I received the invitation for my youngest grandson’s birthday party for this Sunday. I believe Jadon will be ten years old, but with 15 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren, I simply cannot remember when some of them were born. I sent his mother a text to see what he likes, so that I can buy him an appropriate gift, for I have no clue what ten-year-old boys enjoy today.
Last year, he was enthralled with Super Mario, and all I had to do was go on Amazon.com and order the game and have it delivered right to him. I mistrusted my knowledge of 21st century toys, so his father gets the credit for last year’s winning suggestion. Jadon loved the game, mainly because after a few days, he was able to surmount any difficulties and become rather good at it.
If it were up to me, I would buy him the simple toys from earlier generations, toys that required children to use their imaginations, rather than simply sitting at a console and playing on a screen for hours at a time. I would start with one of those big, sturdy Tonka trucks that could be thrown down stairs, run over by cars, and kicked around the yard, and still be fully operational. You could pass them down to two or three generations, still resplendent and imposing in their hardiness.
Maybe even try to encourage musical talent with a snare drum. He could bang on them to his heart’s content, and who knows, become the next winner of America’s Got Talent or some other talent competition on cable television! Music does soothe the savage beast, although drums may not actually do so for his parents. But, the level of dexterity and an appreciation for all manner of music would be just the things for a growing boy’s future.
Lastly, I could buy him an Easy Bake Oven for Boy and a copy of the Little Dudes Easy Bake Oven Recipes, so that he could develop his culinary skills. He could cook wonderful muffins and cakes for everyone to enjoy, saving his parents plenty of money on sugary items. He might become so proficient at cooking that one day he would open a bakery and name it after me, Grandma Gina’s Sweet Shop, for inspiring his love of cooking, and I would receive free pastries whenever I visited that gastronomic wonder.
I am so out of touch with the toys of today, and that is partly because Douglas and I don’t see our youngest grandchildren so often. We bypass the toys section at Target, because there are no little kids in our house. I don’t watch Saturday cartoons (do they still come on?), so I am completely ignorant of the newest toys and gizmos for children. Also, Super Mario costs $60, and that is a little too steep for me, as a retiree, so gifts at that price now are relegated to Mommy and Daddy.
I have learned that children don’t find books too exciting for birthday presents, but I still give them each Christmas, because I believe that the best gift you can give any child is the joy of reading, especially books that capture their imaginations and allow them entry into other worlds. So, I am still waiting for a text or phone call, so that I can be the cool grandmother at the birthday party on Sunday. If they tell me what to buy no later than noon tomorrow, with my Prime subscription, he will have it by Sunday. No problem!
Fandango prompt is Surmount. Word of the Day Challenge is Enthralling. Ragtag prompt is Inspire. Scott’s Daily Prompt is Cable. Your Daily Prompt is Resplendent. Daily Addictions prompt is Mistrust.
Written for the Three Things Challenge by the Haunted Wordsmith: bakery, muffin, and snare drum.
Help from Heaven 
Oh this was great! I feel the same way when I am trying to buy presents for our Grandchildren. So I send out that same kind of text! 🙂 And, amen to helping instill the love of reading.
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Yes.. I agree. Keep sending the books! A reader wrote this review for my last book and I absolutely love it and agree with it. Not specifically what he has to say about my book, but what he has to say about books in general. Here is what he had to say,
“I don’t have kids, but I was once a kid who latched onto a very few kids’ books, reading and rereading them relentlessly. That was in the 1950’s, and those thin books were sparsely colored and filled with whimsy that made me so happy. Sunup Sundown Song, I think, is in that class. (It’s SO hard to review a kid’s book as an adult!) I love that Judy has made it available only in print – no Kindle. This book needs a kid to drag it around the house, to take crayons to its margins, doodle in its edges. This is a book to teach kids to savor the silly, maybe even to learn how to spell nonsense words. If I had had this book growing up, I wouldn’t have it now – I would have read it until it disintegrated in less than two years’ time, left it out in the rain and whined about its loss. Kids will not read this review, but their parents and grandparents and uncles and aunts will. Please surprise that kid in your life with this book as a gift!”
Makes me think he should have had kids!
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