What does your 8-10 year old son want for Christmas?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is mines actual list:
Lego Star Wars star destroyer
Some other Lego movie thing
An iPod touch (no)
An iPhone (nope)
A large Pokemon set
Pajamas
$100,000.

LOL, you didn't put a no after the $100,000

PP is the best mom in the world. I'd love that as a stocking stuffer.

[Anonymous]

Some great ideas in here. Our 9 year old asked for:

Swiss army knife
Dungeons and dragon starter game
Reading pillow
Remote rover robot
Laser tag party with a few friends

Since he shares with his twin we will probably do three or four.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This hoop is amazing, just get a different ball:

http://www.amazon.com/SKLZ-Pro-Mini-Basketball-Hoop/dp/B0046SIUXG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416189189&sr=8-1&keywords=%22SKLZ+Pro+Mini+Basketball+Hoop&pebp=1416189198469

We have one of these, and it's great -- surviving lots of abuse (dunking competitions, etc). The neighborhood kids have played with it for hours.

I bought this on a Amazon Lightening Sale really cheap this week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So far, my 8 1/2 yo son is asking for (and receiving):

Minecraft Lego sets
Star Wars Lego sets
Pokemon items - card sets, figures, plush
3DS XL
7 3DS games
Skylanders Trap Team for XBox One
6 - 8 Skylanders TT characters
Infinity 2.0 for XBox One
3 - 4 Infinity characters
Anki Drive (race car track/cars to be used with apple devices)
Microscope
Science experiment kits (3 or 4)
Books (2 or 3)

So FAR?

I didn't say he would get anything else, but he'll probably see something in December that he wants....

I actually kind of feel sorry for him. Way too much stuff. And yes I'm judging - don't we all. Wow - just way too much. Why does he need so much?

[Anonymous]

Nerf gun
Union soldiers (like green army figures)
Amulet 5
Legos


He will probably get them, just one Lego set, though, and also a few books like time warp trio, a puzzle, and a board game.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So far, my 8 1/2 yo son is asking for (and receiving):

Minecraft Lego sets
Star Wars Lego sets
Pokemon items - card sets, figures, plush
3DS XL
7 3DS games
Skylanders Trap Team for XBox One
6 - 8 Skylanders TT characters
Infinity 2.0 for XBox One
3 - 4 Infinity characters
Anki Drive (race car track/cars to be used with apple devices)
Microscope
Science experiment kits (3 or 4)
Books (2 or 3)

So FAR?

I didn't say he would get anything else, but he'll probably see something in December that he wants....

I actually kind of feel sorry for him. Way too much stuff. And yes I'm judging - don't we all. Wow - just way too much. Why does he need so much?

I'm not judging- it's not my business. Some families "go big" on Christmas. I received a lot of gifts on Christmas as a kid, and not much the rest of the year. I got a job in high school-- worked through college and grad school, spent most of my twenties in poverty, and tend to buy my DS (my only) a lot of Christmas gifts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So far, my 8 1/2 yo son is asking for (and receiving):

Minecraft Lego sets
Star Wars Lego sets
Pokemon items - card sets, figures, plush
3DS XL
7 3DS games
Skylanders Trap Team for XBox One
6 - 8 Skylanders TT characters
Infinity 2.0 for XBox One
3 - 4 Infinity characters
Anki Drive (race car track/cars to be used with apple devices)
Microscope
Science experiment kits (3 or 4)
Books (2 or 3)

This is a huge number of gifts.

I posted it and there are a lot of gifts, plus he'll receive some other gifts and gift cards from grandparents. We always buy many items for Christmas and birthdays - we probably spend the same (or less) on Christmas as those with large immediate and extended families, but we buy for fewer people.

Hey pp, I have a small family too. It's one of the benefits of it, right? I think your list sounds awesome, my ds would be thrilled! We haven't asked what he wants yet, but I'm sure his list would look a lot like yours. My ds is 9.

I agree - we only buy gifts on birthdays and at Christmas - very rarely during the rest of the year so when the holidays roll around - we splurge. We get some cheap stuff, some educational things and also some pricier items. Why not? We do birthdays at home, saving a couple hundred dollars and this money goes towards gifts. My kids are not entitled and certainly don't have false expectations. They all do chores around the house and are doing well in school. I fail to see why being generous at Christmas means your kids are going to grow up to be assholes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So far, my 8 1/2 yo son is asking for (and receiving):

Minecraft Lego sets
Star Wars Lego sets
Pokemon items - card sets, figures, plush
3DS XL
7 3DS games
Skylanders Trap Team for XBox One
6 - 8 Skylanders TT characters
Infinity 2.0 for XBox One
3 - 4 Infinity characters
Anki Drive (race car track/cars to be used with apple devices)
Microscope
Science experiment kits (3 or 4)
Books (2 or 3)

This is a huge number of gifts.

