Grandparents are set to spend £97 on each grandchild this Christmas, according to new research. Despite concerns about the cost of living squeeze and higher energy bills many older people feel the need to make financial sacrifices to put a smile on their grandchildren’s faces.
SunLife, the over 50s finance experts, polled more than 2,000 grandparents and asked them how much they were planning to spend on each of their grandchildren’s gifts this year. One in seven said they planned to spend up to £30, and half up to £60, while four in ten said they would spend more than £100 on each child.
Those that have just two grandchildren plan to spend the most – £114 on average, versus £76 for those with three or more. Applying the findings to families across the UK, the generous gift giving adds up to a total bill of £2.4 billion.
According to the research, grandparents are set to spend the most on the youngest and the oldest of their grandkids. On average they plan to spend £102 on babies (under 1) while on 16- and 17-year-olds, the average planned spent is £91. Meanwhile, the research shows that grandparents plan to spend the least on their primary school aged grandkids at an average of 87).
The survey found that grandparents in Northern Ireland are the most generous. In Northern Ireland, they plan to spend £144 on each grandchild, that is a total spend of £432. In Wales, the planned spend is lower – £115 – but Welsh grandparents have more to buy for with four grandchildren each on average, so the total spend is higher at £460.
Amongst English grandparents, the planned spend is the lowest, £94 on each, a total spend of £282, while in Scotland, it is slightly higher at £98 so a total spend of £294. Mark Screeton, chief executive at SunLife, said: “According to our research, grandparents are planning on spending almost £100 on each of their grandkids this year – a total of almost £300 when you consider the fact that on average, they have three grandchildren each. This is incredibly generous.
“For those grandparents that have not yet bought their grandchildren’s gifts and are looking for some ideas, SunLife’s free Grandparent’s Christmas Gift Finder could help to find the perfect present, within their budget, according to their grandchild’s age, gender and interests.”
The gift finder details are available here.