Newflash! Christmas Isn’t About Toys

Do you do something similar?

As a kid in the early ’90s, I was dying for an Easy-Bake Oven. All my friends had them, or so I told my parents. I envisioned all the amazing, delicious treats I could make if only I had one—why, I could even set up a little baked goods shop, maybe earn some extra money! Finally, Christmas came, and under the tree was the little toy appliance of my dreams. So many fun accessories! Over the next few days, it produced a handful of really terrible muffin-like things and a wicked burn on my finger. I soon shoved it in my closet and forgot all about it, moving on to the Jones for the next big “it” toy.

While I can certainly recall some favorite toys from my childhood (I still have my BFF, a battered stuffed rabbit named Petey), most of my fond memories revolve around playing imagination-fueled games in my brothers’ bunk bed. With just a few blankets hanging down from the top bed, we created a dozen little worlds from the cozy bottom bunk. We could blast off in a space ship or go for a cross-country drive in a big rig. We also played outside a lot, the three of us zooming into the woods on our bikes. I spent a lot of time with my grandparents, fishing and picking berries all summer. There were no toys at their house, yet it was my favorite place on the planet.

Today, I have a daughter of my own. While pregnant, I swore (to the chagrin of several of my co-workers) that my kid would not be one of those kids with enough toys to open their own store. Yet somehow, in less than three years on this earth, she has amassed an overwhelming collection of stuffed animals and plastic junk.

You can read the rest of this article on Scary Mommy. When you're finished, leave a comment and share your take on toys and Christmas and how much is too much.