Holiday shopping

A "brainy toys" catalog came in the mail today from MindWare, which I'd never heard of before. But ooooh, I want to buy a lot of stuff. And not necessarily just for my son. There are games (strategy, trivia, board games, Super Scrabble now with quadruple-word squares), puzzles (including 4x4 and 5x5 Rubik's cubes, jigsaws), books, puzzle books (mazes, logic, mysteries, lateral thinking, and, er, sudoku), science kits, cool building blocks and other spatial gizmos, geography stuff, and artsy-crafty kits (remember wood-burning kits?) and...and...and it all looks so fun and educational. Who ever heard of a kid's etymology activity book? There are two levels to choose from! Where was this when I was a kid??

Not a single item in this catalog is gendered—no pink for girls vs. primary colors for boys, no workbenches for boys vs. kitchens for girls. Just toys and games for any kid. Hooray!

It's possible that Santa Claus will be placing a really big order...and not letting the kid have a chance to play with his new treasures.