Every year the same thing happens at our house. My older son makes his Christmas list, and the top item is inevitably something that a) doesn't exist b) is not available in this country, or often, not even on the continent c) exists but won't be sold for several years as it's still in development d) no longer is sold in stores and is either not available on Ebay etc., or has gone out of our financial reach due to its rarity e) never existed, but he wishes it did.
In past years, it has been elusive model train parts, books that are out of print, videos or music selections that are no longer recorded, discontinued Playmobil pieces (the outlet store in Mississauga eventually helped with that one!), and a spare dedicated camera battery that took us seven weeks to find. Other families have trouble finding stock of popular items, but our problem is usually the opposite!
My younger son used to ask for "interesting" things too--like the year he wanted a Beluga whale--not a "zoo adoption", not a toy, but the actual real thing. Thankfully, his desires have become a little easier to appease over the years!
The item of interest this year is actually more of something we already own. This should be easy, right? Nope. The plain painted dominoes that are perfect for building domino runs are no longer made by Melissa and Doug. When we emailed them, they directed us to their numbered domino set. This is a completely different item. Ebay doesn't have any now either.
My sons spend hours building complicated domino runs. Sometimes the runs are part of a larger Rube Goldberg machine (see here for more on Rube Goldberg machines), and sometimes they stand alone. For the past four (five?) years, they have been the most played with item in our house, even beating out house favourites such as Crazy Forts, Snap Circuits, Lego and K'nex. I love how such a simple toy can lead to so much creativity.
I originally purchased them on a whim at Winners. They were likely being discontinued at the time. I know others use dominoes like this, but aside from an incredibly expensive version made in Germany, I have been unable to find a source.
They are simple wooden blocks that should be easy to cut, sand and paint ourselves, right? Except they use hardwood that is a little more challenging to work, and the exact uniform size of the pieces is critical. Some of the transition pieces are pretty complex as well, at least, they are for unskilled carpenters such as my husband and I. Making some will be our last resort.
I have to admit though that I have actually come to enjoy the treasure hunt associated with these requests. I suspect this is something that I will miss in a few years, so despite the stress associated with it all, I am determined to enjoy it.
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