The hell that was 'The golden coin maker' haunts me still, what to avoid this year?

[zanz1bar]

If any of you got conned into 'The golden coin maker' my sympathies.
What do you suggest is best avoided (amongst the general tat I will probably get)to keep my sanity in tact

Agree with the elephant-blowy game - what a pain that was! Also bought some Shrek game last year where you pushed in very odd pieces into Shrek's head - you know, I can't even remember what was meant to happen it was so dreadful.

Am very about the Hotwheels stuff as this is all DS2 wants. Has anyone got anything any good to say about any of the tracks/set? Please

I think Tickle Me Elmo is a waste of money. My cousin bought it for my DS who really likes it. So I put in 6 sodding batteries and get Elmo to do his dance and he dies halfway through, and I am left with a very disappointed child desperately pressing Elmos foot! Shame as Elmo is great and I really appreciated it from my cousin as I know they aren't cheap but he just stands in the corner of the front room next to Igglepiggle (who we had last xmas and haven't changed the batteries yet!).

Balamory merry-go-round-thingy. All the doors fell off the second you touched them and it was just generally crap. The figures, however, were more worthwhile and are still floating around in the dolls' house 5 years on.

Also, the million piece train set my sisters bought ds when he was 16months! My step dad and I spent hours setting it up so all the pieces were used up then all the bridges fell over because they were super-crap!!

Oh and the cheap electric car/track thing, like scalextric, that takes hours to put together, therefore never gets used - ds loves it but has stopped asking me to put it together . I might suggest we play with it in the weekend (before I ebay it Sunday night!!!

Pretty much every one of the 'boy' things mentioned here (volcano, dinosaur bones, star projection thing, lego pyramid game) is currently sitting in the obscenely large pile of stuff DS was given (by friends, not by us) for his birthday Would anyone like to add scathing comments about chemistry sets for completeness (or have I just missed them ?)

The delight in the old Guess Who was flipping the people up and down with glee - can't do that now otherwise the spindly held cards all fly out.

Kerplunck now has a sodding great join down it which means you spend more time retrieving the marbles that have got wedged in it than playing the game

Also avoid:
Any Hotwheels track
ELC Rockstar Guitar (thanks for that FIL) - blardy thing turns itself on and starts playing the same intro over and over if as much as a breeze brushes it.
Roary The Racing Car toys -won't work or last the day, steer clear, they're the pits.

this thread has reminded me to buy elefun!!!

and i have!

I know it will be annoying but it is still fun!

OK - I know this is not really the thread for it, but could someone kindly explain to me what a Go Go Hamster does for his £50?

i have bought one for my teenager

not £50 though nooooo

Otter, no it's not. No fun is involved. The 5 seconds when it works is nothing more than a brief respite.

Mwah hah hah hahahahaaaaa

Agree no:
Aqua Beads (Hama beads all the way here)
Hot Wheels tracks
Moonsand

But over and above everything else the most disappointing thing we have had recently were the National Geographic Walkie Talkies - what a pile of crap! You would assume with the NG name attached that would be guarantee of quality but they do not work at all. Your child would be more likely to hear someone whispering at the other end of the garden than to get a message through on these.

So what does it do then, Otter (and where did you get it for a less ludicrous price)?

Oh we have the original version of tickle-me Elmo and think it still has the original batteries in 10 years on... Probably because it's not very exciting and dcs lose interest after a few minutes so it probably hasn't been played with much!

whomovedmychocolatecookie - I totally feel your pain on the marble run. I too spent hours on Xmas morning putting the bloody thing together and then DS was not interested and to top it all off, I could never remember how to put the bloody thing back together again and all the bits are strewn round the house. We then got given another one for DS2's birthday this year - aaarrgh!

Scattykatty - ELC bubble machines are a load of shite. They work for approx 5 mins and then they start to spew foam everywhere (don't ever use inside). If they don't eat batteries, they'll use all bubble mixture and any detergent you might have in your house within 5 mins and you'll be left with DCs crying and wanting more bubbles. Mine is very carefully hidden where DS can't possibly find it.

Also have to agree with the scaletrix sets - we've got 2 (1 James Bond one and 1 My First Scaletrix). Both are broken and have been since the Xmas' when DS' got them. Rubbish.

mdmedubain i have played it and loved it!!

Were you on drugs?

Gloriana glad you brought up elc bubbles machine biggest waste of money not to mention the cash spent on 3 c3 battery changes!!!! It worked great for about 20 mins then stopped, grinding to a hault Spoke to other mums one in particular took 3 back no-one has hada good experience with this product.....

We have Elefun but with adaptations . Dh cleverly converted it to electricity so no longer eating batteries by the bucket load and I called the manufacturers customer care line and they sent us 3 extra packets of butterflies so takes much longer before the need to refill. Prior to our efforts it was hugely disappointing but now we love it

alors mais non

I was high on the butterfly and wonderment at elefun!

May I add the Jigsaw Maker to the list. (Out of the same stable as Sticker Maker and Magnet Maker, I should have known)

"Make your own jigsaw puzzles from family photos."

In reality an interminable process shoving a picture verrrrry sloooowly through a half-hearted guillotine thingy to produce a jigsaw in which every piece is exactly the same shape, apart from the ones on the edge that are only 1cm wide.

If your child wants a jigsaw maker, why not buy them a pair of scissors? Cheaper, easier, just as good results.

Lapsedrunner, I too had the 1970's hot wheels! My DB & I had loads of fun with it- my parents still have it and my teen DSs still sometimes play with it & it has not broken!! Tried to recreate the fun with a modern set, we tried two versions, but very fiddly & broke almost straight away. Sometimes the simpler toys are the best... ( well, nearly always TBH)

snice

Thanks, Hama beads that's what I was trying to remember, much better than Aquabeads or Bindeez.

Haven't read the whole thread, but so agree with everything so far.

More crap expensive rubbish include:
Knitting/sewing machines of all kinds

Baking/cooking sets - every one c**p.

So many "craft kits" are total rubbish (usually bought by PIL).

Some of the best ever toys:
Giant bubble maker kit.(It is the best toy ever, costs about £10.00 and should have the nobel prize for toys)

Lego.

Beautiful wooden dolls house.

Large road/railway set. Still going strong after 10 yrs.

Those of you with older kids - Please don't Ever EVER buy "race the Stig", the Top Gear Board game.

We had to read thru the rules 5 times before we got any idea at all about how to play it. Once you start, it seems quite fun, for about 10 Minutes. Then you realise that it is going to take about 4 hours to get round the board.

After about 15 mins, one of the adults playing goes to open a bottle of wine. This is to numb the pain of boredom affecting any other adults playing. You carry on, and in fact start moving everyones counters forward a bit when no one is looking, ANYTHING to get the game over.

If you are lucky, you will get to the end before you have gnawed your own leg off with boredom.

I know it's partly our own fault for having an only child, but ......

my DCs have put golden coin maker on their xmas list for the last 2 yrs.
didnt get it last year cos its rubbish and they have asked for it again.............................................aaarrrghh.........gonna get a bag of chocolate money instead

Dino holder. Don't do it, a shoe box would have much the same effect.