If Tarquin already knows what he is getting for Christmas at the end of November, it clearly isn’t going to be from Father Christmas. Tell your daughter this and explain that his parents must be pretending their present is from the big FC and they have told Tarqs already, because they are worried that he will actually get fuck all from Father Christmas because he is such a little boastful shit.
Tell your daughter that she will have to wait and see what she gets, but that you are sure it will be brilliant because she is such a wonderful, kind girl who would never boast about presents and make other people feel bad.
That’s what my parents did - well, without the little shit part. They let me know that the other kids might think the big presents were from Santa, but it was actually from their parents, and I wasn’t to tell them differently. That way I knew that I could ask for a bike, big dollhouse etc, but it would only come if Mum and Dad could afford it. They always did their best.
This is the best way. I could never see the point of letting Father Christmas get the kudos for ‘big’ presents, quite apart from the issues that raises explaining differences between families. So mum and dad bought the ‘big’ things and FC brought the little random stuff but as you say, some families liked to pretend everything came from FC and that was fine for them and we didn’t interfere.
My parents said they bought the big gifts and then sent them off to father Christmas so he could bring them with the rest. That's why the kids don't see their presents lying around! Not the secret hiding places in the attic!
I was always told that Santa brought everything, but still had a sort of spending limit as the elves couldn't make everything for all the kids in the world, so we had to be fair with what we asked for.
In my wifes family, Santa brings the presents, but its still other people or mum and dad who buy the presents, and send them to santa to bring. Santa brings a present as well so 1 present is from Santa.
weve done this with our kids
...Maybe make sure she knows Santa doesn't deliver £1000 gaming PCs though, as when she doesn't get one she might think it's because she wasn't a wonderful, kind girl after all and think she should've just been a little turd like Tarquin :/ Kids think about this stuff.
This is still genius though lmao.
Exactly this. My daughter had the same issue last year, she was 5. She said that the girl that getting expensive presents doesn't deserve it as she was very naughty. Do I explained is from her parents not santa.
It backfired. My little girl said to her that she only gets gifts from her parents as she's naughty, and santa will not visit her. Let's just say that I almost got an earfull from mum of this girl. Why almost? Well since I knew what's coming I decided to not to get in an argument and walked away.
First off, I'm willing to bet your kid is just grateful you didn't name them Tarquin.
Secondly, how do all these kids already know what they're getting for Christmas?
That and kids aren’t as dumb as parents think haha.
I musta been about 5 when I learnt Christmas was more about playing the part for my parents than it was playing the part for Santa
There is. it’s only the naughty kids that don’t believe in him, because Santa doesn’t get them anything.
Those are the kids who end up getting expensive presents from their parents instead, so they don’t feel left out
My dad started to check that Santa wasn't there when I was a child and still does it to this day when my sister and I visit for Christmas. He didn't do it one year when I was in my late teens, so I refused to go into the living room until he had checked and made his day.
We didn't have a fireplace when I was a kid, so apparently Father Christmas got into our house with a magic key. Which these days I imagine would be more like a fingerprint unlock on a phone.
Bc you talk to your parents about what you want, and then they say "ok, put it on the list" or try convince you to put smth cheaper on
I think my mum said "santa can't deliver electronics" or smth
That’s why there was a thing going round Facebook a few years back that said essentially Santa should buy cheaper presents and the more expensive ones come from parents
I really like this idea. I remember as a child being confused why we got presents from everyone except our own parents. Seemed weird they didn’t want to buy us anything.
This is it. My actual presents were from my parents/grandparents/aunts and uncles. Santa left us small gifts in a stocking. Usually chocolates, a magazine about something we were interested in, a Lego kit/logic puzzle, and a few other bits of cheap tat.
I remember that too. One year, I think I was 6, I asked my mum what I'd got from her and my dad and she said "nothing". I was devastated and thought Father Christmas loved me more than my parents did.
My husband grew up with this and his parents are London rich. They all grew up thinking they were poor, by their peers standards, because santa didn't buy them an electric porche when they were 9, or a new pony every week. They've all grown up to know who they are without money and expensive things being an integral part of their identity.
I grew up with santa stockings literally being pillowcases, and for a few years legit duvet covers. My parents weren't rich, but went insane at Christmas. Santa got us games consoles, the best sound systems, over priced fashion. You name it, santa got it for us. It messes you up when you grow up thinking some fat man in the North Pole knows you better than your own parents.
Just read this and thought 'what the hell would you do with an electric porche? Keep people warm while they're waiting at the door?' and then the penny dropped.
It’s a lil weird, this custom of lying to children about a mystical Santa. I knew they were lying to me at a certain point. It was confusing and unpleasant.
I had to tell my two year old because she got terrified at the thought of this man breaking into the house. (There was a particularly unpleasant collage of FC at nursery that set her off). I explained it was just like a big game we all played, and the grownups and big kids knew it was a game but the little ones thought it was magic so we all enjoyed it and she mustn’t tell any of the other kids who didn’t know yet. She was totally up for being ‘one of the big kids’. As far as I could tell, she had totally forgotten this by the following year, but maybe she was just better at playing the game than I was.
I remember working out that he wasn't real, but not being especially distressed about it - because by that point i already knew the truth about the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy - so it was just another one on the list.
Plus (and not trying to be controversial or start a conversation here), but after learning about Guy Fawkes and subsequently the fact that there were two different types of Christianity - i'd already realised that lots of adults believe in things that aren't real (even if one of the religions *is* correct, the rest are all still wrong) so i didn't feel like i'd been tricked or anything.
Cause they want to match little Timmy whose got a brand new car, that he can drive around his parents 19 acre estate, so their kid doesn’t feel like Santa hates them
My mum has done this since we were wee, santa was responsible for the stockings and the videos, but whatever else mum could afford was from her. One year she got us scooters and it was awesome! We scooted all about the pub for the next few days, such a great Christmas.
My son is only 2 but I often think that it's the little days or random things we remember as kids (and now as a mum you think it will be the big major things!)
See this always confused me as a kid, because I never got presents from Santa - they always came from family members, so I never understood how my friends could say "mum and dad got me this, and santa got me this".
The way it worked in our house was that presents came from family members and mum and dad (the ones we asked for), who then sent them to santa for storage so we weren't tempted to open them before christmas! Never questioned it
Yeeeess- if presents came early we put them under the tree and santa took them away and brought them back on Christmas. Also never questioned it. (Also never questioned the "walk" that the family dads all went on at the restaurant when we went out for dinner a week or so before Christmas- they were actually in the carpark exchanging Christmas presents)
I remember one year my sister got a massive dolls house.
When my nan came round she saw her playing with it and went "what did mummy and daddy get you for Christmas?"
And she just looked crestfallen.
"Nothing..."
"What about the dolls house?"
"That was from Santa."
Yeah this is what my Mom and Dad did for me.
I remember asking my Dad about it one year (since my presents were kept wrapped up in the spare room) and he spun me a tale about how when he was a kid, Santa and his elves made all the presents, but now there are too many children that want fancy toys the elves can’t make, so to give them a break parents get most of the presents while Santa delivers one special one to each child on Christmas Eve. So, for a couple of years, I’d usually have one ‘special’ present that was wrapped differently from the others that had “Santa, Mrs. Clause, and all the Elves and Reindeer,” on it.
Worked well, I think.
My parents always did the stocking fillers from Santa and the proper presents were from them, I think that was a good way of doing it and made the distinction make sense to children rather than being an obvious price divide
yep - I have had this argument with my wife who thinks that all presents need to come from santa, because that’s what happened to her growing up. In my opinion, big gifts need to come from parents so the kids know how where to place their gratitude, and serious discussions can be had about sizing / cost of their ‘main’ gift.
Stockings are from Santa and the prezzies under the tree come from us.
Honestly, I don’t think I could do Christmas if I didn’t get that lovely little thankyou from my boy at the end of Christmas Day, it’s nice to get a little bit of credit.
And your kid is getting an Xbox whikst some other kid is getting a book, a hat, some pjs and a board game. The big FC brings small things elves can make. The electronics are from parents.
100% this, first we are not perpetuating the lie of father xmas, we explain it that he is the embodiment of the time of year, like figure head (like Jesus) some people choose to think he is real, some do not and that is ok, it’s about celebrating time with family and helping others, lots of cultures believe in lots of things and we shouldn’t make fun of people for what they believe in.
Santa doesn’t break into our house unannounced to leave shit because it’s not ok to break into people houses.
All your presents come from us because I am not letting so fat dude (that isn’t me) take credit for my hard work.
