And a playstation in a peartree - the extravagance of children's presents?

Just ten days left until Christmas and talk is turning from what you’re going to buy to what you’ve bought. And the kids’ Christmas lists are still growing.

I remember when I was a child all the things I requested for Christmas. A remote controlled car; a train set; scalectrics... can you tell I was never a girly girl? But even my friends’ requests ranged from baby dolls to pushchairs to dressing up clothes etc.

Nowadays there are of course still these requests. Lego/star wars toys/various character toys depending on the current in-film (I remember when Buzz lightyear was the must-have toy at least two Christmases running). But now we have an additional flood of requests.

No longer is it acceptable to just have toys and games for Christmas, now children want more. Now requests include such items as expensive games consoles, playstations, Xboxes, wii and DS, most of which cost in excess of £150 (with the exception of the DS), and then of course you have to buy games which don’t come cheap. And not satisfied with mere games consoles the requests continue. Televisions/DVD players for bedrooms, laptops, iPods and IPads, and that ever contentious one, mobile phones.

And the children are getting these presents younger and younger. I remember vividly someone telling me how she had bought her three children a television each for their bedroom. The youngest was three. Or the three year old that was given a Nintendo DS because his brother would be getting one and it wouldn’t be fair.

When did children stop being children playing with toys and demanding expensive technology? And how did we get to a point where instead of giving our children toys, we spend hundreds of £s on technology which is predominantly above their age?

There is no doubt that technology does now play a huge part in children’s’ lives, most schools have ICT programmes where children are taught about computers, how to use them and as they grow older computers do begin to play a bigger part in their lives.

But I can’t help wondering, if you buy a four year old a £150 games console, what is that child going to have when he’s fourteen? If they have it all now, what do they have to look forward to in present terms in the future?

And quite aside from all that, what about the cost? After all one £150 games console simply isn’t enough – there must be a big pile of presents under the tree for the children, as well as a stocking full of goodies.

I can’t help wondering if we’ve simply lost the art of saying no. After all it’s much easier to give in for a quiet life than to be told that “I’m the only one of my friends who doesn’t have...” And there’s always the argument that if we don’t let our children have something they will become victims of bullying. But shouldn’t we be standing up to that rather than giving in to it?

And really, do children need all this stuff? Are we not just raising a generation of children who have become used to getting what they want, when they want?

Who needs the high street when we have the internet?

A report this week suggested that high street sales are down for the Christmas period. The contributing factors seem to be peoples’ lack of money due to the recession, but also that people are choosing to shop online rather than go out to the shops.

From what other people have told me, shops certainly do seem to be quieter than in previous years, without the mass crowds that usually arrive in town first thing in the morning, only leaving when the shops close.

But really, now we have the internet, do we need to go into the shops at all? And if we do choose to go into the shops, there are so many comparison sites out there that it’s easy to go into the shops, have a look at the physical product you want to buy, and with the latest and greatest barcode scanning app available on any Smartphone, have a quick look to see where it’s cheapest online, and go home and order it, and have it delivered to your door.

Of course one of the drawbacks to ordering presents on the internet is the fact that you are still not guaranteed a delivery time, so it is possible that your presents will be delivered while you are out, thus forcing you to go and collect them or arrange redelivery. Or the possibility that there will be a delay due to excessive orders/bad weather, and you then being faced with the possibility that the much-wanted presents won’t arrive on time, and the shops being sold out by the time you realize that you have nothing for anyone to open on Christmas day.

But if you are organized enough it is certainly possible to avoid actually going to a shop over the Christmas period. Even food shopping needn’t be a chore as most of the online grocery delivery companies made their Christmas delivery slots available from the beginning of November.

Of course, not actually leaving the house in order to do Christmas does mean you miss out on the festive atmosphere in the shops, and having everything arrive on your doorstep does make it feel a little bit less Christmassy, But there’s something to be said for convenience.

The consumer's night before Christmas

Twas the night before Christmas, all the presents were bought
Where we couldn’t afford them the credit we sought

An xbox for Johnny, An iPhone for Dad,
Mum will be thrilled with her brand new iPad.

The kids all have laptops, so they’ll stop using mine
And they’ll use them for school work so really it’s fine. 

I picked up some bargains, all designer labels,
And the older kids really would love a pool table.

A wii fit to help us all battle the bulge,
But not just yet, there’s still time to indulge.

The younger ones all need new bikes, well that’s healthy,
And who said Christmas was just for the wealthy.

When I wrapped up the presents the piles seemed so small
So I bought just a few more small things for them all. 

A kindle for each of them, but there’s justification
After all, reading is good education.

To add to the piles just a few DVD’s
And it’s time that the kids had their own TV’s.

I’m almost done now, A DS each and some games,
And without some chocolate Christmas wouldn’t be the same. 

Now to the kitchen where there’s food aplenty,
We have ten round for dinner but the turkey serves twenty!

A giant ham and some stuffing and veggies galore,
And if you’re still hungry I’ve got puddings and more.

Six kilos of chocolate, well it had to be done,
They were on three for two, so I couldn’t buy just one.

With boxes of biscuits and crackers and nuts,
And so much party food the fridge door barely shuts.

I’ve got soft drinks and plenty of wine and some beer,
After all Christmas is a time full of cheer.

And after we’ve eaten and drank and feel ill,
We still have to pick up the credit card bill.

That we don’t have the money is inconsequential,
Because spending at Christmas is seen as essential.

As long as there’s plastic there’s money to spend,
We just forget that you have to pay it back in the end.

And now I’m left wondering if it would be better,
If I’d simply not bothered and just spent a tenner.

But instead we spend money on stuff we don’t need,
Just so we can indulge that thing... greed.

As I turn out the lights and head up to bed,
I think of what I could have done with that money instead.

But instead I am faced with a year of regret,
Of how one day got me so far into debt. 

As the clock strikes midnight, and Christmas is here,
I decide that things will be different next year.

For now we will all have an enjoyable day,
But before I sign off there’s just one thing to say.

If you haven’t spent much then just sing hallelujah
And merry Christmas to all, yours, the consumer.