Sunday, November 01, 2009

First off, won't you be so kind, and go read my Game Notes, from the Wizards home opener last night.

Yesterday was my nephew's birthday/Halloween party, and leading up to it, I was stressing on what to get him. I'm not good with getting gifts period, but I damn sure am not good with getting gifts for young kids. They can't really articulate what they truly want, and their parents tell everyone to get the same thing, so you can't really trust their advice either. Still, about 20 minutes before the party started, I ventured into Target, hoping to find that perfect gift. I saw baseballs, I saw action figures (its a shame age and maturity have caused me to part with those things, they were great), I saw remote control cars, and just a wide variety of toys for kids. I'll admit I was overwhelmed at all the options, and judging by the looks of the faces of the other men and women in the aisle, I was not alone. Then I saw it...

There was this monster truck that looked like a mini-Bigfoot that made a lot of noise, and I instantly knew that I had to get it. Young boys love trucks that appear as if they can smash anything in their path, and the fact that it made lots of noise only kicked things up a notch(although my brother and sister-in-law will surely hate me). I picked up the gift, shunned wrapping paper, for the more practical gift bag, skipped the birthday card (who are we kidding, I don't even like cards, so why would he), and I stepped into the party.

Once the gift opening ceremony began, I instantly realized I will have some stiff competition for the unofficial "best gift" title, that no one was paying attention to except my narcissistic ass. There were all types of clothes, trucks, books and even a kids laptop that my showoff father decided to get. I was starting to doubt whether my gift would even resonate with my young nephew. But once he unveiled my gift, it passed all the important litmus tests that kid gifts much endure

Eyes get wide when the gift is unveiled? check
Gets impatient while the gift is being removed from the package? check
Other kids around get jealous and try to snatch the gift repeatedly? check
Shuns the other gifts just to play with that one? check

So needless to say I was happy, and I made it a point to tell both of his parents, that uncle Rashad came through like a champ. And most importantly, my nephew was happy with ALL the gifts that he received, and I whispered to him that he should cherish it. The quality of the gift falls precipitously once you enter your 30s..

3 comments:

Me said...

too cute. I'm planning to crush my mothers baby shower gift for my nephew's baby early next year. She's talking about getting a crib though so I'm a little nervous. I've already started shopping. lol

a said...

*wins* it's always best as an aunt or uncle (or grandparent) to buy the noisy toys for the kids :p it's our job to spoil them, and drive their parents crazy. ha.

soft and subtle said...

I'm glad you won the gift challenge Rashad...lol It's always fun finding out if your gift stands out from the others. Ever since I've had nieces and nephews, I've always won in that arena. Last year I purchased my nephew a flying helicopter; he said I was the best Aunt EVER! I get this all the time of course. I even purchased a gift that his mother was trying to surprise him with but I beat her to the punch....she was pissed; how was I supposed to know? Anyway, the more you do it, the better you get. You just develop an instinct of what a kid really wants and it's not clothes.