Do you like practical jokes? I remember watching Dick Clark's TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes when I was a kid and I loved that show. Who doesn't enjoy watching a well-executed practical joke being pulled off. Christmas this year provided the perfect opportunity for me to play a great joke on my oldest son Andrew. The fact that the joke was on my son made it even more enjoyable for me. I will set up the story, and then encourage you to watch the video at the end, although it does not do the joke justice!
The Background
About 3 months ago my youngest son (Aaron) purchased an iPad. He had saved his money for almost a year to be able to purchase this item. He had saved every dime he received as a gift from family members when he graduated from BBS. He also saved money from his birthday, and from work that he did over the summer and early fall. His older brother has not yet fully grasped the importance of saving his money, and typically spends his money pretty quickly after receiving it. Andrew also wanted an iPad, but was well short of the $500 purchase price. You can imagine the tension that, at times, has reared itself over the fact that Andrew wants to play with Aaron's iPad. For the most part, it has been a very good experience, but I have had several "conversations" with Aaron about his siblings playing on his iPad. This is usually only a problem when Aaron has done something he should not have and the end result is that his iPad has been taken away from him for a amount of time.
Back in October, Andrew and Aaron did some work for their grandfather and Andrew decided that he was going to start saving up for his own iPad. He had $200. I informed him that if he still wanted the iPad, there was a way for him to get one. The plan was simple - if he earned $300 (which was basically another $100) that his mother and I would pay the other $200 for the iPad and he could get this for Christmas. At the time of this propostion, Andrew had the opportunity to work again for his grandfather over Thanksgiving break and if history was any indication, I felt like this was a very obtainable goal. (It doesn't hurt that his PaPaw typically OVER pays when his employees happen to be his grandsons.) A couple of weeks before Thanksgiving, Andrew broke his thumb playing basketball and was put in a cast. This development threw a wrench in his plans to work for his grandfather and earn the $100 he needed to get to $300 goal.
The Joke
About 3 weeks ago I had the idea of playing a joke on Andrew for Christmas. Since he was well short of his side of the agreement, he had already dismissed the idea of getting an iPad and was already thinking of other opportunities. He had asked me in passing about some other tablets that he had seen some of his friends carry at school. Anyone who knows me well, knows that I have a certain affinity for Apple products, and my children know this, so these conversations tended to be rather short in nature. Recently, I told Andrew that we were going to get a Kindle Fire instead of the iPad. I also told him that it was on back order and he would not get it until after Christmas. He received this news very well and to my surprise was not disappointed and began telling everyone that he knew that he was getting a the Fire for Christmas. As we were picking his brother up for school this day, Andrew excitedly exclaimed "Aaron, I am getting a Kindle Fire for Christmas!" Aaron, without missing a beat, said, "Loser! Don't settle Andrew-save your money. Don't settle, you will regret this. We have all the apps and music all ready for our iPods. Don't do it!" Clearly, Aaron was more upset about this new development that Andrew was, which was not what I was expecting. For the next couple of weeks Andrew researched what apps where available for the Fire and prepared to receive his gift! He was genuinely excited about this and had a great attitude. I had failed in my attempt to get him worked up.
About a week before Christmas I asked a friend of mine who had recently purchased a Fire if I could borrow the box for some fun that I had planned. He readily agreed and let me borrow the box. Two days before Christmas I decided to show the box to Aaron with the thought that he would tell Andrew that he was indeed going to get his Fire on Christmas day. Aaron kept the secret and didn't tell Andrew, so on Christmas eve I decided to show the box to him just to get him worked up. He was ecstatic and could not believe that his Fire was here. Little did he know that he was just looking at the empty box. He had begged us for two days to let him open it early. On Christmas morning, Andrew opened up his "Fire" and found a letter that said the following:
"Dear Andrew,
I know you are probably confused right now. You had a great attitude when I told you that you were getting the Fire instead of the iPad, and for that, your mother and I are very proud of you. You have opened this expecting a Kindle Fire. You should know that your parents love you too much to give you anything but the best, which everyone knows is the iPad! So, look up son, your real gift is right in front of you.
