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09/24/2008: Halloween Countdown ‘08: Play-Doh Party Kit!

Toys “R” Us is in Halloween mode, but as has been the norm for several years, their attempt is a little halfhearted. I guess there’s no sense for them to try to compete with the ever-growing number of dedicated Halloween costume shops that arrive in September and explode come November, but I’m always disappointed when I see TRU’s array of costumes and novelties limited to two sad mini-aisles.

When I was a kid, TRU was the definitive spot for all things Halloween, from costumes to colored hair spray, treat buckets, stupid reflective stickers and beyond. Our local TRU used to turn its entire entrance zone into a gigantic Halloween section, with the costume selection starting at the floor and making its way up to the ceiling on dangerously rendered fences. Shopping there was pure, glorious pandemonium, with parents and children alike using all body parts that could double as blunt instruments to push, shove and fight their way to the most desirable Don Post masks.

The Toys “R” Us Halloween section of today is just there to help them keep up appearances. Only kids who are excessively young and/or really don’t give a shit about what they dress up as for Halloween would find shopping for a costume there acceptable.

I still go hunting for Countdown fodder at TRU every year, never expecting much and never finding much. Traditions are traditions. But! Perhaps sensing my impending annihilation of his store chain with the written (typed?) word, Geoffrey the Giraffe slipped me one item that was totally reviewable — and something I haven’t found at the many other stores I loiter in at this time of year. I take it back, TRU. You’re aces, and so is this:

I first thought that this Play-Doh “Halloween Party Kit” would end up being one of those things with a really cool box and really boring contents, but I was so insanely wrong that I feel I deserve some length of jail time. Play-Doh always tosses out one or two simplistic Halloween-themed doodads each year, but this kit is way more inspired than their typical efforts. Only catch is, you need to pretend that you’re five-years-old to enjoy it.

Companies use the term “party kit” pretty loosely, but this was clearly a labor of love for someone at Hasbro. Whoever devised this kit really thought about how Play-Doh could become the central theme of a Halloween party, and while I admit that it wouldn’t be the party to end all parties, there are certainly enough ideas and goodies here to keep your guests occupied for, oh, seven or eight minutes. Again, assuming they’re okay with pretending that they’re five-year-olds.

For eight bucks, you get everything shown above. Eight small tubs of Play-Doh, four plastic knives, four Halloween playmats and four INCREDIBLE display domes. I CANNOT WAIT to tell you about the display domes, but they’re way too good to blow my wad on just yet. You be patient over there.

The most endearing item in the kit is the “Halloween Party Guide,” a pamphlet detailing how to decorate for your party, what kind of food to serve, ideas for activities, and unbiased suggestions that you offer random Play-Doh items as prizes for Halloween games. This pamphlet may prove to be a kid’s first exposure to the type of overpassionate verbiage found in the many Family Circle Halloween editions I go through like grapes, and that warms my heart faster than the sun growing a big, fiery leg and stepping on me. If you think eight bucks is too much to spend on a big clump of Play-Doh and some plastic knives, trust me, this pamphlet makes up the difference.

You get four different playmats, each with a different spooky scene. The playmats feature tutorials on how to make monsters and mayhem out of Play-Doh, but it seems a bit wrong to have something as open-canvassy as Play-Doh just to build whatever some stupid playmat tells you to.

Hypocritically, I do enjoy one aspect of the playmats. They leave specific portions of the spooky scenes blank, so you can fill in the rest with Play-Doh pieces. The ghost eyes and mouths shown above aren’t part of the art, but rather, they’re flattened black Play-Doh balls of my own creation. Since the four mats feature different scenes and step-by-step how-to guides, we’re encouraged to swap mats with our playmates every now and again to mix and match the fun.

And now you can forget everything you just read, because the real reason I’m writing about this kit is pictured above. DOMES! Sweet, heavenly, GLORIOUS domes! I have no right to love anything as much as I love…these…DOMES!

