Black Friday shopping? Read this first!

1) Plush microbes

We discovered these when we lived in Carrboro. We would make frequent visits to a great store called Chapel Hill Comics. The store had an amazing selection of comic books, but my son Nicholas was magnetically drawn to their display basket of plush microbes. He would lovingly fondle Ebola or E.coli…and then he’d ask me if I would buy Chlamydia for him.

“No!”

“Why not?”

“Just…because.”

“Well, can I get Gonno, Goh No…”

“No. No. No. You can’t have Gonorrhea.”

“How about Syphilis?”

“NO! No, Nicholas. Just stop, OK? Here, I’ll get you Salmonella.”

2) Mr. Potato Head, a classic toy with a twist:

3) Canned Unicorn at thinkgeek.com for your favorite “quirky” little foodie:

4) F.A.O. Schwartz has the Barbie Foosball table for the kid who has everything:

5) My kids got this Racing Grannies set from their own Granny.

Or, if you prefer: Racing Granddads, complete with double-barreled oxygen tanks!

6)The BugZooka

My kids aren’t even allowed to have water guns. But the BugZooka is now our most cherished possession. Lock and load.

7) Bacon flavored toothpaste stocking stuffer:

Is it just me, or is anyone else ready for bacon chic to be over already?!

8) Monster High Venus McFlytrap

No joke: this is listed as one of Amazon.com’s bestselling dolls. I’m not feeling it…

9)Hearthsong has Buddy Bumper Balls for siblings who love/hate each other:

10) A real Dustbuster

Toy companies sell toy vacuums that have very weak suction…Why not get a real dustbuster or vacuum for your kids to “play” with? Bwahahahahahahahaha!!!

To all you parents out there who want to get a head start on their Christmas shopping: you’re welcome!