DS has put something on his Christmas list that we haven’t got for him

[Gingerbreadcottage]

My DS is 6 years old and is wanting an X Box for Christmas. He said he’ll definitely be getting one because he’s told Father Christmas he wants it.

We have bought him a new Amazon fire tablet to replace his old one that’s broken - it’s a bigger screen and suitable for an older child. Now I feel sad that he may be disappointed on Christmas morning.
We’ve got him plenty of other things he’s asked for and a few surprises too.

We don’t feel that he’s old enough for an X Box and would rather wait until he’s maybe 7 or 8 at least.
A few of his friends have one, some have older siblings though.

What can I do?!

Do you have an elf...

Elf can bring a note saying that that he will put him on the list for Xboxes in the future but he is too young at the moment. Or that he can't make X boxes in his factory

Yeah, we always told the children that Santa doesn't bring you expensive electricals...we do...if you're lucky, Santa buys them toys, sweets and that sort of thing..

I always told my kids that Santa's elves don't make electronic items so Mum's and Dad's have to pay for them. The elves only make real toys like jigsaws, train sets etc

X Box's are really expensive so Mummy and Daddy will have to save up for a year or two and then send the money to Santa.

This is why here Santa fills your stocking and picks 1 gift off your list.

I have always made it crystal clear that we buy the more expensive gifts. There were years I was so broke I'd never have been able to keep the magic alive if Santa bought all the presents.

In our house Father Christmas brings everything that's really from us, however he chooses carefully from the list of ideas given and gives you what he knows you will end up enjoying the most.

Santa doesn't bring expensive or unrealistic gifts! I'm still waiting for the pony I asked for about 5 years in a row!

You could always say that Santa thought he was a bit young, but that maybe when it’s his birthday he’ll be old enough, if you’re thinking that you’d get him one when he is 7?

I’d say something like this.

Or maybe that Santa doesn’t bring them until the parents agree a child is old enough?

We always told dd that her Christmas list was for ideas and that didn't mean she would get everything on it.

We also told her that big ticket items were outside if santas remit (a horse and a real owl featured for several years).

I’d tell him this in advance as well.

Had to have a similar conversation about Santa not bringing a PS5 to people who have a PS4 (which is hardly used anyway!) a couple of year back

That’s a good idea too!

This is a good idea because it also gets around the idea of Santa bringing nicer presents to children with better off parents

He's 6
So many presents

Santa doesn’t buy/deliver big expensive presents like that in our household. So I’m not sure what you should say!
Maybe that he will probably get one when he’s older?

I always told my kids Santa only brings one small gift and toys for their stocking. Nothing expensive or big as that isn’t fair to the other children in the world. All kids get that from Santa that celebrate Christmas. Any child that’s says they get an Xbox or a trampoline for Christmas got it from their parents. Sometimes kids get confused and think it’s from Santa. But that’s ok you just keep quiet.
I said this after seeing a facebook post on not having kids go to school saying they got something outrageously expensive when another kid got a bubble wand from Santa as we live in a very mixed socioeconomic area.
This could work if you do some gifts from Santa and some from you.

That's not what she's posting about though.... it's how to prepare for/handle the disappointment

He’ll be fine op 🤣 do as others have suggested and say Santa has to have parents approval for gifts like that.

I rarely got the bigger things I wished for, even after I knew there was no Santa (we didn’t write lists, not sure if that was just us or if it wasn’t really a “thing” in the 80s) wanted roller boots one year, got new roller skates instead, (those awful clunky metal ones with the straps that go over your trainers) another year I wanted Mr Frosty and got a sledge instead (I tried for a Mr Frosty 3 years in a row-never got one. Eventually got one from my mum the year I turned 40 🤣)wanted a midi Hi-Fiwhen I was older (my mum asked me to oick my big present myself) and got a VCR instead. I was fine about all of these and many more

@Fraggeek exactly this.

Santa gets a couple of craft things. Something edible, a book maybe. And always pack of biscuits for the family to share. Mum and dad buy the ‘main’ presents. It varies year on year as to how much we spend, as it depends how things are at the time!

My six year old said he wanted a PS5 and a iPhone 15! Told him he wouldn't be getting either of them.

Santa definitely didn’t always bring what was asked for here - I still remember a memorable grotto where DS told Santa very firmly that he wanted a REAL LIVE RAT for Christmas. Both Santa and I a bit speechless. Needless to say, it only appeared in stuffed animal form in his stocking…

I tell my kids Santa doesn't being electronics/games consoles because the elves aren't smart enough to make them

“Our” Father Christmas doesn’t receive shopping orders, he accepts your wish list and picks from it. He’s also tricksy… so if you wish for snow, you might find the living room was filled with fake snow overnight… or, as is the case this year…

if you ask for a pet dragon, you might get a stuffed dragon and an adoption pack for a Komodo dragon at the zoo - complete with zoo tickets. Because FC doesn’t think it’s fair to ask a dragon to live in such a damp part of the world as we live in.

I would tell him now that he won't be getting that because FC only brings things that parents are happy with and you think he's a bit young. I wouldn't risk him being disappointed on Christmas Day. FWIW I agree he's too young.

Going forward I'd make sure that you have that conversation as he's writing his list...i.e. nothing goes on the list unless there is a realistic chance of him getting it.

My son's Christmas list had 'The Moon' on it when he was 4.

Tell him Father Christmas can’t always bring everything that children ask for, but he does always bring something that they will like.