That's the Last Time I'm Writing to Santa!

Hitchhiker's Guide to...

Saw an ad in Herald AM this morning. It said that you could text a name and address and get a letter from Santa sent to that person. Thought it might be nice for my little sister so sent it away.

...then looked at the small print. It cost €6.25 per SMS! Bollix!

Rip-Off Ireland (or is that Rip-Off Lapland ) is getting ridiculous. I remember dropping my letter to santa as a kid in the box in An Post and getting a letter back. Don't think it cost anymore than a return stamp.

The provider of the service is itouch which is part-owned by the Independent Newspapers group. So, the next time, the Irish Independent attempts to launch a campaign against Rip-Off Ireland, treat them with the scepticism they deserve.

...Still, hope its a nice card! Might have to give the little sis's present a reduction in value to pay my phonebill!

steveland?

My mam and dad always used to get one sent to me and my sister when we were kids.

Dunno how much it cost years ago though

xzanti

Thats taking the p*ss alright.. You'd be better off doing something up yourself in Word... Some of the clip art is pretty good and if your sister still young enough to believe in Santa shes hardly gonna know the difference... Hmm might just do that for my niece come to think of it

Siogfinsceal

Throw me a fiver and I will send one to her ;-)

Somnus

I guess Santa doenst work for free anymore

Binomate

Just when I though it's not possible Christmas becomes even more comercialised.

Gurgle

Roundtower2 wrote:

...then looked at the small print. It cost €6.25 per SMS! Bollix!

Rip-Off Ireland (or is that Rip-Off Lapland ) is getting ridiculous.

Its only a rip-off if there isn't an alternative available.
If theres an alternative, you can choose not to be ripped off.

dundalk cailin

thats unreal those prices, i agree bout the over commercialisation of christmas..in my day (!) we were allowed choose one big thing, another thing and a 'surprise' obv we didnt choose the surprise!!

carpothepunk

surprise was always a box of chocs or a book

yay:rolleyes:

Nasty_Girl

dundalk cailin wrote:

thats unreal those prices, i agree bout the over commercialisation of christmas..in my day (!) we were allowed choose one big thing, another thing and a 'surprise' obv we didnt choose the surprise!!

We were allowed two things and a stocking with a Santa's not made of money speech.
In contrast I picked up my lil sisters "Santa" pressy this morning, 125 quid worth of Robot!!

Although to be fair to me parents there were three of us when I was a kid and times were rough back in the eighties for most people!!

dundalk cailin

same as me, with three kids, but i really cant get over the difference in 10 years ago, when i still believed in santa..we were absolutely thrilled with what we got...funny enough, most of the stuff is still round the house somewhere, and i have a fair idea of what i got over the years.. i remember my first walkman, xmas of 95, still lyin in my room

Rhyme

Its always been tradition in my house, write the letter, put it in an envelope and chuck it in the fire...

"Santa can read the smoke"

Much cheaper

Nasty_Girl

tis only now I realise the hardship me poor parents used to get, trying to get the exact presents we'd ask for.
Me poor mother says she cried herself to sleep one christmas eve because my lil bro (then 2 or 3 i think) kinda changed his mind or thought he was getting something bigger than what he had actually asked for in "the letter".

dundalk cailin

yea it is mad whay we put them thru, fair play to them, ah well i turned out ok

Fey!

There's a story in my family that the christmas I was born, my brother got a tractor, a trailer, a digger, a baby and a bicycle.

The spoilt brat got them all!!!

All he has left is me, though, despite his best attempts to break me over the years!!!

I don't know how parents get through christmas without a nervous breakdown, with all the pressure to get the latest gimmick and the huge commercialisation/prices involved.

Nasty_Girl

Fey! wrote:

I don't know how parents get through christmas without a nervous breakdown, with all the pressure to get the latest gimmick and the huge commercialisation/prices involved.

Yeah last year we were lookin all over the place for a playstation and by pure chance got one!! This year its robo rapture but thankfully I got it today!

Rhyme

Fey! wrote:

I don't know how parents get through christmas without a nervous breakdown, with all the pressure to get the latest gimmick and the huge commercialisation/prices involved.

Too true... luckily my family are all past that 'gimmick' phase. Pat on the back for my mum and dad in certain years (most notably the Sega vrs Nintendo Christmas... which to choose?)

galwaydude

xmas in the eighties was tough for parents but we always got cool presents, those were the days.

Time Magazine

God bless my parents. I bet it was not fun when they had six kids under-18 in the '80s. And they always managed to provide. Fair play to them, and I'm sure it's a tale played over again all over the country.

And here's to the single-mother of two who works in Xtra-vision at €7.92 an hour who has to save €1500 to buy her kids what they asked for.

*Wipes a tear from his eye*

monkeyfudge

Roundtower2 wrote:

Rip-Off Ireland (or is that Rip-Off Lapland ) is getting ridiculous. I remember dropping my letter to santa as a kid in the box in An Post and getting a letter back. Don't think it cost anymore than a return stamp.

I think An Post still do that... unless there have been cut backs.

Dr. Loon

monkeyfudge wrote:

I think An Post still do that... unless there have been cut backs.

They do. My girlfriend - who works in An Post - has been getting these letters sorted for my nieces for years now, and it'll be the same this year no doubt.

dundalk cailin

ah how we cherished those letter