Ever done that before? STOP IT!!!!
Luckily, my new goals required me to complete it at the very least, even if it's a complete failure. Here's the project:
The idea sparked from an afternoon when my daughter came running in to the living room with a pad of paper and a pen and said, "Mommy, what would you like for lunch? Do you want a sandwich or milk?". She was playing "waitress", imitating what she's seen at various Denny's, Outback Steakhouses, etc. that we've been to. And it occurred to me: why are we inundated with princess, superhero, and cartoon character dress-up products when what our kids really want is to be like other "real" adults? Or maybe we should be encouraging them more often to imitate real adults rather than pretend ones? Allow me to add that I don't have any problem with princesses and superheros - I think they're important to kids' imagination development and giving them a certain sense of "What's possible" outside of reality - but why don't we find more fun ways for them to imitate the "real" things in life? What little boy doesn't want to put on a suit and tie and go to work like Daddy? What little girl doesn't want to sit down and sign paperwork like Mommy does at the end of a long day at work? (my daughter imitates this one all the time too!).
And so was born "Kidz Career Kitz" or "Kidz Dress-up Kitz" (I'm testing both names). I recently participated in one of these fun consignment shows where a huge event is held at a local hotel or venue and you can bring your gently used kids clothes, toys, etc and sell them. Quite a few people also sold handmade hair clips and other items, so I decided this would be a good place to test my idea.
Of course, I don't really have any manufacturing capital, so I got creative and hit up the local thrift stores and made use of my computer design programs! I would prefer to have some more colorful pieces, but I think this was a good start. I made 2-3 kits (a boy one and a girl one) for 4 different careers (10 kits total) that I thought would be fun to replicate, and would likely catch kids' attention:
Lawyer (boy shown):
It's hard to see in the picture, but this one has a "briefcase" (basically a vintage game case - perfect size for kids!!), a tie or purse, a Daytimer, a name badge (on one of the pull clippies that kids love to play with), a folder with a laminated Client Checklist and dry erase marker (reusable!), a small notepad folio, a "Deposition", a pair of reading glasses (frames only), a few pens and a USB port.
Businessperson (boy shown):
This one has a full-size leather folio, a tie or purse, a name badge (on one of the pull belt clippies that kids love to play with), a folder with laminated Sales & Marketing charts and graphs and dry erase marker (reusable!), a small notepad, a Sales & Marketing Proposal, a pair of reading glasses (frames only), a checkbook with a pretend business credit card, a few pens and a USB port.
Real Estate Agent (girl shown):
This one has a clipboard with a laminated House Inspection Checklist and dry erase marker (reuseable!), a tie or purse, a name badge, a folder with various housing documents to "fill out", a Phone & Address Book, a set of Open House invitations, a pair of sunglasses (for showing houses in Colorado!), a set of keys (for their next showing!), an Available Housing Catalogue, a few pens and a USB port.
Waitress:
This one is a little different. It has a serving tray, apron, 4 laminated menus, a Sales Order book, pretend dollars and coins, a name badge, a couple of Gift Certificates (to give to customers), a credit card, a pen, and a purse (for the girl one)
Ideally, these kits would come with a short DVD video that shows a cartoon of someone going to work to do each job and using each item so the kids know exactly what each item is for - but I'm not that talented yet!!
So what do you think? Would you buy one of these for your kids? I'm putting them in the next JBF Broomfield/Brighton sale so we'll see how it goes! If I sell one of them, I will be happy. :) If not, I will be content to have tried and failed.
