DC asking for rubbishy, but pricy, present!

[jemsywemsy]

What do you do if your DC wants something really crappy looking but expensive for Christmas and puts it in their letter to Santa?

My 4 year old has asked for a Shopkins mall thing that's £80 and it looks shite. We can afford it but it just seems like the kind of thing she'll get bored of after 5
minutes and it feels like such a waste of money that it just makes me feel uneasy to buy it her. She has no concept of money yet really, and just thinks it looks cool.

If she asked for something smaller I could also get her a few nice surprise things too that I think she would enjoy more in the longer term.

Her brother has asked for something that's £60 so I could just say that's Santa's limit?

Or do I just say Santa won't bring it because he doesn't think it's very good and there are other things that would be better?

Persuade her to ask for something else?

Or just bite the bullet and buy the tat?!

I won't buy something like that awful tat either. I refused to buy the clarks school shoes last year as the buggers added £10 to the normal price & included an app. That enraged me so I bought school shoes in Asda this year-incidentally, they are great.

Agree with PPs about ideas rather than demands-I always encourage them to add *a surprise on the list & say some of my fave presents were the surprises

Another one who wanted a Mr Frosty here! And a My Little Pony.

We always say father christmas needs a long list to choose from and doesn't have everything, and for future reference electronics only come from mum and dad!
Re having to be good, every time it comes up we express absolute certainty that they have been good enough and they don't need to worry on that score. I think you need to refute strongly any notion that there's a sliding scale of gift value depending on how good you've been. Different families have different traditions and santa knows how each family does it.

Like others, the list is suggestions, a range of ideas (and price points!) should be included, a lot of subliminal messaging especially if I have already bought the main present along with comments about Santa taking presents to everyone around the world, we already have a lot of toys, perhaps some of the children with fewer toys will get some more this year and wouldn't that be nice for them and all of that sort of thing.
If there is an item of tat on the list for £15 or less, then Santa may well buy it to throw the DC off the scent as I am far too boring to buy a chocolate lolly maker or some snot related board game.
DS is desperate for the Paw Patrol lookout this year. He won't be getting it. I know he would love it but I just don't think he'll be into Paw Patrol much longer so it doesn't have longevity.

Ooh, I feel conflicted. My gut reaction is don't get it! I got the £70 Hatchimal last year that I KNEW was absolute shite and regret it so much- it wasn't touched after Boxing Day (which I bloody knew would happen).

HOWEVER. The look on his face when he got what he asked for... that was magic.

My point is, I do try to steer away from shit but sometimes they can't be steered. And I would cave in and buy it.

In fact I've done it on a lesser scale this year- DS has been obsessed with The Worlds Largest Gummy Bear. Thanks to endless youtube vidoes. What a load of crap!

Yet still. I've paid £30 for a giant gummy bear. SUCKER.

@bettysCandle we got those too, but they were £12.50 from Debenhams.

www.debenhams.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/prod_10701_10001_311100183399_-1

Can you get one on eBay? Dd would be happy to have that and probably wouldn’t notice if new or not as young enough go not to worry. Then you would be able to but other stuff too.
It’s difficult as there is no way of really knowing what they will and won’t play with so best not to spend too much.

Worked with my dc anyway....

second hand op. go to baby sales/markets...ebay ...charity shops

I do the long list, he doesn’t have everything explanation too. I also get DD1 (5) to think REALLY hard about what she wants - it’s good as we have an example where she didn’t. Her head was turned in ToysRUs by a piece of expensive tat when she has birthday money to spend and she regretted it about 5 minutes after she got home. Would I bring her back to get what she really wanted (a craft thingy that she would have loved doing and would have left us with something non tatty and useful)? I would not.

Guess what’s on her Christmas list?

Some shite she’d seen on TV did get suggested but she changed her mind when I reminded her of birthday-gate

OTOH, if DD2 (4) says ‘I want’ once more, she’s getting a lump of coal. As am I for having been fool enough to raise such a little madam.

I've been known to show my daughter amazon reviews on something that's over priced tat and she usually decides herself that she doesn't want it any more

I wouldn't get it.

