The ‘it’ present isn’t always the perfect gift

Sweaty palms, shortness of breath and aching feet may be symptoms of standing in line too long to secure a particular holiday season’s “it” toy.

But people do it anyway.

Remember Furby, Cabbage Patch Kids and Tickle Me Elmo? They literally moved shoppers to stampede and riot back in the 1980s and 1990s.

Worse, they motivated children-pleasing parents to overspend on seemingly simple creations on the black market. In this case, $1,500 for a $30 Elmo doll in 1996 wasn’t an unusual transaction.

This year, Zhu Zhu Pet hamsters — produced by St. Louis, Mo.,-based toy manufacturer Cepia LLC — are the hot toy, though most don’t know why.
Retailing this week for $8 at the North Windham Wal-Mart store, these mechanized hamsters list asking prices of more than $30 on eBay.

Although toys have long been associated with the thrill of Christmas morning, local educators say the “need” to buy the most popular toys this time of year may not stem from just the desire to find the “perfect” present.
“Some people think ‘If I can buy my way to happiness, that is much more enticing,’” said Deirdre Fitzgerald, assistant psychology professor at Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic.

She said parents looking to buy the perfect present may actually be looking for what they have been told is the perfect present — not what their children really desire.

It seems as if every year is the same. Hundreds — no, make that thousands — descend on shopping centers across the country to purchase the best Christmas toys for their youngsters.

Robin Coulter — head of the marketing department at the University of Connecticut in Storrs — said the “it” toy is usually defined by how quickly it is selling at retailers during the holidays.

“No one is interested in the retail scene in July,” she said, adding media coverage of holiday sales acts as a “snowball effect” on sales figures.

It is this combination of sale rates and the idea of an item’s scarcity that has people mobbing local malls and stores waiting to purchase the “sacred item,” said Coulter.

This season, Zhu Zhu Pet hamsters flew off the shelves at local retailers and can be found on eBay selling for nearly three times their value.

The battery-operated hamsters were so popular this year, Wal-Marts across the nation held a three-day event this week where people could arrive early, line up and buy one of the beeping, cooing toys.

Each Wal-Mart had a limited number of the popular toys delivered daily Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

A few local shoppers turned out to the North Windham Wal-Mart early Tuesday morning to get the popular items, even though they did not know much about them or why they were so popular this year.

“I don’t understand,” said Ileana Delegan, of the Broad Brook section of East Windsor. “But everyone needs to have one.”

Delegan — who said she had picked up the toys on a whim — was buying three for her nieces and nephews this Christmas.

In all, Windham’s Wal-Mart had 100 of the multi-colored toys available for shoppers each day.

To prepare for a potential crowd, a state trooper was even deployed from Troop C in Tolland to oversee the event Tuesday in Windham. Luckily, no law enforcement was required that day.

According to the ECSU psychology professor, the obsession with “it” toys may take away from the holiday itself.

Fitzgerald said shoppers have lost the real spirit of Christmas and want instant gratification rather than giving a gift that will bring happiness over a longer period of time.

“We really are in such a retail-oriented culture,” she said, adding parents have myriad societal pressures to “keep up with the Joneses” every year.
Fitzgerald said parents often feel their child “struck out” if they don’t have the same toy as their friends.

“It’s easier to keep up with toys than teach children the kind of gift they should get,” said Fitzgerald, adding abstract gifts, like sharing and teamwork, are the most important presents to bestow on children.
According to Fitzgerald, parents need to realize it is OK for their child to not have the most popular toy.

“It’s hard to slow down and not get caught up in the season,” she said, adding parents think they are taking less care of their child if they do not go to extreme lengths to have the best toys under the Christmas tree.

Cassie Moore said she did not understand why people were so “crazy” for certain toys during the holiday season while she shopped at Wal-Mart Tuesday.

Moore, of Scotland, was looking at Polly Pockets when the first few customers sought the in-demand hamsters.

“I don’t think it needs to be so crazy,” she said. “People just need to calm down.”

She said the actual present is not what children get excited about during the holiday, the simple act of unwrapping a present for them is enough to fill their heart with holiday cheer.

“Christmas is more fun for children,” she said. “A little extra something to open is fun.”

While a lot of the holiday’s most popular toys are intriguing for a short period of time, they are often replaced next year by the newest “it” toy.
Some toys, though, do have staying power.

These toys — which will never find a home on the Island of Misfit Toys — are chronicled in the Strong National Toy Hall of Fame in Rochester, N.Y.
Toys inducted in the hall of fame since it’s 1998 opening include Candy Land, checkers, Barbie and the stick.

Fitzgerald said it was important for shoppers to keep in mind what would be the perfect toy for the recipient and not what they are being told is the best gift.

“I hope parents always look to match the child to the item,” she said.
Still, human nature appears to be winning out on this trend, with Fitzgerald saying crowds lining up for the same toy because it’s portrayed as popular will always happen at Christmas.