Thursday, December 13, 2007

Christmas Blues

As I've said, this year Bree is old enough to have some express wishes about what she wants for Christmas, except she seems to get the idea that her parents have a money tree growing in the backyard. In fact when she was on the phone to her Grandma the other day she invited her to the "Christmas dance" we're apparently having (first I've heard) and also out of the blue announced that "Santa's bringing us a new radio, a new TV, and a new computer!" When I managed to get back on the line my mom said, "Gee, I didn't know you guys were having such an extravagant Christmas!" And I said, "Yeah, neither did I!" So it's pretty obvious to me that Brianna may have some unrealistic expectations of how bountiful the day will be.

The other day she was looking through an ad and was pointing out all the things she wanted (pretty much anything she'd seen a commercial for on TV) and they were all pretty pricey items. She kept talking about how she's going to "win them" for Christmas so obviously the whole idea is still a bit fuzzy. So, I tried to explain to her that she wouldn't "win" them but that Mom and Dad would be buying her gifts for Christmas. But even after that she has the impression that she'll be getting everything she's pointed out. Take, for example, the fact that she wants a Dora's Talking Kitchen. Here's the thing-she already has a kitchen for one, the Dora kitchen is pretty expensive, and I'm not sure how charming another toy that makes lots of noise would be. So the Dora Talking Kitchen is a no on my part. But when I pointed out to Bree that she already has a kitchen she said to me, "But Mom! I hate having just one kitchen!"

So Bree won't actually be getting much of anything off her official list. However, I've been fairly sure that on Christmas morning she'll be so excited opening presents and getting toys she didn't know she wanted that she'll forget about the unrealistic things she pointed out....but now I'm not so sure....

The real kicker came the other day. As you may know Bree's driving ambition is to get a REAL puppy. And at some point we really would like to make that happen but just, not right now. So, hoping to reach a compromise on that when I did some Christmas shopping the other day I ended up buying a "Fur-real" puppy. It's furry and has batteries so it'll bark and wag it's tail and all that and it also comes with a little bottle she can feed it with. When I got home it was evening so I stashed the stuff in my closet and planned to wrap it all up the next day during naptime. Well, yep, sure enough the kid managed to stumble upon my secret stash before I had gotten it all wrapped or hidden any better. Although, to her credit she didn't touch it just came running out to me and asked if I had bought her some surprises. "Yes but they're for Christmas so don't look at them anymore!" I told her. "Okay" she said. And shortly after that they were stashed away in a better hiding spot. So, I thought to myself, she saw her presents for a second, she'll forget and still be surprised by the time she actually gets to open them. But a few days later we had this discussion:

Bree: "Mom do you have any presents for me?"
Me: "No, not right now."
Bree: "But do you have Christmas presents for me?"
Me: "Yes, but you can't open those until Christmas."
Bree: "But Mom! I wanted the puppy on the skateboard and all I saw was the puppy with a bottle in there. I don't think you did a very good job!"

I was so shocked by this conversation I'm pretty sure my mouth was hanging open and I didn't know what to say in response. (Partly because I have no idea what dog on a skateboard she's talking about and also because I'm sure she doesn't know that the puppy in the closet can bark and etc.) So I didn't say anything and she dropped the subject. But still....This phase already? I sort of thought that the stage where kids were just excited to get presents no matter what little silly trinket was in them, and not being super picky about what they wanted, would last longer. I'm thinking we're definitely going to have her pick out a toy that we'll be giving to the nearest toy drive to start learning about giving, sharing, and thinking about others.

I guess I'll give her a break because she's just 3 and doesn't really know better. It's kind of the age I think, I mean, what preschooler do you know who doesn't think it's all about me me me most the time! And it helps to know she's not the only one, the other day one of my friends was telling me how her 5 yr old son was convinced by commercials that he wants a Disney princess cash register and a my little pony doll. :) But still.....Oy vay!

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