As parents, we are all very different creatures. We live in different parts of the country for a start. We‘re all of different ages and ethnicities. We might not all like cheese and apple sandwiches. But there’s one thing I’m pretty certain we do all have in common, besides Little Lucy Willow of course and that's... Frozen.
The phenomenon that is Frozen has spanned almost a year now and sees no sign of stopping in our house. A sniff of a sequel has seen to that, plus me finally being able to purchase the much coveted Elsa dress and doll. Begging is not the word when it came to my daughter requesting these precious commodities. All restraint went out of the window until the “E” word was officially banned.
For a spell I scoured high street stores, catalogues, toy shops and the internet and came up with precisely nothing, apart from an American luxury version of the dress which was on sale for ooooh, around a squillion dollars. I frequented various Disney stores only to be told that the 50 dresses they had just received that morning had now, 20 minutes into the working day, gone. I asked a friend who was going to Disneyland to get one for me and gave up my own search, safe in the knowledge that she would come back with the goods. She didn’t. I began to wonder how Elsa had even managed to get an Elsa dress, then realised this quest was taking over my life.
I eventually ‘let it go’ – pardon the pun.
But it isn’t just the merchandise that gets you, it’s the music too. We still have it on loop in the car and find ourselves (myself?) passionately singing along at every opportunity. It’s a conundrum for someone like me who tires of listening to the same album repeatedly and only ever watched Dirty Dancing once.
Call me paranoid but children mindlessly chanting “Elsa” plus music that you need to listen to despite hearing it close to a million times…I’m certain that darker government forces are at work here…
Anyway, once supplies began to flow again, online at least, I mustered up momentum and resumed my search. I finally got my hands on the dress and doll.
Upon seeing it, my friend’s three year-old son joined the nation’s collective madness as he excitedly shouted “look, she’s even got an Elsa dress on!”
My thoughts exactly.