Am I insane to think of buying this for ds for xmas?

[Maveta]

Ok it wouldn´t be just us buying it. It costs 200quid BUT one granny always gives her grandkids 100euros for xmas, and his granddad gives 50euros, a great aunt also 50euros. That´s 200euros that they give us and tell us to buy him something on their behalf.

He´s only 18mo but this is a long standing gift giving pattern established with his older cousins and although not guaranteed is pretty likely. IF they did give this money, I´d quite like to buy him something really lovely that he would (hopefully) enjoy for a long time.

We don´t have tons of cash by any means, he has toys but not particularly loads, and most are hand me downs or gifts. He has lots of books and always seems busy enough with what he has. We could buy lots of little toys with that money, or save it for him (boring??), or buy this He is obsessed with vehicles, tractors at the moment but trains, planes, cars, buses, whatever.

Or is it just ridiculously extravagant??

When I was little, I wanted Ken to accompany my Barbie doll. It was 49 kroner. My grandma had always given me 50 kroner for my birthday, so I pleaded with my mum for her to buy Ken in advance, as I expected to get 50 kroner for birthday to spend on what I wanted. I didnt. She forgot my birthday that year. I will always, till this day, think of Ken and that my grandma forgot my birthday.

Wait, till you have the money, then consider if you want it still.

You may find that he will probably play with it for five minutes until he discovers that toys with wheels can actually cart him across the floor!

what about a wheelybug?

hmm. I'd've thought a little trike would be far better used.

dd1's papa made her a lovely swan rocking horse thing, a bit like that tractor. It was very rarely used and soon outgrown. Cluttered up teh bedroom and was glad to get it in the loft eventually.

Ok ok I´m getting the idea re. ride ons but do they ride them indoors then?? He has a plasticy car thingy (you know those that adapt from a walker type thing right down to a basic ride on) but only learnt how to propel himself forward alone today (!) i´d imagined a future of pushing him around on the damn thing. So I could get him something a little bit better/more sturdy but do they just careen around the house crashing into everything? i mean he already kind of does that on two feet, it seems like giving him wheels is a recipe for disaster??

We always let our ds ride his ride-on around the house and he loved it.

That tractor is only designed to appeal to grandparents!

You can't really buy an 18month old something that will last for a long time - they grow out of things so quickly at that age. Wooden railway is the only safe bet, or maybe a good garage with ramps, levels etc.

My DS2 has always been mad for vehicles, he goes through phases of buses/trains/cars but he has stuck with it.

Only you know your ds's likes and dislikes, but mine (2.5) would get bored with that within 5 minutes. He'd much prefer a ride on thing with wheels (or train set).

Maveta it depends what your house is like really. At our old place it was pretty pointless getting anything rideable, for a start the rooms were tiny, there were stairs, and no patio or anything. Ds1 didn;t really 'do' riding, he is just mastering a bike now at 5

but now we have a flat and I've sort of kept furniture and things very soft, it'd got a big living room, and ds2 is away!!!

He rides wheelybug, anything really you can ride (cat included)

Wheelybugs are brilliant btw. Small as well, so they don't take up a lot of room.

Ds seems to bump into random stuff on the floor, it is usually a slow speed crash iyswim

My son has the noddy pedal car on that web site.
It was a christmas gift from his nanna when he was 19 months old, he is 5 now and still loves it.

I wouldn't, I'd buy this www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/50060713, plan to buy this in the future www.likeabike.co.uk/. Put the rest of the money in to an account in his name.

I like the rocking tractor, I vote you get it. Go for big value quality item rather than lots of bits and pieces, whenever possible. DS1 is 9yo and would still get on it if available (he still gets on his sister's rocking horse when the mood takes him). If possible, I'd keep it in the living room so it became a family item to share with guests, too.