Puppets?

We have been talking to the kids about Christmas lists to give to Santa.  Tyler really wants a "marble track" and I think that is a good choice for him.  He loves marbles, loves tracks, and enjoys building things so it seems like a perfect fit.  The other choice has made me waffle a bit.  Lately they have been using the back of the couch to put on puppet shows for each other and us and it is very entertaining!  They have since asked us to tell Santa they  want a "puppet theater."  I found one that isn't too expensive, but I keep debating.  They are having to be more creative coming up with makeshift puppets and theaters around the house, and this fascination (like most of the others) is sure to end soon.  However, I know they would be thrilled to have a theater of their own under the tree with real puppets and I kind of think that is part of the magic of Santa (that he isn't as practical as the parents)!  For Tyler, at least, puppets have been a "thing" for a while - but I am learning (slow learner apparently) that they rarely play with actual toys for very long (other than cars and squinkies in Tyler's case) and have more fun when they create their own toys and use everyday things in their pretend games. Katie's interests are harder to pin down because she is all over the map in things she enjoys doing from week to week.  One week she will be obsessed with playing kitchen, the next all she wants to do is color and write letters and ask me words her crazy concoctions of letters create, and yet another week she will spend playing instruments, singing and dancing while dressed as a princess.  I love that they do so well entertaining themselves and that they are so imaginative and I don't want to stifle that by inadvertently telling them that the bought toys, like puppets and theaters, are "better" than the things they come up with!  What  I will probably do is leave it up to one of their Santas (AKA their dad) who doesn't get caught up in personal mind games and will just decide based on what he thinks they will like at the time.  That is a great attitude for gift giving, too bad he doesn't understand that it would be a whole lot better if we spread things out a bit and got some things now to put away instead of the way he prefers which is to hit Toys R Us and Target the week before.  The big problem with that is that things like puppets, and marble runs, and doctor tables and chalkboards aren't the kinds of things available at those stores or that you think to pick up last minute, the smaller problem is that it doesn't let me obsess and stress and ponder and blog and worry about such relatively inconsequential things for two months :-)!