Maybe for Christmas
I’ve got some strategies for avoiding the grocery store begging that plagues many 
mothers of young children. First of all, my kids know that when I say no at the grocery store I never give in. Although I’d like to claim that this is because I’ve mastered the element of consistency in parenting, I know that my sense of frugality is sometimes my driving force. The other thing I do is use phrases like "maybe we can make a treat at home" or "we should ask Santa to get you that for Christmas." So far these phrases have worked wonderfully and my kids forget about the desired item entirely by the time we get home!
I could tell Isaac was ready for lunch one day when he started eyeing and asking about the candy in the check-out isle. When he asked me for a particular treat, I told him that perhaps we could make a treat when we got home. He put the candy back and I felt proud of how easily I had avoided a tantrum. He stared picking up candy bars, starbursts, and other impulse items one at a time and saying "maybe we can make something like this at home, " and luckily he put each one back without a fuss. The lady behind me was stunned and commented that she’d never seen a kid so pleasantly accept his mom’s refusal to buy a treat. One time I commented on how he seemed to want us to make our own check-out isle. He liked this idea and regularly comments to me at the store about how our check-out isle should look.
On our most recent excursion to the local Wal-Mart, Isaac started asking if we could buy some of the toys he saw. I replied to his request by suggesting we ask Santa or put it 
on a Christmas list. Soon he was pointing out things left and right and asking "should we put this on our Christmas list?" This behavior continued through the food section. I could understand the requests for candy, tasty snacks, and juices, but when we got to the baking isle his requests started to become more unusual. As I was selecting the things I needed from my shopping list, Isaac brought me some garlic and asked if we could put it on his Christmas list too. I said "you want garlic on your Christmas list?" to which he replied "yes, and garlic’s neighbor" then picked out the spice right next to the garlic. On the next isle he asked in an excited voice if maybe we could get a bottle of Gatorade for Christmas and I heard a lady nearby try to stifle a laugh. In the frozen food isle he pointed out several things he wanted for Christmas including frozen pizza then asked, "Santa has lots of money so he can buy everything?" Later that evening when I told him I needed to make dinner he asked if I was going to make "the pizza that I wanted for Christmas."
Yes, I know the pictures are random–I can’t post without pictures and I haven’t taken any relevant ones at the grocery store!
those grocery store stories made me laugh! i too have had to come up with my own strategies for the “gimmes” at the grocery store. my latest, and most favorite way of coping is to just shop alone! hahaha! actually, what happens the most often is i let evan pick out ONE thing. so, when he picks up that second item, whatever it may be, i say “do you want that now or what you picked out first? cause you can only have ONE thing so choose wisely!” we’ve gotten to the point where he doesn’t argue too much with that, but if i just say “no” get ready for the tantrum! it’s funny how sometimes he’ll go through like 10 things he wants at the grocery store and then ends up getting his first pick. lately, and sadly though, candy seems to be the consistent winner. sigh!
hahaha that’s going to be some christmas list when you guys decide to write to santa! i bet he doesn’t get many requests for garlic. i was very happy to read your blog tho to know that i’m not alone in my child wanting everything under the sun for christmas. we should let isaac and ashlee sit and read their toy catalogs together!.