how much should i spend on my two year old 4 xmas?

Question

i have a 2 yr old lil girl.. (well 2 years old at xmas)

so far i have spent quite a lot on her 4xmas, on clothes, and about 3 toys,
i also bought her a car aged 2 + which cost 100 pounds.

when i look at them all, it doesnt look like theres enough there,
does any 1 else feel like this about christmas etc... and how much do you spend on your children??

i no its a while b4 xmas but i like to start early (haha)

thanks in advance 4 n e answers

Answer 1

I'll tell you a little secret, at 2 yrs old they are more thrilled with how many boxes they open and see under the tree then the value of what you buy them. They have not yet learned the value of money.

What my parents use to do and many other family member did and it worked, was wrap everything in different boxes. For example one toy in one box, the batteries for it in another box etc. and use reflective paper so when they wake up christmas morning and see the way all the boxes look under the reflection of the christmas lights they will be so excited the rest won't matter to them.

Buy lots of little thing and spread them out and then maybe one big thing which you have already done.

My parents use to use silver foil (aluminum) to wrap our gifts so the lights sparkled on them but that was before we could buy shiny paper.

Above all, don't spend more then you can afford, they won't know the difference at 2 yrs old.

Answer 2

Although it is obviously everyone's right to spend as much as they want or can, I can't help being shocked by what I feel are such huge sums of money! How can children have any idea of what things are worth when they get so much handed in on a plate? Only today did I read in the paper that some households are still paying for last year's Christmas. I find very sad that people are under so much pressure that they go as far as getting into debts for Christmas presents...

Answer 3

I have two kids so it might be a little different for me but what I always do is spend about 100-150$ on each, then get each of them something big. Like the car would be a good last present opener sort of thing. But since you dont have two kids its understandable that you can afford to spend more on her. Just dont be suprised if she doesnt play with them for more then a month or two. That seems to happen alot.

Answer 4

IMO you've already gone over board. A two year old would be happy with coloring books and crayons, christmas lights and hanging out with mommy and daddy all day. These gifts are for you, not for her.

I would stop and ask myself who I'm trying to impress, and whether this child is even going to remember this christmas in two years.

I max out at $100. That's TOPS. Including stockings, and the big present. And she's never had a bad christmas. Her favorite part is not the opening, but the watching of movies, listening to christmas music, hanging out with family, playing games, painting our nails, and other leisurely things.

Answer 5

I feel that how much you spend on Christmas is dependent on how much you can spend without going too much into debt.

However, the idea that you have to have a certain number of gifts for your child is sending the wrong message to your child ( IMHO)

It is not supposed to be a contest to see who can have the most gifts.

Years ago, we had neighbors in our apartment complex who were determined to give their boys a "good Christmas" and they spent a lot of money to make sure they had a lot of gifts. Two months later, they were evicted for non-payment of rent! They had spent ALL their money on Christmas.

And most kids only play with one or two of the toys they receive anyway. In fact, my daughter, at the age of two, played more with the box that one toy came in than any of the actual toys!

Answer 6

At the age of 2..She will be more interested in the boxes than the toys..I would put any extra money you might have spent into a savings account for her. That is what I did for my son.

Answer 7

Considering she is 2 she won't recall this Christmas--you are buying for *your* enjoyment at this point. Nothing wrong with that, but keep in mind your finances. You might want to stop getting toys and just drop an extra hundred in her saving's accout to accrue interest.

Also, caution note on the car, just make sure she isn't always in it--developing leg muscles takes exercise!

Answer 8

While she is young enough not to be too fussed about the amount of gifts she will get, I would keep it minimal. What you have got already sounds like enough to me, she's only 2 and Don't forget other people will get her thing too. She wont even realize that you have bought her these things.
Remember, one day she will be asking for everything so don't go mad now.
It's not about the amount of things she gets and it's best that she learns that...

Answer 9

I normaly buy my daughter who is also four about 150 dollars in cloths and about 100 dollars in toys and about 75 in educations items from books to pc games '' i also buy educational stuff for her b-day in january''and about 50 for movies or dvds '' about two dvds'' depending on price.

normaly 375 dollars if she has been good and if she hasnt i will just buy the cloths and the educational books and games.

Answer 10

It all depends on your income and how many other presents he gets. I dont spend much on presents for my 2 year old because she gets so many presents from everyone else and she doesn't know who gave her what. We usually just get her one or two gifts, and spend $40 or$50.