Does Santa's Budget Stretch To A Lego Death Star?

At this time of year, it's virtually impossible to avoid random strangers chattering to your kids about Santa.

Everyone from the lady at the Post Office to the Asda delivery driver have asked my three-year-old if Santa's coming soon – to the point that she's more than a little bit wound up with excitement about the whole thing.

I'd play it much cooler if it were down to me but what can you do when literally everywhere you go people start asking what he's bringing and whether she's been a good girl this year?

So I wasn't surprised to read about how cross one mum felt when her seven-year-old son was told by Santa that he would be getting the £400 toy of his dreams this Christmas Eve.

The Metro reports:

'Linda Belnik, 35, claims the Westfield Father Christmas talked about getting son Joshua, seven, Star Wars Death Star Lego set. She said that he told her son: "See this white phone? I will call the elves now and get them to make it for you."'

Mrs Belnik reportedly complained to the Westfield shopping centre and was offered a free ice-skating experience for the family by way of compensation but – as she pointed out to the paper – that won't help her explain to her little boy why Santa's 'promise' won't be coming true on Christmas Day.

All of which got me wondering; where do you draw the line when it comes to fulfilling your children's big Christmas wishes? I'm usually quite strict about sticking to a budget and not going overboard with pressies – but this year I've definitely spent more than in previous years. In part that's because I've worked long hours and lots of weekends this year, so it feels only right to be a little more lavish in the gift-giving department.

But I dread the thought of becoming the kind of parent who splurges on gifts to compensate for being permanently stressed about work or always absent-mindedly glued to my emails.

I've also noticed that my kids Christmas wish lists get pricier as they get older – yet the actual size of their pressies seem to be shrink. Sticking to a budget gets harder when they only really wish for one thing but said item costs as much as all the small stocking fillers combined that I would have bought in previous years.

But would I spend £400 on a Lego Death Star? Nope. What about on a pony? Hmm. Only if I could ride it too.

So where do you draw the line when your child asks Santa for something that's a bit more costly than, um, you know he was anticipating assigning to your child? And how would you feel if Santa – or indeed a random stranger – somehow seemed to imply that a very expensive item might be winging its way to your child this Christmas? Come and join the conversation over on our Facebook page or leave us a comment below.