If your child is like mine, he or she probably has a lot of tiny figures – Lego, Playmobil, and an assortment of little wooden and tiny plastic toys. These little toys are actors in various imaginary creations like boats, buses, trucks, fire stations, and tree houses. In her quest for more of these little figures, my daughter also has an enabler in the house: her father. I think that he lives vicariously through her, buying horses and even an airplane. Did I mention that airplanes are really, really hard to store and tend to tip when you walk on them in the dark? Oh yes, Santa brought that one. That Santa.
When it comes to advent calendars, so far we’ve shied away from the traditional chocolate varieties and gone for a more natural look. We have a nature table next to the dining room table, and on this table I place a number of little felted creatures. A felted house, deer, trees and gnomes all make a winter nature scene. I add rocks, leaves, and sticks that I’ve picked up from beside the ocean. It’s all very pastoral.
However, every year I have the debate about the Playmobil Advent Calendar. I am sure that this year will be no different. Last year, my lovely daughter even saw them at the store as we were picking up a gift. I tend to stay out of stores in November and December, especially toy stores. And especially with my daughter. But time was tight, and the deed was done, and the “I wants” began. Luckily, the store sold out of them before we could return.
Mysteriously, this week the Playmobil catalogue appeared on our dining room table. I sense the forces of a certain toy enabler at work. And so the debate rages once more: do we get it, or don’t we? Any toy that requires assembly scares me a little. But the calendars come in such lovely themes: Christmas in the forest, Pirates, Christmas in the park, dueling knights. Wait – what do dueling knights and pirates have to do with Christmas?
I know that my daughter would love the calendar, but I also know that she has a fleet of little toys already. They’re well-loved, and well played with, but does she need more? Probably not. So it begins once again: the annual “stay out of the stores till January” endeavor.
Do you have a homemade Advent calendar? Do you go for chocolate, Lego, Playmobil? Or do you have a family one that you use every year?