Expensive toys this XMAS.. overrated?

[sailornyanko]

I can't remember the link of the article in Yahoo; but yesterday they had this lame article about how much money parents are willing to spend for fancy electronic XMAS presents for kids this year. My logic tells me people would be more money conscious this year because increased gas prices (and since I expect this winter to be bitter cold; a lot of money will be spent to heat houses).

However it seems like people are stupid like usual and they want to waste hundreds of dollars on ridiculous looking presents. When I was a kid, I never had supa dupa fancy Elmo fur real with real life sounds or whatever the heck that thing is.

I was raised with Carnegie dinosaurs (some of my favorites still decorate my bedroom to this day), the cooler toys of My Little Pet shop (the new toys of that brand suck nowadays), real legos (nothing of build a lego toy software for a pc O_o') and mind games like chess and Junior Monopoly.

The article even says they are selling a jack to connect to a DVD player and project DVD movies on the wall for almost 300 dollars!!! OMG!! I could get a machine that does the exact same thing for just 80 dollars.

The mini pinball toy seems a tad bit dumb. I'd rather save the money and buy a real pinball machine if they sold em of Pokémon or Saint Seiya. :shifty:

I'm sure some AN users are parents and they will buy gifts this season. Are you guys really going to buy your kid a PS3 or a real toy like a BB gun?

Frankly, I prefer the toys of old. They were cooler. Smart kids from the days of old still found ways to have hours of fun playing with cardboard boxes. Guess kids these days have no imagination whatsoever.

Heck, I still have jolly memories of when I made stink bombs from berries I found in the area and throwing broken beer bottles on rocks (I picked up the bottles from dirty looking hills but never got tetanus or anything; those were the days).

[Soluzar]

Toys weren't cooler when we were kids. They just seemed cooler... because we were kids. They were also just as expensive, and just as hard to find. The actual dollar amounts are more nowadays, but then that's inflation for you, and pay has gone up too. Imported stuff may be a litte more expensive in real terms, because of the terrible state of the US Dollar, but on the whole I think that some toys cost as much then as some toys today...

You're just an adult now. Congratulations on that, it's a good thing. That means that you can't understand what children want, though. You have nostalgic memories of your own childhood, but you can't relate to modern kids. If these modern toys had been available to you as a child, I would bet that you'd have loved them. Saying that you wouldn't doesn't carry any weight because you're no longer a kid, and can't get into that mindset.

I can't relate to what kids want either. I'm an adult too, at least in theory. At the age I am at now, I would turn down any of the new toys... except anything to do with videogames. I'll never grow out of videogames, but even where they are concerned, the new ones don't seem quite as cool as the old ones. We both have left childhood behind.

The idea that things were better when you were young is endemic to the medical condition known as getting older, Dr. Nyanko. ;)

It does shock me how much parents are willing to spend on kids these days, but I don't think that they are spending a greater percentage of their total income than they were when I was a kid. Some kids get more, some get less. That's the way it's always been. It's just easier to notice the ones who get more.

[Alice Catherine]

I'm not asking for much this year, since I got an iPod and cellphone last year.
You'd think my SISTER would be satisfied. She wants the Projector, too. (Called a Zoombox.)
My dad claims he already got our stuff. I wonder what it was.

[sailornyanko]

You're just an adult now. Congratulations on that, it's a good thing. That means that you can't understand what children want, though. You have nostalgic memories of your own childhood, but you can't relate to modern kids. If these modern toys had been available to you as a child, I would bet that you'd have loved them. Saying that you wouldn't doesn't carry any weight because you're no longer a kid, and can't get into that mindset.

Perhaps you're right that now that I've grown I'm pretty immune to all the crappy Barbie commercials. However I forgot to mention one little detail: I never liked playing with Barbies even as a kid and Barbie was just as big then than it is now. I never liked playing with dolls. Guess the idea of maternity wasn't in me even then.