You are the adult and take into account the value for money, quality of the gift, likelihood of her getting value form it and how shit it is.

She is 4. She sees the advert / product in the shop and wants it.

I remember wanting the A La Carte kitchen for about 4 Christmases because I had seen the advert with the little girl making baked beans for her dad on it. My parents never got it for exactly the same reason.

I have since forgiven them and I am sure your DD will too

@EvilCleverDog that's mean of you! Never tell anyone you got things cheaper! CRIES

However our one is double the size so I'm slightly less upset.

Jeeez some posts on MN lately!

'Just don’t buy it? Why do you need to justify to a 4 year old? Is she that spoilt and ungrateful already?'

^just so uncalled for!

I would gently try to steer her away, but sometimes they just fixate and can't be talked out of it.

My DD (teen now) fixated on a 'magic bake oven' at 4yo, (plastic oven with magic cake mix, you could supposedly cook cupcakes with no heat, just ice cubes in a tray belie the cakes) she couldn't be turned. The tv adverts made it look fantastic...it was monumentally shit and useless.

I bought it, and lots of other great goodies (because I knew she'd be disappointed with it) and she was. I used it as an important lesson in false advertising, I gently explained that advertisements sometimes make people want to get things that aren't always as good as they seem. It helped in years to come, and she made better choices, we still joke about that magic bake oven now, it is a family joke and a wonderful Christmas memory (we were all made to eat these plastic like raw cupcakes)

I used to talk mine out of things like this. Just big up something else.

Ausparent I had the A la Carte kitchen and used it for years, my dd plays with it round my parents now so turned out to be a good investment

I have to say I talked my ds out of something I thought was too expensive and basically rubbish, he saved up his pocket money for months instead and bought it. LOVES the damn thing and I have to admit it was better than I thought. However, the reviews were actually quite good once I’d checked them so worth taking into account.

Satsu you have just reopened A very old, very painful wound.
I am going to have to put it on my list again

My DCs write lists and we pick things.

My dcs grumble that we don’t get them big enough presents. I ignore this as I know they’ll understand when they’re old enough.

At 4, just steer her onto something else. I get the whole thing about "getting them what their heart desires" etc for older kids, but my experience of 4 year olds is that "what their heart desires" changes frequently, and can be subtly influenced to some extent by parents.
I cannot walk through a shop without dd finding some random thing she really really wants for her birthday/Christmas, until she spots something else round the next corner. I either respond with a "mmm, maybe" or point out that it is v. expensive and will break depending on what it is.

However, when she kept asking for a cheap paw patrol lunchbox I enthusiastically agreed with her about how amazing it looked, and I suspect Santa will be getting her that. So still the magic of her getting what she wants, but for a low price tag.

I'm not mean, but I know that being able to steer her so easily onto other gifts will not last for much longer, so in the meantime I want to make the most of it!

Can she be influenced?

8yo DS has lost interest in the remote control robot puppies since we looked at the price and the reviews on Amazon.

I recommend leaving out the catalogue that majors on stuff you wouldn't mind giving house room, for me Bright Minds and happy Puzzler. 10% off Bright Minds with:

Quote code "BSMART" at checkout Expires Sun 19th

I don't work for them or anything! But when the catalogue was left out by happy accident DS went through circling stuff and it was all decent and likely to hold attention for more than a day.

Once he was old enough to know the difference we have indulged the odd bit of plastic tat he really wants so it's not all improving books and jigsaw puzzles e.g. wanted Alien Mission, Amazon revealed Ghost Hunt was similar but better reviews so Ghost Hunt it will be.

Fortunately he is easily pleased and Christmas highlights include the likes of a pack of felt tip pens and a chocolate orange. I'd like to think it's our marvelous parenting style but he was probably just born that way.

Wow I just looked that set up and what a pile of absolute shite! Worth £30 max not fucking £80!

If you can afford it do it! It's Christmas the time for tat! We got the hatchimal knew it was a waste of money, it was but she adored it for a few days and always goes back to it! She doesn't ask for much and if I could afford it I'd always give them what they want at Christmas!