If you're still bemoaning the discontinuation of Fisher-Price's Ice Cream Scoops of Fun game, then cheer up. U.S. Games Systems has come up with something that not only looks like more fun to play but is also available now for about $15.
The Banana Split Card Game
2-4 players, ages 6 and up.
Why a plastic plate and not an ice cream dish or banana split boat is included with Dora the Explorer: Deluxe Play Food Banana Split Sundae Set (talk about a mouthful!) is something that only toymaker Fisher-Price knows the answer to.
The rest of us just need to teach our children that while the ice cream scoops, strawberry, chocolate sauce, and other items in this set were designed with realism in mind (why else would the banana skin "peel" open to reveal a removable piece of fruit?), when real ice cream falls off the plate and onto the new carpet, we won't be chuckling quite as much while playing "restaurant" with them.
Larger image of the $7 ice cream playset below.
Melissa & Doug are well known by mothers of young children for their affordable, high quality educational toys. They all share a unique look that make them instantly recognizable as designed by the company, and the Deluxe Ice Cream Parlor Set
The 8-piece handpainted playset sells for about $20 and includes two magnetic ice cream scoopers, two cones, and four magnetic scoops of ice cream (strawberry, mint chocolate chip, vanilla, and chocolate). And to keep everything in order, Melissa & Doug package the set in a reusable "playful freezer case" (10" x 7" x 4.5") that features partitions to store each piece individually.
Check out the image of the entire set below.
If you're a true ice cream fanatic (you're here, so you must be!), then you've probably got a freezer full of exotic frozen sweets from all around the world. Somewhere behind the Egyptian cones and Swedish slushies, then, you'll likely find a package of Morinaga Choco Monaka Jumbo from Japan.
And if that's the case, then you're clearly in need of a soft toy modeled after the ice cream treat. Lucky for you, Asiaphilic.com has a gigantic 19" x 9.8" x 3.1" Morinaga ice cream plush that could be yours for $26.
Here's why I would never give a child this set of ice cream cones made out of chenille.
Aside from the obvious "because they're mine and I'm not sharing" reason, the 5" to 6" cones are so ridiculously adorable and presumably irresistibly soft that no one would be able to resist either petting the ice cream scoop or rubbing it against their cheek. It's the only logical thing to do when presented with something so cute and soft, so don't be embarrassed. We'd all do it.
But what happens when the child who's played with one of these toys sees a real ice cream cone, huh? It will look just as yummy as the bubble gum, Neapolitan, raspberry ripple, fudge stripe, and mint chocolate chip cones in this $16 set. The poor kid's hand or cheek doesn't stand a chance.
And that's why sometimes not sharing is caring.
Confession: My interest in the My Little Pony Ice Cream Dream Supreme toy (£20) is not age-appropriate.
I am much too old and mature to squeal in delight at the fact that a quick push of a button transforms an adorable ice cream truck into a full-fledged ice cream parlor complete with all the accouterments (see how grown-up I am?) needed for Rainbow Swirl (included pony) to make colorful ice cream cones. I'm also too sophisticated to imagine her pony pals horsing around in the booth or huddled around the counter.
Now if you'll excuse me, I need to clean my room. I know my credit card is in there somewhere.
It may look like a set of four polyester ice cream toys, but what you're looking at is actually just a pair of German-based Haba's Biofino Venezia ice cream cones
Can you believe it? The round scoop of chocolate chip ice cream flips over to become that mound of cherry-topped strawberry, while the chocolate scoop transforms into a generous helping of banana soft serve. Clever!
We've seen wooden ice cream toys before, but none quite as lovely as this hand-painted sundae enthusiastically christened I Scream for The Land of Nod Ice Cream! (exclamation point included).
Included in the $12 set are three scoops of ice cream topped with their own permanently attached whipped cream dollops and cherries, "realistic banana slices" (your kids don't peel bananas before they eat them, right?), a white ice cream dish, and two spoons. And just so you know, The Land of Nod wants to emphasize that all of the pieces are "non-edible." Darn. The whipped cream looks so real, too.
My apologies to the designer, but this Ice Cream Set with Two Cones (seriously, where is the innovation in naming toys these days?) by Santoys is a little lacking in the cute department.
I like that the wooden tray helps to keep the balls of ice cream from rolling around at the bottom of a toy chest, but I don't think it makes using the scooper very fun, easy, or realistic for children. A finely polished wooden tub (with a lid) or even just a bowl would've suited the toy a bit better and perhaps made the aggravation of trying to balance the balls on the shallow cones more tolerable.
Actually, upon closer inspection, maybe those gray dots are magnets. I suppose I could easily find out, but I'm not sure if the $36.95 sale price is in Australian or US dollars. Today's conversion rate shows the cost to be within the same range either way, but isn't blaming currency (rather than the designer) a nicer reason not to want something?
I may have to buy this ice cream stackable puzzle
I know that it includes five stackable pieces and a "unique base [that] makes stacking easy," but I still don't get it. The pieces (which, as far as I can tell, include a cherry, whipped cream with sprinkles, bananas, ice cream, and whatever that wavy striped purple thing is) look flat and wooden when packaged, yet don't they look quite different when put together in the inset photo?
The apparently self-correcting base encourages color- and shape-matching skills in children between the ages of 3 and 7. Clueless adults like me, on the other hand, are left to fend for themselves. Good thing the puzzle is only $5.
