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Original poster

Do you buy what your child wants even if you think it's crap?

120 replies

ThoughtfulPenny · 10/11/2015 22:15

As the title says really.
My four year old wants the elsa snow shooting sleeve for Xmas. It's £30 so won't break the bank and it's the only thing she's repeatedly mentioned. However, it looks crap, the reviews are all crap and I think it's going to be a total waste of money BUT I don't want her to feel that father Xmas didn't bring her the one thing she wanted...
WWYD?

OP posts:
Miz10 · 10/11/2015 23:26

Another one here who didn't get Mr frosty Sad

Pobspits · 10/11/2015 23:29

Not usually because both my kids are uncharacteristically reasonable when requesting gifts and will actually listen to my thoughts. Can I add this is weird because it certainly isn't the way they usually operate!!!!!

I do buy some stuff of a dubious nature though - for example polly pocket because dd loves them but the clothes are CRAP!

Ds is a bit more sensible but I have just bought him a big millennium falcon and it cost ALOT. I'm not sure he'll play with it but I feel like because he's almost 9 maybe this is the last year he'll want toys?

Oh and I occasionally buy magazines which are always utter shite.

Twistedheartache · 10/11/2015 23:31

Thank you for this thread. Just started one about being undecided about the elsa singalong doll.
I had forgotten my devastation at not getting an a la Carte kitchen or a Mr frosty. I guess I'll cough up, or getcthe silly string foam sleeve thing & gooey Louie that she's always going on about

AndNowItsSeven · 10/11/2015 23:31

In ever had a MR frosty or a speak and spell Sad So yes I buy the dc frozen tat.

ladydepp · 10/11/2015 23:40

I asked this same question on MN a few years ago, overwhelming verdict was Yes. DH was also a Yes. So I bought the bloody Furreal dog for dd, she literally played with the creepy, weird thing for 10 mins and that was pretty much it. I knew it was crap! I charity shopped it a few months later.

Same with some Power Rangers vehicle, a piece of rubbish thing that my ds wanted when he was about 5.

Never again!

lexigrey · 10/11/2015 23:41

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

wigglesrock · 10/11/2015 23:45

Yes, I do. Am currently in the middle of the same dilemma with a bloody secret electronic diary thing for dd2. Dd1 had one a few years ago and it was beyond shite but all of a sudden dd2 has asked for one and not much else. I caved this evening Grin Am also still coming to terms with the fact that my mum refused to buy me a Barbie

LynetteScavo · 10/11/2015 23:47

"I never had a MR frosty or a speak and spell Sad. So yes, I buy the dc frozen tat."

This should be on MN homepage.

NellyTimes · 11/11/2015 00:14

Can add 'Lights Alive' to the Mr Frosty help thread? I badly wanted both but ended up with neither ??

Yes I have begrudgingly bought shite to keep them happy Christmas morning (yes Pig Goes Pop, I'm looking at you) but it's worth it.

Trumpton · 11/11/2015 01:58

Many many years ago DS ( probably 7 years old) wrote his Christmas list and it was all rubbish. So we decided we knew better and bought him what we thought he would enjoy.
Christmas Day arrived ,stockings were opened, dinner eaten, a good time was had by all.
On tucking him up in bed that night he was a bit thoughtful and said " I had a lovely day but, mummy, I did think that Father Christmas would bring me one toy I had asked him for "

Lesson learned. From then on FC always bought something that we would never consider buying . It kept the magic going for years as they all knew that it had to be from FC !

Still makes me feel sad that we did that to our little boy. He wasn't grumpy just a bit sad and bemused .

Kitella · 11/11/2015 03:28

I try to talk my daughters out of anything I think is really crap. However, if it is something they really want, then yes I do because ultimately it's their present, so I try to buy what they want, rather than what I want to give.

IsItMeOr · 11/11/2015 07:14

That Mr Frosty ad must have been awesome. I didn't get one.

6yo DS wants the Lego Dimensions thing. Our dilemma isn't that we think it will be rubbish - by all the reviews it is awesome. We are concerned about the price. While we can afford it, we don't really want to get into a habit of spending so much on a toy.

Plus we already have the discontinued Lego Castle that he announced he wanted earlier in the year and we picked up in early summer (because it was discontinued, we bought it at a bargain price...or so we thought!). While we could probably easily ebay it, I do think it's more age appropriate for right now.

