Expensive gifts what to do?

[harlacem0507]

I have 3 children, oldest (girl aged 12) would like an iPad, middle child (boy, 9) is desperate for a ps5 and my 15 month old luckily won't be asking 🤣
Seriously though, these gifts are SO expensive, we said would they like to share the ps5 as a present but DD has no interest in that so it's not fair for her not to get a main as that if she doesn't want the ps5...both gifts together will cost around £750 which is just crazy money. However, I feel so guilty, these kids are bloody well behaved, not spoilt and definitely not entitled as my DD already said she understands if she can't get it and my middle child said DW father Christmas can get it for me so you don't have to spend money 😭 i guess the point of this post is to get some people saying it's not that expensive and to just do it 🤣 so I don't feel like I've spent a fortune or even if people can suggest cheaper alternatives? I'm just not sure what to do to be honest.

What will the impact be if you buy them? Do you have any money put away? How long would it take you to pay off a credit card?

And will you need credit for anything else?

Can you afford these gifts? If so then I think you should buy them. The magic of Christmas doesn’t last forever and it would be nice for them to both open exactly what they want on Christmas morning!!
However, if you can’t afford them then you will have to talk to them about it and try to find some alternatives with them so that they are not disappointed on Christmas morning!!
Whatever you do, don’t make your daughter share a present with her brother that she doesn’t want!!

I'd buy a Samsung tablet - lower cost but generally does all the same things (and I feel vetter quality). Then I'd try to find a second hand PlayStation or maybe do it for Christmas and birthday.

Another vote for buying reconditioned to bring the cost down

We got my dd a second hand iPad off eBay, it was way less. We went to pick it up and checked it was working, it’s been fine. So that could be an option? Could your ds be persuaded to have a less recently released console?

I wouldn't spend that much money on Christmas gifts. It's just not something we do in our family. I would probably get a refurbished ps4 and a refurbished ipad.

I'd say a normal tablet and an older console.

It doesn't make sense to start a tradition of putting over hyped expensive devices on credit card

Have a look on Apple. They sell refurbished iPads on there. Thats where we buy our children’s from.

For us we always said no tablets/iPads from Santa so that covered that base.

Both 12yo and 10yo DDs bought their own iPads this year, 12yo outright with her savings & birthday money she also raised money at school Christmas and summer fairs. 10yo we agreed to pay half for her birthday if she paid the other half with her savings and birthday money. For our half we put it on interest free finance and managed to pay it quickly. The only way we have been able to afford an iPad for me is by paying in instalments.

DH has a PS5 we bought as a Christmas/birthday present for him. We were stuck at the time about what to do so DH got the games console which the DDs can use. It solved our dilemma of buying one a ps5 and not getting something similar for the others.

We are now currently struggling with the iPad problem for our 7yo. She desperately wants what her sisters have and her fire tablet has been crashing all the time. So, we are stuck, we can’t suddenly buy her an iPad when we refused her sisters and Santa can’t bring one 🤯

I think we are going to go down the route of what we did with our 10yo, tell her mummy and daddy will help her buy one. She has a money box that you can’t open, shes been putting money away for over a year from her birthdays and Christmas and she gets pocket money each week for chores so we will let her open it and tell her we will add the remainder to get a new iPad.

If you think yours DCs deserve it, they don’t ask for much and you can find a way, payments plans, instalments then I’d do it. Just don’t put yourself in debt.

I would have told mine that they were too expensive. I believe children need to knock the valve of money.

I'd off them the option of asking for money from everyone and save it until they get enough or choose something else. Give their a budget.

In my experience as a mum with older kids, some years are expensive eg consoles but other years are less expensive. Something like a iPad or ps5 lasts years and your kids are old enough to know that these expensive gifts are unusual and not setting them up for expensive gifts every year.

You just say those gifts are too expensive for this year. Spending more than £150 per child is just crazy in my opinion. I could have afforded to spend these crazy amounts on kids but never did. DS saved up for his Nintendo X box. DD never wanted those sorts of things. Both DC had a laptop for school work. I would never go into debt to buy ridiculously expensive Xmas gifts. This type of behaviour is how debt starts. People think I'll just put it on my card and then something could happen like you lose your job and you're screwed.

I think a tablet and a PlayStation are both pieces of tech that will be well used. Boys socialise more and more via gaming. Price per use is likely to a lot lower than some toys that you have bought in previous years.

I wouldn’t get into debt though. In our house Santa didn’t bring tech or pets, and there was an upper price limit on what they could ask for. Tech is something we save up for together.

Definitely look at refurbished items first, especially for the older dc who does understand costs a bit better.

I wouldn't go second hand - personally I'd rather borrow the money and get new. A PS5 will last ages.
When my boys were small I used to use a credit card to get them the newest PlayStation at Christmas, when there was a new one out. Hands down these were the best toys I ever bought. Lasted years and the games were brilliant. I resented the money a lot less than I did for the plastic tat, which is also not cheap!

At 9 and 12 I think they are old enough to tell them that sorry, those gifts are too expensive. Maybe if they can save half of the price up in their own money, you could get them the other half for their birthday or Xmas next year.