Did I go overboard?

[Anonymous]

I am an immigrant and while we are not poor, we are not rich either. If you are NOT the Lululemon buying parent, how much do you spend on clothes for your kids for Christmas? I spent about $400 per kid (have 2 tweens) and my husband had a fit. I bought Gap jeans, Gap short puffy jackets, Lands End long winter jackets, LE cardigan, LE fleece hoodie, LE swimsuits, Gymboree sweater dresses. Kids did not really want anything else so I got them clothes. Did I go overboard? Is $400 too much?

[Anonymous]

For clothes, no.

[Anonymous]

It's sure more than I would spend. How often are you buying clothes though?

[Anonymous]

I mean kids need clothes so to me you didn’t, but I guess this depends on whether it was affordable for your family or it. If it is then ignore your husband. If you can’t pay bills because you spent the money on clothes, then yes it would be overboard. Most likely your husband just doesn’t realize how much kids’ clothing costs now.

[Anonymous]

Clothes are getting a lot more expensive these days. The cheapest new jeans are $30, so the "good" one are going to be more.

Ask him if he wants to go clothes shopping with the teen next season. And then wish him luck

[Anonymous]

At least it was on clothes which is something they actually need.

[Anonymous]

I can justify spending money on clothes vs something more frivolous. For example, one handbag.

[Anonymous]

That’s not bad for all of those clothes, especially including winter coats.

[Anonymous]

I spent about $450 per kid (12 and 15, no clothes) and it barely looks like anything. Doesn’t go very far these days. I think it’s fine.

[Anonymous]

Spent about $650 per kid (four kids) and that includes a few big ticket items (computer monitor, electric scooter, etc) but the rest is mostly clothes and small things.

[Anonymous]

Were none of those items on sale!? $400 seems excessive for what you got.

I spent that much on each kid but got major deals.

[Anonymous]

But did they need all these new items of clothes? It seems like these are standard basics you would have bought during back to school time or earlier in the fall. If your kids really didn’t already have things like coats and swimsuits, then no you didn’t go overboard. If they already had a lot of what you bought and didn’t need a bunch of new clothes, yes you went overboard.

[Anonymous]

It’s fine but there is something else up. Maybe he’s afraid they are spoiled.

How much $ does he think is reasonable?

Did u point out you had to buy coats whether it’s for Xmas or not?

Does adequate $ with hours worked? I’d that a whole weeks work?

[Anonymous]

Not for what you bought. I hope the items were needed. However I tend to spend throughout the year on needed clothing, usually when there's a sale, or buy used designer stuff on Poshmark (cheaper than retail sales, but it takes more time to find things). For Christmas I buy "fun" stuff, that often costs less. But if your kids' idea of fun stuff is clothes, go for it, OP! I have one kid who has never cost me a ton in presents, ever since he was little, because all he wants is books. He does cost me a lot in private university tuition, though

[Anonymous]

That seems reasonable. DH probably doesn’t know how much things cost & how quickly kids grow out of clothes. Many of those are staples that they need - coats, swimsuits, etc.
& you are shopping at reasonably priced places, could be much worse if you were going lululemon, etc.