I always liked micromachines though. But they don't seem to sell them anymore. As a kid, I always loved those miniature train toys for adults (like the one Rev Lovejoy has in the Simpsons). They don't sell those kinds of toys these days (or at least they're too niche to be announced endlessly on tv at 3 pm). The new Hot Wheels ramps are all exagerrated with these ridiculous looking sharks and whatnot. I liked the simpler ones with just the ramp and that's it.

I'll never grow out of videogames, but even where they are concerned, the new ones don't seem quite as cool as the old ones. We both have left childhood behind.

You make me feel old with that sentence. ^^' Actually I don't like most new videogames either. There's just something that I feel overrated with 3D games. I find far much fun in Pokémon Crystal with it's utter simple looking animation than with the expensive PS2 games out there.

At least I don't have to screw up my left thumb with these intricate moves to get to the second level of the game.^^' These new games are just too hard for me.

It does shock me how much parents are willing to spend on kids these days, but I don't think that they are spending a greater percentage of their total income than they were when I was a kid. Some kids get more, some get less. That's the way it's always been. It's just easier to notice the ones who get more.

Perhaps a lot of parents gave lots of gifts to people of my gen when we were kids, but in the 80's the economy was going well and people could really afford such luxuries. Nowadays more and more of the monthly budjet is going to the car and not to personal expenses.

Looking back now, I feel like I would of appreciated less spending on gifts then as a kid. As I grew older I kept on asking fewer and fewer things for XMAS. I only wanted just 1 specific toy or a manga and that was it. Even today I almost feel ashamed of making a gift list for XMAS because I really only want like 5 things tops each year and that's it.

I think the most expensive gift I ever got as a kid was a bike (worth then 60 dollars). My new ice skates that cost 1100 US dollars don't count cuse I got them as an adult (and got nothing else for xmas or my birthday for over 1 year since most of the money of the gifts is going to paying my university intuition anyways).

Maybe you wouldn't of appreciated it as a kid, but less really expensive gifts and more money saved for your university will be what matters when you grow up (and even if you have that nostalgia you never got "x" cool toy then cuse it was too expensive, with a career you'll earn the cash to buy it as an adult). Guess even I as a kid didn't see the future that way. Parents should treat their kids more like small adults sometimes and explain what will be important to them when they grow older. That's the problem of being the third child, your parents ignore you most of the time cuse being the 3rd kid just isn't a novelty. ¬¬

[Sendo Takeshi]

Technology is the new thing amongst the kids these days. For some reason today's brats were born without an imagination. Talk about being born a defect.

I used to have some of the coolest action figures ever back in the day. The Xmen stuff that Toy Biz was putting out years ago was great. I still remember the first Wolverine figure with the brown costume that had the popout claws. That was the best. Nothing better than having Wolverine plow through 10 G.I. Joes like it was nobody's business.

I was also a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle fan. Still am too. Oh, and we can't forget the greatness of Batman.

If I may recall, Transformers were the most "expensive" toys back then as a youth. Since they retailed from $12 and up. Unless you were getting the Spy Changers, like Bumblee or Beachcomber, everything else was expensive, per se.

And Star Wars toys were cheap too since they were 3 3/4 in inches and were made of the cheapest plastic. They still are too. Kinda. $6 ain't too bad compared to the $200 that I spend on Japanese action figures.

[Neo0tak0n]

toys are so 20th century

kids want video games

[kenshinbebop]

It depends what you consider a toy...
if your concept of 'toy' is anything that brings joy to kids then yes, they get pricy.

I don't consider that projecter a toy. It's more of an applience in my book. Toys to me are like GI Joe, Care Bears, and Barbie.

I stopped wanting said toys like action figures and such around age 10. I got into music and electronics. ^_^

This year, the most expensive item on my list is a $350.00 guitar amp.
I don't consider that a toy...but I guess it could be considered such.

[Alice Catherine]

Technology is the new thing amongst the kids these days. For some reason today's brats were born without an imagination. Talk about being born a defect.


