Why I chose not to buy a Hatchimal in 2016

Hatchimals were the new craze this year for Xmas.  My daughter really wanted one and usually, I find myself battling away for the latest craze of the year!

At first, I searched but by the beginning of December, I decided I was no longer searching for this toy.  So why did I decide to disappoint my child at Christmas you might add?

Firstly, I read up about the toy and it doesn’t sound as if it actually does much once it’s hatched.  I mean £60+ is a lot of money to pay for something that isn’t much more than a cuddly toy.  I also read a bad review of one that didn’t hatch properly – I’m sure this issue was resolved but the idea of faults occurring put me off little – although I am well aware that faults can occur with any product of this nature.

Another reason I reconsidered buying a hatchimal was because of my daughter’s age.  She is 11 (although quite young for her age) and I wonder how much pleasure she would actually get from this, considering she is the older end of the spectrum and doesn’t really play with toys.

So, how did I get around this without being a bad parent?

Chasing the right gift for your child can be stressful!

The truth is, I told her the truth – they weren’t in stock and I didn’t think they were a good buy.  Now again I could only do this because of her age as she knows the whole truth about Santa.  I also explained to her that you can’t ALWAYS have what you want in life – as much as part of me wants to give my children everything they desire in the world, I’m actually sure that this is a good life-lesson.

What I did propose to my daughter (who hadn’t asked for a lot at all this year) was that I would give her some cash in an envelope for Xmas (which I will talk about later in the month – when I interview my children) and if she chose to spend £60 of that on a hatchimal, it would be fine with me.

This worked really well for me – no stress of searching and queuing (possibly paying over the odds) for gifts that I felt wouldn’t bring much enjoyment.  She actually didn’t buy one!

I think the reason I got away with not jumping on the hatchimal bandwagon was because of my daughter’s age.  Obviously, children who are younger and believe in the magic of Christmas and Santa would obviously be disappointed but because of my circumstances, I decided on this course of action and it worked out for the best.

Did your child want a hatchimal for Christmas and if so, what prompted you to get/not get one? What do you think of hatchimals?

What do you think of my reason for not getting one and giving into the Christmas craze this year? 

I must admit, I’m so pleased the boys didn’t ask for one!