Average Christmas spend £748?

I have 3 kids and 7 grandkids they each get £100 so £1000 on presents and then I give my daughter who I ll spend Christmas with a hundred towards food and drink (neither of us drink much ) a couple of bottles of wine and a few light lagers for grandson but I ll stay over at least two days I do live on my pension which is around £10 000 a year but my needs are very small My mortgage is finished I don't have a car or central heating so no big overheads free bus pass, or my cycle, don't drink hardly, so seeing my kids / grandkids right at Christmas and birthdays and anything else is good enough for me

I do the same for birthdays £100 each and that s my lot for the year makes it simpler to just have one figure to go by

Why is not drinking being a bore? Or are you one of those people that go on and on and on about not drinking and bore people stiff that way.

I think a lot of rubbish is spoken about drinking and not drinking. Most people enjoy a glass of wine with a meal or a beer on a hot day and never get anywhere near being drunk, drunk driving or intoxicated in any way.

There are those who do not drink drink because they do not like the taste, which is entirely reasonable. Unfortunately too many non-drinkers seem to consider that not drinking somehow raises them to some higher moral plane which enables them to look down on all those who put sherry in their trifle and brandy in their Christmas cake.

There is no more morality in choosing to drink or not to drink than in choosing to finish a meal with a dessert or with cheese.

Very indicative of our cultural attitude to drink, John. Me, I reckon if I'm happy I don't need it and if I'm depressed it makes it much worse......so I don't drink.
And I find drunks are boring.

And my spending this year will be much, much less than (for heavens' sake) £748! as a pensioner that's about three times my weekly income.
There have been ructions in my family this year....one of the lighter spots is, I won't have to spend on so many people...........
Can't say I'm looking forward to it. Roll on New Year.

Sorry I'm a complete bore don't touch drop

How about your drinks bill John?

HOW MUCH!!!! - £748 pa I dont spend that on my food bill -- for the year!!
Uncle Ebenezer was right Bahhhhhhhhhh humbug

I was surprised by your posting Lillie until I looked at my spending spreadsheet and realised that my present spending (including £100 cash to each of our 4 adult children, his and mine) will come to £750. Extra food spending, wine, maybe new decorations & some new daft games to keep different ages happy is probably another £200. But we are in the nice position at the moment of the total being less than a week's income. That certainly hasn't been the case until very recently so I'm going to make the most of it and enjoy it. When we finally retire I shall have to reduce the spending to match the income. We will probably be eating the Xmas food for a week anyway.

I agree with MOnica that one's spending depends on so many different things. Our earning power is probably above average, so we spend more than £1k at Christmas. That equates to less than a week's salary, so it's all relative. No doubt when we retire that figure will be greatly reduced.

I don't really keep a total either but reckon it's a lot - possibly about the average mentioned at the beginning. I've just sorted out the things I've got and as usual think someone doesn't have enough and so it goes on. OH bought his own this year (2 tool chests) and I have some slippers - there's nothing we really need or want so only buying for the family over here - we'll send some money over to NZ although I have got a couple of small things for our little grandsons which needs to be packed up and sent over this week. I just think that for as long as we can do it we will - if there comes a time when we can no longer either afford it or physically manage it as happened with my own parents then that will be the time to cut down.

I buy 6 'bigger' Christmas gifts (4 DGC, 2 x adults) and then smaller things for 10 other children in the family/of friends. Add on the food, panto tickets etc and I rather suspect it is more

I don't keep a total (too scared to see I expect! !)
I have 1 dd & 1 dgd. I buy small things for mum & step dad & I buy for niece & nephew. My siblings decided we weren't buying for each other which suits me!
I buy something for one of my auntys, her bday is xmas day so a little something for bday & xmas.
I buy token things for a few good friends too but I try & have a dinner party for special friends to make up for lack of big pressies ?

Madmeg, it's presents like that which mean so much, luvly

We are trying to make all our Christmas cards this year, MrsP is making the cards and I am hand painting the fronts. Kind you, with what MrsP spends on card making equipment, it certainly isn't cheaper.

I'm spending more this year than normal because I'm retiring in march so I've said after this year it will be children only. As a family this year has been worse than horrible and were making a huge effort to make it memorable and get together. So it'll cost more.

