Revealed: The costs of children's parties

This is despite 33 per cent admitting that they buy more presents than their children need and 31 per cent admitting they should spend their money in more intelligent ways.

In a survey of 1,000 British parents with children aged eight or below, it was revealed that the average parent will spend £164.65 on presents, £433.39 on parties and £100.06 on presents for other children every year. In addition to this expense, parents also revealed they will spend as much as £223.05 on party bags.

And with parents expected to have to fork out an average of £60,000 on the expenses children’s school years bring, from uniforms, to trips, to extra-curricular activities.

Looking at the regions in the UK most guilty of overspending on their children’s birthdays, London came out on top – the average Londoner set to spend £5,047.72 through primary school.

Yorkshire and the Humber spend an average of £1,306.20 on presents and £1,283 on parties.

Clare Francis, Savings and Investments Director at Barclays, said: “As a parent, it’s easy to understand why people spend so much money on their children on their birthdays, but the money you spend on this one day adds up and ultimately can end up having quite an impact on the savings you might have otherwise put aside for your child’s future, especially since many of us are juggling just to make ends meet each month already.

“For anyone spending more than they think they should, it’s perhaps time to reassess the amount you’d typically spend on birthdays and take a longer term view.

“Although it seems worthwhile now, there are plenty of moments later in their lives when having that bit of extra money will help, whether it be funding items for school or a trip abroad.

“So make the decision to not get carried away and hold firm in not bowing down to peer pressure for their next birthday – it could make a big difference in the future.”

The research also revealed some of the misbehaviours of children at birthday parties, which included anecdotes about children blowing out candles on the birthday cake, eating the sweets they brought as gifts and stealing the birthday money.

Looking at the most common misbehaviours, 20 per cent of parents have said they have witnessed a bust up between children at their child’s party. One in five have endured a child’s guest having a tantrum and one in 10 have had a child turn up uninvited.

Parents ranked their home as the most stressful place to host a children’s birthday party, followed by a swimming pool and restaurant.