All Thomas All the Time

Over the past few weeks, our house has turned into choo choo central. C has always been taken with trains but recently his passion has escalated to the point of obsession. He wakes up talking about Thomas, eats breakfast (and every other meal) using Thomas silverware, and pretty much spends his whole day setting up tracks, sending trains around them and then reconfiguring. At bedtime, we have to read about, yep, Thomas. On the upside, clean up at the end of the day has never been easier. Throw all the trains and track into the train box and we're done. No other toys have been touched. On the downside, it's driving me insane.

In the last week, A has developed a passion for trains that rivals C's. While she can still be distracted with a baby doll and stroller, it's only a matter of time before she too succumbs to the unexplainable lure of Thomas the Tank Engine and must play trains ALL THE TIME. Just commit me someplace now.

As the holiday season is soon upon us, I now have to decide if I allow the relatives to grant my children's desire for an all Thomas holiday or not. For the past week, C has been pouring over the Thomas catalog, choosing and prioritizing his list. "Do I want Cranky the Crane or the Coal Shop more?" he wonders as we toodle about town. As we wait in line for the car wash you hear "Oh, the train wash. I forget to include the train wash. We don't want Thomas to be dirty."

Do I take the risk that the train obsession will end in the next 12 months, leaving us with every Thomas accessory known to man and no other toys? Or do I play mean mommy and insist that people get them toys that I know full well will be chucked aside as soon as they are opened in favor of the few train items that I know will slip through the cracks? I'm unclear. What I do know is that whoever invented Thomas and his friends must be cackling with evil glee all the way to the bank.