I posted it and there are a lot of gifts, plus he'll receive some other gifts and gift cards from grandparents. We always buy many items for Christmas and birthdays - we probably spend the same (or less) on Christmas as those with large immediate and extended families, but we buy for fewer people.

Hey pp, I have a small family too. It's one of the benefits of it, right? I think your list sounds awesome, my ds would be thrilled! We haven't asked what he wants yet, but I'm sure his list would look a lot like yours. My ds is 9.

I agree - we only buy gifts on birthdays and at Christmas - very rarely during the rest of the year so when the holidays roll around - we splurge. We get some cheap stuff, some educational things and also some pricier items. Why not? We do birthdays at home, saving a couple hundred dollars and this money goes towards gifts. My kids are not entitled and certainly don't have false expectations. They all do chores around the house and are doing well in school. I fail to see why being generous at Christmas means your kids are going to grow up to be assholes.

Thanks for the ideas! Very helpful.

Ignore the judgy grinches.

[Anonymous]

First of all, I am SO frustrated by the preaching, the 'it's not a sermon' (but it is), the .... butting in and intruding. No one asked for comments about whether a parent's shopping list was excessive, or sending the wrong message, or anything else. The original post was not "what do you think about the quantity of or cost of the items I'm giving my 8-10 year old son for Christmas."

Second of all, the most important gifts any of us can give our children are intangibles such as compassion, quality attention, and modeling behaviors -- including minding your own business.

So, poster who had some thoughts about the 'excessive' gifting one parent chose for her child: if your child came home and said "Mom, I went up to a kid I don't know well at school and told her that she was wearing clothes that were inappropriate for someone her age because they are too expensive and name-brand and she shouldn't be wearing name-brand shoes, socks, skirt, top, coat, and gloves all at the same time," what would you say to your child?

Or what if, down the road, your child decides to go to a private four-year university, and comes home shaken because someone has come up to him and said "you know, I realize I don't know you well or even at all, but I heard you were wasting your money on a private school when there's a much better choice here in state and you're going to send the wrong message to your younger siblings and even to your own children, wasting money like that on a private education. What kind of values are you promoting, anyway? And what kind of parents do you have that would even let you waste money like that? What's wrong with you?

I know, I know. You're going to say "Those are ridiculous and far-fetched analogies No one would EVER go up to someone on the street or in a store and tell them to their face how to spend their money or what kind of lesson they were teaching others. And the cost of education as a value is ENTIRELY different than a Christmas gift."

Of course these are ridiculous and far-fetched analogies -- I'm making them that way on purpose. But the inherent message that you are sending not only here but perhaps "IRL" (for I honestly don't believe that what people post online or elsewhere is always that different than how they 'live' their lives-- that it's okay to make value judgments about someone based on their choices, without being asked to make such judgments and with NO other context -- is what matters here.

When you practice judging, preaching, or offering opinions in an unsolicited fashion, you are sending the message that it's okay to do so. In my opinion, it's not -- and it's REALLY not good to model that for your children.

But hey, you didn't ask me, did you? See how it feels to get judged by a total stranger when all you wanted was to post a few thoughts -- unsolicited?

Sigh....and I thought this forum could be a place where I'd get some ideas about Christmas gifts......

[Anonymous]

My 9yo only wants impossible things that don't exist (like a teleportation device), or things that are near impossible to find (like real medieval armor). Thanks for all of the more accessible ideas so far! Has anyone tried the following:

Powerup 3.0 (smartphone controller for paper airplanes like this: http://www.poweruptoys.com/products/powerup-v3)

Sphero (gosphere.com - smartphone controlled ball that seems to be programmable, and was mentioned in the NYT recently)

A YouthDigital online class on how to program in Java to design minecraft mods

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 9yo only wants impossible things that don't exist (like a teleportation device), or things that are near impossible to find (like real medieval armor). Thanks for all of the more accessible ideas so far! Has anyone tried the following:

Powerup 3.0 (smartphone controller for paper airplanes like this: http://www.poweruptoys.com/products/powerup-v3)

Sphero (gosphere.com - smartphone controlled ball that seems to be programmable, and was mentioned in the NYT recently)

A YouthDigital online class on how to program in Java to design minecraft mods

My 10yo is taking the YouthDigital Minecraft Mod class and has learned a TON. The instructors have been really responsive and I feel like we really got our money's worth. Highly recommend.

