How much do you spend on Xmas in total?
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Food and drink for over the 3 main days about £150 (cooking for 8 people usually but always ensure there are leftovers for when relatives go home nom nom)
For presents it changes year on year but as a family we keep it low key now so probably £300 max.
So £400-£500 when all said and done.
I simply love the time off, eating nice things, playing board games and having the time to finish off a video game.
Can't bloody wait!
For presents it changes year on year but as a family we keep it low key now so probably £300 max.
So £400-£500 when all said and done.
I simply love the time off, eating nice things, playing board games and having the time to finish off a video game.
Can't bloody wait!
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Soldato
Joint of meat ~£20-30
Trimmings about the same again
Misc. nibbles, cheese & crackers etc. probably the same again
Saved a lot on wine this year as we've started making it, usually get a case on offer for £70 or so, but I reckon we'll get through maybe £20-£25 or so of our homemade stash
Half decent bottle of whisky ~£40-50
Baileys, port and similar liqueurs/spirits ~£50-60
£10-15 in soft drinks & fruit juice for the kids
So what's that...? £240 total in food & drink
However offset the fact that will usually last us 3-4 days, e.g. cold cuts of meat in sandwiches from leftovers, "buffet" dinner, stew from the bones etc. then that's about £60 in normal shopping "saved", so let's say £180.
Presents wise, other half usually gets £2-300 spent on her.
For the kids, I tend to get their "big" presents, so £2-300 each, and then the other half spends about the same on cheap tat toys (and then spends the rest of the year moaning about all the cheap tat toys lying around the house
)
Immediate family get £10-20 each, so a total of £60-120.
That makes...
*Thinks*
£180 + £300 + £300 + £300 + £120 = £1,200?
Edit: this year has actually been a bit more than usual!
Got the eldest an electric drum kit as he's been getting lessons for the past 18 months and stuck at it, so that's been closer to ~£7-800 including all the bits and pieces to go with it!
My younger brother (well, his wife obviously
) is also expecting their first baby early next year, so we did the good auntie/uncle thing and got them a goodie-bag with the little bits and pieces you don't realise you need until it's 3am and all the shops are shut!
Trimmings about the same again
Misc. nibbles, cheese & crackers etc. probably the same again
Saved a lot on wine this year as we've started making it, usually get a case on offer for £70 or so, but I reckon we'll get through maybe £20-£25 or so of our homemade stash
Half decent bottle of whisky ~£40-50
Baileys, port and similar liqueurs/spirits ~£50-60
£10-15 in soft drinks & fruit juice for the kids
So what's that...? £240 total in food & drink
However offset the fact that will usually last us 3-4 days, e.g. cold cuts of meat in sandwiches from leftovers, "buffet" dinner, stew from the bones etc. then that's about £60 in normal shopping "saved", so let's say £180.
Presents wise, other half usually gets £2-300 spent on her.
For the kids, I tend to get their "big" presents, so £2-300 each, and then the other half spends about the same on cheap tat toys (and then spends the rest of the year moaning about all the cheap tat toys lying around the house
)Immediate family get £10-20 each, so a total of £60-120.
That makes...
*Thinks*
£180 + £300 + £300 + £300 + £120 = £1,200?
Edit: this year has actually been a bit more than usual!
Got the eldest an electric drum kit as he's been getting lessons for the past 18 months and stuck at it, so that's been closer to ~£7-800 including all the bits and pieces to go with it!
My younger brother (well, his wife obviously
) is also expecting their first baby early next year, so we did the good auntie/uncle thing and got them a goodie-bag with the little bits and pieces you don't realise you need until it's 3am and all the shops are shut!
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Associate
The budget spreadsheet tells me £125 a month saved. So £1500.
Ouch. We start buying early as well.
That's just presents! In laws are around £200 of the above. So it quickly disappears. Kids needed new push bikes this year. Even cheap Halfords ones are pushing £200 each. So it quickly adds up.
It's certainly gone up since having 2 kids that's for sure.
Ouch. We start buying early as well.
