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She picked two letters, and then her boss picked two letters, and somebody else picked two letters, and somehow that meant I got the job of working with the kids to pick out gifts. Which would have been more fun if 3 out of the 6 letters hadn't wanted the same things :)
Those same things were Batman, Spiderman, or Superman items, and as I am constitutionally incapable of giving a child a present that is not a book, and as Christmas money stretches a lot further when it doesn't include clothing (because we didn't have their sizes), I included several related books for those kids. Easy peasy.
One kid wanted a specific toy truck, and he was also easy peasy - I Stink! and Scarry's Cars and Trucks book to go with it. At this point the girls wandered off to the library, after giving advice on the last one, Board Game kid. I ignored their advice - I'm not sure if his parents want an 8 year old playing Guillotine, even if our family thinks that's just fine.
Then we come to our sole girl. She is a fan of Doc McStuffins. Sounds great! Turns out that Amazon reviews of very nearly every Doc McStuffins toy reveal that they are cheaply made and fall apart rapidly. I thought maybe I'd guesstimate her size and get her a hoodie or mittens or something. No dice, the only Doc McStuffins tie-in clothing that comes larger than toddler size turned out to be panties. I'm not getting a stranger's kid underwear as a secret Santa thing! There is NO WAY that's not creepy!
I settled on a doll and a whole heck of a lot of Doc McStuffins books. Luckily it's anonymous, because if somebody gave my darling that many tie-in books I think I'd want to kill them. Well, she's six, she's learning to read, and she writes very nicely, so maybe she won't pester Mom and Dad too much!
Last kid wanted board games to play with his four brothers and sisters. He said he "likes to play Sorry". Does that mean he would like Sorry? Or that he already has Sorry? I hope it's the latter, because that's what I went with. He also got a couple of books to go with his games.
Doing Good isn't supposed to be so stressful! Now I'm worried that we got too much stuff, and their parents are going to want to kill us because it won't all fit into the apartment. Well, good thing it's anonymous!
Those same things were Batman, Spiderman, or Superman items, and as I am constitutionally incapable of giving a child a present that is not a book, and as Christmas money stretches a lot further when it doesn't include clothing (because we didn't have their sizes), I included several related books for those kids. Easy peasy.
One kid wanted a specific toy truck, and he was also easy peasy - I Stink! and Scarry's Cars and Trucks book to go with it. At this point the girls wandered off to the library, after giving advice on the last one, Board Game kid. I ignored their advice - I'm not sure if his parents want an 8 year old playing Guillotine, even if our family thinks that's just fine.
Then we come to our sole girl. She is a fan of Doc McStuffins. Sounds great! Turns out that Amazon reviews of very nearly every Doc McStuffins toy reveal that they are cheaply made and fall apart rapidly. I thought maybe I'd guesstimate her size and get her a hoodie or mittens or something. No dice, the only Doc McStuffins tie-in clothing that comes larger than toddler size turned out to be panties. I'm not getting a stranger's kid underwear as a secret Santa thing! There is NO WAY that's not creepy!
I settled on a doll and a whole heck of a lot of Doc McStuffins books. Luckily it's anonymous, because if somebody gave my darling that many tie-in books I think I'd want to kill them. Well, she's six, she's learning to read, and she writes very nicely, so maybe she won't pester Mom and Dad too much!
Last kid wanted board games to play with his four brothers and sisters. He said he "likes to play Sorry". Does that mean he would like Sorry? Or that he already has Sorry? I hope it's the latter, because that's what I went with. He also got a couple of books to go with his games.
Doing Good isn't supposed to be so stressful! Now I'm worried that we got too much stuff, and their parents are going to want to kill us because it won't all fit into the apartment. Well, good thing it's anonymous!
