Addicted- Product review

Most years I create handmade items for the holidays...some great, some not so great but that is a story for another day.
It is difficult to hand make a present for a child. I got some cool ones as a kid, but most kids want something to engage their little brains..and I don't think my yarns can do that.
I really really really (repeat that about 10 more times) HATE how commercial Christmas has become. It's less about giving and more about buying what we are supposed to want than it is about the brand name of the gift you are giving. How the corporations have BOUGHT Christmas is a story for another time as well though.
If I can't make it, I will try to buy it hand made. This years present was for my nephew Cameron.
Stores are full of games that beep, blink, squeal, scramble and just about anything else you can imagine. These are cool, but we only buy them for kids who have parents we don't like or are trying to intentionally drive insane.
Soo..I found a pretty cool present this year..it doesn't beep, whistle or ping, but is stupidly addicting even for adults...
It is the I Spy bag from Lost Art Designs (http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5309067)
This woman is a genius..a very simple idea, but a very good one.
The I Spy pillow is a polar fleece pillow with a clear plastic window. The pillow itself is filled with clear plastic pellets, and a whole lot of other do-dads. The do-dads are listed on the back of the pillow with a sewn on label. The kid (or adult) picks an item off the label (a jingle bell, for instance) and then squishes the pillow around until they find it.

If you ever had one of those long family vacations in the car, and played the "I spy game" (which in my memory always went something like "I spy something blue" "The sky?" pout.."Yes". "Ok, my turn" " I see something....white" "The clouds?" "Yes") I promise the I Spy pillow is much more interesting, and you can play by yourself.

I took it out of the package after dinner and was immediately addicted to trying to find all the objects on the back. Pretty cool...pretty addicting. Why this woman isn't selling to every major retailer is beyond me...these pillows could produce a nation of calm, quiet children.

I am debating keeping it for myself and getting my nephew something like a game that is a cross between Simon and Operation...I will sit quietly with my little pillow and be amused for days....