Why is this time of year different from any other time of year? Because it's when the Matzoh novelty items comes out, that's why.
This year, it's the Genuine Matzah Inflatable Beach Ball, a fine promotional item from Shulsinger Judaica in Brooklyn, which is why it has this giant label stuck on the side of it. For 19", sensibly priced at $5.99.
Or if you prefer, there's the Genuine Huggable Matzah Ball Plush Toy. Smaller but more substantial, if you will, more heft, which you can take home for $7.50 [plus shipping and handling]. How many can I put you down for?
Your son? He looks very advanced. Tell me, where does he go to school?
Genuine Huggable Matzah Ball Plush Toy and Inflatable Matzah Ball are available at West Side Judaica [westidejudaica.com via nyt, as is the image]
This time last year: Matzoh Baby [even the same nyt photographer. oy.]
My husband and I came across a whole series of matzoh products at Waldbaums in Floral Park last year. I'm not sure if they were made by the same company, but the matzoh print looked very similar. (Then again, how different can matzoh look?) He couldn't resist and bought the matzoh printed necktie, and two bibs - one for a boy, fashioned after a matzoh-printed vest with shirt, and one for a girl, fashioned after a matzoh-printed dress. We didn't know what we were having yet at the time, but now that we have a girl, we'll be sending the boy bib to her cousin in California.
These products were designed for my mother-in-law. Oy! I guess the Chanukah market was saturated - she's already given us a menorah that lights up and plays music, a chanukah mug that lights and plays the dreidel song every time you pick it up, and a plush vibrating dreidel with legs and feet.
So maybe next week, the kids'll be getting toy matzah balls to go with the plague bags they got last year. Red dye to turn your water to blood, anyone? How about cute plastic vermin, or a death of the firstborn jigsaw puzzle. (I kid you not!) Whee!
[so ungrateful, this one! and she never lets bubbe see her babies! (ps. you got a link for those plague bags??) -ed.]
ach, greg, you should know from chosencouture.com. matzah ball onesie (sic) and the terrifying dancing matzah man. (lynn, we also have the vibrating dreydl, about which we make suggestive leering comments that go right over the kids' heads, because that's how we roll.) there are actually several competing bags o' plagues. this is one, tho we prefer this one,
'cause there's nothin' cuter than the slaying of the first-born...in PLUSH!
[well bring them upon me and my children, even until the third and fourth generations! thanks! -ed.]
As my people like to say, "Oy to the fucking Vey!"
Yep. The first link Marjorie posted is the one we have - I tossed the red blood dye immediately, and the slaying of the firstborn jigsaw puzzle as soon as I figured out was it was. The cow that you squeeze till its eyes bug out broke after a while. And the hand with boils on it is just gross. But we still have the mask, hail, frog, bugs, and sunglasses (for darkness). Please, no one tell my mother-in-law about the plush version!
Vey is mir! You Americans are really something. Always with the selling. Really though, Canadian Jews are just jealous because we have to wait for our American family members to schlep this stuff across the border. Or we have to pay "overseas" shipping rates. Go figure.
[always with the diaspora... -ed]