...*scribbles novel furiously to show Deathscythe that some kids DO have an imagination*
You're so mean. Sometimes my iPod inspires me to write scenes that portray the emotions that the song makes me emit.
And my cellphone doesn't have all the neato little features.
LO AND BEHOLD!
A cell phone that can CALL PEOPLE!

[kenshinbebop]

Technology is the new thing amongst the kids these days. For some reason today's brats were born without an imagination. Talk about being born a defect.

Really? I don't think that. I think imagination runs out of fuel sooner or later however. Around age 12 you stop playing 'fort' and start playing 'pokemon'. Maybe even 'GTA:San Andreas'. :lol:

[Alice Catherine]

Maybe even 'GTA:San Andreas'. :lol:

That sentence made me sad. I mean, I think Halo's OK. I've only attended a Halo party every week since becoming friends with Justin.
But a 12-year old playing Grand Theft Auto makes me think that one day I'll be going out wearing clothes that shrunk in the wash, on a street, innocently getting milk, and I'll be raped...

[kenshinbebop]

That sentence made me sad. I mean, I think Halo's OK. I've only attended a Halo party every week since becoming friends with Justin.
But a 12-year old playing Grand Theft Auto makes me think that one day I'll be going out wearing clothes that shrunk in the wash, on a street, innocently getting milk, and I'll be raped...

Why? You live in San Andreas? :naughty:

My 10 year old brother plays San Andreas. Of course, he knows how to seperate it from reality.
...I think.
(Major jk)

[Sendo Takeshi]

Really? I don't think that. I think imagination runs out of fuel sooner or later however. Around age 12 you stop playing 'fort' and start playing 'pokemon'. Maybe even 'GTA:San Andreas'. :lol:



I never played fort, actually. I would make up these crazy storyline's with all of my Xmen toys and such. Good times. I still do every now and then when I'm bored though. But, I guess that's because I still read comic books. So, my imagination is at a constant even till this day.

And at the ripe age of 22, I do play a lot more video games than ever before. Oversaturated market ftw!

Pokemon was to me what GTA is to the kids these days. So yeah, I guess you're right.

[Alice Catherine]

No, I don't live in San Andreas...but I live in a town where people can't seperate reality from fiction/video games.
I love my Pokemans.

[sailornyanko]

I never played fort, actually. I would make up these crazy storyline's with all of my Xmen toys and such. Good times. I still do every now and then when I'm bored though. But, I guess that's because I still read comic books. So, my imagination is at a constant even till this day.

And at the ripe age of 22, I do play a lot more video games than ever before. Oversaturated market ftw!

Pokemon was to me what GTA is to the kids these days. So yeah, I guess you're right.

Curiously I still have an avid imagination. Just now it involves really hunky male anime characters.

I'm 22 myself but I don't play videogames that much. Only Pokémon Crystal bootlegged into a ROM on my USB drive.

I have a ball that was once a ball of pus (god only knows how I got it) on my left thumb that doesn't allow me to play more than an hour of any videogame at once. Not that I play well anyways. I still can't beat Bison in Street Fighter II using the easiest level!!!

[Alice Catherine]

Another thing that nauseates me to death is the 21st Century mother who wants her kid to be the best, so she over-teaches them by shoving bilingual, English-teaching, counting, flashing lights, culture shocking, music pushing telegarbage/toys down the throats of her 2-5 year old plus signing him/her up for yoga/music lessons/acting lessons/sports/art class.
Correct me if I'm wrong here...this Noggin thing...it claims it can teach a 3 year old to read.
Well, my brother has been watching it since he was 2. He is now 4. He can't read worth a damn and mixes K and J up in the alphabet.
I, however, watched Neon Genesis Evangelion with my dad when I was 2 years old. I remember all the flashing lights and such that I saw and I am surprised I am not an epileptic. I also watched Planet of the Apes, Lassie, and The Wizard of Oz, none of which teach worth a damn except morals, which most mothers who shove Noggin down their little Delaney/Brewer/Shiloh/Suri's throat miss. The closest that I got to Noggin was my mom letting me watch the You Can Read! tapes, which I fell in love with.
Come back to my 13th year on this planet.
I got top grades in my homeroom. I am in the drama club and Concert Choir. I am writing a novel. I am also doing my teacher's job of writing articles for the West Press. I recorded an album at my brother's studio, which is his basement but still, it's more than Raven/Hannah Montana/Ashley Tisdale have already done. Finally, the decision of which musical we do this year has been forced on me (damned Eric).
Conclusion:
Let your damn kids play with the $3 GI Joes that you get at Turkey Hill. Leave the learning to school.

