And now, 12 days before Christmas, we really get to the nitty gritty. The cut throat time. Ears burning from ringing Argos and Tesco Direct. No Nintendos. Husband did this last year. Left the Nintendo Wii until the last minute, luckily Amazon got one in stock at the last minute. And now He's also just sat on his arse until i asked him when the Nintendos were arriving. They're not apparently. The stupid daft sod. They were the kids' main christmas present - what are they going to have now?
When He was a child, Husband told me, He got one present and a selection box. Well, thats a surprise, I told him, with a tight-arsed family like yours! How he laughed.
The trouble is, I didn't. I got everything as a kid at Christmas. Sindy dolls, crying dolls, scooters - the lot! We must have been the poorest family on our council estate but at Christmas we went mad! But I think thats a really working class thing. Not restrained like Husband's penny-pinching, comfortable middle class family. But they were good toys then. None of that technical shit like Nintendos or anything. I've still got most of my Sindy stuff today.
I remember that terrible Tellytubby war when Daughter was a toddler. People would apparently stand around in Argos until the Tellytubby arrival was announced. And then it was one per customer. But I wasn't savvy enough about all that then. Luckily my mate stepped in and brought her the squeaky ones. We still have them today too. They saved that Christmas of 1997,
And I sneered at the parents waiting in the Beany Baby queues. And as for those bloody scooters the other year........
But now here i am suffering heartbreak over some little machine i don't like very much. But the trouble is , my kids do.....
13 comments:
Oh Jen, that husband of yours.What can I say? It's lucky you have a blog to vent on (in) and I hope you have thick enough walls so that the neighbours aren't up-to-date with this latest catastrophe.
I really hope you manage to find the Nintendos and that you are not chain-smoking yet. (nothing worse than someone who gave up, is there?)
I used to love my Marlboro but Mr FF is an asthmatic and I got sick of smoking outdoors during the winter - and then I watched a few stone just fly around my body without doing anything to make it happen - not a thing!
I think French Fancy must think that I'm stalking her - honest FF, I'm not:)
My mum reckons that this last minute business is a 'Man Thing'.
Mum says that she only got a few toys too and a selection box. She said she wanted a crying doll, a Wendy House and a Tiny Tears, but never got any of them and she came from an estate like yours - so this penny pinching thing can't be a middle class thing.
Hello Henry -shall we take over jennysmith's blog? Whilst she is out smoking?
As I was an only child of indulgent parents they were always very careful at Christmas that I not get too spoilt, I was taken to Hamleys and allowed to choose one thing - just one. That was then put away until Christmas. Bloody spoilsports! There were always a few mystery stocking fillers though - but only one proper present.
Your turn, Henry
(sneaks away before Jenny Smith gets cross)
FF- It's going to be really funny when she get's back and sees all this. Do you think she'll be mad?
Well, my mum was very loved but she had two older brothers at the time and a dad who liked to spend his money at the pub and the bookies (as lots of working class dads did in those days). So, despite her mum being a teacher, they never had oodles of cash (her mum paid for virtually everything with her own salary) Saying that, mum says her Christmases were always fun.
Do you think we'd better leave it for now? She'll probably be heading back after her ciggie break;)
(runs back in quickly)
Henry - what did you mum's mum teach?
(runs out again)
(Henry scurries in quickly looking cautiously around him)
Mum's mum taught primary school children, but the subjects she specialised in at teacher training were art and music. So she tried to encourage mum to be artistic and musical. Mum turned out to be crap at both, much to her own mum's slight dissapointment:)
(Henry scurries out quickly, not wanting to be caught by Jen who he is sure will consider him a pesky little dog)
Damn husbands never understand! Don't know why we ever expect them to do any of it right!!!!!!
Hope you find nintendos somewhere.
Sx
Keep looking, Argos usually re-stock every few days. I have found it hard to locate not one, but two for my little girls, but managed it in the end (providing the Argos driver doesn't thieve it-that's happened before)Don't buy them from the Internet though cos I've heard that there are some rip-off versions going around!
We always had lots at Christmas though we weren't well off. My mum used to take the greatest pride in her wrappings too, and everything looked fabulous.
Good luck and keep trying-hope you find one. x
Jen, are you there? Have you found one yet:?
sorry Henry and I got a bit carried away :)
Hi everyone, God Bless Toys R Us is all I can say! They saved my skin again! (the first time was a few years ago with a Disney castle). It was worth the long trip to Southall.
Nintendos wrapped up now and under the bed. A tenner more than Argos but too stressed to care!
A teacher eh? Henry the Dog. A teacher would have been beaten up on our estate , i tell you! But on a serious side, it sounded like your mum's mum had it very rough.
and yes, there were families on our estate too that had to watch every penny and not give much at xmas but i do think the Live Now, Pay Later type xmas like we had was a very working class thing. I don't know about nowadays with virtually everything on credit.
At least you gave up smoking, FF, i haven't even attempted it.
love J xxxx
Whoops! I think our comments clashed there, FF.
No, you and Henry talk away. Its quite fun hosting those things.
speak soon xxx
Hello Jenny,
Really pleased you managed to get the Nintendos. I agree with Henry the Dog, it is a man thing. I'm sure they do it deliberately...
I too was brought up on a council estate (as were most of my friends) and although we didn't have much money, Santa and the Birthday Bunny were always very generous.
xxx
Glad that you found the Nintendos. You can relax a bit, now, then, hopefully. Christmas seems to pass a lot of men by, I notice. It seems to be too much trouble for them, but someone has to make it all happen.
I didn't have a Barbie doll when I was young and whenever we took our 3 lads to Toys R Us, I used to drool over them, whilst the males in the family looked at the boys toys. When my eldest son started work, he bought me a Barbie doll for Christmas! It was so worth the wait. ;0)
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