YEP … She Did!

Did she just say that?

One of my favorite things to make/put together for my grands… Playdoh Kits!

I’ve been making them for occasions for years. My grands seem to have loads of fun using their imagination. Kids of all ages love Playdoh. It combines creativity with fine motor coordination and open-ended play. I love watching/assisting and … listening! Hearing their little minds tumble out in words is precious to me.

By the way, to keep the dough in check, my grands play with it on a cookie sheet or jelly pan to help them learn limits, saving carpets, furniture, etc. 😉

You can choose any theme appropriate. I’ve made lots of kinds: construction, robots, space, penguins, Christmas Tree, Word Party, Moana, etc. You can buy them online now, but when I first started, I didn’t see them for sale!

This year, I made a Nativity and another Christmas Tree Decorate Playdoh Kit for the grands to play with during the holidays. I also made them for a school gift giving program.

Over Thanksgiving, my two-year-old granddaughter and I broke them out and had a couple hours of fun.

The word “Nativity” really meant nothing to her. I played along, building a rugged stable, placing characters and explaining to her who they were. We put the star up and the Wisemen traveled from across the table. Boy, were they tired when they arrived. We had to make sleeping mats and Goldie insisted they needed pillows. “Pillows, coming up!”. We even put Mary and Jesus to bed. Jesus was already secure in his manger.

At a designated time, they woke up, and were famished. Goldie decided they needed pancakes; little round circles were served. She makes pancakes at home with Daddy on weekends with chocolate chips. Every traveler needs a drink. Little cups joined the assembly line. She nourished them well.

The characters I purchased were small finger puppets, so we put them on our fingers and had conversations. Then, I told her the Wisemen/Kings brought baby Jesus gifts: which were represented in the kit by plastic gold coins, little wrapped gifts and some blue stones. Opening the kit, she spotted the gold coins first thing.

During play, when it was time to present the gifts, her words rang loud and clear….

I said, “The wisemen gave Jesus gold…” gesturing by laying a plastic gold coin in front of
the manger.

Quicker than a blink, she snatched that coin, saying,

“NO, no gold for Jesus. That’s MY MONEY!!”

She was staunchly serious. She was not giving me anymore access to the coins!!! She hid them on her chair.

Of course, I wanted to burst out in laughter, but responded with a snicker.

I teased, “Can’t we give Jesus some gold?”

She retorted, “NOPE, NO GOLD FOR JESUS! It’s MY money!”

I appreciated her sincerity and resolve at 2 1/2. She has a mind, she decided, and was sticking to it!

We had tons more fun, but wow, her words have stuck with me!

I love the innocence of children. They say what adults keep inside hoping no one finds out! She came straight out without embarrassment or social correctness. She let her feelings be known!

I wonder how many of us might feel the same way … I can give Jesus lots of things, but when it comes to money or what I hold dearest, I find it so hard to loosen my grip and lay it down in front of him. I hold them tight and close, thinking, perhaps, their preciousness is not safe laid down in front of Him. Maybe I think I treasure them more.

I hope I have the chance to teach her as she gets older that “Her Money” is safe in Jesus’ keeping, so is her heart/life!

We’re starting at the beginning. He came as a baby; we’re celebrating His birthday, so we exchange gifts and give Him gifts! And, having tons of fun doing it!

Thanks Goldie-girl for teaching me along the way!

What’s one of your favorite gifts to give?

In case anyone wants to know, the Nativity characters came from Oriental Trading😉

Child taught,