Creating a moment with my girls (on accident)
Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010I was getting ready for a trade show (national conference for company-’some’ details later) and I was looking for ways to get people’s attention. I am not the traditional salesperson. I do NOT like cold calls or walking up to someone and pitching my products to them. It is not in my nature. But on the other hand, I REALLY need to tell people about theCRICKETtoy® at this conference. If I can create a unique enough moment/experience at my table/booth, then the people come to me. It is very natural for me to talk about theCRICKETtoy® when people walk up and say “What on earth is this?” That’s where the fun begins. Awkward pauses, crickets chirping, chirp. chirp. All of that is simple and fun. Face it, I’m an ‘almost’ 40-year old man with an awesomely supportive wife that has invented a fun, silly gadget. It’s absolutely fun!
I have been reading Buzzmarketing by Mark Hughes (link below) and I started trying to think of creative ways to get people’s attention and have them come to my booth. Then it hit me! What if Calvin (theCRICKETtoy® mascot) handed out chocolate covered crickets at the table? I bet that would get people’s attention. Chirp. Chirp.
I started googling chocolate covered crickets and discovered they were fairly expensive ($1.50-2.25 each w/shipping). There would be 250 or so folks walking by the booth and I just didn’t know how many to buy. So…genius inventor/entrepreneur here thought, “I bet I could make them myself.” Chirp. Chirp. again
After then googling how to make them, I decided to go to the Pet Store and buy a bunch of crickets and make them myself. I told my girls Karis(7) and Dakota(4) about the idea and they thought I was crazy. That confirmed I was right. I jokingly asked if they wanted to go with me, and thus begin the unplanned moment with my girls.
We go to the Pet Store and buy 30 crickets to try out the process. I didn’t but 200 at first, just in case this wasn’t a completely genius plan. Chirp. Chirp. yet again.
Here’s the recipe:
Wash crickets. I used a colander with plastic wrap over top.
Put crickets in ziplock back and put in freezer. Karis did this. She loved it. She did say goodbye to them. She was smiling the entire time.
Take crickets out of freezer (at least 15 minutes in there) and then wash them off again. Dakota turned the water on and washed them off. NO, they did not wake up for those wondering about cyrogenic freezing.
Put them on a new cookie sheet you just bought because your wife says “OK, you can do this, but you are NOT using my good cookie sheet!”
After preheating oven to 250 degrees, cook them until crunchy. It ended up taking me 34 minutes to have them really crunchy.
Open oven. Try not to throw-up. You are probably not ready for the smell of cooked crickets.
Melt baker’s chocolate/almond bark etc and dip crickets in chocolate.
Let them dry on wax paper.
I’ve included photos throughout the process for you to see some smiles and the girls being a part of this. I really did NOT think they’d want to do this. Mommy came downstairs (she was upstairs avoiding the smell of cooked crickets) and said “What is all this laughing?”. All three of us couldn’t stop giggling. It was so much fun. They created an assembly line where Dakota took them off the newly purchased, cooled, cricket sheet (not mom’s cookie sheet) and dropped them in the chocolate. I covered them/dunked them. Karis used 2 coffee stirrers as chopsticks and took them out and put them on the wax paper.
The chocolate has dried and I look over and Dakota has picked up one of the crickets and pinched off a piece and puts it in her mouth. I tell her to wait as I grab for the camera and try and get her picture taking the 2nd little pinched bite. She, without ANY prompting from me, then takes a huge bite. I’m in awe. She says to big sister, “It’s not bad. It’s just kind of crunchy.” She then puts the rest of it in her mouth. I had NO plans of making them eat crickets. Not at all. I couldn’t believe the first person to eat one was my daughter. At that point, I realize “Crud..Now I HAVE to eat one.” I do. Karis takes the photos and they both giggle at Daddy eating a cricket and then making a face as he reaches for a glass of water.
Crickets are eaten around the world and serve as a higher source of protein/lower fat than red meat.
I’m not saying we’re adding them to Tuesday Taco Night. Not going to happen. I’m just sayin’.
What started as a fun idea to attract attention to our booth (which it did-details coming), became a moment with my girls that none of us will forget. I can’t describe how loud the giggling was throughout the entire process. I had to ’shoosh’ them a couple times so they wouldn’t wake up baby brother upstairs. If the promotional idea didn’t work, I had decided it was absolutely worth it as my daughters and I had a moment that we will talk about for the rest of their lives. Seeing Daddy try out an idea. Chase his dreams. Have a crazy scheme. Clean, freeze, cook and cover crickets and laugh out loud with my daughters. Absolutely priceless!
I am NOT advocating making chocolate covered crickets with your children, but if that’s what it takes to make a moment with them, it is a NO-BRAINER!
Chirp. Chirp.
THIS created a moment with my girls that last forever!
