By Charlotte Webster

Most parents will be done with their Christmas presents by now, but many will be last minute shoppers.

It is always important for parents to think carefully before splashing out heavily on Christmas presents.

Some parents naturally spend too much on presents, some spend too little on presents for their kids.

There is no general rule on the right amount to spend, but there is common sense. A parent that spends £100 on an 8 year old child must know that if the child has an older sibling, their present will likely need to cost more. Children of different ages have different values and tastes for gifts. The gift s may by chance cost about the same for children a number of years apart, but generally not.

Also, an important consideration for parents must be that as the child grows older, the same type of gifts given to the child in their younger years will often lose their appeal at an older stage in their lives. The quality of the present will need to be notably better than in their younger years. Therefore, expensive presents for a young child sets a sbackground and standard against which future presents must necessarily be measured.

 Taking into account what the child already has and how much they are likely to appreciate the planned gift is always a good starting point. Wider consideration and account should be given to who else in the extended family is like;ly to give them presents, and what those presents may be. In this respect, collaboration with othe rmembers of the extended family can be useful in budgeting and setting limits to presents we choose to buy for kids.

Surprise gifts have traditionally been part of the beauty of christmas presents. The joy on a child’s face is always good to see, but this assumes the parents knows what the child would like. There is no excuse for getting something your child won’t appreciate, which is why asking is better than guessing. Only where a high level of certainty that the gift chosen will put a smile on your child’s face, dies the surprise gift work.

The state of a parent’s finances is always an important factor, and here is why the duty lies on every parent to have a reasonable income, enough to afford at least the minimum Christmas gifts.However, any parent could undergo a rough patch where their financial situation is a bit tough. A bit of creativity on such occasions may go a long way.

The Christmas present may be limited to a meal for all or an outing to some place, since this will turn out cheaper than buying presents. This should always only be the last resort, in circumstances were finances are tight. Children must then be taught that it is o.k to sometimes have different types of presents to other children since a costly gift when multiplied by the number of children, will not always be affordable.