005 07:10PM

Giblet

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Jesus are you mad! Kids these days eh! I remember getting my SNES and thinking I was the luckiest bastard ever. That was 99 punts!

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#25 20-11-2005 07:15PM

Seraphina

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tbh, that does sound like an awful lot of stuff. judging by the pressies you got him he's probably at an age where he's too young to really appreciate it.
if i were you i'd split that stuff up and maybe hold onto some of it for his birthday? he'll never be able to play with all that.

420euro might not be much if you got him maybe one large present like a bike or something but it sounds like he'll have a mountain of stuff!

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#26 20-11-2005 07:18PM

Nasty_Girl

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Op, how old is your child?
Sounds like its pretty young (bob the builder etc) and that does seem like a ridiculously stupid amount of money to spend on ONE child.

However, if you have the money to spend on it, then I don't see why you shouldn't.

Interestingly, I noticed in school , some people worried why santa didn't bring them as much as others had got.... they had been just as good, why didn't santa like them as much?
Must've broke their parents hearts.

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#27 20-11-2005 07:18PM

Shabadu

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lisa.c wrote:

i got him the
v smile from vtech and 2 games bob the builder and sponge bob and carry case
hot wheels gorillas
willy wonka chocolate maker
buckaroo,operatiom and guess who
ripped my pants sponge bob
madagascar marty teddy
fantastic four hot rod
voice changer
roobots noise boots

not a lot really!

Jesus Mary and Holy St.Joseph.

Aside from financial concerns which you apparently aren't concerned with, are you not worried your child is going to be completely spoiled growing up? The people I know who were given that much tat at Christmas ended up with completely unrealistic views of what the world was about, and tended to expect everything handed to them on a platter.

Aside from all the religous connotations, Christmas is NOT about toys and Santa, it's about spending time as a family, laughing, talking, cooking, singing, reading etc. My two year old is getting a Playdough factory from Santa, and a load of books from us. I dread to think of all the presents the other family members will be getting him.

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#28 20-11-2005 07:27PM

Zayn Noisy Signal
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got him the
v smile from vtech and 2 games bob the builder and sponge bob and carry case
hot wheels gorillas
willy wonka chocolate maker
buckaroo,operatiom and guess who
ripped my pants sponge bob
madagascar marty teddy
fantastic four hot rod
voice changer
roobots noise boots

not a lot really!

Actually it is a lot. Way too much for one child, it's a lot even between 3. Kids get bored of these kinds of toys anyway, and they're way more expensive than what they're worth. Why get more than 2 of 3 of them? That's plenty. Then you could get felt tips that change color, kids books, videos that teach to spell/count (don't know how old he is) stuff that is vaguely educational. It might sound a bit boring but I loved that kind of stuff when I was younger.

I don't mean to sound like Scrooge but usually kids just get bored of those kinds of toys, either break them, or lose parts so they don't work anymore, or it's too much of an effort to set up so no-one can ever be arsed setting them up to play with. That's all I remember about those games.

I just don't see the point in spending so much on a child too young to appreciate it. There has to be other things to spend that money on. All the young kids I know would be grand with a teddy, a toy car with sound effects, and a stocking full of sweets, which comes to about 50 quid if that.

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#29 20-11-2005 07:30PM

Aisling(",)

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I'm 14 and am getting a psp which is around 250 and the games are 45 or 50 each.So I'd say my mam and dad will spend around 350 on that.but then there are my christmas clothes which was near 340 last year.(I'm the baby of the family by 9 years so am a little spoilt) and all my friends think I'm hard done by.They will also give me my pocket money as well as money for presents for my freinds etc and spending money for going out.I think 420 is around right because I know myself how unfair you think it is when most people in your class have gotten more then you for christmas

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#30 20-11-2005 07:37PM

aidan_walsh

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Aisling(",) wrote:

a little spoilt

No, you're a lot spoilt by the sounds of it, as evidenced by

I think 420 is around right because I know myself how unfair you think it is when most people in your class have gotten more then you for christmas

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#31 20-11-2005 07:38PM

Mossy Monk

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with all those presents you could keep some of them for next year

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