The Elusive Tyco RC Terrain Twister
As of Monday evening, I had all my Christmas shopping done except for one child - my eldest Nathan.
Now, he is NOT a hard kid to buy for....he always has a stack of toy magazine pages - just waiting for you to ask, "What do you want for..." so he can hand them over to you.
In fact, I had already picked out a telescope for him. He has been wanting one for a long time; and since we are going to my brother's cabin for Christmas, I figured it would be totally perfect.
But, my husband didn't agree.
You see, Nathan has been saving for one, and he thinks Nathan will be disappointed to get a different one than the one he is saving for.
He's probably right - well, okay, i KNOW he's right! But, it's so hard not to get my baby (even though he's 9) something that he wants when he's really deserving of it.
So, there I was without a gift for Nathan (we do just one special gift from us instead of a bunch of small junk that's discarded in two hours).
---------------------------------------
7 TIPS FOR MAKING PERFECT CHRISTMAS COOKIES:
1. Measure your flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt very accurately.
2. Mix the dry ingredients separately and then combine with the wet to avoid "soda lumps"
3. Don't over mix your dough - over mixing causes them to be tough
4. Use fresh, light-colored, heavy gauge baking sheets. Old, dark sheets can make the bottoms brown too quickly
5. Non-stick cookie sheets make cleaning easier but usually make thicker cookies
6. For rolled dough cookies, make sure you use chilled dough in small portions. This will make crispier cookies.
7. Use a cookie scoop to help make consistent sizes in drop cookies
-----------------------------------------
So, I decided to ask Nathan that one question he's dying to be asked, "What do you want for Christmas?" I asked.
"I want a remote control car," he started. I cringed. I hate remote control vehicles. They require a lot of room, are not great indoor toys, can only be played by one at a time, and don't really inspire creativity.
"I saw it on T.V.," he continued, "it can go in snow or water or anything."
Now he had my attention. Snow? That would be perfect for our long winters to encourage outdoor play - and even to play with at the cabin over Christmas.
"What's it called," I asked.
"I don't know...." he explained, "I just saw the commercial once. I think it's Tygo RC something or other."
Well, that wasn't a lot of information, but I can pretty much find anything that I want online. It took me about 3 hours, but I finally found that the toy he wanted was Tyco's RC Terrain Twister.
Ahhhh....you may be thinking if you know anything about this season's toys.
Well, I didn't - I had never heard of it - so I started to look for places to buy it.
Did you know that the dog-gone toy is sold out? It's like the present day Tickle-me-Elmo. I mean, I searched everywhere - including Canada, Germany, and France - and it is not to be had.
So, I had to break the news to Nathan. He was sad to hear it was sold out, but he accepted it and went back to playing.
I, on the other hand, was not giving up yet.
First of all, I'm a VERY determined person. Secondly, I am very good at researching. Thirdly, I really don't like to be told that I can't do something. That just usually makes me try harder.
So, I picked up the challenge and ran with it.
And, I got lucky!
I ended up finding one on eBay, won the auction; and it will be here in time for me to wrap and take to the cabin for Christmas. Nathan is just gonna flat out die when he opens it.
However, I have to admit that I did pay more that it sold for in Wal-Mart - about 20% more plus express shipping - but in this case, it will be worth it.
But would you like to see something totally UNBELIEVABLE? Go to eBay today, do a search for "Tyco RC Terrain Twister"...and you will see how they are now going for DOUBLE or TRIPLE what they sold for in Wal-Mart.
AND, I'm also not going to criticize those parents this year for spending double or triple on a toy (like I did when people were going bananas over Tickle-Me-Elmo). Because, a 7-10 year old is capable of earning, appreciating, and deserving something extra special - when they've appreciated and enjoyed things that don't cost a lot of money.
Laura Bankston is author of Internationally selling Cooking with Kids Curriculum: Homeschool Cooking in a Box and the Homeschool Cookbook. She currently home schools her three children, maintains home school support websites, and manages their family-owned service business. For information on her curriculum and free home school support services, please visit http://www.homeschoolcookbook.com
Copyright 2004, Abundant Learning Publications. All Rights Reserved.
Reprint Permission Requirements: Intact bio, Active hyper-link, and notifiication (click here) of article name and reprint location link.
Now, he is NOT a hard kid to buy for....he always has a stack of toy magazine pages - just waiting for you to ask, "What do you want for..." so he can hand them over to you.
In fact, I had already picked out a telescope for him. He has been wanting one for a long time; and since we are going to my brother's cabin for Christmas, I figured it would be totally perfect.
