momof3luvs1 Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 Each year I TRY to be organized and make a spreadsheet with every person I need to buy for and the estimated amount I want to spend and then add what I buy as I go along. Each year I seem to spend more then I allotted ( mostly on my kids). I never know if they should be equal price wise or giftwise( number of presents)? As my dd9 is getting older her stuff costs way more then my two little ones but I dont want her feeling that she has way less... I mean I go way overboard on the gifts as it is but Im finding it more tricky to keep the 3 kids equal either way My question is how do you makeyour lists( spreadsheets) and how do you decide what to budget? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elmck Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 When mine were little, my goal was to set the budget, and then wrap to get the same number of packages. I would allow myself some wiggle room in the budget in case I found a great deal or a great "got to have it type gift". I also did not mind if one or two children had 1 gift more than the others. Now most of mine are grown so I only do the budget, and their favorite thing to figure out is whose present is the best deal. So I would first decide my budget per child (mine use to be 125-150) Then I would look at their wish list and decide what I could afford and what I wanted to surprise them with (something not on the list) Then I would figure out how many packages they each would have and adjust I remember one year: DS #3 was really into spiderman. I think we bought every spiderman action figure they made. The figures were wrapped as 1 present. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amyers12345 Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 I use these printables every year http://www.etsy.com/listing/81850306/christmas-holiday-organization-and They work really well for me and help break it down step-by-step For the kids, somehow I always luck out with a very similar amount of packages. I try to set the same retail budget for each. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyreejames Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 I set my budget first (same amount per child, 4 kids). I use an iPHONE/iPAD app that allows me to enter budget and each individual person and each gift. At a quick glance, I can see how much I've spent total and individually. I use to worry about the same # of gifts but my children do not care. Also as they get older it is hard to keep the gift/money amount the same. For instance, DS15 is getting a PS3, that's half of his budgeted amount and the rest will be mainly gift cards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aleighc1 Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 I always keep the number of gifts the same for everyone, and I try to keep the amount spent reletively equal. Sometimes though, one child wants things that are much cheaper than what another child wants. For example, this year my 3 older boys only want dinosaur toys. No big fancy, flashy dinosaurs- just regular plastic dinos. I've found some great dino play sets for each of them, but it's only going to set me back $25 per boy. My daughters on the other hand want American Girl dolls. I could buy my boys something more expensive that they didn't ask for, or overload them with TONS of dinosaurs, but what would be the point? If $25 of dino toys is what will make them most happy on Christmas morning, then that's what I'm going with. I've posted this before, but I buy for my kids with a "system". Something they want, something they need, something to wear, something to read. They all get PJ's on Christmas Eve, and Santa leaves one gift next to their stocking that he fills. I always have a book to keep track of everything, and make sure it's small enough to fit in my purse so it's always on hand when shopping. Each of my kids has a page with their wish list, and a page that I have divided up into the catagories I posted above. As I buy things for each catagory I just fill it in so I don't lose track of what's been purchased. As for deciding what to budget, that fluctuates year by year. I usually know generally how much I can spend, and then just pick for their wish lists accordingly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peppysfireball Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 I don't pay attention to the amount, just the total gifts. I list all 3 kids and 3 grandkids in a list, Each of my children gets around 12 gifts and the grandkids 6. I have corresponding rows for the expensive etc, but don't add it all up.I have 1 child still at home, his cost the most. Last year everything he wanted was expensive so I spent around 500 on him alone. My daughter went through a divorce last year and was feeling alone, she asked for several expensive items, normally when they leave home, their number of presents goes down since they aren't there xmas morning. My oldest son will just want a few items, but I will but more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfaddict1977 Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 lol what budget? I always try to stick to one and never do. I allot about $1000 for my 5 kids but even with that I go over. I usually write down what they want on ms word and bring it with me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parkcox Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 I try to keep the number of gifts the same also. You also have to consider the price of the items. I budget for family members so that I can spend more on my children and grandchildren. