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*** I have absolutely no problem with fun impractical gifts or toys. But - money is tight and I do want to get gifts that are worth it, if you know what I mean.

 

Dd9 is lobbying extremely hard for a Easy Bake Ultimate Oven. (She also wants AG stuff and Hello Kitty stuff - both of which she will get.) But the Easy Bake Ultimate Oven is reaching nagging status in her everyday Christmas pleas.

 

Here's the thing. She already has a regular Easy Bake oven which she has used maybe 4 times in the last 2 years. She also knows how to use the real oven and bakes cookies and quick breads for her baking business for friends and neighbors. Both dh and I have tried to gently point out that perhaps it isn't the best gift request but I think that might have contributed to her stubbornness in asking for it. Will I be a Grinch if I just say "No."? If we're going to say No, I'd rather say no now so that she can get her pout out of her system before it ruins our Christmas giving.

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IDK, half of me would say go ahead and get it for her, just to see her smile, even if it doesn't get played with. It's that half that loves to please my kids.

 

But the other half says, get her something else. I was going to say get her some real pans, mixes, and a handmixer of her own--

 

but maybe, what she really wants is to slow down and savor her childhood a little, and the EBO is a symbol of that, so "real" stuff won't appeal.

 

IDK. :D

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No, give her something she'll love not just something she thinks she will. One Christmas when I was a youngish teenager I wanted an electric guitar so bad. It was all I could think about. I just HAD to have one. (Keep in mind I have no musical talent and had no guitar lessons.) So on Christmas I just knew that there'd be a guitar under that tree for me. Nope. Instead I got a really expensive/nice stereo set and a bunch of Beatles CD's. That was a fantastic present. That stereo lasted me through college and up until I got married. I'm so glad my parents got me that instead of an electric guitar that I would have never used.

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I would say no. I'd explain why and remind her of the other very nice (and expensive) gifts on her list that she has to look forward to.

 

I'd also offer to help her plan to buy it herself using her allowance. "You get $10 per week for allowance, so you'd be able to buy it before Christmas!" Or whatever timeline given her allowance. That way she gets to make her own mistake, as it were.

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No, give her something she'll love not just something she thinks she will.

 

This. She's not going to use the Easy Bake oven more than a couple of times. You know this. She doesn't. In the end she'd just be disappointed with the Easy Bake oven and wish she'd chosen something else.

 

I like the idea of getting her some baking stuff to use in the real oven.

 

We put our foot down with DS about stuff like that all the time. Frivolous is fine with us. But if there's a product of type of product that he has and doesn't enjoy, we know that he won't enjoy the newest model, even if he thinks he will. We usually tell him that, if he starts using the one like it he already has, then we'll consider buying the new one. That's never happened.

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I wanted an Easy Bake Oven when I was younger but never received one. I guess the desire for one never left as I rushed to buy one for my dd when she was little. Give your dd the gift of her dreams. Before too long, she won't want "toys" anymore.

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I'd look for something quality to call her own, that she would love, and appreciate. Maybe something like this?

 

Or fancy organic ingredients for her baking? Point out that the ingredients that go into the mixes aren't really of the best quality. Sure, baking with it might look like fun, but the end product might be a disappointment.

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*** I have absolutely no problem with fun impractical gifts or toys. But - money is tight and I do want to get gifts that are worth it, if you know what I mean.

 

Dd9 is lobbying extremely hard for a Easy Bake Ultimate Oven. (She also wants AG stuff and Hello Kitty stuff - both of which she will get.) But the Easy Bake Ultimate Oven is reaching nagging status in her everyday Christmas pleas.

 

Here's the thing. She already has a regular Easy Bake oven which she has used maybe 4 times in the last 2 years. She also knows how to use the real oven and bakes cookies and quick breads for her baking business for friends and neighbors. Both dh and I have tried to gently point out that perhaps it isn't the best gift request but I think that might have contributed to her stubbornness in asking for it. Will I be a Grinch if I just say "No."? If we're going to say No, I'd rather say no now so that she can get her pout out of her system before it ruins our Christmas giving.

 

If she's already using the real oven I'd say no to the easy bake oven, especially if she isn't in the habit of using the model she has. To make the disappointment more palatable could you get her something cool to bake with. Last year we got my dd9 a silicone mold to make a giant cupcake...as seen on TV:D She really likes it.

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I wanted an Easy Bake Oven when I was younger but never received one. I guess the desire for one never left as I rushed to buy one for my dd when she was little. Give your dd the gift of her dreams. Before too long, she won't want "toys" anymore.

 

 

But she HAS one, she rarely uses it and now wants an upgrade.

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But she HAS one, she rarely uses it and now wants an upgrade.

 

Right. And, from what I can tell, the Easy Bake Ultimate is not much different, in terms of function, than the regular Easy Bake. There's no lightbulb, but you still push the stuff in one side and wait for it come out.

 

If she isn't playing with the Easy Bake she has, she's not going to play with this one.

 

Maybe this is a silly idea, but would a small toaster oven be a better, more practical choice? You can make a surprising amount of things in them, and it might be something that she could use with minimal supervision. You can buy one for less than the Easy Bake.

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How about if you got her little silicone baking utensils/accessories in a fun color? Spatulas, spoons, bowls, potholders, and an apron.... TJMaxx has an aisle of accessories really cheap or Kohls does too, during a sale.

 

I agree with the others that the EB oven will lose it's excitement really quickly. Same with our shrinky-dink machine. :glare:

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I would get her some real cooking equipment, in pretty girlie colors. Normally I'd say get her what she wants, but since this is an upgrade and she doesn't play with the original, I'd override her. I'd try to find a special play in the kitchen just for her items. If she were 7, I might go with the upgrade. At 9 and she's already using the regular kitchen, it's time to move on.

 

Maybe schedule a baking day with her friends afterward.

 

 

The girl she quit playing with recently doesn't have a EBO deluxe (or whatever it's called) does she? Maybe that's where the intense desire comes from.

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My 10 year old daughter loves to watch the Cake Boss on netflix and her latest "future career choice" is to be a pastry chef. Last year she wanted to be a vet, but this year she is older and now wants to decorate cakes and create edible art from her baking. To inspire her I decided to help her along with some fun Christmas gifts in a baking/decorating theme.

 

So this year I am getting her a really nice cake decorating kit, some cake decorating books, the new Cake Boss "how to" book that just came out and a cute chef hat and white chef coat/apron.

 

Perhaps your daughter would enjoy something similiar to create "real life" cakes instead of just "play cakes" from the Easy Bake oven.

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Don't do it. If some generous grandparent wants to fulfill that wish, I wouldn't stand in the way, but no way would I do it.

 

I agree with the idea of getting her some special cooking thing that's her own. My ds also really, really, really had to have the easy bake oven. I got him one on super sale at the Target for his birthday. I also got him real measuring cups. Guess which item got fondled and hugged on the birthday and gets used all the time? That's right, the $2 measuring cups. Guess which item has been used maybe three times? That's right, the $17 toy.

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A twist on the apron as a potential gift idea... One year we bought DD a white canvas apron from JoAnn Fabric, along with several of her favorite colors of fabric paint. She created her own design for the apron, including her name. Perhaps if she has her own business she might like to personalize it that way?

 

Erica in OR

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Sorry, I probably would tell her no, for several reasons. She's beginning to use the regular oven, and that right there would stop me from buying an Easy-bake. I agree with the posters who said to get her some cute "chef" things - an apron, a potholder, some small mixing bowls or measuring cups/spoons. Some way she can join in in the big kitchen.

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