Do you buy even when you know it's rubbish?

[Paintmybathroom]

So 5 yr old DS has been happily adding half the Smyths catalogue to his list for Santa but has mentioned on a few occasions that the thing he really wants this year is the Beast Lab Creator (£90!)

Now all the reviews say you play with it once to make the 'beast' then you can't really do much else - so it seems crazy money for something that will be packed away by Boxing Day.

He'll get lots of other things from his list and technically we can afford it - but would you buy it even when you know it's just more plastic tat? 🤔

From a pretty young age I trained DS to look at the Amazon reviews, even if it was just the number of stars. He changed his mind on a few crap choices over the years after doing that. That said, if it’s not hugely expensive and not too toxic environmentally then sometimes I would cave for the ‘Santa is real’ vibe.

My son is the same age and is desperate for Beast Lab, I really didn’t want to get him it but we have for the magic of Santa. He knows he won’t get everything on his list but he wants the Beast Lab so much

I did t get a mr frosty either

I'm still bitter my parents didn't get me a mr frosty and yes, I know they're crap. I accommodated my kids wants at Christmas eg slime kits etc but not at that price point!

Ignore me I've just seen @housethatbuiltme !!

I have deep seated Mr Frosty issues too.

Sine it’s a toss up between disappointing them by not getting it or disappointing them with it.

Personally I would get it if I could afford it and it was what my son really wanted. I asked for plenty of things as a child that could be seen as rubbish but I still enjoyed them. That being said, he obviously doesn’t need it and it’s very expensive so there’s nothing wrong with choosing not to get it. You know your son best. How likely is he to be very upset to not get this specific present? If you think he’ll be too distracted by his other presents to even notice or care then it’s probably not worth the money.

I finally got to play with a Mr Frosty a couple of years ago.
It was crap. My mum knew best after all.

I'm having the same issue with a 'Bitzee' Pet

Just no way, they really really do forget very quickly what they wanted, they are so fickle they move on so fast...

34 years later still haunted by Mr Frosty, WHY was it always Mr Frosty?

This. Have some respect for the planet, and teach your kid as well. They’re the one who will suffer in the future.

Depends on the tat, £20-30 if its top of the list, probably, £90 definitely not.

Last year top of LOs list was a £25 bit of junk. I tried to talk him out of it. Then gave up. 5 days before Christmas it was still top of the list. Then he was off school ill for a couple of days bombarded with Switch adverts...he ended up with both.

That thing must be the greatest waste of money out there this year. My DS asked for it too but I managed to talk him out of it.
I am going to 'filter' the Smyths catalogue next year and rip out any pages that contain junk like that Beast!