Blogging With Mommy

Archive for the ‘Holidays’ Category

American Girl dolls – the icon of overspending for our kids – tries to get a reality check this Christmas season, but is it too little too late? I think so. Gwen can’t change the fact that American Girl dolls are out of reach for most American families.

This morning I was watching the morning news and both CNN and my local news channel ran a story about American Girl creating a homeless doll for this Christmas season. Gwen, the new doll, is hitting Michigan Avenue, although she will not be out shopping and having tea.

At first, I admit, I thought it was a good thing. But then I thought about it a bit more. This is a company that has fostered overspending on our kids for years. It has created a product that few American families can actually purchase. It has helped to create very unrealistic expectations for our children and made it difficult for parents to explain the financial restrictions many of us face.

So why change now? Because America has gone through the worst economic period since the great depression and spending is on the decrease. Because parents are tired of spending more then they are actually making. Because credit card debit is no longer acceptable and consumers are starting to revolt. Because we have wised up and frugal is now “in”. Because not every family can take a trip to Chicago and have tea on Michigan Avenue with their child.

As we have experienced our own personal financial struggles, the American Girl brand has too. Their web traffic is down and their sales are flat. Mattel is trying to balance the changing consumer views on spending with their overpriced and utterly unrealistic priced dolls. Good luck with that.

We Americans have changed or at least many of us have altered our spending habits and they will most likely not return to the levels once seen in years past. Gwen may be giving you media buzz, but I doubt she will turn American Girl sales around.

This whole story leaves me wondering one thing. Did Mattel include instructions for turning Gwen’s product box into a house for her to sleep or did they include directions to the nearest shelter? That is the reality of the real homeless this holiday season. I wish Mattel had saved the money spent on developing and marketing Gwen and instead, given it to a homeless shelter to feed and cloth those who are struggling this Christmas season. That would have given our children a much better message than an overpriced doll that comes with only one dress.

A few months ago I was at the IDDBA trade show which focuses on dairy, deli, and bake good products. While there I was given a gingerbread cookie train kit that was displayed for retailers to review and order for the 2009 Christmas season. I thought this would be a great project for me and my three year old son. Being the good mom that I am, I dragged this kit all the way home to Michigan. Being the bad mom that I am, I left it in the cupboard for months.

Fast forward about three months and I’m half working, half manning a play date for my son and his friend. I decide today is the day; we are going to build the train! We can do it I think and it will be easy. Yeah, not so much.

Not only did it NOT look like the image on the box, I hear my son’s friend say “Look at the box. Your mom didn’t put it together right.” While his assessment was accurate, I tried. I’m a technomommy, not a crafty mom. I can build a website and optimizes it for Google, but heaven help me, I cannot create anything crafty no matter how hard I try.

A recent blog entry I wrote discussed a mom’s superpower. Obviously my superpower is not crafts and never will be. I wish the companies who make these products would realize this and begin to make projects for us technomommies. While I have virtually no ability to create crafts, I have a desire to bond with my children!

The end of 2009 is rapidly approaching and this means Halloween is just around the corner.  What Halloween costumes will be hot for 2009?  Hot Halloween costumes for 2009 will focus on Michael Jackson plain and simple.  There are plenty of variations to choose from if Michael Jackson is your choosen costume this year.

Other hot costumes include Wonder Woman for adults, Transformers for the boys, and a snazzy candy corn witch for the girls.  The kids will be in heaven with the news costumes straight from the Transformers Bumblebee and Star Wars movies. And while Hanna Montana is still taking center stage for girls, the classics return as Strawberry Shortcake and Disney princesses make for fun and updated outfits.

Hot Halloween Costumes for 2009 – Kids

• Disney – Aladdin
• Disney Princess – Snow White and Sleeping Beauty
• Star Wars – Stormtroppers and C-3PO, R2D2
• Marvel – Wolverine Origins, Hulk, Captain American
• Star Trek – Classic Costumes and Little Spock
• DC Comics – Watchmen and Batman
• Sesame Street – Ernie

Hot Halloween Costumes for 2009 – Adults

• Sexy – Harlequin, Vampires, Naughty Habits
• Historical – Viking Princess, Knights, and Gangsters
• TV & Movie Characters – Various Elvis Costumes and Michael Jackson
• Plus Size Costumes – Hot Devil
• Humorous – Pretty Playing Card
• Fairytale & Storybook – Mother Nature
• Couples – Zoot Suits
• Retro TV & Movies – Marilyn Monroe and Michael Myers
• Witches & Monsters – Playboy Witch
• Space/Aliens – Classic Star Trek
• Occupations – Dr. Shots
• Food & Beverages - M & M’s for Him and Her, Booberry, Baked Potato

Spending the day or weekend engulfed in Christmas decorations is a favorite event for my daughter Ally and me.  We fill our house with decorations and relive past holidays.  It is our day, give or take a boy or two.  It is the one day that we do not argue and that we are one.  For this reason I will always cherish the process for pulling out, hanging, and arranging our family’s Christmas decorations.

My Christmas Decorations

• I believe in putting up the Christmas tree on Thanksgiving weekend and filling the tree with as many Christmas ornaments as it can hold.
• I believe in small white lights and lots of silver ribbon.
• I believe you can have artificial trees, but you must fill your house with pine scented candles.
• I believe in an angel at the top of the Christmas tree and ornaments that are thirty years old hanging along the side.
• I believe that ever Christmas tree should have at least a dozen birds hidden for children to find.
• I believe in wrapping a few Christmas presents early, so the Christmas tree doesn’t look or feel lonely.
• I believe there is nothing as pretty as a Christmas tree at night, sparkling in the dark, as children lay in front gazing in amazement.
• I believe Christmas decorations should be both beautiful and sentimental.
• I believe my Snow Village Christmas set is as pretty as it could be and that each broken piece holds a memory.
• I believe Christmas brings out the best in us
• I believe in Santa Claus.

Each year we flock to the stores or the Internet to buy Christmas presents for friends and family. This year, the 2009 Christmas gift list will be filled with technology presents as it was in years past. While I try and push non-technology presents, I lose to my tech-savvy family who grave iPods, cell phones, Wii games, and the like.

While I cannot say every gift I have received was perfect, I will say my husband and children do a very good job in providing me with gifts I will love and cherish. For all of you last minutes husbands and boyfriends, my favorite gifts are listed below. A few of these gifts are things I purchased for myself, however they are important, so they must be listed.

My 2009 Christmas Wish List for Every Mom

• Snow Village Christmas houses, stores, churches, and people
• Dyson vacuum (two cats and a dog require it)
• Blackberry
• MacBook Pro laptop
• Sony a300 digital camera
• Roku
• NetFlix subscription
• Tivo DVR
• Spa gift certificate
• Victoria’s Secret PJ’s (long ones because I am tall)
• Yankee Candle Christmas scents (double wick jar required)
• Royal Copenhagen’s annual Christmas plate