Why are so many people on this thread feeling a need to justify their Christmas spending or alternatively assume an air of virtue because they spend less than average, or cannot afford to spend a lot.

The statistic quoted is morally neutral and anyway 'average', usually means that roughly half the population will spend less anyway, assuming the distribution of Christmas spending is normally distributed.

It is interesting to hear how people distribute their spending, which varies depending on family size, distribution and income, but please, a little less virtue signalling.

I usually spend about a grand at Chrisrmas as it includes three birthdays, a trip to Devon and the entertaining my overworked husband cannot face the rest of the year. We live quietly and frugally usually and I feel we have the right to spend our highly taxed and saved up money as we wish.

It's a lot but it will end when my husband retires. I have a a DS and. DD to buy for, my DM, my DS and her other half and my three DNs. That's all but I give my two children £100 each and it's more this year as they are spending a fortune on my DH's milestone birthday.

Some of the spending is on food and other offers and sales in the run up to and after Christmas where I get cheaper goods and make them last throughout the year.

I am quite prudent about some things. For example, I only buy a small turkey crown and make it do just one meal. Also my DH and I couldn't afford presents for each other when the children were young so we have kept that up and instead go to the sales to buy things we need for the year.

To me Christmas is really about being with the family, seeing friends, entertaining and socialising, the lights, decorations and tree, the carols and traditions and a (nearly) two week holiday in the middle of winter.

Most people would spend a grand on a family holiday. This is my version of that.

I agree. The worrying thing is people who spend large amounts on presents which they cant afford and then sre deep in debt in the Nrw Year. We could afford to spend more really but dont choose to. We di give much larger amounts to family if and when needed . Also to charity of course.

The people posting on here are obviously not strapped for cash, and that is not a criticism of anyone's comments at all. One year our daughter was tight for money and she made us all felt covers for our mobile phones, and chocolates for my hubby and me, plus paid for us to accompany her little family on a trip to the zoo in the Spring. It meant a lot to us.

Some good comments. Christmas is about families and not what you spend. Only spend what you wish and can afford.

The main thing is that however much people spend it is within their particular budget. We spend most of our present budget on our DDs x2, SIL and DGD and mum and stepdad and brother. My OH does not spend on his side of the family at all, a relief as we have 5 great nieces and nephews. We agreed among friends last year to just have a nice meal out and no presents any more. I think we have managed to keep within an overall £750 present budget and then have £250 in extra food and drink for entertaining, meals out etc so £1k overall.

We are fortunate in being comfortably off and allocate £100 per person. That includes gifts we know they want plus cash to treat themselves (adults) with the difference. I spend very little on the small grandchildren but give their parents the balance out of £100 cos it often happens during the year that they grow into a new bike or need football kit, so that money helps them.

But I agree with all those who say Christmas is not about money at all. I could, in fact, afford £500 per person but regard that as way too extravagant for anyone.

When I read this, I thought - no way! Just added it all up and that's probably spot on in our case.

We're a very small family, DH and I are both only children as is our DS, and so far he and DDiL have one child, although that may change in future.
This is the first Christmas of having our DGS, and we've gone rather OTT with presents for him.
We've spent more on DS and DDiL than normal; they have so much washing to get dry at present that we've bought them a condenser tumble dryer as well as their normal presents. It'll make a big difference to them.
We're not going mad on food this year, I'm getting tired of having huge amounts of food left over. When we have Christmas pudding after lunch on Easter Sunday it's getting ridiculous,
We're not big drinkers, so not much being spent there.
I went to Costco a few weeks ago and bought £150 worth of food which is in short supply at our local foodbank and donated that.
I also buy toys from charity shops over the whole year, DH does them up, paints them etc and we take them over to a church in Liverpool from where they're given to children who otherwise would get very little.
All in all, our outlay is probably about £1000, but hey, it's made round to go round!

The trouble with any 'average' is that there isn't one really.One houshold will spend five times as much, another half that or less, another may not go past £70.
It's like saying average house prices in the UK.

No, I make sure people know what I want, MrsP usually get me to order my own presents.

I won't ask whether you regift any of your birthday presents, Wobblybits