It’s November tomorrow so I feel justified in asking you all just how much you spend on your children for Christmas. After all, the big day is only 54 days away.
How much do you hate me for reminding you of that right now?
I’ve been gradually doing my Christmas shopping for months now and I’ve managed to get a LOT for what I’ve actually spent. I’ve bought things in the Tesco 2 for 1 sale (ends today I think) and got some great bargains in the Sainsbury’s half price toy sale last week.
I’ve also bought some things off eBay and from the car boot sale. Top of Master Frugal’s list was Gross Magic which is around £18.00 in the shops but I bought it new and sealed for just £2 at the boot sale – I nearly had the poor guys hand off! I have bought other things from the car boot sale and from eBay that aren’t new though – things like Avengers figures for Master Frugal – as long as they’re in good condition, I’m happy to buy used although I know not everyone agrees with me on this one. I just think that I’d rather buy two or three used but still looking great figures than one brand new figure. The only difference is the packaging and that gets ripped off anyway.
What do you think – would you buy toys from eBay or the car boot sale or even a charity shop as presents for your children?
I’ve been extremely lucky this year in that Miss Frugal asked for a Google Nexus 7 tablet as her main present and although I carefully explained that this may be too expensive for her, I only went and won one in the MAD Blog awards Instagram competition. I keep looking at it in it’s hiding place and smiling as I know what her face will be like on Christmas morning when she sees that!
I was talking about this with Jen the other day and she said that everyone is different with what they spend at this time of year and she’s absolutely right. I got a really mean comment on here a few years ago to say that I wasn’t very frugal at all if I bought my children so much for Christmas and at the time, because it was my first (and only thank goodness) really mean comment, I got myself all stressed out and deleted it. What I should have done is reply back to say that one of the reasons I try to be frugal so that I can afford to spoil the kids a little at Christmas and on their birthdays. Frugal isn’t only about doing without, it’s about getting the best deal for everything you buy. Oooh look, this post turned into a bit of a mini rant 😉
We also give to the local toy appeal every year by choosing one small thing off each of their Christmas lists and buying it for a child who wouldn’t otherwise get a present. We try and do this somewhere that has a 3 for 2 offer on so for not much more than £10 we can get three smallish presents to donate.
You might choose to spend hundreds of pounds on your children for Christmas and that’s OK as long as you can afford it or you may choose to spend much, much less on them and again, that’s OK. Whatever you choose to do, I’m pretty sure you’re not alone.
So, I’ll start shall I? I will be spending between no more than £250 – £300 in total on my two – half of that will be on a big present like an iPod touch for Master Frugal as he’s desperate for one and I don’t want him to see his sister open the Nexus 7 without him getting what’s at the top of his list.
What about you – how much will you be spending?
