It is really difficult to buy toys for children when yours have grown up totally …. this is what I thought.  This Lohri one of my cousins came over.  It was our first Lohri in our own home and all that, and he was in India this time.  I met him after thirteen whole years.  The last I saw him was on his wedding, after which he left for foreign lands.  OMG, it was wonderful.  He has five kids, one set of twin daughters aged eleven, one eight year old son, and a set of mixed twins, a boy and a girl aged three.

Naturally I wanted to spoil the entire lot of kids.  Naturally he did not want me too.  Sigh!  Naturally we had a big argument with me telling him that he was being a male chauvanistic whatever and denying me my divine right to spoil any child in the family.  His wife is one helluva smart lady.  She saw this battle happening and quietly withdrew to play with her little twins.  My kids know that they are not supposed to interfere.  That does not stop them from bringing out a bowl of popcorn and enjoying the show.  His elder kids watched fascinatedly.  I dont think they have even seen Punjabis loudly and boisterously enjoying a lovely argument.  That does not happen in foreign lands I guess.

The girls watched for a while, and then one of them came up to me and said

Don’t get upset.  You want to buy us toys, I’ll show you where to get them

And she took me to my laptop, totally ignoring her father’s disapproving glare.  Girls are smart I must say! Hehehee

She took me to this wonderful online store

This way the kids got to chose what they wanted

One little lady wanted a Magic Set.  She thinks she is Hermoine Granger.  Her twin wanted a Hula Hoop.  Its a big myth that twins think alike even if they look alike.

The little boy wanted a robot.  How typical.  I think girls are more original in their choices.

I bought a stuffed toy and building blocks for the little ones.

The beauty of it all was that I could get the children totally involved in the buying process, they got the stuff they wanted and it could be delivered to their own home.  They would not have to discard them or have to cart them back to their own country.

This is one gift they will surely remember for a long time.  The more I learn about the net, the more I am awestruck by it.