ARRRGH....christmas gift decisions...so hard this year!

JustTrace

JustTrace

New member
SO my son is 14. A great kid, does his best in school and helps out a lot at home. He is starting to get a *bit* of attitude but for the most part, it's just a little eye roll here and there because he knows if he mouths off to me, his dad will lose it!

Anyway, he's asked for ONE gift this year. A Ps4 NHL 16 bundle. That's all he wants. Trouble is, it's almost 500 with tax here!! :36_19_1:That's a HUGE chunk of my budget. (I don't like to use credit at Christmas, cash or nothing).

So last night we had a talk and I told him that he needs to make me a list of other things he would like in case the PS4 doesnt' come through.

Here's the list he brought to me:

Work out bench with 100 pounds of weights.
Electric Guitar
A Baritone Sax
Money to buy a PS4


:lipquiver All those things are just as bad or EVEN MORE expensive than the darn PS4!!! How CLEVER of him though to throw in the "money to buy a PS4" lol....that's my son's wicked sense of humour right there. ;)

I guess my mom was right. The older we get, the more things cost.
 
Ha! That's hilarious!

We (ahem... my husband) tend to go overboard with expensive presents for birthdays, but scale way back for Christmas with my stepson. So basically if he wants/needs a laptop or something, that's his big gift for the year. Is that an option for you guys, or do you think he'll want something equally as expensive for is birthday next year? Or maybe a refurb that's cheaper?
 
We don't go overboard on birthdays. More laid back. One thing and dinner out at their choice of restaurant. DH was raised to have to earn half of everything he wanted (his parents would match him dollar for dollar) and he wants the kids to learn that responsibility. Right now with Adam, because of his ASD, he has to earn 1/4 of the item's cost and we pay the rest. He's pretty low maintenance so it's not that difficult. It's DD who will be the issue. She loves her "things!"

I really believe that Christmas is the one time of the year where kids should be spoiled and I tend to do that! LOL.
Nothing better than seeing their faces when they come down Christmas morning. :)

He knows though that if I do get him the system, it's all he's getting from us. I will have to have him a stocking of course and a few small things from Santa because Isis is still only 6 and she will wonder why her brother didn't get anything from Santa!
 
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500$ for one child... and than: you have a second child... all should have the same, so 1000$ for christmas gifts?!? Sorry, but I think in the age of 14 he should really know that not everything is possible...
 
6 year old doesn't know about money spent. She will have more gifts than him to open. yes, unfortunately it is about that every Christmas. Stuff here is expensive. The toys Isis wants are between 40 and 50 dollars each. By the time I'm done my kids, my nieces and nephews and my mom and Chris' dad, it's about a grand. That is why I save all year!
 
We don't go overboard for Christmas because we never see him on Christmas. This year will be the first time in our 10 year marriage that we get him, and I'm so freakin' psyched!!! I have a feeling it will be DH having to reign me in this time for a change, LOL. (Obviously we send him presents, but the summer is sort of our Christmas. I actually set up the tree last year so we had Christmas in July) :P
 
I checked to see how much cheaper it is here in the states and not much - $429 plus the tax. Not sure if there will be BF deals on them or not...
 
And with the exchange rate it would be more expensive to buy over here anyway - forgot about that little detail! LOL
 
Maybe it would help to keep an eye on Door Buster/Black Friday Deals. Last year I took advantage of some great Thanksgiving and Black Friday deals all on my phone! ;)

My son (he's 5) informed me today that all he wants for his birthday (in 10 days) from my husband and me is a piranha!
 
Amazon is a little cheaper, but not a whole lot.... but with black friday coming up I'd watch for a really good cyber deal. Gaming Consoles usually go down quite a bit for that. I hate how expensive they are, but I kinda luck out... every couple of years the boys want a new system, but I am able to make it justifiable as it ends up being a gift to all of them (so I can take a chunk off of each kids budget), but even still it's hard.... especially when that's the only thing they want. This year is a hard one for us... it's the first year I really have no idea how I am going to pull off giving them a 'normal' Christmas... they are spoiled on Christmas (it's the only time of year they get anything besides their birthdays), I have regular talks with them about what they want, putting a huge emphasis on "what non gaming things do you like or need?" So I am sticking to that smaller list this year unless by some miracle we get some good news and money that's been MIA finally starts rolling in, if that happens then I'll add a new game for each of them (which at 70 to 110 plus tax for the particular ones they want it's not an easy task!).
 
So, my generous, wonderful FIL sent me a letter with money in it to get my kid his PS4. :) He loves to make his grandkids happy. I can't wait to see Adam's face.
 
I know it sucks but at least your kids have a list, I ask mine and none of them tell me anything. I guess thats good that they are content but it makes Christmas difficult....
 
xboxmom said:
I know it sucks but at least your kids have a list, I ask mine and none of them tell me anything. I guess thats good that they are content but it makes Christmas difficult....
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In our house growing up, if we didn't write our list, we were told that we'd get what our parents think we want/need and usually that was clothes or undies. LOL...

I hear you though. :(
 
Christmas for the last several years has been low-key for us because of finances. It's been a good lesson for my kids in a way, but it breaks my heart not to have lots of money to spend on them. We usually end up with about $200 each (3 kids) and then don't do anything for anyone else. I haven't even started thinking about it yet...I won't know my budget until after the 1st.
Thankfully, my boys haven't wanted to play console games - they prefer playing on their PCs (which probably need to be replaced in the next year).
 
You spend $200 per person (kid)? If so, in my opinion that is a great Christmas budget! :)
craftytam said:
Christmas for the last several years has been low-key for us because of finances. It's been a good lesson for my kids in a way, but it breaks my heart not to have lots of money to spend on them. We usually end up with about $200 each (3 kids) and then don't do anything for anyone else. I haven't even started thinking about it yet...I won't know my budget until after the 1st.
Thankfully, my boys haven't wanted to play console games - they prefer playing on their PCs (which probably need to be replaced in the next year).
Click to expand...
 
Colleen said:
You spend $200 per person (kid)? If so, in my opinion that is a great Christmas budget! :)
Click to expand...

LOL! :DI think last year was about $150 (each)? We have had years when our budget was much higher...those were fun times :)
 
My son is 11 and he is asking for a tablet but he insists it has to be a Samsung 10" like his Grandma's...welp we don't spend more than about $200 on each kid. Santa brings one BIG gift, then a few small items....We buy them 3 gifts from US. A need like clothes and then 2 fun things to symbolize the three gifts baby Jesus got at his birth.

I am finding it harder to buy for them as they get older. He started to ask for a PS4 or Xbox but we told him if he wanted that it would be a shared gift between him and his 5 year old brother....bc of price.
 
Oh, Adam will be sharing his PS4 with his sister and I!! LOL...I'm planning on buying just dance for Isis' birthday in January and I want the new peanuts game!
 
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