www.iva.co.uk

Hi there

I guess I am not the only one heading towards my first IVA christmas.

I want to spend carefully and wonder if anyone has got any goos tips for sensible presant this christmas?

Everyone I talk to seems to be getting their children a WII, but to be honest, we have a playstation 2 and they dont use it much, so I cant see the sense in that, plus cant afford one anyway!

What are you doing / buying for your children?

I cant wait to put up my deco's though! I'm going to do it on the 30th of November!!

flowerpot.x

playstations are much different to the wii and im sure they will be kept busy all day with the WII, ive played on a wii myself, hours of fun,there is loads of games aimed at their age range 2, just make sure you get 2 remotes, save the arguments on xmas day. I will be doing all my shopping online to save costs as i usually find that all electronic equipment i can get for like 10% less online.

E-bay is a fantastic source of cheap items - I use it regularly and have had some fantastic bargains.

I have got lots of bargins off ebay this year and it has not cost me a penny !!!! cause I have sold stuff to pay for it..
I use ebay all the time and get many new items less than half price.

My 7 yr old girl is mad about anything Bratz, but is also a bit of a tomboy at the same time. Work that one out, I know I can't!

There are definitely bargains to be had on E Bay and my 9 yr old lad is currently bidding on a Bumblebee Transformer (no, I don't know what one is either) I think the bid stands at £23 or so and they are £80 in the shops.

I'm sure you can also get PC and PS2 games on there quite cheaply so some new games that they haven't got might be a good idea as well.

Regards.

Last christmas my girls were 8 & 6 (although the youngest went 7 on Boxing Day) I bought them brand new Mamas & Papas dolls prams on Ebay for a fraction of the price I'd seen them anywhere else. They had dolls from a couple of years previous that they hadn't played with for a while so I just asked some of the family to buy them dolls clothes and accessories.

We are buying a WII this year as a family gift because I think we will all have a lot of fun with it.

Dee

I really, really want a WII, it looks like so much fun. I did a bit of boxing on my nephews, only managed one match, afterwards I was knackered!

Hmm, yeap ebay sounds like a good idea.

I still get the impression the WII is most popular, but my girls havnet mentioned it once. I'm currently wondering if its the adults who secretly love these consoles!!

We have lots of Bratz stuff already which the 8 year old loves. I did buy a few dolls for the youngest one, but she still loves her dolls and we have so much of that stuff.

I was wondering about Sylvanian Families for the little one??

Trouble is, they have so much already, and I'm dreading them being disapointed on the big day if there isnt much, however I am strict about them not having stuff midyear.

Oh well, I'm sure I'll get it sorted.
Thank-you for your ideas
xx

hiya
do they still believe in santa?
why not get them to make a list of what they would like and explain that santa will get a few of those presents as there are lots of othere girls and boys who need presents too ,
then maybe check ebay, argos and woolworths ( i saved over £80 in discounts last year and spent £70 ) they re showing a lot of discounts on toys etc check the clearance section always good for bargains also have a look at discount bookstores as they normally do decent offers and ifthey are into art and craft maybe make up a big box of arty stuff i
we have a wii we went halfs with son for his birthday topping up his birthday money and it is fun and all the family can join unlike other consoles its pretty easy to play(but can be tiring) and you can design your own mii a little character that plays your part in games
my eldest wants money which i have saved and my little man is too young to understand so getting a few educational toys checking clearance etc and offers and stricking when on offer
hope that helps a bit
elldina

Hi there, with fear of sounding boring....my 5 year old grandaughter loves it when I buy her activite sets. She has all the latest mod things from her mum, but when she's over my house its glitter, glue and colouring! She loves it - last year we bought her (amongst other things) a pot plant which she could decorate herself. She still loves the plant and waters it without fail because its hers [:)]

She also loves connect 4, another simple game but it helps with colours and co-ordination. Only problem is she wins every game [:D]

xx

eBay sellers can and do push up the price of hard to find 'must haves' - the Wii regularly fetches waaaaay more on eBay than its RRP.

Also be VERY VERY careful to read the descriptions carefully. Too mnay people have ended up buying a picture or an empty box.

eBay can be great, just be very careful and don't get carried away.

I have bought my 10 year old a Wii this year.
I have loads of transformers that i want to put on ebay as little boy never touches them. He even has a big spiderman sapien and a robo raptor that he never touches so they may have to go on ebay too.