What WE Decided
ByI’m guessing you’d all like to know what WE decided about getting our boys a WE for Christmas? Your comments in this post were so helpful and WE really appreciate all the input.
WE went back and forth for quite a while about whether or not to get the WE. In some ways I guess we’re still going back and forth about it. WE’ve been saving our Swagbuck earned Amazon cards…so we wouldn’t even have to pay much out of pocket. WE know the kids would love it.
But WE finally decided against it.
One reason is because we already have a PS2 that we got back in Matt’s youth minister days. The boys get to play for a few hours each weekend. And, they had pooled their money last year to get Rock Band to go with the PS2. (I get a little addicted and obsessive when I play that game too!)
Another reason is that it seemed as though we’d have to spend quite a bit more than the $199 that it costs for the WE to get more controllers and batteries and battery chargers and such.
Beyond those reasons, there have been other needs that have come up that we felt would be better use of our Swagbuck earned Amazon cards. We’ve been feeding a lot of extra people lately, and the groceries we’ve been able to buy with those cards have been a huge help. When these needs came up, buying a WE just suddenly didn’t seem as important.
WE decided instead that the boys’ “big gift” this year would be a couple of different sets of these, which they absolutely love playing with for hours.
Will we maybe get a WE someday? Maybe.
But at this point WE feel very good about our decision. We’ll enjoy them when we go play on someone else’s WE and since that has always been fine…that will still be fine!
Since the boys are getting older…we’ve talked about the idea of letting them work and save up their own money to buy a WE if they really want one. The few times they’ve worked together to make a purchase has been such a rewarding experience for all of them.
And since we’ve been working up a sweat having some crazy games of Nertz lately…complete with flying cards and jumping up and down…I think WE’ll all be just fine when it comes to excerising while we play together. :)
Thanks again so much for your input! Did any of the rest of you decide to get a WE this year for Christmas?
We did not decide to get a WE. But my inlaws decided to get the WE for our boys for Christmas. :/ I know I should have been thankful from the start, but I thought we weren’t ready and I didn’t want to go down that path yet. But my husband and I have a policy that our oldest can only play our very old original Play Station when it is raining. It has worked really well with no complaints. So we are going to chuck the PS, and form a similar policy with the WE once it arrives. :) I am excited that the WE makes it very easy to play as a family as well as our 2.5 yr old to get involved. We shall see how the WE is working out in a few months. :) Thanks for your update. Sounds like you guys made a great decision!
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We decided to let our parents know that is what would be a great family gift for us (they were going to spend that amount already). We are so excited! Especially as we have four kids and no back yard! SO needed!
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Yep, we decided that it would be a GREAT gift for the whole family. So that’s what WE are getting this Christmas … just one big family gift and some games for us all to enjoy. WE had it before, but got rid of it for a PS2. WE didn’t like the PS2 … not family-friendly enough for us … so WE decided to go back to the WE (PS2 has been gone for awhile). I’m looking forward to all the fun WE can have with it!!!!!
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Also, check out K’nex sets, too. They are great and are compatible with Legos. I’m sure your boys will love them!!!
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You cant go wrong with Lego. All the kids love it and it lasts forever. I also love a toy called Zoobs. Great for construction.
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WE did decide to get the WE for our kiddos. We don’t have any video games at all and this is going to be a long, cold winter :) However, I almost passed out when I saw the total…$500. By the time you buy the extra controllers ( we have four kids), numchucks, games, chargers, etc… it was $500. YIKES!!! But at least we have EVERYTHING they could ever want for it :)
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We did. :) It’s a long, cold winter in Colorado! Additional factors for us were our kids ages (13 & 9), the fact that they are very busy and challenged now with school, and we have long-established habits for ’screen’ time of any sort. I bought an extra nunchuk and controller. I got one game with my $25 Amazon gift card, so the game was only about $20 out of pocket. It sounds like I may need to also buy a battery charger, but that should be it. The kids can buy any future games with their own money. We have never had anything like this (playstation, PS2, etc.), so it’s going to be interesting.
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We are not getting one either. We just had one of those what-else-could-possible-go-wrong/break weeks. Huge unplanned expenses!!! Lets just say our Christmas fund shrunk tremdously! Good thing is that I am blessed with children that are so spoiled with love & attention that they are happy with a few small things.
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WE decided to get the Wii for our kids last year. Let’s just say it was a CONSIDERABLE amount more than the specials or coupons they are offering this year. Anyway – while it was so much fun at first, it’s just like any other “hot new item” – it loses it’s charm fairly quickly. We still play from time to time and it’s great for family tournaments, but overall – not sure I would do it again. I have 2 little girls and a teenage son (who has his own XBox 360 and is way more interested in awesome graphics, etc.)
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OK – what a riot. We aren’t getting a WE either because my husband does not want our kids to be gamers, but we do have a PS2 as well and we love playing Rock Band on the weekends with the family. And I am totally checking out those legos, thanks for the tip!
