...YOU CAN'T ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU WANT

Parents frantically and fruitlessly searching for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and Talkboys and Water Babies may want to take a second look at what their children need for Christmas.

Paul Schniedermeyer, director of children and family services at Community Counseling Center, said, "From a parent's point of view, I'm expected to provide everything my child wants. We feel we are governed by what our child wants."

But he said what children really need is a parent who is involved and caring.

"The key thing at this time of year is togetherness and caring," said Schniedermeyer.

"When giving something, make it something the parent and child can do together, something like a set of Legos. When a parent buys the doll that didn't have the special feature the child wanted, if the parent plays with the child, that adds to the specialty of the toy."

Schniedermeyer said depending on the age of the child, parents may want to tell the truth about an unfulfilled wish, or say that Santa ran out. "A lot of times in life we have got to deal with disappointment," he said.

Another possibility is to tell children that while Santa delivers gifts, parents pay for them.

"That's a plausible explanation if they have been good and still didn't get everything they wanted. Of if the kids next door got lots and lots of toys.

"It's difficult keep the spirit of the season with our free market. Retail trade makes about 50 percent of its profit during this season," said Schniedermeyer. "But it might be nice to try some combination of gifts and family activities."

Parents do their best to locate those hard-to-find items but may not have much luck.

Kmart assistant manager Jim Furey, who is in charge of merchandising for the store, said every year hot toy items sell out early.

"Power Rangers -- there's an item that we could have sold a thousand," Furey said. "We had, at the most, 144.

"The popular items don't hit until late," Furey said. And late is often too late. Many popular toys sold out at Thanksgiving.

"If we don't have it right now, probably we are not going to get it," he said. "But occasionally we do have a surprise. An order can come UPS on the 23rd or the 24th."

Check back, he recommended.

Lonnie Lusk, support manager at Wal-Mart, said Sunday that while the toy aisles are full, not everything remains in stock.

"I'd be way less than honest if I said we didn't run out of anything because we do -- just like everyone else. We will get shipments this week," Lusk said. "We have one or two trucks come every night just in general merchandise. You never know."