Ponies, cars and iPads - what our children get for their birthdays!

We also discovered that a third of you spend between £9-£10 on a present for someone else's child and only 22% go for something more modest, paying under £5.

Most extravagant presents

What our survey did reveal was that some parents just can't spend enough when it comes to buying a birthday present for their child. When we asked you for the most extravagant or outrageous present you'd seen a child being given, you gave us some jaw-dropping answers.

By far the most popular extravagant present was the electric mini car for toddlers, which retail for upwards of £100 - 45 of you knew little children who had received these.

You also knew of 23 children who had received a pony, 18 given a laptop, 15 an iPad including four for 4-year-olds and one for a 2-year-old, eight had been given a quad bike, and two children had been given Tiffany necklaces.

Our favourite outrageous gifts were...

• A shed in the garden with a fully-fitted children's kitchen installed - wait for it - by a professional kitchen fitter.
• Solid gold customised iPhone for a 4-year-old.
• Weekend away in a hotel for 10 friends with pampering session - for a 10-year-old.
• Half-eaten box of chocolates.
• 1000-piece puzzle of HRH The Queen (already opened) for a 5-year-old.

The true cost of parties

Of course, buying presents is just the beginning of birthday costs.

First there's the party - 38% of you spend over £100 on a party, while 37% pay £51-£100, and only 15% of you keep the cost between £26-£50.

Don't forget the party bags. The stakes have been raised here as we're not talking a plastic bag with sweets, rubber and a pencil anymore. Now nearly three-quarters (73%) of you spend more than £1 on each party bag, while 38% spend between £1-£2 per bag, 23% spend £2-£3, and 12% spend over £4 on each little party bag. However, a more thrifty 12% of you don't do party bags at all.

And it seems party bag envy is rife. Nearly half of you (49%) confessed that you peek in the party bags your child brings home to see how yours compare to others. While 60% of you feel content that your party bags are just as good, 31% feel that your own party bags are superior, and only 9% think your own are below par.

No one could out do the mum whose party bag presents were a personalised bean bag each - but then it was in New York!

£10 on a present - for someone else's child

Then there are the birthdays of your child's friends. We found that a third (33%) of you spend between a whopping £9-£10 on a birthday present for someone else's child, while 23% spend £6-£8. Only 22% pay less than £5.

When a third (34%) of you tell us that each of your children goes to between 3-5 parties each year, the costs start mounting up. If you're spending an average of £9 per present, one child going to 4 parties will cost you £36. Another 19% of you have social butterfly children who enjoy going to 6-10 parties a year.

And we take our gift wrapping seriously. When it comes to other children's presents, 83% of you make an effort with gift wrapping - 61% saying you choose the paper carefully to suit the child, and 22% making sure there's a matching tag and taking time to make it look well wrapped.

Only 12% admit to grabbing any wrapping paper that you can find, and a brave 4% let your child wrap the present. Respect!

73% play traditional party games

But while we may be splashing out on children's birthdays, it's encouraging to hear that three-quarters of you (73%) still play traditional party games at your child's party.

While 49% have bravely organised a game of Musical Chairs at your child's party, 30% of you have played Pin The Tail On The Donkey. In top place (64%) comes the classic party game Pass The Parcel.

But, if your child thinks Pass The Parcel is a random game of chance, they should think again.

Over half of you (53%) insert sweets in between every layer, and 47% make sure that every child gets to open the parcel once, and we take the parcel seriously with a third using proper wrapping paper for each layer.

If you're the birthday child, don't expect to win the big prize - 17% of parents confess they rig the game so the birthday child doesn't win, while only 2% fix it so their child does win. A caring 7% of you rig it so that a child you feel sorry for wins the big prize!

73% feel birthday spend is right

And do you feel you're spending too much on birthdays? A big resounding no! Nearly three-quarters of you (73%) feel you spend about the right amount on your child's birthday present and 87% are happy about the amount you spend on other people's children.

For those 24% who feel you spend too much on your child's birthday, three reasons are given over and over again:

• We love spoiling our children - "I want to spoil my little princess" said one mum, a sentiment shared by lots of you.
• We can't resist buying things - "I just get carried away" and "I see something that I know he will like and just buy it" so many of you told us.
• We feel guilty about using childcare - "I feel guilt about putting my child in a creche three days a week while I returned to work" was a common theme.

Birthdays in a nutshell

• 34% spend over £100 on birthday presents for each child
• 38% spend over £100 on a birthday party
• 73% spend over £1 on each party bag
• 33% spend between £9-£10 on a present for someone else's child
• 73% feel you spend the right amount on your child's birthday presents
• 64% have played Pass The Parcel at your child's party
• 17% rigged Pass The Parcel so your own child doesn't win