Filling up a Christmas stocking will cost families an average of £60 this year as children ask for pricy gadgets and beauty products for their gifts

Sweets, small toys and satsumas have all been perfectly pleasing stocking fillers for generations.

But it appears these festive favourites aren't enough for the children of today, who are set to receive a far pricier array of gadgets and beauty products – before they even get to their 'main presents'.

This month parents will fork out an average of £58.64 to fill a festive sock, with tech devices top of the list.

A survey of 1,500 mums and dads has revealed that 93 per cent will leave youngsters high-tech gizmos in stockings.

And more than a quarter are set to splash out on expensive cosmetics as stocking fillers – on top of children's main presents lying under the tree.

The outlay on extra gifts pinned to the mantelpiece is almost double the amount that was spent on today's parents when they were children, an average £33.56.

More than half of parents say they expect to spend the same, or more, on stocking fillers as they would shell out for their children's main presents.

But seven in ten parents complain this has gone too far, agreeing they are now overspending on stuffing the traditional stocking, stationers Ryman found in the survey.

Some two-thirds blame the spiralling cost of goods for ramping up their Christmas gift spending this year. More than 70 per cent will also include sweets and chocolates in their children's stockings, followed by toys and books (53 per cent), socks (41 per cent) and stationery (32 per cent).

Youngsters in the North East will receive the priciest stocking fillers, worth an average £84.98, followed by children in London (getting £81.36), Yorkshire and the Humber (£67.76) and Northern Ireland (£56.08).

Parents in the South West are the most frugal, typically spending £47.89, followed by those in the South East (£49.31), East of England (£50.29), Scotland (£50.95), Wales (£51.51) and West Midlands (£52.59).

Chloe Danskin, from Ryman, said: 'Christmas is often the most costly time of year, especially with the wide range of items kids are asking Santa for these days. Our study revealed 14 is the average age parents stop buying stocking presents for their children, but as many as four in ten parents said they will always buy their child a stocking, so it's easy to see how the pounds add up.'