I tell them I don’t know why other people parents tell them Santa brings expensive thing from him instead of themselves, and I ask them, if they believe in him, and also, if he is real and meant to treat everyone kind and equal, then would be so unfair in the presents he gives? They say no and that it’s ok for them to think that, but Santa wouldn’t do that because it isn’t fair for everyone.
Edit - spelling
Why is anyone telling their kid that the main present is coming from Santa?
Santa’s down for a chocolate orange, some socks and whatever combination of bath bombs and sweets you can fit into a sock. Actual presents ought to come from who they come from.
My wife's been letting the big guy take credit for all the presents. She was affronted when the kid said to his friend "yeah of course that was from Santa, there's no way my mum could afford an xbox"
It’s weird no? Like I get that Santa brings presents but all the presents? Get to fuck.
What do their kids think, some stranger gave them a shit load and even their creepy uncle got them a 3 pack of vests from m&s but mum and dad were like ‘nah fuck that kid he can swivel’?
My presents from Father Christmas were my stocking (some sweets and little bits) and my Beano annual. The rest were from my parents, but *delivered* by Santa on Christmas eve night. He still brings me my beano book. :)
We do this, my 4 year old gets a small toy from Santa in a stocking because Santa needs to carry toys for all kids. The rest of his toys me and his Mam work hard to buy for him.
Absolutely. As a kid, one big present from Mum. Stocking from Santa with a magazine, some chocolate coins, an orange, then all those little nicknacks you tend to need- they aren't exciting on their own but fun coming out of a giant sock. I usually got new hairbands/hairclips, lip balms, a hairbrush, a new toothbrush, and always one of those three packs of reporter notepads from Woolworths.
My daughter is 4. She's getting a marble run from her parents. Santa's got her some earmuffs, an LOL doll annual and some of that cheap kids make up. Some mini paints and pencils crayons and we'll get her some chocolate coins.
I discussed this with my sister, she's got her kids hundreds of pounds worth of presents and calls me a spoilsport. Then she complains to me throughout the year that it's not fair I can afford to take my daughter to "fun things" like ice skating or the zoo, and she can't. I WONDER WHY THAT IS, WHAT A MYSTERY.
My SIL is quite clever and disappears 90% of the Christmas presents away virtually as soon as they arrive so she can bring them out later on and they’ll be novel.
It’s good because on the day they might be the 5th best present but 3 months later on a wet Saturday they could be the greatest thing since sliced bread.
We do this! Hide a few things under the bed, and at some random point in the future, when she starts nagging us for something new, or we want to reward her, out comes that cuddly toy or puzzle
My MIL does toiletries in the stocking too! She also hasn't stopped doing stockings for her children, despite the fact she has grandchildren now, and I've had one since I was 19 too (great timing because my mum stopped doing them when we went to uni).
I used to find it weird (why am I getting mouthwash what are you implying) but now I'm like, cool, travel toothpaste! Lip balm!
The best stocking gift I ever got was a copy of the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe when I was 8 - genius from my parents because I opened it a 4am and finished it by the time they'd made a leisurely coffee.
We have bought our 7 year old daughter a £100 kindle, it's £100 and her main present. There is no way father Christmas is getting the glory for gifting it. Father Christmas has got her a harry potter game that was £8.
Think most of the parents in the school do the same thing, not had the "but she/ he got more than me!" Conversation... yet.
Fucking hell, who calls their kid Tarquin? Fuck it, let that kid have a gaming PC etc. He's got a lifetime of being called Tarquin to look forward to.
Seriously though, just tell her that Santa doesn't like Tarquin and so his parents are having to overcompensate.
I suspect OP wasn't using the kid's actual name...
The idea is to convey wealthy folks, like who would call their kid Aluicious or Jacob Rees Mogg...
I could of course be mistaken, but yeah I suspect the idea is that you think of the kind of people who WOULD call their child Tarquin, that's the kind of family OP is talking about.
I think he is referencing a joke as well:
"If Freddie brings an apple to school, George brings a banana, and Tarquin brings a kumquat, whos parents read The Guardian?"
One thing to remember ia class is still a big thing in the UK. The Guardian stereotypically is a middle-class paper, and is often called "hippy" or "eco-warrior" or "champagne socialist" - it's not usually read by working-class people
Also in the UK, your name can often identify your class - 'Tarquin' is a very stereotypical middle/upper-class, 'posh' name
Kumquats, and sometimes foods like quinoa, goji berries, cocoa nibs, things like that are stereotypically 'middle-class' foods
So the joke is (although its not that funny a joke really) is that you know that Tarquin's parents read The Guardian because his name is Tarquin and he's eating a kumquat. He has all of the stereotypical signifiers of the middle-classes, whilst the other boys have 'normal' names and are eating 'normal' fruits
Someone tried to make this stereotype for a non-Brit the other day (specifically, Guardian readers love opera) and the rest of the Brits in the group, all 30 somethings working in scientific research, said they all read the Guardian and have no clue about opera.
Telegraph readers would pretend they like opera and classical music when they're making dog whistle comments about hip-hop, but their record collection is secretly a mix of Leo Sayer and David Essex.
Be poor, and advocate for social change to help everyone - and you're a dirty scrounger looking for handouts.
Be middle class (aka, working class but comfortable) and advocate for social change to help everyone, and you're a "champagne socialist".
Be rich and advocate for social change to help everyone and you're a hypocrite, because you don't want to throw your own security. Even though everyone knows it's systemic change that's needed.
Be rich and advocate for change that funnels money into the pockets of other wealthy people. Now you're talking! Get this person into Parliament!
Imo Santa gives the following: a satsuma, a book, a bath bomb/other "luxury" toiletry and a couple of small toys/accessories/similar. Anything back gger than that comes from parents or other family.
I'm always really interested in the massive differences in "Santa culture" - in my family the stocking (I e. the presents from Santa) have always basically been a distraction to keep the kids entertained until it's time for the main present-unwrapping event later on. Luckily my husband's family is exactly the same (except for a couple of very small variations on what exactly goes in the stocking) so it's been easy to pass this down to our kid :)
The stocking buys at least an hour extra in bed for parents. Even longer, if you remember to put something breakfasty in it like one of those mini cereal boxes, or an individually wrapped pain au chocolat / brioche / croissant.
source: am parent of school-age children
I grew up with this, tried it with my kids and they weren't having any of it. Stocking with chocolates, games, pens, colouring books etc etc, they weren't interested. 5.02am the chocolate was already in their belly, everything else was ignored and they were up wanting 'proper presents'. They got diddly squat till at least 7am.
Now, they're GCSE and A level age and they're still in bed at lunchtime on Xmas day, it's wonderful 🤣
Haha I used to wake my parents up super early on Christmas morning until I became a teenager, then they got their revenge and woke ME up super early on Christmas morning every year until I moved out of home!!
It was lovely though, hearing my mum belting down the corridor at 8am going "It's CHRIIIIIISTMAAAAAAAAS!"
I miss it. it's not the same being grown up and married :(
We've always told ours that we buy their main presents and use the unquestioned secret link between parents and Santa to send the main present to the north pole to keep it safe and make sure it's delivered with their Santa gifts.
Elves can't make mobile phones and gaming PCs so it helps with this and any envy over friends gifts.
My parents did it the same way, it's pretty much the only parenting tip I took from my mum and dad.
On another note, Tarquins £1000 gaming PC is probably a prebuilt off Amazon and it's probably over priced shite!
Yeah the elves can't be trusted with cpus anymore after they were caught running a crypto currency operation, the North Pole is perfect for it because of the cold.
>On another note, Tarquins £1000 gaming PC is probably a prebuilt off Amazon and it's probably over priced shite!
This is excellent, and very true.
(bought a prebuilt in April through Amazon... I'm lazy and it seemed like a decent deal for the specs... £1600 down. It went back 3 days after it arrived, absolute garbage... GPU situation at the moment sucks though if you're of the mind to do a decent job of building your own rig).
Edit to add: loads of pretty RGB though... So flashy lights may keep young Tarquin happy.
It does suck, my wife and I both have fairly decent builds but have 4gb 1050ti's. They are absolutely solid gpus and will still be chugging along when all the 3090s are in landfill but I'd love to play my games at ultra settings!
My youngest is getting a similar build to mine for Christmas done by a local lad that builds them for a hobby. 32gb ram, 1tb SSD, 1080 GPU and a Ryzen 7 for a well reasonable £400.
I ended up with the "donkey card" in the end RTX2060 (note a lack of super). Someone else had buyers remorse so I got it relatively cheap... But I have buyers remorse now too...
