Child wants gift with terrible reviews

[konapoppy]

One of my kids wants the Elsa head from target that you can style the hair on. The reviews are all terrible - the hair is impossible to style, a tangled mess etc.

I feel like I have to get it or we will never hear the end of it. But it sucks to buy something that won’t work well.

Ideas?

[meowmaps]

Thanks for the warning! I was thinking of getting that for my 5 year old.

Does your child specifically want to style hair or are they a big fan of Frozen/Elsa? DD1 loves Frozen and Elsa so I’ve gotten her several Frozen-themed gifts like a Lego storybook, lip smackers, and a pair of light up wands that she can share with her sister. Maybe you could get an Elsa Barbie that they can brush/style on a small scale?

[nicolewi]

With that kind of gift, I would just get it. Or maybe see if there's an alternate and show her and say, "hey, what about this one? The hair on the Elsa you wanted gets tangled really easily. I don't know if you'll like it". But if she insisted on the Elsa, I'd probably just get it.

[lemoncupcake]

Within reason I get my kids things like that if they ask for it specifically, including the Elsa head that she asked Santa for last year. She didn’t play with it for long (maybe 3-4 months) and then we passed it on through our neighborhood Buy Nothing group. It wasn’t great quality but met the purpose that it was intended for.

[noodleoo]

Just get it! I made this mistake last year and bought my kids “better” versions of the things they wanted and it was a huge fail. That’s a pretty cheap gift so I’d just buy it.

[jobae1234]

I’d make one attempt to dissuade her. Like “oh no! I was looking up the gift you wanted, and everyone says it’s actually no fun because the hair gets crazy tangled. Maybe we should find something else for your list?” 50% chance my DD could be talked out of it, but if she said she wanted it anyway I’d completely course correct and say “I’m sure you’re right, I bet it’s awesome anyway!”

[tacokick]

Santa wrote me a note one year that the talking doll I wanted was poor quality and not worthy of being a present.

It worked! I was flattered he took the time to write me a note. lol

[ohgillian]

I can’t remember how old your girls are, but I just tend to tell my children the reviews are terrible, but in an appropriate an age-appropriate way. I feel like yours have to be at least 5? Every kid is different, but mine understood the concept by then.

[konapoppy]

Nov 25, 2023 11:59:11 GMT -5 tacokick said:

Santa wrote me a note one year that the talking doll I wanted was poor quality and not worthy of being a present.

It worked! I was flattered he took the time to write me a note. lol

This is so cute!

[konapoppy]

Nov 25, 2023 12:22:04 GMT -5 ohgillian said:

I can’t remember how old your girls are, but I just tend to tell my children the reviews are terrible, but in an appropriate an age-appropriate way. I feel like yours have to be at least 5? Every kid is different, but mine understood the concept by then.

They are 6! I will tell her and see what she says. We got the wrong baby double stroller for her birthday so we have to replace that for Christmas/Chanukah 😬

[ohgillian]

Nov 25, 2023 12:50:15 GMT -5 konapoppy said:

Nov 25, 2023 12:22:04 GMT -5 ohgillian said:

I can’t remember how old your girls are, but I just tend to tell my children the reviews are terrible, but in an appropriate an age-appropriate way. I feel like yours have to be at least 5? Every kid is different, but mine understood the concept by then.

They are 6! I will tell her and see what she says. We got the wrong baby double stroller for her birthday so we have to replace that for Christmas/Chanukah 😬

Good luck. I would just tell them, “A lot of kids who have already gotten this toy say that it breaks and it’s not any fun because XYZ problems.”

[expectantsteelerfan]

It depends for me on how bad the reviews are and how expensive the thing is. I've flat out told my kids no on things because they are complete junk and told them that. Other things I've been honest about the chance of it being junk and let them decide if they still want it or not or tried to find alternatives.

DD had the Barbie styling head thing when she was younger (not something she asked for, it was a surprise gift from a relative). It was never played with a ton and was kinda creepy looking, but I would say if she really wants it, I can't see it being SO bad that it would ruin Christmas or anything. I mean it wasn't like the hair fell out as soon as you touched it or anything, so as long as you aren't trying to style it with hot tools or do professional stuff with it, I imagine your dd will still enjoy it for a bit.

[polarbearfans]

We have it… it was like $10 on sale when I got it. My daughter is rough on doll hair when we got it, so it was fine. She enjoyed playing with it, and styling it. I felt I got my moneys worth. I doubt even a better quality would have held her attention better. It has held up well enough. Yes, it is a bit tangled, but she isn’t in beauty school. She plays with it from time to time. Sometimes I will say something is too much money for the poor quality the reviews indicate, and that Santa won’t give her a stinker of a gift either so to not bother asking Santa. Some items seem cool in ads, but in reality are not. If it isn’t much I would just get the styling head. It is fun to play with.

[ellipses84]

If my kid asks Santa for something I get it for them even if it’s ridiculous, but I try to steer their choices a little with convo ahead of time (like don’t ask for the impossible to get toy of the year unless I already secretly bought it). An awesome Santa once told them cell phones have to be approved by parents because they have a monthly fee and that’s morphed into Santa needs parents approval for any electronics. For gifts from us, their list is usually long and I try to get a combo of things they want, things that are useful and things that are a good deal (like a board game may not be #1 on their list but they want it, the family would have fun playing and there’s a good sale on it). Something ridiculous for $30 or less they really want I’d probably get but $50+ I might not.