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stacyk9 Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 I do the same as you. I use an Excel spreadsheet with names, presents, how much I want to spend and how much I have spent for each person. I have to say, I'm pretty good at staying right at budget. I use cash exclusively, so I can't go over! If I order online I try to use PayPal as much as possible, but if I have to use a credit card, I deposit that amount of cash into my bank the next day so I know it's already been used. Luckily we only have one child so I don't have to worry about the presents vs. cost issue. However, when I was little, my brother would add up in his head how much he thought my presents costs vs. what mine cost. I, on the other hand, didn't care. I guess it just depends on the child. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockfordmom Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 We try to give the kids the same number of packages so that they can each open the same number of presents. I have wrapped more than 1 thing together or separated something into 2 presents to make the number even. Everybody opens 1 present at a time. They are close in age so they usually get a few of the same gifts, and if 1 gets an electronic we tend to get the other one some kind of electronic also or if 1 gets something really big we hunt for something really big for the other one. I don't try to make the money we spend exactly even and the amount of presents isn't exactly even, only the number of packages they each open. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsjackrabbit Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 we have one boy and one girl at home. only 1 1/2 years apart. my husband and i always start out with a budget. in years past, i have always made sure they had the same number of gifts under the tree. ive wrapped items together and have also opened packages and wrapped things seperate, just to get it to all even out. now that the kids are getting older, and asking for more expenise things, we have agreed to a $ amount per child. but i still find myself rearranging the lists ive made to make sure they will have the same number of gifts. as for making the list. i let the kids make their wish list (did this 2 weeks ago). i will go through and create my list from theirs. each of my kids list goes on an index card i keep in my purse. its small, close at hand, and its safe becuz "mommys purse is OFF limits". of course there are always things they want to add on to their wish list. so i leave it on the fridge. i draw a line under neath where there original list stopped, that way it is easy for me to see when/what they have added. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emilyray2003 Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 I've always made sure the kids have had the same number of gifts. They are still too young to pay attention to the cost of their gifts (10, 7, 3) but they know how many gifts they each recieve. This year I downloaded the Santashop app to help me keep track of how much I'm spending on all of my gifts and what I have bought. Best part is it's password protected so when the kids are playing on my iPod they won't see what I've bought. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfaddict1977 Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 I have 5 kids to buy for this year. 2 are babies essentially who are 2 and 1(will be) right before christmas and I am wondering if everyone gets their children the same amount of gifts for each child. I have made a HUGE dent in my christmas shopping but I'm not nearly done and now I'm stumped because 1 child has 32 gifts and then my almost 2 yr old has only 15 gifts. Now most of his are big gifts, not little ones and yes I know he won't care, nor will his baby sister who has about the same number. However, my 8 yr old dd counts gifts and gets very upset if the numbers don't add up. I am doing stocking stuffers later and also hoping to find some cool things at 5 below but my 8 yr old is NOT into barbies, dolls, or any of the usual things. She is VERY hard to shop for. I still need to buy her about 10 gifts to break even with the others. We celebrate christmas and chanukka and they each get a gift each night. I was thinking of doing puzzles one night, books one night, dvd movie one night, and not sure what else. Christmas falls right inbetween channuka and I also have a dec 18 baby, nye baby and jan 3 twins so I also need bday gifts. Not sure what to do:( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peppysfireball Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 Yes, exactly. I may put multiple items in one box if they are small, but everyone has to have the same number of gifts. It is my experience the older kids count down to the last present. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfaddict1977 Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 yup thats exactly what she does. thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyjar Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 Growing up, having the same number of gifts was always my parents priority which seems to make the most sense. At least until we were old enough to understand that <insert electronic gizmo> was equal to <insert multiple items here>. My kids will be 2 and almost 5 by Christmas so my son doesn't get the whole number of presents thing yet but my daughter does, so if she has the same amount or more :) she'll be good. We also go around the room one at a time opening so the number thing is slightly important. My wife and I spend the same amount on each other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momof3luvs1 Posted October 