Toys I Just Don't "Get"

The coolest thing about having a 7 year old at Christmas is the toy stores. For me, the woman who never grew up, it's an excuse to go and check out all the new things to play with; I'm like that kid with his nose pressed up to the window in The Christmas Story.

But there are always some toys that make me wonder,

"What the heck were the inventors thinking?" 

Usually they involve loads of batteries (the best toys don't need batteries, IMO) and only perform a few functions. After you run through the repertoire, what's left to do but allow the toy in question to gather dust?

Here are a few toys that I just don't get:

1. Little Miss Muffin Doll: Oh, sure, kids went nuts for LaLaLoopsy Dolls last year, but it doesn't mean that any rag doll with a large, plastic head will also be a success. These dolls wear a sort of mobcap, along the lines of Mrs. Beezley,* and they smell like muffins. Who needs a doll to smell like a baked good? Not I.

2. Baby Born Dance: It's a baby. It dances. Enough said.

3. Disney Fairies Water Dispenser: Here you are, little girl, a faucet! I know you'll love it because it has pictures of Fairies on it!

4. Kung Zhu Pets: Whoever made Zhu Zhu pets had a huge hit one year for girls with hamsters that rolled around and made different chirp sounds. Trying to recreate that success by selling fighting hamsters to boys wasn't such a great idea.

5. The Snoop Dogg Barbie Doll: Actually, I might really, really want to buy this one. Because Snoop is always cool, even when he guest stars in the Big Time Rush Christmas Special. And how can I resist the tagline: "12 inches of Snoop"?




*Remember that show, Family Affair? It came on every week day after I Dream of Genie, I believe. Or maybe F Troop. Watched it whenever I was home sick from school. Who's with me in Middle Aged Land?