Study: North West parents spend £123 per child on average

With an average spend of £123.05 per child, North West parents are gearing up a Christmas spending bonanza, with the total amount to be spent this festive period to hit £2.68bn - £203.98m more than the previous generation.
Many parents started saving for Christmas earlier this month.Many parents started saving for Christmas earlier this month.
Many parents started saving for Christmas earlier this month.

As 21st century gadgets become more and more popular amongst children, a new survey by VoucherCodes.co.uk shows that the most popular requests are toys (45%), games consoles (38%), and mobile phones (35%), explaining why the cost of Christmas has increased by 73% in a generation and why 40% of parents believe their kids ask for more than they did.

“It is heart-warming that the spirit of goodwill is still alive and well and Brits intend to be so generous this Christmas," said Anita Naik, Lifestyle Editor at VoucherCodes.co.uk. "The massive increase in spending on Christmas presents in a single generation does however place people, particularly young families, under financial pressure."

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With a quarter (25%) of parents in the North West spending over £200 on Christmas presents per child, the increase in spending can be chalked down to a shift in priorities between what children are looking for now compared to what their parents were looking for under the tree, leading 59% of parents to start saving money for Christmas in mid-November.

Perhaps aware that they need to keep their parents sweet at this time of year, one in 10 children charmingly say they will be trying to contact Father Christmas via social media, but not to be fooled, one in four parents in the North West admit their children can be ungrateful at Christmas.