My children have a knack for telling me what they want for Christmas on Dec. 1st, then changing their mind, always adding the "hard to find" gifts sometime around Dec. 12th. Lovely.
Carlie turned her nose up at the ever elusive Mr. Squiggles, and Num Nums back in October when a dear friend told me about the "Furby of 2009". Like a fool, I took Carlie at her word that she was not interested in a fake hamster with wheels for feet. I can be an idiot of the highest order sometimes.
Then round about last week Miss Carlie informed me that she just HAD to talk to Santa because she HAD to get a Zhu Zhu pet for Christmas! I began my hunt for the elusive wheeled rodent. I was so excited when I heard they may be poisonous, because then I was off the hook. No such luck. But fortunately, I was smart enough to buy one while there was rumors of toxic rodentia! I got Mr. Squiggles at a bargain basement price of $35. Yes, I'm well aware that price is 7x the retail price for wheeled rodents. But considering the day before the price had been around 15x the retail price, I considered the hunt a success!
That wasn't the only "impossible to find" toy Miss Priss wanted this year. She had been asking for Barbie's Glamour Camper. When we were in New York City she saw the 1,000 of them stacked inside the lifesize Barbie house inside Toys R' Us in Times Square. I told her no, and made up something about packing it and getting it home. Really I just didn't want to mess with it. One week later I realize again, just how big an idiot I really can be.
I started hunting for Barbie's overpriced motorhome only to find it has been sold out of every single store both online and bricks and mortar! I checked it out on Amazon and eBay. Anywhere from $120 to $200 for the retailed $70 camper. Unfortunately there were no rumors of toxic Barbie vehicles! I had to pull out the big guns. Just like I'm sure Bill Jordan would do when searching for rare game, I sent out emails, Facebook updates, Twitters, etc. about my need for a Barbie camper at retail price! I went as far as to offer all 200 of our employees a $25 "Finders Fee" if someone could come up with the camper! A real hunter knows no boundaries people. No boundaries.
Within 48 hours I had my very own pink Glamour Camper! Much nicer than the 1970 hooptie that Barbie used to have to camp in. Ken must have gotten a much better job in the last 40 years. Anyway. Score one more for the rare 'game' hunter!
Cam is a different story. He asked for nothing except a wresting video game for PSP and PlayStation. I found both with no problem. The problem with him is I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO GET HIM! He gives no clues. Nothing. There is like one measly little "boy toy aisle" at Walmart, compared to the five girl aisles. But he doesn't even play with toys. He has lots of video games already, and doesn't play with them much. He plays football in the yard, or shoots critters that enter our yard at their own risk. He has footballs, he has guns. He has a bike and a scooter. What do you get 10 year old boys? Poor guy. He's going to have very little on Christmas morning compared to his sister if I don't get it in gear! But how do you hunt down something when you don't know what you're hunting?
I bet Bill Jordan would know.
AMEN! There are only so many balls and wheeled apparatus you can buy before your garage is full! Boys are soooo hard. Mine are outside 24/7 too. I love Barbie - the toy that has no end in sight..
ReplyDeletewe arent to the 10 y/.o boy age yet, but I was thinking they are soooo much easier to buy for than girls. anything hunting, fishing, football, and video game goes over well there is no lace and no whining over whose barbie condo is bigger....LOL
ReplyDeleteI have gotten creative though, as they were babies I picked an animal each and have built a collection for them from that first selection. 6 has Pandas and 5 has penguins and lilbit is getting monkeys. this may not sound like much, but each year they get something, an ornament, bank, animal, shirt something with their chosen animal on it.
Steff