Meet 2009’s toy craze – Zhu Zhu

These little hamsters are cute and rather inexpensive, if you can find one available at MSRP that is. I was unaware of this new toy until last week when the following conversation took place:

Me: So Mom, what do you want for Christmas this year?

Mom: One of those hamsters with the little car it drives around in.

My sister Grace: Yeah, she doesn’t want the habitrail, just the car.

Me: Then where’s it going to live?

Call me aloof but clearly, I thought my Mom meant a real hamster – I had thoughts of her putting a real live hammy in a remote-controlled Barbie car or something. I wouldn’t put her past something like that. My Mom went bonkers over the Geico commercial with the gecko driving the car while tapping his ‘fingers’ on the steering wheel. She also owns a Tickle Me Elmo, was able to procure a Furby, Cabbage Patch Dolls and even coveted Beanie Babies in their perspective hay-days – I give that woman credit for tracking down the hot toy du-jour! So I really wanted to get her a Zhu Zhu for Christmas this year…

Alas, in my shopping excursion on Fallout Saturday (what I like to call the day after Black Friday as the stores look like a bomb dropped – messy and void of the sale items from the day before) there were no Zhu Zhu’s to be found. Looks like Mom will have to settle for a gift that doesn’t include a small animal in a vehicle. Drat.