Anonymous wrote:My 18 year old wants a pair of $495 Frye Boots for Christmas.
She wants for very little (and asks for even less).
She had her 18th birthday over a month ago and we got her a sweater and a pair of boots ($150). The boots went back because they looked terrible (I completely agreed--they were bad). We haven't replaced them-she's been busy with school and hasn't asked for a replacement to this birthday gift that didn't work out.
We usually spend about $300 for Christmas and my parents give us $200 or so to buy a gift from them. She doesn't get gifts from other family members.
She also has her own money from working a full time summer job at a restaurant (she probably has 3.5K).
My first response is "uh, no!" (mostly on principle) But I don't know. I could buy them and have her chip in or just buy them as her one Christmas gift from parents and grandparents. They're the kind of boots that a few Influencers have found in thrift stores because Frye has been making the exact same style for 20 years (so they're classic and have staying power----and yes, it would be great to find them at a thrift store but she doesn't have the time for this and the stores with a random pair in them are generally in the midwest).
I'm also aghast at the amount, but would tend to buy them for her for these reasons based on what you wrote.
-Other posters have described these as boots that will last decades, so not a frivolous purchase.
-She's 18 so probably done growing and can use these in her adult life.
-You already tried buying her cheaper boots and they weren't good.
-It's been over a month since her birthday and she hasn't bugged you about a replacement present, so she's not materialistic.
-She doesn't ask for much, so this seems important to her.
-She works, and has saved a good chunk of it, so she's not am irresponsible spender.
-You "owe her" $150 from the birthday present you returned and usually spend $300 for Christmas, which is almost $495, so I would just buy these as her Christmas present from you and still get her something from her grandparents.