I was reading on Forbes last week that the average parent will spend $271 per child this Christmas (in Canada it's $230). Why? Why would any parent spend that much per child? Coming from a very poor home, at most we'd get brussel sprouts and celery for Christmas. But seriously, how much will everyone be spending this year for their children? My fiancee is spending $20 for her one nephew and $20 for her niece (even that's too much!)
$271 per child?! Who did they "average parents" are, the ones living in The Hamptons? I'm spending around $40 for gifts for both of my nephews. I got to buy them some things I think they may like online.
Wow...definitely not here! I will admit that one year when we had some extra money we did splurge for an actual (as opposed to toy) drumset for our son, but there was a lot of focus on that and how it was a very special, BIG gift. That is WAY too much to spend on a child, imo, even if you feel like you do have the money to spare. We're stuck with a very tight budget this year and are spending 20 per kid, max. I really don't see how that is the average though O_O.
I guess I come from a different world. My parents always spent between $200-$300 on us, and that didn't include our grandparents or aunts and uncles. I spend about $100 per child on the kiddos I work with.
You have to keep in mind that it's an average. So while there's a good chunk of people who are going to spend upwards of $800 per kid instead, some are barely scraping by. I don't think it's that uncommon for parents to drop $100+ on a kid for a Nintendo DS or Xbox, etc....and then a few smaller gifts that add up in price, too.
There's only one child in the family, my niece. I will not be spending $271 on her. She will get at least $271 in gifts from her families. In the past, the kids in our family always get that much in gifts. Between electronic toys and clothes it's pretty easy to spend that amount.
I can see how it would be really easy to spend that much with the prices on electronics and hot video games as high as they are but it is just simply not in my budget. It never has been and probably never will be! I try to calculate how much the total budget will be for all the gifts and then split it up from there as to how much per individual I have to work with. Then the trick is to stick within my budget. I usually do go over a bit, but not by much.
Game systems would definitely bump up the figure for those gifts. That may be a factor in their figures. Occasionally I spend more, but generally I spend about $150 per child. It doesn't take much with the cost of everything these days.
Holy crud? Almsot $300 per kid? No wonder most kid seem to think the holiday sare about material junk. We spent about $100 per kid. Our house will nto be full of junk that won't get played with.
That's WAY too much to be spending on just one child! I really don't know anyone who actually spends that much so I'm not sure how accurate that information is especially with how the economy is now. We have 2 kids and we usually spend $50.00 total, not for each one. They get lots of gifts from family members and friends also so it's not like they're deprived or something either. No wonder kids have an attitude of entitlement nowadays if their parents are actually spending that amount for gifts.
I know people who spend that much. My brother and his wife easily spend that much on their kids if not more. And it all goes on credit cards. They tend to overspend in general and even spend way too much on our parents, her parents, their nephews and neices and every other person who they buy for. It is nice but it makes everyone uncomfotable. None of us can buy like that and we all know that they can't either.
Wait,that is $271 per kid not for all kids? I have to ask because my father would of considered this even more then he was willing to spend for all his kids and he had eight of them. That's not say we didn't have nice Christmases our parents always got us one nice gift then some practical stuff such a pajamas. Thing is that I learned from my parents that Christmas can still be made nice for kids without having to break the bank.
That is per kid. So for eight kids, he'd be spending over $2k total just on the kids if he were going for the average. That seems so excessive just for Christmas gifts for kids. Oy.
WOW!?! 271 is a bit much to spend on per child i probably spent that much between three kids my two kids and my sister who is six years old. But on each that's just crazy who even has that much money to spend on each kid what in the world would kids want that would cost that much that is just crazy.
It also depends on what you are buying. I had a friend growing up who got everything as a present. Her birthday was in May so she got all her new summer/fall clothes for her birthday, and her summer sports equipment and such for birthday presents. For Christmas she got winter and spring clothes and necessary things she would need for winter. It was a lot of things that many people don't give their kids as presents. Her budget was probably huge, but it's all stuff her parents would have bought her anyway.
Geez...that's a bit too much to spend on a child. I feel sorry for those people that have multiple kids to shop for. I guess it's those game consoles that are boosting the price up. I only have one niece and four other kids to shop for this year. I spent around $25 per kid, my niece being the exception. I spent a bit more on her but it was still no where near $271.
I have one child and I'll likely spend $100 on her, but if I can save up some Amazon gift cards from Swagbucks, I might spend a little more than that. My daughter is absolutely the only person I buy Christmas gifts for, so if I spend $100 on her, then that's the total amount I'm spending on Christmas.
While that seems really high, I suppose it depends on what is included. I often give my kids new clothes at Christmas time, and I buy large so last for a while. When you add clothing cost to books, toys, and art supplies it can easily add up. Last year we bought one big item (a toy kitchen on sale) and then bought the things that go with it for the other presents. I really hope that I am not spending anywhere close to that much per child this year for Christmas, which is one reason I buy when things are on sale throughout the year and then save them for Christmas time. I am also trying to cut down on how much they get, and instead doing fun things together.
I agree that's probably about the right amount. Over here in the Republic Of Ireland the average is 400 Euro's per child. Mine won't get that much spent on them though, but I am lucky because they are always happy with what they get. They don't moan, they just smile and open their presents with joy. It's always a wonderful time watching your children on Christmas morning
My father always spent that and more on me, my sister, and brother every year when we was younger. He is spends that much on us now and his grandchildren. When we was younger he use to give each of us $500 to spend on each other for Christmas. I came from a middle class family so money really was not a problem. Now that I am married things are different. My husband and I usually spend about $600 together during Christmas. That covers gifts for his daughter, my nephews and nieces, brother and sisters, and our parents.
