During the holidays, lots of little kids came shopping with their parents. This can make it hard for the parents to shop for them. So, if we have time we’ll try to divert the child while the parent runs around gathering things that get rung up on the sly, wrapped and bagged before the little one has any idea what happened.
One technique I found very helpful in distracting little ones was asking what was on their list for Santa. One little girl gave the best answer ever.
“I only have three things on my list: a stroller for my baby doll, a real live dog, and a PlayMobil castle that has everything a real castle has.” It was all I could not to laugh. I imagined the castle coming with a moat, horses and some marauding townsmen. The mom and I made eye contact and I asked, so which is she getting? The stroller for the baby doll was the practical gift. “We’ve got allergies and space limitations,” the mom said.
So every time I imagine this lovely, articulate five-year-old strolling around her neighborhood with her baby all tucked in snug in her new stroller, it makes me smile.