Thats just made me wince.

That soup, looks good that, t'other half would like that. Will I get away with (and please don't think any less of me for the up coming heresy) [size=85a stock cube?[/size



Oh, I agree, but I'm at least twenty five years out of practice.

Oh, midweek and unplanned fodder sees stock cubes allowed.



My sister and I had a big box of basic Lego – a wooden box with sliding lid and plastic trays inside – that was then handed on to my niece. I also had – because I won (Weetabix springs to mind) a Lego castle. It was before the really fancy ones you have today, so it was mostly basic bricks.

I got <i>so</i> many hours pleasure out of Lego – it would rate very highly in any nostalgic discussion of toys; possibly even top. And I admit that I look at displays of some of the modern kits and I wouldn't half love an excuse to get one, sit down and put a complex one together.

I had the same set, it was the biggest one you could buy at the time and consisted only of bricks of various sizes in two colours, (red and white), some grey "base's" and some window frames.

It's not that unusual for kids to get big piles of presents at Christmas. Most kids I know get a big pile of wrapped goodies. Sometimes it's over the top, but sometimes it's not. We often had big piles of gifts when we came downstairs on Christmas morning when i was younger and it was amazing. We had nothing through the year and my Mum saved hard for us to get the same (parcel height wise) as everyone else. Alright our pile including things like a new coat, new shoes and new underwear alongside toys and books which most people's didn't, but for one day we weren't the poor family in the street. We were the same.

It's alright having principles and sticking to them, but sometimes kids just want to be the same. Christmas was our turn. We appreciated every single parcel and I think that is what is important. The three of us sat in a circle and my Mum watched (usually in tears) as we each opened one gift at a time. It took hours as we'd get sidetracked by my brother's new car or my new shoes. It was wonderful though and made up for the birthdays when we had no electric never mind presents and the school trips that there was no way we could go on.

It's the ungratefulness that is the biggest problem with kids getting loads now imo. I have a friend whose brat cribbed on Christmas day that he "only" got 6 parcels. He got a Wii, various games and gubbins and £100 football boots. I'd have taken the lot of the wee sod, but he's used to getting 4 or 5 things each weekend when they are out so to him 6 parcels was 'hardly anything'.

Amazing what you can find via the intertubes! This is the one:

If he came dressed like his avatar, he'd have been fighting for his life.

We have a box of old random lego and the daughter still plays with it. She makes what she calls her 'projects'. She also has the new stuff and I do like helping her to build them, being a big kid helps.

As if. Wigan fans love me.

This year is our first christmas as parents, she'll be 10 months old. Have to admit to already starting to pick up on the sort of peer pressure to go mad. Well, we won't be. It's pointless, she'll have no idea what's going on, and the amount of toys she's already been given and even still has waiting to be inherited from relatives is more than enough for a good while yet (we've been incredibly fortunate that my sister in-law and a cousin have 2 children each and no plans for any more, which means they have been very generously choosing to clear cupboard space via us. We have literally turned up at our parents' houses more than once to find a sack of stuff waiting). I'm sure we're not alone in noticing that it's the same handful of toys she gets drawn to anyway, so what's the point in filling the house with more dust magnets?

Her gifts from us will mostly be new clothes for the next 6 months, and possibly even the next car seat from her grandparents. They'll still just be sparkly packages to her. Next year is the one I'm looking forward to, but there'll still be a sensible budget.

As for Lego, I loved it. The best children's toy bar none. Evie has masses just waiting in my parents' loft for when she's old enough. I was actually asked to sell it a while back, which elicited a rapid and point blank no. I would never even consider it, and I don't know why they'd think I would (it was someone who knows how much I prized it as a kid and that I have a daughter it is ear-marked for). I'm also 31 and have been known to buy the 3-in-1 packs as recently as last year. Why not? My happiest christmas memories are building that year's lego set in front of the tv whilst my parents went back to bed for an hour because I'd got them up at about half 6.

I had this experience last year when my son's grandparents (my parents) bought him an obscene, immoral number of presents. Literally hundreds of pounds worth. He got about a third of the way through before he lost interest totally. It upset me because my wife and I had deliberately not purchased vast quantities of stuff, but our restraint was in vain.

Oh, and, one of the mothers at my son's school was telling me about her plans to buy her 4-year-old daughter an iPad 2 for christmas the other day. Stupid bitch.

I agree. She obviously hasn't seen the reviews... stupid bitch

Can't get hold of one, well at least not a fairly priced one!!

Jingle All The Way, and the toy in question was a Turboman action figure.

I still get a Christmas toy for the lads and me to mess with Christmas day or boy would it be boring

Battling remote control tanks

r/c Diggers and cranes

r/c helicopters

last year we went retro Cluedo, spirograph, etcha sketch and buckaroo

I bought a Toy story train set in Wales earlier in the year



and all the films ..........

My favourite Xmas toy as a child has to be this:







Started watching wrestling in March / April 1991 and got some action figures in the April for my birthday, but had to wait until the Xmas before I had a ring to put them in (well apart from one my dad made me which was actually very good

). IIRC the above WCW ring and WWF ring were huge sellers that Xmas as American wrestling in general was starting to take off in the UK thanks to Cable (later Sky).
The WWF ring was probably a much bigger seller, but I loved this WCW one e.g. because of the cage that came with it, God I must have spent hours and hours staging 'matches' and 'events' with the figures.




And 20 years later I'm still watching wrestling, everyone's got to have a hobby though eh.

I remember going to see that!

Quite enjoyed it at the time (was only 13 mind) but it gets slated as one of the worst films ever made!

There's a couple of VERY complex Star Wars sets in George's bedroom which I'm sure he would love the help with!!!

My youngest daughter asked what I wanted for xmas last night, I told her this - [urlhttp://technic.lego.com/en-GB/Products/default.aspx#8051[/url, so we'll see what Santa brings



Although actually I'd much prefer this [urlhttp://technic.lego.com/en-GB/Products/default.aspx#8053[/url but the price is a little outside of her range

Just tell her if she really loves you, she'll pay the extra!

Now yes, that crane looks good but look at this bad ass. I could drive to work in this. shop.lego.com/en-GB/Mercedes-Ben ... U-400-8110

Now yes, that crane looks good but look at this bad ass. I could drive to work in this. shop.lego.com/en-GB/Mercedes-Ben ... U-400-8110

meh! THIS is a crane www.meccanoandcomp.com/userimages/1428a.jpg

meh! THIS is a crane www.meccanoandcomp.com/userimages/1428a.jpg

Quote ="tb"meh! THIS is a crane www.meccanoandcomp.com/userimages/1428a.jpg'" No this is a Meccano crane The trouble is that lads today have no idea of the joy of Meccano, alone in your bedroom with your tool in your hand, tightening your little nuts

Quote ="tb"meh! THIS is a crane www.meccanoandcomp.com/userimages/1428a.jpg'" No this is a Meccano crane The trouble is that lads today have no idea of the joy of Meccano, alone in your bedroom with your tool in your hand, tightening your little nuts