Veggie Tales Teaches A Lesson About Clutter

Since my niece and nephew were born, I've had the opportunity to babysit and I've fallen in love with Veggie Tales! Yesterday, Christmas Boy and I were staying with the kids and before bed, we watched a half-hour Veggie Tales video about Madame Blueberry who was apparently, a very blue berry.

She was sad because the things in her home weren't as nice as the things her neighbors had and she was convinced that having more and better things would make her happy. As she was lamenting her sad state, three representatives from the new retailer (Stuff Mart) down the street showed up at her house to entice her to buy more stuff. Being a very blue berry in search of happiness, off she went!

On the walk to Stuff Mart, she passed a little girl whose...

family didn't have nearly as much as Madame Blueberry had, yet they were all happy and thankful. This confused Madame Blueberry. How could this little girl's family be so happy when they had so little? Undeterred by her confusion, and excited by the prospect of buying everything that would finally make her happy, she continued on to find out what Stuff Mart had in store.

Madame Blueberry found Stuff Mart to be everything she had hoped! It was filled to the rafters with
all manner of stuff, stuff and more stuff! She went on a major spending spree, arranging for all her new items to be delivered to her house so she could continue to shop. During her spree, she came upon a young boy in the toy aisle whose father had denied him a new train, but instead bought him a simple red ball. Despite his disappointment, the boy was thankful for the ball and for his father's love. Madame Blueberry was again confused.

Like the little girl earlier, this little boy, who obviously didn't have everything he wanted, was still  happy and thankful. In a flash, she realized that it wasn't things that would make her happy, but rather the key to happiness is a thankful heart. She realized that happiness is a choice and acquiring more stuff isn't the secret to happiness, no matter what the Stuff Mart people claimed.  Unfortunately, she realized it too late to save her home.

You see, all the stuff Madame Blueberry bought at Stuff Mart and had delivered to her home was so heavy that it made her house fall out of the tree, (did I mention she lives in a beautiful treehouse?) destroying not only the house but all her new stuff too. In the end, she had to rebuild and start over, but she chose to be thankful for her good friends and other good things in her life, and she resolved never to make the mistake of thinking that more stuff would make her happy.

Remember, no matter what the Stuff Mart guys say, happiness doesn't wait at Stuff Mart.

The End.

Comments

[amber]

i LOVE this story. i will have to tag this for my niece :-)

[Monica Ricci]

Amber, if you don't know Veggie Tales yet, be warned: they are FABULOUS and addictive and incredibly creative. I think you'll love them.
~Monica

[Tami Gallagher]

This is awesome - thank you for this post! My kids are beyond VeggieTales age now, so I hadn't seen this episode. I love it! And the rap had me grinning from ear to ear. I think it's great people are finally realizing we need less and we need to teach (and role model) this to young kids! I will definitely be recommending this to my clients with wee-ones. 3 cheers for VeggieTales!

[Jon King]

Great post and lesson. One all to often forget. As I occasionally study European cultures and lifestyles, this story leaves me wondering if the is a good summary of the "American Consumerism" dilemma. The nice thing about the Veggie Tales series is that they present faith based concepts in a non-threatening way. Thanks for sharing.

[Jacki Hollywood Brown]

Hey Monica,
I just LOVE Veggie Tales. I will have to get the Madame Blueberry episode.
We watch the Toy that Saved Christmas all year long too.

[Tanna]

I must pick this one up for the kids. I love finding resources to teach the little ones about clutter. Thanks so much!

[Monica Ricci]

Jon, Jacki and Tanna, thanks for your terrific comments and for sharing your thoughts!
~Monica

[mercurial scribe]

I don't have kids yet, but I own many Veggie Tale videos for the simple fact that they contain these little nuggets of wisdom and present them without condemnation.

And the catchy little songs help. :-)

[Monica Ricci]

MercurialScribe, thanks for your comment! I agree with what you wrote, however I admit that I also love Veggie Tales because they're just plain HILARIOUS.
~Monica