It might only be midway through the year, but it seems like it’s never early enough to consider Christmas and how much you might end up spending. That’s why a lot of people – including me – start saving for Christmas as far in advance as possible. My kids are getting to the age where they want more expensive presents such as gadgets and new technologies, instead of train sets and teddy bears.
As a parent, it can feel frustrating when your kids have certain expectations about the presents they’ll have waiting for them under the Christmas tree – it’s a fine line between spoiling them and disappointing them! Of course, my kids do understand that other families might be worse off than us, but I still know that they put certain things on their Christmas lists for a reason. Therefore we try and find the best value presents we can in order to satisfy their social needs, as well as our wallets! Here are four things that your pre-teen might ask you for at Christmas, and how you can find better deals on these…
New Games Console
At the moment, we have a Nintendo Wii at home for family use. However, my kids have been very interested in the news that there will be a new Playstation and a new Xbox later this year. When it comes to games consoles, they always ask a premium price at the beginning and then seem to offer better bundle deals over time. However when your kids want one near to the release date, you may end up paying full price to reserve one. What you could do is buy one through a cashback scheme so you get a percentage of your purchase price back in a few months’ time.
TV for their Bedroom
TVs are getting better all of the time, which means that there are actually some decent offers to be found. There is a greater range of televisions than games consoles meaning that the prices can be more competitive. Try looking in your supermarket for special deals, and you may even benefit from getting loyalty card points for future purchases in store.
Mobile Phone
I already know that my kids want an iPhone as all of their friends have one, however I am not prepared to buy them a new one. I currently have an iPhone 4 so I plan to compare mobile phone plans online so I can get myself the newest version, and then give my eldest child my phone and set it up on pay-as-you-go. The youngest will just have to wait!
Tickets for a Gig
Slightly different to the gizmos and gadgets listed above, my kids are suddenly piping up about wanting to go to music shows. My daughter (apparently) loves One Direction so this might have something to do with it. It can be expensive though, so I’ll be asking wider family members to get Ticketmaster gift cards so my kids can choose the gigs that they want, and then will have to go with their dad to see it on the day!