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Original poster

If there's something your dc wants and you know it's shit do you get it anyway?

68 replies

Stillhopingstillhere · 07/10/2013 23:14

Ds is 4 and is set on a furreal kitty - currently reduced to £33 on amazon which is the cheapest I've seen them, rrp is £50 (£50!)

It is total utter crap. It does basically nothing and will more than likely be ignored after a day.

Do I:
A) get it now because Im fairly sure he isn't going to change his mind and it's at least slightly cheaper.
B) leave it and hope he changes his mind but if he doesn't get it nearer christmas when it might be more expensive.
C) not get it at all

It's tricky because I don't think children shouldn't necessarily get everything they want but it makes it more tricky if it is a gift they are asking Santa for.
I don't think this toy is value for money at all. Otoh he's been coveting it since it came out a few months ago and I don't think he's likely to change his mind hence he will notice if it's not there on christmas morning. It's actually the only thing he's consistently mentioned despite me saying "but it does nothing" "Santa could bring this instead" etc etc.

Do you usually get what your dc have asked for (within reason) even if you KNOW it will be shit?

OP posts:
mum23girlys · 07/10/2013 23:24

I feel your pain. I had to buy 2 (yes 2!!) Toffee the ponies a few years back. Bloody 50 quid and they've hardly been looked at, never mind played with. It was 2 furbys last year and they've barely been touched. This year thankfully they've all asked for thinks that I know they'll use. Every other year they've coveted the must have toy piece of crap

I don't know what to suggest except are there not smaller cheaper ones? We've got a few smaller furreal animals which have always seemed to end up being more popular and actually get played with

Original poster
Stillhopingstillhere · 07/10/2013 23:29

Two toffees! Twice the enjoyment...or not.

I'll see if I can't find a similar looking smaller cat...for £1 ideally. Trouble is he is adamant he wants one that sings and he has seen this particular one at a friend's house so knows what it does (not much for £33).
I know he will love it for a day and then stick it on his bed with the rest of his stuffed animals who all cost about one sixth of the price of daisy blasted plays with me kitty.

OP posts:
dreamsdreamsgoaway · 07/10/2013 23:34

Aw, get it! I don't even have children but your post reminded me of being about 7 and absolutely coveting something for ages and then being really excited if/when I got it! I had about a million soft toys too, just one bear left out of them now. I googled the furreal things and they are quite cute Smile

TallyGrenshall · 07/10/2013 23:40

DS is begging for a Fart Blaster, I've bought it but I already know I'm going to regret it by about 10am on xmas day.

So if I have to suffer him running around with an o so funny fart noise accompaniment, then I think you should buy a Furreal Grin

GladbagsGold · 07/10/2013 23:47

I help DC research reviews online - this really helps and is how we escaped Texsta dog and some crappy Scooby Doo thing. As its not mean old Mummy saying no, it's a child their age who didn't think it was any good.

That said I did get DD a crappy slushy maker recently, knowing it would be useless but that she would love it. But it was v v cheap, not a main present.

slippytoes · 07/10/2013 23:50

Haha been there and I feel your pain. We have a furreal toy too, its name is Kitty or Lulu or something... DD got her for Christmas a couple of years ago. She still occasionally plays with it though. The thing is hideous but she really wanted it!

Goandplay · 07/10/2013 23:53

I do and I always think 'I knew it!' The day after Christmas.

You always remember the things you don't get at Christmas. I would buy it now and know that Santa has got it right.

mojojomo · 08/10/2013 00:01

Buy it while it's reduced.
Spend the return period (a month?) trying to persuade him that the toy is indeed shit.
If he decides it's shit after the return period, sell it on gumtree at the bargainous price of £33. It will sell on xmas eve if not before.

piratecat · 08/10/2013 00:07

Smile oh such fun

i have done this as long as it wasn't crazy priced item.

my dd had the white big cat years ago. its now grey has no ears and looks like a Victorian stuffed cat.

loved i guess.

fuzzpig · 08/10/2013 10:25

I'd get it now if it's not too big a proportion of your budget (ie if you can still afford to buy surprises that will be well chosen by you and get lots of use)

Keep it in packaging etc and as said above you could sell it before Xmas (possibly for a profit!)

bigmouthstrikesagain · 08/10/2013 10:34

I have been there - a few years ago dd1 wanted a JoJo Bunny Hide and seek toy. I looked on Amazon, saw it was £30 and read a series of 1 * reviews on Amazon - along the lines of 'This is shit don't buy it!'. Like you op I do not think that children should have whatever they want especially if it is over priced cleverly marketed shite. BUT.

On Christmas day dd1 ripped through her presents each time saying "I hope this is JoJo" and each time being disappointed ... then sad face and deep sigh when it became clear Father Christmas had not bought her JoJo and therefore clearly did not care. There was an audible crack as DH's heart broke at this point. Anyway suffice to say if there is one coveted toy above all others that dd2 wants then we usually get it recalling 'JoJo Bunny-gate' with a shudder. I still say she would have played with the damn thing one day - discover it was crap and then never play with it again... but we will never know for sure.

