Opining Online

Halloween just isn’t a big deal for us since we have no young’uns living here and have had no trick or treaters in the last 5 years. The last thing we need is a bowl of candy sitting around for us to eat. And we would. We are not that strong.

This year of not having Thanksgiving or Christmas plans is an example of what’s going to happen occasionally since we share our children and grandchildren with other families. It often works out that we get one or the other and we have no problem exchanging Christmas gifts at Thanksgiving.

So, for me there is no big Thanksgiving celebration to get in the way of Christmas shopping. It will all have to be done in time to allow for shipping, so I might as well start now.

Especially, since I got a call this morning from one daughter who informed she’d just found the perfect Christmas gift for me and already purchased it. Another daughter sent out the Christmas/birthday wish list for a granddaughter today too. I really appreciate these lists because it’s hard to keep up with what they already have and neither set of grandparents or aunts and uncles want to send duplicate gifts.

Thus I have been wasting time perusing Amazon and other toy sellers. And you know what? I’m not that impressed by most of the items. Far too many of the toys for the 3-5 age range are not interactive, or would likely be boring after used once or twice. Far too many of the toys for 2 year olds are still listed as appropriate for 5 year olds.

Also, just how comfortable should a parent or grandparent be purchasing a puzzle of the U.S. that contains only 45 pieces??

I am having fun. I’ve found the absolute perfect gift for one grandchild and some pretty good ones for the others. Of course, I’ll keep looking because that’s my gift to myself! That, and trying to figure out just how much I can get away with in the way of musical instruments and chemistry sets.