Christmas presents does this sound rubbish?

[WeepingAngelInTheTardis]

Ds10 - oculus meta 3, oculus £50 gift card, 10 manga books, wireless headset, ps5 controller, 2 small boxes of lego. Few random small bits like notebook & pens, ps5 controller holder.

ds14 - 2 playstation 5 games, 1 PC game + the dlc pack, 10 dvds hes asked for, 1 book, watch, 2 LED lights. Few small random bits bracelets hes asked for, elastic band gun, robux gift card.

I feel so rubbish, really struggling to afford christmas this year! Do you think this will do? :(
it doesnt look like much at all but ds14 games came to £250 & ds10 oculus was around £300! they havent asked for much but worried they will be dissapointed.

If I had a £1 for everytime someone on here told me "Wait until they are teens, you have no idea" (or words to that effect) I'd be able to afford much more for Christmas.

Yes, i have teen boys. Well actually one in his 20s and 1 teen. They've never had trainers that cost £100+ because they can't afford them. I can't afford phones outright, so they don't have those either. Or designer clothes etc. It's perfectly possible to do Christmas on a budget, even with teen boys.

No I didn’t miss that, strange as it seems I can read. That’s her choice. She has made the choice and purchased the presents. She cannot exactly take them back and eat the food she hasn’t eaten. You all having a go at her (which is essentially what you are all doing) is not going to make the situation any better. But I’m sure it makes you all feel very good to know that you can do Christmas for much less. It’s not a competition as to who can spend the least amount of money. My goodness she hasn’t bought the £3000 designer coats and a Rolex on a credit card. She has bought HER children thoughtful gifts that they will like.

They're super presents and they'll be delighted. When kids are young it's so easy to have their piles look big, that's because most kids things are big in size. Everyone with older kids has experienced the small pile but it's expensive. When gaming is included the price hikes up, one game here is 80 euro , so trying to do a budget of 100 is out the window 😂

Just out of interest what do you buy them then? Be really interested to see a genuine budget Christmas list and what you are actually buying that’s so cheap. Cause I cannot do Christmas for either of my boys for £100. The younger one plays football to a high level, trains 4 times a week and plays twice at the weekend. His football boots that he asked for had just cost me £140. A £30 pair is just false economy as they will fall apart after a month and I will have to replace them. So am I literally supposed to get him a pair of football boots for Christmas?

It’s a lot of tech.

@mrsconradfisher is there not an in-between of £140 vs £30?
Do you go without food to get those boots?

This sounds a bit humblebragging. Is it designed to make those with less money feel bad?

Yeah same here. The most we ever spent was on a playstation or a laptop.
They always had a lovely assortment of gifts thst they liked but 6- 700 quid?? No way

Well aren’t you a bundle of joy and festiveness!! So you could afford to give them nice gifts that will last and they will appreciate but you choose not to?

We have a £10 phone contract but most £10 phone contracts don’t actually come with the phone…not so much of a bargain then. Football boots are not available at Supermarket prices…not unless Aldi sell them which they didn’t the last time I checked, and lets be honest no teenage boy wants a Tesco hoody for Christmas. So can we stop with the competitive under spending and realise that for most people in the real world and not on Mumsnet, Christmas costs money. In terms of presents, wrapping, food, drinks. Unless you are now going to tell me you didn’t wrap anything and you had toast for Christmas dinner?? Because that would make you feel far superior wouldn’t it to the poor OP who actually dared to spend money at Christmas.

@mrsconradfisher you haven't responded to my question about did you missed the part where the OP went without food for these gifts.
She DIDN'T EAT so she could spend £700.
£7 or £700 doesn't matter if you potentially are making yourself ill by not eating.

Firstly they need to actually fit. That’s the priority. He has very narrow feet so only 1 brand fits him. They do cheap plastic ones which will literally fall apart after a month, a middle price point pair at £140 and then a pro pair at £240. Cost per wear is pennies as he wears them so much but they are expensive.

No I don’t ever go without food, but I can see why people do. And it’s upsetting me that people on here are giving her such a hard time for trying to give her children’s presents. Mine also got nothing from family so I always tried to make Christmas magical for them which I suspect is what she is trying to do to ease some of the tough feelings that come along with that.

