AIBU to ask about the Father Christmas promise

[Tworoads]

My little boy is 5 years old. He is fascinated by all kinds of electronic gadgets, teaching himself how to move around a PC, load apps onto a mobile, work a Sat Nav etc. His favourite outing isn't Smyths or The Entertainer - it's Currys! He is also pouring over cars all the time, recognising manufacturers' logos and chatting about cars, cars, cars all the time.
So we come round to the letter to Father Christmas and he decides he wants a ride on Ford Ranger electric car WITH the touch screen radio built in. They are £400-£500!!!! I have found a different Ford electric car without the touch screen for £200 and might possibly stretch to that but it's not what he wants and the other one is out of the question.
He thinks Father Christmas is magical. He has no idea that he is asking for something so expensive - to him £500 might just as well be £5. He's a lovely little lad. Not spoilt but nevertheless, I have a problem.
How do I satisfy him? What would you do to make a little boy's dreams come true without bankrupting myself?

Santa doesn't bring technology or live animals. Them's the rules.

Wow! I've been thinking about this all day and you have come up with some brilliant ideas.
I like the idea of Santa ringing or writing to him. Might try that.
Also the wish list is good. I have just asked him what he might want if FC can't get the car and he said a chocolate lolly maker! I'm sure we can rattle off a few things for a list.
The truth is that he doesn't want a version of the electric car if the radio is just a picture!

Going to keep getting him to come up with ideas.

We used to say the elves didn’t know how to make electronic items. Then tell them we couldn’t afford such expensive things from the shops

Father Christmas brought our girls stocking presents and books. Parents brought the bigger stuff. It made it easier to manage expectations.

Thanks everyone. There is no other time of the year like it.
I'm not sure it would be a good thing to just buy him something so expensive if I had bottomless pockets anyway.

There has to be a way of making it a special time without throwing large sums of money at it.

@Hollyhead

You just have to raise them to know that they’re giving FC ideas! I have no idea why parents do anything any different.

🙄 always one perfect parent who feels their way is the correct way.

Not helpful to you now, but this is why we've always said FC brings your stocking and your parent get your main presents. It solves issues of expensive requests / disparity among rich and poor children etc.

I guess it's too late for you to introduce this idea now? Could you have a chat about how FC has to give presents to millions of children so it has to be a reasonable request?

Father Christmas just fills the sacks. He doesn't bring tech, the elves can't make that.
"Main" present comes from mum and dad. That way they understand that they can't have just anything they want.

We’ve always done it so that the big main present is from us. Santa just brings a sack full of smaller things, whatever we can fit in it basically. Which limits how much Santa ‘spends’. Because, you know, he has to fit it all in his sleigh. Space is limited. We also say the Santa letter is suggestions and they don’t just get whatever they want. It depends what Santa can get then. It also means they understand that the big present is from us, so can’t just demand whatever they want.

Santa doesn't bring everything. Just stockings and 1 or 2 other things.
Other gifts are from us, relatives etc.
So anything expensive or techy they know its coming from us, if they get it at all.

@mogschristmascalamity

Father christmas only brings a few small things for the stocking.

Everything else goes under the tree from parents or family.

Exactly this. OP, you’ve caused this problem for yourself by letting your child think that Father Christmas can bring whatever he wants.

We've always said Santa does small fun things that go in the stocking here. Big presents come from parents, relatives, etc and go under the tree. Saves all this sort of hassle. But too late to change your story if he's 5! Is it something you can get 2nd hand?

There’s a couple on eBay preloved that are currently bidding at your budget? Could be worth having a saved search and seeing if there’s anything affordable locally that pops up?

Santa doesn't bring technology or live animals. Them's the rules.

We have the same rules. Santa can bring a Magic Mixie but he can't bring a puppy or a phone. Mummy and Daddy decide on those (no and no).

As @ghostyslovesheets said, when I was little my list was a wish list. I knew I wasn’t getting everything on it, so I’d put more than one thing on it and wait and see what I got. Father Christmas brought a couple of bits off the list and surprises as the rest.

In our house girl's Santa letter is only allowed to ask for 3 things. We've also explained that mummy and daddy have to send Santa money to buy the presents. We're by no means wealthy but luckier than some of the kids classmates and we wanted them to be aware that they're fortunate and some of their friends might not get much from Santa so to be sensitive to that.

I have told my kids that Santa might think they are being greedy, and they run the risk of not get any presents if he thinks they naughty.

We used to tell our eldest that the elves can't make certain brand name toys because of copywrite issues, so any branded toys come from us. (He'd asked for a £200 lego set) And technology is limited up at the north pole so no ipads etc. Santa's elves can only make basic toys.

We generally did bigger expensive presents for birthdays and smaller things for Christmas. We said that Santa only brings smaller presents, any "big" things were from parents/family, but that some families like to pretend these big presents were from Santa (which is how we got around some of the kids friends getting large expensive items).

I respond to the detailed Santa qs by saying I don’t know, I’ve always been asleep when he comes and I only know how it was done when I was growing up

Father Christmas brings the tat in our house, the stocking chocolate, new pants, that sort of thing.

All main presents come from the giver, I find it avoids disappointment.

I was always told and understood that you ask for things from Father Christmas that you'd like, but it doesn't mean you'll get everything that you ask for.

@mogschristmascalamity

Father christmas only brings a few small things for the stocking.

Everything else goes under the tree from parents or family.

This is what we do too. Token stocking with silly wee bits in from Santa, all gifts from us. DD's only 4 but is already understanding that she can't have lots of big things as her birthday is also in December so it's just too many "pennies" We do explain that we go out to do "nice things" in Summer too and if she got everything at Xmas we wouldn't be able to do some of the"nice things"

See that’s why Santa only gets small things in our house, PJs, books, chocolates, small Lego. The big stuff comes from us so we could explain that’s too much money

In our house santa brings the little things in stockings. Everything under the tree comes from named human beings who pay cold hard cash for them.