To ask which strange things your DC have been excited about?

[checkingforballoons]

I popped into Wilko yesterday to stock up on craft bits for 4 year old DS. I grabbed him a 50p roll of masking tape as he likes it for making models and I have to keep getting the tool box out to find it.
He is DELIGHTED. He has spent the last half an hour thanking me profusely. I am the best Mummy in the world and may borrow his masking tape whenever I need to
Tell me I’m not alone in having a little weirdo!

The highlight of any day for ds1 and 2 was looking through the Argos catalogue for things they might like. They would silently pour over each page, pausing in between to draw large squiggly marks on what they would like with crayons. lots of squeeling at eachother when they spotted something amazing.

The catalogue was a prized possession with a ripped off front cover and frayed pages, stored carefully on each child's book shelf. When they discovered the catalogue gets 'updated', they will beg when we went shopping for a catalogue, not the wonderful toys on display in the store.

It got me through many meal preparations, laundry, ironing or even a just a short nap. Whenever things got too much, i just brought down the catalogues. This went on between ages 2-8yrs. They're,now 14 and 17yrs old. I miss those days.

It was very funny (the octopus’s bumhole) especially as he was so utterly devestated and we were in the pool with other children so people kept coming over to see if he was okay and he would dramatically and traumatically shout ‘MY BUMHOLE, I’VE LOST MY BUMHOLE’ much to their confusion. Was so funny. I will be taunting him with that story for life!

We took my daughter on holiday to Turkey when she was 22mo and she found a broken piece of plastic hair clip on the beach. She insisted it was a 'bab' (crab) and took it everywhere in her pouch of toys for the whole holiday.

Crab claws, crab shells. Off the beach. We came home with a bucket full after recent holiday. They live outside, as I drew the line at having bits of dead crab in bedroom. Sticks and leaves are faves here too. Outside our front door looks like we have a stick mad dog. Baths were a big thing for ages - with a few leaves thrown in - and if I came back from town with a LUSH bath bomb, well I got to polish my halo for ages after.

I bought DD a pack of rubbers that looked like crayons from Wilko, she had to show everyone her magic crayon for months.

Not my child but taking displays down at school at the end of term there was lots of used blu-tac I was scraping off the walls, the number of children that picked bits up and begged to be allowed to keep it was hilarious.

Sponges!! Any size,any kind.

She was ecstatic today in Wilko when we went to the cleaning aisle and told her she can pick any sponges she like.

"YES!YES!YES! Spongeeeees! I love sponges !"

Little weirdo.

I vividly remember my sister refusing to eat Christmas dinner one year and just rolling a set of marbles from a cracker round her plate instead. She slept with them under her pillow for months.

2 year old DS cannot contain his joy when the hoover comes out. If we’re having a tricky day, I get the hoover, and let him use the nozzle attachment to hoover with (well supervised!) I was recently so desperate do a break from tantrums, I threw a handful of rice on the floor, got out the hoover, and handed him the hose. I had 30 mins of absolute peace and quiet with that. Except for the sound of the hoover, of course.

My son (2) had a massive smile on his face this morning as he heard a car “beep beep” outside

I know a brother and sister who were given very ordinary airline masks to cover their eyes before being led to their real present (fully assembled climbing frame). I think they liked the masks as much as the climbing frame, if not more! They might have said after that "if I cover my eyes, do I get a present?"

Sponges and wet wipes!

Lovely thread 😀

When my girls were younger we'd ask them if they wanted to go out for lunch/dinner, wanting to treat them... almost every time they would beg to go to Morrison's Cafe!!!! When there they would have hot dog and fries... the exact same hot dogs I would make them at home that they wouldn't eat

Loving these stories.

Oh, and the orange circle from a jigsaw puzzle - they used to argue over it!

We've done the cardboard box thing and most recently, whilst living abroad for a while THE most perfect 10th birthday present was a multi pack of Cadbury chocolate bars each that DH brought them back from a quick visit home (couldn't get it where we were living)... I have never seen a child more excited about a squashed, melted, absolutely knackered Double Decker EVER!!!!

Going to the dentist and crying when it was time to leave!!

The highlight of 3yr old ds's and indeed 10yr old ddog is when the bin lorry comes into the street. Whatever is going on stops and they both bolt outside to watch the bins being emptied. He gets a high five from them and ddog gets lots of fuss its a win win for them

DD still likes a read of the Argos catalogue. We keep one in the loo. It's become a tradition.

She had a Wendy house in the garden that we furnished for her with -unlovedweddingpresents things we didn't need in the house. Her prized possession was a broken toaster with no plug. Other girls had Wendy houses, but no-one else's had a TOASTER.

When she was little my d's was OBSESSED with the Children's Traffic Club. She lived for the next issue. She sang all the songs. She begged for stories about the balloon people. For her birthday, I got her a load of merchandise. The woman on the order line was stunned, said she'd never taken an order from a member of the public before!

Top of my DS’s list for his 5th birthday were dental floss and Blu tac 😅

@OnceTwiceThrice You beat me to it! My DD thinks lunch at Morrisons café is the biggest treat ever, the first day of every school holiday she asks to go.

These are so sweet, lovely thread.
My ds used to LOVE visiting the bathroom section of our local DIY store, we'd often go there for a treat to look around at all the bathrooms and fixtures and fittings, we were in there all the time!

On Sunday I nipped into Tesco with 7 yr old DS for a couple of bits. I asked (out of habit) if he could think of anything else we needed and he announced his shampoo was nearly empty.

We went to the aisle and he spent ages choosing 🤨 he couldn’t decide between apple or mango so I said just grab both. He was so excited to have 2 x flavour of shampoo 😂 we then went through the same with shower gel and toothpaste. It dawned on me he’s never actually chosen before as I grab things like that in the weekly shop.

He’s told everyone this week that he has the “best Mummy as she got me TWO flavours of shampoo”

I can only hope he keeps this obsession with smelling lovely once he’s a teenager!

A great friend of mine, now grown up and sensible (mostly) kept a pet brass door knob for years as a child. It was being cast aside and replaced and he felt sorry for it; it resided in its own tissue-lined box. I suppose it had the advantage of not being expensive to feed, and apart from the occasional bit of brass polish needed no house training.......

My then two year old said ‘thank you very much!’ To the tesco delivery man for a packet of olives we had in our shopping! Like it was a gift just for him. Bless him

I'm obsessed with this thread. So adorable. Currently pregnant with my first, can't wait to have these memories :)