When More is more...

It is too early for a Christmas post.

Way, way too early

But a certain retailer (who I won't name because I have a generally good relationship with them and don't want to mess that up) sent me a pr release today listing their 'Top Ten Toys for Christmas', and being of a nosy disposition I took a look.

You know what I noticed?

Whilst the cheapest toy on the list was approximately £11, the average price (their words, not mine) was £55, and the most expensive £109.

Which is all very well and may - these days - be good value for money, but one thing occurs to me.

AREN'T WE SUPPOSED TO BE IN A RECESSION, PEOPLE?

Everywhere I look I see news about rising prices, falling wages, the increased cost of living and how we're all supposed to be tightening our belts. Now, I know that Christmas is different. I know that we all want to spoil our little angels at this oh-so-special time of year, and I also know that I will almost definitely spend between £70 and £100 on each of the Boys by the time I include big presents and stockings (or in our case, pillow cases) into the mix.

But this is the issue that I have with the Top 10 list I was sent this week; with only one exception, if I were to buy any of the items which are featured on it I would blow a big part of my Christmas present budget without even blinking. And the thing with young kids? For them, unless they have a specific toy in mind (which, so far, neither of my sons has), the number of presents they get is almost as important as what those presents actually are.

When you're a child, less is not more. More is more.

So I realised that I will not be rushing off to buy the latest must-have toy for a paltry £49.99. Instead, I will be hunting around for less expensive items that my boys will still love, and which will still give great play value, but which will allow me to give them a variety of items and still - crucially - give the Boys the that ripping off the wrapper fest which kids love.

This got me thinking; in these financially tricky times, I can't be the only blogging parent with this philosophy, surely? So why not do a McLinky giving other bloggers the chance to join in the fun and list the Top 3 Christmas Presents under £20 (or thereabouts) that they may give their children this Christmas. If there's enough interest I'll pull together a finite list (crediting whoever came up with the idea, obviously, and linking to their blog if they have one) of what comes up and publish it sometime around mid-November for anyone who's interested.

So here, without further ado, is my current list of Top 3 Christmas Presents under £20:

1. Operation game (available online from £9 - £13.00)

2. Twister game (available online £12 - £14)

3. Junior Scrabble available online from £18 - £20)

What's your list? If you want to join in, either add your list via the comments box or write a post and link to this post here...

From the mouths of babes...

We've been in the Netherlands with Husband's family celebrating what is apparantly our last ever (EVER) Christmas in civilisation (if you listen to the subtext beaming out loud and clear from my m-i-l, that is...). The highpoint of our trip was a visit to The Efteling Theme Park, a sort of pre-Disney Land fairy tale kingdom.

My mother-in-law has been planning this trip ever since her first grandchild made an appearance around 12 years ago, so this was understandably Big Deal for her. Consequently there were plenty of questions to the children (all 7 of them) as to whether or not they were enjoying themselves. Unfortunately, it seems Boy *2 did not recieve the memo about toeing the party line...

M-i-l: "So, did you enjoy that ride, Boy *2? Was it loek?" (Trans: cute, funny, enjoyable).

Boy *2: "Well... (I held my breath. This ride - the one she was talking about - was probably not what would normally have been his cup of tea. It featured elves, trolls, goblins, true, but it was also quite heavy on the fairy quotient). Yes, yes I did!" (I breathed a sigh of relief).

M-i-l: "And did you like all the magic?" (The ride took us through a fairy kingdom with various scenarios that might feature in your average elf's life).

Boy *2: "Yes... But... I was wondering. Who was controlling it all?"


Give me strength.