Holiday Shopping Tip #2: Don't.

Considering that we are officially in a recession, I'd like to offer up a few suggestions that just might ease the burden on your wallet/credit card statement this holiday season. If you didn't already fight the crowds on Black Friday or max out your Visa on Cyber Monday, it may not be too late to take some of these ideas into consideration.

1. Are you buying toys for your young children?
If so, ask yourself these questions: "WHY?" and "WHAT am I buying?"
First, the "why." A good idea before buying any toys is to closely examine the stash your kids already have, then add in the approximate amount they will likely receive from other relatives. Is your contribution really necessary?
Then, there is the "what." I know I am not in a position to speak to parents of older kids about holiday gifts. My oldest is 6 years old and homeschooled, so he hasn't yet learned that everybody has a Wii and/or an Xbox. If your kids are little, take advantage of the fact that they think a $5.00 Play-Doh Fun Factory is the coolest toy ever invented. Save your money for those future game systems, iPods and name-brand jeans.

2. Are you exchanging gifts with family members just because it's what you've always done?
Is there anyone on your list who might be open to a frank discussion about giving each other a break? We've been working on this over the past couple of years and have identified the people in our lives who actually enjoy the process of giving and receiving gifts. For those people we have continued the tradition. With others we have mutually agreed to not buy each other, or each other's children, any Christmas gifts. This has really reduced my stress and my spending during the holidays, without losing any of the fun or offending anyone for whom gift-giving is important. Other families draw names and buy a gift only for one person, which seems to work well especially in large extended families where it would be impractical for everyone to buy each other gifts.

3. Do you go to the mall to shop for other people and walk out with a ton of stuff for yourself?
This used to happen to me all the time, back before I had kids and visiting the mall became a nightmare. The stores had all these great deals! I'd see something I'd been wanting forever, and here it was on sale! Before I knew it, my arms were full of shopping bags but I hadn't bought a thing for anyone else on my list.
The solution to this would be, don't go to the mall. Also, nowadays we need to add, don't just browse around on the Internet either. Don't go to any sort of shopping place, physical or virtual, unless you have a plan, a list, and if possible, limited time.

What do you think of these ideas? Do I totally sound like a Scrooge?
How about you, readers? What, if anything, are you doing to cut back this holiday season? Have any insight and ideas of your own?

Helicopter update!

I am receiving a lot of feedback regarding the helicopters mentioned in the post below, so I tracked down the instructions. Here is a little more information:

*They are called Havoc Heli Air Hogs. I think they were purchased at Target.
*Safety-wise, it says not for children under 3 years. But above that it says "8+" so I am assuming 8 is the recommended age.
*There are a number of warnings. "Do not touch the running propeller! Do not play above someone's head! Adult supervision is required!" and, "DANGER! Do not puncture the styrofoam! The battery will be damaged."
*Although it claims to be "easy to fly," this is followed by three pages of what I would consider rather complex instructions and one page of troubleshooting, safety precautions, FCC statements, care and maintenance, and special battery cautions.
*After "Becoming familiar with your controller/charger," installing the batteries, and charging the helicopters, it's time to fly. There is a three step process called "trimming" the helicopter, which is done each time you turn on the helicopter. After that there are instructions on how to hover, turn, accelerate and stop, how to adjust your heli's flight performance, and how to fix your twin rotors.
*The helicopter will have 5-6 minutes of flight time after a 20-30 minute charge, and before recharging the battery, you have to wait 10-15 minutes for the battery to cool down.

If all this sounds like a good time, then this toy might be the one for you and your (hopefully at least 8-year-old) child. I do think my husband would have enjoyed the Havoc Heli Air Hogs quite a lot, if only the kids had not demolished them before he got the chance to play. But then again, he never would have read the instructions and thus would never know that he was supposed to "trim" the helicopter before trying to fly it around the room.

Holiday Shopping Tip #1: When buying toys, think "age-appropriate"

Following are just two recent examples of age-inappropriate toys that have met a hasty demise at our house.

Hand Crafted Native American Collector Doll


Although the packaging clearly stated that this was "For display only. Ages 8 and up," Grandma, for some unknown reason, felt that my daughter needed to have this doll when she was just six months old. My task, then, was to store the doll for the next seven and a half years, taking care to keep it out of her sight until she reached the level of maturity that she no longer liked dolls and would leave it alone.

