Help mum/santa out…

[decafisnotthesame]

My 5 year old son has written to Santa and asked for a jack-in-the-box. A jack-in-the-box has never been mentioned ever before and when I’ve looked they’re about £20-30 and aimed at 18m+. AIBU to not want to spend this sort of money on a toy he’ll never actually play with?!

Help needed….does anyone have any toy ideas that are like a jack-in-the-box but better suited to a 5 year old? Maybe a box that’s electronic and shoots rockets or something?!? Anything that I can pass off as “Santa thought you were really grown up so might like this type of jack-in-the-box type thing instead”.

TIA

What about one of those money boxes where you put the coin on the platform and a hand pops out and takes it?

https://amzn.eu/d/cFuJzuq

Like this type of thing?

Thanks! I’ll definitely have a look at those as he likes to keep his coins safe.

I'd nip on Facebook marketplace, Vinted or Ebay, and get him what he's asked for rather than what you think he'd prefer.

Is there such a thing as a 'build your own' kit?
I've had a quick look but I'm going out.

I like PPs idea of picking up a cheap one second hand and maybe getting something related but a bit more age appropriate. My 5 year old similarly has asked for both a toddler toy and a really advanced Lego kit (aimed at adults and very expensive). I kept trying to make it more vague ('just ask for Lego') but he was having none of that 😂. So I've emphasised his letter is just to give Santa ideas and that Santa is a toy expert and will always choose a present that's a good match for his age so that he will enjoy playing with it.

I agree that this is a case of buying one second hand. He won’t care and you won’t be wasting money.

toys in this age range often look brand new or close to brand new even when they are used. We had the money to buy new, but dd still got a mix of new and used toys at Christmas when she was little. I took everything out of the packages in advance anyway so that there was no waiting for mom and dad to prep things on Christmas morning and we didn’t have that pressure.

Ime you can't deviate from The List at that age.
Dd once didn't get the plastic tatty ironing board she had asked for (was about a fiver).. Chrismas day she loved her gifts but was sad Santa mustn't have bothered to read her letter properly..
Cue down to Argos boxing day and the ironing board was found in the garden. Fallen off the sleigh..
Santa faith restored.
Look for second hand. Save the cash and save dc's Christmas!

I'd get the jack in the box. There are some on ebay for around a tenner.

It's horrible not to get what you asked for and to get something your parents think you should prefer.

18m+ is just a guideline.

If he wants a jack in the box there's no reason why we won't play with it just because he's 5.

https://www.vinted.co.uk/items/7687053824-jack-in-the-box?referrer=catalog

£5+p&p on Vinted

How about this from m&s? https://www.marksandspencer.com/food/santa-jack-in-a-box-musical-tin/p/fdp60753640

Thanks everyone! Seems I should just accept the Jack-in-the-box…. He asked for a doll when he was 3 and the poor doll never came out of the box again after Christmas Day - trying to avoid a repeat of that.
I’ll check out the money boxes anyway as they are quite similar and maybe look for a build your own as he loves building things.
Still a couple of weeks for him to change his mind and we are visiting Santa on 13th so he could always update the big man himself then 🤞🏼😝

This looks like a good option…. Jack in the box and chocolate biscuits in one, what’s not to love!

That is satanic 😱

Could I pass a whack a mole game off as Santas version of a Jack in the box for a 5 year old?! He’s always wanting a go at the one at a soft play near us

And as its Santa... even more in the spirit!

Have you asked him where he got the idea from? Has he seen one anywhere? Do any of his friends have one? Does he have one in mind?

When I was a child one of the latest toys was a brown monkey that sucked its thumb, all my friends had one and I wanted one too. I had no idea what it was called or where to get one so I simply asked Santa for a brown monkey - I got a random brown monkey soft toy and I was so disappointed, I had been looking forward to getting this specific monkey. I think I was around 6, I’m 48 now and I’ve never forgotten about that monkey!

This is much better than my nightmare fuel suggestion 😂

I hope you eventually got your monkey! If not, get it on the list for this year 😂

Absolutely no idea where his idea has come from - maybe I’ll try do some subtle detective work. I eventually worked out the doll request was because Peppa Pig asks for a doll for Christmas in one episode and Santa actually comes down the chimney and gives it to her and he was hoping the same would happen 🥰

Agreed. I'm still not over not getting My Little Pony Dream Castle. My parents felt the Show stable offered better value 😥 All my planned games had revolved around Dream Castle. The box was the same size and everything, I was gutted.

Oh that's a blast from the past - I had the dream castle. I can picture it exactly even though I haven't thought of it for decades.

I think it's tricky deciphering between something they really want versus just some passing idea that is in their head at the time they write their list! And my nephew is a great one for inventing toys he would like (he thinks this is fine as the elves will make it). That plus budget and age restrictions mean kids can't always get exactly what they have in mind!

I dint know, if he’s asked for a jack in the box why not get that? Who cares about the age? I hate it when someone second guesses my choice and remember exactly this happening to me when I was a child. I wanted a specific kind of toy but whomever (I think my parents told them what I wanted) decided that what it was they gave me was more ‘appropriate’. It was nice, but not what I’d asked for.

Try FB marketplace (if you can bear it) or any second hand toy shops locally? And an older style money grabby thing as PP have suggested.
on a Father Christmas visit when DS was about 4 and when asked what he wanted, said 'fluffy toy chicken'. Great, 20th of December, cheers kiddo! Got one from eBay which turned up just in time. Had never been mentioned before! They're surprisingly hard to find

@decafisnotthesame - Marks and Spencer have some Santa Jack in a Box biscuits for £10. It’s a tin J in a B, Santa pops up, it’s musical and has star shaped biscuits in it.

https://www.marksandspencer.com/food/santa-jack-in-a-box-musical-tin/p/fdp60753640