>Santa Gift Crisis 2009

>There are four more days until Christmas and I’m sure you don’t have time to read this entire post so let me sum it up for you here: Santa’s bringing Bear exactly what she wants, and Bug’s got a new potty.

If those thirteen words have you yearning for more, by all means, continue reading.  If not, you’re not missing much.  Except for yet another picture of Bug on the toilet.

This is also the last of the ‘wordy’ posts for the next couple weeks.  I’ve got a bunch scheduled that are short and sweet because this time of year is just too hectic joyous to spend it online.  Consider this my gift to you.

Last year Bear threw us for a loop when she requested a “kitty with magnetic paws” that she’d seen at a store too far away to return to in time to get it for Christmas, and we were able to get around that debacle by convincing her to ask for several items in the hopes that Santa would bring at least one. We helped her out by making some “suggestions” which just so happened! to show up on Christmas morning.  Behold: a Christmas miracle!  And then a few weeks later we found that very kitty on a day trip and the whole world was truly at peace.

This year she again has just one request.  One simple request: a yellow bear to match the pink one Bug gave her last year.  That’s all.  She didn’t ask for a Nintendo DS (even though “all the kids in her class have one”), or an iPod (like the model one of her best friends received for her sixth birthday), or even a new bike to replace the hand-me-down, rusted out one that’s sitting, unused, in our shed.  All she wants is a yellow teddy bear.  Is that really too much to ask?

Except that she wants a specific teddy bear with a specific bow tie, and she’s asked not just one but three Santas now for this bear.  Unfortunately I have absolutely no control over the items available to us in our local on-base store and even if I could have found that exact bear online, due to the timing of her request it couldn’t have gotten here on time.  So I found her another yellow(ish) bear and had prepared to give it to her from Bug.  It wasn’t exactly right but it would have to do.

Last Friday Tony, Bug and I attended Bear’s class Christmas party where the kids sang Jingle Bells in both English and Japanese, the classroom got a visit from Santa (who looked suspiciously like the school principal) and who sat each child on his lap to ask what they wanted, reminding them to be good for their parents and teacher (*wink wink, nudge nudge*), and then we all decorated “gingerbread” houses that were constructed of emptied and clean lunch milk cartons, graham crackers, white frosting, and lots of candy goodies.  Not all the parents were able to attend, so I decided to work with a little girl at Bear’s table who is notorious for needing a little more guidance and attention than the rest of her classmates combined.  Tony worked with Bear while Bug pouted about not being able to eat the decorating candies; Tony claims that his house – I mean, Bear’s house – was the best in the class.

Afterward we headed right out to Toys ‘R Us because Bug is completely ready to begin potty training in earnest, but he doesn’t much like sitting on the Elmo Potty we bought him and though the top part of that one fits directly onto the toilet, it squishes his important parts and just isn’t comfortable.

Japan, being a total innovator in toilet comfort  – as well as having its primitive side, too – has extended its toilet lines to those who are just learning.  I took this picture of children’s toilet toppers this past summer:

I pride myself on being able to say I’m not a sucker; I don’t give into my children’s whims and desires just because.  But I couldn’t NOT do it.  I couldn’t see the EXACT item that my daughter asked for and not get it for her for Christmas.  In a tactical maneuver that I can only describe as brilliantly executed with a minimum of communication, after we’d paid for Bug’s potty accessories Tony slipped away from The Critters and me as we headed to the arcade on the same floor to watch an inflatable Santa go up and down the chimney, and look wistfully at the 100 Yen merry-go-round for which I had no change on hand, and wander the claw toy catcher sections filled with items that will never be caught and always admired.  I stalled for five minutes while he slipped back into the store to buy the yellow bear, watched from afar as he got on the elevator to return to the parking garage, then followed slowly behind him with The Critters to “go find Daddy”.

Ten minutes later we finally all found each other; he’d snuck the bag into the trunk of the car while we were out of sight, then returned to the building via alternate channels to find us, not realizing that we’d followed behind at a distance.  As astute as Bear is, I was surprised that she didn’t catch on when – for once – I didn’t yell at her daddy for getting lost while we were shopping.  (He tends to get distracted and wander.  A lot.  And then I tend to yell gently remind him of the importance of always walking next to me in crowded places.)

So Bear’s getting her yellow bear.  Bug’s getting his brown sneakers.  And because we’re totally indulgent awesome parents, they’re getting a couple other things, too.  I can only hope that my one request – the sixth Harry Potter movie on DVD – is fulfilled by Santa.  I’ve been a good girl this year.  I think I’ve got it coming to me.  Well, I’ve got something coming to me, anyway.

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