It was Mom and not Santa Claus!

It's just a few days left before Christmas and what else can kids think of during this time of the year? TOYS! While shopping yesterday for gifts, we chanced upon a lot of kids dragging their parents to toy stores. Christmas is also the season for mall - wide sales and price drops so parents won't have an excuse to not buy kids their long awaited gifts. 

When I was a kid, I believed in Santa Claus until I caught my mom stuffing chocolates in one of the stockings I hid under my bed. I always put the stockings under the bed so I can see Santa Claus up close rather than peeking in the living room every now and then with the hope of seeing him. I usually wished for chocolates and educational toys. My brother is a fan of cars and toy soldiers while I want learning stuff like craft kits, books, and science kits like this minicube2 ebay. I never get tired of playing with it since I learn from it and every toy is a different experience. I also longed for Barbie dolls but found them boring. Haha! Sometimes, I play with puppets too, I make my own puppets out of paper and just make my own story that's mostly about a prince and a princess. There were no Pixar then, no 3D animations and no Woody and Buzz Lightyear. I grew up with all the Disney princesses and I wished that sometime I can watch a musical about their story. My puppets look puppets to me but not to my brother but he is always eager in helping me make wooden puppet theatre patterns where I can hide and make my puppets look like real performers to my one and only audience in the form of my mom. I can still remember one night when my brother's toy soldiers portrayed as villains to my puppet prince while trying to save his princess. Oh what a joy to be just a kid or just be a baby forever!

And speaking of babies, my cousin in Tokyo just gave birth to a bouncing baby girl! They named her Raina and here she is:

Raina in the nursery

She is my cousin's first born and we can't wait to see her soon! But I think they won't be home this year yet because she is way too young to travel. I can't wait to shower her with lots of hugs and kisses. But don't you think this 9 inch quilt blocks dresden looks better on her? I'm sure it will feel soft on her crib too!

Till next time! Happy shopping! :)