Reagan gets something cool from Auntie
A Chuck Rant:
Happy New Year everyone!
Enough with the pleasantries, the holidays are over, so get to work! Here’s some straight ‘dude poop’ that I took away from this Christmas: Parents are totally out of control when buying gifts for their little brats, ahem, sorry, I mean wee lovelies. Seriously, our kid is almost two and has zero concept of gifts or Christmas. So, why would I go out and buy a bunch of stuff she won’t appreciate? Besides, as I learned, to my amusement, relatives take on that burden readily and happily. Maybe over zealously. I’m like, “really, that’s a nice gift and all, but my 21 month-er doesn’t understand what you just did for her.”
So, here’s what our little darling wanted:
Nothing! She speaks 20 words and “I want” ain’t one of ‘em…yet.
What she got from Mom & Dad:
3 books and some wooden blocks.
What she got from family:
As sweet and generous as they all were… she got way too much! Brightly colored, plastic extruded bits o’ play stuff mewing out this God awful Casio tone music. Enough! Enough with that diabolical music! Arghh! It’s like being eternally stuck inside the ‘It’s a Small World’ ride at Disneyland. I guess it’s worth it considering baby girl listens to it over and over and over again, which buys us 5 minute blocks of parent down time. But, we (the parents) are stroking-out over here!
What she really, really wanted:
For you to get down on your hands and knees and give horsey rides. That’s all man. Horsey rides. Sometimes the best gift is just plain ol’ dumb stuff. When baby girl is older the only thing she’s likely to remember is Grandpa’s horsey ride. And, that’s alright.
Ok, wrestling with Tia works too.
I couldn’t agree with you more! My son was just shy of 20 months on Christmas. I insisted the grandparents not send toys. Instead, I gave a book list to one grandma and the other one sent him a check for his savings account. The few toys he opened on Christmas morning from “Santa” were all educational. Besides, he wasn’t even into opening the packages, it was more about playing in boxes and paper! Opening 5 gifts took almost 3 hours!
Those parents that go overboard are just ridiculous. They will end up selling the toys they bought on eBay or Craigslist because their toddler won’t be interested.
Great post!
Thanks Jessica! At least your parents listened and bought something practical. Ours? Not so much. Thanks for the feedback!