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Points Mean Prizes
Is it just me, or are people spending more and more on their loved ones at Christmastime?
I realise that I am not wise in the ways of Inflation and such arcane accounting devices, but when I was young I was told that I could not expect such things as an Amiga Computer or Mega Drive to arrive under the tree; I would have to save my own monies (something I never quite managed to do for the Amiga, in fact, though I did acquire a Mega Drive from somewhere at some point). And, further, had I been wealthy enough to purchase a TV of my own, I would most certainly not have been allowed to keep it in my room until I became a legal adult. Maybe my mum was overly harsh, but it seems insane to me that nowadays people who are substantially less well-off than we were not only buy their children TVs and X-Box 360s but do it specifically to place in their room so they can stay the hell out of the way. Parents peer in the window of Dixons and pick iPods for their children based not on budget or product spec but rather on which case is most suited to their modern lifestyle. And you can bet those won't be their only present, either. People actually get themselves heavily into debt for these extravagant gestures and to my mind it does the child more harm than good, distorting their perceptions of value and money and encouraging the acquisition culture.
I have similar opinions on the subject of gifts for partners, though it is less Kids Today, They Do Not Know They Are Born and more of a sort of faint surprise. I see people stretching their pockets as far as they will go - and further - to buy flashy gadgetry for their other halves, to shower them with stuffed animals and trinkets, and I am bemused. I just don't get it. I am constantly reminded of the friend who, out of some deep-seated urge to demonstrate his love through cash money, spent a fortune on a Christmas scanner, only to find his beloved vastly more entertained by a small wooden turtle and a plastic squid.
Perhaps that makes me a bad partner. Potential suitors beware! I will not buy you the world.
I realise that I am not wise in the ways of Inflation and such arcane accounting devices, but when I was young I was told that I could not expect such things as an Amiga Computer or Mega Drive to arrive under the tree; I would have to save my own monies (something I never quite managed to do for the Amiga, in fact, though I did acquire a Mega Drive from somewhere at some point). And, further, had I been wealthy enough to purchase a TV of my own, I would most certainly not have been allowed to keep it in my room until I became a legal adult. Maybe my mum was overly harsh, but it seems insane to me that nowadays people who are substantially less well-off than we were not only buy their children TVs and X-Box 360s but do it specifically to place in their room so they can stay the hell out of the way. Parents peer in the window of Dixons and pick iPods for their children based not on budget or product spec but rather on which case is most suited to their modern lifestyle. And you can bet those won't be their only present, either. People actually get themselves heavily into debt for these extravagant gestures and to my mind it does the child more harm than good, distorting their perceptions of value and money and encouraging the acquisition culture.
I have similar opinions on the subject of gifts for partners, though it is less Kids Today, They Do Not Know They Are Born and more of a sort of faint surprise. I see people stretching their pockets as far as they will go - and further - to buy flashy gadgetry for their other halves, to shower them with stuffed animals and trinkets, and I am bemused. I just don't get it. I am constantly reminded of the friend who, out of some deep-seated urge to demonstrate his love through cash money, spent a fortune on a Christmas scanner, only to find his beloved vastly more entertained by a small wooden turtle and a plastic squid.
Perhaps that makes me a bad partner. Potential suitors beware! I will not buy you the world.
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The plastic Squid is probably still around somewhere as well, although I forgot to unpack him and place him on top of the monitor when I moved into my new house. Clearly after several years, the squid's universal appeal must be waning :)
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The biggest present I ever got when I was a kid was my train set. Somehow my parents managed to hide the base board (which was about the size of a single bed and which my dad had painted and laid with track himself. I had the baseboard still until we sold my childhood home - by which point we were on the second set of track (it rusts over time, and like REAL train tracks must be replaced during extended engineering works)). I still have all the other parts, albeit, due to current space restrictions it's in a box in my dad's loft - but it will be found a space in my house in the future. It is the BEST Christmas present I ever got, it was probably the most expensive (I dread to think of the cost of the engines alone), and I have now had it, roughly, 26 years. Show me a kid today who'll still have their xBox in 26 years time. Anyway, it was made clear that this was a BIG, BIG thing, and I was really overjoyed by it.
I had our old black and white TV in my bedroom from when I was about 13-ish. There were restrictions on when I could use it, which, bless me, I kept to until I was about 16! The first PC I owned was one Sam got for me out of a skip at his work. I still have it - but I think it's dead :(
I ummed and ahhed for ages over getting a PS2. I refuse to upgrade to a slimline just cos 'it's newer'. I refuse to spend a mortgage payment on a PS3 just cos it's the latest thing. I still have the video player I bought when 18 in a box upstairs in my bedroom. It is in it's original polystyrene stuff and box, which I have kept for safekeeping (and cos of the house moves, oh so many house moves - much easier with regular shaped boxes).
Paul has, after much cajoling, bought me next term in my flower arranging for Christmas. I have been very much skint recently, I really want to do it, and I really don't need more Stuff (TM). He's also insisting on getting me 'stuff to open', even though the flower course itself is over our prescribed budget.
So yeah, consumerism has gone rampant, and I'm considered odd for keeping onto stuff that still works, rather than replacing it with newer, shinier versions that cost more, just because they ARE newer. Apparently, there's something wrong with ME!
