by Jenny Dixon

The other day, I stood in disbelief as I surveyed what was once the formal dining area of my home. My son is barely 2, but already his toys overtake the room. A pile of puzzles lay forgotten in one corner. A bead maze he couldn’t keep his hands off 6 months ago collected dust in another. The dump truck he begged for at Target last month sat forgotten on a shelf. Been there, done that. No amount of bins, crates, caddies and other storage solutions could hide the simple truth: toddlers get tired of their toys– quick. There had to be a better way. A way to inject novelty into my child’s play without breaking the bank or adding to the mountain of plastic in my dining room.

Turns out the answer is out there—in a company called Baby Plays, the “Netflix for Toys.” It works like this: instead of buying new toys that get forgotten in a few weeks, I subscribe to Baby Plays and create a “wish-list” of toys for my son. For about $30/month, I get 4-6 toys Fedexed to my home. After 30-60 days, or longer if I want, I simply return the toys via Fedex, and the next set of toys on my wish-list gets delivered to my door. No time lost shopping for toys that lose appeal after a few weeks. No stress over finding toys that will last until my son’s next birthday. No square footage lost to clutter in my home.

With Christmas approaching, I’ve decided that Baby Plays is the ultimate gift. Why buy a single toy doomed for the dusty corner, when I can subscribe to a constant stream of new toys from Baby Plays? Sorry Santa.