The $20 Toy

I don't believe in spending a lot of money on toys for Oliver. His favorite "toys" are pots and pans, measuring cups, ,our silicone cupcake holders, and the rice maker. Toys take up space, and he plays with most toys once every few days (with the exception of his stuffed animals).

On Thursday, I took Oliver to Toys 'R Us for two reasons. The first was to buy a bug catcher. We're going camping soon, and I thought it would be a fun activity for him and Andrew. The second reason was to motivate him to walk around the store, since he hates walking in public. It worked! Oliver found all sorts of good stuff, like a giant, stuffed monkey, and a jack-in-the-box (where "Jack" is actually a bear). I popped the bear out for him, wondering if it would scare him. He cracked up laughing! We played with it for five minutes in the store, and he couldn't get enough. I checked the price tag on the bottom. Twenty dollars. What?!

I put the toy back on the shelf. Poor Oliver was so sad. He kept pointing to it and asking me, "More?" I finally decided that it's OK to give in sometimes, and I put the toy in our cart. We bought the $20 "bear-in-the-box." Oliver loves it. Days later, he still plays with it all the time. He doesn't pop the bear out by turning the crank but instead flips the lever on top and squeals in delight when the bear pops out. Worth $20? For this one time, yes.