They're Out to Sabotage My Plan
Did you receive a "Wish Guide" from a certain big store recently? I guess it is smart marketing, but it feels like a plan to sabotage our simple and frugal plan for Christmas. This guide is directly aimed at the kids. It is 46 pages jammed pack with toys and electronics to make your kids drool and beg.
Included is a wish list for your child to put their top 12 toys. They can even mark it by priority: want it, need it, must have, or pleeeease!!! Sorry I don't see a single thing in this ad that would qualify as a need. And how about this to check off on the list, "I was SO good this year! Waaay better than my brother (or sister.)" To be sure that you know exactly what your kid wants stickers are included for your child to put directly on their favorites.
Don't worry you don't have to call your family with the list, or make copies. You can log on the store web site, and email your wish list to the whole family! Oh how convenient! (thick with sarcasm!)
Normally an ad like this would hit the recycle bin before the kids ever had a chance to see it. This one came in a big stack of mail that I had not sorted through yet, and little hands grabbed it before I had the chance to even see what it was. Then it was "Mommy look at this. Mommy look at that. Ohhhhhh I want that!"
The marketing has succeeded in half of its goal; it has created desire in my children. I am here to tell you now, that they will not succeed in sabotaging my plan! I refuse to buy into the hype that spending 100's of dollars per child, to give them all the toys marketing has convinced them they need, will make them happy or make them love me more. I know that when it comes to toys, less is more. Nice try big box store, but I am sticking to my plan.
7 comments:
Last year we used some kind of free "email Santa" website on a lark.
It turned out to be great because "Santa" only had 3 blanks to fill in with gift ideas.
All year my son has dithered over his "top 3" choices, without our even having to preach moderation.
An unexpected bonus!
It used to be that Toys R Us was really the only store with a "wish book". This year we already have had ones from Pennys, Sears, Toys R Us and now Walmart. Jude has been memorizing them. ARGHHH.
i guess i'm kind of lucky. we get them in the paper and caelyn loves to look at them, but has yet to ask for them. she'll see the princess or ballerina stuff and say 'ooh. look at that ballerina girl. that dress is so pretty.' isaiah will see a train or something and then just stare at it for a looooong time and smile. i think they don't know that it's things they can actually buy. they just like to look at it. although, when we're in stores, if we walk down aisles with toys, we'll make comments like 'oh, that's pretty.' or 'that looks like fun.' and when i get the mommy can we buy it question and i say n and then the why comes, they very readily accept and are okay with the answer 'because you don't need it, it's just something pretty for you to look at in the store.' i think i'll be very grateful if that attitude lasts a long time!
kellie
I'm with you: one big gift per child, then things for the stocking (little stuff). With grandparents, uncles and aunts they end up getting way too much even with those restrictions.
I like the idea I read on a blog of playing Toy Bingo. Save the catalog, and whenever a toy is recalled between now and Christmas, put an X on it. The first one with 5 in a row wins!
You think you have it bad... we were "lucky" enough to get not one, but TWO of those catalogs in the mail. Oh and my mom brought hers over to us... like we needed it!
And the funnier thing is that you could not pay me enough to even step foot in one of their stores. So basically the catalogs were sent right to the recycling pile and I ripped the page of stickers out for my daughter to play with.
I hear you about the catalogs! Not to mention the bombardment of toy commercials! I hear my daughter saying "I want that" each time a new commercial comes on. Yikes!
Thank you for sharing this with the Carnival of Family Life. Your post will be included in the November 19th edition at An Island Life. Aloha!
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