Tag Archives: Playmobil

Candy Tu B’Shevat

Posted on 02/02/2012 by | 2 Comments

Hadassah Barbie, Tefillin Barbie's Bubbe, circa 1958

Please read the full article: Tu Bishvat in Candy Land at Kveller.com.

At Kveller, I shared my take on Edible Dirt for Tu B’Shevat, plus some ideas on how to use fruit-shaped candies.

Runts and Nitwitz are colorful, fake-fruit sugar bombs that my kids like to play with more than they like to eat.  And they are quite fetching as proportionally-sized tree fruits for Playmobil and Barbie festivities.

Fruit Shakers are bigger (see the picture), and are actually gumballs filled with tiny, rattling, candy “seeds.” Of course, I plant these seeds in the Edible Dirt…  But you’ll see all that in the article. This post is just an excuse Continue reading →

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Posted in Tu B'Shevat

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Mini Lulav and Etrog for a Tabletop Sukkah

Posted on 10/10/2011 by | Leave a comment

Lulav lesson

Our action figures now have a model sukkah well-appointed for hospitable gatherings.  Actually, we have several, because it’s hard to stop once we start. Yesterday’s post tried to outline a classic craft: the tabletop or model sukkah made from tissue boxes and shoe boxes, plus some ideas for free-builds using Legos, Lincoln Logs and other construction toys.

Lulav and etrog, polymer clay. The pitom is a broom straw

Here is the lulav and etrog, sized for Playmobil and Duplo folk.  They dwarf our Lego mini figs, but we use them anyway. Like the challah, apple slices and shofar assortment from Rosh Hashanah, I made them from polymer clay.

The etrog (citron) has a broom-straw pitom (stem). Lots of funky rules and folk wisdom about that pitom, by the way.

The lulav: palm frond in the middle, 3 myrtle branches on the right, 2 willow branches on the left, resting in a woven palm frond holder.  I did have the Continue reading →

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Posted in Activity, Crafts, Jewish Toys, Sukkot

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Rosh Hashanah for Lego and Playmobil figures: not a how-to, but a Why

Posted on 09/25/2011 by | 4 Comments

Playmobil Rosh Hashanah: clay Yemenite kudu shofar, ram shofar, round raisin challah, apple slices

This site is about kids and parents spending Jewish time together making stuff that is fun, cute (kitschy counts as cute), cheap, and most of the time, functional.  I aim for kid-centric.  I like to help enable even toddlers to participate in holiday prep.

But making Jewish holiday accoutrements for Lego and Playmobil figures out of polymer clay, I admit, comes close to crossing a line. My preschooler can do little more than make freeform shapes and blobby ovoids, and when presented with more than one color of clay will gleefully end up with gradations of grey.  Still, because scale and verisimilitude have not really occurred to him yet, he has a great time “making useful things” for his figurines.

Relativity: Playmobil, Duplo and Lego

Scale and verisimilitude is my dealie. Whilst the child next to me has fun rolling and smashing and pinching and blending, I get to make miniature accessories to outfit three communities of toys in our home: Duplo, Lego and Playmobil. And of course, they all celebrate the Jewish holidays.

One more note in my defense: this stuff is fun for older kids, too. Even surly preteens Continue reading →

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Posted in Activity, Crafts, Jewish Toys, Rosh Hashanah / Yom Kippur

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Making Toys Jewish

Posted on 05/06/2011 by | 5 Comments

Dollhouse Purim teaparty

Kveller.com published my article on Converting Toys to Judaism.  Do please read it at Kveller.com and leave a comment if you have ideas to share.

What does converting toys mean, exactly?  It means we can use all the toys we already have, Jewishly.  From Lego to play kitchens to Barbies to bath toys.

Here are a few more ideas and pictures I couldn’t include in the article, plus a few quotes.

“A Jewish toy is a toy that can accessorize a Jewish story.”

Torah and Bible stories, midrashim, folktales, holiday stories and the latest PJ Library selection can all be re-enacted or embellished Continue reading →

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Posted in Jewish Identity, Jewish parenting, Jewish Toys

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