Everyone Loves Alvin

I'm sure almost everyone has seen a child rip open a present and then have more fun playing with the box or the ribbon than the most-likely expensive gift inside. Well, we have had that experience with Lucas this year for sure.

First, the MOST exciting thing in his stocking was the orange. From various Christmas books and movies, Lucas was certain that Santa always leaves an orange in Christmas stockings. On Christmas Eve, I had to steal (with permission, so not really stealing) one from my aunt and uncle to make sure he had one. His eyes positively lit up when he saw it and he held it out for everyone to see, exclaiming, "Look! Santa brought me a sweet, juicy orange!"

Today, his first day back at nursery school, he was allowed to bring in his favorite Christmas gift for a very special show-and-tell. Earlier this vacation, I actually fretted that he'd want to take in his new big boy bike. I wondered how we'd handle that and I decided he could take in his helmet and bell and tell the kids about his bike. Maybe we could even send in a picture of him riding it. Or, I thought, maybe he'd want to take in the Leapster 2 that my parents bought for him. What if all the kids wanted to play it? Or, if it got broken? I knew what toy I would encourage him to take: his new Hess race car. (It has become a tradition for my dad to get Lucas the new Hess vehicle and this year's is awesome. Seriously. Awesome.)

But, alas, I did not need to worry about any of those scenarios.

What did Lucas insist on taking into school today as his very favorite toy from Christmas?

The Alvin toy from the Happy Meal he had for lunch a few days ago on the drive home from my parents' house. Yep, a four inch tall plastic chipmunk that says, "Hello Gorgeous" when you push on its head.

Looks like we can plan to significantly cut our Christmas gift budget next year. We just need to sneak in a few Happy Meals without Lucas around and save the toys!


Original post by Smiling Mama. Thanks for reading!