Some of the recommendations strike me as being told that you should buy out the contents of the Snap-on catalog if you are planning to put together a Power Wheels for Christmas.

If I weld, and I don't, I am the kind of welder that epitomizes the bigger the blob the better the job type. All these fancy machines would be a gigantic waste of money for me with my skill set. A cheapo HF one that would allow me to glob on more weld, or maybe actually learn to weld with, would be my starting point. This way if it turns out I an congenitally incapable learning to weld, or I actually learn to weld and decide to spend money of a welder my skills are worthy of, I won't have spent much on that cheapo one to begin with.