Wish Lists

It is past the time of year when we start demanding wish lists from our children. I think we do it more because it is an entertaining benchmark of where our kids are in any given year than it is that we want to get them anything and everything they want.

For the past seven or so years-we have done online wish lists. We have used Amazon. .We have used start ups that no longer exist. We used thethingsIwant.com. Since 2006, we primarily have used kaboodle.com. This is no secret to anyone who has known me for more than about 10 minutes. I love Kaboodle like other people love their iPhones, their Prius, their pumpkin spice latte, like other people love their Target. It just  works for me. My rampant enthusiasm for Kaboodle means that my family is subjected to me reminding them to Kaboodle wish lists.

I won't talk about the primary use of Kaboodle in this house. Denise did elsewhere. But, we do use it like semi-normal people for wish lists. This week, all three younger kids added to their wish lists. The youngest is the best at online wish lists of all six kids. The oldest three are shy about wish lists because they understand real life better than the younger three. I always tell them to dream bigger. The boy in the middle, Prince J, takes a while to get started and then seems to pick everything ThinkGeek has, unless it has special washing instructions. He likes the fact that he can get straight to his favorite stores from his wish list home page-so no need to google them or know the address. 14 yo has a strategic style-but wants to be all gooshy and giving, so sucks up to Santa. Youngest creates a broad list with a mix of oddities and dreams. She loves the social aspect of online list making-the commenting, seeing what others want and find.

Mostly, the relatives like it-far flung relatives get a better list than "Oh he wants one of these 5 games for his game boy" "She really likes penguins this year" "Send her a gift card-her book list changes constantly" They get a peek at what the kids really put on their lists and if they decide to get it-a mere click of the button takes them to the right item. (This is very helpful when your teen picks an album on vinyl available from one small vendor in the country. Or some odd clothing item sold by only one company) Other relatives know when an item has been purchased-no duplicates.

But...I save those paper lists we get. Shhhh...Santa, like the tooth fairy, knows mommies are sentimental-at least this one...and lets me keep the list.

What about you and your family? Do wish lists go high tech at your house? All paper? A combo? Or do you skip the wish list thing altogether? (Note that while the kids make wish lists-the most loved item is most likely something not on the list-but instead some "odd" thing I dream up for them. Or Denise finds.

The kids know the general rule: you will get at least one item on your list...and that it isn't a demand list but a wish.