The post-holiday scene…

… a wall-to-wall carpet of puzzle pieces; Lincoln Logs; Megablocks; Wedgits; Monster Puppet googly eyes and fuzzy noses; Mr. Potato Head body parts; Dominos; Legos; princess dresses, shoes and tiaras; dollhouse, barn and castle accessories; dress-up jewels; Barbie torsos with no appendages.

From beneath the rubble, a tiny hand emerges with the remote control. It takes aim at the TV and fires.

The gift-unwrapping, box-ripping, tie-cutting, game-assembling, battery-inserting frenzy draws to another anticlimactic end.