Is it less per child than it would be if you had one child?
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I have one DD 10 months we don't have a budget.... just have a list of major wants and will go from there
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I voted about 100 to 150. My mom was a stellar gift giver so I, too, love giving gifts so I'd never be able to stick to a smaller budget. lol I'd spend that much whether I had one or two LOs (I currently have 2). I'm not sure if we could spend quite that much with 3
ETA: I should clarify that we have a small house so I often focus on getting one more costly item versus many items that add up to a lot.
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I voted $50-$75, because that's probably where I'd like to stay for Christmas. He got tons from grandparents last year and we stuck to four gifts plus stocking from us. But we did get him a kitchen for his first birthday so that was obviously more. We only have one LO, and he's 18 months. I would imagine our budget will increase as he gets older and is into more expensive gifts.
I also buy him toys, puzzles, books etc. throughout the year.
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I would say under $100. If we only had one it might be a bit more but not much. Anything beyond that seems a bit excessive and a bit of a waste.
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I voted $300+. DS' 2nd birthday is next month and we're going to have a birthday dinner for immediate family plus grandparents . For various reasons we've decided to get catering from Wegman's and that will run us about $200. Then we'll get him a larger gift and some smaller ones, probably spending $175ish.
@T.H.O.U.: I don't think money spent on gifts that keep your child entertained, or foster learning, or burn off energy, or keep tantrums at bay, would be excessive or wasteful.
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@T.H.O.U.: I think keeping it under $100 is hard depending on the gift. Her kitchen last year alone was $150. But she still plays with it so well worth the money.
This year max $150. Her big gift will be $50, if we do it, otherwise she is just getting a bunch of small stuff. I have like 3 things so far I have spent maybe $40.
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We typically spend 150-200 on just dd. now we have two and we will probably stick to 150 a kid. We don't buy for extended family, so it's reasonable for us.
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So far, we are at 87 for a Zany Zoo, Richard Scarry book, skiphop hedgehog backpack for daycare and vibrating teddy bear...I am happy with that!
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We try not to spend more than $50 per person (LO included) for Christmas or birthdays. We only do stocking stuffers at Christmas (no other gifts). Our LO is almost two years old and for Christmas she'll be getting:
- play doh
- play silks
- hand puppets
- glow sticks / glow bracelets
- a doll
- lottery ticketsWe only have one child, but I think the $50 cap will probably stay the same even if we have more.
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@T.H.O.U.: I don't understand why it is necessary to shame anyone for spending at any level. Just state the number and move on.
Anywho, I am spending over $300, on one gift, for my son's birthday and Christmas gift.
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We plan on $100 for lo's Christmas this year. We didn't spend a lot on birthday because she didn't need a lot then. Her big gift is $40 so that's a big chunk.
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We've never budgeted for holiday or birthday gifts. To me, it's more important about finding something I am excited to give that person - sometimes it's $10, sometimes it's $50.
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@looch: I stated my personal position. For us when we have gone over $100/$150 in gifts after the gift period it seems that there is always something that doesn't get played with or there is just too much and they don't get enough use. We have also been very blessed with a lot of hand me downs and a lot of family and friends that buy gifts even when we say it's not necessary. Our house is FULL of toys. I would love to get more to a simple way of life and not feel like our house is a play room when my kids barely touch the stuff.
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We spend very little so far, but I have no real budget. We live in a condo so I don't buy big toys like play kitchens, children's chairs, multiple ride on toys, outdoor play equipment, etc that i might if we lived in a bigger house.
Plus we just got lucky with a kiddo who likes building and crafts and puzzles, which tend to be cheaper anyway. I may splurge on some magnetic tiles at some point.
Our parents are all modest gift givers as well. I think for birthdays and christmas, we may have each spent $25 on LO.
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Probably around $200? Including little stocking stuffers
We would prob spend around the same if we had another kid.
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We always spend about 250 on DS. DD will be here in a couple weeks and since she'll be so young at Christmas we definitely won't spend as much on her this year. In the future I see 200-250 per kid as reasonable.
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@looch: well now I wanna know what he is getting! Whatever it is, I bet it's awesome! lol
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@Mrs. Sunshine: Since you asked, the most obnoxious toy known to man, a battery powered Chevy Ride on. It's from Santa, my husband and I and both sets of grandparents, for both Christmas and his birthday. I've already told him there will be nothing else and he seems to get it. So let's see.
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@looch: so awesome! I wanted a jeep so badly as a kid, I hope he loves it!
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We don't have a set budget, but try to stay below $150 (which includes things like stocking stuffers, books and clothes). If we were getting a big gift, like a play kitchen, we'd be okay going over that.
