Parents spend to keep kids entertained this Christmas
The average family is set to spend almost £40 a day on entertaining their children this Christmas according to research from Egg, the internet bank. The financial burden of keeping the kids happy during the festive break builds to a total cost of almost £540 over the two week break for British parents.
On top of splashing out on the latest toys and must have Christmas presents this year, parents are having to fork out on activities like going to see the latest Christmas movie, buying the newest Harry Potter DVD or getting the new Twilight books for their offspring.
Egg's research reveals the top five activities to keep the children content during the Christmas break are:
Take the kids out for lunch (60%)
Go to the cinema (52%)
Buy DVDs (42%)
Buy books/comics (41%)
Dish out extra pocket money (24%)
The additional cost of keeping boredom away from their children this festive season means more than three in four (77 per cent) parents admit they will spend more money than they can afford to on their kids, in what is an already expensive time of year.
One in 11 (9 per cent) believe spending the money shows their children how much they love them, and one in 25 (4 per cent) admit they simply follow the lead from other parents.
Vanessa Wood, spokesperson for Egg said: "Christmas is the most expensive time of the year for a lot of families but being smart about how you spend money can really help spread the cost of Christmas.
"The Egg Money World MasterCard for example, offers rewards including discounts on family days out and cinema tickets plus high street and internet retailers.
"Egg Money customers can also help spread the cost of Christmas with a market leading 1% cash-back rate on purchases worldwide, and a range of insurance benefits such as missed event cover and a price promise."
This year's top selling toys, according to the Toy Retailers Association, are:
Bakugan Battle Pack
Battle Strikers starter set
Ben 10 Alien Force Kevins DX Action Cruiser
Bendaroos Mega Pack
GO GO Pets Hamster
GX Racers Tightrope Terror
Kidizoom Multimedia Digital Camera
LEGO Games Minotaurus
Monopoly City
Princess Peppa's Palace
Sylvanian Families Caravan
Transformers Movie 2 Voyagers Figures
Egg Money World Mastercard typical variable APR will be 17.8%, which is derived from the standard variable annual rate for purchases of 16.9% and the £1 monthly fee. The balance transfer rate of 8.9% pa is fixed for the life of any balance transfer made before 1 February 2010. Further conditions will apply. Insurance provided by International SOS Insurance Services.
For more information, visit egg.com.