6, 2011 Author Share Posted October 6, 2011 I have the same issue with dd9 so I REALLY try to keep it even but sometimes I will put more then one thing in a box to make it more even. PLus, our family sends them tons of gifts too so its hard to keep it exactly even that way. It was much easier before all my kids could count...lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starbeck96 Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 My boys are 13 and my daughter will be 5 next week. Since there is such a difference in their ages I generally do not go by either. I spend the same amount on the boys (usually around 400 each) and then I just buy my daughter things she has asked for and that I know she will play with. My daughter usually has way more things under the tree. Her first Christmas I did not get her very much. I think I spent around 100.00, she was only a little over two months old though. This year I will probably spend more on her than I ever have. She is really wanting a trampoline so I am really hoping for a great deal. She also wants the Lalaloopsy tree house and the Strawberry shortcake cafe. One of the boys is wanting an electric drum set so that will be at least 350.00! So that will nearly all he gets. When the boys were younger everything they got was pretty much for both of them. That is the big advantage of having same sex twins!!! So they were able to get a lot more since they were sharing everything. My budget from year to year varies, but I usually know how much I can spend a few weeks before BF. That is when I get really serious about what I am planning on buying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillbillyswife Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 I always thought it was important to keep it even money wise bit my DH said it had to be an even amount of gifts so I do both. With the old ones the gifts cost more so to make it even gift amounts I will wrap up the smaller stuff ( lotion, socks, etc..) by themself so they have the same amount of gifts. I keep a running tab of each kid and how much I spent with what gifts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peppysfireball Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 You may want to look on musiciansfriend.com for your drums. They sell musical instruments for a huge discsount. I got my sons trumpet for school for 500 and it was the same brand the music store rented to own to everyone else for 800, but it ws the master model and not student which hads a list price of 1200. I also bought him an electric guitar for less than half. I get their magazines every month and they are an excellent company. My boys are 13 and my daughter will be 5 next week. Since there is such a difference in their ages I generally do not go by either. I spend the same amount on the boys (usually around 400 each) and then I just buy my daughter things she has asked for and that I know she will play with. My daughter usually has way more things under the tree. Her first Christmas I did not get her very much. I think I spent around 100.00, she was only a little over two months old though. This year I will probably spend more on her than I ever have. She is really wanting a trampoline so I am really hoping for a great deal. She also wants the Lalaloopsy tree house and the Strawberry shortcake cafe. One of the boys is wanting an electric drum set so that will be at least 350.00! So that will nearly all he gets. When the boys were younger everything they got was pretty much for both of them. That is the big advantage of having same sex twins!!! So they were able to get a lot more since they were sharing everything. My budget from year to year varies, but I usually know how much I can spend a few weeks before BF. That is when I get really serious about what I am planning on buying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starbeck96 Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 You may want to look on musiciansfriend.com for your drums. They sell musical instruments for a huge discsount. I got my sons trumpet for school for 500 and it was the same brand the music store rented to own to everyone else for 800, but it ws the master model and not student which hads a list price of 1200. I also bought him an electric guitar for less than half. I get their magazines every month and they are an excellent company. Yeah we bought one of my husbands guitars from there one year. We usually end up going to Guitar Center though. Their prices are usually about the same as musicians friend. At one time they were owned by the same company, not sure if that is still the case. The cheapest electric drum set we saw last year was 299.99 new. That is something I'm not sure if we would buy used or not. It would have to be a really great price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turtle Mommy Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 We only buy for our boys and parents. We set a limit for the parents it has been any where from $25.00-$100.00 depending on the year. Ds#2 is 10 he still loves getting gifts under the tree. Whatever we spend on him(I keep all the receipts and then add them up)we get ds#1(17) a visa gc for the same amount. Last year was the first time he wanted it that way and he loved it. We took him shopping on the 26th and he got to get exactly what he wanted plus he got good deals on stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speeddiva Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 I use an iPHONE/iPAD app that allows me to enter budget and each individual person and each gift. At a quick glance, I can see how much I've spent total and individually. I use to worry about the same # of gifts but my children do not care. Also as they get older it is hard to keep the gift/money amount the same. Oooo, what App is this? It sounds like it would be handy! We only buy for our kids ($250 each x3), my Mom($60), MIL($60) and then a $5-10 gift that goes in a pool at the in-laws and everyone picks one. It's kind of lame but I usually get stuff when it's 75% off or so, so we can participate just to keep the rest of the family happy. DH & I spend about $100 on each other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfaddict1977 Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 I spoil my kids at christmas. They get everything they need and much more. I know we had a thread for what we spend per child but how many gifts does that equate to, give a rough estimate if you wouldn't mind. I ask because I wonder how much overboard I go. Right now I'm hovering around 30 some odd gifts per child with my babies getting slightly less. The older 3 get more. Do you do more for little kids and less for older depending on price or what? I still have a train table to get ds also. Already got the train set. THanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peppysfireball Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 WOW. My family thinks I go overboard. My son at home gets around 12 and the older kids who are out of the home get about 6. My grandkids also get about 6. I can't imagine buying 30. I thought I spent too much. THey usually get 1 or 2 large things, this year my youngest is getting a kindle fire, it's all he asked for. I will buy some books and dvd's, maybe some clothes. Probably a few video games. My oldest doesn't want me to spend that much on him, but told me if my daughter gives me a big list like last year, he will take a windshield for the 58 chevy truck he's building. That's about 300 for the older kids and 3 or 400 total for the one still at home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JollyGG Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 We have aunts and uncles and grandparents who buy gifts for the kids. So we plan only buy 1, they buy one for each other, and Santa gets them one. They also have stockings. I usually end up giving them a few extra things but they probably don't get more than 5-6 from my husband and I. Each set of grandparents get them 2-3 gifts each, and each set of aunts and uncles gives them each a gift. I allowed myself to get them 10-12 from us one year and it felt like to much at Christmas. They were little then and got a little overwhelmed. They are bigger now so wouldn't get so overwhelmed. But we prefer to be able to buy gifts for those aunts and uncles and grandparents so don't choose to spend as much on our own family. We try really hard to keep the focus on giving. They have a nice Christmas with plenty to open and they get to participate in in giving gifts to the rest of our family and it all stays at a price we can afford. All told, we spend $600-700 on Christmas about $100 of that per kid. The kids get around 15=16 gifts total, 4-6 of those being from our household. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momof3luvs1 Posted October 22, 2011 Author Share Posted October 22, 2011 I dont have a set number of gifts, plus I wrap alot of things that go together as 1 gift. (So for example I will wrap a pair of pjs with a pair of slippers.) I do however try really hard to have the kids open up the same amount if possible. WE live far now from family and friends so all the gifts get mailed to us. So when all is said and done eavh kid is probably opening between 40-50 gifts but from alot of people not just us. I have been toying with the idea of this year letting them open up gifts from other people on Christmas eve and then on Christmas morning having them open the hifts from us because it is just SO much and it really gets crazy...Does anyone else seperate gifts like that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfaddict1977 Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 I like that idea about Xmas eve I may do that because my parents and others give them some gifts too thx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinkrbel Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 We've never separated gift days, we open our gifts in the morning and then we have a get together with most of the rest of family and exchange gifts then.It was always 1 gift for kids not in the immediate family (cousins, nephew, etc) and the only real difference is my bff's kids. It just depends what I can find and what they like on how much they get. I think last year I showed up with an Old Navy paper bag of gifts for each child including pj's and slippers for each(probably 4-6 gifts each). I know I should cut back since they have family bringing them gifts too and not loads of space but I just can't help it:P I would love to spoil my nephew but stick to just 1 gift since his parents see no problem spending $xxx's on one top but then turn around and request money for the child's gift. I know they won't appreciate it whatsoever and will probably even actively encourage him to not play with gifts from our side of the family but I REFUSE to give a child money for Christmas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsjackrabbit Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 my kids usually end up with 10-12 gifts each from us. the last few years we have had them buy for each other. so thats another 3 gifts each to open. and i would guess maybe another 10-12 gifts from grandparenst and/or aunts n uncles. so total they would come close to 30 presents each. but NOT just from us!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts