Wonderland in a Box

Have you ever made toys to play with? Paper boats, dresses for dolls and making a dollhouse from a shoe-box have been my favorite activities during my childhood. I took immense pride in my handiwork. If there was any new dress that I liked on the TV, I made it for my doll. As dollhouses were not easily available those days, I made my own from my father’s Bata shoebox. It not only polished my creative skills, but sparked my imagination too. So much so, all the neighborhood kids gathered in our backyard for these DIY projects. We did crafty things, played with them and sometimes, made a story or two. It was so much fun!

I remember my nephew did the same. He always made projects with boards, bottles, and wires. I bet, he inherited his creative genes from me. One of his projects, which totally blew me away with his imagination was a computer model. It was back in the 90s and he made a computer with a box-like monitor and keyboard, with entire qwerty keys. And the cutest thing was the mouse and the wire that attached the keyboard - it was connected with a piece of yarn. I was quite impressed by his eye for detail. He left no stone unturned to make it exactly like the real computer. Also, he had a story to go with it. I don’t recall the entire story, but it about a boy who moved to a new school, he had no friends, so he played games on his computer. I guess, as his parents refused to buy him one, he created his own… that too with a storyline. His artistic endeavor convinced his parents, and they gifted him a computer on his next birthday.

A few days back, I got four Colgate Toothpaste packs, which have a variety of sea-creatures  cut-outs inside it. It’s called Magical Sea World. It’s like having little puppets in hand, which are yearning to be a part of this story. My young niece loved it. We handed her the box. She opened it and entered into the world of magic. She played with the creatures, murmured few things under her breath as if she was naming the creatures… which would later be a part of her story. We asked her what the story was about? Shyly, she narrated a fantastic story of Sadie who hunts treasure from the sea. It was quite endearing to listen to her story on the phone. I wish I could see her enact it with those cartoons. Maybe, next time when I meet her. As I am old school, who prefers such artistic things over video games, I loved this idea of giving a gentle nudge to children in the direction of creativity. It’s fun and educational at the same time. Don’t you think so? Honestly, if I get hold of Magical Sea World, I would create a story and post it on my blog. What about you?

Buy these toothpaste packs, collect all four and let the storyteller in your child come alive. Let them create their own #ColgateMagicalStories. Maybe, your child turns out to be the next J K Rowling or Amish Tripathi.

Check - http://www.colgate.co.in/en/in/oc for more!