Raised eyebrow at niece’s Christmas list

[Princessmushroom]

Mostly posting for traffic. For context we are an early 30s childfree couple.

We received our niece’s Christmas wish list, (well husband’s niece), she’s just turned 13 and I have to admit that I raised an eye brow that 95% of her wishlist were some plastic horse toys of some sort. Popped on to Amazon to buy some and the recommended age was 4-10 years old IIRC. The upper suggested age was definitely 10.

It made me think about toys when I was 13 years old. I didn’t really have any apart from my favourite stuffed animals. I was all about make up, music, posters, books and magazines. I don’t have any siblings to compare to (20 year age gap) and my friends didn’t really have toys at 13 either.

So my question is if you or your children still had lots of toys or got new toys like this (plastic horses, Barbies etc) aged 13?

(We obviously did buy something from her wishlist, just to clarify).

My goodness, at 12 I was still sometimes pretending to BE a horse if I could find someone none judgemental to hold the end of the skipping rope.

The large Lego sets are usually labelled Age 16+. I can’t picture many twelve year olds wanting a three hundred quid model of the Taj Mahal but David Beckham famously loved his.
My child would have loved one at 8. I said he outgrew Lego at 8, but really he just outgrew Lego I could afford! He had a 7+ Star Wars set for his 4th birthday.

Ok. Kids 101.

They’re all individuals, and some manage to ‘be themselves’ into teenage-hood regardless of the behemoth onslaught of advertisers trying to squish them all into ‘pink box’ and ‘blue box’.

If you spend some time with them, you learn about their unique personalities. What’s behind their likes and dislikes. If you’re unable or unwilling to spend time doing this, you just ask for a ‘Santa list’. Then you pick something, buy it wrap it and send it.

Without the moment.

Your niece is unlikely to be like you kinda remember yourself being at her age (a million years ago, as she’d see it). She’s unlikely to be like the kid on the Xmas telly adverts. She may be totally dissimilar to her absolute BFF in her tastes.

If you want to know what she’s thinking, or how she sees herself relative to her peers, there’s a simpler (kinder) way to find out than posting here. Just call her.

What everyone else has said. Plus, they change overnight at that sort of age anyway.

I have a much younger cousin and when she was about 9, she loved barbies. That was all she wanted, so for her 9th birthday, in October, I bought several barbie things as requested.

That same year, when Christmas shopping, I was in Benetton and they had a pink velvet skirt and silver top; the top said barbie (subtly, in silver on silver) and I was sure she’d love them. On Christmas Day, she opened them and her little face crumpled.

“Oh nooo, it says Barbie. Everyone will laugh at me!!!” she wailed.

Luckily i’d kept the receipt

Is it these? Breyer horses are very collectible.
My Little Pony might be slightly odd at 13 but many horse mas girls collect Breyer. They are beautiful models.

I didn't know children did "wish lists". No further comment.

Oh well, Princessmushroom, you can rest easy with the thought that you probably had aunts and uncles who raised their eyebrows at your unhealthy obsession with make up and posters when you were 13. Don't we all love judgemental relatives?

I didn't know children did "wish lists". No further comment.

I ask my nieces and nephew for lists because they live 200 miles away so I don’t see them often enough to know what they would really like.

They keep to a budget and everyone’s happy.

After a certain age, surprise presents are not always the kind of surprise they’d like

I'd be over the moon if my daughters were still interested in playing with toys at 13, childhood is far too short. I'd already had my first boyfriend by 13

Seriously???
I don't know any adult men who (admit to?) getting things like this.
Computer games, yes.

Adult woman here who will happily admit I buy and build Lego. My husband does too.

I played with Baby Born etc until at least 12 (I got a Baby Born the Christmas I was 12 so I remember it)

I also collected TY Beanie Babies until I was 15 or so - perhaps like PP suggest the horses are a collectable type thing, I know My Little Ponies and Shleicht toys are very collectable even by adults.

I still managed to lose my virginity at 16 and get drunk at 15 so YABU to imply she is odd worry about her socially.

DD14 is getting a Barbie doll from their collector’s editions, some Harry Potter Lego & a record for her record player for Christmas this year. She doesn’t do makeup, fashion, silly pouting, social media etc. she enjoys art, reading and listening to music so her choices reflect what interests her in her life 😊

Good point about beanie babies, I collected then until I was about 18.

I think it's lovely to like toys at 13. When I was 13 I got a giant teddy for Christmas, a proper jointed old fashion style one. Loved him for years!

Seriously? I don't know any adult men who (admit to?) getting things like this

Yes seriously, is it really so hard to think that adults like lego? Not sure what set I will get my DH this year but probably something from Harry Potter.

I'm absolutely delighted that my 13 y/o niece still wants Lego.

If I could afford it I'd still be collecting Sylvanians!

I love that my 13 year old still plays with toys I also have a judgemental childless sil who does the about it but I honestly could not care less My sil insists on getting her mature looking clothes that neither fit nor interest dd (dd is very amall and doesn't fit adult sizes) - sil seems determined to try to make her more mature. Thankfully for me though, dd doesn't care what others think and just continues to 'be herself'. This makes me incredibly proud of her!

OP if you ever have children, I really hope that you are able to encourage them to be themselves and not conform to peer (and maternal in your case) pressure to act more mature

Nothing wrong with lists!! I live with my children, like to think I know them pretty well 😂. I still asked them what they want for Christmas. Grandparents and aunts / uncles are asking what they want, they know them! Still don’t know what they want for Christmas 🤷🏻‍♀️

By the way op I think people have been hard on you on here. You were just saying you’re not used to children and found something odd and questioned it. What’s wrong with that for goodness sake!

I secretly played with my Puppy in my Pockets well into my teen years, OP! Nobody was allowed to know, but I fucking loved those things!

If you have kids in the future you'll be counting your lucky stars them asking for this at 13!!

I wonder how many kids would still ask for toys at 13 if society saw it as normal for them to do so?

Is it My Little Pony? They have quite the cult following with some teens and adults

At 13 I still liked toys and Lego. I wasn't really into make-up (still not if I'm honest. Plus never have the time with a three month old!).

Lots of girls are still very much kids at 13. But often feel under pressure to be young adults.

I still played with toys at 13 - used to play wrestling with my various action figures (mainly power rangers and batman figures from when I was younger). I didn't ask for more toys at that age (would ask for video games, dvds etc) - but as other posters have said maybe they're more ornaments/collectibles than outright toys?