Pip's Christmas list

Throngs of adoring fans have been clamoring to know what today's intellectually engaged toddler will be getting for Christmas.  There are only a few shopping days left but it isn't too late to make the perfect Christmas for your alert little one.  These are the gifts waiting under the tree for lil despot this yule.

Plastic Dinosaur Set: Pip has reached the developmental stage when he begins pondering the evanescent nature of existence.  If you're looking for a toy that opens up conversations about the inevitability of death and the fleeting moment that is life, look no further than dinos.  These cute lil critters will remind him that all beings, no matter how powerful, will be brought low in death.  It's also a fun way to remember that global climate crises lead to mass extinction.

Cars from the movie Cars:  These anthropomorphic machines with human eyes and automotive bodies will help your toddler confront his existential angst.  What does it mean to be human? Are we all merely mechanical objects overlain with a thin veneer of humanity?  If cars could talk, would they decry our exploitative society that relies on dehumanizing the masses that a minority may live profligately?  Your child can work out the stress of analyzing what it means to exist by crashing these fun little cars into one another on the church pew.

Playmobil Farm:  If your kid is anything like mine he loves enacting dystopian allegories with figurines.  Watch the piggies take over the farm and run the farmer family off to live in fear.  If the farm falls apart (all too common among toddler toys) your tot can have fun finding a scapegoat among the animals.  Eventually your kiddo will conclude that all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.

Animals for the bathtub: We have a small red boat already, but not many critters to ride in it.  It isn't easy to contemplate man's overweening hubris by playing Titanic if you don't have a sizable number of victims to be left bobbing in the water.  The new package promises a very large population of critters without any corresponding growth in watercraft.  This enables your tot to play out any number of metaphorical applications of terrible tragedy.   Your kiddo will have fun deciding which animals are celebrities worth either saving or remembering, and which ones can be simply counted as horrifying statistics.



Christmas is a magical time.  It isn't easy to find that perfect gift, but the look of delight and the hours of play make the search for presents well worth while.  I hope I was able to help!!