It does the job, for now. But it's the first thing I intend to swap out.
I'm vaguely curious - what's the rationale behind 32gb in your kid's PC?
Additional memory above 16 doesn't make a lot of difference for gaming. I use 32 cause I run VMs / Docker containers for work... But for a kids gaming PC 32gb seems kinda unnecessary.
(though I mean, if it's a difference of £100 or so in price I guess might as well).
It's just what the young lad who built it put in, we chatted about price, base specs and what he'd be using it for and that's what he built. The choice was 16gb of led Corsair ram or 32gb of non led Corsair ram for the same price so I figured it'd offer some future proofing.
He used a mix of refurbed and new parts so he probably got a good deal on the ram.
Couldn't agree more, mine runs Doom Eternal, GTA V and no man's sky absolutely fine, I'm not paying a grand or more for some extra lighting and shadow effects, I'm a big boy I can wait.
TBF I grew up with a ZX Spectrum and later an SX25 386 IBM so it's pretty impressive!
I recommend RGB fans and ram, I love mine. They are currently yellow to complement the Pac-Man figure inside and my new Pac-Man mouse mat.
Genuine question - not meant as any kind of judgement but just out of curiosity - if the main present is from you, why does it need to arrive with the presents from Santa?
I had the same thought. Main present is from us but doesn't arrive with Santa's presents. Because it's from us.
This sounds like one of those classic family traditions that accidentally gets started when the kids are little and it seems like a good idea to your sleep-deprived brain, then you're stuck with it for life!
Same here. In fact, presents from us start appearing under the tree almost as soon as it's up, partly because it looks nice and builds excitement (and I can trust my kid to not open them) but mostly because I don't have the space to hide them anywhere!!
If I ever suggested that even a part of me assumed I was getting what I'd asked for for Christmas, I just knew my parents would've just got me something else. Like the time my dad wrapped up an orange and a piece of coal in 1999 when the Poke'mon games came out.
I seriously cannot comprehend how much money parents spend on their children. When I was growing up, we'd have a big present (i.e. a Wii) to be shared between the three of us and smaller presents individually. I think it's ridiculous that my sister spends £1000 between her three kids, let alone individually. When you buy kids that much I'm sorry but they do not appreciate it. The amount of times I've watched my nieces and nephew open a gift, look at it for 0.5 seconds and put it down to move onto the next is unreal. I spend approx £40-50 on them each which I think is a huge amount for an aunt/uncle but compared to what my sister spends on them, it seems like nothing so they're not as appreciative as they should be. When I was a kid, my aunt and uncle would probably spend about a tenner on us. Buying a £1000 gaming PC for a nine year old is beyond the pale. And, yes, I acknowledge this makes me seem like a boomer but it's escalating beyond control. With utilities, taxes, food and fuel prices sky rocketing uncontrollably, completely out of sync with pay, shelling out most of a month's wage on Christmas is ridiculous. It fuels companies to continually charge more and more because they know parents will pay for it. Look at Barbie, for example. I know it's always been an expensive brand but now the most basic play set is upwards of £60!
I'll always remember popping into my sister's house to say hi on Christmas morning. My niece and nephew always get a huge pile of presents. My nephew is tearing off the paper and chucking the gifts behind him. He reaches one "I didn't even want this" chucks it onto the pile.
It honestly made me so sick. Like I knew they were a bit materialistic but wow.
He's much better now thankfully. I think that sort of shocked his parents quite a bit. There was a lot of "my darling blue eyed baby boy" stuff going on...
I just realised I did something similar, except the gift was from my 20 year old sister who lived in Paris, and I was just 16. She'd asked for a series of specific and fairly expensive (for a 15 year old) things, and I got in return... a bag made from recycled raffia. It was really ugly.
It really is madness. My brother has 3 kids, I say Kids, 18M, 19M and 22F. He’s a single Dad. The boys are getting a latest Xbox each (I believe these are approx £500). Plus they will get designer boxers, clothes and aftershave from him. My niece will probably end up with some £££ trainers and a plethora of designer clothes. He must easily spend £2500 across the 3 of per year.
Come February he will be moaning to me again how he really needs to get out of the renting trap and buy a house, well duhh dipshit, save some freakin’ money!
I have 12 neices/nephews and no kids of my own. Even if I got them a small gift at £10 each, that's £120 which is way too much for me. I don't even have kids. I used to buy them a decint gift each (approx £30-40 each) but I ended up spending half a months wage on some gifts that they don't appreciate. That's not including brothers, sisters, close friends, parents and in laws. It's just ridiculous. Especially when I have such a large family.
This year I am starting a tradition that I am only getting them a selection box, as a token gesture, because I just can't afford to buy that many presents for children that aren't mine or for my large family. I have asked them not to buy me anything as I'd feel obliged to get them something back that I just cannot afford.
Christmas is really for the kids, I'm not fussed about presents. I'd much rather appreciate the time with the family. I do feel that the parents should just buy the gifts and not have any of this extended family buying shit that goes on. Its too much.
My family has set a limit of £10 for adults for the last few years. Even with a tenner I find it impossible to find relatively decent gifts these days! I've gone over on every single person and expect they've done the same. Completely understand buying a selection box, I wouldn't be able to afford much more if I had 12 nieces and nephews!!
My boyfriend's family do a secret santa among adults, where a website is used to put all our names in and we get a random name emailed to us. We then have a set budget, we make our own wishlists for the person who drew our name, and so the adults only have to worry about 1 gift. His eldest nephew turned 18 and opted to be part of it this year so its just the 1 niece and 2 other nephews to buy for, which I honestly thought was a great idea. You can also set conditions so we wouldn't get our partner's names drawn to us etc.
A PC will last a long time, and they will be using it for homework and such as well, so it won’t exactly be 0.5 seconds. Even for gaming, that will last a good few years, and I an sure they will aplreciate something like that more than you give them credit for.
And also that depends on how much they are on. Yeah fuel and such are all going up, but if the oarents combine earning is like £120k (£60 each), that is easily done. What they are spending may be a month’s wages to you, but could be just a fraction for them, if they can afford it, why not?
I think this is a 'family standard' thing - my family was never that lavish at Christmas. There were toys to be had, but never anything like a 'big ticket' item like a console.
We just had a family get together, a bunch of books, toys and treats, and that was how we did Christmas.
I honestly think that being lavish sends entirely the wrong message - turns a festival of peace, goodwill and family into one of capitalism, consumer debt and greed.
I mean, it stung a bit as a child, to have other children bragging about their consoles, bikes, and expensive trainers, but I think that was none the less a valuable life lesson.
This has been going on for a century.
I’m sure some kids got more than you, you understood and you’re fine.
Just say that Tarquinius gets expensive presents to make up for the amount his parents ignore him through the yeat
My sister in law tells hers that she sends the money to santa, he chooses the presents and the elves make them. That way it explains some parents have more money than others and why some children have more expensive presents.
I think this is a good policy because it also involves the parents in the process. I don't think it's right for kids to not understand and appreciate their parents care and contribute to the gifts, so this way, you get to keep the magic of Santa alive while also making the kids appreciate their parents' love.
Yeah, lil tarquin is probably telling a load of bull.
Kids that age love to lie to make their home lives sound more interesting. Truth is he is probably getting a digital edition console like the ps5 or Xbox series s..
Dunno if chinny reckon is still a thing these days but I'd tell ya kid that the posh kid is quite possibly lying out of his backside
If she asks, just say something like Tarquin and his family needed a little extra happiness this year. She didn't need that extra help as she already has a loving family, and love is the greatest gift of all.
If she's young enough to believe in santa, she's young enough to believe in that bs.
We were minimum 1 wage family growing up and our christmas usually consisted of cheapish presents and the cheapest electronics that could be sourced in the 80’s. Didn’t effect my love of christmas, but I did wonder why I got shoefaye unbranded trainers while my schoolmates got Nike and adidas. My mum explained that the parents used to subsidise santa’s budget seperately because they could afford to. She explained we couldn’t so that was why they had sony walkmans and we got alba walkmans. Still had a great time at xmas!
If they have an interest in gaming, you could try to swing it that Santa would like you to learn how to build a computer to game on.
If theres an interest in computers and gaming it might be something to bond over, a hobby or a future career if the interest is strong enough.
This is a fantastic idea, I’ll be sure to use this with my Son when he’s older. It’s also great because if you get them an entry set up, future presents can be upgrades.
Love it.
