Katie's Corner: From 'Roboraptors' to gingerbread giants Katie's Corner: From 'Roboraptors' to gingerbread giants (December 14, 2005)

By Katie Blankenberg

6th-grader, St. Raymond School

I asked everyone in my sixth-grade class at St. Raymond School to write down two things they would like to get for Christmas this year.

Forget roller blades, sleds and telescopes. It's iPods, cell phones and laptops for the top electronic gifts. And more than half the class wants a puppy.

"Receiving cell phones, laptops, and iPods are a way of making kids in our class feel mature," says sixth-grader Jillian Nielsen. "These gifts make most tweens feel like their parents can trust them with delicate and complicated electronics."

Ashley Gaddis gave a similar explanation for wanting a dog for Christmas: "Receiving an animal is special because you get the responsibility for taking care of another life."

To find out what younger kids want, I asked my 7-year-old sister, Sabina. She wants a dog, too, but she also likes American Girl dolls, Barbies, and Polly Pockets -- little miniature plastic dolls that are very popular with younger girls. Although my sister loves them, my mom worries that my 2-year-old brother Patrick might swallow one of the rubber accessories.

How about the boys? Chris Kelly, who is 10, picks: "Bionicles, Transformers and a Remote Control Robosapien."

Robotic toys are big with the boys. My 9-year-old brother Scott hopes to get a "Roboraptor" -- a dinosaur robot.

A tip for parents: Among the places where you can find the latest in robotic toys is the Discovery Shop, which has a lot of other neat stuff like a T-Rex and a Neanderthal Man Reconstruction Kit.

Christmas is my favorite holiday. Aside from not having to go to school for two weeks, I love the excitement of receiving presents, baking cookies and helping my mom decorate.

At home we have small parties before Christmas decorating gingerbread houses and 20-inch-tall gingerbread men that my mom bakes. Yes, a 20-inch gingerbread man! My mom has an enormous copper gingerbread man cookie-cutter.

On Christmas Eve, we have a dinner party with our family and we open presents.

There are many things to do for Christmas. The most important is to remember to have a good time with your family and friends. Merry Christmas!
Katie Blankenberg, 12, lives in Portola Valley.

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