Christmas could cost UK parents £1.8bn this year

With just 17 shopping days left until Christmas, new research reveals that UK parents will spend £262 on average on each of their children, a grand total of £1.8bn for all the children across the UK.

Almost a third (30%) of parents expect to spend more than £250 on each child, while 14% say they will only spend up to £50, and 2% claim they will spend nothing at all.

The new research by Liverpool Victoria also shows that children have lower expectations than their parents, estimating that their mums and dads will spend just £167 on each of them, or £1.2bn across the UK.

Saving rather than spending

Unsurprisingly, nine out of ten children (88%) would prefer to receive presents on Christmas day, as opposed to their parents saving the money towards the child’s future. Appreciation of the value of saving does grow with age though, as 15% of 11 to 14 year olds said they would prefer their parents to save money on their behalf rather than give Christmas presents, compared with 6% of 5 to 7 year olds.

Two-thirds (67%) of children save any Christmas money they receive from family and friends with eight out of ten of these (81%) saving it up to buy something special. One in five (19%) of those children who save their Christmas money keep it for a rainy day.

Most popular toys this Christmas

The most popular toys on wish lists to send to Santa Claus this Christmas are the Dr Who Cyberman Mask and the Bratz Forever Diamondz doll. The top three toys for boys and girls are as follows:

Boys
Dr Who Cyberman Mask - 21% of boys are hoping to receive this Christmas

Fast Talking Lightning McQueen - 19%

Deal or No Deal Board Game - 9%

Girls
Bratz Forever Diamondz doll - 30% of girls hoping to receive this Christmas

Baby Born with Magic Eyes - 14%

Let’s Dance Barbie Doll - 14%

Regional Variations – Parents in Wales are the most generous

Regionally across the UK, Welsh parents are the most generous, saying they will spend on average £594 on each child this Christmas, followed by parents in the North East (£362) and Scotland (£360). Welsh children also have higher expectations than other UK children, expecting their parents on average to spend the most on them (£307), followed by children in the North East (£222).

Parents in London are, on average, the most conservative spenders at Christmas (£158 per child), followed by parents in the South East (£187) and East Anglia (£190). Children in the West Midlands expect their parents to spend the lowest amount of money on their Christmas presents (£124), followed by children in London (£143) and the East Midlands (£143).

Nigel Snell, Liverpool Victoria’s Corporate Communications Director, comments: “Given the excitement that all children feel about Christmas, it is perhaps surprising that their expectation of what will be spent on them is considerably less than their parents plan to spend. But whatever the spend, Christmas is an expensive time and saving a little and often throughout the year will help to pay off those yuletide bills.”