Annoying toys

Husband and I make a point of not buying Loud Baby too many toys.
When we do get her something, it is usually a toy that should last her a couple of years.
Like blocks. Legos. The learning-home. Stuff like that.

And then there are gift givers.
Well-meaning destructive people.
Actually, there are 3 categories of gift-givers.

1. The ones who just know what to give.
Because they have experience.
Or are just plain smart.

2. The ones who ask.
I love these guys.

My answer is usually books.
Loud Baby is a bookworm.

 3. And of course, there's the majority: people who buy the cutest, loudest, most useless thing.
I do appreciate the thoughtfulness.
Maybe some kids would love the super annoying colourful guitar that makes defeaning noise.
But what am I supposed to do with all this crap?
Loud Baby is interested in this kind of toy for maybe 5 minutes and that's it.
And the pile grows.
And grows.
And she still sticks with her blocks and the tea set.
So I'm just going to donate it all.

Here are some priceless pieces:

• A Jerry mouse with creepy big eyes that sings Yankee-Doodle in a high-pitched "I want to jump out the window" voice.
• A doll that laughs. Like it's possessed. Seriously, Chucky needs to take lessons. 
• The aforementioned guitar. So cheap, half the buttons don't work from the start. The written text on the box says: "Guitar Interesting. Child love will music playing. Look for products another colors". Wha? It plays timeless classics like "Happy Birthday" and other melodies which cannot be identified due to too much distortion. But heck it's loud, and that's the whole point, right?
• Rattles. Really? The child is 14 months old, not 4 weeks.
• Cuddly toys. I still have quite a few from my own childhood that I can pass on. We do not need any more cuddly ones. There is no space. And no point. Loud Baby has 2 favourites so far and she doesn't need more than 5. We are at 25 right now. Or feels like it.
• A wheel with four buttons. She pushed them a couple of times. That was it. They don't even do anything interesting except for indexing and making a short race car sound. Maybe if she was a boy?! I don't know.
• We did receive a set of cups. The colourful kind that fit into each other and on top of each other. Those are great. Except we already have a set. Which Loud Baby likes more. So this one is not getting played with all that much, poor thing. Its time will come, I am sure. 
• Big toys for riding. Some of which are nice in concept but the kid will ride it twice and be done with it and I just moved the sofa to make room for it. 

I can't stop thinking that instead of all this stuff, one could have given Loud Baby a present that she actually enjoys. (Again, I am grateful for all. I am just thinking practically here.)
Besides books there are puzzles, balls, sand toys, CD's with children's music, animal figurines, Little People, cars, wonderful wooden toys...or (gasp) gift cards.

Best gift ever so far?
The sentence: "I will watch her for an hour so you can sleep/eat/shower/take a walk".
Because there's no better gift for a child than a sane parent.
To anyone who has ever uttered this sentence or variation of it we say: Thank you!! :)