What do you do when child asks for something from Father Christmas you don’t want them to have?

[Sunnydaysarethebestdays]

daughter is getting a gaming console from parents for Christmas.
parent has suggested that child asks Father Christmas for a game but instead they are adamant they’d like Father Christmas to give them something else (plastic tat) that you know they won’t play with once the novelty wears off but it’s £60 so a lot of money to waste.
any advice greatly received as not sure how to get out of this one.

Just say fc knows she already has one!

This ^

I wanted a pogo stick and got stilts instead. I wanted a Dalek suit and got a feathered headress instead (I liked Tonto in The Lone Ranger!).

It's a wish list, not a shopping list is the perfect description.

Loads on FB marketplace for £25-30.

Also Santa doesn't bring gifts over £10 each in our house - they're called stocking fillers for a reason, they're cheap and fit in a stocking!!

I'm sure there are so many of us on here who are still bitterly disappointed at not getting the plastic tat Mr Frosty 💔

But at age 10? Are you sure she still believes in Father Christmas or is she playing along with it to keep the magic going?

She's nearly 10? I can't believe she still believes in Santa, but if she is pretending to just to try to manipulate you, then it is fine if you pretend to be surprised when Santa brings her something else...

My in laws bought my husband this when he was 30 because they'd never got over his disappointment on Xmas morning.

I'd buy a second hand one from Facebook marketplace. When she no longer plays with it sell it again and you'll get most of your money back.

We say what my parents did. The list is a guideline, Santa will bring you stuff on it & stuff off it that you don’t know you need & if he thinks you don’t need it, you don’t get it.

I'm sure there are so many of us on here who are still bitterly disappointed at not getting the plastic tat Mr Frosty

I put this on the list for a few yrs & one of did get it in the end, a load of shite!

She definitely firmly believes in Father Christmas 100% and I’m keeping that belief for as long as I can. children aren’t allowed to be children for long these days and im
not depriving her of the belief (her friends also very much still believe too).
I think I’ll go with the list idea and FC will choose something he thinks she would like.

I think I'd also consider if I wanted my DD to play for a little longer with dolls and a little less with video games. Keep them small for as long as possible

Has this really not cropped up in the last ten years?!

As per previous answers - it's a list of ideas so that Santa can see what sort of things you like, not a shopping list.

Then I think if you really want to keep the magic going for as long as possible, get the plastic tat. Make Father Christmas someone who brings her the thing she says she really wants, not what the parents think she should have 😊 Are there grandparents or anyone else who could get her the game to go with the console?

Sylvanians aren't plastic tat. They are collectors items.

That's a lovely story about your dd @Singleandproud 💕

@MrsTerryPratchett "I can't tell you the joy DD got out of her Barbie Dreamhouse, Camper Van, all the tat."
I was very lucky that my children had a devoted grandfather who was always delighted to provide the tat so I could take the moral high ground. Everyone was happy! Obviously if I had been a proper nunsbetter, I would have gone NC with tat buying FIL!

I’d class Sylvanians as a high quality toy! Definitely in the “keep it in the attic for the grandchild” category (along with Brio railway, Lego collection, dolls pram etc)

This is also true - a Sylvanian house may well last longer than a console or a game. I recently downsized and got my adult DC to go through their childhood stuff and get rid of most of it. One of the few things my 20-something DD insisted on keeping was her Sylvanian family collection.

I’m in my thirties and I’d love a sylvanian families house!

Buy the ‘tat’, if shes young enough to believe in santa she is young enough to get more out of a toy than a computer game. There will also be some available second hand if need be.

No santa in this house, that makes budgeting easier!

I am pretty sure 10 year olds don't believe. But I insist that my adult children do. 23 year old DS had better if he wants the incomprehensible coffee making scales he has asked for because I'm sure as hell not spending 50 quid on it....

Yeah. Ill get flamed but this is where parents get Father Christmas all wrong and he ends up being a Santa shaped rod for their backs.

We set a rule that if it fits in a stocking and is in a stocking it’s from Father Christmas. If it doesn’t and isn’t, it’s from us. That means when child wants a crap present costing a million £s we can say, “it doesn’t fit in your stocking so Father Christmas can’t give it and we’re not sure we’ll get it for you because it costs a lot of money/its crap. We will get you lots of other things you’ll love though.”

Sylvanian stuff is not tat
Why are insisting she chooses a game instead of what she actually wants?

Santa only ever brought the stocking in my house.

Ds wrote to Santa to say what he wanted but he knew Santa told the parents so family could get him something from that list if he wanted it. He understood Santa delivered the gifts so needed to know what was requested to make room on the sleigh 🤷‍♀️😂

Very quickly worked out to ask Santa for things like to trumps and write a separate wish list for family of bigger things.

Bought myself a Me Frosty a couple of years ago. Felt like such a rebel.

And then realised they were right. I only used it once and it didn’t live up to the hype. But if anybody asks me, it’s the best thing ever!!!

I looked it up and now I want a 'Pig Goes Pop'

And I'm 51

Have you thought about trying to buy the house second hand on Vinted? My parents still have all my old Sylvanian stuff and my daughter plays with it now, so I wouldn't class it as "tat" really, it lasts a long time.