We’ve got four nieces, three nephews, and two others not related by blood that are close enough to be called family.
$20 per child per birthday and Christmas. And we watch closely, too!
I think this is one of those things that really depends on how much time you spend with the kids.
One of my uncles used to spoil me and my siblings absolutely rotten (probably got up in $70 range for each of us some Christmases and birthdays), but we were really close to him and spent all holidays, birthdays, etc. with him. He was almost like a third parent. The presents did decline once we started growing up–older kids just aren’t as fun to shop for, I guess; plus he eventually had a couple of kids himself and got to buy them all kinds of fun toys instead.
Our other aunts and uncles on both my mother’s and father’s side were never that generous–but it never made sense for them to be, either.
So: that’s on the high end even if you’re really close to your nephew, and it’s absolutely outrageous if you’re not. I’d go for something cheaper.
My grandmother did that for us, too, right up till the last of us graduated high school, and my mother still does it. We didn’t have a theme for each of us, though generally the ornaments from any given year had a theme. Grandma’s grand unveiling of the ornaments after Thanksgiving dinner was always one of my favorite moments of the whole season. And yes, by the time I lived in my first apartment, I had a boot box filled almost to the brim with ornaments. I didn’t take all of them with me, maybe half–the rest are still at Mom and Dad’s to go on the family tree, and they’ll probably stay there until Mom and Dad aren’t around to put a tree up anymore.
I have sixteen nieces and nephews. (Do I win the jackpot?) I typically spend about $30 on each, though for some I may spend a bit more and some a bit less. Though obviously with sixteen I have to stick to some sort of budget, I’m more concerned that it’s something they will enjoy than the exact price.
If one of the kids wants something that’s well over $30, we’ll often call up the other aunts and uncles and see who wants to go halfsies on it. This is happening more and more now that the kids are getting older - sports equipment and PS2 games don’t come cheap. Experience has shown that the kids would really rather have fewer quality gifts they really want and will use than a big pile of crud.
Nothing. I refuse to participate in the sham that is Christmas.
I’m the good uncle with the great gifts. Now that I have great nieces and nephews I’m the good great uncle with the great good gifts. 
I have just one not grown up niece now, whom I generally spend around $100 on for presents for any occasion. I did the same thing with my other nieces and my nephew when they were kids. Soon as the got through school, got married, etc. I stopped buying them gifts. Now it’s their kids I concentrate on which suits them cause they know it’s gonna be good stuff. So with the great nieces and nephews its around $50.00 per kid.
Heck, even with the grown up nieces and nephew I spent money on stuff when they bought houses. Like a refrigerator for one (a combo present from my late younger brother (also unmarried) and me), a built in microwave, coffee and end tables and a dresser to complete a bedroom suite. But now, I just concentrate on the greats.
-swampbear (spoiler of two generations of his sibs progeny)
We draw names. With six nieces and nephews on both my side and my husband’s, there’s no way we could afford to buy gifts for all of them. So each family member draws a name and buys the person they get a $25-$30 gift.
I think if your sister wants her son to have an $80 toy, she should buy it for him herself. Just my opinion, of course.
I only have three, so about €20-€30 (US$30 - US$40) each.
When they have Children my syblings get only token presents whilst their children get spoilt, thus is the way of an Uncle 
For me $80.00 is a bit high, unless it is something with real value (like a teliscope, or musical instrument, instead of the latest toy). Don’t feel that you have to spend the same on everyone else if you do buy one $80.00 pressie.
Somewhere around $50.
$80 for a kids gift? No freaking way.
She-it.
I average about $15 for five. ( one niece and the rest are boys. four in the same family.)
I make sure of Three fundamental rules of mine:
Will the gift encourage the child’s imagination?
Will it drive their parents nuts?
(by making a mess or driving the parents batshit with 'can I play with it, can I can I can I?" I also enjoy giving specialized cups/plates/bowls for the relations because it fucks up their dish cupboard organization. This is a key thing for me. Revenge has a name and it is Shirley!)
Will this gift force the parents to interact with their progeny. No XBox for you!
Nothing. Of course, I have 25+ nieces and nephews and around 12 great-nieces and nephews (I eventually gave up counting) on my side of the family and 7 nieces and nephews on my husband’s side, so the cost would be astronomical if I tried.
Oops, hit submit too fast.
A sister-in-law once tried to give me a guilt trip about not giving presents to my husband’s nieces and nephews. I politely informed her that I would love to be able to give them all gifts, but that I didn’t think it fair to do for the one side of the family what I couldn’t do for the other. Not sure if she saw my point, but she got off my back about it.
I am a childless aunt of four. I normally spend between $30-40 per child, which seems to be about average for this poll. However, I have not seen or heard from the kids in about five years and have no idea what they’d like. My brother has been zero help, so I’m seriously considering not sending things.
We usually spend around $20-25 per kid (one niece, one nephew). Like FairyChatMom, I’m starting to get annoyed, because we never get any sort of a thanks for anything, verbal or written. Unfortunately, SIL encourages their vision of the the adults in their lives as little more than presents on legs. And I resent the idea that just because we don’t have kids, we have tons of disposable income just lying around waiting for us to spend on them. SIL seems to resent the presents we give to our parents - she seems to feel that could be better spend on the kids. :rolleyes:
I have 3 nieces (one of whom lives with me) and 1 nephew and I spend a ridiculous amount on them. Probably $100 apiece, not including stockings I stuff for them. BUT- these 4 kids are the only ones who get gifts from me. In my family, we only buy for the kids. I am very close to these kids, and it’s great fun shopping for them. If I had children of my own, AND I bought presents for more people, it would certainly be less.
$25 a piece. Books only. If the parent asks for money instead, $15 per. Same goes for birthdays. The day the kid asks for anything other than books? Welcome to the real world - now you just get Christmas cards!
I’m a childless uncle of one. He’ll get spoiled rotten - £50 or more. And it will likely stay that way until some hapless female steals me away.
Depended on how many nieces and nephews I had at the time, and whether or not I had kids. When I only had one nephew, and no kids of my own, Christmas and birthday gifts were about $100-- $20 was just something cute I noticed on my way home from work and bought for no particular reason. Now I’ve got two kids, and nine nieces and nephews. I spend about $25 each, plus an ornament (even for the colege freshman).
Your sister might actually have no idea how much the toy cost- last year, we sent my brother-in-law’s two kids $25 gift cards. They’re teenagers now, and I don’t know them well enough to know their tastes. His brother called and just absolutely went overboard in thanking us, and calling us generous. Apparently, he didn’t realize that $25 was or price range all along.
My niece and nephews are the people I do my primary shopping for, so I’ll spend $50-$100 each.