Santa’s in a bit of a conundrum this year. Lucy (my 3 year old daughter) saw Dora Saves the Mermaids a few weeks ago and she’s obsessed. Ever since then she has said that Santa is going to bring her the Dora Mermaid. And Clementines to keep in her bedroom (which I can handle). She’s very consistent for 3. Which, in this case, stinks.
There’s been no willy nilly toy purchases this year. I’ve been looking into the requests that my kids have made so that I can speak with the Big Man and be sure that his elves are focusing their energies on toys that have staying power and are well made. Things that come March and July and October still have all of their parts and pieces and are still in the active toy rotation.
Sparking Twirly Mermaid Dora (or whatever she’s called) doesn’t appear to be well made. On the contrary, she seems to be a heaping pile of junk. It’s not really very surprising, I know. 2 of the 3 available Amazon reviews trashed it. In fact, to quote Grammy O:
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“We purchased this doll for our grand daughter’s birthday. It worked twice then quit. What a disappointment to our grand daughter. She was broken hearted. All the other Dora Items we have purchased seem to be ok but this one just didn’t work. Nothing about it worked. The talking did not work either. It should be taken off the market., I have heard the same thing happened to others that have purchased this toy.”
Should Santa really bring Lucy this toy? No.
Is one more junky toy worth the initial joy in a 3 year-old’s face? Not sure.
With all of the other gifts Santa is sure to bring, will she actually realize that it’s missing? Again, not sure.
What do you think Santa will (or should) do??
by Megin Hatch
[tags]Dora The Explorer, Dora Saves The Mermaids, shopping on a budget, Christmas, holidays, gifts, toy reviews, Santa Clause questions, parenting, kids, children, toddlers[/tags]
Photos graciously provided by Else10, through a Creative Commons license, some rights reserved
9 responses so far ↓
IntheFastLane // Dec 12, 2007 at 9:35 am
I tell my kids - that are old enough to understand & still believe - that doesn’t bring them everything they want, only the things that he thinks will be best for them. Can you convince her to have some back ups?
Megin Hatch // Dec 12, 2007 at 9:45 am
Yeah- that works for my older boys… as well as “sometimes Santa knows what you’ll love even when you don’t ask for it.”
But with Lucy, she responds, “Yes, I like that, but Santa’s already bringing me the Dora Mermaid.”
She defines stubborn
Stu Mark // Dec 12, 2007 at 10:23 am
Dora Mermaid review
Read this and consider it. Maybe it will help you with your decision.
Megin Hatch // Dec 12, 2007 at 10:50 am
I did read that one… and it’s a good one- but look at these:
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2674081#showReviews
thordora // Dec 12, 2007 at 10:53 am
While I think it’s important to not buy crap, I think it’s also important to buy things that prove that occasionally, what you want isn’t worth it.
Christmas, to me, is when you SHOULD sometimes get EXACTLY what you want. SOmetimes I want stuff that might fall apart, or be worthless. Stuff I would never in a million years buy for me (the 49.99 bundt pan I got last year comes to mind.) I want them because they’re pretty, and they satisfy some need in me.
I don’t remember the times when I got what I wanted. But I so totally remember the times when I DIDN’T. LIke the year Santa was out of Smurfette and I got Papa Smurf instead. Or when I got skates instead of the fashion plates game.
We all need something frivilous sometimes. I’m fighting with myself on this one as well (Vivian wants Test Tube Aliens. What CRAP!)
This is a GREAT article on the subject http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/12/06/the-it-toy-from-the-perspective-of-a-parent/
Good luck! I may speak a good game, but I’m having the same issue with those aliens!
Stu Mark // Dec 12, 2007 at 11:02 am
Megin,
A) I agree with Thor’s opinion.
B) People write reviews on sales sites to warn others of a bad product. There are far more bad reviews on Amazon, et al, than there are good reviews. But people use their blogs more often to praise an item than to bury it.
C) The above is my opinion and worth every dime you spent getting it.
BigGUM // Dec 12, 2007 at 2:32 pm
Keeping in mind that I haven’t read the reviews of this item, a question: Does she know about *this* specific toy? Has she seen it somewhere that she’s expecting it? I guess I’m wondering if you might work up a nicer one, say buy a soft Dora doll and sew a mermaid costume for it.
I do believe that Christmas is a time when it’s ok to get things that we, as parents, know will get tossed aside in a month or two. Heck, my 6 year old put one of those singing fish on the top of his wishlist this year (and yes, he’s getting it). However, there’s crap and then there’s crap. If she’s set on this particular toy and it really is something you *know* she won’t actually enjoy, then I guess I’d try to distract her with a surprise toy of equal excitement.
Good luck!
nan // Dec 13, 2007 at 5:24 am
We bought a Dora mermaid dress in wal-mart a couple of months ago for my niece. Maybe she could BE Dora? I like the suggestion above, too, to make a mermaid dress for a Dora doll that you have or buy.
But… She is only 3. You know her best! My little one asked for all kinds of unsuitable stuff last year, way over his age, (he has 2 big brothers) and he was devastated that he got HARDLY ANYTHING that he asked for. He was more sad than I thought he would have been, even though he did get some GREAT age-appropriate stuff! This year, I have made suggestions for his Christmas list!
Megin Hatch // Dec 19, 2007 at 6:08 am
Lots of great thoughts… This one stood out the most:
I don’t remember the times when I got what I wanted. But I so totally remember the times when I DIDN’T.
So Santa found the junky toy on sale (less than 1/2 price! Santa loves a bargain!) and it’ll be there, under the tree.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts- We were going to go the “close but not quite” route… we’ve done it before and it’s worked. But she’s been unwaivering.
We’ll see.
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