Egg: £40 per day spent keeping kids busy over Christmas

Wednesday, December 9th 2009

Around three-quarters of British parents will spend more money than they can afford to on their children over Christmas, says internet bank Egg.

Research found that almost £540 will be spent on average over the two-week Christmas period.

Some 2,001 British adults were surveyed in a poll by Opinium Research from October 16th to 19th which found that the average UK family will spend £40 per day in order to keep the kids entertained.

Top five boredom-busting activities include buying DVDs or giving extra pocket money.

But number one on the list was taking children out for lunch, which 60 per cent of parents surveyed said they do.

Spending money on children shows them how loved they are, said nine per cent of parents.

Vanessa Wood, spokesperson for Egg, recommends "being smart" about how money is spent to "really help spread the cost of Christmas".

According to the Toy Retailers Association the top selling toys for Christmas include Monopoly City, Battle Strikers starter set and GO GO Pets Hamster.

A study by GfK NOP published in September found that one in five of the 1,000 adults surveyed were planning on spending less this Christmas.