Christmas time is just around the corner - and let me tell you, I cant afford Christmas! Technology is fantastic. Bells, whistles, doodads and thingermawhats, robot kitty poo cleaners and computer camera phones. Great!
Not so great - my kids want all of it. Well maybe not the litter robot - that's on my wish list. My seven year old daughter is the main concern here. Her Christmas list consists of the Wii, a Nintendo DSI, video games, and a few other things I haven't heard of. I could spend the whole Christmas budget on just one kid. The other younger ones are after sixty dollar talking monkeys and elephants, as well as jumping on the video game band wagon - just because they see the older one playing. Gone are the days of ripping open a million presents filled with socks and underwear, and a few dolls and stuffed animals.
So how do you handle this at Christmas? I have tried a few scenarios with the girls..
Me:"All of those presents are too expensive for Santa"
Angie:" What do you mean, they are free - the elves make them"
Me: "If Santa gives you all of these gifts, he wont have any toys left for your sisters"
Angie: Why not, the elves make toys all year"
Me: "The parts for the toys are too expensive, and Santa can't afford to make them all"
Angie: "What do you mean, the elves don't buy parts, they make them with their tools!"
OK, so I have a sneaking suspicion that the toy and gadget producers are wise to this idea. How do we combat this? If we are not able to afford the bazillions of gadgets that our children (and friends and family) so desperately want, are we forced to divulge the Christmas secret, in order to avoid Christmas morning disappointment and heartbreak? Will Santa vanish because we simply can't afford him?
This is a job for Social Media Moms! Our first conjoined effort should be to regulate the advertising of expensive toys before the holiday season. Advertisements should be strategically placed during older children's and adult television shows - after the little ones go to bed. We should be able to decide our own Christmas wish lists - not the corporations who want our hard earned money. Corporate Scrooges, beware of Social Media Moms!
1 comment:
Tech toys are neat but I have an interesting story to tell. There is a new toy - Zhu Zhu Pet - an interactive hampster with all the hampster cage supplies. They are only in the US so far. Wal Mart and ToysRUS carry them for $8-$10. Of course they are all sold out.
But, in the walmart store, when I asked about more stock, I was told only 30 or 40 at a time and that they are typically locked up when they arrive 'cause they disappear before going to the shelves! And if you look on ebay or Amazon you can buy them for $50.......Unbelievable but it seems to happen every Christmas
Shopper Granny
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