We often joke about why we bother to buy our kids toys, considering how much more fun they have with the boxes the come in. It's interesting, because unlike many toys, boxes require imagination--and the kids are always up to the challenge. A box can be just about anything. What it is changes daily, and often even more frequently. Even when it breaks down from use, that still doesn't stop them from playing with it. It is a truly amazing phenomenon.
Anyway, what prompted this post is that my kids, who are a few feet away from me, are taking turns throwing a piece of scrap plastic wrapper of some type up in the air while the other one catches it. Meanwhile, the real toys lie dormant in their various baskets and tubs, or strewn about various places around the house. I sometimes wonder if it's the act of taking them out of their containers that the kids find the most fun anyway.
Of course, with Christmas "just around the corner" (at least if you live in Retailing World), the toy marketing machine is kicking into full gear, with TV ads, catalogues, and every other kind of advertisement imaginable.
And I go on asking myself, "When will we stop buying toys for the kids?"
Anyway, what prompted this post is that my kids, who are a few feet away from me, are taking turns throwing a piece of scrap plastic wrapper of some type up in the air while the other one catches it. Meanwhile, the real toys lie dormant in their various baskets and tubs, or strewn about various places around the house. I sometimes wonder if it's the act of taking them out of their containers that the kids find the most fun anyway.
Of course, with Christmas "just around the corner" (at least if you live in Retailing World), the toy marketing machine is kicking into full gear, with TV ads, catalogues, and every other kind of advertisement imaginable.
And I go on asking myself, "When will we stop buying toys for the kids?"
11/20/05 update: The cardboard box was just inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame. CNN Announcement and the MSNBC Interview with the Museum Curator.
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