Grandparents to spend £236 on Christmas presents, survey finds

Generous grandparents are set to spend £236 on average buying presents for their grandchildren this Christmas, according to a survey.

Despite a fifth (19%) of grandparents surveyed living more than 100 miles away from their grandchildren, the research for the Co-op found they are set to shower them with gifts.

Grandparents said they would spend £59 per grandchild on average, and with those surveyed typically having four grandchildren, the total cost amounts to £236.

One in 10 (10%) grandparents surveyed plan to spend £100 per grandchild.

Around 15% of grandparents said they will spend more on their grandchildren than they did a year ago, with common reasons being that their grandchild had asked for a more expensive gift and that they had helped to look after their grandchildren this year.

Some 14% said they spend different amounts on their grandchildren at Christmas, depending on how old their grandchild is, how often they see them and how easy they are to shop for.

A further 14% said they struggle to buy presents for their grandchildren as they already have so much.

James Antoniou, head of wills at Co-op Legal Services, said: "It's good to see that grandparents are becoming increasingly generous towards their grandchildren."

Some 500 grandparents took part in the survey.