Only me Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 Every year we pick 3 names to buy gifts for from the Angel Tree ministry through my husband's company. In past years the kids have requested things like gift cards, sweatshirts, games, CDs, etc. We usually spend about $25-$30 per kid. This year we have a problem. One of the kids is requesting an MP3 player and another one is requesting a keyboard. Neither of these children are young kids (13 and 12) so I know that they want the real thing. I don't think we can find either item for less then $50. I don't want to disappoint either of them but we just can't afford to buy the present on their list. Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikeBookBread Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 Do you buy for the same kids every year? Is there any way you can swap names with someone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Only me Posted December 4, 2009 Author Share Posted December 4, 2009 Every year there are a bunch of tags on a tree and my husband just looks for 3 kids with similar ages to my kids. I think it would be awkward for my husband to ask someone to switch. I wish he had looked at the gift request more closely before he picked the names. I don't mean to sound stingy but we also give to other charities this time of year and we just can't spend $50 a kid on this. I think it surprised us because every other year they have requested much smaller items. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in Austin Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 We've purchased MP3 players for $20 before. Try a big box store. (Ours even came with credit for free book.music downloads.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renee in NC Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 Every year there are a bunch of tags on a tree and my husband just looks for 3 kids with similar ages to my kids. I think it would be awkward for my husband to ask someone to switch. I wish he had looked at the gift request more closely before he picked the names. I don't mean to sound stingy but we also give to other charities this time of year and we just can't spend $50 a kid on this. I think it surprised us because every other year they have requested much smaller items. There are several MP3 players on Walmart.com that are less than $30.00. I searched for "mp3 player" then clicked "All MP3 players" then sorted by lowest to highest price. I found this at ToysRUs.com: http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2400525 You can probably find these things in the stores themselves as well. Hope that Helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlebug42 Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 We got my daughter MP3 players for their birthdays at Toys R Us for $20.00. They do have them available for less than $50. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuntieM Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 Two suggestions... First, do you know of another family or two that you would feel comfortable asking to participate and share in the cost? I know that might be tricky, but a thought. Second, sounds like you got great ideas for the MP3 player. Would it be possible to find a nice used keyboard for sale and make sure it's in tip-top shape to give? Someone in you church or homeschool community may have one around the house that they no longer use. Instruction manuals can often be found online and downloaded/printed. I know that one typically doesn't give used items in a gift program like this, but for such an expensive item... maybe the Angel Tree coordinator could give you some advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Only me Posted December 4, 2009 Author Share Posted December 4, 2009 Thanks. I guess I was looking in the wrong place. Most of the MP3 players I saw were $50+ but these are quite reasonable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommaduck Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 Sears had MP3 players for $10 recently. At Walmart they range from $30-$40 on the low end (Phillips is nice for $40...it does photos, video shorts, and audio). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 Here's a keyboard (not a toy) for $50: http://www.amazon.com/Casio-SA-75-Keyboard-Headset-Microphone/dp/B0002S079E I only looked around for a moment -- I'm sure you can find others... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bunnytracks Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 I agree with all of the above. I got my son a 4GB MP3 with video capabilities for under 20.00. I also got a keyboard with stand and instruction video for 50.00. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mekanamom Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 Every year there are a bunch of tags on a tree and my husband just looks for 3 kids with similar ages to my kids. I think it would be awkward for my husband to ask someone to switch. I wish he had looked at the gift request more closely before he picked the names. I don't mean to sound stingy but we also give to other charities this time of year and we just can't spend $50 a kid on this. I think it surprised us because every other year they have requested much smaller items. We don't do Angel trees any longer for this very reason. The last time we did it, the requests (we also get three, one for each of my kids) EACH had requests that totaled up to about $200. Boy, did I feel BAD when we could not provide the $200 for each of those kids. And it was a shock too... the years before that, the requests were much more reasonable. Anyway... we now pick out gifts we can afford, and then donate them to the local fire station through our 4-H club. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty in Pink Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 We do Toys for Tots to avoid this very situation. If you can afford 100.00 total for the two gifts, and you can get an MP3 player for twenty or thirty bucks, then can you put the rest towards the keyboard? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCoffeeChick Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 Just because they've asked for something, doesn't mean you HAVE to get that thing. I know that sounds horrible, but hey, my kids don't get everything they ask for either. :) On our Angel Tree tags, even if there is a request for something like a remote control car, there is still listed clothing size, shoe size, etc... I figure if they only *allowed* you to purchase the remote control car, they wouldn't put clothing sizes down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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