Toys, toys, toys; there are never enough!

If you ask Ian what he wants for Hanukkah, he'll point you in the direction of this year's Toys R Us "Our Biggest Big Book Ever." It is a catalog of toys that gets produced each year and is conveniently included in your Sunday paper right around the end of October.

I put the catalog on the table to take a look at later and get some ideas for the kids. Ian found it and started looking through it. I could hear him telling Jeff, "I want this one. And, I want that one. And that one. Oh and I need this one." etc. Jeff was doing a good job of half listening and continuing with whatever activity he was in the middle of; I am guessing reading the newspaper at the time. I could tell that Ian just wanted someone to listen to him, so I decided to pull up a chair with my trusty red sharpie marker and ask him to point out what he would like us to consider. As Ian pointed to each item, I circled it, and before I knew it, the sharpie left my hand and found its way to Ian's. Ian had a field day flipping through all 80 pages. He circled crazy-expensive things like the Power Wheels Lightning McQueen Car (on sale for $229.99) and Adventure Playhouse (on sale for $249.99). Ian even circled a few things for Sam. Some pages had every item circled on it even if it wasn't age appropriate or anything he expressed interest in before. Some of the items he said he wanted "super bad" and other ones he has been wanting for years (he is only 4!).

Last year Jeff and I got a babysitter for a few hours and got all of our holiday shopping done in one evening. It was a very productive outing and we were able to bounce ideas off of each other and brainstorm in real time. I am hoping to do the same thing this year and take the Toys R Us catalog with us and see just how much of Ian's dream wish list we can make a reality. Seeing as how his big boy bed is his big gift, we still need to fill up the rest of the 8 nights with smaller presents.

Wouldn't it be nice for adults to have a similar catalog with their wish list items like a bigger house, new car, dream vacations? I'd happily circle everything too and hope my mommy and daddy fulfilled it. Oh wait, I am a grown up now and live in the real world. Maybe that is why Toys R Us has a song about not wanting to grow up.