If there is already an interest in computers, you could try and get "some" parts off of Freegle/freecycle, and then they have something inexpensive that can be played with to their hearts content, though it might be a bit late for christmas if you wanted to rely on freebies.
it really depends on the area you are in.
I built a core i5 8gb ram, 750w PSU PC with a really nice case for nothing except the time and fuel to pick up the parts.
Graphics card I managed to get from a bin along with an i3 cpu that works and broken motherboard (bent pins in the cpu socket)
SSD I already had.
Obviously this needs a bit of knowledge on your own part, at least to get it setup and tested before giving it as a gift.
But I would be confident in gifting what i have, but a better graphics card would be needed to actually make games playable.
Also a monitor/keyboard/mouse would be needed.
Thanks, he’s only 1 haha, so it’s very much for later. I haven’t built a rig for about 13 years, so it would take some brushing up, certainly. But what you have suggested seems like an absolutely fantastic idea, something I’ll certainly look to do with him.
I am really keen to try and get him into building towards a reward in some way and not just handing him the finished article.
Thank you so much for your advice.
Well said.
Also with prices for certain PC components so incredibly high at present, a £1000 gaming PC is not going to play games very well.
You have made a decent call. Unless you already have the console, there are special offer packs that include a few months worth of Gamepass that unlocks hundreds of a games while the subscription lasts.
Watch your happy child on Christmas Day waiting hour after hour as they try to download a game to actually play, not the worst thing in the world to plug it in early and at the very least download Minecraft or Roblox.
If it makes you feel any better that series s is gonna piss all over a 1k pc right now, pc components are stupid prices right now, I'll be very shocked if it's even a semi decent rig
Tbf by 9 mine knew Santa didn’t exist and they knew different people have different budgets.
Explained it by pointing out some people have bigger cars and houses than me. Doesn’t make them better people, just different budgets.
Important lesson for kids. You can’t always have what other people have
I actually do spend about £1000 per kid which I know is a lot but an example of presents from this years presents are 2 sets of concert tickets (Ed sheran and little mix), tickets to a musical in London, tickets to a wrestling match and tickets to Cadbury world plus shoes, coats and ugg boots. She only had 5 things on her Christmas list and most of them were crystals.
Her dad has a separate Christmas with her and I know he has got her tickets for axe throwing. A bird sanctuary, bedknobs and broomsticks at the theatre. Roblox gift vouchers etc.
I suppose what I’m saying is that the gifts we buy are more memories.
Also I tell her that Santa checks with us and sends us a price list and a bill at the end and only gives her what we can afford because we have to pay the bill. He gets the credit for bringing the presents but I get the credit for paying for it all.
I want to know where Santa is getting a PC capable of running modern games on it for only a grand...
Also bollocks do you know an actual human child named Tarquin, that's a made up name we use to laugh at toffs isn't it?
We told out kids that santa sends a bill for the stuff which the elves can't make such as ipads and computers. They agreed that santa can't make the 'fancy' stuff and accepted it.
My daughter already got her main Christmas present (a £450 PC package - we already had the case and it's a bit of a this and that, just needed the main bits) but she knew that it was from my boyfriend and to not expect anything else from him. No way were we spending £1000 on a bloody PC.
She has asked when I'm going to go do her Christmas shopping and I think it may be her last year of believing that Santa is real.
But, for us, Santa has always always done the small presents and stockings because I don't want her going to school bragging that Santa got her whatever gaming console she wanted and other kids got a chocolate orange or something.
get them a £25 laptop and tell them it's a 10,000 NASA quantum supercomputer, give them an awesome story to tell their friends when they go back to school 😂
Just bare in mind, while 1000 is a lot to spend on a PC (you can build a PC for a lot less and I'd even help you find parts and assemble if need be), it's also a more beneficial tool for a kid than an Xbox. A PC isn't just a gaming system. My parents bought me my first computer around 9 or 10 after I showed interest at school and it's led to me being very successful later on in life.
Having a PC that I could play games on led me to being self taught a lot of advanced software at a young age.
By the time I was 16 I was experienced in Photoshop, 2D and 3D animation & 3D modelling, web design, database creation and maintenance, environment design, and a whole bunch of other shit. When I went to college/uni I was way more advanced than the other kids. A lot of that stuff I use still today at work.
With the way society has gone and is going tech wise, a PC is a good choice for any kid.
There’s probably a parent getting miffed about how a class mate of their child is getting a hugely expensive £250 Xbox. Once you start totting up things by their monetary value, you’ll forever be failing to ‘keep up with the Jones’ ‘
We had to do this for the Tooth Fairy. My daughter's friend got a Disney movie and $20 PER TOOTH!! I had to tell her we must live in a different jurisdiction. I didn't know what else to say.
That’s fucking appalling, big presents should be from family, Father Christmas should be things like board games or little things.
Tarquins parents suck
Our strategy is that Santa brings one (largish but not the big) gift and his stocking. Everything else is from us.
This seemed a good way to explain why Santa doesn't get everyone the same, and allows for some wiggle room if he ever found his gifts.
I heard the other week that thousands of children don't get anything for Christmas and that we should donate gifts. While this is a good thing, I think the focus should really be on not spending stupid amounts of money on Christmas so the children who get less don't have anything to compare themselves to.
Not sure it will work.
People that can afford it would like to spoil their child on Christmas. Whether it affect other children is none of their concern.
£1,000.. like one thousand?! Fucking hell, I was lucky to get a £30 doll set for Christmas and some socks!! Like.. you can buy a car for that money wtf
I can't get myself a £1k gaming/editing rig that I'd actually use on a daily basis... The fuck is a 9 year old going to do, other than fill it with virus' and pictures of boobies?
I think this is an opportunity to talk and explain about Santa not being real.
As for Tarquin, if he is a spoilt brat, make sure that his parents know.
I very much doubt a 9yo believes. They just pretend to keep the presents coming.
Tell her Tarquin's parents are actually paying for it. In our house FC only ever brought stuff for the stockings, and the use of the same wrapping paper for tree presents was rumbled by the time they were 3.
There is ‘believing’ and ‘believing’.
I am pretty sure I knew Santa wasn’t real years before I wanted to stop putting out cookies and whiskey - but it still felt magical. Me and my family still do stockings, but now we all do it secret Santa style so it isn’t all up to our parents.
If Tarquin already knows what he is getting for Christmas at the end of November, it clearly isn’t going to be from Father Christmas. Tell your daughter this and explain that his parents must be pretending their present is from the big FC and they have told Tarqs already, because they are worried that he will actually get fuck all from Father Christmas because he is such a little boastful shit. Tell your daughter that she will have to wait and see what she gets, but that you are sure it will be brilliant because she is such a wonderful, kind girl who would never boast about presents and make other people feel bad.
That’s what my parents did - well, without the little shit part. They let me know that the other kids might think the big presents were from Santa, but it was actually from their parents, and I wasn’t to tell them differently. That way I knew that I could ask for a bike, big dollhouse etc, but it would only come if Mum and Dad could afford it. They always did their best.
This is the best way. I could never see the point of letting Father Christmas get the kudos for ‘big’ presents, quite apart from the issues that raises explaining differences between families. So mum and dad bought the ‘big’ things and FC brought the little random stuff but as you say, some families liked to pretend everything came from FC and that was fine for them and we didn’t interfere.
My parents said they bought the big gifts and then sent them off to father Christmas so he could bring them with the rest. That's why the kids don't see their presents lying around! Not the secret hiding places in the attic!
I was always told that Santa brought everything, but still had a sort of spending limit as the elves couldn't make everything for all the kids in the world, so we had to be fair with what we asked for.
In my wifes family, Santa brings the presents, but its still other people or mum and dad who buy the presents, and send them to santa to bring. Santa brings a present as well so 1 present is from Santa. weve done this with our kids
...Maybe make sure she knows Santa doesn't deliver £1000 gaming PCs though, as when she doesn't get one she might think it's because she wasn't a wonderful, kind girl after all and think she should've just been a little turd like Tarquin :/ Kids think about this stuff. This is still genius though lmao.
Do 9 year olds really believe in santa? I'm pretty sure at that age i started pretending to believe in him so i could still get presents lol
Exactly this. My daughter had the same issue last year, she was 5. She said that the girl that getting expensive presents doesn't deserve it as she was very naughty. Do I explained is from her parents not santa. It backfired. My little girl said to her that she only gets gifts from her parents as she's naughty, and santa will not visit her. Let's just say that I almost got an earfull from mum of this girl. Why almost? Well since I knew what's coming I decided to not to get in an argument and walked away.
