To Win or Not to Win

It's a TRAP TEAM alright!

I think I am about to do something that will surely come back and bite me in the arse.

One of the boys selected a magazine over the weekend and there was a competition inside.  The sooper dooper whopper prize was a Skylanders something or other.  I’ll admit to not knowing what exactly. 

As soon as he saw it, in his mind he became the winner and began to select which of his brothers, depending on behaviour he considered acceptable, would get to play with his Skylanders sooper dooper whopper prize.

I said nothing. 

There was no point.  Why bring down his tower?  He wouldn’t listen to me in any case.

Monday morning saw him in tears on the chair with his entry form clutched in his hand.  This boy can go from elation to the pits of despair in 0.01 seconds.

On further investigation it emerged it had been pointed out to him that only residents of the UK or Northern Ireland could enter the competition.

Cue upset, devastation and crushing disappointment.

I had initially intended to put the entry form into an envelope and let him believe that I posted it off when he was in school.  Possibly my First Mistake.  When I saw how sad he was I told him we could put his cousins’ address on the entry form as they live in London.  

Possibly my Second Mistake but it cheered him up immediately.  Pushed him right over the euphoric edge actually.

Now he believes he is going to win this damn competition and despite being told three times the closing date is July 1^st, he insists the prize will be arriving to him on that day.  I am under strict instructions not to open it but to hide it until he comes home from school.

The fact that he has completely forgotten he will be on holidays from school is promising.  I am also hoping he will forget about the damn competition altogether.

Is it wrong of me to buy a packet of Skylanders Stickers and send it to him as a consolation prize?

Possibly my Third Mistake.