Merry Christmas,
Mom & Dad
The Background
About 3 months ago my youngest son (Aaron) purchased an iPad. He had saved his money for almost a year to be able to purchase this item. He had saved every dime he received as a gift from family members when he graduated from BBS. He also saved money from his birthday, and from work that he did over the summer and early fall. His older brother has not yet fully grasped the importance of saving his money, and typically spends his money pretty quickly after receiving it. Andrew also wanted an iPad, but was well short of the $500 purchase price. You can imagine the tension that, at times, has reared itself over the fact that Andrew wants to play with Aaron's iPad. For the most part, it has been a very good experience, but I have had several "conversations" with Aaron about his siblings playing on his iPad. This is usually only a problem when Aaron has done something he should not have and the end result is that his iPad has been taken away from him for a amount of time.
Back in October, Andrew and Aaron did some work for their grandfather and Andrew decided that he was going to start saving up for his own iPad. He had $200. I informed him that if he still wanted the iPad, there was a way for him to get one. The plan was simple - if he earned $300 (which was basically another $100) that his mother and I would pay the other $200 for the iPad and he could get this for Christmas. At the time of this propostion, Andrew had the opportunity to work again for his grandfather over Thanksgiving break and if history was any indication, I felt like this was a very obtainable goal. (It doesn't hurt that his PaPaw typically OVER pays when his employees happen to be his grandsons.) A couple of weeks before Thanksgiving, Andrew broke his thumb playing basketball and was put in a cast. This development threw a wrench in his plans to work for his grandfather and earn the $100 he needed to get to $300 goal.
The Joke
About 3 weeks ago I had the idea of playing a joke on Andrew for Christmas. Since he was well short of his side of the agreement, he had already dismissed the idea of getting an iPad and was already thinking of other opportunities. He had asked me in passing about some other tablets that he had seen some of his friends carry at school. Anyone who knows me well, knows that I have a certain affinity for Apple products, and my children know this, so these conversations tended to be rather short in nature. Recently, I told Andrew that we were going to get a Kindle Fire instead of the iPad. I also told him that it was on back order and he would not get it until after Christmas. He received this news very well and to my surprise was not disappointed and began telling everyone that he knew that he was getting a the Fire for Christmas. As we were picking his brother up for school this day, Andrew excitedly exclaimed "Aaron, I am getting a Kindle Fire for Christmas!" Aaron, without missing a beat, said, "Loser! Don't settle Andrew-save your money. Don't settle, you will regret this. We have all the apps and music all ready for our iPods. Don't do it!" Clearly, Aaron was more upset about this new development that Andrew was, which was not what I was expecting. For the next couple of weeks Andrew researched what apps where available for the Fire and prepared to receive his gift! He was genuinely excited about this and had a great attitude. I had failed in my attempt to get him worked up.
About a week before Christmas I asked a friend of mine who had recently purchased a Fire if I could borrow the box for some fun that I had planned. He readily agreed and let me borrow the box. Two days before Christmas I decided to show the box to Aaron with the thought that he would tell Andrew that he was indeed going to get his Fire on Christmas day. Aaron kept the secret and didn't tell Andrew, so on Christmas eve I decided to show the box to him just to get him worked up. He was ecstatic and could not believe that his Fire was here. Little did he know that he was just looking at the empty box. He had begged us for two days to let him open it early. On Christmas morning, Andrew opened up his "Fire" and found a letter that said the following:
"Dear Andrew,
I know you are probably confused right now. You had a great attitude when I told you that you were getting the Fire instead of the iPad, and for that, your mother and I are very proud of you. You have opened this expecting a Kindle Fire. You should know that your parents love you too much to give you anything but the best, which everyone knows is the iPad! So, look up son, your real gift is right in front of you.
Merry Christmas,
Mom & Dad
With this, I handed Andrew his iPad and the joke was complete! He was so excited. He said, Dad, I was going to be happy with the Fire, but I am glad to have the iPad instead. Now he and Aaron can share apps, music, and play games against each other. I have uploaded the video of Andrew opening his gift and reading his letter. The video is somewhat grainy because I wanted it to load quickly.
Have you played a good joke on your child(ren) that you would like to share? If so, please do.
0 comments:
Post a Comment