Gifts grow up, too

As students move further out of childhood and in to adulthood, it seems that Christmas begins to lose its magic. Not only have students changed over the course of time, but so have their Christmas lists. Long gone are the days of toys and dolls; practical gifts now top most students’ wish-lists.
Toys that students may have been so excited for Santa Claus to bring them no longer lead the market as top-selling merchandise. These toys may be sitting in the back of a childhood closet, collecting dust, and although such joy and anticipation surrounded them 10 years ago, they are now long forgotten.
So where are these toys today? Students might be surprised to know that some of the toys we asked for as children are still top-grossing toys.
Junior Jessica James remembers her favorite gift as a child being the American Girl Doll Molly. The American Girl Dolls are still being sold worldwide, and their giant stores are still doing well despite a significant drop in sales since 2018, according to APNews.com. In spite of this drop, the company is still grossing $343.2 million in sales annually.
Instead of dolls and toys, many students now get excited to receive more useful gifts. Harding graduate student Jenna Porter said her favorite gift to get now for Christmas is a gift card to fuel her coffee habit.
Students around campus feel as though the best gifts they could get now are practical gifts, such as money for a grocery run, money for utilities or just simply money to put toward tuition. Long gone are the days of asking for the newest dolls, skateboards or game consoles. What students want now is a month without having to worry about finances.
“What I want for Christmas is anything that makes my life easier or less stressful, because college can be incredibly stressful,” said senior Alyson White.
Although the joy of waking up to find the very toy you’ve been asking for all year sitting under the tree may have lost its novelty, sophomore Grace Tandy said that joy has been replaced by the peace of being surrounded by your family, who you may not have seen all semester.
It is obvious that a lot has changed in the last 10 years when it comes to what students might be asking for this Christmas, but the joy of getting to be with loved ones celebrating a time of rest together is just as wonderful.