Black Friday

I used to be a crazy Black Friday shopper. I got to the mall at the crack of dawn for door busters, and I've got to tell you, it's not for me. So here is what we did Black Friday 2015. 

We met my sister in the Target parking lot where she took our daughter for the day. She doesn't usually do Black Friday at all, and offered to babysit. In addition to being where we would be doing quite a bit of shopping, Target also served as the halfway point between her house and our parents house, so it was an easy place to meet up. Angela would spend a fun day playing with her big cousins. 

It was at Target that I realized people go crazy trying to get the electronic toys!  If your child wants something, you will do what you can to get it at a decent price, but if you make the commitment to go tech free as a family, you could save yourself some Black Friday aggravation. 

We still got some pretty cool toys, not only for Angela, but other kids too. 

After we did enough financial damage at Target, we left to go to IKEA. We don't have an IKEA in San Antonio, so I like to go when we go to Houston, not just on Black Friday. There are people who love IKEA, and there are people who don't get why everyone else loves IKEA. I love IKEA. Now if you want a place where you can get cool tech free stuff, this is it. They have art supplies, wooden toys and stuffed animals. You don't get the commercial characters you get other places, but they're still really good toys. Last year, they had a really cool toy sale, this year it wasn't as good, but still cool. We bought a few toys and games for Angela there. 

After IKEA, we drove to my sisters house, where we found Angela playing in my sister's yard with her cousins. After a long day of shopping, it felt good to lay on my sister's grass and watch my little girl run around and chase bubbles. It's not a secret that kids don't need technology to have fun. The secret to unplugging Santa is get them to realize it. 

Temptation

A few weeks ago, I was walking through the gift shop at the Doseum, (the children's museum here in San Antonio) and a I brought up our tech free Santa list commitment to another mom. "Yeah, but you can get away with that because she's so little!" She said to me. I smiled and nodded, but the truth is, truly unplugging is tough no matter what the age of your child!  

Commercials for toys on TV are popping up on all kinds of programs this time of year. Almost every one I've seen requires batteries or electricity. 

In our house we watch a lot of PBS and Disney Junior. These channels are mostly commercial free, but the commercials are there. And almost all of the commercials are for something that requires batteries.

Even going to the store has been hard. I can't walk by the toy aisle at Target without being tempted. The Disney Imagicadmy stuff really appeals to me. But I think of the commitment I made, and I resist. But it's still tough. 

The Reason for the Mission of the Season

My daughter is a tech addict. She loves her (dad's) iPad, either of our phones an of course the TV. 

And she's only two!

Now are we to blame as her parents? Absolutely!  I'm not argueing that at all.

But it isn't just screens. The ads on TV for all the most in demand toys for even the youngest of children are technical. Why does a child need a teddy bear with wifi? Or a robot that moves as they do? 

But you know who could stand a little less demand for kids' technical gadgets? SANTA!  Now he's happy to honor requests from all children, but he and the Elves miss the classics. They like making the classics out of wood, fabric and even plastics. But now it's all circuit boards and battery packs. 

So our family has pledged to only ask Santa for non-electronic or battery powered toys this year. And we want to see how many families wanted to take the pledge with us!  I've come across a few people who think this is a good idea, so I wanted to spread the word in cyberspace!

Here are our guidelines, there aren't many but here they are. 

1. This does NOT apply to gifts from friends and family. Only those arriving from the North Pole.  Even mom and dad are going to be further plugging her in. 

2. Includes any toys with batteries, including those with watch batteries that last for years that you don't change. 

3. Wind up toys are ok.  The elves like making those. 

Guidelines can be adapted for your own family. But this is how it's going to go for us this year. 

This challenge is going to be either really tough or really easy. The question is: will it be annual?