Posts Tagged ‘open-ended toy’

How to Set Up an Awesome Doll House

Tuesday, December 14th, 2010

doll-house

When I was pregnant with my third son, I saw an unfinished doll house at a yard sale. The owners kept going down in their price until they were willing to sell it for $7. I thought that if I ever had a daughter, I would kick myself for passing up this deal, so I bought it. I stored it under the stairs for five years until my daughter was 3 years old. I painted the whole thing an off-white, so that she could play with it right away.

doll-house-living-room

I looked for doll furniture, and my favorite set was Melissa and Doug, although I have to say that as cute as the furniture is, it breaks easily. For example, the refrigerator broke on the first day, and my husband looked at the tiny pin that had come out and said that it could have been constructed better. I love the furniture sets so much, though, that I give them a thumbs up and recommend them for older girls, maybe ages 6 and up.

I gave my daughter one furniture set for each birthday and Christmas, and my mother did the same. When I bought them, they were $20 per room for furniture, and $15 per room for accessories. The accessories are so super cute!! For example, the silverware and plates are real metal, and they are heavy based on their size. They are so well-made that I’m surprised that they are so inexpensive. Yes, oddly, the accessories are more solidly built than the furniture.

doll-house-bedroom

After waiting years to collect the furniture for the different rooms, I was ready to make the doll house look more realistic. I started by painting each room to color-coordinate with the furniture I already had. For those of you who like interior decorating, making these rooms look realistic was so fun! (Painting the red wall 4 times was tedious, though, since the paint looked streaked until the 4th coat.)

I chose fabric that looked good for the curtains. I ran thread through the top of the curtain to scrunch it up. Then I ran a line of hot glue above the window. I glued the curtain straight onto the wall above the window opening. It looked really good. I also made a bedspread for the bed that matched the wall and curtains.

doll-house-kitchen

Oh, I forgot to mention the floors. I did those after painting the walls, before “hanging” the curtains. I asked an architect from my church if he had any leftover scraps that would make a good hardwood floor for a doll house. Sure enough, he did. I used wood glue to attach each plank to the floor. This was tedious, but I was listening to audios while doing the mindless work, so it wasn’t too bad. After gluing down the wood, I put heavy books on top of it overnight. After letting it dry, I used a clear polyurethane over all the floors to make them shine and seal the wood.

For the bedrooms, I made carpet by getting some cloth and gluing it down with wood glue. Gluing the “carpet” down was easy and fast compared to the wood floors. (Anyone can easily carpet an entire doll house, and it would look quite nice.)

doll-house-bathroom

Growing up as a missionary kid, I never had a doll house as nice as this. I would have loved to have something this spectacular. I did eventually have a doll house that looked like a wagon wheel, but I had to make most of my accessories out of paper. What I like most about my daughter’s doll house is the fact that everything looks realistic, even down to the toilet paper roll!

Top 5 Features of an Ideal Baby Doll

Monday, December 13th, 2010

baby-doll

Growing up, I always enjoyed playing with my baby doll. My daughter also enjoys taking care of her doll, and nurturing characteristics come out of her that are not evident when she plays with her older three brothers. It’s almost like a rehearsal for being a mother.

Top 5 Features of an Ideal Baby Doll

Here are some of my favorite features of an ideal baby doll:

  1. The eyes need to open and close. When you put your baby to bed, she needs to look like she’s asleep.
  2. The ability to sit. The doll’s legs need to bend, so that she can sit on a solid surface without falling over. It’s irritating to have to find something for the doll to lean on because she can’t sit by herself.
  3. The ability to be bathed. Yes, she should be waterproof. None of this soft stuffing material. This way she can have a bubble bath, or even have a separate bath in the sink.
  4. Clothing needs to be available in her size. If you can’t change outfits, it’s not as fun. Of course, if you enjoy sewing, you can sew your own outfits. Otherwise it’s good if the manufacturer makes different outfits. That way the doll can have a fresh look every once in awhile.
  5. It’s nice if the doll is big enough to fit into preemie diapers. Then your daughter can learn to change diapers while she is playing. I loved the ability for my favorite doll to drink water from a bottle and wet her diaper. She seemed so much more real to me. Small cloth diapers would be better, because they can just be dried by the air and re-used a bazillion times.

I am disappointed at the majority of dolls at the toy store, as I was looking for a new doll for my daughter this year. The legs don’t bend, the eyes don’t close, and there is nothing fun about the doll at all. Some even have sound effects – yes — an annoying cry, as if any parent in their right mind would buy that doll!

#6 Magic Trick Set

Friday, December 10th, 2010

magic-trick-set

A magic trick set is a fun gift to get children. All of my kids have enjoyed performing magic acts. Sometimes we perform the magic tricks at a birthday party, and other times we visit the elderly to cheer them up with magic tricks. Here are some tips for your children to have success:

  • If your child is young, read through the instruction book and choose the easiest tricks that your child can’t mess up. Mark those with pencil.
  • Have your child practice the tricks in front of his brothers and sisters. Help him add flair and confidence to his presentation.
  • Get a top hat and cape, if possible.
  • Make sure to have all supplies ready and laid out on a table with a black sheet over it. We like to put the magic tricks in order. Make sure to have at least five tricks to perform.
  • Give lots of applause at the end of the magic show, and have your child bow to the audience.

Hopefully these tips will help you to have success with your kids, performing fun magic tricks!

#7 Blocks

Thursday, December 9th, 2010

blocks

Blocks are one of those timeless toys. Children can create anything with them! For geography, my children have made Stonehenge, the Eiffel Tower, the Parthenon, an amphitheater, and many other structures.

block-parthenon

My children built a birdhouse out of blocks when we were studying birds.

birdhouse-with-blocks

Even though my boys have not seen the Transformer movies, we checked out the cartoons from the video store. My boys are fascinated with how a car can turn into a robot. Transformers didn’t get into the top 10 toys of our home, but they would have been in the top 20 for sure. My kids made a robot that transformed into an airplane. They laid out the robot, then they re-arranged the blocks into an airplane. Hence, it transformed!

block-transformer

One thing about blocks is that they can be combined with other toys for limitless fun. My children particularly like making cities with ramps for little matchbox cars to drive down.

blocks-roadway

Small children can play with blocks, and I’m amazed that my 10 year old still isn’t bored with them. So it has earned place #7 on my countdown of the best open-ended toys ever.

blocks-6blocks-4blocks-3