DS 1 is getting a £60 lego set and an anniversary addition Rubix cube which was less than a tenner.

DS2 is also getting £60 for lego (depending on which set he finally decides on. He'll either get the whole set or money towards it of its wildly over budget) and a Rocket Racoon that I found in a charity socks.

Stockings are usually socks (primark) chocolate coins, and silly bits and pieces from Tiger/Primark/pound land. Usually dont cost more than £20 each.

And to be fair, I didnt say I dont spend over £100. I said I've never spent that on a pair of trainers! Although I usually come in around the £100 mark.

We have always given DT’s a lovely Christmas - some of our best memories are from watching them open their presents. However spending a fortune doesn’t guarantee a great Christmas Day. No toast on Christmas Day (or roast - no one likes it), we’ll be skiing.

thanks @mrsconradfisherplease dont get upset and yes your right, its the first christmas we will literally see nobody at christmas so this year is a tough one so I guess I went a bit overboard.

As for the eating thing, im okay. I lost a few pounds which was a good thing for me im back to eating 3 meals a day now. I know Im not the only one whose done it.

and lets be honest no teenage boy wants a Tesco hoody for Christmas

I clearly have those mythical teenage boys who are more than happy with a Tesco/H&M/Primark hoodie. They'd hate Calvin Klein boxers, white socks, Lynx gift sets or whatever it is that is always touted as what EVERY teen boy wants on here.

And you are missing the point that she cannot change that now. She cannot go back and eat the food. What do you think having a go at her is going to achieve apart from making her feel worse?

And you would have to miss a huge amount of meals to get £700 to buy those presents so I suspect it’s not entirely as clear cut as “not eating”.

Our stockings are about that too tbh. Best part of Christmas in our house. I think the issue is my boys are sport obsessed and have no interest in Lego. One has asked for football boots and a new golf polo and the one at Uni, new trainers and some sports kit for Uni. Hardly hugely extravagant things but they are really expensive. Older DS has worked since he was 15 so appreciates the value of money but the cost of things have gone up hugely.

@mrsconradfisher so she goes without food for next Christmas....or their birthdays....?
At first I thought "that's a lot of presents but it's her money" but then she said in order to save up she had to not eat.
Do you really not see how crazy that is?
What would you do if you couldn't afford the £140 football boots? Sell a kidney? Maybe some blood?

@WeepingAngelInTheTardis please do not deny yourself food again to buy gifts.
No gift is worth that.

Genuinely and I’m not being sarcastic, would they really be overjoyed to open a Tesco hoody on Christmas morning as their main gift?
Regardless of income, Christmas is supposed to be magical (as much as it can be) so would that be top of their Christmas list?
For what it’s worth, mine love H&M and Primark but would ask for something special for Christmas.

I think the only getting presents from you hit a bit too close to home for me as that’s all our boys have had their entire lives. If I was in your shoes I probably would have done the same thing (or perhaps not the not eating as I like my food too much!) as I know how it feels to want to give them a pile of presents.

@mrsconradfisher if they are aware that the family budget will only afford a Tesco hoody then I would hope they would be grateful for it.
They can ask for something "special" until the cows come home - but if you can't afford it...you can't afford it and that's that.

@mrsconradfisher by the way I have a 17 year old. Mine is a girl but she is into what some might say are "boyish" things.
Her main request this year is Pokémon cards.

i do think it’s crazy but I also absolutely understand why she did, probably more than a lot of people.

If I couldn’t afford the boots I would get some off Vinted as I have in the past. Some real bargains on there for all sorts of things.

If thats what they'd asked for then yes. So say for example one of them wanted a Stranger Things hoodie. They would be just as happy with one from Primark or Tesco (if they have them) as one from wherever else might sell them.

Obviously if they asked for a Ralph Lauren/Superdry/insert designer of choice here and I bought a cheap Tesco one they'd be disappointed. But they wouldn't ask for a designer hoodie, partly because they think they are overpriced and don't understand why people pay so much for a label, and partly because they know I can't afford it.

So yes. They'd be overjoyed to open something that I've chosen, knowing its what they like.