It seems like every year there’s at least one toy that is incredibly hard to find. It’s the toy that most kids want to see under the Christmas tree. And crowds of people shop desperately for them.

I’ve been pretty lucky so far. No begging for the hot toys from my kids yet. Lots of “I want it” for each and every toy advertised, but nothing persistent. Matter of fact, I haven’t even decided quite which toys to get my daughter this year. I’ve picked books, even a video, but not toys.

I did get to help my sister in finding a hard to find toy for one of her daughters, though. Not one most people would think of, just a Fairytopia tooth fairy doll that can hold teeth after they fall out. Specifically, in pink. She’d been all around and not seen it. I saw a store with 7 of them in pink. Probably would have been there by the weekend, when she’s be able to get it herself, but to be kind I bought it for her.

But to fight crowds or pay high prices on eBay for THE toy. No, no, no. Not in me.

I see it as a chance to talk to kids about marketing and patience. Just think about how many toys kids get after begging for, and are bored with within a couple months. It’s a pretty good number even when you’re careful about what you buy.

Talk about how toys are marketed. How the ads can make the toys look more interesting than they really are.

But also talk about the options. What about birthdays, assuming your child doesn’t have a birthday at this same time of year? Patience can be a wonderful thing to teach.

This year doesn’t seem to be as bad as many. I think the many toy recalls slowed a lot of people down and got them thinking about what they bought. Either that or I’m just not paying enough attention to the shopping habits of other people. I know the Wii is a little hard to find, but that’s the only one I’m hearing about.

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