A lesson learned.

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas. I'm happy to report that although it's been warm and rainy all week here in Southern Ontario, it is actually snowing this morning! We'll see how long it lasts.

Our Christmas was nice, although unfortunately we all had a light touch of the stomach flu all week, which meant we couldn't visit with family, which was disappointing.

We had another disappointment, one which taught us a lesson. Regular readers of this blog will know that we love handmade gifts. We try to make them, we try to buy them. And we sell our handmade toys on Etsy. Handmade gifts are, in my opinion, better quality and almost always more special.

However, there are times when it seems that a store-bought gift would fit the bill. This Christmas, for example, we bought a remote control monster truck for Owen. Now, we normally don't buy toys like this, especially ones that require constantly buying new batteries. But our son had been asking for one of these for quite some time now. So we decided to buy it, and felt pleased when we imagined how happy he would be on Christmas morning.

We should have known better, of course. I thought that spending $60 on a toy would mean it would be decent quality...but this thing was total junk. It broke literally within minutes of being taken out of the box--it would go forward but would no longer steer side to side. It's going back to Sears; Owen is understandably upset. All the more so because last year the small remote control truck my sister bought him also broke on Christmas day--it literally fell apart, the wheels fell off and everything. That one was much cheaper though, so I thought we would be safe this time.

We are really disgusted that even a $60 toy can't last a single day, even a single hour without breaking. But lesson learned. We are going to be much more careful about what goes under the tree next year. Every Christmas, we try to squeak through just one or two toys mass-produced in a factory overseas, and every time the item has ended up breaking within a week. (The only exception we have found are the metal Thomas trains, which actually hold up well to extended play. But the important thing to note is they are not plastic.)

It's really sad, because I can imagine how many little children across North America are heartbroken already because their new Christmas toys broke immediately. And all of those broken toys will end up in a landfill, after having served no purpose but to disappoint a child (and to make profit for someone somewhere.) Chris and I both agree that it seems unfair to the children of today. When we were growing up back in the 1980s, toys were much better quality and our Christmas presents could be expected to last.

I don't want to be too negative--we had a lovely Christmas, we ate a lot of good food and laughed a great deal too. I just wanted to share this lesson about consumer goods that we apparently needed to learn one more time!

I was surprised with a handmade gift I was not expecting - Chris made me a maple cutting board with a trough, for carving roast meat. I was so pleased! I have wanted one like this for some time, and this one is so thick and sturdy I imagine it will last forever.

I know I've said this before, but I'm so glad I have a husband who is a woodworker! :)

I also was blessed with two books which I enjoyed from the public library, and wanted to add to my own shelf: The Self Sufficient Gardener and The Art of Simple Food. I'm so happy about both of these books, which I love.

(Please, no one notice the crumbs on that chair...)

Today, it feels like Christmas is really over because Chris is back to work. I'm going to spend the day cleaning and putting things back to rights. Perhaps that doesn't sound like too much fun, but I'm looking forward to it!

Warm holiday wishes to all my readers around the globe...

Comments

[Mary]

Merry Christmas Laura and Family! I know what you mean. We tallied up our savings from doing our gifts totally handmade, and they were many!

Back to work today too--and very happy about it as well! :)

Happy New Year!
Mary :)

[Stephanie K.]

My friend got her son a remote control helicopter and had the exact same experience...within an hour it was broken. So sad and disappointing! I tried to explain this to my son (who has been "deprived" of this type of toy so far)...that spending lots of money on a toy like this often results in disappointment. I know the day is coming where we will feel compelled to buy a wii or some such gadget! Surprisingly, he was so happy this year with an awesome marble run (plastic, from Discovery Toys) and a cool science kit (from Scholar's Choice), that we didn't regret our resistance to battery-powered stuff.
I hope this post reaches lots of people. I'm sorry your son was saddened, and your point about so many disappointed kids really touched me!

Happy new year!

[Julia]

Merry Christmas Laura...sorry to hear about your frustration at spending so much moeny on a gift that broke within a very short time. I agree, handmade items are so much better made and superior to the mass-produced plastic stuff available. Your maple cutting board looks stunning and those books, very interesting.

kind regards,
Julia

[Emma]

So sorry to hear that Owen's present broke. My son got a plastic tool set that also didn't last longer that christmas morning!
He also got a wooden bridge to add to a 4 year old wooden train set which, despite being played with constantly, is still in great condition!

[Plain and Joyful Living]

I know what you mean Laura - we avoid buying anything that requires batteries anymore - but the children still receive some gifts from family that are mass produced and they do always end up breaking.....
Thinking of you and wishing you a wonderful new year!
Tonya

[Kim @ Homestead Acres]

I'm sorry to hear about the truck breaking on Christmas. :( I know what you mean about modern toys though... I try to buy as few as possible. lol A few years ago we bought a toy computer for our oldest. It didn't work when it was opened either.
I don't remember ever having toys break so quickly when I was little!

[Shannon]

The concept of something that will "last forever" is such a rare and precious thing! The good news is though that there are people like your husband who've gone back to handcrafting these days. Thank God for that!