[sailornyanko]

Let your damn kids play with the $3 GI Joes that you get at Turkey Hill. Leave the learning to school.

Good one.

I kinda wished I had more cultural/linguistic immersion though. I can understand spanish perfectly well, but I speak the language with an unusual accent (some say they think I'm french because of it) and my spanish can get sluggish if I'm nervous at that moment.
My mom wanted to teach me spanish immediately but my dad stupidly didn't let her. Now I pay the price.
I would of enjoyed it if my dad kinda put some nahuatl into me too. How many americans can speak the language anyways? You never know when you're gonna get a patient that can't speak spanish. I'm sad most mexicans don't see native languages with the interest I do. I'm hoping I can catch some Huichol someday.

And yes, those little Mozart music things don't work. Reading your kid every night a book in more than one language does wonders though. Watching cartoons in different languages works too when your kid is young. Classmates of mine that watched Disney movies in english as kids excell in english as adults.

[Alice Catherine]

I can speak both French and a bit of Japanese from my mother and her musicals and my father and his anime. He had me watching Kimba, NGE, and Japanese Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokemon, and Sailor Moon.
He bootlegged so I could be trilingual. God bless my father.

[sailornyanko]

*Feels a bit jealous*

I'm happy you were of the first of the immersed modern anime fans kids. Nice to see you obviously have a hobby you can share with your parents.

I on the other hand never really got any sort of parenting. I kinda raised myself. The curse of the 3rd child I guess.

[Alice Catherine]

What I've learned from my parents:

Mom: She took me to Wicked, Les Mis, and is sponsoring my trip to Phantom of the Opera.
Dad: The reason I am an anime fan today. He didn't care how old I was. He showed me things...
Grandma: Childcare, baking, cooking, and sewing.
Grandpa: Everything I ever wanted to know about weapons.

My sister and brother just don't want to learn. THEY have friends, however.

[Scandiadream]

I'm not gunna buy any fancy ELECTRONIC toys this Christmas.

However, I bought myself 3 new American Girl dolls, plus outfits and a desk for them.

I do want FF12, but I do not have the time or energy to play it at the moment.

[{NG}Fidel]

Hello to cloths is all I am saying.
Maybe a couple of pieces of technology.
And if any consoles just a wii.
But I dont think imagination is going away due to immersion into media.
I cant help but feel that being able to witness new things only helps creativity.

[Maxximo]

I have to say that kids now-a-days is missing what x-mas is all about. Its not ther falut thur but getting expansive electronic and toys teach you child "what".

Thats why I can them I Want It all kids...

[{NG}Fidel]

edit that post soon.

[Alice Catherine]

I'd like to go to the new Hot Topic, though.

[Haro!]

I'd like to go to the new Hot Topic, though.
You know I finally saw one of those stores a few weeks back. I didn't like what I saw.

As far as the topic goes. I loved electronics since I was a kid. Never really cared how they worked just how cool they looked. I will raise my kids to be the same way. Its a matter of coolness dammit.

[master terrence]

I just want the money :lol: I don't want and Nintendo Wii's or PS3's. I figure when I go up to college my roommates will have everything :D

[SabakuKuniGaara]

I'm getting a This is a Spinal Tap DVD and I couldn't ask for anything more. \m/

[sailornyanko]

I just want the money :lol: I don't want and Nintendo Wii's or PS3's. I figure when I go up to college my roommates will have everything :D


Oh you shouldn't think that way. :huh: College is supposed to be about studying stuff you actually like. No time for fun and parties. :ph34r:

*runs off to play Pokémon Crystal* -_-;

[superplough]

My 10 year old brother plays San Andreas.

i know a 6 year old who not only plays it, he's better than me at it.