Domes!!!

So, the domes. To be used as display cases for your Play-Doh creations, I at first thought that the inclusion of THESE DOMES was wonderful — but a little weird. Only after reading that party guide pamphlet did I understand their purpose. Since this kit is technically supposed to drive a Halloween party, THE DOMES will let your guests take their works of art home without risking the usual perils that await Play-Doh masterpieces in transit. Genius!

Course, since I’m pretty unlikely to throw a Halloween party focused on Play-Doh, I’m free to claim all of THE DOMES as my own. I like to consider them “specimen tanks,” to safely contain the myriad Play-Doh creatures I find on distant planets. Two such creatures are shown above, but only the green slime monster in the foreground understands how much it sucks to spend life in a cheap specimen tank. The yarmulke-donning snowman alien is just happy to be alive.

I love these domes! Finally, a proper way to preserve our Play-Doh opuses forever and ever!

I don’t know if Play-Doh’s “Halloween Party Kit” would’ve been worth writing about if it didn’t come with domes, but since I did, here I am. And now I’m leaving. To check on my domes! DOMES!

PS: I feel bad for starting this review off with ill notions about Toys “R” Us, for they have provided me with the true meaning of life: Play-Doh domes. As penance, let us revisit this old Halloween Countdown entry. Sorry, Geoffrey. You’re my long-necked savior.


Posted by Matt. E-mail me!

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Discussion Thread: 127 comments

Meepy:  You can still do that here.  :)  There are some discounted games that are on the racks, but you have to take the slip for the rest of them.

Ghosted by Cameron T. @ 09/24/2008 9:19 PM EDT


Hallorandy: If they made it taste any better I’d have died from some type of Play-Doh related cancer by the time I was six!!!

Ghosted by The Boogeyman @ 09/24/2008 9:30 PM EDT


I just read the Freddy Make Up Kit article on Goob’s recommendation. The good news is, I don’t think I’ll have any trouble recreating that face with ground beef, as long as we’re including the Freddy mask as part of the equation. The bad news is, I laughed so hard at the article I almost threw up on myself.  Reading that was worth all the trouble and shame of making a meatloaf shaped like a man I don’t even know.  Thanks X-E Matt!

Ghosted by Rev. Back It On Up 13 @ 09/24/2008 9:42 PM EDT


Ok, the formatting (BOLD, ETC) doesn’t seem to be working for me.  I’m writing this in ALL BOLD to prove my point.

And the HTML no longer works, either.  :(

Ghosted by Cameron T. @ 09/24/2008 9:59 PM EDT


We’ll get the kinks out tonight.

Ghosted by Matt @ 09/24/2008 10:01 PM EDT


Whatever happened to my Transylvania Twist?

Ghosted by Ricky @ 09/24/2008 10:09 PM EDT


I believe that one of those playdough monsters should make some random appearance in the Christmas Advent this year

Ghosted by Steven @ 09/24/2008 10:20 PM EDT


P.S. It is my birthday tomorrow…I hope it is a special Halloween entry!!

Ghosted by Steven @ 09/24/2008 10:21 PM EDT


Reminder: Must start band called “The Cryptkicker 5.”

The other day in KB my boyfriend told me he hates the smell of Play-Doh and that no one could possibly like it and then started making gagging motions. How can he hate the smell of Play-Doh? That’s just not right at all. They make Play-Doh perfume! I’m cool with all his big occultist stuff, but not liking the smell of Play-Doh is just… unwholesome.

I LOVE the smell of Play-Doh. I’ve also mentioned it numerous times here that I, too used to eat it.

Ghosted by Invader Norbert @ 09/24/2008 10:29 PM EDT


The reason a lot of us ate Play-Doh WAS the smell — it’s intended to be appealing, though not in a totally literally palatable way.  And with it being nontoxic, and kind of tasty, one must wonder if the Play-Doh gods actually intended for us to dine on their dough.

