have you seen this toy:
of course you’ve seen it. or you’ve heard about it. the TMX Elmo. it’s THE toy of the season.
my stepmother is big on the holidays. Chrismukah, as it’s appropriately called by our family (and also by Seth Cohen, of course) is celebrated every year in Atlanta, at my dad’s house. my stepmom goes all out. big parties. lots of food. lots of family. lots of presents. lots and lots of presents.
think i’m kidding? this is a picture of last year’s loot…and i couldn’t even get everything into the shot:
in fact, she begins hounding us in early August for our Chrismukah wish lists. a task that’s proving to be a lot harder than it sounds. since, it’s, um, mid-October, and i have little to show for it. actually i’ve got nothing to show for it…all i’ve got is a lousy youtube video of an Elmo that you can’t find anywhere. i’m terrible at this.
but then i figured, why not ask the internets?
so…i need you to tell me. what are THE toys of choice this holiday season? what do i ask for my kids? my kids…who already have EVERYTHING? do your kids have things that they absolutely LOVE? that they are absolutely DYING for?
usually i hear it all the time in my house. "Mommy, i NEED XXX. i have to have it. if i don’t get it, i’ll die. anyone who’s anyone has it." but lately…i’ve got nothing. nothing. Emily did mention a pixel house? i don’t really know what that is, though? anyone?
help!
song of the day: The Space Between by Dave Matthews Band. an oldie but a goodie. one of my favorites.
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my daughter wants a horse (ughhhhhhhh), and my son wants floam. hahahah. they’re easy..
[Danger: shameless self-plugging ahead:] Buy them art! From my website! http://kidsdeserveart.com. CHECK IT!!!! 😉 xo
Btw: the song of the day today for me is: “Float Flutter Fly” by the Backyardigans. From today’s episode. Love it!
Wow – that’s a lot of gifts, Ali!
I agree with your commenters in that donating things to charity is a great idea at any time of year and, sure, I think it’s really important to impress that upon our kids from an early age. But, I try to remember that kids are kids…and sometimes it’s just cool to have the trendy toys.
As parents, we all have to draw lines somewhere (based on our beliefs and our financial situations) – I mean, our kids can’t have everything they want, right? And, we also want our kids to know that just because “everybody” has something doesn’t mean it’s necessarily “cool”.
But, I try to remember, too, what it’s like to be a kid in school and be literally the ONLY one without a specific toy, etc. I was in that position sometimes as a kid…and I didn’t like how it made me feel like an outsider – I don’t want my kids to feel that way unnecessarily. So, while I talk to them often about how gifts are not what’s important, and we donate our little-used toys to charity, too, I still try to have at least one or two “gotta have it” toys under the tree at Christmas time along with my picks for educational toys and clothes and stuff. I do make a point to explain to them that some kids are not as fortunate as we are and don’t have Christmases like we do. It’s important for them to know that even some of the kids in their class, may not have many (or any) gifts under the tree. I want them to be sensitive to that in the post-Christmas class room, if you know what I mean.
That being said, Ali, I love your post and find myself in the same predicament. My mom just asked me this morning what she should get my gremlins for Christmas – and I have no clue what’s “in” at the moment. I’ve got an (almost) 12yo boy, an (almost) 10yo girl and a 6yo boy. I’d love to know what’s cool this year! Can’t wait to hear the suggestions you get!
At our house, the boys love anything Legos/Bionicle related. There isn’t a “must have toy”. I can’t stand those Elmos. We don’t get into all the hype the market dictates. And the kids don’t play with all the toys they get for Xmas anyway, what a waste. So every Xmas, we have a limit of $50 per child, and that’s already a lot. I’m the boring aunt, all the nieces and nephews know that they’ll get something educational from me, like books and such. But as my son is getting older, I want him to understand the act of sharing. He gave away his b-day gifts to the local Children’s hospital this past year, and maybe we’ll do the same for Xmas.
Wow, Ali…that’s a LOT of stuff! I find my kids just don’t play with toys very much. Because of this, for my son’s b-day the guests were asked to bring the money they would normally spend on a gift and we donated most of it to the charity Right to Play which supports sports programs in impoversished countries, and then my son got to buy one special gift. He chose a Nintendo Gamecube. Mostly, he just wants to play sports. My daughter is similar. I find too many toys overwhelm them.
Sorry…no help on trendy toys here!
Last year, my Dad (Grandpa Kirk), gave the kids a brochure of the family he had sponsored in Africa in lieu of presents from him. All four kids (ages 4 through 10) were thrilled at the idea of helping a family. Part of the donation went towards buying some farm animals for the family. However Kendra (age 8) wanted some chicken for our house too (she is an animal lover). We worked through that issue. One cat is enough.
Before Christmas we as family go through the existing collection of toys in house and donate toys (that are in good working order) to local charities.
My daughter Kendra has one of the famed Pixel Chix homes. Kinda of silly in my opinion but she loves it. Noise maker. It was a B day present so I am unsure of cost.