“Christians will buy ANYTHING if you put that Jesus guy on it!”
“Brilliant! We’ll make MILLIONS!”
Insert maniacal laughing and the sound of money depositing into the coffers.
And I, dear readers, am preciscely the person that marketers dream of in their sleep.
Friday, I went to Toys R Us.
With my kids.
To Christmas shop.
FOR my kids.
Insanity? Maybe. But they were good. And were so intrigued by the shelf displays, they didn’t pay much mind to the boxes I was putting into the cart.
“Mommy, are you buying all that stuff?”
“Hey look Henry! Do you want a Ring Pop?!”
Distraction Tactics 101. Works like a charm.
As I was walking up to the register to check out, I remembered that I had pined over that FisherPrice Nativity set last year.
And wondered if they had it. You know, just out of curiosity. Not really to buy it.
First mistake.
“Excuse me, m’am? Do you guys have that little kid’s nativity?”
“Yes…over in this aisle…here it is!…it’s the LAST ONE…”
$29.99.
eek.
It’s not that we can’t afford the $30…just that…well, we don’t spend that kind of money on toys.
Particularly grossly overpriced holiday toys.
“Ooooh, I’ll take it!” says the other shopper in an obnoxious pink shirt.
“NO. I’m buying it. Sorry.” Although I’m not really sorry. Just competitive.
And so it went.
The box into the cart, and I to the registers.
A marketers DREAM. Those people LOVE me. Love.
But here’s my justification reasoning: My kids are young. This set can be pulled out of the Christmas boxes for many years. And maybe for grandkids someday too. And great memories will be made. Or at least that’s how I romanticize it.
Have I mentioned how Corporations adore me? Right.
And so we went home, and I opened it up.
Or tried to.
It took me a full 20 minutes and some not-very-christian mumblings under my breath to get the whole thing apart.
Apparently they are made of bone china.
Except they’re not.
And I couldn’t help but wonder how much more money toy stores would make if in addition to the extra charge for putting bikes together, they included an extra $5 to open up the packaging.
Because I’m pretty sure I’d pay.
But you wanna know something?
With as annoyed as I was by the price tag…
And frustrated by the nuclear power plant like packaging…
And chagrined at myself for falling prey to yet another marketing ploy…
My kids really dig it.
One, two, three little heads. (Don’t miss the fact that Jill is “standing”. I have to be nearby in case she eats it, but she can prop herself for a while! And oh the differnce it has made in how they all play together! Tears in a mama’s eyes.)
And they have played with it every day since.
Sometimes by using the characters as projectile objects, but hey, it’s a start.
One of the wise men was missing this morning. He’s not lost.
I’m just unsure of his location.
Dynamite Pete was a stand in for the photo shoot.
He blends in seamlessly.
Because really…is this not the cutest Mary you’ve ever seen???!!!
Laugh at me all you want.
Andy’s gonna kill me when he reads this and sees how much these little molded plastic people were.
But my kids love it. I love it. And it’s got Jesus.
I’m a sucker. I know it.
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This post made me smile… loved it!
JD´s last blog post ..1st Post-Honduras Letter
Your not alone. I bought this set for my 9 month old. I told my husband I wanted to start explaining the true meaning of Christmas at a young age. Not that Karson gets it, he just tries to eat Jesus. :-)
Kelly´s last blog post ..St Nick Night traditions
I just started following your blog the other day, but now I love you. :) I have been dying to have the Jesus-related Fisher Price sets. Seriously. For an adult I have spent way too much time wishing that we had these!! I think you might have pushed me over the edge to go buy them. If you get an email from an irate husband I apologize! ;)
Love this post. It will make memories for years. Ask me about the nativity from my Aunt Mary. I’m a sucker for any nativity scene. We won’t mention how many I put up. Love the pics of the kiddos.
I want to get this set for my kids too…but I sadly can’t justify the cost. Maybe I can find one on clearance after Christmas…..
