Two of the letters we received from Ms. Parnell’s kindergarten class at Lamar Elementary: ‘I want a big car just for me.’
By Bobby Bryant, Editor, editor@newsandpress.net
Inside today’s News & Press is a 20-page Letters to Santa special section, with material from Darlington County public-school students, compiled by their teachers and shipped off to the newspaper so you, the readers, can know exactly what the kids want this year from the Jolly Old Elf.
Some just want the traditional stuff – books, cats, clothes and a really smokin’ smartphone. Most are asking for more specialized merchandise. Merchandise you might never have even heard of.
Fluffy slime?
Hatchimals?
Beyblades?
Fortnite?
Before you parents or grandparents can bust budgets buying these things, you need to know what they ARE, what they do, how much they cost? You could just ask the kids, but that’s sort of cheating. Cool parents are just supposed to know on their own, or with some help from Google.
As a public service, we present this grownups’ guide to Christmas toys 2018. All toys referenced here are toys that Darlington County kids requested in our Letters to Santa section. Did we mention that’s inside today’s newspaper?
HOVERBOARD: That’s a two-wheeled, self-balancing motorized scooter done up in day-glo colors and selling, usually, for less than $200. Deals can be found all over the Internet; they’re also available at Wal-Mart and Target, just to name two big stores.
SQUISHY: A foam toy that can look pretty much like anything. You squeeze it and it squishes in on itself, then pops back to its original shape. It’s often marketed as a stress reliever. The simpler ones are pretty cheap – maybe $4 to $10 – but they get more expensive as they get bigger and more elaborate.
WUBBLE BUBBLE BALL: We’re just going to quote the manufacturer’s website on this one: “After three years and thousands of man-hours of research and development, we’re excited to bring you the amazing Wubble bubble ball. The Wubble is like no other ball or toy you’ve ever played with before! You see, it looks like a bubble … and moves like a bubble — but won’t pop like a bubble! You can kick it, whack it, throw it, bounce it — and even sit on it! The Wubble floats, wobbles, dribbles, spins, smashes—and makes really WACKY SOUNDS!!!” You dare ask the cost of this miracle? Generally under $20 or $15 for a basic one, but the price rises with size.
HATCHIMALS: On this one, let’s go to Wikipedia: “Hatchimals are electronic birds that you can nurture and can hatch from a plastic egg.” Of course, they come in a billion varieties, each cuter than the last, so the kids just gotta have every single one, even if it takes until they’re 35. Price depends on size, style, color, popularity and cuteness. Figure maybe $30, $40, $50 for a moderately big, moderately appealing Hatchimal.
SMASHBALL: Not so much a toy as a new sport, a combination of basketball and volleyball.
SLIME: This is the thing practically everyone is asking for because it’s so simple and slimy. You can buy it in stores, on the web or make it at home; you basically add the compound Borax to water and it turns all gooey and sticky and slimy. The more you want, the more it costs. You can get slime in many textures, degrees of sliminess, including “fluffy slime.” For about $30, National Geographic sells a “slime and putty lab” featuring, according to the ads, “eight cool varieties of slime and putty including magnetic putty, fluffy slime, glow-in-the-dark putty, DIY slime lab, liquid slime, color- changing putty, snotty slime and bouncing putty.” A star is born.
BEYBLADES: A nearly endless line of spinning tops first conceived in Japan. They’re fairly cheap just for a simple set (maybe $15 or so) but get far pricier as the sets get bigger and more elaborate.
NINJA TURTLE: Oh, come on, you know this one! The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles first appeared in comic books in the 1980s, were huge hits by the 1990s and have spawned wave after wave of movies, merchandising and toys as they’ve cycled in and out of popularity.
FORTNITE: In the old days, a fortnight was two weeks – 14 nights. In the new days, “Fortnite” is a red-hot online video game, a combat adventure that’s conquering kids by the millions and making some parents worry about video-game addiction. Cleverly, it’s free to download onto your computer, at least for now.
OZOBOTS: Being marketed as educational toys that “inspire young minds,” Ozobots are little robots that can teach kids the basics of computer programming. How does this work? You “train” the small droids to follow patterns on floors, tables, etc. They’re not cheap, but they’re being sold as more than just playtoys.
