Too many of my recent posts have been about COVID and related factors. I have another one primed and ready to release, but even I’ve grown weary of it and wanted to give a break to my audience. With that said, if you want to hear the case for mandating even new vaccines to the military, make sure you subscribe to it so you don’t miss it next week.
On a lighter note, though, I had a moment of nostalgia today as I opened the mailbox.
Perhaps those closer to my age can remember finding a catalogue in the mailbox or picking one up in the store? Many a holiday season started with a calm Saturday morning spent perusing the latest in fashion and cool toys or gadgets that were displayed on the pages within. My siblings and I used to work through the JC Penney catalogue and circles items we liked or wanted. My list of things I thought I wanted was always limited by what I was told to want or what my peers were using or getting, but the catalogue opened up a Pandora’s box, a veritable treasure trove, of possibilities that I hadn’t even considered.
I could have tried to get the new cool toy, but learning that there was a chemistry set available made me reconsider. That didn’t mean I thought the toy wasn’t cool, but the chemistry set was different and provided a whole new set of possibilities.
Finding myself imagining how I could decorate my room if I had just the right bedding was interesting, but it made me think of different decorative features, like globes and lamps that would fit my personal style.
Surrendering that aspect of my childhood to the digital age was made more tolerable by the fact that catalogues died as I also reached adulthood, and the dreams met the harsh reality of my available budget.
Still, as my wife and I have watched our children grow a little older, it did occur to me a few months ago that I sort of missed that for their sake. I had received a couple Scheel’s sale event mailers and it sparked that interest in me again, and reminded me that my kids didn’t get to experience that.
Online shopping has many perks, and those far outweigh some of the problems with shopping through catalogues. Convenience being foremost among them. There is a reason catalogues went the way of many markets that had moved on to more efficient and better alternatives. I still thought there was a purpose for catalogues, though, even if limited.
So count me surprised to find a catalogue, of sorts, in the mail today. Amazon must have had some marketer thinking through the same problem I thought could still be addressed. How do you capture that same feeling, not of nostalgia among aging parents like me, but the emotions of capturing an imagination through shopping in the children that would drive that nostalgia when they grow to adults?
I won’t say they nailed it. I don’t mean to imply they failed. “Ready, Set, Play” arrived and it is solid. I didn’t know what it was when I first pulled it from my mailbox, but just flipping it open quickly let me know. The layout will immediately cause you to reminisce about those days of flipping through catalogues.
They even included some occasional activities for the kids to enjoy and *cursing under my breath* some stickers! In the event that your kids don’t find the most expensive and least convenient items to adhere stickers to, you might find little fault with those “activities.”
This catalogue doesn’t include prices, though. I don’t know that it is good or bad, but it is different. It is also extremely limited. Compared to the tomes that we could find when I was a kid, this is just a mildly robust magazine.
Yet it fills that void. There are a variety of different items provided and made available, but limited options within those categories. Seriously, one video gaming system with a couple options and two video games for that system?! Or only a couple pages of clothing or games?
That didn’t stop me from showing my boys this “catalogue” and l even showed them what I used to do with it.
Perhaps this is just a start. I’m probably only learning of it because we have had so many moves that I’ve never been in a place long enough to receive one. I do think they could improve it, widen it, give more options, and I think those would serve to better capture the imaginations of children about what they could ask for as a gift.
That doesn’t mean I’m correct. These people get paid a lot of money to do what I only toy with as concepts fleetingly while battling interstate traffic to and from home.
Either way, I still want to tip my hat to Amazon. Even if it doesn’t work, they are trying. I went all the way through the gift book myself and enjoyed it. It left a lot to be desired, but it also fueled that drive for shopping. I think they actually nailed this first attempt and if they capture that and improve on it, we may see the return of legit catalogues in the age of online shopping. If that means I get the best of both worlds, count me in.
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