Parents Splurging on Christmas Paying out a Grand for 9-13 Year Olds

Presents and the associated costs of Christmas are the highest for parents whose children are aged between 9 and 13 years.

The average spend by parents and carers with children in this age bracket comes to a staggering £929.

The findings come from research commissioned by Comparethemarket.com as part of its Parentdex study, which asked parents to add up the money they spent on presents, food, drink and other Christmas related activities and days out.

A total of 5000 parents took part in the research with those having children from birth to four spending less money at an average of £760. It jumped slightly for the 5-8 years at £870.

Families with older children aged 14-18 weren’t having to pay out more, with their Christmas billing coming in at £927.

When looking deeper at where the money was actually going, the high Christmas cost was taking into considering the price of a new games console, expensive sports gear and even pricey mobile phone contracts that would run throughout the new year.

More than half of parents with children in the 9-13 bracket said they would be buying electronics goods, with most agreeing that this is what makes Christmas cost so much.

Head of Money at comparethemarket.com, Shakila Hashmi said: “I would encourage all parents to think ahead to ensure that they are not caught out in the long run and – more broadly – to think of other ways in which they can keep Christmas costs down, such as shopping around earlier in the season, or looking online to ensure that they get the best deals.

“Not only will this lighten the financial load, but it should also allow parents to enjoy their family Christmas more as a result.”