Here’s how much money parents will — and should — spend on their kids for Christmas (2024)

Parents may be forced to curb spending on gifts for their kids this holiday season amid ongoing inflation — but one psychologist says that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Dr. Jenna Vyas-Lee believes that frugality over the festive season can help create more mindful, less entitled children.

The psychologist told the Daily Mail that just how much money is spent on each child is a “very personal thing” dependent on family finances and the age of the offspring.

However, she recommended giving a maximum of two gifts to older children, saying they can become “desensitized” by a proliferation of presents.

In many cases, individual gifts become more expensive as a child ages out of Barbie dolls or Lego blocks and becomes interested in hi-tech gadgets or sports equipment.

“Older kids might have asked for something like a piece of tech or a new bike so parents might limit the presents to one or two things given the cost,” she said.

“The best way to raise kind, less entitled children is to model that behavior as an adult, show gratitude to others in front of them, have empathy for people in different circ*mstances,” she added.

The doctor’s claims come as a new survey uncovered that 70% of American parents plan to spend $200 or less on each child this holiday season.

The survey, conducted last month by Statista, uncovered that almost one in 10 parents (9%) will spend $25 or less on each child.

Meanwhile, 35% of parents plan to spend between $50 and $150 per kid, while 12% are budgeting between $150 and $200.

Just 19% of American parents say they’ll spend more than $200 on each child’s gifts. 11% responded that they weren’t yet sure on how much they would be forking out for festive gifts.

Interestingly, the numbers aren’t that different from those in the UK.

According to the Daily Mail, the average British couple plans to spend £119.45 (or USD 151.60) per child.

But if you’re worried about blowing through cash at Christmas, one expert offered up some tips to more bang for your buck.

“Be mindful of spending,” Anita Naik, Lifestyle Editor atVoucherCodes.co.uk, urged. “Try to stick to a budget and to focus on quality rather than quantity to prevent both the number of presents and the cost snowballing out of control each year!.”

Compare prices across different stores online before you shop,” she added. “And always check for a discount code before you hit the checkout.”