Mother’s Day is just round the corner but it would also be a good time to spare a thought for dads as new research shows we spend double on our mums as we do on the man of the family on Father’s Day.
Mother's Day on Female First
The study, by money saving website Promotionalcodes.org.uk, found that we spend an average of £27.37 on Mother’s Day cards and gifts, such as flowers, chocolates and cosmetics.
But when it comes to forking out for Father’s Day it seems we are rather less generous with an average spend of just £14.45 - almost half as much.
We are also more than twice as likely to forget Father’s Day altogether with a fifth of those polled saying they had forgotten to send their dad even so much as a card at least once, compared to just six per cent who admitted ever forgetting to send a Mother’s Day card.
Favourite gifts for Father’s Day included comedy DVDs, chocolates and socks with less than one per cent ever buying their dad flowers for Father’s Day.
Almost nine out of ten of us said we regularly bought fresh flowers for mum on Mother’s Day – possibly pushing up the average spend for the occasion.
One female respondent said: “Everyone knows mums are special. We love our dad’s too but mum is the person who brought us into the world so I don’t feel one bit guilty about spending a little extra on her.
“To be honest I would probably spend about the same on each of them if it wasn’t for the flowers. They are so expensive around Mother’s Day and it’s the cost of the flowers which makes all the difference.”
The study questioned 1000 UK adults aged 18 – 50 and asked them how much they spent on gifts for both Mother’s and Father’s days as well as what items they purchased.
A spokesman for www.Promotionalcodes.org.uk, said that buying gifts for Mother’s and Father’s Days was more popular than ever.
He said: “Despite the recession it seems people still want to make a gesture to their mum and dad whenever Mother’s Day and Father’s Day come round.
“But when it comes to stumping up the cash it seems we are prepared to pay a little bit extra for our mum. Our figures show that we each pay roughly double on Mother’s Day cards and gift items then we spend on Father’s Day.
“The cost of fresh flowers is one reason with far more women than men receiving these as gifts. But it may also be that as a nation we feel Mother’s Day is a much needed chance to thank our mums for all their hard work and support throughout the year. It’s our chance to spoil them.”
Tagged in Parenting Mother's Day Fathers Day