bill ding!

i remember one Christmas morning not too long ago, my kids had just finished opening their presents and as we took stock of what they had, we suddenly realized so many of their toys required batteries. so i got dressed and drove over to the walgreen's to stock up. as i stood in line i turned around and there was another dad with an armload of batteries. "Christmas, huh?" he said. yeah...

anyway, this year when we went out shopping we made a point of trying to find battery independent gifts. so far we've done pretty well. and if we didn't already have these, they would definitely be a great addition to the list.

we have all literally spent hours playing with these little guys. at first you think there are only a few combinations, but the longer we have spent trying, the more ways we have found to connect them. they're also fun to look at. so if you're coming up short on gift ideas and need a last minute hit for a child or your own inner child, check them out here. (and no, i don't get any kickback on this)

also since these have been around almost 100 years, there are some great vintage examples out there if you like to look at old things. just google "vintage bill ding"