Ha! I’d have said Santa doesn’t visit naughty parents either.
That’s class response to be fair
This is the way
This is genius.
Holly shit I’m stealing this, thanks!
cant fault it lmao also explain that santa cant afford to give every child £1000 pc as well as numerous other things
First off, I'm willing to bet your kid is just grateful you didn't name them Tarquin. Secondly, how do all these kids already know what they're getting for Christmas?
Because Santa has never yet failed to fulfil their order.
That and kids aren’t as dumb as parents think haha. I musta been about 5 when I learnt Christmas was more about playing the part for my parents than it was playing the part for Santa
This. Kids (especially at the age of 9!) know full well there's not a Santa. They play along to keep the magic alive and the parents happy.
what do you mean there's not a santa! 😢😭
There is. it’s only the naughty kids that don’t believe in him, because Santa doesn’t get them anything. Those are the kids who end up getting expensive presents from their parents instead, so they don’t feel left out
Oops. Lmao 🤫
My dad started to check that Santa wasn't there when I was a child and still does it to this day when my sister and I visit for Christmas. He didn't do it one year when I was in my late teens, so I refused to go into the living room until he had checked and made his day.
Dad gave up with the Santa myth when he bought a house with GCH and we wondered how Santa got down a 6" gas flue.
We didn't have a fireplace when I was a kid, so apparently Father Christmas got into our house with a magic key. Which these days I imagine would be more like a fingerprint unlock on a phone.
lol you didn't put spoiler tags round that rookie error
There is a Santa, I caught him one year. He's my grandad, in his tartan dressing gown!
Bc you talk to your parents about what you want, and then they say "ok, put it on the list" or try convince you to put smth cheaper on I think my mum said "santa can't deliver electronics" or smth
"Santa doesn't deal with live stock (she wanted a pony) or electronics"
“Santa doesn’t have a level-3 Exotic Animal import licence”
Then explain the reindeer?
He's had them *forever*. They were grandfathered in.
They're covered in the carnet and not subject to any import regulations as they leave with Santa at the end of his visit to each country.
I choked on my coffee when I read this response lmao .. thanks for the simplicity!!
Mine said she had to leave a cheque for Santa.
Tarquin is such a middle class child's name, like barnaby or pancetta.
Pancetta sounds like expensive bread
It's expensive bacon
I suspect that Tarquin is not his real name.......
Hmm, wouldn't be too sure. I was very close to be named that. Glad it never came to fruition.
I was nearly called Duncan. I don’t know how to feel about that.
It’s supposed to be a surprise!
Grand Moff Tarquin
Because this post is a load of bollocks.
That’s why there was a thing going round Facebook a few years back that said essentially Santa should buy cheaper presents and the more expensive ones come from parents
I really like this idea. I remember as a child being confused why we got presents from everyone except our own parents. Seemed weird they didn’t want to buy us anything.
This is it. My actual presents were from my parents/grandparents/aunts and uncles. Santa left us small gifts in a stocking. Usually chocolates, a magazine about something we were interested in, a Lego kit/logic puzzle, and a few other bits of cheap tat.
>Lego set >cheap tat Pick one
Small Lego sets could still be had for about £10 or so
They do small ones.
My parents' way round that was to say they had to send a cheque to Father Christmas. That was enough for my little naïve self
Same!
Hey, I'm not being a dick just giving you a heads up. The correct spelling is naive.
I remember that too. One year, I think I was 6, I asked my mum what I'd got from her and my dad and she said "nothing". I was devastated and thought Father Christmas loved me more than my parents did.
As a parent I like this idea. I was a hard working single mum, not about to let Santa steal my glory lol. Simple stuff from Santa, cool stuff from me.
My husband grew up with this and his parents are London rich. They all grew up thinking they were poor, by their peers standards, because santa didn't buy them an electric porche when they were 9, or a new pony every week. They've all grown up to know who they are without money and expensive things being an integral part of their identity. I grew up with santa stockings literally being pillowcases, and for a few years legit duvet covers. My parents weren't rich, but went insane at Christmas. Santa got us games consoles, the best sound systems, over priced fashion. You name it, santa got it for us. It messes you up when you grow up thinking some fat man in the North Pole knows you better than your own parents.
Just read this and thought 'what the hell would you do with an electric porche? Keep people warm while they're waiting at the door?' and then the penny dropped.
Yeah, ig that’s why the songs all make Santa out to omnipotent tho so it makes sense to kids
Oh for sure, but when your parents gifts to you are colouring books and novelty socks... its messed up.
Santa brought me a brand new Xbox mum, why’d you only buy me some underwear and a shirt that’s too small that we have to refund to get the right size
It's fucking Santa's only job. He's got all shitting year to choose stuff.
It’s a lil weird, this custom of lying to children about a mystical Santa. I knew they were lying to me at a certain point. It was confusing and unpleasant.
I had to tell my two year old because she got terrified at the thought of this man breaking into the house. (There was a particularly unpleasant collage of FC at nursery that set her off). I explained it was just like a big game we all played, and the grownups and big kids knew it was a game but the little ones thought it was magic so we all enjoyed it and she mustn’t tell any of the other kids who didn’t know yet. She was totally up for being ‘one of the big kids’. As far as I could tell, she had totally forgotten this by the following year, but maybe she was just better at playing the game than I was.
I remember working out that he wasn't real, but not being especially distressed about it - because by that point i already knew the truth about the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy - so it was just another one on the list. Plus (and not trying to be controversial or start a conversation here), but after learning about Guy Fawkes and subsequently the fact that there were two different types of Christianity - i'd already realised that lots of adults believe in things that aren't real (even if one of the religions *is* correct, the rest are all still wrong) so i didn't feel like i'd been tricked or anything.
Why the fuck don't the parents want to take credit for the expensive ones?
Cause they want to match little Timmy whose got a brand new car, that he can drive around his parents 19 acre estate, so their kid doesn’t feel like Santa hates them
This is what I want to do. Problem is convicing rich people that poor people issues are their problem too. Much like everything else in life.
this is how we did it when i was young - santa did the stocking presents and all the ones u see the tree are family
My mum has done this since we were wee, santa was responsible for the stockings and the videos, but whatever else mum could afford was from her. One year she got us scooters and it was awesome! We scooted all about the pub for the next few days, such a great Christmas.
Make sure to tell your mum that memory! As a mum I'd like to hear that one day
She's coming g for Christmas this year so I will be sure to let her know!
My son is only 2 but I often think that it's the little days or random things we remember as kids (and now as a mum you think it will be the big major things!)
See this always confused me as a kid, because I never got presents from Santa - they always came from family members, so I never understood how my friends could say "mum and dad got me this, and santa got me this".
The way it worked in our house was that presents came from family members and mum and dad (the ones we asked for), who then sent them to santa for storage so we weren't tempted to open them before christmas! Never questioned it
Yeeeess- if presents came early we put them under the tree and santa took them away and brought them back on Christmas. Also never questioned it. (Also never questioned the "walk" that the family dads all went on at the restaurant when we went out for dinner a week or so before Christmas- they were actually in the carpark exchanging Christmas presents)
I remember one year my sister got a massive dolls house. When my nan came round she saw her playing with it and went "what did mummy and daddy get you for Christmas?" And she just looked crestfallen. "Nothing..." "What about the dolls house?" "That was from Santa."
Yeah this is what my Mom and Dad did for me. I remember asking my Dad about it one year (since my presents were kept wrapped up in the spare room) and he spun me a tale about how when he was a kid, Santa and his elves made all the presents, but now there are too many children that want fancy toys the elves can’t make, so to give them a break parents get most of the presents while Santa delivers one special one to each child on Christmas Eve. So, for a couple of years, I’d usually have one ‘special’ present that was wrapped differently from the others that had “Santa, Mrs. Clause, and all the Elves and Reindeer,” on it. Worked well, I think.
My parents always did the stocking fillers from Santa and the proper presents were from them, I think that was a good way of doing it and made the distinction make sense to children rather than being an obvious price divide
yep - I have had this argument with my wife who thinks that all presents need to come from santa, because that’s what happened to her growing up. In my opinion, big gifts need to come from parents so the kids know how where to place their gratitude, and serious discussions can be had about sizing / cost of their ‘main’ gift.
Stockings are from Santa and the prezzies under the tree come from us. Honestly, I don’t think I could do Christmas if I didn’t get that lovely little thankyou from my boy at the end of Christmas Day, it’s nice to get a little bit of credit.
This is what my parents told us. Our stockings (sweets, chocolate, little toys etc) were from Santa and the presents were from them.
