*This post is not sponsored and I purchased items myself but in full transparency, the co-founders of this brand are personal friends.
As you can tell by the Christmas tree in the background, this review is a long time coming lol. So unfortunately this particular cookie set that I love love love is no longer available (hopefully they bring it back for Christmas this year). But luckily, commiskids have a couple of new sets out, including a dumpling kit for Lunar New Year that looks especially fun and useful (hello dumpling press—I could definitely use that)!
But first, a little background: this wonderful non-toxic play dough set was recently launched by my friends Rachel and Allison, two busy working-moms of two. Rachel and I go fairly far back and let me tell you her house has always looked pinterest-worthy and she has a whole craft room set up in her garage. Her kids also have some of the best toys, a lot of them beautifully homemade (hello treehouse dollhouse made from a found branch). So if anyone would design a useful, thoughtfully curated kit for kids, it would be Rachel.
And what a wonderful kit it is. I specifically wanted the cookie set because I wanted Emi to learn the skill of cookie-making. You would think rolling dough and making cookies with cookie cutters would be a fairly easy task, but let me tell you it is not for a two-year old. It’s definitely something that needs practice. So what better way to practice than on play dough. And that’s part of the point with these play dough sets: it’s to teach kids the joy of cooking and baking, along with the skill set needed to then apply it in the kitchen. On top of that, commiskids provides an informative infographic that teaches kids some of the history behind the food they’re learning to make. They’re working on kits with foods from different cultures so that kids can expand their culinary horizons. For the cookie set, it was all about the history of gingerbread and I learned a lot!
Rachel and Allison curate each box with tools custom-made for little hands. The small rolling pin we got with our kit is perfect for Emi to learn on, and the cookie cutters were also kid-size. You bet after learning on the playdough, I washed everything and then used it to make real cookies together.
The playdough is nontoxic and made in small batches in their homes. I know they spent quite a while perfecting the recipe for that just-right bouncy consistency. Since it’s made from all edible items, you don’t have to worry if some of it gets into your kids mouth (though of course your kids should play with this under supervision and let them know that it is not food). I like it much better than commercial play dough since it doesn’t leave any colors or smells on your hands after using it. Also the play dough lasts a really long time, and can be reconstituted with water and be kept in the fridge to make it last even longer (we have a tin from October still in use).
I also love that they try their best to package everything plastic free. They consciously use aluminum tins and wooden tools in an effort to reduce their use of disposable plastic. And any plastic items they do use are reusable.
Currently they have a pasta-making kit and a dim sum kit (and I think they’re coming up with a Mexican food themed one next). If you’re interested in trying them out they have kindly offered a 15% discount code for your first purchase. Just use the code FairlyCurated at checkout. And if you do, I’d definitely love to hear what you think!