Do you Zhu Zhu?

by Sarah Loyd
Austin Citysphere Contributor

Ah, Black Friday. The official holiday of capitalists, and the kickoff of the holiday shopping season. Each year, it seems that one toy is elevated to the status of "must have" in the weeks before Thanksgiving, and by Black Friday the need for that toy reaches a fever pitch that drives poor parents out of bed at ungodly hours in hopes of finding one of these toys.



When I was five years old, Cabbage Patch Kids were the "must have" toy. That year, my grandfather won a raffle for the opportunity to buy a couple of Cabbage Patch Kids. No, you didn't read that wrong - he didn't win the toys - just the chance to buy them. They were in such demand that people flocked to the stores and even got in fights over the dolls.



More than a decade later, Tickle Me Elmo stormed the scene as the Must Have Toy of 1997. That year, Wal-Mart worker Robert Waller was trampled and injured by a crowd of about 300 people hoping to score one of the wiggling, giggling stuffed monsters. Many other stunts ensued as people tried to get their hands on Elmo. It has since spawned several variations on the Tickle Me Elmo theme, many of which have become big toy fads in their own right.



This year, Zhu Zhu pets is already poised to be the next "must have" toy. Retailing for about $8, the motorized hamsters (with accessories, of course) are all over the news. People lined up this morning in the hopes that they could get their hands on one of these hamsters.

What I don't like about these "must have" toys is that they create a strong sense of expectation in lots of children, who think they need to have one of them that Christmas. Of course, by Valentine's Day the toy that was at the top of the wish list has sunk to the bottom of the toy box, and by the next Christmas has probably been forgotten altogether. I hope that when our son is old enough to start writing letters to Santa, we don't all fall into the "must have" toy trap.