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Christmas

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Original poster

DS wants 12 x lego sets for xmas.. how to prepare him for 1 or 2 ?

28 replies

pipo · 19/10/2011 20:46

DS has listed every lego set in the argos catalogue on his xmas list. i have tried saying nicely that he will probably only get 1 or 2 as they cost a lot of money but he says that father xmas doesnt need to buy these things - they are already there in greenland.
i think i may change tack and say that there is only a limited supply so he may get 1 or 2 and so i do not have to argue about the money aspect and hope that this sinks in eventually.
my other concern is how to decide which set to get him as he has changed his mind 3 times in the last 3 weeks as to which of all of them is his favourite?
do people give their kids a cut off date when xmas lists must be finalised by? i am thinking he is so obsessed by it all this year (he is nearly 7 ) that he is going to be revisng his list until xmas eve. i am panicking that if i leave it too late i will not be able to get THE set that he eventually decides on.
any tips to stop me lying awake worrying?

OP posts:
ImpYCelyn · 19/10/2011 20:53

Set a date to post the letter. Perhaps before bonfire night? TBH I couldn't often remember what had been on my list by the time Christmas came, and often it was nothing that had been on it, but I was still thrilled on the day.

You could try explaining that there isn't an unlimited supply of toys, and Father C only brings a certain amount to each child to make sure there's enough to go around.

I'm planning on telling DS that while FC delivers the presents we still have to give him the money for them, so that he understands that it's not unlimited, or free. and so we get a little bit of gratitude

bunnyspoiler · 19/10/2011 21:01

Set a deadline for letter posting as the last poster said. In this house FC only brings the stockings so the remainder is at discretion and budget of parents. Just tell him you can't afford to buy more than 1 or 2. he'll look forward to and consider his choices more if he knows there is a limit.

tassisssss · 19/10/2011 21:06

IMO buying 4 or 5 of the smaller lego sets rather than 2 or 3 of the bigger ones can be better in terms of play value. Plus it's more boxes to open! AND the smaller the sets the easier to build (and therefore more chance they can build themselves...

Original poster
pipo · 19/10/2011 21:07

Thank you - posting the letter is a good idea then there is a cut off point- i will definitely do that (last year he just left the list by his bed but then last year the list was short and cheap so i didnt have to talk about limits!!) He is just so excited i can barely get a word in edgeways!

OP posts:
fortyplus · 19/10/2011 21:07

Just say 'Don't be silly - if everyone was that greedy asked for so many how would the poor reindeer pull the sleigh? Grin

hellhasnofury · 19/10/2011 21:09

We always told the kids that Father Christmas gives them one present, the others are delivered by him but paid for by mum and dad. They were also told that some parents could afford more than others.

thisisyesterday · 19/10/2011 21:10

i told ds1 that his list is just a list of IDEAS and that he would get SOME of the stuff from his list, but not all of it.

CharlotteBronteSaurus · 19/10/2011 21:11

letters need to be received by FC by 1st December, because the elves need time to make the stuff and sort it. although FC himself is magic, elves' time and energy is finite, and so only reasonable amounts of stuff can be requested, and not every single requested item will be delivered.

Hungrydragon · 19/10/2011 21:14

Santa always gets one special present in our hose and we have to send him the money for everything else, if that helps?

Generally Santa gets them the stocking too.

Original poster
pipo · 19/10/2011 21:16

forty plus - they're magic reindeer of course! yes i must just get a grip but he has got an arguement to counter mine each time. maybe i have some more time to spend on this with him at half term instead of rushing through tea etc. after school.

OP posts:
JollyBear · 19/10/2011 21:17

Father Christmas brings the presents but mummy and daddy have to pay for them. That's how it worked when I was a child so we are continuing the tradition.

thisisyesterday · 19/10/2011 21:20

if he has an answer for everyhitng then just tell him that that's the way it is. end of

Original poster
pipo · 19/10/2011 21:26

yes - will definitely have to be firmer about elves,reindeer and limits(its just such a shock from last year i've been taken unawares) and choose a cut off date for letters - night before fireworks is good idea i cant stand much more lego star wars chit-chat.

