How to Play Barbies

Apology: No, I don’t know why all the Barbies in our house are always topless; please excuse them.

Listen, I don’t care if this is silly because there IS a right way to play Barbies. Believe me, we spend a couple hours every day having fun together with these silly toys. When I moved away from the family I was nannying for back East, a couple weeks later I received an email from the mother: “Vanessa, please explain to me how to play Barbies! I am getting a complex. Sophie keeps telling me I am doing it wrong! How do you play Barbies?”

So here is my official list of tips on how to successfully play Barbies:

#1 Ignore the phone; ignore the to-do list; ignore anyone coming to the door; ignore anything else important.

#2 Find a comfy place (e.g., blankets and pillow on the floor, bunk beds, soft couches).

#3 Find ALL your Barbie clothes, accessories and parts so you can just have fun.

#4 Have a “theme” or storyline. This way everyone can really get into it and be imaginative. Are they cooking banana pancakes, sitting at the dock of the bay, going on errands, having a fashion show, interviewing eachother, dancing up a storm?

#5 Music always makes the stories more fun; get your iPod and play everyone’s favorite songs.

#6 Invite Dad to play along because he has a pretty awesome voice for Ariel.

#7 Pretend like you are six years old and remember the part I said about ignoring everything else.

See? IT’S A LOT OF FUN!

Tags: family time, having fun, letting go

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