Galway parents spent nearly €1,000 on their little angels for this year’s First Communion celebrations, that is according to a nationwide survey conducted by Ulster Bank.
The survey found that since April this year the average amount that parents in Galway paid for their children’s First Holy Communion day was €967, with the majority of the money going towards outfits and big party celebrations. However, the spending was down 17 per cent from €1,165 on the previous two years.
The research, which was conducted by Millward Brown Lansdowne on behalf of Ulster Bank during the period May 25 to June 7 this year, found that children in Galway this year received €369 on average by way of cash gifts from family and friends, almost €100 below the national average of €468, which was down 18 per cent on the €574 received by children in the last two years.
With almost 60,000 children nationwide making their Communion this year, an astounding €57.6 million is spent by parents in the Republic of Ireland, and around €27.9 million worth of purchasing power is placed in the hands of young communicants who have a combined estimated €13.3 million in savings accounts and piggy banks.
Other key findings showed that children saved €225 on average, almost half of the money received; that children in Dublin receive the most (€533 on average ), 44 per cent more than their counterparts in Connacht and Ulster (€369 ); and children’s outfits cost €213 on average, down one third on the previous two years with half (51 per cent ) of parents turning to the internet or ‘the sales’ to save on outfit costs.
The survey also found that parents increased their spending by three per cent on party celebrations to €382, spending on make-up, fake tan, and hair for girls fell by 25 per cent to €38, and the bouncy castle is the number one entertainment choice, hired by almost 40 per cent of parents consistently between 2007 and 2011, but overall children’s entertainment is 26 per cent lower than the previous two years. Other spending habits by parents included the hiring of a professional photographer, with one-fifth or 22 per cent taking this option, and just one per cent of parents splashed out on limousine hire.
