so what presents are you proud you spent the extra money on/hunted down?

[Raahh]

because i got dd (16months) the talking plush iggle piggle and upsy daisy dolls (not the big scary ones, the smaller ones that don't move, just sing), and from the second she ripped off the paper her face just beamed....

over week on, they never leave her side, are filthy, have been lost in Tescos (and found), and we are serenaded nightly as she head butts them in her sleep....

she has never bothered with dolls before, or formed an attachment to anything....

and even though i ended up paying over the odds for them...

I am so HAPPY!!!!!

That's great! It makes it so worthwhile when something is really appreciated or played with constantly. We got ds2 a toolbench, didnt pay over the odds but he loves it and has played with it every day. He fixes things all around the house (including ds1 pretend broken arm!). Im so pleased we bought this for him.

WWE tickets for ds1 tho hes' not going til april, dh spent all day on the phone getting them when they first went on sale, but the look on ds1 face when he opened the envelope was priceless!

this

took ages but he loves it!

dh bought me and my mum tickets to see David Essex in May. Its the best thing he's ever bought me. I'm so happy!!!

oh, yes, ds had a work bench a few years back and it was a big hit. Little boys love to 'fix' things...

I am especially glad because apart from clothes, we didn't gt her much else (left that to the grandparents), and she has a half share in a trampoline- lol!

I think all in all, i did ok this year, ds loves his presents too (his birthday is on the 29th so always a bit tricky to get the balance right).

I love Christmas!

i love christmas too. We got ds1 bigger tv than he thought he was getting so he was v pleased. dd1 got 'proper blue heeleys' so she was over the moon (she had cheap versions previously), dd2 got dora stickers (thats all she asked for, cost 2.99, she was ecstatic!) and ds2 his workbench.

Paid extra for a Wii from ebay. Ds2 loves it and we have spent hours as a family on it.

the Wii has proved really popular with everyone from 4 to 80

I love it when it is the simple things they like best. Even though we built an 8ft trampolne (with surround), in the dark and rain on xmas eve, I am still glad that ds has played with his lego- and the £3.50 santa outfit we got him, more than anything else!!

The Ben 10 pyjamas and super deluxe Omnitrix I had sent from the US.