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WE have decided not to get one as well. As you said, by the time you buy all the extra accessories, it’s way more than what we want to spend anyway. I’m sure your kids will LOVE what you have decided upon!! It looks fun to me!! :)
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LEGOS are THE BEST! (Except when you find yourself stepping on one in the middle of the night!) I’ll second the vote for K*nex as well. Their bricks are compatible with LEGOS and have little holes to make them compatible with the K*nex sticks. The two together open up a whole new world of creative building! Also, K*nex has some relatively inexpensive (compared to LEGO) motorized sets (like a dinosaur that walks)… and if you have an AC Moore nearby, they sell K*nex and usually have some great bogo sales or 40-50% off coupons around this time of year. Oh, and WE don’t have a Wii and aren’t getting one this year either – maybe some day (as dh REALLY wants one :D) but right now, the kids are happy with games they can play on the computer (PBSKids.org, Webkinz.com, LEGO.com, CoolMath4kids.com, and such) and we’ve decided that’s completely adequate. I’d much rather they build with LEGOS and play with Matchbox cars (another favorite) anyway.
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We got one a couple of years ago from the in-laws because they live for going lavish on gifts. It is a great waste of money for our family because I don’t let my kids hang out and play video games all the time… They are 9, 5, 3, and 1, so that means at the time it was given to use they were 7, 3, and 1. It really did not make sense to me for kids that young to get such a gift. On top of that the good games are approx. $50 each… A gift really should not continue to cost you money. I have other things I would rather spend my time and money on. That being said, I still say that if it is going to bring joy to your home and not be a hindrance I think it is fine to make it as a purchase for a gift… if you are into that sort of thing. –a non video game loving momma that has a hubby with all of that stuff. ;)
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Earning and saving money for it themselves is a great idea–that’s how our 14 yr old got his. He saved from his paper route til he had enough–good life lessons.
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We got one last Christmas…as a gift from someone else! We just had to purchase a couple more controllers (total 4) and some games that we found on sale. It has been great family fun, but we probably wouldn’t have purchased one on our own.
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I have always been interested to see what the Wii is all about. I have yet to see it. I really could make a good judgement, until I have seen it.
This year everyone is getting a bike. I think tha twill also cut down on shopping if we just get them one gift each:)
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My children have been begging for a Wii, but they already have too much to distract them from being creative or doing their school work and we decided against it – even when they said they would save up and buy it for themselves.
Then my father called and excitedly told me he’d bought a Wii for the grandchildren for Christmas.
Oh well, I guess I will be making another chart to stick on the wall. This one will have to be called the “Wii Time-Sharing Chart.” or something like that.
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I think Lego is a way better gift that a we. Despite having two boys, we’ve made the commitment to ourselves that we will allow no game consoles in our home. We have academic games on the computers and really space out allowing those – and the only reason we have them is so that the kids don’t enter school with no computer skills at all.
Hallee
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WE will be getting a WE. We started checking it out and as we did, our son’s xbox broke. We have very strict limits about when he can play it, but unfortunately, as it was a hand-me down, there really are no games that our whole family likes to play. So WE were excited to think about a WE….when our wonderful friend who works at Nintendo let us know he decided WE need a WE and had already purchased it for us to give to our kids for Christmas. We will have to buy accessories, but he gets those at a great discount also. Good to have friends. Especially ones that work at Nintendo. :)
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Hi, I am new to your blog so maybe this is a silly question but why is Wii spelled WE on your blog? Thanks!
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tarena Reply:
November 15th, 2009 at 11:39 pm
(she was trying to hide what she was talking about in case her kiddos saw the blog…so WE is code for Wii!)
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We bought a Wii last year. This year for Christmas the big gift for the 4 children is Rock Band. Then they get a book and some music each. That’s all. Christmas has gotten so out of hand, and with having 4 children – we get a TON of new toys and gadgets each year – so we don’t really need to buy them too! We got Rock Band for $139 on Amazon. Free shipping. We thought it was a pretty good deal. We did purchase a extra guitar too (my husband said there was no way we could only have ONE guitar! lol ) I think we’re more excited to break it out of the box and play!! It’s going to be a “hard” month in a half before we can open it.
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We really limit our kids “screen time” here. In their free time we focus on creative toys/blocks, legos, crafts and such & then when they can go outside we encourage that to be kids and creative. A great book is called “For the Children’s Sake” It is really great and talks about the whys all I mentioned is so very important for children.
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This is a great post and I love all the comments too! Our family already has a WE and my husband is the one who plays it for the most part (our son isn’t quite one yet). I think it can be fun for special occasions and SOME family time, but not all the time.
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I’m thinking it was a wise choice not to get one. They seem to be quite the rage (expensive) and I’m not sure why. My son wanted a NintendoDS since he played with one and we said when he earned the $$$ he could get one. That was in July of ‘08. He figured he’d still have to buy the game(s) to go with the system, and well, MY feeling is he should put that $150 in the bank for college. He’s still $20 short. It’ll be outdated by the time he gets the money (hopefully).
Maybe this is just me. After reading your post about books, I’m so sad that my kids aren’t avid readers like I was. I’ve read hundreds of books to them over the years. Two years ago we hooked up the the internet. (How else would I have found your blog???) They research everything with Google, not with encyclopedias, and educational games replace books and toys, I spend way more time on line than I do reading. It’s sad. On one hand, the computer is an invaluable tool, but I lived without it, and maybe I should again.
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