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Home » 9to5to9

How Mom’s ruined Christmas already

Submitted by Debra on Friday, 28 November 2008 5 Comments
I'm flashing back about 16 years, to when my brother's youngest was 3 and all she wanted for Christmas was a Mickey Mouse riding toy and a bottle of Pepsi.

Her mom had seen the toy on post at Fort Carson a few weeks before Thanksgiving, assumed "no problem" and put it on her after-Thanksgiving purchase list. Except after Thanksgiving, the mouse had rolled out of Fort Carson and the greater Colorado Springs area.

They called around and finally found one in Pueblo. That's about an hour and a half round trip for normal people, probably shorter the way my brother drives. Particularly since he went Dec. 23.

How silly, I thought. Why didn't they just buy earlier?

Yep. That sound you hear is the Motherhood Muses thumping me. Again.

The one thing in the world Big Guy truly wants for Christmas, the one thing his little 5-year-old heart has coveted since summer is a Batman skateboard.

And it's the one thing I can't find.

Quick: Hand me a paper bag. Dang. Already recycled them all. Fine. I'll overlook the suffocation risk and use plastic. I deserve death.

I can find anything online and I've had huge success with Batman paraphernalia in the past. But I can't find this. Not through 20 pages of looking for "Batman skateboard," searches with and without quote marks.

The only prospects:

Ebay has a "Rare Batman and Robin Movie Skateboard, DC Comics 1995." Except the coolness standards on skateboards have changed a bit in 13 years. Not to mention that the "buy it now" price is $29.99 plus $30 shipping.

A New Zealand site has a "Gotham Guardians" model in shades of orange, navy and black. Tiny bats flutter across the board, but no image of the man himself. That's not going to fly.

A site in Germany has exactly what I'm looking for, priced at 19.99 euros. That's roughly $25 US, which is higher than the retail for the ones I'm not finding stateside. And heaven knows what the shipping would be. Or when it would get here. Can anyone translate "guaranteed arrival by Valentine's Day" to German for me?

My only faint possibility at this point: WalMart. Their Web site says my least-favorite retailer carries the product, but not online.

Knowing my luck, the mom of a classmate snapped up the last one locally at 4 a.m. and Big Guy's friend will zip to school on it in January. Big Guy's heart-broken tears will begin anew as he realizes that, not only does Santa not love him, but Claus worships his buddy.

So despite the fact that I hate Black Friday shopping -- for that matter, I hate any bricks-and-mortar shopping -- I'm going to have to brave the dreaded Wally World this afternoon.

It's either that or drive to Pueblo Dec. 23.

Copyright 2008 Debra Legg. All rights reserved.

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5 Comments »

  • Spookygirl said:

    Oh no!! I can’t believe you couldn’t find it :(

    I am lucky, DD is the only one who makes a list, and I was able to get two of the MILLION things on it. DS #1 just wants cash ;) and DS #2 is pretty casual about the whole thing, and just acts shocked when he gets any gifts at all! LOL!

    I am sure it will get harder as they get older, LOL!

    - 28 November 2008 at 5:09 pm
  • MtnMom said:

    I will keep my eye’s peeled for one! Not that I know anything about skateboards but I’ll do what I can while I’m out and about. Since my family cannot seem to come up with anything for themselves other than a car, a baby, a state of the art keyboard (fancy piano that runs around 5K), a cruise, looking for a skateboard will be fun! Yes, Spookygirl, it does get more difficult as they get older. They will be grateful for what they receive but I assure you, none will receive any of the above from my pocket book! Well, they baby is up to the State or a miricle from God but I can donate to adoption fees. I can donate to each of their causes but can’t grant any of their wishes. THAT is what is hard because, as Mom’s, we live to make them happy and make their dreams come true. So, we pray, do our best, and pray some more.

    - 28 November 2008 at 10:55 pm
  • Kelly said:

    Oh, dear. Debra, recruit your friends! (Or is that what this is?) Post if you find one. I’ll call you if I happen to see one first. Good luck!

    - 29 November 2008 at 12:40 am
  • Debra said:

    I wasn’t exactly trying to recruit friends with the blog, Kelly, as much as I was working out my own “guilt.” And it is kind of funny that whatever parenting screwup I laughed at in the past now is banging at my door. Hard!

    Though if a friend happens to see someone somewhere and lets me know, that’d be great! I got on the phone when I got home from Wal-Mart empty-handed today and alerted spies in several states, so maybe something will turn up. If not, another friend suggested a backup plan — Batman decals applied to a regular skateboard — so all might not be lost.

    Spooky, it does indeed get harder as they get older. To make it worse, Big Guy has an elephantine memory. He was bitter just the other day because Santa brought a Thomas pop-up tent last year instead of the fire truck he wanted last year. And this was 11 months ago

    And MtnMom, I found a great guitar sell at amazon tonight — Fisher-Price I Can Play Guitar System, $39 cut down from $119. Something tells me, though, this won’t be an acceptable substitute for the piano your crew wants.

    - 29 November 2008 at 1:00 am
  • Lora Prill said:

    So…have you found it? The skateboard? If not, I’ll add it to my shopping list! I’ll have an entire team of professional shoppers on it. I hate to see a disappointed Big Guy!

    - 29 November 2008 at 7:28 pm