My daughters turned 13 this year. Nothing reminds me of the fact that they are growing up as much as a stroll down the toy aisle during the holiday season.

This year, as I walked through the shelves lined with dolls, stuffed animals, board games, train sets, craft items and every imaginable item paraded across the television screen on Saturday morning, I realized that my daughters had finally aged out of the toy aisle.  It’s a shocker. A parent never sees it coming.

The first indicator is when you don’t have to spend 7 hours on Christmas eve, extricating toys from plastic, cardboard and tie wraps. The next sign is when your Christmas morning stock of batteries doesn’t provide year-end dividends to Duracell investors. The final giveaway is that it becomes harder and harder to make a visual impact on Christmas morning because gift size has shrunk in inverse proportion to the magnitude of the credit card bill arriving at the end of the month. Then comes that inglorious day when you walk down the toy aisle and discover there is not one item there that would give your child delight.

Suddenly, all the toys you meant to buy your child — the great ideas that made it on to the list, but that you couldn’t find that season, the gifts they wanted but weren’t in the budget, the  items you thought were a passing fancy but turned out to have been an unmet heart’s desire — loom like recriminating ghosts of Christmas past.

I would be lying if I didn’t admit it makes me sad that I’ve bought the last toys for my daughters.

Thank goodness these “lasts” are always balanced with so many wonderful “firsts” … wrapping presents by themselves the first time, their first solo baking adventure, the first gift inspired by their imagination, rather than teacher intervention….  With children, for every poignant last, a magical “first” follows.

P.S. Although your child may be too old for the toy aisle, there are many underprivileged children in any community who would delight in receiving a toy. Please consider participating in the Toys for Tots program or a toy drive organized by one of your local businesses.

Photo by Benjamin Earwicker. Used under Creative Commons license.