So, one of the joys of having a little child is that you can watch Disney movies for hours and hours on end. And I mean hours. Bambi was a recent favourite, though we have to fast forward the bit where Bambi’s Mum ‘goes’ and the whole second half of the movie when Bambi and his chums become old. Apparently, babies are best.

My daughter is also obsessed with her toys coming to life, which made Toy Story an obvious purchase. Bought last week, both Toy Story and Toy Story 2 have now been watched within an inch of their digital lives. The second film – in case you’ve forgotten – is a morality tale (what else? After all, it is Disney) about grown ups collecting toys, when they should really be played with by kids.

So, we’ve loved the films and the characters, such as those cool, green aliens that go ‘Oooooh’. My wife remembered we had one of the little aliens upstairs. Even better, the alien key ring was still in its packaging. Which meant I was able to pass it off to my daughter as a ‘new toy’, rather than a piece of tat I’d forgotten that was stuck at the bottom of the wardrobe.

First, it seems weird that I’d kept the toy in the packaging. Was I keeping it fresh to auction at some later date? No, I’d simply bought it in the US and lobbed it in the wardrobe. As I said, I’d forgotten about it – honestly.

So, I gave the toy to my daughter. And then the obvious thought entered my head: was my packaged alien key ring actually worth something? After she tore open the packaging, I checked eBay and found stacks of ‘pristine’ collectables for sale. Err, great. But isn’t that slightly crap?

And even worse, I bought both DVDs – because they were cheaper in this form – in a ‘Collectors’ Special Edition’ box. Which is even more ironic, seeing as the makers of the film have endorsed the ‘collectability’.

Toy Story 3 is out next year, which is great. So, expect more collectables and limited edition Buzz Lightyears. And as my daugther said to her Mummy just three minutes ago: “When’s Christmas?”

Hey, now that’s irony. And the key ring is worthless, by the way.