My favorite Christmas story is from when my oldest daughter was 3 years old. She had seen a commercial just after her July birthday of a playhouse that was the perfect playhouse. This playhouse was complete with a full kitchen on the inside as well as doors, windows, shutters and even a chimney. It also had a mini couch attached to one of the walls and a few other snap-on accessories. A total toddler dream house. She didn’t quite understand that it was well over $300 and that we were unable to splurge on such an expensive item, especially just after her birthday. So for the next few months every time she would see this commercial she would beg and plead and tell us how badly she just had to have it.
We decided to put it in her letter to Santa and she didn’t want to put anything else on the list. Even at 3 years old, she knew what she wanted. We were very tight on funds that Christmas as my ex-husband got laid-off in November and it was going to be almost impossible to afford, but we would figure it out. She really wanted it and I sure didn’t want the begging and fussing over the past months to repeat. I got several odd jobs on top of my regular full time job and also having another infant. At some points I was ready to give up and try to find some knock off version of it. But I didn’t. We had it delivered on Christmas Eve, just in time to put it together. WAIT! Put it together!? Ugh. That’s right. This $300+ playhouse came in about 300+ pieces!
I was up every minute of the night, bickering with my now ex-husband about which piece went where and how to snap it in. Of course it only came with like 4 screws. Everything else was snap on. And by snap on I mean, no matter how hard you push, it doesn’t snap in! Finally, by about 530 am we were done, though I couldn’t bend my fingers. It was put together! It was miraculous, slightly smaller than I would have assumed. But gosh darn it was together! We had it set up at the bottom of the stairs in a corner so went she came down the hall she would see it. It was so amazing to see the look on her face when her daddy carried her down the stairs and I was standing next to it just watching. She was stunned; she dropped her teddy halfway down the stairs in awe! Her mouth was wide and smiling and her eyes were beaming! I was one proud mommy!
Until she tried to get into it she had to stay bent over a little because the mock chandelier on the ceiling was to low and she couldn’t stand up. Then she realized that she couldn’t see anything because the windows were so small and half covered by the shutters. She came out and asked for a flashlight. Then she said that she wanted the bright and big one from on TV. This one was just too small for her. Even though it was set for her age being the minimum recommended, and she was tiny for her age. I felt a pang of sadness that mommy had failed, and gone broke, at the same time. It was not the perfect playhouse after all.
My ex had run upstairs to find a flashlight that clicks on to things to make a light that stayed inside, on his was back down the stairs he tripped over the teddy bear that my daughter had dropped and came flying down the stairs, literally. He landed almost smack onto the playhouse totally caving in the roof with his big construction boot clad feet. I was even more mortified that it hadn’t even lasted 24 hours! Until I was helping him to his feet and making sure he was ok and my daughter walked over to the playhouse, looked up with a big ole smile on her sweet little face and said, “Thank you Daddy”. She opened up the door and strutted in like she owned the place (which I suppose she did) and started cooking, standing fully upright with her perfect lighting in her perfect playhouse. She had this in her play room for the next 2 years until eventually passing it to a family friend. We kept the roof and just sat it on top like you would an unused sand box, just for looks until she wanted to play with it. Though she doesn’t remember all the details, she still remembers her perfect playhouse which made it a Christmas win for good ole Santa!
We decided to put it in her letter to Santa and she didn’t want to put anything else on the list. Even at 3 years old, she knew what she wanted. We were very tight on funds that Christmas as my ex-husband got laid-off in November and it was going to be almost impossible to afford, but we would figure it out. She really wanted it and I sure didn’t want the begging and fussing over the past months to repeat. I got several odd jobs on top of my regular full time job and also having another infant. At some points I was ready to give up and try to find some knock off version of it. But I didn’t. We had it delivered on Christmas Eve, just in time to put it together. WAIT! Put it together!? Ugh. That’s right. This $300+ playhouse came in about 300+ pieces!
I was up every minute of the night, bickering with my now ex-husband about which piece went where and how to snap it in. Of course it only came with like 4 screws. Everything else was snap on. And by snap on I mean, no matter how hard you push, it doesn’t snap in! Finally, by about 530 am we were done, though I couldn’t bend my fingers. It was put together! It was miraculous, slightly smaller than I would have assumed. But gosh darn it was together! We had it set up at the bottom of the stairs in a corner so went she came down the hall she would see it. It was so amazing to see the look on her face when her daddy carried her down the stairs and I was standing next to it just watching. She was stunned; she dropped her teddy halfway down the stairs in awe! Her mouth was wide and smiling and her eyes were beaming! I was one proud mommy!
Until she tried to get into it she had to stay bent over a little because the mock chandelier on the ceiling was to low and she couldn’t stand up. Then she realized that she couldn’t see anything because the windows were so small and half covered by the shutters. She came out and asked for a flashlight. Then she said that she wanted the bright and big one from on TV. This one was just too small for her. Even though it was set for her age being the minimum recommended, and she was tiny for her age. I felt a pang of sadness that mommy had failed, and gone broke, at the same time. It was not the perfect playhouse after all.
My ex had run upstairs to find a flashlight that clicks on to things to make a light that stayed inside, on his was back down the stairs he tripped over the teddy bear that my daughter had dropped and came flying down the stairs, literally. He landed almost smack onto the playhouse totally caving in the roof with his big construction boot clad feet. I was even more mortified that it hadn’t even lasted 24 hours! Until I was helping him to his feet and making sure he was ok and my daughter walked over to the playhouse, looked up with a big ole smile on her sweet little face and said, “Thank you Daddy”. She opened up the door and strutted in like she owned the place (which I suppose she did) and started cooking, standing fully upright with her perfect lighting in her perfect playhouse. She had this in her play room for the next 2 years until eventually passing it to a family friend. We kept the roof and just sat it on top like you would an unused sand box, just for looks until she wanted to play with it. Though she doesn’t remember all the details, she still remembers her perfect playhouse which made it a Christmas win for good ole Santa!
