Play-Doh Burger Builder

It's Back-to-School for kids, but that doesn't mean parents have to put the Play-Doh away. It makes a great afterschool activity for little kids -- but guess what? My big kids love it too! So far I've reviewed the Play-Doh Magic Swirl Ice Cream Shoppe and the Play-Doh Spaghetti Factory. And with the return of the Play-Doh Burger Builder for Fall 2009, our food court is complete! We were sent a Burger Builder playset to review, and we put it to good use while my sister and her kids stayed with us for a short visit.

The Basics
The Play-Doh Burger Builder set has everything kids need to set up a great pretend hamburger stand! It has 3 mold pressers with interchangeable molds so that kids can make Play-Doh tomatoes, lettuce, buns and more. It also comes with an extruder, a "Twist-a-Chip" tool for cranking out potato chips and pickles, and 5 2-ounce cans of Play-Doh. It's available at a retail price of $14.99 at most major toy retailers nationwide, and online at HasbroToyShop.com.
The Bongga
This Play-Doh set is sooo much fun -- we had an older version of the Burger Builder when I was a kid so I have great memories of making Play-Doh burgers too! This new, updated version goes one better with the addition of the Twist-a-Chip Super Tool. It's like an extruder with a crank handle -- you pop in the Play-Dough, screw in the top, turn the crank handle, and out come Play-Doh potato chips or pickle chips! And after the kids move on to something else, I really appreciate the fact that the set is not too bulky, so it's easy to put into a bin for storage.

By the way, the age recommendation says "Ages 3 & up", which usually means that 2 and 3 year olds like the toy. But not with Play-Doh! You're never too old to play with Play-Doh -- even my nine-year-old nephew loves it! Check it out: six children (one's not in the photo) between the ages of five and nine, completely absorbed in restaurant pretend play. They're all busy molding and rolling and extruding Play-Doh to make enough goodies to feed an army. Do you know what kind of bliss that is for my sister and I??

The Blah
Not much to complain about here -- other than my usual cleaning-up-PlayDoh-bits-stresses-me-out line. But I'm trying to get past that and into a zen place where stuff like that doesn't bother me. Lighten up, bonggamom! It's just a little vacuuming up, right, and I'm grateful that Play-Doh can still occupy my kids for such a long time....ohmmmmmmm...

The Bottom Line
The Play-Doh Burger Builder is a classic toy that has stood the test of time!

I received a product sample for this post, but no monetary compensation. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.