[Cerek the Barbaric]

The fair Lady Galadria has returned to General Discussions [img]graemlins/wow.gif[/img] and made an appearance in MY thread?!?!?! [img]graemlins/jawdrop.gif[/img] WOW, I DO feel honored.

Animal - she wasn't "flaunting" how much she paid for the cards, she was mildly lamenting the amount. BUT, it was the only thing her son wanted for Christmas so she tried time and again on e-bay until she finally prevailed. And I agree with some comments that have been made to the effect of "if they can afford it, what difference does it make?" The difference (that many have touched on so far) is that I don't feel it teaches her kids respect for what they have. When mom or dad will simply buy what you want or replace something that gets broken, the child never learns the value of sacrifice and becomes increasingly difficult to "satisfy" with material goods. It leads to the "IwantIwantIwant" syndrome mentioned earlier.

I'm an only child, so I had it pretty good growing up. I will freely admit that my parents got me most of the things I wanted....but certainly not all. And many things came with an "additional price" (such as extra chores OR the suspension of my allowance until I had "paid" for the item).

BTW Animal, it's very good to see you back on the forum. [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]

/)eathkiller - I don't know which cards she got...but I admit I'm curious to find out. However, I'm sure she didn't get blantantly "ripped off", because her son told her exactly which cards he wanted.

Vaskez - It's good to see you back here too. I wouldn't say that the majority of people are stupid. I think "foolish" is a better term. It's been pointed out that many people spent similar amounts of money on gifts at one time or another...the difference is those gifts were items that would last several YEARS......not just a few weeks. I didn't really consider the X-Box to even be foolish last year. It was one gift to be shared by all three kids - and it is something I'm SURE the youngest boy WILL play with for several more years.

I spent close to the same amount on my boys about 3 years ago....but I spent my money on one of those electric Jeeps that they can actually drive around the yard. It is STILL one of their favorite toys 3 yrs later.