Christmas lists, v.1

The boys have been eagerly compiling their Christmas lists, prompted by the instant appearance of Christmas decorations here LAST WEEK! Yes, being not blessed with Thanksgiving, or of course freedom, the French seem to go straight from Toussaint (Halloween) to Christmas prep. Yikes.

I know that apart from figuring out what to get, figuring out how to get it here is an issue. Here are some ideas. I know that Amazon UK and LEGO France both ship here for relatively cheap - for Amazon in particular you can look up a book or DVD or whatever on their main site, then flip over to Amazon UK to order. Also, there are a couple of good stores here where you could get a gift certificate, or even just order something, though you'd pay in Euros and the exchange rate is tough (1€ = $1.28 today). These are excellent science, book, and electronics stores. Last, if you have something small and light, Betsy will be in the U.S. from November 24th to December 5th. You could send it to her mom in Baltimore and she could schlep it back, so be kind and let us know if you want to do this.

You know that the best gift would be you saving your Euros to come visit us! That said, here are the boys' lists, with my notes in parentheses.

Carter

1. Sky rail (I think this is it)
2. Lightsaber (I told him I'd never ever buy him a sword or gun, so please don't.)
3. Lord of the Rings movies (Think Cath's getting this)
4. Star Wars legos (very expensive shipping from the SW site though)
5. Harry Potter books (Betsy's going to bring some back so hold off)
6. Star Wars episodes 2 & 3 (widescreen please)
7. New bike (we'll handle this one)
8. Cats & Dogs the movie (I think we have it already, so don't)
9. Transformer X-Wing (see here)
10. Remote control boat

Calvin - Tell me if you can find a theme in these. I think I see it, and I'm pretty sure that anything along the theme would be fine with him.

1. Toy motorcycle
2. Toy cars
3. Remote control R2-D2 (like these, apparently rare but I've seen it here)
4. Books
5. Hot Wheels race track
6. Remote control car
7. Robot