Fun for the whole family

Need a gift idea for, oh, anybody? You might want to consider a little Play-Doh.

Abby received a big bag of play-doh and accessories for Christmas and has spent about one-third of her waking hours molding, rolling and shaping the stuff ever since. Justin, I've learned, can make anything from houses to 3-dimensional ducks out of the stuff, while I'm better at rolling and pressing flat shapes like stars and squares. Grandparents have come and gone from our house, and none has escaped being coaxed into one of these little chairs to play alongside their adorable granddaughter. Papa may have set the record for time spent on this activity, spending a full 15 minutes cutting out little green sharks by himself after Abby moved on to something else. (To his credit, his tower of sharks was pretty impressive to kids and adults alike.)

Caleb has tried desperately to play as well, but only seemed interested in eating the stuff. So while big sister played, I spent my time taking play-doh out of his hands and mouth and teaching him to take the lid on and off the container instead. This held his interest for about a month, until one day, something clicked.

Now, he plays happily across from his sister at this little table that my mom saved from my days of kiddie crafts. Only occasionally do I catch him popping tiny scraps of play-doh into his mouth when he thinks no one's looking. Abby helps by reporting back to me, loudly, whenever Caleb breaks the all-important we-don't-put-things-that-aren't-food-in-our-mouths rule: "Caleb's not supposed to be eating that blue play-doh, mommy. Caleb's need a time out."

What would I do without her?