Reflections From The Kitchen Sink on a Huge Monkey

A Huge Monkey

I just bought a 6’6” stuffed monkey. Yep, 78” of a Curious George-like toy for one of my teenagers. I know, it seems a bit crazy, but here’s the scoop: I wanted to find some Christmas gifts that were useful and/or fun that didn’t require electricity or batteries. George is fun and fit the bill. I decided I wanted this Christmas to have a simplicity and real laughter. I think George will help us with that.

In the days of all things techy, my kids’ requests are for games they will play with people around the globe (future Sink post coming about that) and for gadgets that help operate phones, computers, and game systems. Buy that stuff, and you can be assured your kids will ignore you and sleep about 23.5 hours of Christmas Day. George is going to help me stretch my rationed 30 minutes some, I hope.

I’m thinking George will have a board game and a deck of cards in his clutches, too. Why not? I can remember so many afternoons of Clue and Rummy with my mom. If I lucked into a really bad weather day where Daddy couldn’t do much—those were few and far between because farmers always seem to plenty to work on—I might get a few rounds of cards in with him, too. George might encourage that with my kiddos.

We are a competitive bunch. (I could push that banana pun a bit, but we will just stop there for the moment.) We may even need body armor for an Uno championship, but that would be pretty awesome. No tv. No phones. No gaming devices. Just us, some hot cocoa, and George. I’m liking the sound of that more and more. I can actually hear Burl Ives singing right now, too. The retro Christmas is going to become a reality. 

I’m sure you’re wondering if I went total old school this year. I wish I’d had that thought before my Amazon Black Friday shopping experience. I think I’ve got a pretty amazing mix of things though. George, some traditional games, a gingerbread house kit, and more boxes of hot cocoa than I care to admit I purchased. I even got search word puzzle books and puzzles for stockings stuffers. George is just the icing on the banana cake. (You knew I would get back to that sometime.)

Now to figure out how to sneak George in the house and wrap him. He may just need to sit in the recliner. I’m thinking I will put all the remotes in a Ziploc and let him hold onto those, too. Who’s going to argue with a 6’6” monkey about remote controls?

There’s still time to George-up your holiday! Little or big, a stuffed animal can bring out the kid heart flutters in all of us. I mean look at his face in that photo!! Bring on the jingle bells!!

I pray you have a truly merry Christmas and safe travels wherever you may go these next couple weeks. 

…until next time…

Bio-Melinda Campbell is a retired educator who currently focuses her efforts on raising her two teenaged boys, advocating for individuals with special needs and against drunk driving, and serving in her local community. Melinda has been gaining recognition for her writings labeled “Reflections from my Kitchen Sink” since the tragic death of her husband Michael in 2015. In her stories, she shares observations from her daily life including moments she has as a solo parent, a widow, and a woman who battles significant health issues including fibromyalgia and depression. BIG ANNOUNCEMENT- New Kitchen Sink Merchandise-Click Here