Too many toys in our house!!

[zebra]

We have too many toys. Well, actually, birthday season is upon us followed hotly by Christmas. We have a large wardrobe packed with gifts for the kids, almost none of them from us.

One item (4 DS, 4 Xmas) is a little castle with toy people and cannons and bits (ARGOS catalog) and I'm thinking to give it away to charity or anyone. Because even though DS would love it, it's bulky, DS is getting a toy ship that's also little plastic people and cannons. So why does he need two such items? And our house is only so big and the kid has got 3 huge bags and a decent size box to open for his 3rd birthday, never mind the other stuff stowed for Christmas....

If both kids keep getting prezzies like this for the next 10 years, we won't have any space left in the house for the people.

Do you guys give your children's gifts away before they open them? Am I mean? I might flog castle at a NCT Nearly New Sale and put proceeds in DS's bank account. Also, last year MIL gave DS a very nice VTech alphabet toy (press buttons and it speaks letters). DH & I both hated this toy at sight. DS attacked it with mindless, obsessive, 2yo glee so it has been packed away in cupboard for almost a year, now. Should we get rid of it or do these toys really teach a child their letters & sounds?

I want to ask one of DS's relatives to pls. give a little money to charity in his name, instead, but I know they won't like it... or have any of you managed to do persuade your children's relatives to do that kind of thing? Am I being too mercenary with my kid's and "their" prezzies?

The castle & VTech toy are dilemnas because I reckon DS and his little friends & sister would all like them, just me & DH don't want the house to fill up with toys!!

And finally... the 1yo is starting to fight with the 3yo over toys. How in the world do you teach a 1yo to "share"??

I agree with Willow2 re party presents. There is always an element of 'junk' anyway, and that's part of the fun. ds's party presents vary in cost from £2 - c.£6, and I think it's unfair to ask for cash. If I'm spending more on a present - for a special friend or a relative, then I always ask for suggestions.

My dss always get loads of little presents from all sort of people, and they love them. Yes, they're not always very long-lived, and if they were all added together we could buy some really good books, or whatever, but I don't think that's the point. Generally I do not expect presents from any of these people, or from party guests, and I would feel very uncomfortable giving or receiving an instruction to send cash.

What I get annoyed about is when rellies spend £20 - £40 on a present, which is just a heap of junk.

I spend £5-6 on party presents too. Top Trump cards and Bey Blades for the big boys at the moment or fivers in cards. R

Totally agree with you KMG, party presents are fun. My DS got a Bob the Builder bag for his last birthday which I never would have bought and it has been used almost everyday since. I now use it as a nappy bag for DS2!

I tend to buy small £5ish presents from Woolies maybe a puzzle or small game, something I would like for my children and hope that others might do the same. I find that parents with children of similar ages are more sympathetic to what you might like or dislike whereas grandparents just haven't got a clue. My Mum once said to me that it was fun being a Grandmother because you can give your grandchildren things you would have never given your own children when they were young (ie sweets, toys etc) and you don't have to suffer the consequences. Highly irrisponsible I know but I think in a way that is part of being a granny - you get to have more fun without being too moral.

Anyway I am quite lucky in that the oldies in my family tend to consult me first before buying presents and so we get away without too much rubbish.

Have had a glass of wine and so feel I am starting to ramble - my apologies!

Just curious - why is it not a 'done' thing to give cash , at least to kids and teenagers ?? I am sometimes at a total loss to buy gifts and rather than spend money on something which might be ' passed on ' or junked ...I find my self buying something so practical its embarrassing ... i'm not telling !!

Just curious - why is it not a 'done' thing to give cash , at least to kids and teenagers ?? I am sometimes at a total loss to buy gifts and rather than spend money on something which might be ' passed on ' or junked ...I find my self buying something so practical its embarrassing ... i'm not telling !!

oops!

I was quite impressed with the quality of pressies DS got from his friends at his birthday party. Ok they were in the fiver range but included books, wooden peg puzzles from ELC, ELC tambourine and a soft England football. I tend to go for books/puzzles/colouring books & crayons on the basis that its the sort of thing you probably want more than one of!

