Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Christmas

From present ideas to party food, find all your Christmas inspiration here.

Original poster

Impressive gift for ds 10?

102 replies

Eatshootsandleaves82 · 08/11/2019 17:35

Dd is 3 and her things look so much more fun and much bigger. In size. Not in cost.

Ds has:
Fleece Disney stitch blanket
Stitch plush
Two audio story CDs
Rugby ball
Spring back cricket wickets
Cricket gloves
Magnetic dartboard
Jelly bean dispenser and big tub of jelly beans
Dinosaur fossil (main gift, £150, it’s what he’s asked for - collects them).
Couple of DVDs
Couple of games.

He’s got a stocking too.

But put it together and it looks a bit meh. He doesn’t like reading much. He has a PlayStation he doesn’t use and an iPad which he uses all the time. He has a camera. He doesn’t like Lego or anything like that. He doesn’t like clothes. I’m at a loss. I know it’s plenty really but put it next to dd’s brightly coloured pile of gifts and it looks a bit uninspiring.

OP posts:
Barbarara · 08/11/2019 18:50

I’d put the dinosaur fossil in a big box with lots of shredded paper or paper curls so he has to dig around a bit to find it.

Courtney555 · 08/11/2019 18:55

That's a great idea for the fossil.

Also, for something "big" to make up size and good fun, what about a pogo stick? Unicycle?

Dreamstosell · 08/11/2019 19:02

What about a nice beanbag to curl up on when playing his iPad? That’d make a lovely big parcel 🎁

TreesSandSea · 08/11/2019 19:04

Wow! That is a lot. Are they all from you?

I get it that you want similar sized piles but I agree with pp - just put the Dino fossil in a really big box.

MairzyDoats · 08/11/2019 20:32

You've spent quite a lot of money already - I think I'd be doing a bit of prep with him now just to explain that little children's toys often look big and bright and shiny but as you get older the gifts get smaller (But cost the same!) There's no need to buy yet more stuff, it's not a competition.

Grobagsforever · 08/11/2019 20:41

That's an absolutely incredible insane amount of gifts!! Also NO WAY should you add extra packaging to bulk it out as PP said. Climate change??

What's IS this Mumsnet obsession with 'the pile'. It's such a weird value to teach kids that they must get a giant pile of stuff. Again, climate change.

I really don't know what else to say. I'm actually quite upset by this post.

PutYourBackIntoit · 08/11/2019 20:50

Just to add a bit of perspective, my 10 yr old dd is getting £40 Primark vouchers, some putty, some Reece chocolates and a stocking.
We'll also get a board game for the whole family and she'll probably get a little package from my uni friend.

Could you hold back some of your DDS gifts for her birthday rather than buy him more?

8by8 · 08/11/2019 20:51

That’s a lot already.

He’s surely old enough to understand that he’s asked for expensive stuff? Especially the fossil.

I wouldn’t get him anything more tbh, just prep him a bit so he knows dd will have a bigger pile.

WhereverIMayRoam · 08/11/2019 20:54

That sounds likely a lovely pile of gifts and he’s getting the big thing he’s asked for so I’m sure he’ll be delighted. If you feel like he still needs a “fun” gift then (depending on your budget) maybe a laser tag set, stop motion animation kit, an interactive robot, remote controL dinosaur, Instant air hockey, a scooter or skateboard, Nerf gun.

Original poster
Eatshootsandleaves82 · 08/11/2019 21:12

Our family is non-existent so he only gets things from us which is why I tend to get a bit more I guess. None of it was that expensive bar the fossil.
Dd has a similar number of gifts, they just look more.

OP posts:
Howmanysleepsnow · 08/11/2019 23:01

Bloxxels. Fun, can be used with his iPad and is something to play with. Mine loved them at 11 and 13.

cccameron · 08/11/2019 23:15

That's an absolutely incredible insane amount of gifts!!
It really isnt. It's perfectly normal and you know it. Stop making the OP feel bad for buying her child a few gifts at Christmas FFS.

OP that sounds like lovely set of presents for your ds. I'd maybe just prep him that as his sister is only little she has more but smaller gifts. I'm sure he won't even notice!