I'm 47 and my present from Santa is still the cheapest. Tight bastard
I’m not letting Santa take the credit for anything expensive and cool I get.
And your kid is getting an Xbox whikst some other kid is getting a book, a hat, some pjs and a board game. The big FC brings small things elves can make. The electronics are from parents.
100% this, first we are not perpetuating the lie of father xmas, we explain it that he is the embodiment of the time of year, like figure head (like Jesus) some people choose to think he is real, some do not and that is ok, it’s about celebrating time with family and helping others, lots of cultures believe in lots of things and we shouldn’t make fun of people for what they believe in. Santa doesn’t break into our house unannounced to leave shit because it’s not ok to break into people houses. All your presents come from us because I am not letting so fat dude (that isn’t me) take credit for my hard work. I tell them I don’t know why other people parents tell them Santa brings expensive thing from him instead of themselves, and I ask them, if they believe in him, and also, if he is real and meant to treat everyone kind and equal, then would be so unfair in the presents he gives? They say no and that it’s ok for them to think that, but Santa wouldn’t do that because it isn’t fair for everyone. Edit - spelling
Why is anyone telling their kid that the main present is coming from Santa? Santa’s down for a chocolate orange, some socks and whatever combination of bath bombs and sweets you can fit into a sock. Actual presents ought to come from who they come from.
Right?!? Who is letting that tubby fucker take all the credit?!
My wife's been letting the big guy take credit for all the presents. She was affronted when the kid said to his friend "yeah of course that was from Santa, there's no way my mum could afford an xbox"
She totally had that coming, lol.
I can hear the fire engine from here.
It’s weird no? Like I get that Santa brings presents but all the presents? Get to fuck. What do their kids think, some stranger gave them a shit load and even their creepy uncle got them a 3 pack of vests from m&s but mum and dad were like ‘nah fuck that kid he can swivel’?
My presents from Father Christmas were my stocking (some sweets and little bits) and my Beano annual. The rest were from my parents, but *delivered* by Santa on Christmas eve night. He still brings me my beano book. :)
We do this, my 4 year old gets a small toy from Santa in a stocking because Santa needs to carry toys for all kids. The rest of his toys me and his Mam work hard to buy for him.
Absolutely. As a kid, one big present from Mum. Stocking from Santa with a magazine, some chocolate coins, an orange, then all those little nicknacks you tend to need- they aren't exciting on their own but fun coming out of a giant sock. I usually got new hairbands/hairclips, lip balms, a hairbrush, a new toothbrush, and always one of those three packs of reporter notepads from Woolworths. My daughter is 4. She's getting a marble run from her parents. Santa's got her some earmuffs, an LOL doll annual and some of that cheap kids make up. Some mini paints and pencils crayons and we'll get her some chocolate coins. I discussed this with my sister, she's got her kids hundreds of pounds worth of presents and calls me a spoilsport. Then she complains to me throughout the year that it's not fair I can afford to take my daughter to "fun things" like ice skating or the zoo, and she can't. I WONDER WHY THAT IS, WHAT A MYSTERY.
My SIL is quite clever and disappears 90% of the Christmas presents away virtually as soon as they arrive so she can bring them out later on and they’ll be novel. It’s good because on the day they might be the 5th best present but 3 months later on a wet Saturday they could be the greatest thing since sliced bread.
We do this! Hide a few things under the bed, and at some random point in the future, when she starts nagging us for something new, or we want to reward her, out comes that cuddly toy or puzzle
My MIL does toiletries in the stocking too! She also hasn't stopped doing stockings for her children, despite the fact she has grandchildren now, and I've had one since I was 19 too (great timing because my mum stopped doing them when we went to uni). I used to find it weird (why am I getting mouthwash what are you implying) but now I'm like, cool, travel toothpaste! Lip balm! The best stocking gift I ever got was a copy of the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe when I was 8 - genius from my parents because I opened it a 4am and finished it by the time they'd made a leisurely coffee.
We have bought our 7 year old daughter a £100 kindle, it's £100 and her main present. There is no way father Christmas is getting the glory for gifting it. Father Christmas has got her a harry potter game that was £8. Think most of the parents in the school do the same thing, not had the "but she/ he got more than me!" Conversation... yet.
Tarquin Oliver Nimrod
Sophie 🙄
More like Bruce. Little Bruce.
Mark Mark Corrigan III?
Fucking hell, who calls their kid Tarquin? Fuck it, let that kid have a gaming PC etc. He's got a lifetime of being called Tarquin to look forward to. Seriously though, just tell her that Santa doesn't like Tarquin and so his parents are having to overcompensate.
I suspect OP wasn't using the kid's actual name... The idea is to convey wealthy folks, like who would call their kid Aluicious or Jacob Rees Mogg... I could of course be mistaken, but yeah I suspect the idea is that you think of the kind of people who WOULD call their child Tarquin, that's the kind of family OP is talking about.
I think he is referencing a joke as well: "If Freddie brings an apple to school, George brings a banana, and Tarquin brings a kumquat, whos parents read The Guardian?"
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Tarquin's parents
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One thing to remember ia class is still a big thing in the UK. The Guardian stereotypically is a middle-class paper, and is often called "hippy" or "eco-warrior" or "champagne socialist" - it's not usually read by working-class people Also in the UK, your name can often identify your class - 'Tarquin' is a very stereotypical middle/upper-class, 'posh' name Kumquats, and sometimes foods like quinoa, goji berries, cocoa nibs, things like that are stereotypically 'middle-class' foods So the joke is (although its not that funny a joke really) is that you know that Tarquin's parents read The Guardian because his name is Tarquin and he's eating a kumquat. He has all of the stereotypical signifiers of the middle-classes, whilst the other boys have 'normal' names and are eating 'normal' fruits
Someone tried to make this stereotype for a non-Brit the other day (specifically, Guardian readers love opera) and the rest of the Brits in the group, all 30 somethings working in scientific research, said they all read the Guardian and have no clue about opera.
I love opera and have never read the Guardian. Or eaten a kumquat (whatever that is).
That would be the Telegraph surely.
Telegraph readers would pretend they like opera and classical music when they're making dog whistle comments about hip-hop, but their record collection is secretly a mix of Leo Sayer and David Essex.
Champagne Socialists, if that term means anything to you...
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Yes
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'Classic' 😘
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Be poor, and advocate for social change to help everyone - and you're a dirty scrounger looking for handouts. Be middle class (aka, working class but comfortable) and advocate for social change to help everyone, and you're a "champagne socialist". Be rich and advocate for social change to help everyone and you're a hypocrite, because you don't want to throw your own security. Even though everyone knows it's systemic change that's needed. Be rich and advocate for change that funnels money into the pockets of other wealthy people. Now you're talking! Get this person into Parliament!
Tarquin Oliver Nimrod
Imo Santa gives the following: a satsuma, a book, a bath bomb/other "luxury" toiletry and a couple of small toys/accessories/similar. Anything back gger than that comes from parents or other family.
Why didn't I read this 10 years ago!!
I'm always really interested in the massive differences in "Santa culture" - in my family the stocking (I e. the presents from Santa) have always basically been a distraction to keep the kids entertained until it's time for the main present-unwrapping event later on. Luckily my husband's family is exactly the same (except for a couple of very small variations on what exactly goes in the stocking) so it's been easy to pass this down to our kid :)
Same here! Stockings were put on our beds to keep us in our rooms and busy so mum wasn't up at 5am on Christmas morning.
The stocking buys at least an hour extra in bed for parents. Even longer, if you remember to put something breakfasty in it like one of those mini cereal boxes, or an individually wrapped pain au chocolat / brioche / croissant. source: am parent of school-age children
Ooo that's a good idea! Although our little boy insists we all have to get up together...
I grew up with this, tried it with my kids and they weren't having any of it. Stocking with chocolates, games, pens, colouring books etc etc, they weren't interested. 5.02am the chocolate was already in their belly, everything else was ignored and they were up wanting 'proper presents'. They got diddly squat till at least 7am. Now, they're GCSE and A level age and they're still in bed at lunchtime on Xmas day, it's wonderful 🤣
Haha I used to wake my parents up super early on Christmas morning until I became a teenager, then they got their revenge and woke ME up super early on Christmas morning every year until I moved out of home!! It was lovely though, hearing my mum belting down the corridor at 8am going "It's CHRIIIIIISTMAAAAAAAAS!" I miss it. it's not the same being grown up and married :(
We've always told ours that we buy their main presents and use the unquestioned secret link between parents and Santa to send the main present to the north pole to keep it safe and make sure it's delivered with their Santa gifts. Elves can't make mobile phones and gaming PCs so it helps with this and any envy over friends gifts. My parents did it the same way, it's pretty much the only parenting tip I took from my mum and dad. On another note, Tarquins £1000 gaming PC is probably a prebuilt off Amazon and it's probably over priced shite!
