Preschool Practical Jokes

Cameron has recently spent a great deal of time paging through the Target toy catalogue. In our house, Santa accepts requests for up to three gifts only, and Cameron torments himself over which three would be just the perfect selection. The Lego set, an art easel and a spy gadget? No, because Santa can't find out that we're spies! That's top secret after all. OK, OK, how about this? A robot, a Lego set and an art easel. No, no, not quite right . . .

About a week ago, Cameron came across the Play-Doh Magic Swirl Ice Cream Shoppe. To my surprise, he was fascinated. "OK, I am DEFINITELY asking Santa for this!" he crowed. Then, he revealed the source of his merriment. "Here's what I'm gonna do, Mommy," he confided. "I'm going to ask Santa for the Play-Doh ice cream maker. But I'm going to tell Daddy that I asked for a REAL ice cream maker. Then, on Christmas morning, I'll open up my gift and say, 'Oh, Daddy, do you want me to make you some ice cream?' And he'll say, 'Yes, that sounds good!' And then I'll make a Play-Doh ice cream cone and give it to Daddy and he'll lick it and he'll spit it out and he'll be like, 'Ewww! This is not ice cream! This is Play-Doh! You tricked me!'" Cameron collapsed into giggles at the thought of this ingenious plot. For days, he relished the image of Daddy spitting out the Play-Doh. It was so funny, he could hardly stand it. Finally, the pressure got to be too much and he confessed the plan to Daddy. The excitement now gone, he has decided that he will ask Santa for two spy tools and a Lego set, as I have reassured him that Santa is really good at keeping secrets.