But I also think DC should get at least one thing which they ask FC for, if it's affordable/possible.

Gah!

WhirlwindHugs · 11/11/2015 07:19

No I don't.

Probably traumatising my children here, but just don't have the money to spend on rubbish.

DD1 wants a crappy kids glue-sewing machine. She's not getting it! But I've got her a kids book on using a real machine and will get a real machine for us all to use.

glenthebattleostrich · 11/11/2015 07:23

I still remind my parents every year about the lack of Mr frosty. Usually when they ask what to get dd. They still insist they were right not to get it. Gits. Wait until I get to choose their nursing home bwahahaha.

But yes, I get dd the tat she asks for. Magic of Christmas innit

glenthebattleostrich · 11/11/2015 07:25

The only exception is toys which look like they'll murder you in your bed - yes baby wow wow, I'm on to you with your chucky like appearance.

sandgrown · 11/11/2015 07:27

Years ago I wAnted a sleeveless midi cardigan from C&A. I did not have many trendy clothes as we were not well off. My mum bought me a much more sensible knee length cardigan with sleeves. It was very nice but just not what I wanted. I am a grandma now and still remember the disappointmentSad

toptomatoes · 11/11/2015 07:35

DS1 wanted Teksta Trex one year and I persuaded him to write something else on the list. The next year, he asked for it again. I told him he probably wouldn't get it as it's too expensive and Santa doesn't bring expensive things. He cried when he opened it on Christmas morning, he was so happy. It has been pretty much living on a shelf ever since, as suspected, but it was worth it for that moment.

ChristmasZombie · 11/11/2015 07:58

I had a Mr Frosty. He broke before new year. My mum took him back to Argos and exchanged him for those blue and yellow Fisher Price roller skates that fixed over your own shoes.

Datschi · 11/11/2015 07:58

I don't.

If it is something small, Father Christmas would possibly put it in their stocking, but he doesn't bring large presents.

The DC know I won't buy something I think is a load of rubbish; however they do have aunts and uncles who are more amenable to buying tat, so they don't completely miss out. They wouldn't end up with something expensive and rubbish, though, as uncles and aunts don't spend that much.

bigsnugglebunny · 11/11/2015 08:02

Another one here that didn't get Mr Frosty!

I have relented and got DD Zoomer Kitty, it's the only thing she's asked for, and consistently, despite my best attempts to dissuade her. It's quite a lot more expensive than I'do usually get - so there's not going to be much else for her. I might bulk out her presents with boring things she needs like socks, knickers and vests!

waitingforsomething · 11/11/2015 08:10

I got a Mr Frosty! It was really utterly crap but at least I found out for myself!
DD is getting some frozen tat that I don't really want to get her. She wants it, she's excited and I don't want her to be disappointed on Christmas Day. There's the rest of the year to say no to stuff

notenoughbottle · 11/11/2015 08:32

Mr Frosty was the one thing I always wanted and asked for year after year... never got it. To be fair my parents spoilt us but I will never forget not having that one thing. I've normally always bought my kids what they want but this year I am going over their heads, with the exception of one thing each, as I'm fed up of my house being full of crap tat that doesn't get touched. My eldest is 9 so I just feel a bit sorry for my two year old whose mother has wisened up a bit over the last few years!

exexpat · 11/11/2015 08:43

I just had to google Mr Frosty and then had to laugh - I don't remember it from my childhood (I'm 47 - maybe too old?) but DD has a penguin version of the same thing which she was desperate to have, and was used precisely once. Why on earth is the idea of grated ice so irresistible to children of a certain age?

DD is now 13, and although there was a bit of a pang the first time her Christmas/birthday wish-lists had no toys on them, I am not missing the annual nightmare round of Toys-R-Us, Smyths etc to find the precise Monster High piece of plastic crap play set she wants.

CharleyDavidson · 11/11/2015 08:54

Mr Frosty advert
Https:m.youtube.com/watch?v=DE5DJIG4DWU

teabagsmummy · 11/11/2015 09:20

crispy
my ds got doggy doo a few years ago we loved it never laughed so much,the poo would often get stuck so you had blow in the mouth the noise it made when it was eventually dislodged was hysterical