OP posts:
mogs0 · 19/10/2011 21:45

Ds asks for 3 smallish things from FC.

My family are always asking what to get ds and I often give them one of the far too many things I've already bought him for them to give him.

VivaLeBeaver · 19/10/2011 21:47

There's only so much room on the sleigh.

WitchesAreComing · 19/10/2011 22:25

Get an Elf on the Shelf and threaten cajole the child.

And randomly jangle sleigh bells (from ELC)

12 lego sets are utterly unrealistic. My in-laws could buy them for our DC several times over and wouldn't bat an eyelid at the price but you need to set limits.

DesperatelySeekingPomBears · 20/10/2011 09:27

You point out to him that it costs Santa a fortune for cross-licensing agreements and training the elves to make modern toys and electronics. Yes, back in the day when kids wanted a wooden train it was simple enough for Santa to provide what was on the list - there are plenty of trees! - but now with children wanting lego and iPads it's just not plausible for Santa's company to continue to function. Yes, of course he could be greedy and ask for all of the lego sets, but if every little boy and girl did this across the world then Santa would also fall victim to the recession and does he really want to be responsible for all the elves and reindeer having to tell their families that they've lost their jobs?

Let's see him find a counter argument to that!

By the way, if he does, sod the lego sets and use the money to get him enrolled in private school because clearly he's set to be a politician lol.

WitchesAreComing · 20/10/2011 09:52

Yes he does sound marvellous Grin Hope he has a lovely Christmas!

girlywhirly · 20/10/2011 11:46

Pipo, I think you can counter any arguing by telling him that Santa will know about it, and may decide not to bring anything if he carries on doing it.

Yes set a time limit on his present list, emphasise that it is a wish list where some but not all the suggestions will be delivered.

We used to say that stockings were delivered by Santa, and other presents were actually from people.

It occurs to me that perhaps your DS might not have grasped the value of money quite yet. It's not surprising when DC see us pay for things with a plastic card, and therefore assume that money is limitless. Unless they have pocket money which they have to learn to budget with they have no concept. Actually, there are adults who still think plastic cards entitle them to 'free' money, they then wonder why, if they don't pay off their credit balance each month they have to pay extra as interest! My 7yo DS understood that if I advanced him some money from next weeks pocket money, he would get less that amount when it came to next week, so he understood about simple loans. He also understood that when his money was all spent, he would have to wait until the next 'payday'.

belledechocchipcookie · 20/10/2011 12:00

I used to tell ds that Father Christmas only gets boys and girls a couple of things because there would be no space on his sleigh and it would take him a long time otherwise. I would then label a couple of presents from 'Father Christmas' and use wrapping paper that was very different to the rest. I'd explain that the rest of the presents were from me/family.

smalltownshame · 20/10/2011 12:06

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

HauntedPramsScreamsGalore · 20/10/2011 13:56

i tell all my dc's that they will not get everything they have asked for on their list, they know that we buy some and family buy some and santa brings them and he does the stockings. That way when they ask for 4 things that are 60 - 80 pound each i can say, yes but if you could only have one, which would it be, i also send them back with their lists/argos book or go though them if younger and asked which things they really really want, cut off time is begining of november unless it is something cheap and really really wanted. i have been given the argos book now with items marked in pen to what they would like, lucky for me, everything i have bought so far has been marked Smile although would not be the first time i have returned things back to argos and bought something else Hmm

rhondajean · 20/10/2011 18:23

All the toys in Argos are 3 for 2 this week so you might be able to get him a bit more than you expected if you are able to get down there sharpish.

DD2 is about the same age and where DD1 rarely asked for anything, she just sees everything on tv and wants it. Ive told her that Santa doesnt like it when children are greedy and ask for too much, because he has to give to all the children and its hard work; but its very hard isnt it?

With DD1 from about 8 or 9 she was still believing in Santa but I told her that yes we did have to give him money for it because Santa Inc is a not for profit organisation and the reindeer cost more than petrol for daddys car plus all those elves need fed.....

startail · 20/10/2011 21:54

In this house Father Christmas sends Mummy the billGrin

justcallmemummypig · 20/10/2011 23:03

in our house FC does the stocking and one big present... does he remember what he got last yr, could you do something similar?