Great Toys #1: Play Doh

As a kid, I remember spending many hours playing with Play Doh.  Sadly, I had totally forgotten about this toy -- until I spotted a ton of Play Doh at the Rockridge Kids toy store in Oakland.

Play Doh is fun.  It is creative.  It lets your kid get messy, but not TOO messy.  It teaches about color-blending (blue + yellow = green VERY quickly).  

And it isn't very expensive.  In fact, you can make a version of the stuff using household ingredients (though the home-made version never quite seems to have the same nice texture that the real Play Doh made by Hasbro has).  

I especially like the "Fun Factory" Play Doh set.  You stuff Play Doh into this plastic contraption.  You fit a shape on the end of it (a star, a series of circles, etc).  And then you press down on a plastic handle, squishing the Play Doh out the end of the contraption through the shape.

I have fond memories of my "Fun Factory" from when I was a kid.  I also remember applying too much pressure to the thing around the time I was 9 or 10 years old, busting it forever.  

But now I get to re-live it again with my 3-year old.  It is great.  We play with it together.  And we've made some fun stuff.  Here's one of our first creations:

You can buy Play Doh related stuff online from Hasbro.  But, since no one is paying us, we'd just as soon you support your local toy store or hobby shop if they sell it.  

--TC Daddy