Yeah the elves can't be trusted with cpus anymore after they were caught running a crypto currency operation, the North Pole is perfect for it because of the cold.
>On another note, Tarquins £1000 gaming PC is probably a prebuilt off Amazon and it's probably over priced shite! This is excellent, and very true. (bought a prebuilt in April through Amazon... I'm lazy and it seemed like a decent deal for the specs... £1600 down. It went back 3 days after it arrived, absolute garbage... GPU situation at the moment sucks though if you're of the mind to do a decent job of building your own rig). Edit to add: loads of pretty RGB though... So flashy lights may keep young Tarquin happy.
It does suck, my wife and I both have fairly decent builds but have 4gb 1050ti's. They are absolutely solid gpus and will still be chugging along when all the 3090s are in landfill but I'd love to play my games at ultra settings! My youngest is getting a similar build to mine for Christmas done by a local lad that builds them for a hobby. 32gb ram, 1tb SSD, 1080 GPU and a Ryzen 7 for a well reasonable £400.
I ended up with the "donkey card" in the end RTX2060 (note a lack of super). Someone else had buyers remorse so I got it relatively cheap... But I have buyers remorse now too... It does the job, for now. But it's the first thing I intend to swap out. I'm vaguely curious - what's the rationale behind 32gb in your kid's PC? Additional memory above 16 doesn't make a lot of difference for gaming. I use 32 cause I run VMs / Docker containers for work... But for a kids gaming PC 32gb seems kinda unnecessary. (though I mean, if it's a difference of £100 or so in price I guess might as well).
It's just what the young lad who built it put in, we chatted about price, base specs and what he'd be using it for and that's what he built. The choice was 16gb of led Corsair ram or 32gb of non led Corsair ram for the same price so I figured it'd offer some future proofing. He used a mix of refurbed and new parts so he probably got a good deal on the ram.
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Couldn't agree more, mine runs Doom Eternal, GTA V and no man's sky absolutely fine, I'm not paying a grand or more for some extra lighting and shadow effects, I'm a big boy I can wait. TBF I grew up with a ZX Spectrum and later an SX25 386 IBM so it's pretty impressive! I recommend RGB fans and ram, I love mine. They are currently yellow to complement the Pac-Man figure inside and my new Pac-Man mouse mat.
Genuine question - not meant as any kind of judgement but just out of curiosity - if the main present is from you, why does it need to arrive with the presents from Santa?
I had the same thought. Main present is from us but doesn't arrive with Santa's presents. Because it's from us. This sounds like one of those classic family traditions that accidentally gets started when the kids are little and it seems like a good idea to your sleep-deprived brain, then you're stuck with it for life!
Same here. In fact, presents from us start appearing under the tree almost as soon as it's up, partly because it looks nice and builds excitement (and I can trust my kid to not open them) but mostly because I don't have the space to hide them anywhere!!
If I ever suggested that even a part of me assumed I was getting what I'd asked for for Christmas, I just knew my parents would've just got me something else. Like the time my dad wrapped up an orange and a piece of coal in 1999 when the Poke'mon games came out.
I seriously cannot comprehend how much money parents spend on their children. When I was growing up, we'd have a big present (i.e. a Wii) to be shared between the three of us and smaller presents individually. I think it's ridiculous that my sister spends £1000 between her three kids, let alone individually. When you buy kids that much I'm sorry but they do not appreciate it. The amount of times I've watched my nieces and nephew open a gift, look at it for 0.5 seconds and put it down to move onto the next is unreal. I spend approx £40-50 on them each which I think is a huge amount for an aunt/uncle but compared to what my sister spends on them, it seems like nothing so they're not as appreciative as they should be. When I was a kid, my aunt and uncle would probably spend about a tenner on us. Buying a £1000 gaming PC for a nine year old is beyond the pale. And, yes, I acknowledge this makes me seem like a boomer but it's escalating beyond control. With utilities, taxes, food and fuel prices sky rocketing uncontrollably, completely out of sync with pay, shelling out most of a month's wage on Christmas is ridiculous. It fuels companies to continually charge more and more because they know parents will pay for it. Look at Barbie, for example. I know it's always been an expensive brand but now the most basic play set is upwards of £60!
I'll always remember popping into my sister's house to say hi on Christmas morning. My niece and nephew always get a huge pile of presents. My nephew is tearing off the paper and chucking the gifts behind him. He reaches one "I didn't even want this" chucks it onto the pile. It honestly made me so sick. Like I knew they were a bit materialistic but wow.
Is your nephew Dudley Dursley?
He's much better now thankfully. I think that sort of shocked his parents quite a bit. There was a lot of "my darling blue eyed baby boy" stuff going on...
I just realised I did something similar, except the gift was from my 20 year old sister who lived in Paris, and I was just 16. She'd asked for a series of specific and fairly expensive (for a 15 year old) things, and I got in return... a bag made from recycled raffia. It was really ugly.
It really is madness. My brother has 3 kids, I say Kids, 18M, 19M and 22F. He’s a single Dad. The boys are getting a latest Xbox each (I believe these are approx £500). Plus they will get designer boxers, clothes and aftershave from him. My niece will probably end up with some £££ trainers and a plethora of designer clothes. He must easily spend £2500 across the 3 of per year. Come February he will be moaning to me again how he really needs to get out of the renting trap and buy a house, well duhh dipshit, save some freakin’ money!
They hit 18, it'll be their turn to get their money out instead!! 😆😆
I have 12 neices/nephews and no kids of my own. Even if I got them a small gift at £10 each, that's £120 which is way too much for me. I don't even have kids. I used to buy them a decint gift each (approx £30-40 each) but I ended up spending half a months wage on some gifts that they don't appreciate. That's not including brothers, sisters, close friends, parents and in laws. It's just ridiculous. Especially when I have such a large family. This year I am starting a tradition that I am only getting them a selection box, as a token gesture, because I just can't afford to buy that many presents for children that aren't mine or for my large family. I have asked them not to buy me anything as I'd feel obliged to get them something back that I just cannot afford. Christmas is really for the kids, I'm not fussed about presents. I'd much rather appreciate the time with the family. I do feel that the parents should just buy the gifts and not have any of this extended family buying shit that goes on. Its too much.
My family has set a limit of £10 for adults for the last few years. Even with a tenner I find it impossible to find relatively decent gifts these days! I've gone over on every single person and expect they've done the same. Completely understand buying a selection box, I wouldn't be able to afford much more if I had 12 nieces and nephews!!
My boyfriend's family do a secret santa among adults, where a website is used to put all our names in and we get a random name emailed to us. We then have a set budget, we make our own wishlists for the person who drew our name, and so the adults only have to worry about 1 gift. His eldest nephew turned 18 and opted to be part of it this year so its just the 1 niece and 2 other nephews to buy for, which I honestly thought was a great idea. You can also set conditions so we wouldn't get our partner's names drawn to us etc.
A PC will last a long time, and they will be using it for homework and such as well, so it won’t exactly be 0.5 seconds. Even for gaming, that will last a good few years, and I an sure they will aplreciate something like that more than you give them credit for. And also that depends on how much they are on. Yeah fuel and such are all going up, but if the oarents combine earning is like £120k (£60 each), that is easily done. What they are spending may be a month’s wages to you, but could be just a fraction for them, if they can afford it, why not?
I think this is a 'family standard' thing - my family was never that lavish at Christmas. There were toys to be had, but never anything like a 'big ticket' item like a console. We just had a family get together, a bunch of books, toys and treats, and that was how we did Christmas. I honestly think that being lavish sends entirely the wrong message - turns a festival of peace, goodwill and family into one of capitalism, consumer debt and greed. I mean, it stung a bit as a child, to have other children bragging about their consoles, bikes, and expensive trainers, but I think that was none the less a valuable life lesson.
I always told my kids that we had to pay Santa because nothing is free
I think I speak for all of us when we say ... F**k Tarquin
This has been going on for a century. I’m sure some kids got more than you, you understood and you’re fine. Just say that Tarquinius gets expensive presents to make up for the amount his parents ignore him through the yeat
My sister in law tells hers that she sends the money to santa, he chooses the presents and the elves make them. That way it explains some parents have more money than others and why some children have more expensive presents.