That's just presents! In laws are around £200 of the above. So it quickly disappears. Kids needed new push bikes this year. Even cheap Halfords ones are pushing £200 each. So it quickly adds up.
It's certainly gone up since having 2 kids that's for sure.
Soldato
£250 on presents this year, another £100 on two nights in a hotel to visit them and £120 to eat out on Christmas Day for us both. Most expensive month as usual.
Probably £400-700 all in including all family gifts, food, drink and the tree.
I don’t tend to buy my partner stuff for Christmas specifically and vice versa as we just buy stuff we want when we want it. We have a soft rule of thumb that it’s supposed to be ‘stocking fillers’ only.
I just bought her a tat t-shirt with a pop culture reference on it… will buy a chocolate orange probably, that sort of thing.
Parents we tend to do a nice hamper of snacks, or tickets to a show or something.
I don’t tend to buy my partner stuff for Christmas specifically and vice versa as we just buy stuff we want when we want it. We have a soft rule of thumb that it’s supposed to be ‘stocking fillers’ only.
I just bought her a tat t-shirt with a pop culture reference on it… will buy a chocolate orange probably, that sort of thing.
Parents we tend to do a nice hamper of snacks, or tickets to a show or something.
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Associate
Probably well over a grand.
Elder sons (2) get around £200 each. I used to get £100 off my parents about 30 years ago, so with inflation n what not, £200 doesn't seem excessive.
Young daughter, probably around £150. Wife £200 (upped budget for each other this year), and about another £150 on presents for my parents/brother.
Good meat ain't cheap these days, and while I don't drink that much anymore, probably another 100 on wine/beer for home and to take to family events.
Add to that all the mince pies, panettone, cheese, chocolate, christmas tree etc.. All adds up.
Elder sons (2) get around £200 each. I used to get £100 off my parents about 30 years ago, so with inflation n what not, £200 doesn't seem excessive.
Young daughter, probably around £150. Wife £200 (upped budget for each other this year), and about another £150 on presents for my parents/brother.
Good meat ain't cheap these days, and while I don't drink that much anymore, probably another 100 on wine/beer for home and to take to family events.
Add to that all the mince pies, panettone, cheese, chocolate, christmas tree etc.. All adds up.
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Associate
£5 a head ???
Standard pub round here will be something like £60 for me, wife and a kids sized meal. When was the last time you went out to eat, 1986 ?
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Soldato
Probably around €100 for fancy food and drink for the pair of us who will be pulling up the drawbridge as usual over Xmas.
Soldato
Well I've just spent £60 less courtesy of some free Guinness from Amazon!
It does to be significantly more expensive.
Its still a choice. How many people HAVE to feed 10 people? If you're. Doing that you've chosen to.
And thus you're choosing to spend it.
Obviously if you have a bigger family you're gonna spend a bit more. But it doesn't have to rocket you to 1000.
It most likely down to mindset, attitude towards money and household income.
I believe we are going to a pub for Xmas dinner with my Gfs dad as he doesn't want to. Cook. Apparently it's 90 pounds a head.
I was blown away as its just pub food.
Unfortunately I don't even like any of the starters and not keen on the dessert either.
Having never been out for Xmas I was shocked.
I was blown away as its just pub food.
Unfortunately I don't even like any of the starters and not keen on the dessert either.
Having never been out for Xmas I was shocked.
Associate
We did the Christmas lunch at a pub once, for something different. It was alright, nice atmosphere in the pub. But it did feel a bit rushed, like they wanted it over so they could shut up and go home.
You're paying for people to work on Christmas day, it's never going to be cheap.
It blows my mind personally. I absolutely would not choose it! But it's not my choice. I just made sure I wasn't paying for it.
Oh you have to pay though lol.
I wouldnt pay that, i would in your position but surely you want leftovers etc
Soldato
honestly no clue, we don't really spend much money on presents for each other (<£200 each), we do have fairly big families with lot of little ones so probably close to £1k on family presents even though individual presents are relatively cheap. It is what it is and the main thing is that everyone has a good time. Overall I'd say ~£2k.
Its a 3 course meal. It looks fairly generic. And I only like one course.
Def not paying!