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@Mrs. Sunshine: I wanted one as well, but Santa never brought me one, lol. My father is a complete sucker now and brought my son to the store specifically to see it so, yeah, how could he NOT want it?
I personally think it's over the top, but we'll sell it once we're done with it, at least that's what i am telling myself.
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We'll spend between $200 and $300 would be my guess. Her bday is a month before Xmas and we're also spending $150 on that.
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This year it won't be very much, maybe $50. In the future I can see us budgeting $200-$300 per kid on Christmas.
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I voted $150-200. We already spent $140 on her train table, and with a couple more little things plus stocking stuffers it'll probably be close to $200.
ETA: We usually spend around $100/each on my stepkids. Less than we spend on LO because their mom gets them a lot, too.
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No set budget but I voted $300+ since that's what we spent last year. To @T.H.O.U.'s point, that doesn't necessarily mean we bought a bunch of junky toys that don't get played with - one was a high-end balance bike (which I spent more $$ on because I want it to last through two kids), one was a set of magnatiles that gets used a lot. Then we did a few really cheap things like a pomegranate wrapped in gift wrap (that he was actually so excited about), a $1 book from Goodwill, etc.
This year I'm not sure what we'll spend but we're looking at doing more experiences (zoo, gymnastics class), necessities (shoes) and maybe a coupon book (like, 1 extra book at bedtime, build a fort with mama and dada). We generally don't buy much throughout the rest of the year, and buy used when possible.
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Just about $50 a kid. I buy them things throughout the year to keep their toys exciting and engaging and I personally don't love the consumerism of the holidays. We already spent $40 on those discount magnatiles from Target and $10 each on big sticker books (they love them) which leaves us with $20 each to finish up. I think 3 gifts a piece from parents is plenty when I consider how many they get from grandparents and great grandparents and aunts and uncles.
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I don't really have a budget. We are doing the want/need/wear/read. I voted $75-100 because that's what we will spend this year.
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I voted 300 but frankly we don't have a budget. I like experience gifts and the toys and clothes go through two kiddos at this point. I also don't have a budget for DH or my mom (who does so much for us).
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I have no idea mostly because I don't have any gift ideas yet! My LOs both have birthdays close to the holidays, and I find it hard to find good ideas. I even asked DS, who is turning 5, what he wanted and he said he didn't know. What am I supposed to do with that?!
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No idea. I buy random stuff through the year and hold until holidays.
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I voted $150-200 but it's a bit less for birthdays (probably more like $75-100). We don't do a lot of little things but we do one big thing (kitchen helper this year, kitchen for her birthday) and then want, need, wear read for Christmas.
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@looch: We've been looking for a used one for C! We got gifted a hand-me-down 6V last year from my cousin, but C is too tall for it.
I'd say $100 for birthday and $150 for Christmas, give or take. We only have 1. We don't buy a lot of toys or anything during the rest of the year generally (except books), so it's our one time of the year when we splurge a little.
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I want to get J this scooter! So it's a big ticket item but I know he'll love it. I usually aim for or around $100.
We tend to get him a big ticket item each year. Last year it was his train table and train set and the year before was his kitchen.
They are all played with daily. -
No real budget but that doesn't mean we spend a ton. I'm not super into getting him a ton of gifts at this point because I get him stuff all the time, a toy here and there just because, you know? I think he's too little to "get it" but in the future, probably $200 or less for Christmas, maybe $50 for birthdays?
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@Mrs. Pen: we have that scooter! It's one of our most played with toys!
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We don't usually do big birthday presents because we throw big parties, so I usually spend around $40 for birthday or gift an experience for the whole family (in the past we did Great Wolf Lodge).
Last year we spent around $100 a kid for Christmas. We will probably stick with that budget for a while. But next year when DD3 is old enough for presents, it will likely be more like $75/kid. OR, one big present they can share, like a playhouse.
I think budget will go up once theyre older.
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@Mrs. Pen: that's one of the gifts we're getting for LO's bday! I'm pumped!
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It's very variable. We don't like overloading him with gifts, ybit sometimes there's one big ticket item. Like this year for his second birthday he got a balance bike that's ~$150. But last year for Xmas we only got him some books and stocking stuffers. So I didn't vote because we don't have a set amount.
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@lamariniere: good to hear! He was begging for one all summer. Being in an apartment, at least he can go up and down the hallways when it's snowing outside hahaha! I like this design because of the two wheels in the front, and it has great reviews!
@Truth Bombs: yay! I'm so excited to give it to him too. Doesn't it just make you so happy to see your kid happy?! Haha I know it sounds corny but it's my favorite part about Christmas/birthdays now. He makes it so fun.
I also buy him toys, puzzles, books etc. throughout the year.
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48 comments