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Christmas

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Original poster

Large boxed presents?

19 replies

BeaWheesht · 09/12/2013 09:57

Ds is almost 7 and his presents are mostly significantly smaller than dds, who is 3. This is mainly due to the fact that Lego costs a fortune but comes in relatively small boxes and also dd is getting a big dolls house from a car boot and a £10 bike in perfect condition from eBay.

So, I'm not bothered if thy have the same number of presents or if piles are exactly the same but at the moment it is a massively noticeable difference!

Can anyone think of anything relatively cheap but large and crucially that will actually be of use? Outdoor stuff would be ok because his birthday is at Christmas too so he needs a years worth of stuff iyswim?

He likes Lego, writing, imaginary play, the usual really.

He doesn't need any craft stuff, they are getting a colour in playhouse between them and he has lots of dressing up stuff.

I don't want to spend money for the sake of it but if there's something good out there than could make it look a bit more even that'd be fab.

OP posts:
fuzzpig · 09/12/2013 10:01

Swingball is pretty big :o or an archery set?

Spacecraft · 09/12/2013 10:02

TBH I'd be inclined to hold back some of DD's stuff. A bike and a dolls house, even if they didn't cost you much, are massive presents. I try and even it out according to what it's worth to them, rather than the cost iyswim.

It does happen as they got older though, the pile costs more but gets smaller.

FeastOfPhteven · 09/12/2013 10:02

Scooter?

Original poster
BeaWheesht · 09/12/2013 10:08

Scooter and swingball they already have.

Can't keep the dolls house back as simply don't have room to store it. She doesn't have a bike and her birthday isn't until autumn..

Hmmm

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jojane · 09/12/2013 10:15

This happened one year as dd had a desk off freecycle and Ds had skylanders game etc, quite a difference in size so I gt the biggest cardboard box I could find and arranged his skylanders stuff in it to make it look bigger.
How about a cheap little table ie ikea lack ones which are about a fiver with a large Lego baseplate glued to the top to make his own little Lego table? Cheap but bog to wrap (and useful)

jojane · 09/12/2013 10:16

Big not bog

Belgianchox · 09/12/2013 10:23

How about a cheap little table ie ikea lack ones which are about a fiver with a large Lego baseplate glued to the top to make his own little Lego table? Cheap but bog to wrap (and useful) brilliant idea, I might have to pinch this.

Original poster
BeaWheesht · 09/12/2013 10:25

Ooh Jojane not Johannesburg as my phone wants to call you that's a good idea - maybe not a table because there's no room but a bit of plywood or similar might be an idea with a baseplate glued on - could make the wood bigger than the Lego and paint it with blackboard paint so he could change the 'themes'.....

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CalamitouslyWrong · 09/12/2013 10:29

DS1's pile is always much smaller than DS2's. They're 13 and 4. The price per square inch of present piles is much, much higher when they're teenagers!

This year DS1 is getting books, a videogame and a Lego set (he still likes Lego). It's not going to be a mountain. DS2 is getting playmobil dinosaurs (which come in a huge box), art tat (also bulky) and a few books.

It's best just to worry about whether they'll like what they get than trying to make anything 'even' in any way.

Original poster
BeaWheesht · 09/12/2013 11:17

Yes but ds isn't a teenager though, he's only 7 and a wee bit young to fully understand I think. He wouldn't complain I just don't want him being disappointed.

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CalamitouslyWrong · 09/12/2013 11:27

Yes, but at 7 he will understand that some things are more expensive than others. As long as he loves the things he has got, then everything will be fine.

Also, if he's got Lego he'll have considerably more individual items than his little sister! Hundreds of them.

Original poster
BeaWheesht · 09/12/2013 11:55

Well yes but I'm not wrapping each Lego piece individually!

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CalamitouslyWrong · 09/12/2013 12:06

Yes, but the point us that things will be uneven regardless how you try to make it the same. The pile might be the same size but one will always have fewer individual pieces or one pile will be more expensive than the other.

It's best to just buy what each child will like and not worry about the rest.

Spacecraft · 09/12/2013 13:10

We tend to give bikes when they need them rather than as presents for exactly this reason. It's very hard to make things "fair" when one of them "needs" a bike.

insanityscatching · 09/12/2013 14:07

What about this? Retro but I bet he'd love it

Leeds2 · 09/12/2013 14:39

A pogo stick, or a spacehopper.

Luggage16 · 09/12/2013 14:51

a big box of craft stuff? that way he could use it through the year but is really cheap and bulky!

Original poster
BeaWheesht · 09/12/2013 17:04

Thanks guys

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