One of my fondest memories of Christmastime as a kid was not even close to Christmas Day, but rather around Thanksgiving — that was the time when the giant toy catalog would come in the mail. Upon its arrival, my task was to go through and find the toys I wanted and write them on a list to be sent to Santa Claus (c/o The North Pole). The catch was that I could only pick 10 finalists, of which Santa would peruse them and determine which one was to be America’s Next Top Toy.

At 6 years old this was one of the most important decisions of my life, and I put more thought into it than the Nobel Institute picking its prizewinners. I spent days sitting at the desk in my bedroom, poring over the catalog pages. I would frantically circle items, scratch others out, dog-ear corners, prioritize, and overflow my wastebasket with crumpled up piles of list rejects. After final deliberation, I would carefully fold the list and place it into its awaiting stamped and addressed envelope and finally emerge, weary and barely able to lift my arm and present the list to my mother. She would smile, put the envelope in her purse, and promise to drop it in the mail on her next trip outside. At the time, I couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t just let me run down to the corner and do it myself.

I wanted to continue this tradition with my own children, but being the online addict that I am, I wanted to bring it into the modern day. So instead of a catalog, I sat them down in front of the computer and pulled up the Toys ‘R Us website. I showed them how to browse the different categories, and how to add items to their shopping cart. Just like my mom used to, I told them to think very hard and pick toys that they really, really wanted, and I would send the cart to Santa when they were done and he would pick the very best toys to bring them. Unlike my mom, however, I neglected to give them any sort of limit. Here was the result:

Does anyone know where I can get a good rate on a home equity loan?

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