Fun and Games With Barbie

Creating a House

• Children do not need a Barbie dollhouse to have a house for their Barbie. Dollhouses are expensive and have pieces that can break or get lost. Help children create their own house for Barbie using things in their bedroom. The space under a bed can be one floor of a house for a Barbie. Shelves can also serve as rooms for Barbie--imagine they are a high-rise building Barbie lives in. Use a jewelry box for Barbie's dresser and a small throw pillow for her bed. Cups can be flipped over for stools, and use a bathroom sink as a swimming pool. Begin by helping your child create the house for Barbie then let her continue alone. This activity is a fun way for children to spend hours, and you can leave the Barbie house up for a few days to play with. Once it has been taken down it can be made again with changes.

Designing Clothing

• Designing clothing for is another way to have fun with Barbies. Young children can design their own clothes with a little assistance from an adult. Collect small pieces of fabric, a needle and thread and other embellishments such as sequins and beads. Fold a piece of fabric in half, then cut a hole big enough for the Barbie's head to fit through. Either sew the sides of the fabric together for a shirt or tie the fabric around Barbie's waist. Use a longer piece of fabric to make a dress. Wrap a piece of fabric around Barbie's waist and tie with yarn to make a skirt. The clothing does not have to be properly finished for children to have fun. Let them add sequins and beads to the fabric to decorate. If you are an experienced sewer you can help tailor the clothing more.

Barbie Doll Game

• Barbie dolls can also be used for a game. Lay a pile of Barbie clothing mixed with strings of beads at one end of a room. Children should be at the other end of the room. Each child should take a Barbie doll and run to the other side of the room to dress her doll. The Barbie should be wearing three articles of clothing before each girl returns to the rest of the children. Time the children as they dress their Barbie dolls, and the fastest child wins. The beads are mixed in with the clothing to make it more difficult to collect the desired clothing. If the children are younger, the beads may be unnecessary.