But, my husband didn't agree.
You see, Nathan has been saving for one, and he thinks Nathan will be disappointed to get a different one than the one he is saving for.
He's probably right - well, okay, i KNOW he's right! But, it's so hard not to get my baby (even though he's 9) something that he wants when he's really deserving of it.
So, there I was without a gift for Nathan (we do just one special gift from us instead of a bunch of small junk that's discarded in two hours).
---------------------------------------
7 TIPS FOR MAKING PERFECT CHRISTMAS COOKIES:
1. Measure your flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt very accurately.
2. Mix the dry ingredients separately and then combine with the wet to avoid "soda lumps"
3. Don't over mix your dough - over mixing causes them to be tough
4. Use fresh, light-colored, heavy gauge baking sheets. Old, dark sheets can make the bottoms brown too quickly
5. Non-stick cookie sheets make cleaning easier but usually make thicker cookies
6. For rolled dough cookies, make sure you use chilled dough in small portions. This will make crispier cookies.
7. Use a cookie scoop to help make consistent sizes in drop cookies
-----------------------------------------
So, I decided to ask Nathan that one question he's dying to be asked, "What do you want for Christmas?" I asked.
"I want a remote control car," he started. I cringed. I hate remote control vehicles. They require a lot of room, are not great indoor toys, can only be played by one at a time, and don't really inspire creativity.
"I saw it on T.V.," he continued, "it can go in snow or water or anything."
Now he had my attention. Snow? That would be perfect for our long winters to encourage outdoor play - and even to play with at the cabin over Christmas.
"What's it called," I asked.
"I don't know...." he explained, "I just saw the commercial once. I think it's Tygo RC something or other."
Well, that wasn't a lot of information, but I can pretty much find anything that I want online. It took me about 3 hours, but I finally found that the toy he wanted was Tyco's RC Terrain Twister.
Ahhhh....you may be thinking if you know anything about this season's toys.
Well, I didn't - I had never heard of it - so I started to look for places to buy it.
Did you know that the dog-gone toy is sold out? It's like the present day Tickle-me-Elmo. I mean, I searched everywhere - including Canada, Germany, and France - and it is not to be had.
So, I had to break the news to Nathan. He was sad to hear it was sold out, but he accepted it and went back to playing.
I, on the other hand, was not giving up yet.
First of all, I'm a VERY determined person. Secondly, I am very good at researching. Thirdly, I really don't like to be told that I can't do something. That just usually makes me try harder.
So, I picked up the challenge and ran with it.
And, I got lucky!
I ended up finding one on eBay, won the auction; and it will be here in time for me to wrap and take to the cabin for Christmas. Nathan is just gonna flat out die when he opens it.
However, I have to admit that I did pay more that it sold for in Wal-Mart - about 20% more plus express shipping - but in this case, it will be worth it.
But would you like to see something totally UNBELIEVABLE? Go to eBay today, do a search for "Tyco RC Terrain Twister"...and you will see how they are now going for DOUBLE or TRIPLE what they sold for in Wal-Mart.
AND, I'm also not going to criticize those parents this year for spending double or triple on a toy (like I did when people were going bananas over Tickle-Me-Elmo). Because, a 7-10 year old is capable of earning, appreciating, and deserving something extra special - when they've appreciated and enjoyed things that don't cost a lot of money.
Laura Bankston is author of Internationally selling Cooking with Kids Curriculum: Homeschool Cooking in a Box and the Homeschool Cookbook. She currently home schools her three children, maintains home school support websites, and manages their family-owned service business. For information on her curriculum and free home school support services, please visit http://www.homeschoolcookbook.com
Copyright 2004, Abundant Learning Publications. All Rights Reserved.
Reprint Permission Requirements: Intact bio, Active hyper-link, and notifiication (click here) of article name and reprint location link.
2 Comments:
When I was in Los Angeles for a week in early December, I had the task of tracking down *TWO* of these Terrain Twisters. I called 15 Toys-R-Us's in the greater LA area (even south-central!), WAL-MART, a few misc stores, and was about to give up when I decided to try Sears as a last result. Luckily the Sears in Pasadene (10 mins away) had a few. I got two for approx $175 USD.
We played with it today outside in the snow and it is WAAAY cool.
You got a great deal!!! I hope your kids had as much fine as mine did. Ours worked great in the snow too. I felt like a kid again! . Merry Christmas Laura
Post a Comment
<< Home