I can only have two of these three things. Help me choose?

[AngeloMysterioso]

DH and I have just over £300 in JL gift vouchers left over from our wedding. I also have £240 “treat money” from this year’s bonus with which to get something “for myself”. So here are my options-

Thing 1 - £229
We recently moved into a fairly small flat which has largely been furnished with hideous, chunky, black Ikea furniture - bought when DH was furnishing his bachelor flat (before I showed up). At the moment we are stuck with a dining table not dissimilar to this, with 4 matching chairs. We can’t fit all 4 chairs under the table at once and DH is using the table as his desk atm (new one due to arrive in a few weeks and it will go in our bedroom) so his office chair is in the sitting room and two of the chairs are currently in our bedroom.
One of the three things I have my eye on is this table and chairs set- it is pretty perfect for us in that it folds up nice and compactly and will look much nicer in the space than the awkward black one we have now. If I used the gift vouchers to get it we’d have roughly £80 left.

Thing 2 - £449-£675
I have wanted a Vitamix for so long. At least 7 years. I have watched the videos on YouTube more times than I’d like to admit. I have a Pinterest board full of delicious recipes I would make with one. Baby DS is also weaning at the moment and I would love to be able to make lots of lovely homemade things for him. I know there are other, cheaper blenders out there but I want one so badly!!
The Explorian is out of stock at JL atm so in order to get one of the more expensive better ones I would have to combine both gift vouchers and treat money. If I wanted the most fancy pants one I’d have to save up a bit more on top as well. DH is happy for me to get one with the gift vouchers and would probably use it too but to him any blender would do so he’s not fussed really.

Thing 3 - £240
I recently completed my first half marathon 5 months after having my first baby and have well and truly caught the running bug. I’ve been using my phone for tracking, listening to music etc but would love a proper fitness watch, and really like the look of the Garmin Vivoactive 4S. Of the three things, this is the only thing that would really be just for me is. The dining table, while being something only I really want, would be used by the whole family, the blender too but the fact that it’s a Vitamix is what makes it a treat for me.

My options are

A- get the table and the watch, spend the remaining vouchers on a shitty cheaper blender and continue to lust over a Vitamix for the rest of my days.

B- wait for the cheapest Vitamix to come back in stock, get that and the table or watch

C- combine vouchers and treat money for a more expensive Vitamix, make my peace with the ugly table, get a cheaper fitness watch for my birthday in a few months time.

What would Mumsnet do??

I'd choose option A, as you will use the table and the watch frequently, plus it's a gift for you and a gift for your home. The vitamix is not something you'd use everyday and plus you can get alternatives.

A. No blender is worth that much money.

Yep I would also choose A. For pretty much the same reasons @strikingmatches said

The table seems a waste of money given you've already got one - but then the one you linked to isn't to my taste which probably impacts on my thought process.

The blender is just ridicliously expensive for a blender and there is no way I'd spend that much money on it.

Sounds like you'd use the fitness tracker, and it would be a proper present for you.

A absolutely no question. Good mix of useful, needed, supporting your love of running/health, for family and for you.
Other choices seem a real waste of money/poor choice.

@easterbrook

A. No blender is worth that much money.

This in spades.

I'd go Option A.

Get the table now and wait for the cheaper vitamix. They all have the same motor and it’s awesome. And looking at ugly things is sad.

(I haven’t looked at either table but that’s not really the point of the thread). I use my vitamix every day and have never found a running watch I cared as much about!

I think I would go for option A. Have you seen the table and chairs in person though? I would want to know they were comfy and see how solid the table felt.

A.

B. Whatever blender you get is just not going to cut the mustard. Personally I don't understand the value of that brand, but you do and you'd love it! But do wait till the cheaper one is back in stock.

Bloody hell op, you've certainly given me an education! Over six hundred pounds for a blender!! Pounds sterling! Buy the table. You'll use it everyday.

The chairs in that set look really uncomfortable!

I'd get a cheaper blender, the watch and a secondhand table and chairs

Good grief I'd want Jamie Oliver to come with the blender for that price! It's a month's rent.

We had a similar folding table set and it was great, especially in a small space.

A as they will make the most difference to your life.

You will be able to continue to lust over the expensive blender (and it won't disappoint you whilst you are doing this!) and save up for it.

Chasingsquirrels the table isn’t to my taste either exactly, but it’s a case of practicality and convenience over aesthetic- we don’t have a lot of space to play with and the current table takes up a lot of it and is an eyesore to boot

DH and I rarely bother using the dining table as a dining table, we’re more sit on the sofa and hunch over the coffee table whilst watching telly types. So at the minute it’s just an oversized desk, and in a few weeks it won’t even be that.

B, definitely - I know what it's like to want the exact thing and the cheaper version will not be the same! I have a Vitamix and so does my sister and really there's no comparison. Then I would get the watch, for yourself.

But I am biased as I think new furniture is a total waste of money when you can get such good stuff second-hand, much more cheaply. I'd repaint the table with chalk paint or cover it with a tablecloth for now.

I always think there is a chance that longed for items like that blender just won't live up to your dreams and will lead to a sense of regret. The other times won't do that

From experience: That table is a pain in the arse because you clip your feet on the swing gate-leg bits and you will also chuck it in a few years because its not a brilliant bit of furniture. Keep what you have for now.

Vitamix. No blender is worth that money. You will regret it.

The watch, probably best option although I might get a cheaper version. It's also a present for you. Get this or similar

The blender will be a disappointment, you have put it on an impossible pedestal. All it does is mush things.

Go for A and C as the things that are actually likely to improve your life.

Having looked at the table I think you might regret it in time as the bit that you can hide the chairs in means that you can't sit anyone in the middle place of the table.

That said, I can't ever imagine spending so much on a blender.

Sorry, not much help.

Table and watch. You'll get so much use out of them for sure!

Get the blender. You obviously really want it and it will make you happy.

I strongly encouraged my then boyfriend, now DH, to buy a nice drop leaf table from JL about 12 years ago. It's still going strong and we use it multiple times every day. I say table and chairs, then the watch. I cannot imagine spending £600 on a blender. You'd probably discover your baby didn't want puree and only ate what they could steal off your plate if you bought it.

Definitely A. The vouchers from your wedding should be used for something you'll both appreciate, it sounds like the other items are just for you.