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Aren't they cheaper?
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This year the family have decided on a non-consumerist charity Christmas so all I need to do is think of the right card :-). I'll still be getting Fliss presents but they will be things she wants rather than demonstrating the size of my love with my wallet. Fliss has had to keep reminding me not to buy anything over the last few months because I'm still following the "If I want it enough, I'll buy it" mentality (although generally I'll buy my present to myself after Christmas during the sales :-).
Should I get to the point I have kids I shall be ensuring they get down the pits/get paper rounds/get summer jobs if they want any particular bling once of reasonable age. I'm pretty sure most of the people that get into massive credit card debt in their twenties do so because they don't appreciate money and how long it takes to earn it.
So in summary I think you'll find it is: "Kids Today, They Do Not Know They Are Born"
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The current top of the range iPod Touch is £269 from the Apple store (and would be a heck of a lot cheaper if you bought in in the US in dollars) and the basic is £199.
Money just isn't worth what it was...
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Probably why i get fuck all for christmas and birthdays :P
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But those same adults will scream in rage if I try that stuff on my neice. She's gonna get something garish, not-even-slightly educational, and costing £20 at this rate.
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And that says it all about my family, really.
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Personally, I don't think you can go far wrong with a voucher or a bit of cash in an envelope. It solves so many problems of deciding what to get someone...
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I don't know what we're getting each other - something v token as I'm about to mostly start living off of Rich's income anyway so what's the point in buying stuff?
BTW Andy, if you want our PS2 on extended loan (it's currently in the loft) with some games you can probably borrow it. I'll check with Rich first as he may want to play on it over Xmas but I don't think he's bothered and we mostly play on the Wii.
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I've budgeted on 50-100 for 'close' family members (e.g. mum, dad, sister) but mostly, no one's going to be seeing playstations in their stockings from this corner.
But that is, in part, because I'm increasingly realising that stuff like playstations and TVs are perhaps the worst thing to happen to 'society' as a whole, in the last hundred years.
And I say this as a hardcore MMO addict. If I have kids, I will be giving serious thought to not having a TV, and not having a game console, and possibly not even having a computer.
*shrug*. So it goes. Marketing tells you that you must buy more stuff.
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I did get an Amiga computer.
But it was a combined birthday and christmas present. And arrived in June. And was also used by my parents till it became clear they hadn't a clue how to use it. And came from one of their 'contacts', so probably came at wholesale price.
But that's the way of things with my parents. In some ways they ruined me from a consumer soceity point of view. Every single purchase has to be justified, and once done so is bought regardless of price.
Makes me awful to buy for - if I want it I've got it. There's plenty of things I in theory could do with, but they're not neccessary hence I don't want them.
Also makes it damn difficult to buy for other people 'why on earth would they want that?'. I just default to 'if you want something, tell me what it is. Otherwise you'll get something between nowt and a box of chocolates/biscuits'. Though I default to books nowadays.
Despite this, my parents or at least my mother, are quite big on the whole 'Xmas is a family time. You should be showing you care'. Fine, I mail them an orange in a sock.
This Friday is slated for my 'get your family some tat' day. With luck I can be in and out within an hour, and the whole wretched procedure is put behind me for another year.
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My nephews are still less than 2, so they get clothes for the year ahead. When they are bigger they will get books. They get enough toys and I refuse to buy them more. In fact they get that many it makes me mad. Half hardly get played with, anything they really would use (like play tunnels) gets bought extra and the house is too cluttered. I plan to have a 'never buy my children toys rule' when I have them. Peeps can put money in a trust fund style account and toys, when needed, will be brought from that.
My half siblings get nowt, well maybe a box of chocolates or biscuits just to be polite. My father has a nice job and easily can provide all the things my Mum had to struggle to provide.
Young cousins (cos I'm god mother) and One or two close friends get a token present. Everyone else is lucky if they get a christmas card.
I don't know where people get the money to be so lavish. So many people say things like 'oh my Mum gave me £100/£200 for christmas). I'd refuse to take that from my Mum cos I know that it would be nearly a grand for all of us.
One of my best christmas's was when my Mum was on her own. She worked her arse off; sewing, knitting, baking, cooking and cleaning for other people just to save up enough money. She bought us each 1 big present and put them out all in the dinning room. I got a dolly in a pram. She said that was all santa had brought us and apparently I said that was ok I was happy with what I had (which made my Mum cry). We then went into the living room to 4 big piles of presents. I'll always remember it cos I know how hard my Mum worked to ensure we had what she thought was good christmas. She felt guilty that she couldn't afford all the flash stuff.
We never have had really huge presents. We always had a lot of small presents because so many people used to give my Mum a little something for each of us. Me and my siblings would much rather have a slap up meal with each other than presents.
I also recall when we got a megadrive. One of my step-uncles decided to treat us and bought one. We all thought he was extravigant, flash and fab even [if he couldn't speak English we knew enough spanish to say thank you- alot. :)]
I think it's more Kids don't appreicate the value of things rather than not knowing they are born.
There are many things that I never asked for growing up cos I knew my Mum would try to provide it and kill her self working in the process or get upset cos she had to say no.
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