Did you know that Cyber Monday began as a marketing campaign, and was—initially, anyway—a hoax? There was no evidence to suggest that people did any more online shopping the Monday after Thanksgiving than at any other time. But it has since become the very definition of a self-fulfilling prophecy, and now e-tailers everywhere gear up for a flurry of fingers shop-shop-shopping on this famous Monday.

Ready for a sneak peak at Monday’s deals? Read on to find out how planning ahead can score you some big bargain’s during Ty’s Cyber Monday Sale:

• Bob the Builder Talkie TC Scrambler — $22.99
• Thomas Around the Tree Playset — $34.99
• Barney Let’s Go Laptop — $14.99
• Cars Mega Garage and Car Wash — $59.99
• Land Before Time 4-Movie Dino Pack, Vol. 2 — $24.99
• Curious George Jack-in-the-Box — $14.99
• Assorted Teletubbies Costumes — $14.99 apiece
• Assorted 3-Piece Strawberry Shortcake Outfits — $24.99 apiece
• Ship 6 of the most popular Doodlebops toys for just a penny
• Ship all items in the Ty’s Holiday Shoppe for just a penny

(Free domestic shipping for orders over $65, or a $10 shipping credit if you’re ordering internationally is still in effect, by the way.)

Not too bad for a special sale day that didn’t even exist a few years ago, right?

Long ago and far away, I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. She was just perfect. I may have been a wee bit biased, being her mom and all, but I was sure I’d gotten the very best one. And even though she rarely slept or let me put her down, I was well and fully smitten.

As time went on, she grew into a toddler and was still what the developmental specialists like to refer to as “high needs.” This is code for “demanding.” Oh, don’t misunderstand—I still thought she was perfect, honest—but I was perhaps a bit weary of, say, never being able to put her down without her shrieking in indignation. This tended to interfere with things like eating. And showering. And staying sane.

And so despite my idealistic pre-parenthood conviction that television was probably bad and wrong for little kids, I found myself trying to engage her in Sesame Street. “Look, honey!” I would crow, “it’s Big Bird! You should look at him while I eat this bagel!”

No dice. As a young toddler she was completely uninterested in the television, no matter what I put on for her…

… until the day that we discovered Teletubbies. “BABY!” shrieked my daughter, pointing at the screen with glee. (If you’re one of the twelve people on the planet who has never seen Teletubbies, it opens and closes with a baby’s face inside a sun which is rising or setting, accordingly.) I feared that once the baby gave way to the Teletubbies themselves she would be less enthralled, but she spent the entire show enraptured. She could say Tinky Winky before she could say cracker. I’m not sure what that says about me, frankly, but I can tell you that I’m a much nicer person when I’ve had the chance to shower.

Anyway, as I was saying—the Teletubbies Store at Ty’s just opened, and it’s full of all all the kinds of DVDs that will allow you to have a cup of coffee unhindered. I mean, that will be educational for your baby. Listen, this year marks the 10th anniversary of the Teletubbies; they must be doing something right. Their website talks in specific about the developmental benefits for your child, but I always like to hear the Real Parent perspective, myself. My perspective is that this show meets the two all-important criteria for toddler TV: 1) It’s fun for them and 2) doesn’t make me want to pluck out my own eyeballs.

I sort of miss those days of being able to guarantee myself fifteen uninterrupted minutes. Alas.