How much should a family spend on Christmas experiences?

It is very nearly that time of year and personal finance content creator Anne Sheeran recently booked the panto for her family. 

The cost was €240 for a family of four. 

“Now, I don't even know if we're going to get through the whole thing because, you know, my son is not even three,” she told Lunchtime Live. 

“I don't know if he'll have the attention span. 

“But yes, some of them are super expensive.”

Despite splashing out, Ms Sheeran was keen to stress that she also likes to attend free events as well. 

“My local town, they do the turning on of the lights and they have Santa going around the whole area,” she said. 

“Then he goes to the different estates and then comes back into the village and turns the lights on.

“That's always an amazing event, so that's completely free.” 

While it is sometimes tempting to buy something lavish, Ms Sheeran stressed that no child wants their parents to go into debt at Christmas time. 

“Kids are so happy with so much less than what we think,” she argued. 

“We've gone on expensive days out, we've gone to the zoo, we've gone to different things.

“Often when I ask the kids, what's their favourite part of it? It's running around or like jumping off a step or something like that. 

“So, you really don't have to go and spend hundreds of euros to give your kid a magical Christmas. 

“Really do like set your budget and try and not go over that.”

Main image: Santa Claus in a Mall with excited baby. Picture by: Enigma / Alamy.