It’s OK, I don’t really want to know how much you spend 😉
But I do want to share with you something that I’ve found out recently about the amount that parents spend on their children each year. Research shows that in 1995 the average British family spent around £75.00 per child at Christmas with this figure increasing massively to an average spend of £168.00 per child last Christmas.
I’m not sure if the increase is due to the fact that parents are willing to spend more these days or if it’s because things cost so much more now. The top item on Miss Frugal’s wish list this year is an iPod touch and the top of Master Frugal’s list is a Nintendo 3DS – both of which cost in excess of £100.00 each so I strongly suspect that the increase in spending is more due to the fact that the toys available are so much more expensive now and the advertising in the media is so cleverly aimed at making children feel they NEED something.
I loved Christmas when I was young and I remember coming downstairs on Christmas morning and being so excited at the pile of presents for me under the tree. They weren’t massively extravagant presents but they were presents that my Mam and Dad had carefully chosen and things they knew I would love so when I was challenged to put together a stocking for Miss Frugal with a budget of £75.00 I knew I wanted to put together presents that she’d love and I’m really pleased with everything that I managed to buy, not a battery needed between them all….
Cinderella Plush Doll – £10.00
Moshi Monsters Tree House – £14.99
Barbie Puppy Waterpark – £12.50
Hello Kitty Puzzleball – £10.99
This came with a free mini puzzleball worth £5.99
Zhu Zhu Carrycase – £7.99
Angry Birds soft toy – £5.99
Hello Kitty Designer – £10.00
I think I got quite a lot for my budget and I’m pretty sure that I got the best prices possible for everything I bought. I used price comparison sites to search for the lowest price for everything and to be honest I was quite surprised by the range of prices for a lot of the gifts – the Barbie Waterpark cost anywhere from the £12.50 that I paid up to £25.00 and the Moshi Treehouse ranged from £14.99 to £24.99 so it’s definitely worth using a price comparison price. Also being a bit of an eBay fanatic, I checked the prices on eBay for everything and like for like, most of the prices I found using the comparison tool were cheaper.
It’s all sitting upstairs now waiting to be wrapped ready for the Big day and I can’t wait to see her face.
Thanks to Idealo for asking me to take part in the challenge and for paying for the gifts I chose.
