What They Want or What You Know They'll Play With?

I usually give those sort of "impulsive" gift ideas to grandparents and aunties when they are asking for gift ideas. They are happy to get a gift idea, and they get the big excited reaction when it's opened. I get the things I know they will like :)

A mix, I suppose. For example, last Christmas they each got to ask santa for one special gift. My eldest wanted a "Jessy Doll" (from toy story) and my little one wanted a "Woody Doll". Santa brought them these toys.

We got them PJs, art supplies, and a few other things. Family members got them some neat kits.

Almost a year later, my eldest still carts her Jessy around and my youngest has lost her woody. They both still play with the art supplies and other things.

Moderation, above item, is what we generally practice.

I almost always buy what they'll play with but buying what they want occasionally even if you know it won't become a favorite toy can be a good experience too.

My oldest will never forget the Starlight Barbie she begged for at Christmas one year. According to the commercial Barbie was supposed to fly through the skies and light the stars. Well you know how this ends, Barbie wasn't all she was cracked up to be. She "worked" for about 3 hours, the mechanics got all tangled in her dress and she became just another regular Barbie. I said nothing about how lame it was just "that's too bad honey" and she never fell for a gimmick toy again. For years she would see a toy that was junk disguised and magic and say "that looks cool but I bet it's like Starlight Barbie"

Sometimes you just have to let them figure stuff out for themselves. I won't even go into the "flying saucer" their uncle bought one year!

We buy things we know she'll play with. We have enough things collecting dust in the closet!

This has been a point of contention with the family. Last year my daughter went NUTS over wanting a Fijit and this other dancing blob thing. The Figit was $50 and the dancing blob thing was $35.

I told my husband "don't buy these things, she will NEVER play with them!"

My daughter asked her grandma for the Fijit and she got it! She was all lit up over it on Christmas.

She played with that thing for TEN MINUTES. I'm not kidding. She played with it for ten minutes on Christmas and that thing has been sitting on the shelf collecting dust every since. When I asked her about it she said "It didn't work like I thought it would."

Personally, I don't think it's worth $50 to have your kid be all excited for ten minutes. That's just me, and we don't have a lot of disposable income.

Now, we did spend $100 on an American Girl doll, which she cherishes and plays with on a daily basis. She's always combing their hair and changing their outfits and reading about them in the books. To me, that's worth $100. She was ALSO all lit up over it on Christmas.

Grandma doesn't know that she doesn't ever play with the Fijit and that's just fine with me!

Go for what she'll play with. She may be asking for the other things because she sees them advertised. Those advertisers know what they're doing! Katrina A. has a good take on it, I think.

If your daughter still longs for Dora and dinosaurs after Christmas, I imagine you and she will be able to find them at a yard sale next spring.

No I don't buy the junk I know they will not play with. I tell them right away that they wll not end up liking it and I am not going to waste my money on it.

My tactic has always been a mix of both. I tend to get my kids the things I KNOW they will love and ?maybe? 1 of the things they ask for that I know will be a waste and then I pass on the rest of the list of things I know they want but wont really love to Auntie! Ha! Best of both worlds. They get what they think they want...Auntie gets to be the 'cool Auntie' who gets them exactly what they want... and Mom and Dad (Husband and I) do not have to waste our $.

~I do try to talk them out of most things I know that are just straight up junk though...nobody likes to waste money or see money get pointlessly and knowingly wasted, ugh!....but we all know kids, sometimes they have to learn the hard way that the stuff they see on TV isn't always gonna be as cool as they say it will be.

We always take into consideration if it is something that will get 5 minutes of play and never touched again, especially if it is costly.
The kids have been told from a very early age that their wish lists are suggestion lists. They will not get everything on them. Santa takes a look at it and picks the couple most special things and then looks for surprises that aren't on the list but he knows they will love.
It's worked for us. My kids are 11,8 & 3 and they all know the drill by now ;)
Don't waste your money if you know it'll sit there.

Ok.
What you REALLY need to get her is some Spongebob DVDs.
She gets to watch her program - commercial free!
I'm quite serious.
Get her favorite programs on DVD and turn off the live TV from September through the end of December.
You might love it so much you'll hardly watch live tv at all and never want to go back.
Once the commercials are eliminated - the asking for useless toys goes WAY down.
Think about it!

I tell my kids I will get them what I think is best for them. It has worked so far.

I tend to go with gifts that I know Kiddo is going to use. I've got my eyes on some Capla blocks. For Kiddo's birthday, we asked my folks for rolls and rolls of masking and scotch tape. Best birthday present... seriously. We go through tape like other families go through bread or milk.

Kiddo gets a $1 a week allowance, and is allowed to do 'special jobs' to earn extra money around the house, or he can choose to sell his old/unused toys to make more money. Sometimes, if there's a bigger-ticket item he wants, we will 'match' what he saves for it (because he's five and has limited earning power). We draw the line at subsidizing weapons purchases, but he knows that he can save the money if he chooses for what he wants and has had some successful experiences with it. For Christmas he'll probably get one thing he's been excited about (he doesn't watch commercial tv, so he doesn't really know what's out there), and mostly stuff we know he'll use.

(Unless my husband has his way, and then we'll likely end up getting the 5-minute interest 'Wowie!" stuff. sigh. Still working on that one.)

I have the benefit of not having TV!!! Thank God!!! Mine don't usually ask for trendy toys. I saw the Dora. You are absolutely right. She won't play with it. It's really pretty lame because it is only designed to do be one thing and that won't hold anyones attention. I tend to go with the toys I know my children will play with for a long time. I have four kids and we don't buy many toys. Toys can pile up pretty quick if you do. We tend to get only one toy for birthday and one for Christmas. I don't mind spending a bit more because we buy so few. So go with your gut.

Last year was our first Christmas that my daughter asked for things she saw advertised. She wanted them, asked over and over for them, got excited about asking Santa for them and I happily bought what she wanted. For me, it's not so much about actual time spent playing with a toy, since kids play with things in spurts and i know she will return to these toys eventually, but more about making their dreams come true and if I can do that for $200 at Christmas, I do so gladly.
As a kid, I rarely got what I asked for and even then had to wait up to a year to prove I really wanted it. It was really disappointing to always be told by my parents that what I wanted with all of my heart, I didnt want it enough to ensure an intangible amount of use that justified my desires in their minds.

I tend to get what I know they'll play with, cuz it will drive me crazy to spend money and see it ignored! but he has plenty of Aunts and Uncles etc he will ask for things....

Why does she want these items? How does she even know they exist?

If it's something she saw on tv, then forget about it.

It it's something that she played with at school or at a friends house, then I would consider purchasing it.

I might get her one or two of the things she asked for (not everything) just so she can feel happy that she got something she wanted, and then have the rest be stuff you know she'll play with. I've learned to discern a little bit between DD wanted something because it's in a commercial all the time vs. something she truly wants and will enjoy. This time of year too we'll make a "list" with the understanding that she is not going to be able to get everything on it - but knowing it's been noted on a "list" seems to satisfy her for now. What I end up getting does depend some on cost, and some on how much use I think she'll get out of it (i.e. board game vs. some junky toy).

ETA: After some other responses, I like the idea of someone else (i.e. Aunt, Grandma, really good neighbor friend) getting the "what she wants but probably won't play with much" gift!