Mothers often suffer from guilt. Many women don’t have the luxury to be able to stay home with their children. Some women don’t think of it as a luxury and don’t want to stay home. And that is ok. I lived in both worlds and they both have their pros and cons. But, that’s not the kind of guilt I am talking about here. I’m talking about not giving children what they want for Christmas. What they dream of when they are tucked in bed at night. What they want so badly that they just may die if they don’t get it.
I stood in lines to get the newest Ty Beanie Baby. One Christmas, my daughter got like 60 of them. Yeah, I went a little bonkers in my bid to get them all for her. She wanted Beanie Babies, so I delivered. My son had the Ghost Busters and Ninja Turtles that he wanted. He had the cool Ghostbuster car and all the accessories. They had Lego’s galore. I got them everything they always wanted for Christmas. They were great kids, so I acknowleged that with a fantastic Christmas each year. And that meant hunting down every single item on their list.
Sure, it was hard to find some items, but I was an awesome mom. I camped out and called places. I had connections.
But, there is such a thing as a veto. Yes, a Mom Veto. (I made this up, so it is real in my mind. If any mother would like to borrow and use the Mom Veto, by all means, have at it.) Anywho, A Mom Veto is when a mom thinks a particular item on a want list is lame. That can happen one time per child through their thirteenth birthday. I elected to use my veto one time, on my daughter, Alex. And I am still hearing about it..For the love of God….
My 23 year old daughter reminds me every once in a while that she never got an Easy Bake Oven for Christmas or a birthday.
Kid, it's just a light bulb. Nothing will cook
That’s right. An Easy Bake Oven. I never fell for that gimmick. No Easy Bake Oven was going to come into my house. It was a frickin light bulb that cooked the cake. She had it on her Christmas list once or twice, but Santa thought that it was dangerous and messy and stupid, so he didn’t leave it under the tree on Christmas Eve.
Ok, I never told my daughter this, maybe because I filed it under For the Love of God, Things that You Do That Remind You of Your Crazy Mother. No one wants to be compared to their mother, especially if she is a loon.
But, the truth is, I wanted an Easy Bake Oven when I was like 7 or 8. I had it on my Christmas list. They came out in 1963 and I wanted one. Everyone wanted one. It was the hot topic. My friends got them on Christmas morning. I didn’t. I remember my mom telling me that they didn’t work. Well, how the hell did she know that? And if they didn’t work, why did Santa bring my friends Easy Bake Ovens, but not me? I wanted answers, damnit. And I wanted them now.
I went to my friends house and was very disappointed in my hearts desire. We mixed the cake, and patiently waited for the “ding.” When it finally dinged?… dang?…. dung?…. whatever….it was still gooey. I was pissed, yet happy, that my Santa Claus brought me something else instead of an oven that cooked a cake with a small light bulb. They must have had a different Santa Claus. A retarded one, perhaps. Because, this damn thing could not cook. Should have just been called Easy Stir for the Real Oven.
I know it’s not Christmas yet, but since they put out the Christmas items beside the Halloween and Easter and Valentine’s Day displays (I shall save that rant for another day), I was just thinking about my kids and what to get them this year. Well, it’s not going to be an Easy Bake Oven, that’s for sure.
I found out that there was a recall in 2007 for the Easy Bake Oven. Since 1963, there have been about 11 re-designs. Seems that during 2007, there were 249 reports of children getting their fingers stuck in the oven door and 16 cases of second or third degree burns and a finger amputation from the oven. Well, looks like they changed the light bulb wattage over the years. Wow. Poor little children. They will grow up to eat take-out. You know that, right?
Every girls dream in 1963...
Finger amputation….. Don’t think my future grandchildren will be getting an Easy Bake Oven.
Maybe my daughter will pass the tradition of not getting one for Christmas down to her daughter.