PollyFeather · 08/11/2019 23:25

LOL at the 'incredibly insane amount of gifts.' You wouldn't want to be in my house over Christmas that's for sure

OP - here's my suggestions for what you could add in. I'm basing this on my 12 year old boy

Coins from the Royal Mint
Newton's cradle
Calligraphy pen set and nice A4 paper
Echo Dot - you'll pick one up cheaply in the Black Friday deals

Floralnomad · 08/11/2019 23:37

Provided they both have what they want just leave it , we had a similar age gap with our dc and frankly I’ve never price matched or size matched . When they were the sort of ages yours are I did get a roughly equal amount of presents but that’s as far as I go . We never found it an issue and if either of mine had ever said he / she got more or mentioned cost I would have wondered where I’d gone wrong in the way they were bought up . As it is they are now 26 and 20 and both prefer giving / buying presents than receiving them so we must have done something right .

PurpleGhost · 08/11/2019 23:59

How about something like a Sphero Mini or Sphero Specdrums? They're not big but my 10-year-old son always likes some sort of tech to play with and he's not into toys either.
Also, gel pens, jigsaws and Funko Pops.

mummyof2boys30 · 09/11/2019 07:16

I also Lol at the suggestion that this is an insane amount of gifts. That would be classed as an extremely small stash here and to he honest amongst all the family I know that has kids. My DS is almost 10 and some suggestions from his pile
A cheap version of go pro
Booksets (he loves to read)
A bluetooth speaker that u can put in a memory card so can save songs he likes)
A digital watch
Drone or RC car

afternoonspray · 09/11/2019 07:19

Does he have a sledge? You can buy plastic sledges for £10-15, and if it's a snowy Christmas he could have a brilliant time on it. They look impressive wrapped up.

afternoonspray · 09/11/2019 07:21

But I do agree that it's a really good heap of presents already. I think we're generous with DC but they never got more than this. We did always try to have one big surprise though - even got them yoga balls to roll around on one year. They loved opening those!

HelloDulling · 09/11/2019 07:25

Sounds like plenty already to me, but if you want a few more things could add some air-balls for cricket, new rugby skins, headphones to use with his iPad.

PrimeraVez · 09/11/2019 07:26

I don’t get the obsession with ‘piles’ either. Why buy stuff just for the sake of it? So wasteful and sends totally the wrong message.

All this needless plastic shit makes me so angry.

Courtney555 · 09/11/2019 07:36

Absolutely agree at the "omg that's an insane amount" nonsense.

There's always one lurking round these threads to let you know that anything more than a teddy from the charity shop is shameless. And if you haven't wrapped that teddy in biodegradable brown paper? How very dare you Hmm

It's not about bulking up the pile with any old shite. It's tricky when you have a younger child who's presents are inherently large physical toy sets, but the older sibling is still young enough that they would feel a slight pang when the little ones presents form a big pile and theirs fit in a shoe box because they've asked for Switch games or a mobile.

Last year I took DS on several trips around London and Paris starting boxing day. Tickets in little envelopes are not particularly magical. So, I wrapped up a huge box (my laundry hamper had arrived in) and filled it with helium balloons with the tickets at the bottom. He absolutely loved it and will remember it for years to come.

It's about the magic, not about finding any old toot to make a pile bigger. Think the poster who suggested a similar thing about putting the fossil in a much bigger box was on the right track. Do you have a sand pit? Could you wrap it water tight in a hard box and have him carefully excavate it? Some clues like a treasure hunt to lead him to the sand pit?

Raver84 · 09/11/2019 07:37

It's not an insane amount of gifts it all sounds lovely actually and I think he's going to be over the moon. I bought my daughter a dig for Dino bones one year its basically a piece of plaster which she chipped away at for hours with a child's chisle. It revealed plastic bones. It was great. How about a scooter? A pop corn machine and cinema tickets?

Trewser · 09/11/2019 07:42

OP it sounds like a great list of presents. There's still 6 weeks or so to go, if you want to get him a few more bits then wait and see, they often come up with something!

I don't normally comment on piles of presents threads but

That would be classed as an extremely small stash here and to he honest amongst all the family I know that has kids
Yuck.

Tigerty · 09/11/2019 07:43

Does he do any sports that you will need to buy for during the year? If he plays football for example you could get him next size up football boots.

Trewser · 09/11/2019 07:43

I bought my daughter a dig for Dino bones one year its basically a piece of plaster which she chipped away at for hours with a child's chisle. It revealed plastic bones. It was great.

Random fact - my dd breathed in the dust from one of these kits and ended up in intensive care with a massive asthma attack. As you were!

Swipe left for the next trending thread