to think £60 is a crazy amount to spend on advent calendars

[cinders005]

Dh purchased advent calendars for himself and our 2dc.
AIBU to think this was too much to spend. (Lego)

We got a playmobil one this year, we are trying not to eat so much chocolate. It cost me about £20 we won't reuse it as it's not Christmas characters it's knights and a king, Dd's loving it. I think I'll do this again next year.

Depends if you can easily afford it really, if you can then why not?

I got my DS the lego & playmobile and they are loving them and like other posters have just taken it off the stocking budgets..

sorry that was supposed to be a new thread! must have pressed back by accident before writing. Have asked for it to be deleted.

There was an advent calendar in John lewis today for over 200 quid so 60 seems somehow a cheap skate

I wouldn't normally buy one of these. But dd wanted playmobil for xmas and toysrys were doing a deal where you got one free.

Have to say, she is loving it. We have a little scene set up on a coffee table and it's growing.

Would I pay £60? Probably if I could afford it. It's the build up to xmas that's exciting.

The bits of playmobil and ones join the general stock and get played with for years.

DD is always playing schools or hospitals so has had her moneys worth out of all extra playmobil children. They put their tree up in the dolls house each year and Santa comes to call. His reindeer lives with the horses at the petting zoo.

The fire place lives in the dolls house with the cat in front of it and the snow man appears from time to time. Ski poles and ice hockey sticks are crutches.

The stupid tiny skates, I find on the floor.

Re-using it is all part of christmas. The playmobil forest scene is brought out year-in year-out. We first put it all in the boxes, then open them one by one and add our own extras to the scene. There is a cat stalking a squirrel at the moment

60 quid if you can afford it is a good price for a month of fun. I like the idea of buying sets and making your own as well - good idea

We've got three playmobil ones collected over the years and have reused them year after year. The DCs forget what is in each box as they get put away in between.
Last year though DD2 had a dragon one and they've changed the design - you used to put the toys in the boxes yourself for the DCs but the new ones are like a proper advent calendar so once opened, hard to reuse. But I notice DD has refilled the windows and is opening it again this year. I'm sure she knows what is in it!

If you do use them year after year, then not such bad value. :)

Yanbu. I can be very frivolous financially at times but that seems stir fry crazy to me.

My first reaction was that it's too much, but thinking about it, I suppose it's the same as with any other diversion or toy, or any day out for that matter -- whether it's worth it depends on how much enjoyment is got out of it and whether you can afford it. I can imagine a child getting twenty pounds' worth of fun out of a Lego advent calendar. I've been assuming that once we have two old enough to do Advent calendars they will take turns with one doing a calendar door and one hanging a decoration on a twiggy branch that we have that gets something added every day, but I can imagine if they were both really really keen on Lego or Playmobil or whatever we might conceivably splash out as a treat if we could afford it, or one of us might conceivably have a moment of soppy indulgence! I would certainly expect to see them getting my money's worth out of them, though

More money than sense IMOP.

I cant talk, I had a £70 one from Selfridges last year.

£20 on a month of toys and joy? I'm happy with my no sense maras .

We've been doing Playmobil & Lego one for years and love them every time. DS is thrilled with his teeny Star Wars Lego set each day. DD is older and has all the non-pink Playmobil ones, so I've done her a box full of 24 wrapped bits to stationery to feed her pen and notebook habit. She's thrilled.

We also have a string of numbered stockings that hold a choc each - DCs have choc coins and DH & I put in chocs for each other. It probably has cost us £60 in all, but that's a whole month of nice treats for £2 a day. The DCs get their Lego/pen in the morning and we all have our choc in the evening.

They are £10 in argos.

yanbu
but I am a calendar purist - no chocs, no toys - just a picture, the best one I ever had told Xmas story line by line, too

I can just about cope with it for dc. But dh! Also had them last year and I have absolutely no idea where the bits are. DC really didn't look after them although dh didn't get one last year.

Well if you can afford it why not, but he paid too much for them...I paid £18 in an independant toyshop, I know they are cheaper elsewhere

I have reusable ones - DH has the big Santa truck from Lakeland (bought in the sale 2 years ago for £12) and dd has a felt Nativity one bought from
Oxfam for about £14 - I just stuff both with chocs/little gifts every year.

We also are on about the 3/4th year of re-using the Playmobil Forest one....with a few extra things added from the park. So to us its like an extra Christmas decoration.....and the blummin music box STILL works.

I bought the Playmobil Nativity last year for myself and have added the Three Wise Men

I think even £80 is a perfectly acceptable amount to spend on an advent calendar actually. If it's for me and it's the Ginvent