Day 99: Frozen with fear

"Arendelle's in deep, deep, deep, deep snow." But my front yard isn't anymore! Our long winter spell has finally been broken.

Today after counting allowance and gift money, Big Girl finally announced she had enough to buy an Elsa doll.

We set a date to go to the store and purchase a doll.

I thought it would go something like this:

1. Go to store
2. Find toy department (specifically Disney aisle)
3. Purchase Elsa doll
4. Leave store while violin chorus plays softly in background.

Bahahahaha...right. Reality: come home empty handed after two stores, log on to Ebay and find out you might have a shot if you outbid 25 other buyers and pay upwards of $30 a doll. The conspiracy theorist in me wonders if production was limited on purpose to make them rare.

Fun fact: Anna appears to be slightly more attainable than Elsa.

Fun fact part two: There is apparently a thriving counterfeit enterprise. These look nothing like the actual characters, they are a third of the price, and the bidding is not cutthroat.

Fun fact part three: These dolls do not seem to be available at the Disney store (at least not online). Ummm...what?

We didn't find an Elsa doll within her budget, but we did find a plan B, a smaller playset that looks sort of like a Polly Pocket. She is happy with it and we ordered it.

The sad thing is that in approximately 42 minutes, something else will come along and the resale market will be glutted with Frozen castoffs. Anyone remember Tickle-me-Elmo? I can't tell you how many I've seen at garage sales over the last several years.

I'm 31 years old and I get this. I have the patience to wait on something (often indefinitely and to the point where something becomes obsolete while I'm waiting). But to an almost-six year old, there is a bigger life lesson here.

Yes, I could make her wait and buy a Frozen doll at Goodwill in three years, but what would be the point? More importantly than Compacting along with me, she's learning to save her money until she can pay on her own. If she gets tired of it in a week, lesson learned that maybe she should pursue another option next time.

Besides, I remember Christmas 1991 all too clearly. Under the tree with my name on it were Belle and Beast dolls. My parents could have chosen to resist Disney marketing but instead they got me a gift I was crazy about and later passed down to my younger siblings. I asked my mom about the dolls recently and she thought they ended up with a neighbor.

Turns out Beauty and the Beast was enduring. Will Frozen be the same way? I'm not sure, but the lessons learned might be.