Don't Bring a Box of Toys!

There has been much discussion lately about how toys and even playing itself have changed. Toys are for very specific uses, with characters on them, and unstructured play has fallen by the wayside. Check out the story at:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=19212514

I am not claiming to be supermom, but when I read this article, it seemed, well, obvious. I have intuitively avoided having a million toys for a few reasons, not the least of which being that it gives me greater pleasure to see my son playing imaginitively with a stick or an empty yogurt container than acting out some script from a cartoon movie with a cartoon toy. As for unstructured play, I much prefer it since it takes less energy on my part than organizing activities. If anything, we lack structured activities, unless going for a walk or a bike ride to the park or meeting friends at La Roca for lunch can be considered structured.

On to the important part of this post: You don't have to drag a bunch of toys with you everywhere, and maybe if you do, your kids are going to expect it and not know how to improvise. Here's my story: Last night we went to Todd's boss's house for an intimate sushi party. We brought nothing in the way of entertainment for Trevor, but he had a great time figuring out how to open and close Ken's windows, climbing up and down the furniture (couches, swivel barstools and a kid-sized metal chair), feeding Cassie the dog treats, and grabbing little somethings only he could see off a metal floor lamp and throwing them at the floor and furniture, then putting them back, all while singing karaoke and dancing. Why bring toys?