toy crazy (or how i felt convicted while writing my latest blog post)

my son is toy crazy. i understand this is a common problem at this time of year, but we really have never dealt with toy crazy to this extent. he wants everything!

in madison, indiana we have all of about 5 places to buy toys. the biggest and most visited being walmart, of course. the madison courier does not include ads from places we dont have locally, it consists of a CVS ad, a walgreens ad, and a penneys ad. we get a walmart ad in the mail once a week and since we dont have cable,, theres not much of an opportunity to have the young mind filled with the knowledge of everything there is to want.

we arrived at my moms, in waterloo, iowa on friday afternoon. by friday night Dominic was already asking for pillow pets that he saw on the cartoon network. he has been asking for one for a while but its easy to say no and change the subject when the kid isnt reminded about it every 20 minutes.
over the course of the weekend we got loads of ads in the paper, including the toys r us big book and the target toy book.
i never realized that theres so much rubbish out there for toys. there are so many huge items that look awesome on christmas morning but where on earth are you going to store it when the awesomeness has worn off and that wrapping paper tube has come back as your kid's prized possession?
i also have come to understand (but not embrace, mind you) how it is that adults can go so overboard on christmas. little eyes light up at the thought of millenium falcon lego sets (that never get assembled properly), a ride on plush dinosaur that really lumbers and roars (and runs out of battery power, thus no lumbering or roaring) or a full service mini hair and nail salon for toddlers (total cost after all accessories are bought, 130 dollars). we imagine our kid's face when they see this amazing toy and at the moment of purchase we deem it "all worth it". now you might disagree and it may be all worth it to you, but what i really strive for is something he will love, something he would notice if i sneaked it off to goodwill while he is at school.
i do admit that the pouty face when i say "no" "youre not getting that" is a little sad, who wants to disappoint a kid at christmas but fortunately for me my budget is tight enough to not fall for the theatrics.
the other thing that has been getting to me about toy craziness is that it would consume my son's thoughts if it were allowed to. i have to make a point at these teachable moments to bring up the fact that God gives us everything we need and ALOT of what we want. im also seeing how easy it is for the media to show us what we should have our focus on, and lets face it, it is in no way shape or form pleasing to God.