How to make a laptop a more exciting present for a child

bigmomma051204

So...

This may sound a very indulgent post but its not, I promise!

So, its my son's 11th birthday next week - As he is now at middle school, more homework has become reliant on a home pc/laptop. I figured - why not kill 2 birds with one laptop... Now, he likes electrical devices (as a lot of 11yr olds do!) but a laptop isnt very exciting is it :cool: Its not even an exciting coloured jobby, as I got it from Tesco as a big bargain - £350, used Tesco Clubcard double up and ended up paying just £40 for it :T:T But it is just "grey" and a little uninspiring....

So now I am feeling a bit mean, as just a laptop with nothing to play on it, etc is not the most thrilling pressie, is it?

So - Can anyone suggest what 11yr old friendly things I could get to make it seem a little more appealing? I know people will get on their high horses and say he should be grateful... he will be, but I would like him to be more than grateful - excited perhaps? :A

Now - how does one buy PC games? DOES one buy PC games....?

For example - there is a new Minecraft Story Mode game out, which he would love .... I was going to get it on PS3 for him, then thought I would try to get it on PC... seems you can't?! Or am I being thick?

Any cool usb pluggy inny gadgets to give as a make-weight pressie with it? :cool:

Help!

Ps - this is the laptop...in case it makes a difference whether games etc will work on it?! http://www.tesco.com/direct/hp-pavilion-15-p264na-156-inch-laptop-amd-a10-8gb-ram-1tb-hdd-silver/796-2991.prd?pageLevel=sku&skuId=796-2991

mum2one

He sounds a very lucky lad...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00ECUWMBY?keywords=dog%20speaker&qid=1447972033&ref_=sr_1_2&sr=8-2

(theres about 2 different designs)

usb stick - I would for a fun design and plain usb stick, that way he can use the plain one for school and keep fun one for his files

http://www.amazon.co.uk/YooUSB-Guitar-Style-Flash-Memory/dp/B006IYE3IW/ref=sr_1_18?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1447972102&sr=1-18&keywords=usb+memory+stick

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00NEH0ND0?psc=1
(plain usb)

card reader

http://www.amazon.co.uk/EasyAcc%C2%AE-SuperSpeed-Ultrabooks-Microsoft-Raspberry/dp/B00JO8WJWQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1447972334&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=card+reader&psc=1

I cant make any suggestions re games - personally if h has a ps3 keep the games for that - have better graphics / more than 1 player /

(my dd is 13, we did the tesco double up for her ipad - best present she had) xx

SailorSam

If i was 11yrs old and was given a new laptop i'd be excited, and i think most 11yr olds would.

bigmomma051204

SailorSam wrote: »

If i was 11yrs old and was given a new laptop i'd be excited, and i think most 11yr olds would.

Absolutely - but then, once you had it out of the box and plugged in... to find you don't actually have anything to do on it (apart from homework LOL!!!!), maybe it will be an anticlimax?

Like, getting a new toy but no batteries? Or getting a cd player but having no cds to play on it.... etc!

balletshoes

bigmomma051204 wrote: »

Absolutely - but then, once you had it out of the box and plugged in... to find you don't actually have anything to do on it (apart from homework LOL!!!!), maybe it will be an anticlimax?

Like, getting a new toy but no batteries? Or getting a cd player but having no cds to play on it.... etc!

won't he plug it in and get on the internet? loads of games etc he can download.

bigmomma051204

balletshoes wrote: »

won't he plug it in and get on the internet? loads of games etc he can download.

Yeah I appreciate that ... Nothing compares with opening physical pressies though does it?

I just wanted a couple of other little bits to go with it and make it even more exciting as I explained

Georgiegirl256

I think most kids would be chuffed to bits with a laptop and would find it very exciting.

No wonder a lot of kids are so materialistic nowadays

mum2one

He will be over the moon with the laptop, add a couple of nick nacks - once he gets up and running with the internet - he wont worry about games.

x

Andypandyboy

My 16 year old was thrilled with a laptop last Christmas. I think you are over thinking it.

Yes, he will do his homework on it, but he can do so many other things too. Play up that angle, £350 is a good laptop for an 11 year old, you should expect him to be grateful, not be looking to add to an already great present.

A tip from someone with several children - don't set their expectations too high, too young! Each year it will get harder to find something that will excite or enthuse.

bigmomma051204

Georgiegirl256 wrote: »

I think most kids would be chuffed to bits with a laptop and would find it very exciting.

No wonder a lot of kids are so materialistic nowadays

Ahhh there always has to be one :T

I have bought him a laptop first and foremost because he will need it for school from this point on. Rather than buy him a present and then have to buy a laptop separately on another occasion, I have combined to kill 2 birds with one stone. It cost me £50. I would therefore like to spend a little bit more to make it a super duper present.

He is in no way spoilt, as your post implies. How dare you make such sweeping statements about other people's children? My son is, in fact, the least materialistic child you will ever meet. He is not perfect, he has his faults as do we all.. but a spoilt ungrateful brat, he is not! He will appreciate the laptop. That doesn't mean I can't buy him a couple of other little gifts to go with it. And just so you know, this post wasn't asking anyone's approval

BrassicWoman

He won't be able to run whizzy games on it - the price indicates the graphics card won't be ace, so best stick to his console for that. But it'd cope with itunes nicely if you gave him a shuffle and an itunes giftcard?