[Anonymous]

He wants some video games (his father will get him those). I got him some boots from Stride Rite. They have 40% off sale till 28th.

[Anonymous]

My 8 year old son wants a pocket watch, of all things. You can find nice basic ones for about $20. (He wants other stuff, too, but most has been mentioned in this thread already).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First of all, I am SO frustrated by the preaching, the 'it's not a sermon' (but it is), the .... butting in and intruding. No one asked for comments about whether a parent's shopping list was excessive, or sending the wrong message, or anything else. The original post was not "what do you think about the quantity of or cost of the items I'm giving my 8-10 year old son for Christmas."

Second of all, the most important gifts any of us can give our children are intangibles such as compassion, quality attention, and modeling behaviors -- including minding your own business.

So, poster who had some thoughts about the 'excessive' gifting one parent chose for her child: if your child came home and said "Mom, I went up to a kid I don't know well at school and told her that she was wearing clothes that were inappropriate for someone her age because they are too expensive and name-brand and she shouldn't be wearing name-brand shoes, socks, skirt, top, coat, and gloves all at the same time," what would you say to your child?

Or what if, down the road, your child decides to go to a private four-year university, and comes home shaken because someone has come up to him and said "you know, I realize I don't know you well or even at all, but I heard you were wasting your money on a private school when there's a much better choice here in state and you're going to send the wrong message to your younger siblings and even to your own children, wasting money like that on a private education. What kind of values are you promoting, anyway? And what kind of parents do you have that would even let you waste money like that? What's wrong with you?

I know, I know. You're going to say "Those are ridiculous and far-fetched analogies No one would EVER go up to someone on the street or in a store and tell them to their face how to spend their money or what kind of lesson they were teaching others. And the cost of education as a value is ENTIRELY different than a Christmas gift."

Of course these are ridiculous and far-fetched analogies -- I'm making them that way on purpose. But the inherent message that you are sending not only here but perhaps "IRL" (for I honestly don't believe that what people post online or elsewhere is always that different than how they 'live' their lives-- that it's okay to make value judgments about someone based on their choices, without being asked to make such judgments and with NO other context -- is what matters here.

When you practice judging, preaching, or offering opinions in an unsolicited fashion, you are sending the message that it's okay to do so. In my opinion, it's not -- and it's REALLY not good to model that for your children.

But hey, you didn't ask me, did you? See how it feels to get judged by a total stranger when all you wanted was to post a few thoughts -- unsolicited?

Sigh....and I thought this forum could be a place where I'd get some ideas about Christmas gifts......

Thanks for the support - I'm the poster with the long list and I typed the whole list in order to give ideas because maybe it includes something a person hadn't thought of. I like reading this type of thread because they do give me ideas.

I don't understand why people feel the need to knock it or say my child will end up a bankrupt adult because, at Christmas, he receives a lot of things he wants. He's the sweetest child and has never been selfish with anything, he does well in school, so why not spoil at the holidays and if other people prefer a more simple holiday, that's great, too.

And, to the others who showed no judgement towards me, thank you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So far, my 8 1/2 yo son is asking for (and receiving):

Minecraft Lego sets
Star Wars Lego sets
Pokemon items - card sets, figures, plush
3DS XL
7 3DS games
Skylanders Trap Team for XBox One
6 - 8 Skylanders TT characters
Infinity 2.0 for XBox One
3 - 4 Infinity characters
Anki Drive (race car track/cars to be used with apple devices)
Microscope
Science experiment kits (3 or 4)
Books (2 or 3)

This is a huge number of gifts.

I posted it and there are a lot of gifts, plus he'll receive some other gifts and gift cards from grandparents. We always buy many items for Christmas and birthdays - we probably spend the same (or less) on Christmas as those with large immediate and extended families, but we buy for fewer people.

Hey pp, I have a small family too. It's one of the benefits of it, right? I think your list sounds awesome, my ds would be thrilled! We haven't asked what he wants yet, but I'm sure his list would look a lot like yours. My ds is 9.

I agree - we only buy gifts on birthdays and at Christmas - very rarely during the rest of the year so when the holidays roll around - we splurge. We get some cheap stuff, some educational things and also some pricier items. Why not? We do birthdays at home, saving a couple hundred dollars and this money goes towards gifts. My kids are not entitled and certainly don't have false expectations. They all do chores around the house and are doing well in school. I fail to see why being generous at Christmas means your kids are going to grow up to be assholes.

Thanks for the ideas! Very helpful.

Ignore the judgy grinches.

Heads UP!!!


That Anki car racing set (which is damn awesome) is now $99 on Amazon from the Nov 26 price of 149.99.