Monday, October 4, 2010

Home Depot (sweet) home

There aren't a whole lot of public places where Max feels completely comfortable; noise and other kinds of sensory OD wig him out. The park: yes. The mall: not so much. Restaurants: just a select few (the jury's still out on The Original Pancake House). Supermarkets, maybe, depending on his mood; Target and other superstores tend to be too crowded for him, and he wails.

Home Depot? HEAVEN.

Max thinks it's The Best Place In The Whole Wide World.

The aisles are extra-wide—especially in the lumber area—and amenable to kids who, say, like to zoom a shopping cart down an empty one like they're in the Indy 500. Not that I know any kids like that.

The tools, screws, chains, and bazillion other objects are interesting to touch and encourage Max to explore and use his hands and fingers (requisite disclaimer: I am not advocating Home Depot as a place to hang out if your tot likes to taste everything and anything).

The big, burly guys roaming around always think Max is cute, and none of them seem to mind when he dashes up to them because they are wearing brown pants and pats their butts (requisite disclaimer: I am not advocating this, either).

Last year, HD debuted a new eco-friendly paint line and they had spin-art for kids; Max made four paintings and tried to persuade me to let him sleep at the store.

I love to roam around the Gardening section and pretend that I am one of those women who actually has time to grow things. Dave likes to fondle the barbecues and pretend that I am going to buy him a new one for the holidays, even though the one on our deck is perfectly fine.

Bonus: Our local HD has a Dunkin' Donuts, my favorite kind of coffee (iced, light, two Equals).

Anyone else out there love HD? Which places do your kids most love to visit on weekends?

14 comments:

  1. love Home Depot - also BJ's! big aisles and double seating in the cart for T-man and JD. Go there a lot!
    Kristen

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  2. My daughter found herself in heaven at our local Lowes. Same situation. I guess her love was the wide open isles that she walked her fastest down, giggling the whole time. A Lowes worker gave her a mini kids apron (like the adults wear who work there) and a wooden school bus kit for "being cute". Perhaps HD makes little tykes aprons too and that can be Max's Halloween costume next year!

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  3. We don't have Home Depot in the UK so can't comment on that but Seth loves supermarkets, especially when we get to the checkout and he hears the beeping from the scanners. He starts squealing in delight at the top of his voice.

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  4. Our daughter is still too young to really show us that she 'loves' a place, but we really enjoy taking her to Ikea on a day when it's not too crowded. She has a cortical vision impairment (among other issues), so it's incredibly stimulating for her vision with bright colors and lights hanging above. And we have fun too because we sit down together for a meal in the same place and not have to take her in and out of the car two different times to grab a bite to eat.

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  5. Hi Ellen!
    I've been a long time fan and reader. I believe I've been reading your blog close to a year now, and this is the first time I'm commenting. I just wanted to tell you that I really enjoy your writing and humor. Your frankness in parenting Max and Sabrina is refreshing and you've inspired me to add my own voice to the mix.
    Look forward to the upcoming holiday posts!
    Hilary

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  6. I know alot of kids that love Home Depot, but Audrey always wants to climb the ladders that are always around to reach stuff on high shelves. She loves Target and toy stores because she loves to play with the stim toys. She also loves pet stores. Both places give her access to things that she doesn't get at home...no stim toys or pets allowed!

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    1. I'm a grammar expert. You don't use that when you talk about children it is never grammatically appropriate.

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  7. Foster loves Sam's Club. Something about the pizza and the great DVD selections. Oh, yeah, and the bazillion tvs, in front of which he jumps his little heart out... and (like HD) the wide, wide aisles. I actually wonder if one day he'll be the guy who scans the receipts at the door. That would be cool. Maybe he can bring us pizza for dinner. ;)

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  8. Home Depot doesn't work for us since we tend to stop and look (and then stop pushing G's chair). Oddly enough, he loves his sibs' events at school - the fall festival, multi-cultural night - all loud and too warm for his mom, but he does pretty well. Maybe he just loves the other kids' voices.

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  9. How does he feel about the kitchen/bathroom department? My cousin is a designer (in that department) so I'm practially required to say I like the store.

    I use to like to climb on the lumber carts like a jungle gym. I don't reccomend it to anyone though :)

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  10. Hone Depot, one of the only businesses in the US that understands the word "Quote".

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  11. I think it's wonderful that you love HD -- I, personally, break out in hives in big box stores! I do remember enjoying their workshops for little kids back when my boys were really small, though --

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  12. I love Home Depot because they have those car carts that both of my boys can ride in.

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  13. Did you know that you can get Max his OWN mini orange apron FOR FREE.

    The first Saturday of each month Home Depot hosts a Kids Workshop. Oct was Fire Prevention theme (complete with firetruck in parking lot) and the project was a fire boat.

    Hands on, pre-cut wood projects and even a commemorative pin and "diploma" at the end. Cool employees that like helping the kids complete the project (regardless of their ability level)

    (Many Home Depot's will donate excess kits to local schools complete with apron & pins. My son's self-contained class did a project last month in school)

    Lowe's also has kids workshops "Build & Grow" with projects, aprons & patches.

    My son LOVES Home Depot. Wide aisles. Lots to see and generally no one yells at you to to not touch the merchandise. He likes the echos too.

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Thanks for sharing!