[dochas]

If it's under $100 and doesn't spontaneously combust, just get it.

[momin2013]

For an inexpensive item like that I’d just get it. Imagine how many toys we had growing up that we loved that probably would have gotten bad reviews (had reviews been a thing in those days).

[sandandsea]

We buy ds2 crappy gifts all the time and he loves them because he wanted them and he plays with them and all is well in his world. Reviews don’t matter at his age. I can’t wait until he’s out of the toy stage for soooo many reasons.

[konapoppy]

Thanks, all. I told her yesterday it had not great reviews but she still wants it. So she will get it!

[madringal]

Nov 25, 2023 11:59:11 GMT -5 tacokick said:

Santa wrote me a note one year that the talking doll I wanted was poor quality and not worthy of being a present.

It worked! I was flattered he took the time to write me a note. lol

Lol, shoddy craftmaship from the elves? Santa threw them right under the bus!

[tacokick]

Nov 28, 2023 11:22:54 GMT -5 madringal said:

Nov 25, 2023 11:59:11 GMT -5 tacokick said:

Santa wrote me a note one year that the talking doll I wanted was poor quality and not worthy of being a present.

It worked! I was flattered he took the time to write me a note. lol

Lol, shoddy craftmaship from the elves? Santa threw them right under the bus!

I know, right!? I remember thinking that Santa had some high standards! I pictured them all being tossed in the garbage so no one had to get a bad present.

[madringal]

Nov 26, 2023 13:43:18 GMT -5 sandandsea said:

We buy ds2 crappy gifts all the time and he loves them because he wanted them and he plays with them and all is well in his world. Reviews don’t matter at his age. I can’t wait until he’s out of the toy stage for soooo many reasons.

I love not having tons of toys anymore (my girls are 15, 12, 8) but man, it's like what do you even get them? We are overrun on arts/craft supplies, clothes, and hair accessories. We have phones and ipads, and ear buds. Books get passed down from sister to sister as the evolve as readers. We have been getting Legos as gifts for the last 8 years, we need NO MORE. The older two share things like purses, jewelry, nail polish. My kids don't seem to care about trendy sneakers or anything Lululemon. Their lists are very small and pitiful.  The oldest did ask for a nice perfume set, so that was a fun purchase.

Did I mention they have winter birthdays? Nov. 28, Jan. 5, and March 23.

I kind of miss just stocking on up Barbies and American Girl and calling it a day!

[abs]

Nov 28, 2023 12:24:35 GMT -5 madringal said:

Nov 26, 2023 13:43:18 GMT -5 sandandsea said:

We buy ds2 crappy gifts all the time and he loves them because he wanted them and he plays with them and all is well in his world. Reviews don’t matter at his age. I can’t wait until he’s out of the toy stage for soooo many reasons.

I love not having tons of toys anymore (my girls are 15, 12, 8) but man, it's like what do you even get them? We are overrun on arts/craft supplies, clothes, and hair accessories. We have phones and ipads, and ear buds. Books get passed down from sister to sister as the evolve as readers. We have been getting Legos as gifts for the last 8 years, we need NO MORE. The older two share things like purses, jewelry, nail polish. My kids don't seem to care about trendy sneakers or anything Lululemon. Their lists are very small and pitiful.  The oldest did ask for a nice perfume set, so that was a fun purchase.

Did I mention they have winter birthdays? Nov. 28, Jan. 5, and March 23.

I kind of miss just stocking on up Barbies and American Girl and calling it a day!

So much this. 99% of the time I’m happy that my house is pretty much toy free but it kind of sucks on Christmas! Christmas with teens that don’t want anything is honestly kind of boring.

[sandandsea]

Nov 28, 2023 18:30:26 GMT -5 abs said:

Nov 28, 2023 12:24:35 GMT -5 madringal said:

I love not having tons of toys anymore (my girls are 15, 12, 8) but man, it's like what do you even get them? We are overrun on arts/craft supplies, clothes, and hair accessories. We have phones and ipads, and ear buds. Books get passed down from sister to sister as the evolve as readers. We have been getting Legos as gifts for the last 8 years, we need NO MORE. The older two share things like purses, jewelry, nail polish. My kids don't seem to care about trendy sneakers or anything Lululemon. Their lists are very small and pitiful.  The oldest did ask for a nice perfume set, so that was a fun purchase.

Did I mention they have winter birthdays? Nov. 28, Jan. 5, and March 23.

I kind of miss just stocking on up Barbies and American Girl and calling it a day!

So much this. 99% of the time I’m happy that my house is pretty much toy free but it kind of sucks on Christmas! Christmas with teens that don’t want anything is honestly kind of boring.

Totally. My almost 12 yo is impossible to buy for as he also has a late December birthday. He’s into a few hobbies that require equipment updates (technology and bigger sizes) so that’s where most of our ideas come from for him.

[meanie]

Depends on how old your kid is, I have told my kids in the past when there was an issue with what they wanted - overpriced, junky, bad reviews, etc.

If they are really little I might just suck it up and buy it for the wow factor and know it will end up in the donation bin eventually.