In the UK this year, we’ll be spending £1.4 billion on presents for our children!

Research shows that we spend somewhere between £120 - £180 on each of our children at Christmas, and that in total, children will receive gifts (from friends, relatives etc) worth more than £258!!!

But if you thought a magic present fairy buys all those presents, then think again! According to research carried out by www.idealpresent.co.uk one of the things that Mums find most annoying is having to act as "The Present Fairy" - 72% of Mums said that they have to supply ideas for grandparents and other relatives for what to buy their children, and then field the phone calls and questions about the presents seemingly for weeks. When Mums are already shouldering a large amount of the burden of Christmas preparations it seemed like just one more thing to do!

If this sounds like you, why not set up your child's very own Ideal Present List, using a brand new service from www.idealpresent.co.uk. You make up a list of up to 30 presents (ideas from idealpresent’s extensive database or ideas you already have), then you send the idealpresent list e-mail to friends and family. They log on, view your list and decide what to buy - ideal present will tell them where to buy, and how much to pay. You can simply sit back and relax knowing your children will get just what they always wanted.

Idealpresent.co.uk is the first online independent children's gifts advice service, to help you with ideas and suggestions for every occasion. All you do is answer some simple questions about the child you are buying for, then idealpresent tells you what to buy, and where - from over 10,000 toys, games, books, CDs (anything you could imagine, and things you wouldn't think of!) from over 170 different retailers. The service is completely free of charge, and there's also a quick and free "what's hot" section.

Ideal Present is independent and is totally unbiased. Run by toy industry experts, it’s a great way to give yourself an easier time this Christmas!

Visit www.idealpresent.co.uk for more information

A UK nationwide survey was carried out from December 2005 to September 2006 by Idealpresent.co.uk. It’s based on 861 responses from adults, all with children between 0-10 years old.

Your Views and Comments

Since the birth of our daughter, I have been buying items for her throughout the year ready for christmas. They have all been bought during different sales. The other day We added up what we had spent and it was £150 but because we had spread the cost it was not as bad. If we had bought all our presents at full price, we would have spent over £300. I have already started looking for next year!!

Nisha Ross