GwendolineMaryLacey · 08/10/2013 10:35

Get it. How many of us can remember the Mr Frosty we didn't get....

Growlithe · 08/10/2013 10:39

DD(9) saw this the other day and said 'you could get a real cat at the rescue for that price!' Grin

Assuming that is not an option, I'd try and find something completely different and obviously better in the meantime to wow him with, so he forgets it. If this doesn't work, he obviously really really loves it and you might as well get it for him.

Let's face it, no toy is going to engage them forever, but the year he didn't get his kitty that meant the world to him may stay in his head though. DH didn't get Mr Frosty when he was little. I did. It was rubbish, and I must have played with it about twice. DH still wants one.

lunar1 · 08/10/2013 10:43

I take ds1 to the shop to show him how rubbish it is and let him have a look at what he might like instead. Seems to have worked so far.

TigOldBitties · 08/10/2013 10:43

I've bought DD a Furreal Kitty but a cheap one as I think its shit.

Its this so £20. I think she won't really notice the difference in the excitement of christmas. We have 3 real cats FFS

I do try to get them the thing they really want. Most of mine are teens now which means spending ridiculous amounts of money on clothes and trainers for them to leave on the bedroom floor.

So yeah I would say get it. Can always ebay it and recoup some of the money. Tell him kitty has gone to live on a farm...

Growlithe · 08/10/2013 10:47

Gwendoline ha ha - that Mr Frosty has a lot to answer for. Maybe there should be a Mr Frosty support group. Grin

3birthdaybunnies · 08/10/2013 10:50

I did get a password journal for dd2 even though I knew that dd1's was c**p. Hers is indeed also awful but she loves it. She now wants another one because she's filled the notepad, so at least she has used it even if the password only works if the whole town is silent, you say one letter, at a time precisely determined by an atomic clock and it's a full moon but wise FC has a supply of notebook refils and some glue this year.

jennymac · 08/10/2013 10:52

Personally I wouldn't get it. When my two dc ask for things that I know will be ignored or not played with after a day or two, I just say that I'm not letting you ask Santa for that as I know you won't get the use out of it. They have been accepting of this so far and turn their minds to something else. I hate forking out money for things that won't be used.

duchesse · 08/10/2013 10:58

Nope. Especially if they saw it on an advertisement.

With little ones I would make an exception especially if it's been coveted for a long time. I still remember the look of disappointment on DD2's face when I couldn't make her the pink cloth aeroplane she so wanted...

FishfingersAreOK · 08/10/2013 11:04

This is a tough one. DD asked for a Yo-Jo-Jo toy one year (Waybuloo). She wanted the big one that made noises. I said to DH she was too old for it - she would not play with it - but he saw her in the toyshop, eyes lit up and then pleading for it. It duly arrived in her stocking. She was thrillled. As soon as it was out of the box she realised that Waybuloo was not magically arriving in her room at the same time - that it was just a hard, mechanical toy you could see her shoulders slump Sad.

But - FC brought her what she wanted. That year. DH now listens to me a bit more now and we try and balance what they think they want with what they would play with.

But yes, if either wanted something so terribly badly I would still probably give in. But FC would get the blame for the ultimately rubbish present and I would make sure our present was wayyyy better

Badvoc · 08/10/2013 11:07

Ds1 has asked for a nerf gun.
That's it.
Gah. Piece of plastic tat.
Ds2 hasn't asked for anything.
So they have both got lots of,little things like annuals, craft stuff, DVDs etc.

hoppingmad · 08/10/2013 11:21

At that age I would probably get it. I've always had a bit of a problem with dd1 who rarely asks for anything so when she sets her heart on something it's hard not to get it. Last year it was cherry the cat, which she hardly plays with but made her Christmas nonetheless

This year she's 9 and had been desperate for a flying fairy toy which is about £35! Because she's that bit older I pulled up the reviews and asked her to read them (they were really bad) & if she still wanted it to let me know.

She quickly decided that it wasn't worth wasting a present on. Thank god for reviews!

johnworf · 08/10/2013 11:41

For a young child who has desperately wanted something then yes, I'd buy it (assuming it was within my budget).

IME they do grow out of it after a certain age of 23

fuzzpig · 08/10/2013 11:52

I love the idea of getting older children to read reviews. An unexpected advantage of the internet!

In our house Santa only brings surprises because he is so clever and magic that he knows what children will play with and love even if it's not what the child has asked for.

Original poster
Stillhopingstillhere · 08/10/2013 11:53

Hoppingmad ds had cherry my very own kitty last year too! It was his "must have" lasts year. Now he wants daisy...
He does have a thing about cats, even though we have an actual real life cat too. But she won't sit on his lap because he used to chase her when he was small so maybe that's why he wants cats of his own that can't escape his over enthusiastic affection?

I'm going to have to buy the bloody cat aren't I? Simply because I can't stand the thought of his disappointed little face come christmas morning.

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