There was a great toy store in Potomac that closed after 41 years because of the pandemic. It was a great place to get kid’s birthday presents, including good puzzles, craft kits, and science-focused toys. Yes, they were more expensive than Amazon, but there was no wondering if what you buying was the real deal or some Chinese pop-up factory knockoff. They wrapped the gifts for you. They hired High School kids. It was nice to be able to ask people questions about what kids like and get an answer great than a poke at an end cap and a grunt.
Anyway, I bought this $5 kit during one trip in advance of a big weekend of birthdays. Again, one of the great things about a store like that was discovering something you might otherwise think about. I put it in a drawer and sometimes, when I’m giving the kid a tub, I make some wiener dogs.
The kit is obviously made for much smaller hands (ages 8 and up); the pump is miniature size and the balloons are 1/2 the size of those that clowns give away on city streets.
Conveniently, if you want to give this a try and your local toy/magic show was closed because the Federal/States/Local Governments couldn’t get their collective acts together over the last 12 months, you can use your google machine to find an amazon alternative. Looking to expand my repertoire beyond long dogs, I got some adult sized balloons and a pump from a place called Bargain Balloons, where they don’t spend a dime on their website in order to pass the savings on to you.
My girl wants me to make many of these: