'Tis the Season to be... Selfish or Giving?

[potato]

I'm sure a lot of you have read that I had just purchased a tivoli pm. I it, but I want to buy my mom the Batignolles Vertical for Christmas. I looked at my bank account and realized that I can't afford to buy my mom one if I keep the tivoli. But I could if I returned the tivoli and exchanged it for something that cost less (for example, neverfull mm).

What should i do? Should I return the tivoli and buy a different bag for myself and another for my mom or should I just wait and not get my mom one for christmas? My mom has never liked LV till she saw the BV and I'd like to get her something nice since i've never really given her anything for Christmas before. Well, nothing that she loves or is big enough to remember. If I wait to get the tivoli later, I know i'll never be able to get myself to spend that much money again. The only way I did it this time is that I had a $500 gift certificate that I bought from some lady off craigslist for $200. I'd also rather not buy it on credit - I hate the feeling of having something to pay off! I don't have a full time job since I'm still a student so my paychecks are pretty light.

Here are my pros and cons for each bag:
tivoli: gorgeous, can be dressed up, small everyday type of purse, not a shoulder bag
neverfull: seems more versatile - can use it for school, work, and travel, cheaper, shoulder bag, seems plain and flimsy

Please help! I'll have to go put my mom's bag soon incase they run out for the christmas season.

 

[John 5]

Keep the Tivoli. I'm not a fan of the Neverfull at all.

Why not buy her a less-expensive, yet still known, bag from Kate Spade or Coach?

 

[potato]

Well, Neither of us are big fans of Kate Spade and between the two of us, we have quite a few coach bags. We've been wanting to sell a couple of them cause we're started getting tired of coach.

 

[Kitsunegrl]

Maybe you can keep the Tivoli and get your mom a nice LV wallet or pochette accessoires to start?
Then you can plan to get her the BH for Christmas 2008 and start saving in January. If you saved 20 dollars a week for the year, you would have $1000 easily.

 

[socalgem]

I would take it back and get your mom what she wants and get you something else or keep the extra money and save up for the Tivoli later.

 

[Mom of 2]

If you know your mom is going to LOVE the LV then I would get it for her.. especially if you know it is something she would never buy for herself... what a GREAT daughter you are!!

 

[shopsinparis]

My mom has never liked LV till she saw the BV and I'd like to get her something nice since i've never really given her anything for Christmas before. Well, nothing that she loves or is big enough to remember. /quote]


No matter what you give her, however 'big' or 'small', it is not the amount of money you spent but that the gift is from YOU. It may sound cliche but it is always the personal gifts that mean the most.

 

[lvgoddess]

If you really love the Tivoli. Then keep it and try to get your mom maybe the Speedy 30. Most women of all ages love the speedy.

 

[girlsgottoshop]

My mom has never liked LV till she saw the BV and I'd like to get her something nice since i've never really given her anything for Christmas before. Well, nothing that she loves or is big enough to remember. /quote]


No matter what you give her, however 'big' or 'small', it is not the amount of money you spent but that the gift is from YOU. It may sound cliche but it is always the personal gifts that mean the most.

Very, very true!!! If you love the Tivoli, keep it. Get your mom something small.

 

[potato]

you all have me really thinking now! I would get my mom the speedy, but unlike the rest of the world, it's the one she would never get. She had a speedy style bag long time ago and she didn't like it. The BV is the only LV thing she has really liked - she spend a good amount of time in the store with me one day and the BV is the only thing she kept talking about. I might just go for it and hopefully work more to pay it off on my credit card sooner than later (ugh.).

Besides... I was thinking, if I got the neverfull instead (which i do want and like better than the BV), both my mom and I would have two totes. This way, we'd have the tivoli and the BV so we could share them since I still live at home. I guess that's the beauty of living at home: free room and board, and shared LV bags! haha

 

[ally24k]

does your mom like nice bags? i know my mom would be just as happy with a coach so i'd keep the tivoli for myself lol.

 

[potato]

Yeah, my mom has a bunch of coach purses - we kind of went nuts the past 2-3 years w/ coach. Now we feel like coach just keeps coming out with basically the same stuff, just in slightly different variations. There is nothing left to buy from them!

I keep going back and forth... while trying my tivoli on. I sort of think the bag is too "dressy" for me, but I can't think of any other bag I should get besides the neverfull (i don't like the speedy). I do really like the beverly clutch, but I don't know if that would be practical for everyday. I was thinking, maybe I could get the neverfull mm for everday, then maybe a twin pm and use that as a clutch for dressier events since i could find a second hand one for a good price. Still don't know... i'm the WORST at making up my mind. If anyone has any other suggestions on which bag to buy, i'm all ears!

 

[Londonholly]

Get her the bag- you can put a certain amount of money aside each month to get the tivoli later. From what you said it would be a very special present for her!

 

[charleston-mom]

Ok - I'm a mom - how about this idea. How about a $500 gift certificate to LV. She can add enough to buy the BV and still feel like she's getting something wonderful? As a mother, I would feel bad about my daughter spending so much. While I would love the gift, I wouldn't want her to give up the Tivoli that she loves so much.

My idea is a gift certificate. You know, my daughter was wanting to get me Gucci sunglasses but is in Medical School and couldn't afford them. She gave me a Nordstrom gift certificate and we went together and got them. I felt great because I probably wouldn't have paid full price on my own, and I still think of her every time I wear them. It was really fun.

 

[potato]

charleston-mom: i did think about the gift certificate idea, it is a really good one. I'm just afraid that after i get the GC, she'll feel like she HAS to go spend the extra money to get a bag. There is always that risk that she'll not want to go buy it... Do you know if Gift Certificates are returnable?

I'm thinking instead of a surprise, I might just tell my mom that for Christmas, I'll pay for "X" amount of whatever bag she wants. Don't like this idea very much, but i'll just wait and see what my options are by the end of the week. I'm trying to get my brother to help me chip in, but he's against expensive bags so he won't. I even tried guilting him into it - haha! If in the end, I really need to - i'll just go return the tivoli and maybe get the neverfull or a beverly clutch. I like them a lot too.