Actually, it turns out that even big kids like those boxes.
Today the kids invited some friends over for the afternoon for a special sort of playdate. I had been given a boxload of Zhu Zhu pet hamsters and playsets by Mom Select, so the kids and I set out to throw a fun Hamster Pet Party with creative crafts, fun activities and yummy food.
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Earlier in the week I had made a hamster maze out of some cardboard boxes because I was afraid that the hamster run would get way too crowded with so many excited kids. I thought it would be good to have an alternative (albeit uglier) place for the kids to put their hamsters in, to minimize the pushing, shoving, and "So-and-so's hogging the hamster wheel!". My kids got in on the fun -- 3Po and Jammy constructed a hamster skate park, and The Pea made a fun house with a bouncy house, styrofoam chip pit, and fashion runway.
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The extra hamster runs were a great idea, if I do say so myself; the kids loved our homemade structures and played with them just as much as -- okay, maybe a bit less than -- the real Zhu Zhu hamster run.
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And a funny thing happened on the way to the hamster wheel. Once everyone tired of the hamster runs, they looked at our homemade cardboard structures and got inspired to create their own. I had to keep going back to the recycling bin to dig out cardboard box after cardboard box. Armed with boxes, scissors, masking tape, markers and stickers, the kids made hamster bedrooms, houses, apartment complexes, subway trains and airplanes.
The cardboard boxes were the hit of the party. It didn't matter that their creations didn't look as perfect as the Zhu Zhu hamster run, that masking tape was sticking up everywhere, that their buildings had shipping labels and pictures of granola bars and yogurt tubes and cereal on them. In an age filled with electronic toys, it was heart-warming to see a bunch of children spend the whole afternoon playing with cardboard boxes!
My only problem now is what to do with the cardboard metropolis, a.k.a. Hamsterville, that's sitting in my back yard.
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2 comments:
These pets are amazing, i got mine from http://www.smarthamsterpets.com
there are a ton of other stores that have them cheap as well... good luck playing with yours
Great toys, our kids love them. We found them fairly priced on http://www.bestzhuzhupets.com
They'll be tough to find in December.
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