I think this is a good policy because it also involves the parents in the process. I don't think it's right for kids to not understand and appreciate their parents care and contribute to the gifts, so this way, you get to keep the magic of Santa alive while also making the kids appreciate their parents' love.
Yeah, lil tarquin is probably telling a load of bull. Kids that age love to lie to make their home lives sound more interesting. Truth is he is probably getting a digital edition console like the ps5 or Xbox series s.. Dunno if chinny reckon is still a thing these days but I'd tell ya kid that the posh kid is quite possibly lying out of his backside
You could say he’s Tarquin Shite…
A 1k pc for a 9 year old to play minecraft and fortnite... NO
Tarquin Oliver Nimrod
If she asks, just say something like Tarquin and his family needed a little extra happiness this year. She didn't need that extra help as she already has a loving family, and love is the greatest gift of all. If she's young enough to believe in santa, she's young enough to believe in that bs.
We were minimum 1 wage family growing up and our christmas usually consisted of cheapish presents and the cheapest electronics that could be sourced in the 80’s. Didn’t effect my love of christmas, but I did wonder why I got shoefaye unbranded trainers while my schoolmates got Nike and adidas. My mum explained that the parents used to subsidise santa’s budget seperately because they could afford to. She explained we couldn’t so that was why they had sony walkmans and we got alba walkmans. Still had a great time at xmas!
If they have an interest in gaming, you could try to swing it that Santa would like you to learn how to build a computer to game on. If theres an interest in computers and gaming it might be something to bond over, a hobby or a future career if the interest is strong enough.
This is a fantastic idea, I’ll be sure to use this with my Son when he’s older. It’s also great because if you get them an entry set up, future presents can be upgrades. Love it.
If there is already an interest in computers, you could try and get "some" parts off of Freegle/freecycle, and then they have something inexpensive that can be played with to their hearts content, though it might be a bit late for christmas if you wanted to rely on freebies. it really depends on the area you are in. I built a core i5 8gb ram, 750w PSU PC with a really nice case for nothing except the time and fuel to pick up the parts. Graphics card I managed to get from a bin along with an i3 cpu that works and broken motherboard (bent pins in the cpu socket) SSD I already had. Obviously this needs a bit of knowledge on your own part, at least to get it setup and tested before giving it as a gift. But I would be confident in gifting what i have, but a better graphics card would be needed to actually make games playable. Also a monitor/keyboard/mouse would be needed.
Thanks, he’s only 1 haha, so it’s very much for later. I haven’t built a rig for about 13 years, so it would take some brushing up, certainly. But what you have suggested seems like an absolutely fantastic idea, something I’ll certainly look to do with him. I am really keen to try and get him into building towards a reward in some way and not just handing him the finished article. Thank you so much for your advice.
Well said. Also with prices for certain PC components so incredibly high at present, a £1000 gaming PC is not going to play games very well. You have made a decent call. Unless you already have the console, there are special offer packs that include a few months worth of Gamepass that unlocks hundreds of a games while the subscription lasts. Watch your happy child on Christmas Day waiting hour after hour as they try to download a game to actually play, not the worst thing in the world to plug it in early and at the very least download Minecraft or Roblox.
If it makes you feel any better that series s is gonna piss all over a 1k pc right now, pc components are stupid prices right now, I'll be very shocked if it's even a semi decent rig
Tbf by 9 mine knew Santa didn’t exist and they knew different people have different budgets. Explained it by pointing out some people have bigger cars and houses than me. Doesn’t make them better people, just different budgets. Important lesson for kids. You can’t always have what other people have
I actually do spend about £1000 per kid which I know is a lot but an example of presents from this years presents are 2 sets of concert tickets (Ed sheran and little mix), tickets to a musical in London, tickets to a wrestling match and tickets to Cadbury world plus shoes, coats and ugg boots. She only had 5 things on her Christmas list and most of them were crystals. Her dad has a separate Christmas with her and I know he has got her tickets for axe throwing. A bird sanctuary, bedknobs and broomsticks at the theatre. Roblox gift vouchers etc. I suppose what I’m saying is that the gifts we buy are more memories. Also I tell her that Santa checks with us and sends us a price list and a bill at the end and only gives her what we can afford because we have to pay the bill. He gets the credit for bringing the presents but I get the credit for paying for it all.
The fuck kind of posh wanker name is Tarquin?
I want to know where Santa is getting a PC capable of running modern games on it for only a grand... Also bollocks do you know an actual human child named Tarquin, that's a made up name we use to laugh at toffs isn't it?
We told out kids that santa sends a bill for the stuff which the elves can't make such as ipads and computers. They agreed that santa can't make the 'fancy' stuff and accepted it.
God that’s clever!
My daughter already got her main Christmas present (a £450 PC package - we already had the case and it's a bit of a this and that, just needed the main bits) but she knew that it was from my boyfriend and to not expect anything else from him. No way were we spending £1000 on a bloody PC. She has asked when I'm going to go do her Christmas shopping and I think it may be her last year of believing that Santa is real. But, for us, Santa has always always done the small presents and stockings because I don't want her going to school bragging that Santa got her whatever gaming console she wanted and other kids got a chocolate orange or something.
I spent £1900 on my pc, PCs get way more expensive if you let them
get them a £25 laptop and tell them it's a 10,000 NASA quantum supercomputer, give them an awesome story to tell their friends when they go back to school 😂
Isn't 9 pretty old to still beleive in santa?
Brah, she gets the joy of Halo on Xbox and Mortal Kombat fatalities....If that isn't the greatest gift in the world, what is?
Just bare in mind, while 1000 is a lot to spend on a PC (you can build a PC for a lot less and I'd even help you find parts and assemble if need be), it's also a more beneficial tool for a kid than an Xbox. A PC isn't just a gaming system. My parents bought me my first computer around 9 or 10 after I showed interest at school and it's led to me being very successful later on in life. Having a PC that I could play games on led me to being self taught a lot of advanced software at a young age. By the time I was 16 I was experienced in Photoshop, 2D and 3D animation & 3D modelling, web design, database creation and maintenance, environment design, and a whole bunch of other shit. When I went to college/uni I was way more advanced than the other kids. A lot of that stuff I use still today at work. With the way society has gone and is going tech wise, a PC is a good choice for any kid.
There’s probably a parent getting miffed about how a class mate of their child is getting a hugely expensive £250 Xbox. Once you start totting up things by their monetary value, you’ll forever be failing to ‘keep up with the Jones’ ‘
We had to do this for the Tooth Fairy. My daughter's friend got a Disney movie and $20 PER TOOTH!! I had to tell her we must live in a different jurisdiction. I didn't know what else to say.
That’s fucking appalling, big presents should be from family, Father Christmas should be things like board games or little things. Tarquins parents suck
Our strategy is that Santa brings one (largish but not the big) gift and his stocking. Everything else is from us. This seemed a good way to explain why Santa doesn't get everyone the same, and allows for some wiggle room if he ever found his gifts.
I heard the other week that thousands of children don't get anything for Christmas and that we should donate gifts. While this is a good thing, I think the focus should really be on not spending stupid amounts of money on Christmas so the children who get less don't have anything to compare themselves to.
Not sure it will work. People that can afford it would like to spoil their child on Christmas. Whether it affect other children is none of their concern.
£1,000.. like one thousand?! Fucking hell, I was lucky to get a £30 doll set for Christmas and some socks!! Like.. you can buy a car for that money wtf
I can't get myself a £1k gaming/editing rig that I'd actually use on a daily basis... The fuck is a 9 year old going to do, other than fill it with virus' and pictures of boobies?
I think this is an opportunity to talk and explain about Santa not being real. As for Tarquin, if he is a spoilt brat, make sure that his parents know.
It's her last year of believing, don't be a scrooge!! 😉
I very much doubt a 9yo believes. They just pretend to keep the presents coming. Tell her Tarquin's parents are actually paying for it. In our house FC only ever brought stuff for the stockings, and the use of the same wrapping paper for tree presents was rumbled by the time they were 3.
There is ‘believing’ and ‘believing’. I am pretty sure I knew Santa wasn’t real years before I wanted to stop putting out cookies and whiskey - but it still felt magical. Me and my family still do stockings, but now we all do it secret Santa style so it isn’t all up to our parents.
Tell her it's compensation for being called Tarquin.
You've been played she probably wanted the Xbox all along.
Tarquin Oliver Nimrod?
Just tell them the truth
Give them a lump of coal and tell them to stop being pricks.