This holiday season New Yorkers are saying goodbye to a very special part of their childhood. The most famous toy store in New York City, FAO Schwarz on 5th Avenue, is going out of business. The store gained national fame when it appeared in the film Big, and Tom Hanks played the giant ground piano in the store. FAO Schwarz is a playground rising three stories high, an interactive fantasy world for children and their parents.

When you enter the store stuffed animals from the floor to the ceiling greet you, then whole sections are dedicated to children’s worlds like G.I. Joe, Barbie, Willy Wonka, World of Magic, The Cat in the Hat, Scooby Doo, Harry Potter and the not forgotten Madeline. But while Americans went to FAO Schwarz for adventure, they would actually buy their toys at discount stores such as Walmart. Despite its high prices, FAO Scwharz allowed everyone to enter its doors and at least look and feel, even if you couldn’t afford the goodies. It gained a special place on the tourist route in New York City.

On December 22, I visited FAO Schwarz, waiting in the entrance line to take in a last peak at this children’s world. Sales drew in the crowds. The trip overwhelmed me with the growing consumerism for children. I remember when I was a child (20 years ago) my favorite toy was something called “Sit and Spin.” You sat on a disk, held onto a horizontal wheel situated in the middle of the disk and span yourself around in a circle until you wanted to vomit. This was cool. I was not one for Barbie, but I saw that Barbie, despite all the sociological studies pummeled against her, is still very popular in her regal corner at FAO Schwarz. A favorite doll for Christmas this year is the Barbie of Swan Lake. The Barbie web site, geared for children, rates this doll as a “Must Have.” The popular toy store chain in America, Toys “R” Us, sells the doll for $16.99. The web site tells me that some people who bought the doll also bought “Barbie Think Pink Learning Notepad (an interactive children’s computer) for $49.99. Two toys and almost seventy dollars spent.

Barbie does have a new rival. The Bratz dolls wear cooler and hipper clothes than Barbie. The Lil’ Bratz Delux Fashion Mall Playset with Exlusive Nevra Doll costs $59.99 at Amazon.com.

It appears that the fuzzy, fluffy and furry things at FAO Schwarz are losing out to high tech children’s toys, which you can all buy online because their hard plastic corners aren’t worth a trip into the city. Here are a few items that are going to be popular under American Christmas trees this year. 1) The Gameboy advance SP Cobolt by Nintendo for $99.99. 2) Playstation II from Amazon.com $180.00. 3) A new Playstation game, called Socom II: US Navy Seals, which warns of violence and blood, and carries the following official description:

“The world’s terrorists have targeted America and her allies. As an elite SEAL commander, your team’s orders are simple - strike targets of importance within 12 intense international missions quietly and successfully - and protect freedom across the globe. Utilizing the best weaponry, technology and training available, accept no outcome but victory.”

So our youngsters are rearing up for war at ages earlier than ever before. That is not all. American babies are now listening to Shakespeare and classical music in America, in order to develop into geniuses before they attend kindergarten. One of the popular chains of toys is called Baby Einstein, whose videos and books supposedly make your kids smarter than the kids of your neighbors. People with babies say the videos really work, that children stay transfixed on the TV screen for hours on end and therefore give the parents long breaks from crying. The Baby Shakespeare VHS Combo sells for $32.98.

From the crowds of people shopping in New York City on December 22, it did not appear that the threat of a terrorist attack or the country’s higher unemployment rate were keeping people out of the stores. Christmas in America (putting the religious meaning aside) is a time for spoiling your children, feeding into the greatest marketing campaigns for toys, and combating the stress that goes along with “I want” and “I have to get.” It is also a time to perhaps reflect on how we are shaping the world of children with the gifts we give them. FAO Schwarz was a wonderful store, because you didn’t have to buy when you entered their doors. You only had to imagine, and this alone had kids leaving the store with smiles. But unfortunately, sparking children’s imaginations alone couldn’t keep FAO Schwarz afloat.