TMX-Tickle Me Elmo: Fad or Crazy?

In the year 1983, a homely, chubby cheeked, dimple faced doll was introduced as the hottest toy for the holiday season. This yarn haired vinyl faced doll was the cause of broken legs, bruises, smacks, nudges, punches and shoves. This doll was the Cabbage Patch. No, the doll itself wasn't capable of doing such actions, (come on, it was '83!)but the parents who's children so desperately wanted one for Christmas were willing to do ANYTHING to grasp one in their hands and have the frightened cashier ring it up before it was snatched away by someone else. Anything included shoving, pushing and even possibly stepping on other parents. I imagine it was quit interesting to watch. One of the more interesting facts, is that people were willing to pay hundreds to thousands of dollars for something that retailed well below a hundred dollars. You have to wonder, with all that fuss,how many kids actually played with the dolls and how many played with them for five minutes and left them in the corner of the playroom to collect dust.

1996 brought in the original Tickle Me Elmo. Elmo, the little red monster Muppet from Sesame Street is one of the most popular characters ever on the daytime TV series. The doll itself was just a soft plush toy with a sound effect inside it. When you squeezed him, he giggled and his body wiggled and shook. That was it. For some reason though, everyone just HAD to have one. As was the case with the Cabbage Patch Dolls, there was more demand then supply. Especially after Elmo was displayed on a popular Talk Show as the cutest toy for the season. The price sky rocketed to hundreds of dollars, and people were willing to pay those prices. They were also willing to take one in the gut, or get kicked or shoved, just to grab one.

I bought one at good will in 2004 for ten dollars.

The Furby was introduced in 1998. Is it a talking plush alien? A toy bird with a microchip? Whatever it was, people liked the fact that it was weird looking, and that you could teach it to speak English by interacting with it. The price started at around thirty-five dollars. When the media started showering children with Furby commercials left and right, kids started begging their parents for one. As with the other fads and toy crazes, people were pushed, shoved and trampled on to grab a Furby box from the tall pyramid. My own mother got me one for Christmas that year, and said she as pushed and shoved to no end.

The year 2003, I saw a Furby marked down to twelve dollars at K-B Toyworks. They can't seem to GIVE them away now.
There has been an updated version of the Furby produced since then. It is larger, and supposedly more interactive. The price tag is around the same as it was originally. No big craze though.

Christmas. 2006. The year of TMX Elmo. Celebrating the ten year anniversary of the original Tickle Me Elmo's release, a special edition, totally awesome version called TMX Elmo has been released. The specifics of the toy were so top secret that no information was released on what he did or what he looked like, yet you could pre-order him six months in advance for about thirty dollars. Thousands did this, even though they had NO idea what he looked like or did. They were smart. Extremely smart. The day he was released, he sold out quickly. He is currently being sold on Ebay for anywhere from eighty to three-hundred and fifty dollars for just an individual one.

The TMX Elmo really is cute. He rolls over laughing, stands back up, slaps his knee, shakes around, etc. I wrestled around with my mind and common sense on whether or not I should get my two year old one off of Ebay, or wait and hope that in march or so the craze will have died down, as well as the price. Well, like all the other crazy parents, I lost the fight with my common sense and purchased one for about eighty dollars. It is sitting in our closet. I keep opening the lid and it says "uh uh uh..no peeking". I get a kick out of that. Now I just hope my son gets as much of a kick out of it as I do come Christmas morning.

What is it that makes us as parents buy into these things? is it the media's fault? Or is it OUR fault, since we are of course the parents, and we are in charge. Are we just a society that has to have everything that everyone else has, no matter what? I know one thing. Most of us are extremely impatient. Instead of waiting to see if we can get these toys for decent prices, we pay ridiculous amounts of money for toys that look cool, but often end up in the corner. Is it an "I'm spoiled, so my child is spoiled" mentality, or is it more that we just want to make our kids happy and don't want them going without? Either way, obviously we are all suckered pretty easily. While I was the fool that paid that amount on Ebay for a toy I am not sure my son will play with for more than a day, I would NEVER fight with someone in a store over one. That is where I draw the line. I think that is why I avoid Black Friday and do most of my shopping on-line with Ebay and Amazon.

With the release of the Playstion 3 and the Nintendo Wii pending, you can only imagine the ungodly amount someone will try and sell them for on Ebay. Scarier though, is the fact that people will pay those prices. The current prices for these items are as follows. Playstation 3 is anywhere from 400-500 dollars depending on the amount of memory space you want. The Wii is currently approximately two-hundred and fifty dollars. These will both fetch into the thousands I am sure on Ebay.

As parents, I am sure we should be buying our children toys that encourage their imagination and creativity and encourage them to learn. Why we feel the need to indulge them in overly expensive toys that don't do much more than wiggle and talk, is beyond me. I wish I knew the answer, as I myself seem to keep falling into the trap! Fads are just Fads. They will pass. Prices will reduce. Be patient. Easier said then done I suppose. Around ever corner is a new commercial that plays over and over for a new fantastic toy that everyone just HAS to have. It never ends. I guess we have to be smarter then the TV. There is a button on the front of the TV. It says "Power". Press it. It will all go away.