Ghosted by Matt @ 09/24/2008 10:33 PM EDT


What is with this new posting text box?  not sure I like it

Ghosted by mandy_moldy dettached retina\\\'s_Reeves @ 09/24/2008 10:45 PM EDT


It’s still being tweaked.  Just testing it out.  Will extend its length so the lines don’t break as early, etc.

Ghosted by Matt @ 09/24/2008 10:48 PM EDT


Matt – all your dome are belong to us!

Heh, sorry.  I like the new comment text box though.

I think I had gotten a costume or two from TRU when I was a kid.  However my parents were pretty cheap and took me to K-Mart a lot to buy costumes.  All the rich kids (or at least kids without cheap parents) got to shop for costumes at TRU.

Ghosted by sfcfb @ 09/24/2008 11:23 PM EDT


Shouldn’t they be called Play-Dohmes?  An opportunity is being missed here, it’s clear as day. Play-Dohmes.

Ghosted by Jessica Marie @ 09/24/2008 11:29 PM EDT


 Rev The Freddy makeup kit is without a doubt one of my all time fav articles. It’s PURE comedy ALL the way through. I like this new comment box  Matt.

Ghosted by ULTRAMAN @ 09/24/2008 11:30 PM EDT


I don’t know if I ever ate play doh I think I just licked my fingers after I was done playing with it.  Gross–I was a sick kid!

Ghosted by gingela5 @ 09/24/2008 11:49 PM EDT


Went to Target last night. Picked up some Bat Bite Antidote Nerds, and some Buried Pomigranate Jones Soda. It’s not as good as Cranberry Splash, but I do like it. It even has a Vampire on the can. Spooky.

Ghosted by DrummerJay @ 09/24/2008 11:51 PM EDT


Bill/DrummerJay: I bit the bullet and picked up Cranberry Splash as well.  My earlier bravado about not drinking it until November lost its brav and ado the second I actually saw it at the store.  Makes me wish Santa visited during Halloween and the two holidays were merged in a singular effort.

Ghosted by Matt @ 09/24/2008 11:54 PM EDT


I only trust Wordpress to tell me when it’s after midnight, so I know it’s okay to post a new entry.  This comment will confirm.  How exciting.

Ghosted by Matt @ 09/24/2008 11:59 PM EDT


Bah.  Well I’m sure it’s midnight now.

Ghosted by Matt @ 09/25/2008 12:00 AM EDT


I guess I’m just lucky, I’ve been able to get Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash all year here. I love the stuff!!

Ghosted by Dan @ 09/25/2008 12:03 AM EDT


Thanks for the heads up Matt

Ghosted by DrummerJay @ 09/25/2008 12:04 AM EDT


–>> ..much more edible than the cocoa krispies haunted house.

>v<

Ghosted by tOkKa @ 09/25/2008 3:20 AM EDT


 At the Toys R’ Us where I work we have a huge Halloween display right when you walk in.  Huge cardboard borders and all.

Ghosted by HyperDingo @ 09/25/2008 3:27 AM EDT


I remember Toys r us back in the day, the costume would be stacked high and they would come in those boxes with the clear top. I miss those days.

Ghosted by Mike @ 09/25/2008 4:58 AM EDT


I’m going to add something that I’m sure you’ll all think is fiendish: When I was younger, I wasn’t allowed to mix playdoh colors.

Ghosted by Cat the Vampire Slayer @ 09/26/2008 1:21 AM EDT


AUGH! your ghost faces are so dammed cute!
this looks like a pretty good deal, and as much as you seem to say that adults will only be entertained for a few minutes, you seem beyond amused.
especially with the domes. As far as i know they’ve been out for a year or two. The campus nurse has one in her office with something a sculpture major did for her- that’s when i first saw them.

I love your little alien creations- the green is my favorite.

My kingdom for a couple of those domes to send to my past self…. *sigh*

Ghosted by alk @ 10/24/2008 4:34 PM EDT


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