Torture Me Elmo -- shopping season's coming.
Our family writer is receiving samples of the season's new toys (no, she doesn't get to keep 'em!) that will have kids begging their parents for and putting stars next to on their Christmas wish list for Santa. There's a new Elmo doll that falls down, rolls over, throws its arm in the air, kicks its feet and rights itself while cracking up. Toy technology has really come far since the original Tickle Me Elmo just laughed and shook. I found it made a good neck massager.
Remember the run on the toy stores the year that came out? People were selling them in the classifieds for hundreds of dollars. Now you can get one for a quarter at a garage sale. Ever pay more than the face value for something your kid really, really, really wanted? (Although in the Tickle Me Elmo case, I think it was actually the parents or grandparents that really, really, really wanted the kids to have it.)
Ever knock anybody out of the way to grab the last toy on the shelf? That actually happened to someone I know, who was about to pick up the last toy off a pallet, but was shoved away by another woman who knocked her down, grabbed the last of the "hot" toy and fled.
I've done the Friday morning, 6 a.m. shopping on the day after Thanksgiving. I hate crowds, but that's no big deal, I'm up then anyway and if there's something I want for sale, I'll go get it. But I get in, get what I want and get out, pronto. I've got four young'uns to shop for, and every dollar saved counts.
If one of my kids wanted a toy that was impossible to get without paying 10 times the store cost, they'd have to forget it. I'll pick it up in January -- when it's back on the shelves, there are no crowds and I don't have to worry someone might knock me out of the way, too.
Remember the run on the toy stores the year that came out? People were selling them in the classifieds for hundreds of dollars. Now you can get one for a quarter at a garage sale. Ever pay more than the face value for something your kid really, really, really wanted? (Although in the Tickle Me Elmo case, I think it was actually the parents or grandparents that really, really, really wanted the kids to have it.)
Ever knock anybody out of the way to grab the last toy on the shelf? That actually happened to someone I know, who was about to pick up the last toy off a pallet, but was shoved away by another woman who knocked her down, grabbed the last of the "hot" toy and fled.
I've done the Friday morning, 6 a.m. shopping on the day after Thanksgiving. I hate crowds, but that's no big deal, I'm up then anyway and if there's something I want for sale, I'll go get it. But I get in, get what I want and get out, pronto. I've got four young'uns to shop for, and every dollar saved counts.
If one of my kids wanted a toy that was impossible to get without paying 10 times the store cost, they'd have to forget it. I'll pick it up in January -- when it's back on the shelves, there are no crowds and I don't have to worry someone might knock me out of the way, too.
2 Comments:
I have never shopped on the day after Thanksgiving.
I only started one year when there was a huge sale on some game system for the kids. I went thru the toy store circular, circled what I really needed, went in, grabbed those certain things and got out. I was done in about 20 minutes.
Now I keep up that pattern. If there are enough things to make it worthy my while, I got first thing, grab that stuff and get out.
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