Presents My Kids Played With Longer Than 5 Minutes

I challenge you to find me one parent on the face of this planet that didn’t hear their children say at some point after Christmas, “I’m bored.”

In certain dialects it could have also sounded like, “I’m booooored.”

You find me that one parent and I’ll show you a person with their pants on fire.

Or a parent who is wearing earplugs because they are so much smarter than me.

Yes, yes. There were moments this holiday season that were magical. Joy-filled. Melt my heart. Worthy of a Hallmark card.

Those are the moments I hold close to my heart while I let electronics babysit my kids because the week between Christmas and the New Year is bonkers. It’s suspended reality. It’s a no man’s land.

There. I said it.

With all of my reality laid out on the table and my kids back in electronics rehab school, I will tell you there are a few presents my kids received for Christmas that they played with for more than five minutes.

You have your Christmas miracles. I have mine.

For my 11-year-old daughter:

My daughter has mainly outgrown the toy stage, so buying gifts is tricky.

Here are the presents my daughter has been using over and over since Christmas:

RED HEART Loop-It Yarn– My daughter received 2 skeins of yarn in her stocking. This particular looped yarn is super soft and plush. It comes in a bunch of colors. She likes to finger knit and this is the first time she’s received yarn that is just for her and not something she’s using from my stash.

Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children Boxed Set – Thankfully, my daughter is a reader. Most any book would do in this case, but she’s reading the series Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children and the third book in the series (Library of Souls) just came out.

This series is actually found in the teen section, so it’s not for young kids. I’d say middle school and up, depending on your child. The story is fascinating and magical, but also a bit dark and tense at times.

Lap Desk – The lap desk was a surprisingly big hit. My daughter likes to sit on her bed to do homework and draw. The lap desk seemed like a good solution for needing a hard surface to write on.

She also took the lap desk on a Christmas road trip and it came in handy in the car. The only problem was her brother doesn’t have one, so that brought about fighting, but how was I to know they’d like it so much?

The lap desk I bought from Barnes and Noble sold out, but this one from Amazon looks much better and has the same colors.

Also, for the record, I sometimes shop at places other than Amazon and Target. Shocking, I know!

For my 8-year-old son:

This was the first year my son didn’t ask for Legos. What will I step on in the middle of the night now? 

Here are the presents he received that have held his attention.

Lamborghini Remote Control Car – I thought we were done with remote control cars and drones, but my son just became interested in sports cars. He’s spotting them on the highway now. “Mom, there’s a Corvette! No, wait! That’s a Camaro. Catch up to it, Mom!”

Oh, I’ll catch up to it…at the next stop light.

This remote control car was the most expensive thing I bought for either kid and it was $35 plus a billion dollars in batteries.

Now you know why we switched to these rechargeable batteries many years ago.

This car also works surprisingly well on our low pile carpet and rugs.

Over-the-Door Basketball Hoop – This is a toy that goes in the bedroom (so I don’t have to look at it), but has given my son spurts of entertainment since Christmas. I don’t expect the hoop to last forever since this was a $10 present, but if it continues to be a source of entertainment, he can upgrade later.

Did I hear “I’m bored” this Christmas break? Yes. More than once.

That’s probably because a day between Christmas and New Year’s has approximately 425 hours in it instead of the normal 24. I can’t explain why, but that’s how it works during that week of suspended reality!

When my kids weren’t asking for a snack or screen time or another snack, they did play with the above presents and I feel pretty darn happy about that! There have been way too many times when that wasn’t the case.

Do you know what else I’m feeling pretty darn happy about? That we are all back to our regular routines today!

Happy New Year!

P.S. The Rudolph balloon animal shown at the very start of this post was free and that meant, by default, it was the most played with item in our house over Christmas. Also, I have never wanted to be a balloon artist more than I do right now.

Thanks for being here today! Here are some other posts you might enjoy…

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The Painting I Rescued From the Trash

Chocolate Peppermint Schnapps Cake

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