[Alice Catherine]

i know a 6 year old who not only plays it, he's better than me at it.

*starts sobbing*
I'M NOT EVEN GOING TO HAVE CONSENT WHEN I LOSE MY VIRGINITY!

[superplough]

is that an invitation? :P JOKING!!!!!

[Alice Catherine]

Well, if it were YOU...:naughty:

But if it were some crazy guy who holes himself up in his room all day playing San Andreas and automatically thinks I'm a hooker just because I'm on the street, I'm getting my tasers.

[superplough]

its a fun game, but anyone who takes it seriously is an idiot. even said 6 year old knows that.

[VidelCoolGirl]

Oh you shouldn't think that way. :huh: College is supposed to be about studying stuff you actually like. No time for fun and parties. :ph34r:

*runs off to play Pokémon Crystal* -_-;

Story of my life. Right now, instead of studying, Im posting. And I don't have my Crystal version with me. (Best version.)

[superplough]

Crystal (Best version.)

seconded. unfortunately all I have is firered and sapphire

[Haro!]

Well, if it were YOU...:naughty:

Hey I want first dibs!!!

[Rain]

My brother's going to get me a Wii; however, we're both going to "share" it.

Yeah, at least we're not on Ebay selling PS3s for $10,000 a piece.

[The Million Dollar Prons]

I sold my PS3 on ebay and made a killing. I'm not waiting till March 2007 to play Oblivion, a game that's from March 2006~!

[superplough]

My brother's going to get me a Wii; however, we're both going to "share" it.


*insert lame joke about playing with your brother's Wii here*

[Animematt55]

My washer dry set is part of my Xmas gift from my dad. My mom has taken to many vacation so she cant get me anything nice.
I want to get a 360 for myself (even though my bro has one) and maybe a Wii.

But i just asked for a wireless laser mouse, and Kinos Journey complete.

[VidelCoolGirl]

But i just asked for a wireless laser mouse, and Kinos Journey complete.

I have Kino's Journey complete. Totally worth the buy.

[DazzleKitty]

I can get what I want for Christmas. Me and all my brothers will probably be getting $500 apiece from our parents, I already got my $150 from my grandpa, I will be getting manga artbooks from my brother, money from my other brother, and $100 from my aunt.
My brother is pressuring me to buy a Wii. I'm not sure if I want to or not.

[VidelCoolGirl]

I can get what I want for Christmas. Me and all my brothers will probably be getting $500 apiece from our parents, I already got my $150 from my grandpa, I will be getting manga artbooks from my brother, money from my other brother, and $100 from my aunt.
My brother is pressuring me to buy a Wii. I'm not sure if I want to or not.

Geez! Nearly a 1000 bucks, and artbooks! I'm probably not even getting anything. You're lucky as heck!

Edit: Well, I am getting things, but they're pretty small. Although they will mean a lot, so I guess that's all that really matters.

[Solid_Snake]

Got me a 52 Inch HDTV for XMAS... But I bought it myself. :(

[Animematt55]

I have Kino's Journey complete. Totally worth the buy.

excellent cover too, a girl with a cute butt, and a couple of guns....even that is totally worth it, LoL

[Alice Catherine]

@Haro and superplough: ZOMG THREESOME LOL~! Kidding.

@Crystal fans: Yes, tis the best version. It was an unfortunate event when I lost it in a hotel room.

[Nano]

I know I'm getting a phone this year, which is funny because it's going to be a contract phone. "Here's your "free" phone son, and also the monthly bill.".

I want a ps3, but I'm not the stupid nagging kid type, I'd rather not be a bother asking for this and that. Plus I'm 18 now, I have to start acting like it.

I've been told not spend too much this year, and in reply to that I said "Why not spend nothing at all?" She wasn't too pleased with that. My mother that is.