Kati´s last blog post ..Tag Blanket Mania Again
Sorry to break it to you Kati, but that’s what I planned last year too…finding it on clearance…but alas, I think Fisher Price has their supply/demand model perfected…they sell out fast enough that I wasn’t able to find a store that hadn’t sold out of them weeks before Christmas! :(
I figure that if it gets used for the next 10+ years, it was worth the $. Or that’s what I tell myself anyway. ;)
jeannett´s last blog post ..Why Multi-National Corporations Love Me
Kati, keep an eye out, maybe next year! I had been wanting this nativity for the past 2-3 years for my kiddos and found it at Target for $14 on sale for the Sunday-Wed pre-black friday sales this year! Maybe they’ll have it again next year!
Oh man. That IS cute! Now I am thinking about buying it too… Except you got the last one.
Happy Holidays!
Hanneke
I am so buying that for my niece next year! Love it!
stephanie´s last blog post ..Burr
i am soooo bummed because last summer we had a garage sale and i let my kids sell whatever they wanted. ALL of the little people were sold. all. including the nativity. ugh.
one mistake we made (other than selling it) was leaving it out year round. it wasn’t nearly as special. which sounds silly, because its not like we box up jesus after christmas and don’t think about him the rest of the year, but you know what i mean.
lindsey – the pleated poppy´s last blog post ..its begining to look a lot like christmas!
Heehee! Yep, we bought one too. Two days later I found a plastic (not Little People or even for kids) set at the thrift store for $6, so I bought that thinking we’d have two. But the kids LOVED the $6 one, WOULD NOT put it down for days, so I ended up returning the Little People. Kevin was annoyed that we’d bought it in the first place, haha. But it is SO SWEET and so I’m glad that someone out there is using it!!! And, being that it gets used every year, $30 really isn’t so bad.
Brianna´s last blog post ..Blogging for Cliff
Girl, I went to every Toy’s R Us, Walmart and Target in Ventura before I sucked it up and paid $39 at the Christian Family Store. I am with you, totally worth it, Andrew totally loves it, and we will play with it for years. We too were missing a wise-man…ended up in a gift bag from our Holiday Party this weekend, but we added Paco from our “Its a Sall World” set. He fits in great with his sombrero! Your posts always make me laugh because they are so my life. Tip: Everytime Andrew starts to throw a fit, I yell “Oh! Go find baby Jesus for me!” and he runs off to find it! Its awesome!
Merry Christmas dear…you are doing amazing things here with this blog!!
I got that a couple of years ago for my kids and at least once a week we would sit down and I would tell the story acting it out with this set and they learned the story so well!
Mari´s last blog post ..Finding Joy Amidst the Crazies
I’ve wanted to buy that nativity for years and never could force myself to pay the price tag. I do so love it, though! I better get on Amazon right now, it is December 7th, after all!
Stephanie´s last blog post ..New Beginning – Healthy Eating
what an awesome post, you are killing me with the cuteness and I am laughing right out loud. I’ve totally done that “snatch the item off the shelf simply because that other lady is eyeballing it from behind my back” maneuver – happens to everyone :)
Love the post today – thanks for sharing.
melissa´s last blog post ..Randomness
I bought this set last year for my then 9 mo old twins. We pulled it out this year and they play with it. They don’t set the people up “right”, but I love that they call both the angel and Jesus “bebee” (baby)
The thing that stuck out in this blog to me was the fact that JILL IS STANDING!!! I must have missed that sometime in either blogs or just picture. That is so exciting. As for the other, I was the same way. That little nativity is really cute. And I love how you improvise. You just make me laugh, smile, cry, dance, etc., everytime I read your blogs. love you, jeannett
Robbin´s last blog post ..Photo Challenge 23
Um, yeah, so I may have to go buy that. The only Nativity set I have is a ceramic white and gold one that is definitely NOT kid friendly, it sits on the mantle and is lurvly! But I really want one that our kid(do’s) can play with, I always loved setting up the pieces just so… yeah, off to hunt for one!
