A really cool present for a young boy

My oldest nephew is a car fiend, just like his dad - my "little" brother - was. Is. My nephew adores playing with any kind of car, but he especially loves Hot Wheels.

Hot Wheels came out in 1968, when my brother was two years old. Today, according to the Mattel Hot Wheels website, the average boy owns 41 Hot Wheels, and two are sold every second of the day!

So for my nephew's fourth birthday, I came up with the idea of sending him a membership to the "Aggieland Car of the Month Club." I made up the name for fun; there is no such club. Don't Google it, you won't find it. On his birthday, I sent him a Hot Wheels car in the mail with a fancy-shmancy Auntie-created certificate telling him he would get a car in the mail every month. He was absolutely thrilled. So thrilled that I continued it again for his next birthday. In fact, I'll continue it for each birthday until he tells me to stop.

It's so easy to do. Right before his December birthday, I go to Wal-Mart and buy 12 different Hot Wheels, making sure they are labeled with the next year's "year model." (Yep, they have year models.) I also buy twelve (#0) 6" x 9" bubble envelopes at Office Max. Then with the first month's installment, I go to the post office to get it weighed and buy enough stamps for the remaining 11 months. Then around the first of each month, I mail a car. I also e-mail my Bro so they know to be on the lookout for it. I keep the paper picture backing for each car to double-check that I don't mail duplicates. I only mail the car, not the packaging.

My nephew is funny. He always has at least one car in his pocket and loves to tell people about his "Aggieland Car of the Month Club" cars. Yep, he says the whole title each time he talks about one of the cars. My DSisIL says that the ACOTMC cars are delegated to a special Jammers box for storage. Only ACOTMC cars may park there.