Question for parents about Christmas presents

[Saeleofu]

I got toy horses for Christmas (Grand Champions when I was younger, and Breyers when I was older). I still get a Painted Pony from my aunt every year for my birthday and Christmas. I always loved anything with horses. I was pretty easy to please. The only thing that disappointed me, of course, is that the REAL horse on my list never appeared

Even now my parents still get me gifts, and they still ask what I want, and they still get whatever they think I might like instead of sticking to the list - which s fine, because usually what they pick out is better than anything I actually thought of to put on a list. Last year, though, I asked for an electric toothbrush and a Zoo windbreaker for Christmas, and that's what I got

I'm the same when I buy presents for my parents, brothers and nephew. I go roughly by what they want, but if I see something else I KNOW they would like, I'll get it.

[milos_mommy]

Originally Posted by Fran27

Honestly so far Lisa has only asked for an American Girl and it's just not happening. I'm sure she's already forgotten about it anyway. If she asks again I'll get her one of the Target knock offs if they go on sale (they went down to 50% last year).

I'm not sure how old she is, or what American Girl prices are like now (I know Mattel bought the company and the quality went down tremendously) but my American Girls were for sure some of the best presents I got. I had all of them up until Kaya came out when I was a teenager. I still have everything neatly packed in it's original boxes, all the clothes and accessories, the horse, dogs, etc. They're definitely a sort of timeless collectors item, or at least they used to be.

I think I was 7 or 8 when I got my first one, though....old enough to know that it needed to be taken care of it and wasn't something to just toss around.

[Fran27]

Yeah she's 4.5... Forget it lol. I'm fine if I find the knock offs for $18 or something though.

My kids never get anything from anyone else. Hubby's family is all over the place, and we usually do family gifts, and my mom just sends me money so I can buy them stuff.

[sparks19]

Originally Posted by Fran27

Oh I remember my toys, I just couldn't tell you exactly when i got them (Christmas, birthdays etc).

Tanya I know every toy you're mentioning lol. Which Celestia does she want? I know TRU has a white one, as opposed to the pink one (pink, really? LOL). I got some of the normal ponies at the B2G1 sale they had a month ago. We had some but they're unfortunately Tips' favorite snack, which drives me nuts, but it was mostly the older ponies. And I got the pack with Celestia, Spike and Twilight Sparkle (even though Celestia is pink in it... why oh why!).

Honestly so far Lisa has only asked for an American Girl and it's just not happening. I'm sure she's already forgotten about it anyway. If she asks again I'll get her one of the Target knock offs if they go on sale (they went down to 50% last year).

This is the Princess Celestia she wants. It's a big one (well compared to most of the ponies lol)


I have some amazon gift cards and I'm just waiting for one more to come in and then I can get it for free lol

If I find some good deals on some of the other MLP packs I will probably grab a couple. She loves them lol. I got her the Canterlot castle set for her birthday which was regular $40+ and it was on clearance for $8 lol. She plays with it ALLLLLLL the time

[Fran27]

Oh man I wish I had found it at $8. Lucky lol.

And yeah... don't you just love swagbucks lol. I'm only getting a $5 GC every 2/3 weeks but it still adds up.

[Beanie]

An American Girl doll was something I always wanted too. I would get the catalogues and go through them over and over and over. I loved that they had books for them too.
But honestly the knock offs are a good way to go too if you don't have an American Girl store nearby, because part of the fun of American Girl dolls for the little girls that I know now is being able to take a trip to the American Girl store to pick out a new outfit. I know I never would have really known the difference as a kid between knock off and a "real" American Girl doll. Plus they are the same size I think, so even if she grows up and DOES want to hit the American Girl store, she can still buy clothes and stuff. Or upgrade when she's older to a "real" one. The knockoff is a fair compromise IMO.

[sparks19]

Originally Posted by Fran27

Oh man I wish I had found it at $8. Lucky lol.

And yeah... don't you just love swagbucks lol. I'm only getting a $5 GC every 2/3 weeks but it still adds up.

Target clearance lol they always have good clearance stuff in the toy section haha. I go every once in a while just to check

yeah swagbucks and I am also a member of a couple survey websites and just take a few minutes here and there to take surveys and earn money towards gift cards. I just cashed out a $25 gift card on one survey site and I have $20 ready to cash out on another one

[Fran27]

There's one in NYC... it's a one hour train ride. So it's possible to go there if she wants to when she's older, but it won't be a very common occurrence because the train tickets are not cheap (and we have to pay for parking).

Target has a very cheap set last year for like $18 with doll and horse and I'm kicking myself for not getting it then.

Tanya, my Target is horrible. They rarely have something I want at a good price, and it's still only 30% off when everywhere else it's 70%!

[sparks19]

ugh that stinks.

[LindaJD]

I got my 2 girls America Girls dolls one year and they were really too young. They had the hair so messed up within a week and marker on it too. My kids are older now so Christmas isn't the same. Last year they all needed new laptops so that was easy, this year one wants a new transmission for her car, the other needs a new bed and the third is having a baby anyday now so we just bought them a crib and bureau. Nothing I can put under the tree anymore.
One year we got one of the kids a barbie jeep and we were so excited thinking she would be thrilled, she just glanced at it and played with her magna doodle most of the day.