Well it's the day after Christmas and we are surrounded by piles of new stuff. For your reading convenience, I am providing useful product reviews of some of our family's newly acquired possessions:
Weather Prediction Machine
This handy gadget is supposed to predict the weather, but it did not include the information of the message of the girl or the boy being outside of the house. But it does mean something, and it looks as cute as the dickens hanging in my kitchen where the vegetable clock used to be.
+3 for retro kitchyness, -1 for unclear meaning.
IPod Nano
This was Jeffrey's number one wish this Christmas, and he got it, even though there are many more appropriate items for a ten year old to own.
+5 for being a newer version than the one that Timmy has. -1 for being small enough to possibly get put through the wash if left in a pocket.
AXE
This is a new product that is very popular, and Timmy likes it.
+3 for getting a thirteen-year-old interested in anything hygiene related. -3 for being a whole new way to annoy your little brother.
ZBT Cymbals
Timmy wanted to upgrade the high-hat cymbals that came with the "pre-owned" drumset that he got for his birthday. He says that they are far better than the ones that he had before.
+3 stars for crisp sound. -1 for being machine instead of hand-hammered. Whatever that means.
Noise Canceling Headphones
Mary Beth got an awesome deal on these by standing in line at 4am for the Kohl's Black Friday Sale. Worth it. I think they will change my life. They really do cancel out annoying sounds such as the moaning of our haunted refrigerator, the whirring of the computer, and, I'm hoping, the voice of that loud lady at work and all the lawnmowers in the summer.
+7 for actually working, -1 for making me look like a dork when I wear them.
Golf Ball Finder Glasses
My mom got these for Larry, and we have all looked through them but have yet to see any golf balls around, so I can't tell you whether or not they really work. But if they actually do, then think of the possibilities if they can expand this technology to other areas such as finding keys or TV remotes, or a pen to write something down when I'm on the phone.
+ 10 if they really do work, -5 if they don't but he can fake it and impress the golf partners anyways.
Chia Cat Grass
This actually did grow from seeds to 6 inch tall grass in 3 days. Jeffrey had set it up under a desk lamp in my bedroom closet (to keep it secret from Missy.) She loves it!
+10 for making our cat happy.
Dough-nu-matic
I almost didn't get this because there were 19 scathing bad reviews online, and only two moderately good ones. But I had to know. So thanks to lots of hinting and societal pressure from the Glenmoor Gals, Larry reluctantly got it for me. I set it up right after opening it on Christmas morning, and it promptly broke. One of the little flipper-arms came completely off and the batter distributor stopped working after 2 attempts. I nearly gave up but then I figured out a way to manually operate some of the parts and at least get a couple of donuts out of it. I was not discouraged, because I could visualize the wonder of how it would work if it really did...work. So I took it back to JC Penny today and exchanged it for a new one that performs perfectly!!! Yummy! 
+ 10 for delivering hot crispy donuts just like the ones they used to have at Comerica Park. -1 for being so greasy fattening.
If you got anything interesting for Christmas, put your review in the comments or send me a link and I'll post it here.
Happy Boxing Day to the Canadians!
3 comments:
Hi Mindy- Interesting gifts. I believe that the girl represents sunshine, the boy bad weather with that item. Testing it should tell. You gave me that chia pet grass in the past. My two cats would not chew on it, preferring plastic bags, etc... but it grows again if not chewed on or trimmed, so I trimmed it once, served it in the kitty dish like a salad-- Pebbles gave me an accusing look but ate some, and Rocky refused it. Hopefully those earphones work like a headset that Uncle Fred had for the shooting range-- tuning out loud sounds but able to hear close up conversations and noise.
Never heard of Axe... Bet you get tired of those kind of greasy doughnuts... Glad that the cymbals are good. Lee's kids got a new Wii-2 game that involves 4 drums that just make a hammering sound that is so constant and non-musical. It also has a singer on a mike and an electric guitar player so 3 compete for being the best - NEVER BUY THIS!! As for my stuff- nothing original but all nice for me. Thanks for my yummy treats. love, Aunt Chris
I think it's interested Tim got cymbals and you got noise cancelling headphones. It's like the Gift of the Magi in reverse.
This reminded me of the "fish finding" sunglasses my folks gave me. I think they were nothing more than polarized sunglasses, but when you put them on, you could see all the fish clearly in their pond. Take them off, no fish seen. So I was commenting about how effective they were, when my son put them on and announced that he couldn't see any fish. The problem was, he was in the kitchen.
JJS
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