Ah yes, i hear the jingle of tiny bells

It came yesterday.  Just as we were getting into the Halloween Spirit, the Toys R Us Toy catalog came in the mail. Little Ella and I bowed out of the catalog browsing for some much needed quiet time.  I did enjoy listening to the excited chatter of my three kiddos, though.  It is rare that they are so animated and polite with each other.  Char determined a price limit and they each chose toys they were "buying" and labeled them with their initials.  I love that in their dreaming, they imposed a price limit!  They are definitely my children.  Looking at what they circled, however gave me pause.  They chose toys I know they would stop playing with the same week they would receive it.  You know the kind...  the stay puff marshmallow man bank from ghost busters and the toddler toys.
   I see it every year.  They get what I lovingly call "junk toys."  These are the ones that Dan and I look at and can immediately gauge their stay at our house.  The shortest time - last Christmas, some didn't even make it to see the morning light.  I don't understand the draw to these items.  They usually are shiny, make noise and have lights, but fail to require creativity.  My children easily tire of these toys and move back to their old favorites - Magna Tiles, Autoblox and cars.
   This year I was surprised that the boys were so excited about the Toy catalog because they have already been eyeing up a parent approved toy - the awesome train table at Costco.  Though they know that we will not be buying this luxury, we would allow it and they drool over it every Saturday (Costco was a staple after soccer games this summer).  Literally drool.  In fact, I think that is why Costco very cleverly encased it in plexiglass.  And my two little boys were rarely the only children enthralled with this particular table.  Pulling them away was always (and will continue to be) a challenge.
   This magical time of toy dreaming makes me wonder.  Even though my kids know the real meaning of Christmas, they still buy into the typical Americanized holiday.  What would it look like to not receive a toy catalog every year?  What it stores didn't have huge toylands just around the holidays?  What would it take to change the mindset that Christmas if for getting and not for giving?
I'm realizing that my thoughts are still incredibly disjointed (blame the lack of sleep and the current tootsie roll sugar high from our Halloween party), but I'm sure there is some hint of truth hidden in here.  Perhaps I will find it once I've slept and been properly caffeinated.  :)