The Joys Of Holiday Shopping

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving, had lots of incredible food, and spent a great deal of time with family and loved ones.

But it's Christmastime now.

No holiday gets kicked to the curb quicker than Thanksgiving. Before you can polish off that drumstick, it's Black Friday, the day we all turn into bargain-hunting scavengers. And were you aware that today is Cyber Monday, the day people return to work and purchase gifts online with their office's high-speed connection? Soon, we'll rename the 12 Days of Christmas to the 30 Days of Shopping and we'll have a name for every day.

I wasn't brave enough to venture out this year. Can't deal with the long lines. Or the riots. So I stayed home.

But now there's no putting it off. Soon, I will have to buy Christmas presents for my kids. My son will be easy; he's only nine months old, so a few bright and shiny objects will make him happy.

My daughter? She's a bit trickier. She wants everything. We were planning on getting her a motorized vehicle, but she wouldn't be able to ride it until spring (plus, we could get it at least half the price of retail at a yard sale). She would love to have more princess stuff but she has enough gowns and crowns to outfit several royal families. Plus, that crap makes my wife and I gag. And don't get me started on Dora.

That's why we're going the educational route this year. We've decided to get her either a V-Smile or an InteracTV. And that's where you come in. Have you had any experience with either of these devices? Is one better than another? My daughter is three, but I would like something that can advance as she does. Or is there something out there now that's better than either of those? Any suggestions/comments are very welcome.

Yeah, I know. I should just buy her educational software for my computer. But I'm not ready to give up my last bastion of freedom.

Comments

[suburban misfit]

I don't have any experience with either of those systems. My daughter has had a Leapster for a few years and it's been GREAT. I highly recommend it.

I know what you mean about the lines and the riots. We didn't go anywhere near shopping centers the day after Thanksgiving (I refuse to call it that other name). And we do most of our shopping on-line, though we didn't start today. We'll get the neices and nephews Amazon gift certificates, and our kids get one gift each and one to share (the rest of the family goes nuts with the gifts for them, so we don't). Should be pretty easy this year.

Good luck!

[Melissa]

I understand the crazyness of shopping the Friday after Thanksgiving. Every year I swear off of it, and every year my friends and family talk me into it. My daughter is almost 4 - and she has the V-Smile. SHe loves it, and we don't have to let her on the computer which is great. But now she wants the InteracTV, which she probably won't get. Either way, I think they are both good products.

[krlocki]

One more vote for Leapster (but I haven't had any experience with the others). Both my 5 yr old (really almost six) and my 3 yr old LOVE it! And they do learn a lot from it.

[kara]

Three words: My first Leap pad. They make about a million books for the thing and it's pretty gentle on the batteries. Our (then) 3 year old learned how to change the books and cartriges by herself. She played with it for almost 2 years. We tended to save it for rainy days and car rides.

[kara]

oops. i accidentally put a space between the words 'leap' and 'pad' so that actually made 4 words.

[Lori]

We have the littletouch leappad and interacTV. The leappad has been great and is being passed on to the little brother now. My daughter is turning 3 in a few weeks and she loves the interacTV. It was a bit tricky for her at first, she was probably a little too young for it last year, but she loves it now.