Christmas present budget...

Bessacadia

How do you do it? Do you set a budget and stick to it, or just go with the flow and buy gifts that are wanted/requested?

And if you have more than one child to buy for, do you tend to spend the same amount on each(to be fair:eek:)or according to desires/age etc?

AND what to do if you went a bit mad last year but are totally SKINT this year :mad:

I have been muttering since July *this year wont be as many prezzies as last year* etc I know it is all a big con but the kids dont get many treats throughout the year - they are not demanding anything, and won't be fussed, but I like to make them sorta happy.....IF I can!

KdjaCL

Santy has been done for 4 weeks now, each got exactly what they wanted now its just picking up other small things.

K about €160 Wanted cheap dancemat got her expensive hard plastic PS2 one, blow up chair. Leap pad with 5 yr books

D wrestlers and ring remote control car about €65 Leap pad with 4 yr books

C Balamory stuff , 4 ft scooby doo about €60 Junior leap pad

L walker and other stuff to grab and eat €35

Family pressies and stocking fillers Eyetoy , Singstar , board games , Shrek 2 dvd Spdiey 2 dvd balamory dvd. few other ickle things about €150 for the lot.

All bought before prices went up ie Scooby €22 before halloween €45 after.


€560 already on 4 kids saved €250 buying it early.
Ho Ho Ho Ho tis the season
kdjac

Bessacadia

Eyetoy and Singstar are great fun - the kids love it!And us grown ups after a bottle of wine or two....


Well done for getting it all sorted early!

Dummy

KDJac - Am amazed at the price hike for Scooby - 22 to 45 euro ?

Does this just happen in Ireland or does it happen in other countries too?

Guess we're just going to have start our Christmas shopping earlier in future.

Carpenter

Bessacadia wrote:

How do you do it? Do you set a budget and stick to it, or just go with the flow and buy gifts that are wanted/requested?

And if you have more than one child to buy for, do you tend to spend the same amount on each(to be fair:eek:)or according to desires/age etc?

AND what to do if you went a bit mad last year but are totally SKINT this year :mad:

I have been muttering since July *this year wont be as many prezzies as last year* etc I know it is all a big con but the kids dont get many treats throughout the year - they are not demanding anything, and won't be fussed, but I like to make them sorta happy.....IF I can!

Man
Don,t talk i bet this year it will cost me 1000 euro for 2 kids (well 1 8yold and 1 16yold) is that ott

samo

It sounds it to be honest carpenter, especially for a 16 month old!!!

I got my boy who's 2 and 1/2 bike from smyths for 60 quid a few weeks ago and then he's just getting a couple of planes, and some things that I spent about 40 quid on in Dunnes 50% sale last week and reckon he should be happy enough with that. so approx 100 for him

Daughter who's nearly 5 is getting a scooter as main pressie with helmet and then couple of dvd's and some barbie stuff again out of dunnes so reckon it will run to €250 at most for both of them. (have got most if it already!)

Maybe I'm being stingy but reckon a 16 month old will be happier with the boxes TBH!!!

I dont really have that much to be spending on them and kid of feel like if you go mental one year its setting a benchmark as to what they expect, although when they hit their teens that may go out the window.

Lastly i have relativs that have really big family (9 kids!) they are planning on spending 3K total for all of them inc adults pressies and food!!!

gubby

When mine were small....(hear the rollback music)
I used to always keep back some stuff for the next day.. It was great!! by then they were bored or whatever with what they got.. and there was the whole anti climax after the big build up to santa..
problems is...
now they range in age from 32 down to 18 and they still expect to get another pressie on st stephens day.. and the selection box. I tried to cut that out a few years back and they all went mad.
pity me... I have no shopping done yet!!!
5 "children"
2 grandchildren
whaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!

Bessacadia

Carpenter wrote:

Man
Don,t talk i bet this year it will cost me 1000 euro for 2 kids (well 1 8yold and 1 16yold) is that ott

OMGOD.....
You are joking aren.t you??
That is a massive amount to be sepending, methinks...

climaxer

I tend to start buying weekly from September:

Nat (11.5yrs) is getting a tv/dvd combo €169, trolley stand for same €40ish, DVD's, CD's, Books (adores reading Jacqueline Wilson and Roddy Doyle) €100 and clothes another €150ish. As they get older the presents get smaller but more expensive.

Cian (2yrs 3mths) - have only got him books and DVD's so far but will probably get him a tractor and climbing frame (loves climbing) and clothes around €150 - he needs clothes badly as he's grown out of all his others.

So will be probably around €800 - 900 for the two of them but it will include some new shoes and outfits which they both need as they haven't gotten any new clothes in a while.

I find Smyths to be the cheapest and you can buy savings stamps which is great. Also Heatons have great bargains and videos from €5 and books and chocolate coins which make great stocking fillers.

daveg

LoL this thread is so applicable to my family at the moment. I have one 5 year old boy. He wants a tractor and trailer (approx E200) and he wants a bike as well (E100). Is E300 too much to spend? We've already bought smaller presents (Hotwheels - E50, various games E40). I'd love to buy him everything but you have to draw the line somewhere?

