As I have grown older and slightly wiser, I have also become a bit more practical when it comes to buying Christmas gifts for my children. When they were preschoolers, it was easy just to go to one of the major toy stores and grab a few items off the shelf. Sometimes I would choose things that they had squealed about when a certain toy commercial came on TV or maybe I had just heard about  the latest and greatest Elmo toy that every child needed to have. In any event, not much thought went into the selection other than quickly checking the age appropriateness level indicated on the box.

Here is the problem with that approach…once your child has ripped open the package, the joke is on you. I happen to be fortunate to be married to an incredibly handy man who can put together even the most complicated toy or model with only a minor amount of profanity. I am terrible at putting toys together and reading the directions so I am usually assigned the equally horrible task of removing the parts from the package. It never ceases to shock me the way the toy companies seal and twist and lock down every little part in the package. I have spent easily 45 minutes unpacking a simple Barbie Vacation Van and its many tiny parts. In fact, I have learned not to bother with a manicure in the days leading up to Christmas. Fortunately, many frustrating Christmas mornings have passed and my children are now 9 and 11.  It seems the most complicated job this year will be getting the cellophane off the latest Xbox, PSP, PS3, DSi game… and maybe even a book. It’s a beautiful thing.

Take a look at this article by Hilary Stout from the New York Times and just know that you are not alone.