Saturday, December 13, 2008

Look, Honey! They re-invented the Whirlybird!

Apparently no one else's child asked for a jump rope this year for Christmas, because they are impossible to find.

Last night Tobe and I set out...alone...to do some final Christmas shopping while the children basked in the attention of their Nana. After a leisurely dinner consisting of queso, chips, and all things Mexican food (where I proclaimed "Queso" to be the theme of my 30's) we set off in search of Christmas goodies.

We were able to cross several things off our list, but came up short on the whole "jump rope" request. No wonder childhood obesity is at a all-time high because there are aisles dedicated to all things video games but no simple ropes made for jumping to be found at any major toy retailer. I was lucky today to hit up a local toy boutique and secure the jump rope for our boy.

Seems that jump ropes are considered "specialty items."

In our search of several toy stores, we quickly discovered that "retro" is the new in toy. And by "retro" I mean toys that were on my Christmas list when I was a child. There are My Little Ponies, Smurfs, Popples, Cabbage Patch Kids (By the way, I am slightly obsessing over finding one named "Evelyn" ....just for fun. Not because the girl needs another doll, but because Cabbage Patch has reverted back to using the old-fashioned names for their dolls and I have decided there must be an "Evelyn" out there somewhere.), and Care Bears. I started to feel a bit depressed that I am now considered "retro"...until a group of giggly girls stopped us in the aisle of Target, questioning if we had a nine year old son. One member of the group quickly piped up, "Oh, y'all are much too young to have a nine year old."

Bless you, child. Bless you.

The best quote of the evening of holiday shopping came from a man, close in age to Tobe and myself, who loudly exclaimed, "Honey! Look! They re-invented the whirlybird!"

Upon hearing such a proclamation, my Christmas is now complete.

I hope all of you have successful shopping adventures and find that manufacturers have indeed "re-invented" your favorite toy from years past.

4 comments:

Jordan said...

You may have already found a jump rope, but have you tried Cracker Barrel? We bought one for Eli a couple of years ago that had wooden handles shaped like frogs and I've seen them there since.

Hope your shopping goes well!

Ashley said...

So funny! Tis the season I guess!

Jennifer Schroeder said...

Congrats on finding the jump rope! Who knew that "rope" would be so hard to find?

Erika said...

Congrats on finding the jumprope!
I, however, feel a twinge of pride when I see our "retro" toys place on the shelves. Those are some good memories, my friend! Good memories indeed! :)