Bessacadia

oh lordy!

I envy those of that have only one or two little ones to buy for - you can get away with spending not too much. Mine are 17, 14 and 8 and dontcha know, one poxy playstation game is about €60, which isn't a lot of present exactly......
As an aside, does anyone know where I can get a Barbie typewriter??
My poor daughter has been asking for one birthdays and Christmas for 3 years running, and I have never managed to find one! I live in Mullingar, but suppose I could force myself to get into Dublin if I had to.......!

Miner

Ken Black/Smyths Toys have the Barbie typewriter in their catalogue for 70 yo yos. Pg 163 item 4. Not sure if they'd take credit card bookings though. From looking at the catalogue Dublin or Portlaoise seem closest. I deal with the Portlaoise branch and they take our bulk order (for a social club) and we pay a cheque in advance. If you want to try this method the ref. no for the typewriter is B00573

climaxer

Bessacadia - my daughter got the Barbie Typewriter a couple of years ago. I got it in Argos but if I were you I'd try Smyths first as they are often cheaper. She got a fair whack of playing with it but its banjaxed now. They're not too expensive think they are around €25-30.

Also I hear you on the presents getting more expensive but don't look much but I do think the older ones realise this.

Daveg - I find it hard to draw the line sometimes too and want to get them everything but remember they get lots of other presents from relations too. The worst year I went overboard was when my daughter was 2.5yrs - I went pretty mad in Toymaster and spent a fortune! But if I were you I'd let him wait to get the bike for the next birthday. The tractor and small presents sound more than enough for a 5 yr old.

Anyone's kids into the Thomas the Tank Engine stuff. They are very expensive. I was in ELC yesterday and Cian adores the wooden rail set. The table alone is €200 and each train (small wooden magnetic train) is €15. I'd say the get the complete set and trains it would cost around €400-500 and you have to stick the set yourself. Not really worth it. Was tempted to get it but my Mam talked me out of it..

KdjaCL

Smyths is were the Scooby doo went from 22 to 45.

All shops the same add on about 25% just after halloween.

kdjac

bada_bing

KdjaC wrote:

Smyths is were the Scooby doo went from 22 to 45.

people, buying brand new dvds from stores like HMV Virgin Smyths is a big no-no!! I have over 80 dvds in my collection and they majority of them were bought at cheaper prices from online websites such as www.cdwow.com,
www.play.com, www.sendit.com etc. if you shop around and calculate the exchange rate conversion from sterling to euros you will find that you can save at least €5 on any dvd that can be bought the high street. Delivery on the above sites is free and is reliable, i have bought so much from these sites and not one thing has ever gone wrong. gone are the days when i would have to fork over €30 for a poxy dvd which now costs on average €15 on the net.

samo

would have totally seconded what bada bing said about dvd's only i ordered approx 10 dvds from cd.wow and amazon in the last 10-12 days and havent received one yet!!!

but yeah definitly, in the main they are so much cheaper Aladdin I had on pre-order and got for about 15e off cd-wow.co.uk and hmv were selling for 29.99 double the price.

havent really ordered anything else though online apart from dvd's, still stick to smyths etc for toys

Capt'n Midnight

One tip I've heard of is to get them to write a letter to santa and then you "post" it. That way they can't change thier minds and ask for something else since santa already has the letter.

samo

that is inspired!! My little girl has 3 lists so far, think i'll be buying stamps tomorrow!!!!

Bessacadia

Well I found the Barbie typewriter in World of Wonder, €70 but it looks really rubbishy for the price! I once saw Monopoly in a wooden box, should have got it when I saw it of course, and now can't find one anywhere.

Seen any lately??:)

Nat (11.5yrs) is getting a tv/dvd combo €169, trolley stand for same €40ish, DVD's, CD's, Books (adores reading Jacqueline Wilson and Roddy Doyle) €100 and clothes another €150ish. As they get older the presents get smaller but more expensive

That seems a lot for an 11 year old. I remember when I was 11-12 my dad said I could have £30 worth of presents and he eventually gave in and let us have £50 (there are 3 of us). I don't think I've ever had Christmas presents that were worth more than E 100 altogether. Some of my friends who have kids spend way more than they can afford on presents and it seems a bit silly. The kids get used to receiving expensive presents and don't appreciate them. I do realise my parents are quite scabby, esp considering we live in another country and don't get any presents from any other relatives but still. At the end of the day it's not worth getting into debt over, as so many people do.