KMG - I understand your frustration over seeing people spend huge amounts of money on things that are junk. My problem is that person who's spent the money is normally so pleased with their gift that they expect to see it whenever they visit us. Vitech is the worst offender - as a new mum I thought these toys were great and quickly learnt that not only are they annoying and expensive but that my dd is not the slightest bit interested in any of them. She gets far more enjoyment out of a roll of sticky tape and my new magazine then any expensive "twangy" toy could provide - but how do you tell people that have obviously tried hard but got it wrong?

HI guys - I am lurking, but reading the thread & digesting.

The Castle DS has been given is definitely ARGOS (I saw it in the catalog, £25 for castle plus ship, but I like the ship & will keep it). Both ship and castle were presented in plastic bags & lack a sticker or anything to otherwise confirm origin. I don't know if ARGOS sell the castle+ship like that (loose in plastic bag) or if it was a gift to DH's stepsister's children, and she has passed onto us!

I think we will try to flog the VTECH toy at the next Nearly New Sale. Castle can go to a Mom+tots group. I like the idea of asking grandies (we also have 7 of them) to let us vet any gifts.

The only time I fine the noisy electronic toys handy is for long journeys; esp. in a car. The noise doesn't bother me driving, but the toys do entertain the kids, if they haven't seen that toy in a long time.

I would quite like a good Playdough cutters/rollers/stmapers set -- I don't like what I've seen in Woolies or The Works. Suggestions?

Zebra - ELC do great playdough cutters, etc.

Wills - we've started being frank, and tell the offending donor that we've returned their prezzie to the shop. Brother-in-law is the worst. We have asked every birthday and Christmas for the past 3 yrs what nephew wants, and they've never asked us! They sent a heap of junky plastic for ds2's birthday, and spent a fortune posting it. I was astonished how much it cost when we took it back to ToysRUs.

But honesty pays off - we told them what we'd done, and for ds1's b'day they sent a gift voucher for ToysRUs. (Great, except we've moved, and haven't got a ToysRUs within 50 miles. Yeah, I know, lucky us, but we've still not managed to spend this voucher 4 months on!)

KMG - You're probably right. The truth hurts etc but in the end most people wouldn't want have their money wasted.

maryz - I too was the first of friends and family to have a child but have let them know tongue in check that all obnoxious noisey toys (such as the toy keyboard that only plays Xmas tunes and that finally got dumped into the bin last July (I still twitch at the memory of a very tinny Santa Claus is coming to Town)) have been noted and that a hit list of even more obnoxious toys will be constructed and given to any children they happen to have!

A good way to advise relatives of what your children want is Amazon wishlists - they're great. You can add jokey comments to make them entertaining, and it's an easy way for friends to shop. And IMO it's very hard to have too many good quality children's books.

AAgh, those horrible keyboards!! We made the mistake of buying one from ELC for dd last Christmas and it drives us bonkers! Not that it comes out much, well hidden, no batteries etc etc. I seriously have hairs rising on me when I hear that thing in elc nowadays, and so many times I have wanted to go over to poor unsuspecting people and say NO!! DONT DO IT!

I loathe toys with lots of little bits. Polly pockets, lego, and a dreadful 'Robowars' toy that DS got last Christmas. Anyone trod on lego when trying to creep to the loo in the middle of the night? The pain......! I also hate toys that can be chewed, anything from Macdonalds and toy cars which have lots of flimsy bits that drop off. Whistles, trumpets, drums and saucepan lids. Video players that the kids think are toasters....oh, I could go on for ever

I have twin boys, so I try to buy large things that they can play with together. The best toy I have bought is the Happy Land stuff from ELC. They have played with it every day for the last two years.We have added to it on Birthdays & Christmas, as have relatives. They are now four, this year we have add more track and an emergency station.Their imagination runs riot!!!

intriged, lambchop.

which toys do you like??

Ooh Lambchops, I have to disagree with you about the Lego (although I am with you on the Polly Pocket!). I LOVE Lego and so do my kids. In fact, it is probably the one toy which they have played with for years and years, adding to it every birthday and Christmas. My only gripe is that it is so bloody expensive, esp as d.s. is into all the Harry Potter sets which cost a bomb. At least they are played with though: there's nothing worse than spending a fortune on a great looking toy to find it pushed to the back of the cupboard after 2 days.

Oxocube, have you tried Ebay? My ds is train mad and I am always trawling it for cheap trains, track, etc. to add to his wooden train set.

Im with you Lambchop. I hate toys which come in lots of small parts, or make a noise.