“Andy’s gonna kill me when he reads this and sees how much these little molded plastic people were.”
You better find the missing third King…no clue that thing was 30 bucks. And keep track of it.
Thanks for your cooperation.
Or what?! ;)
You mean you don’t think Dynamite Pete is Wise enough?! Sheesh.
Sedona was ecstatic when she saw it in a magazine a few days ago. She exclaimed at every recognized character! So, it’s sort of on my list. I’ve loved it for a while and have even seen Katie E. use it in a Sunday School lesson! But we actually have a beautiful nativity that isn’t breakable. It’s a family heirloom, so I can’t justify two nativity sets. Except that she was naming all the characters…so cute…
Love that your kids are playing with it every day!
AND LOOK AT THAT MISS JILLY! That’s the way to show them all how it’s done, Little Lady! YAY!
And Dynamite Pete just might be my new crush. That is too funny!
We have this same set that I paid too much for on ebay. I figured it was a good investment after the Joseph in our old set um … lost his head. The kids love it. Right now Jesus isn’t in a stable safe and warm, I think he is in the pantry. All of the kids play with it and we usually end up with extra animals, a tree or two and some anachronisitic farm equipment. Eliannah thinks that there are two Marys because one of the wise men is in blue and is clean shaven. I”m not quite sure what exactly this is teaching them but it keeps them out of the other Christmas decorations and they look forward to getting it out every year.
We have had our fisher price nativity for going on 5 years now and it is still as loved as the day we bought it. Even though it has been teethed on, thrown, stepped on, etc it still looks as good as the day we bought it and the song still plays!! YEAH. You should be proud of your investment!
Tracy´s last blog post ..Making the Boring Exciting
I had been wanting this for the past 3-4 years as well, “for my kids” – not me;) and couldn’t justify the price either. Then I found it in the Pre-Black Friday sale adds this year at Target..1/2 off. Hopefully they’ll do that again next year. I RAN..well, drove QUICKLY to Target ASAP to get one and they were sold out so I got a rain check..then still drove to another Target where I found it! My kids are the same way as your kids – loving it! and it helps me talk to them about the real meaning of Christmas in a way that they can understand it! This will be a tradition! I love the pics of your kids!
Ashlee´s last blog post ..Countdown to Christmas!!
I’ve been coveting this as well! Although my in-laws just bought Adam the Veggie Tales nativity set, and oddly enough, we have a wise man missing this morning too! hahaha
Look at little Jilly standing!!! Good job girl!
Kirsten´s last blog post ..WOOOOOO
I pined over this set for 5 years before scoring it for $20, in, like Sept, last year…I have nver paid so much for a holiday toy..and I think it was some of my best money spent…Especially when I caught my daughter singing Happy Birthday to Jesus… :) LOVE!!
Didn’t want to read through all 27 comments (look at you go girl!)- but had to say- HANDS DOWN favey favey favey nativity ever. I don’t care the price. I’m a sucker for Little People. And I love that I don’t have to worry that it’ll get chewed on, played with and loved. The only problem is when baby Jesus goes missing because my 2 yr old (clepto) niece steals him and we discover him under the couch while wrestling….oh but you didn’t ask for that story.
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I love this post – and the little people manger! My daughter got one for christmas last year and we’re working with all we have to keep the pieces from disappearing!
I’ve just wandered upon your blog and really appreciate it all. I read your story and the post about Cliff. My niece is four an has cancer; my daughter (two yrs) was born with severe hearing loss. Life isn’t always what we expect but it’s pretty darn awesome all the same. Your post about cliff really touches me. My husband works with adults with disabilities and I’ve always wanted to do foster care or adopt (although neither are really financially a possibility right now). My heart cries out to God, I could take care of that little baby! I’ll keep praying for him! Hopefully someone’s heart cries out for him, who can and will keep him! Thanks for the inspiration!
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