Toys For My Boy

One of the funnest things I've been up to on this trip has been looking for cool things to bring back for my son Max. He's almost six.

Before I left, he would get slightly complainey about me going, ususally at bedtime or when other things weren't going the way he would like them to and he has said in the past that I'm alright but that Daddy really is his favourite and he loves him more; I'm completely fine with this as I'm not precious about being a favourite parent, but in a moment of weakness, I did promise him a present for every week I'd be away... 3 in total.

He brightened up after this and I knew that if the prospect of presents cheered him up, he would be completely fine while I was away.

He did actually ask me to be away longer at one point, so his present quota would increase. Smart boy.

So I've been slowly going through my list of places where I might find fun and interesting things for a boy.

Evolution, a weird science shop, is quite close to where I'm staying and has the most amazing collection of bugs, fossils, stuffed animals, anatomical models and other fascinating objects. So dinosaur tooth it is.

The MoMA Design Store is on the same street and has some really interesting kids books, games and bits 'n' bobs, so Dinosaur Coloring book and Weird Facts book are also ticked off the list.

Yesterday after training, I caught the subway uptown to FAO Schwartz, thinking it would be the most magical place full of the best toys and was slightly disappointed. It certainly was full of toys, and if you're a kid, I'm guessing the layout would be quite impressive, but the toys were all things I could find elsewhere and the experience of walking through just didn't compare to Hamleys, which is our first stop every time we're in London.

I did get him a little Lego Something from there though... wait, I've exceeded my limit of three presents haven't I? Whoops!

Well more training this morning, only an hour though, followed by Bootcamp and then my weekend is free.
Possibly going to Coney Island today (thank goodness for my friend Rob who is over from London and knows his way around) and I'm really hoping the SNL afterparty info comes through.

PS Rik, please don't read this to Max, so he gets a surprise :)
xxx