Rock'em Sock'em Christmas

The first Christmas catalogue came today: The Vermont Country Store. (Should catalogue names be italicized? Should it be catalog or catalogue? These are editor's decisions, and you can see mine.) Actually, I'm surprised we haven't gotten something Christmasy from someone sooner. Only 180 days till the Holidays! Order before the rush!

Alas, some of the prices in VSC are off-putting, especially the toys. Maybe I'm just out of touch with toy prices. Or rather, "classic toys that delight," as it says on page 36. You need to pay $50, not counting shipping, if you want a Jumbo Tinkertoy set (102 pieces), or a Lincoln Log set (115 pieces, all wood) or an Original Big Wheel or a 28-piece set of alphabet block in a toy wagon. I have to wonder whether any or all of these toys are made in a certain densely populated East Asian nation famed for its potstickers, and if so, what's the deal with those prices?

Rock'em Sock'em Robots run for $30 at VSC. I never had one of those, and it's probably just as well. Bet it's one of those games that's better as seen on TV than in your living room. It's old school, too. For today's kids, remote-controlled Mexican wrestlers might be the thing.