Editorial: Stick to the basics this gift-giving season
Folks at the National Toy Hall of Fame in Rochester, N.Y. — likely buoyed by all of the attention garnered by their cardboard box pick last year — have inducted the stick as one of three toys honored this year. The other two are the baby doll and the skateboard.
We say bully for them. And look at the timing. Why, in these tough economic times, parents everywhere can now feel free to relieve some major stress by simply revamping their pricey holiday lists. Parents, take your lists that are chock full of electronic gizmos and impossible-to-find one-hit wonders and replace them with some everyday items that kids through the ages have commandeered for their very own.
We've got some ideas of our own; call them the Messenger Post nominees for the Toy Hall of Fame.
For instance, squeaky dog and cat toys — these are best when chewed up — are a natural choice. As are bath towels that double as capes, sauce pans and lids, newspaper, wrapping paper and clothespins.
Really — it’s commonplace to hand a child a box containing the latest must-have, costing roughly three months’ salary, only to have the little darling spend more time mesmerized by the shiny, noisy wrapping paper than the contents of the box.
How many parents spend hours boiling and sanitizing bottles and pacifiers only to one day turn around and find junior chewing on an old pair of grandpa's slippers?
We're betting one of the most popular of these types of gifts is the one no child (or adult, for that matter) can resist.
Two words: bubble wrap. Fill a box with bubble wrap, wrap it in wrapping paper and presto — a twofer!
Forgive us if we appear to be making light of the Hall of Fame pick. In fact, we celebrate the spirit of choosing a toy that inspires the imagination. It's a truly joyous occasion when a child takes an everyday item like a stick and turns it into a light saber or a magic wand.
And kids, if you're reading this, don't worry — if you haven't found the joy in playing with a stick yet, give it a try. (Especially if you find one under the Christmas tree this year — and if you do and it’s our fault, we’re sorry.)
But take it in stride: After all, until you give it a whirl, you never know what wondrous lands you can conquer or spells you can cast with your new gift.
Just don't run with it. You'll put your eye out.
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