LadyPenelope

Bessacadia

Is it you 8 year old looking for the barbie typewriter. My 8 year old has the Barbie laptop. A couple of years now. Got her the expansion cards for it for stocking fillers this year. She plays with it a lot. Wld that be better than just a typewriter, although you cant actually print anything off this.

gonker

My two 12 (on saturday) and 9 dont want much eyetoy and some dvds. I have been saving up mine and my hubbys points on pigsback.com and got quite a few cds and dvds free or for a few yoyos. Makes it so easy and all delivered to the door. 9 year old looking for a typewriter (not a barbie one) (not cool?) cant find one anywhere. But otherwise mostly done and in budget.....so far

josh40

What is eyetoy?

gonker

its a camera that sits on your telly and connects to your playstationII and you seem to be inside the game (so she tells me)

josh40

It sounds like fun, I might get one for my kids! My 11 year old daughter wants a water bed.

gonker

A water bed??????? :eek:

Bessacadia

Eye toy is fantastic - and Sing Star(with the microphones) is just hysterical. All 3 of mine play regularly - great fun and worth the money. Highly recommended

JackieChan

Eye toy is fun but can quickly become boring. Its great when you have a few kids/friends together but you wouldn't keep playing it on your own for long.I think after a total of 2 hours my kids dont use it anymore.

This year mine want a bike each.Some barbies for the girl, hovercraft,spy gear and a few other bits for the lad.I got them two PS2 games(Ratchet and Clank 3 -which was retailing for 60, got for 45 on cdwow) and a few stocking fillers.It all adds up very quickly though.I'll probably go over 550-mainly because of the bikes.I picked the first of the toys up in october so its not quite a nasty surprise.
Thats the easy part, buying for the parents,nieces,nephews,etc. is the nightmare. The good old 3 for 2 at boots is usually a saviour for me!

gonker

she has wanted the eye toy for ages so got it for her. Her birthday is tomorrow and she got the urbz sims in the city for her birthday. You can use the eyetoy to put yourself in the game so that should be fun...

Bessacadia

JackieChan wrote:

Eye toy is fun but can quickly become boring. Its great when you have a few kids/friends together but you wouldn't keep playing it on your own for long.I think after a total of 2 hours my kids dont use it anymore.

!

Well I think 2 hours is a long time!
Combined with the Singstar mikes, it is a great laugh, and some of the special effects are fantastic.

Capt'n Midnight

samo wrote:

Maybe I'm being stingy but reckon a 16 month old will be happier with the boxes TBH!!!

There are some companies that advertise heavily this time of year that sell games - can't remember if MB or Mattel - and most of thier stuff is just ignored after about half an hour...

KdjaCL

Kdjacs parenting tip no:125784
Xmas day , kids only stop playing with toys when YOU dont play with them.
Luckily i copped onto that 1st xmas with kelly, they dont care what they get once mammy and daddy (or both mammies and both daddies , or mammy and new daddy have to be pc ) play with them.


kdjac

Da_cOmRaDe_MiKe

can anyone reccommend somethin for a 7mth old?
my self and my ex ( alex's mam ) bought him 7 toys that make noise and music etc that he can play with but i want to get him something from myself.
since we split up, i want something i can give him from me. that he can have at my house to play with when he comes over.
i know he's only 7 months old but i want to get him somethin that he can have for a while and that he will remember who got it for him!

any ideas?

KdjaCL

Da_cOmRaDe_MiKe wrote:

can anyone reccommend somethin for a 7mth old?
my self and my ex ( alex's mam ) bought him 7 toys that make noise and music etc that he can play with but i want to get him something from myself.
since we split up, i want something i can give him from me. that he can have at my house to play with when he comes over.
i know he's only 7 months old but i want to get him somethin that he can have for a while and that he will remember who got it for him!

any ideas?

walker

kdjac

Da_cOmRaDe_MiKe

KdjaC wrote:

walker

kdjac

got him 2..... we got more or less everything you can think of already!
thats why its sooo hard to buy for him!
i was thinking of an x-box... but id probably play it more :cool:

The Muppet

Da_cOmRaDe_MiKe wrote:

i was thinking of an x-box... but id probably play it more :cool:

Is that for the seven month old or for yourself ?

Its a difficult age to buy for, I think I,d go for a good quality big cuddley toy at that age or take a trip to the Early learning center for something more interactive,

climaxer

My uncle's son Ben will be exactly 7 months on Christmas day and I got him a great present in Dunnes - its a Fisher Price table with lights and lots of activities - it was half price from €45.99 to €22.50 - looks great. Best place to get some toys for babies is Smyths, Early Learning Centre and Tesco. Just check their suitable for his age. The V-tech walker/push-along thingy is great and encourages them to crawl and walk and has lots of activities on it and lights which they all love. Also you cant go wrong with a singing Barney, Bear or the new Teletubbies out that has the "tele" which moves and has music and pictures and the things on their head light up. Try not to get him too much if you can as they get bored fairly fast with them.

Also Denis - some great stocking filler ideas. Heatons and Pound City are great for those. For those with older kids a Magic 8 ball is great - they have Shrek 2 ones too.

iMax

Bessacadia wrote:

I once saw Monopoly in a wooden box, should have got it when I saw it of course, and now can't find one anywhere.

Seen any lately??:)

Top Floor of Marks & Spencer (Jervis), have a huge range of quality made games including (IIRC) the wooden scrabble one. There's also a huge, georgous wooden compendium of about seven games all wood.

As an aside, we've no kids but I think we've spent about €1500 on gifts for family & each other.

Slutmonkey57b

You people are all mad.

A 7 month old baby will spend more time playing with a cardboard box than anything else.