Day #3 - WFMW Toys Worth Buying

As my 3rd day in the “30 Days, 30 Posts” of National Blog Posting Month, I am doing double duty and posting my “Works-For-Me-Wednesday Toys Worth Buying Edition" for Rocks In My Dryer also. Yes, it is thoroughly confusing, but fun! Hang with me!

It is that time of year. Christmas shopping time. For those of you who live for this time of year, congratulations “Tis the Season”. For the rest of us, sorry, “Tis the Season”. If you have children, then you know that Christmas shopping involves toy purchases. If you have purchased any toys at all in your lifetime, then you are aware that not all toys are created equal. I have personally wasted a lot of money over the years on toys for my kids. I may as well have been throwing money out the car window while driving down Main Street and screaming, “I am a fool!” If I had the money back that I wasted on toys, I would be an independently wealthy woman. I want back my $5.00 for every Beanie Baby I purchased. That alone would make a house payment. Can I please have my money back on all the toy guns and swords that boys seem to NEED? You know the ones that break within an hour after purchasing them because boys play rough and tend to think that plastic swords and guns can actually puncture the walls and furniture. Also, please give me my money back on all the plastic bath toys I purchased to entertain my children in the bathtub. I question my reasoning over those purchases. Why did I want my children entertained in the bathtub? Then there are the toys I purchased in the name of education for my children. Those pricey talking books and electronic games that guaranteed my child would be reading by the New Year. The ones I guilted myself into buying because the TV commercials promised me they would bring hours of educational fun into my home. Those electronic nuances the kids got bored playing before I could get the Christmas tree down. Oh and let us not forget Tickle Me Elmo. Honestly, I wanted to throw hysterically laughing Elmo out the back door and run over his little red body with a bulldozer about the third day after that purchase. We also had a light sensor Big Bird that would randomly scream “Peak-A-Boo!” when a light switched was turned on. After the whiz was scared out of us no less than a dozen times, the evil Big Bird mysteriously disappeared; I want my money back for him too. I have made a lot of bad toy purchases in my lifetime for my kids and gladly/sadly, toy-purchasing days are dwindling in our home as my guys outgrow the “toy” stage.

Except for one toy. One toy stands out. One toy brings hours of imagination, teamwork, direction following, challenging entertainment in bulk on our family room floor any day of the week. One toy that Oscar, our dog, finds, eats and poops (I am just being honest here). One toy that the vacuum cleaner sweeps away and the one toy that gets sorted into color groups while trying to be organized. In addition, the one good toy that is not made in China by slave laborers and that I can justify purchasing.

THE TOY? LEGO!

While I realize that Lego kits are expensive, their purchase has been worth every penny spent from my thin wallet. I have watched my boys play and work for hours on projects. Big C is very literal and always put his models together by the directions only. “Don’t mess up the model afterwards” is his motto! On the other hand, Big I will create his models by the directions and then modify it by using his imagination. Actually, Big C does not “play” with Legos anymore. No sir! He is eighteen years old and far, far past the Lego stage. He will occasionally have mercy on his little brother who will beg him to help build something and Big C, being the sweet big brother he is, will lock himself along with Big I away and spend the afternoon playing with, oops I mean building a design that demonstrates Quantum Mechanics.

Here are a few other toys that have worked well for my guys and helped keep them occupied on rainy/snowy/hot and tidal wave days. Hope they work for you too.

· Little Green Army Men and Marbles
· GI Joe
· Match Box Cars
· Star Wars and Lord of the Rings Action Figures
· Walter Wick’s “I Spy” Books (one of my personal favs)
· Playing cards or Uno cards
· Board games such as Monopoly, Battleship, Sorry, Castle Risk and Chess
· Basketballs (all 25 that we own) and Footballs (at least 10 of those)
· Air Soft BB/Pellet Guns
· 10” Stainless Steal Throwing Knives (I am totally not kidding here)

Thanks for reading, Rosie.