Unfortunately, there was a glitch in the plan when my little girl was 19 months old. We were in the midst of packing and somehow she discovered this "baby." Grandma just happened to be visiting and decided that 19 months was close enough to 8 years, so my daughter started carrying her new "baby" around everywhere. That is, until the second day, when she dropped baby on the concrete and baby's head got smashed to bits.

I sent the doll home with Grandma, with instructions to please not bring it back until the kid was eight. Grandma impressively reconstructed the head with a liberal amount of glue and returned with it shortly after my daughter's second birthday. This time the doll lasted three days before it fell on the wood floor and "baby" got her face smashed in again:



Miniature Indoor Remote Control Helicopters


These were purchased by my husband during my recent trip to Hawaii, so I'm not sure if they ever actually flew around the house as they are supposedly designed to do. By the time I saw them in action, all they did was spin around an inch off the floor, ricocheting off people's legs like dying June bugs.

I have no idea what the recommended age is for this toy, all I know is these helicopters did not last long with our 6-and-under crowd.

And in case you are wondering--no, the red one is not supposed to be bent like that.

Introducing Ruth, the Mom's Very Helpful Guide to All of Your Holiday Shopping

You are busy.

The economy is shaky.

The holiday season looms ahead.

You have probably been wondering if I have any insanely simple, incredibly useful bits of advice to help you navigate the expenditures and expectations that tend to accompany this time of year.

Great news. It just so happens that I do.

Over the next couple of weeks, I'll be inundating my readers with handy-dandy tips involving the who/what/when/where/why/how of holiday shopping.

Be sure to check in often for updates!

Like a Pilgrim in a strange land with no Internet

This week I'm off to do the family Thanksgiving thing, and I'm leaving the laptop behind, because with three kids and all their stuff, the last thing I need is something else to lug around the airport.

I'm thankful I can take a week off with no consequences whatsoever. That's the beauty of working for no pay.

Check back next week, when I will launch Ruth, the Mom's Very Helpful Guide to All of Your Holiday Shopping!

My day with Abe

Just realized I never weighed in on my own reader participation question.

It's not too late. If you want to add your own ideas click here to see the original post.

But here's what I would do if I could spend the day with Abraham Lincoln:

We'd start the day with a trip to Starbucks. (I am always looking for an excuse to hit Starbucks, and don't you think he'd like to see the way that everyday Americans, even in the middle of a major economic downturn, stand in long lines to pay $4.00 for their daily caffeine fix?)

Then I might drive around a while, showing him all the other Starbucks within a two-mile radius, also with long lines.

After that, I would take him to Target. I think Abe would find it interesting to wander the aisles of merchandise, watching people push their red shopping carts around the store, seemingly talking to themselves. (I'd let him wonder a while before cluing him in about cell phones and wireless headsets.) I'm sure there would be something I needed at Target (there always is) so I'd show him how we use a small plastic card to pay for our purchases.

All of this would probably be a bit overwhelming, so after that we'd head back home to relax. First I'd show him the cover of Newsweek with the title "Obama's Lincoln," subtitled "The Strength of Humility: Channeling the 16th President." I think he would like to know that he is still a major player in American politics.

Then I would turn on my computer and show him the photos of my son dressed up as Honest Abe for Halloween. After that of course, I'd have to check my email. Then I'd show Abe how to surf the Web. I would probably regret this when he spent the entire afternoon Googling himself and trying to catch up on the last 143 years.

I'd finally tear him away from the computer in time for dinner, when I would take him out for pizza. As the day was winding down, we'd turn on the TV and flip through hundreds of incredibly useless channels. Then I'd let him have a turn with the remote, and being a guy, he would instinctively turn to ESPN and watch sports late into the night.

How about you? Where would you take Abe? What would you show him?

Thursday Thirteen #24: how to get sick

Thirteen Ways to Get Sick in November

1. Go grocery shopping

2. Become sleep-deprived

3. Limit water intake

4. Get sneezed on by a 2-year-old

5. Consume less than one apple per day

6. Air travel

7. Visit your local elementary school

8. Wash your hands less than a billion times a day

9. Ride a bus

10. Shop at the mall

11. Stay home

12. Go out in public

13. Breathe



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