outside the (toy) box

Well, many smart bloggers have me thinking about the holidays.  Mom Unplugged has really been posting great, thought-provoking stuff that asks us to reconsider what holidays are and what they can be (Man, does she make some good points I’d rather not hear, remincent of Candace’s post on bloggy guilt).  I know she’s right and it hurts a little.  And the Not Quite Crunchy Parent has several posts addressing toys toys toys and good buying for smart, healthy, creative play.

I’d like to add to the discussion a little by highlighting a few goodies we can all take under advisement.  The first is that the teachers’ org. TRUCE has released their annual toy guide.  It’s a nice resource for parents and also a gentle nudge we can forward to well intentioned relatives who are filling your house with things you don’t really care for. 

Some of you might want to get into the a healthier consumption mindset by checking out What Would Jesus Buy.  At least we can laugh at the insanity.  I can’t wait to see it. I heart me some Reverend Billy - I tip my hat to him and all the other culture jamming activists out there who make us smile and keep dissent fun and photogenic.  So anyway, check out WWJB.

Also, I wanted to plug Etsy, where I will be spending some serious time this holiday season.  I know, I know, some of you have been all over Etsy for ages, but it’s fairly new to me and I’m pretty much ga ga over it.  There are several great stores with cute kids’ things.  Exhibit A (I just bought 5 capes - but you already know I looove costumes), Exhibit B, Exhibit C.   There are many fun things for we grown up types too, but if I go to look for a few illustrative examples, I may never return.  I don’t get sucked into the vortex, I LEAP. (<– oh, come on, you’ve got time, click on that link, it’s funny)

So Etsy = happiness.  You can buy unique things, help support artists, and reduce the $$ inflow to WalMart and the toy giants all at once.   You also save sanity — no mall, no traffic, no lines.  My goal is modest - to spend 25% of my Christmas dollars there.   The only downside to Etsy is that it’s overwhelming and can be challenging to find the sellers that you really like — if you have favorites, please share in your comments!

But kids give gifts as well as receive them.  For me, Miss I-Don’t-Take-My-Child-Shopping, this can be a challenge.  My birthday was last week, as I mentioned.  So, dh tells me he needs “some time” with Thing 1 so that he can take her for my gift.  “She has a very clear idea of what she would like to give you,” he says.

“Hmmm, is it by any chance a special ornament for the Christmas Tree?” (This is what she wants to give everyone, always.)

“It is.”

So I start a full body cringe because I don’t want him to take her to target and I think the mall is even worse.  Ick. Oh, but then I remembered…

“Take her to the pottery place - she can make it!”

And voila — the trip to the pottery place takes no longer than going to the mall, Dad and daughter have some nice, creative quality time together, our $$ goes to a small business instead of Coprorate moneybags, Thing 1 has a gift she is really proud of, and I have a keepsake.

effing perfect.

Isn’t it weird how one choice can simultaneously do so much?  Good for my kids, good for my husband, good for me, bad for evil asshats.  Voting with our wallets matters, probably more than voting in the traditional sense, where the field of candidates is predefined and very very narrow. 

…Speaking of candidates and elections - don’t EVEN let me get going about the damned “diamonds or pearls” question Hillary got at the deabte the other night - I’m an Edwards woman myself, but I still want Hillary to be treated like the Senator and presidential candidate that she is. Cripes!

Focus, focus.

Sorry, where was I? 

Ah yes, well, Thing 1 always makes things for her grandparents, but for some reason dh and I have usually had her buy things for one another. What have we been thinking? 

Gifts kids can make:

• bracelets/necklaces
• paintings (if you use special materials it will help it feel like a big deal)
• books (this is a very exciting project you can do with even very young kids — have them do 6 paintings, staple them, and then ask them to tell the story and write down what they say verbatim - one time Thing 1 made a book for dh and the first 3 pages said things like, “This is a very special book. Please don’t rip it” har har har.  Anyway, it doubles as a great pre-literacy activity.)
• Muffins/cookies/pies (anything that can be boxed and bowed!)
• Paper weights (i.e., painted rocks from the yard!)
• Photo collages (used to be even easier when we all had buckets of double prints around. Ah, doubles - the casualty of the digital age)
• Musical instruments (paper towel/toilet paper tubes painted and filled with pasta)
• Video tributes (for more on this see page on play here)
• Performances (learn a song, read a poem, do a dance, how about a roast?)

Have fun. Happy gifting — you smartypantsers.

PS Also, you might want to check out my list of nonsexist/anti-consumerist kids books, if you’re in the market.