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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To but my nephew The Gruffalo book ?

27 replies

Shinyshoes1 · 10/05/2013 15:54

I have 3 nephews and one niece . Every year for Christmas and birthdays I give the children £15.00 each . The same with my sisters they give my children and the other nephews £15.00 we've done this as long as I can remember

It seems like the same £15.00 is just being passed around , my children will get it , I will give my nephews it etc

So , I bought the Gruffalo . My daughter already has it and it's a good book

I know my nephew hasn't got it , so instead of shoving £15.00 in a card like I always do I thought I'd give him the book and start putting an effort into what I'm buying .
It's not £15.00 though it's probably worth about £7.00 .
It's not me that cares about the monetary value its the thought that counts but I've got a feeling my sister might raise an eyebrow .
My DP thinks I should give him the gruffalos child too or bulk it up with something but i think for a change a bit of thought has gone into it and I don't want to bulk it up for the sale of it

AIBU ??

OP posts:

Original poster

Shinyshoes1 · 10/05/2013 15:54

That's meant to say " for the sake of it"

OP posts:

LeaveTheBarSteward · 10/05/2013 15:56

I would have chat with your sister and say why you are doing it first. Like you say passing the same £15 around seems silly.

RedHelenB · 10/05/2013 15:56

Sorry, but I think it looks a bit tight. agree with DH to get something else as well.

GreenShadow · 10/05/2013 16:15

I would definitely give more than just the one book. Whether it be another book or else maybe £10 for him to save.

MolotovCocktail · 10/05/2013 16:18

If you're going to give a gift, the gift(s) it must be to the value of £15, otherwise you'll look stingy.

insanityscratching · 10/05/2013 16:18

What about getting a Gruffalo soft toy to go with it?

ApocalypseThen · 10/05/2013 16:21

Or the Stick Man book. The kids love them both (also, non-tear pages!)

mum2jakie · 10/05/2013 16:21

I would get the Gruffalo's Child too. You can get them for about £4 each from Amazon. If you have a tradition of spending £15 per child, it will look strange to suddenly drop the value of the gift although I do agree that a well thought out present is much better than money for young children.

OddSockMonster · 10/05/2013 16:22

I'd be more than happy with my sons being given just one book (especially The Gruffalo, it's great).

If you want it to be more about the effort of it (which is what presents should be about IMO), how about do a voice recording of you reading it, with lots of different voices and sound effects?

FeckOffCup · 10/05/2013 16:23

Yes I would get the gruffalo's child too and maybe a t shirt or something to make up the value to the £15 that the other children have always got, I think it's important that they are treated equally as well as thoughtfully (I think it's a nice idea to get him something that will hopefully be enjoyed for a long time instead of cash).

thegreylady · 10/05/2013 16:27

Get them both or get a Gruffalo toy to go with the book.

Branleuse · 10/05/2013 16:31

get room on the broom too or stickman or the highway rat.

We LOVE julia Donaldson in this house.
kids now are so lucky with such brilliant books.

SpockSmashesScissors · 10/05/2013 16:41

The Gruffalo is only worth about £3, so if you're happy for your sister to buy presents for your children for £3, then it's fine.

www.thebookpeople.co.uk is good for books, perhaps get a few more to go with the one you already have.

pigletpower · 10/05/2013 22:33

I fucking hate 'The Gruffalo' with a passion,don't know why.'Stickman' is fantastic though,I would buy that instead.

CloudsAndTrees · 11/05/2013 00:16

Get the gruffalos child or something out of the ridiculously huge range of Gruffalo stuff that now exists.

I think it looks a bit tight if you know up you usually all do £15 and now you are doing significantly less. It's fine if you chat about it first and tell your sisters what you are thinking, but saying 'thought has gone into it' just seems like a flimsy excuse to me. Especially when it comes to something as widely given as a gift as the Gruffalo.

PaWithABra · 11/05/2013 00:20

you are being entirely fair.
buy him the book mined all love or have loved it. Buy you sister a bottle of wine with the money saved and everyones a winner. provided you share the wine of course.

Sanjifair · 11/05/2013 07:30

I got 10 books from the book people for £10 including the gruffalo. So you can get it for £1. A bundle of books like that would be much better IMHO. The book on its own does look rather mean when you usually spend £15.

Sirzy · 11/05/2013 07:41

I was going to suggest the Julia Donaldson bundle from book people.

SoupDragon · 11/05/2013 07:48

Aren't you still passing £15 around but not giving the child the choice of what to spend it on?

SoupDragon · 11/05/2013 07:53

It isn't the same £15 - you give it to a child and their parent gives it to another child. It doesn't get given from child to child (Unless you are stealing you children's birthday money :o)

monkeymamma · 11/05/2013 07:57

Astonished that I'm the only YANBU so far! Yes you can get books very cheaply/below rrp, but a present with some thought put into it is much nicer and I loathe the idea of anyone mentally pricing up a gift and finding that it falls short. I do think you will need to do the same for your other nephew/niece though, so one child isn't being singled out.

SwishSwoshSwoosh · 11/05/2013 07:58

YABU.

A) don't just change a long established tradition, you will annoy.

B) it is not the same £15, it gets spent and a new £15 is issued each birthday.

C) Why would you pay £7 for a book you can get for 99p in any charity shop? And the child probably already has?

D) If you are going to utterly ruin a working birthday system, at least spend the same amount so it doesn't look like total tightness.

seeker · 11/05/2013 08:06

If it's a tradition, the children will look forward to the money and what they are going to spend it on. Don't change it.

I always give my nieces and nephews a book and a tenner for Christmas. I take pleasure in choosing the book, they like getting the money. Win/win.

EhricLovesTeamQhuay · 11/05/2013 08:18

It's fine to buy presents instead, but make sure the parents know in advance and make sure you spend the same value! You can buy the gruffalo along with 9 other Julia Donaldson books for £10 on the book people so don't just give that :)

Bakingtins · 11/05/2013 08:22

I think giving kids of gruffalo age ( so presumably preschool) money is odd. Money or vouchers is what you give impossible to please teens, no? If there is an agreed spend I think you should probably make up the value with something else. I'd think it was off if anyone other than distant ancient aunts who sellotape a pound in the card gave my 3 yr old money instead of putting some thought into a gift for him.

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