Online Christmas presents for loved ones far away

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussion' started by Selleri, Oct 23, 2020.

  1. Selleri

    Selleri Koala

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    So it looks like this Christmas the neither the sender nor the receiver wants to do physical shopping nor queue in the post office to send or pick up the parcels. Online it is!

    I'd like to get some ideas for the ones where a long Christmas letter with photos, or a charity donation is not an option. Mainly that is, the kids. :wub2:

    My niece is nearly five years old and loves ponies in all formats, so something like a magazine subscription or a game might work... but St Google is not finding anything reasonable that can be bought in the UK and be delivered into an EU country without the hassle of picking the parcel up from a pick up point.

    At the moment, parcels in Finland are generally delivered to a pick up point, and as the COVID situation is not great it is possible that it's not safe to visit them, or they might be closed altogether.

    Any ideas for something that would truly delight a child who is expecting gifts to unwrap?

    Thanks and sorry to start the Big C talk in October :redface: [​IMG]
     
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    • Mike Allen

      Mike Allen Total Gardener

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      No problems for me..................................................I don't do christmas.
       
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      • shiney

        shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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        We don't do Christmas and are usually away for it. :noidea:

        How about a reindeer then? There are plenty of spare ones in Finland. :whistle: :heehee:
         
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        • JWK

          JWK Gardener Staff Member

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          Instead of buying stuff for our Gt nieces/nephews, we are transferring money to their parents so they can buy something locally or put it into their savings.
           
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          • pete

            pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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            We got an agreement, no presents.
            :smile:
             
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            • Selleri

              Selleri Koala

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              Unfortunately all the reindeers are busy making a career as Formula 1 drivers apparently. Well, at least their English is a step up from Raikkonen days :biggrin:

              Thanks, spot on. This is what I will probably do. The caveat is that I'm the Naughty Auntie who buys inappropriate things that clash with the Family Values :biggrin: I think it's important for a child to have someone who is not in line with what they are taught with, but still loved and decent.

              My brother is very eco- you know, so I have been buying his daughter anything that glitters and sparkles. My niece nearly caused a family crisis when she decided to wear the MS full golden sequinned dress for her birthday rather than the designer high quality organic cotton one from the in-laws. :heehee: In the end it all went well and perhaps the in-laws learnt a lesson, hopefully. I didn't as I'm now the Favourite Auntie and will carry on being naughty :biggrin:

              Now how exactly do I explain this to a 5 years old?
               
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              • pete

                pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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                You give them a copy of the Beano, a couple of chocolate bars, and an orange, it always used to work.:biggrin:
                 
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                • Selleri

                  Selleri Koala

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                  Replacing the Beano with anything glittery and poney will do the trick... but the question remains- how do I do that remotely?

                  On another note, I'm a 70s kid so oranges and apples were not the most desired things to get for Christmas (we wanted Legos, books and sweets) . We still got the fruit, and memorably, paper bags with huge specially grown apples from ours rich bachelor uncle. Mum nearly threw the paper bags away before spotting the 500 FMK notes in them.

                  That was Huge Money at the time, I think we bought a colour TV. :)
                   
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                  • shiney

                    shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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                    We have a similar agreement with friends and family but only for adults. The kids receive money to go towards whatever they want. We also have a family tradition for wedding presents of just giving money - by far the most practical thing for a couple getting married, and much easier for the giver.

                    We have one caveat to that - if we don't get a thank you from the child, either in person, by phone or letter (and in more recent years, email) they never get another present. Tough love! :whistle:

                    "Manners maketh man" or in modern times "manners maketh person" :doh:. Yuk to all this non-gender specific rubbish! :old:
                     
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