To ban plastic tat next year?

[Ifyourawizardwhydouwearglasses]

I genuinely don't know if I'm BU.

DC (both under 3) have got enough plastic tat this year to sink a small ship. Mostly from my parents.
I HATE clutter, they have been totally overwhelmed by it, won't play with most of it, and it's all just a total waste.
I've had words about this before but it doesn't seem to sink in.
It's just giving for the sake of giving and it's all useless stuff. It REALLY winds me up.
Why can't they just give them 1 or 2 nice presents each?

So WIBU to put a ban on plastic tat and a present limit next year?
Or is it controlling and should I just suck it up?

And yes, first world problem I know.

[Starlightbright1]

Do you know the kids love the plastic tat..I always hated cheap crackers as there is just rubbish in it IMO ..My DS loves it, same with party bags.

Maybe you could steer them to something you think they would prefer. But you know it is lovely they want to lavish gifts on them.

[mistymorningmemories]

I know where your coming from - dd1 has had ridiculous amounts from PIL.
I tend to keep quiet as it makes them happy and then siphon it off through the year!

[TidyDancer]

It does sound a bit controlling, yes. What do you mean when you say you've 'had words' before?

[mrscumberbatch]

Dd is 5 and loves plastic tat- frozen figures, my little ponies, Lego etc

I can't say that I mind it either.

Unless its plastic tat that beeps or makes noises, in which case the batteries never ever get replaced

[Iggly]

Give them a list of suggestions. Tell them the DC didn't play with the last lot and you don't want them to waste their money.

Yanbu.

[Ifyourawizardwhydouwearglasses]

It is lovely, but it's honestly just totally unnecessary.

DS had a pirate ship with little pirates from us. He played with it all Christmas Day and Boxing Day. He was so excited about it and that was ENOUGH. GPs arrive today, and there is literally no room for all the mass produced useless crap they brought with them.
DS doesn't know what to look at next and far from having much fun out of it is just totally overwhelmed by everything.
I'm going to box up most of it and put it away for a few months but I don't know where I'm going to put it all.

I love Christmas but I hate all this consumerism. Bah.

[Safmellow]

I would just suck it up if I were you. My DD is 3 now and before Christmas we had a sort out and a discussion along the lines of 'some of this plastic tat has to go to the charity shop so you can get more plastic tat for Christmas'.

Then buy a huge toy box just for tat and keep all the good toys out on display .

[Petallic]

I do know what you mean as I've for a 2 & 3 year old and my living room is essentially a giant playroom. I can't currently see the tv thanks to a giant cardboard rocket. But the DC love it - everything eventually gets played with, even though they were totally overwhelmed on Xmas Day and there's lots of things still in their boxes. But it's a year until the next Christmas which is plenty of time for all toys to be played with, rotated round and broken grandparents love buying things for their grandchildren, so I would try not to put a downer on that if possible.

[MinnieM1]

I hear the phrase "plastic tat" a lot on MN and it always baffles me, aren't most toys plastic? I know you can get wooden toys and yes we do have some and they're lovely, but aren't all the character things plastic? Or is it the character things that people have aversions to?
I think all of my DC's toys were plastic but almost none of it was tat, some was quite expensive and all of it is stuff that is wanted and will be played with
I genuinely don't get it?

[FindoGask]

I see where you're coming from and I agree to an extent, but I also think your boy will soon recover from the psychological trauma of not knowing what toy to play with first, however overwhelmed he will have been today. Really, there are worse problems.

[KitKat1985]

YANBU. And thank God someone else feels like this. I thought it was just me.

DD is just over 3 months. She has been bought a mountain of presents this year from family and friends. It's lovely and I'm not trying to be ungrateful, but we literally have no-where to put it all, and she's far too young to even appreciate any of it or understand what a present even is. And whereas she does have some lovely things, we also got bought quite a lot of tat that we really don't need (including FOUR 'first Christmas' tree baubles and a mountain of cuddly toys - she already had like 20, we didn't need any more)!!! I've spent an hour this afternoon just trying to find space for it all, and I've got loads more yet to find a home for. And I think DH's family like to stealth brag a bit by buying mountains of toys that they know we could never afford ourselves.

[mrscumberbatch]

"Display toys"

Wtaf? Defeats the purpose surely?

[ddubsgirl77]

My bil & sil after asking for bike helmets as got my ds' s new bikes got 1 with fucking flowers on it! Ds smiled and said thanks but i could see he was upset and now have to make the trek to halfords to see if we can swap it! Other ds cut the tags off before i could get to him as his is too tight!

[Mehitabel6]

How can you put a ban on presents? It is up to the giver.

[Safmellow]

mrscumberbatch 'display toys' was a joke...hence the ...

[mrscumberbatch]

Ahhh I wasn't sure if it was a m/c grinning beam -" And here are the display toys... We don't touch them do we tabitha?" Type of thing....

[revealall]

Actually I thought it was horrible when mine grew out of tat though.

I was sick of it too but when DS got to 9 that was it. No more little things or garish ( but cheap) plastic nonsense. End of era.

[ZeViteVitchofCwismas]

The only plastic we got this year is lego for the first time and its bloody brilliant! so i wouldnt ban it no.

as for buying too much.....tell them you want to save up for classes, lessons, seasons ticket to local farm, savings account say your worried about furture can they buy token gifts and contribute to that instead? get more out of experiences...

[MinnieM1]

No-one got an explanation as to what constitutes as 'plastic tat' then??

[makeminea6x]

Been trying to find that out myself Minnie.
I think it means things made out of plastic that you don't like
If so it pretty much describes all the things my DD loves to play with the most

[Fanfeckintastic]

I did this a few years bin with SILs and I really regret it. It's very controlling and I feel so guilty every year when they ask me, almost afraid "I got her a few books, is that okay?" I know how you feel but please just appreciate it, children do love mountains of "plastic tat" trust me. I've invested in mounds of beautiful wooden toys that get thrown aside after a while. Let them buy what they like, pass it on in a few months but don't take the joy away from them.

[Fanfeckintastic]

*ago not bin!

[fredfredgeorgejnr]

Mehitabel6 a present can be declined, it's not particularly polite, but then it's also not particularly polite to go against someone's request. So for someone to continue to give a present when asked not to, that's just as rude as declining the present.

I think it's perfectly reasonable to place limits on gifts given to your children by your family, in fact I'm sure everyone would have some limits on gifts (e.g. knives etc.)

[Lucylouby]

I use the term 'plastic tat' to refer to cheap stuff, that will probably break quite quickly or doesn't look like the thing it is meant to. The princess castle dd has been given is most definitely tat, it's really flimsy, the faces on the charachters are really freaky and none of the furniture stands up. Lego is not plastic tat, nor is play mobile or the elc food dd has been given.
I'm aware other people have different definitions of plastic tat though.