Bunchland

Dance For Joy – Trimarchi Live Performance from FriendsWithYou on Vimeo.

Arturo “Tury” Sandoval III is no ordinary dude. He’s the co-founder of FriendsWithYou, a Miami art collective known for their rainbow-coloured characters and off-the-chain art installations. A typical “day at the office” for Tury might see him pimping a car for N.E.R.D. or building a Hello Kitty-inspired hot air balloon. As we write this, FriendsWithYou has set up a ginormous Rainbow City inflatable art installation in Toronto.

Skywalkers – Scion Art Basel 2006 from FriendsWithYou on Vimeo.

So when we asked Tury to describe some FriendsWithYou-inspired ways for you guys to play with your kids, we were unsurprised that “come home dressed as a magical being” was one of them, but we felt a bit uncertain that they were actually doable, by anyone other than, you know, Tury. So we tried them out ourselves.

Tury’s ideas for creating magical experiences with your kids:

1. Sometimes I come home dressed up as a magical being and do my own role-playing with my kid.

We tried this at a casual weeknight hot dog dinner with another family.

And actually, the grown-ups all got really involved in the creation of this admittedly ridiculous make-believe costume, made out of a paper bag and tinfoil, and found the experience transformed what would otherwise have been an ordinary night into something playful.

2. You should totally get dressed up and do a whole make-pretend day in a park with a hidden picnic.

We tried this, too. While the kids were distracted and playing in the sandbox, we set up a picnic in a hidden area of the park. Then we instructed the kids to hunt for it. When they finally found the secret spot, everyone got to chow down. Sounds weird, but it kind of felt like we were in Wonderland.

3. Build forts with different-coloured sheets. When you and your kids go inside the forts, see how each colour makes you feel a different way.

Building the forts was super fun. We made a chair fort, a fort out of a building toy, a climber fort, etc. and draped them with colourful sheets and tablecloths. The sun shining through the sheets gave our faces multi-hued glows, which made it easier to “feel” the colours.

Here’s the thing: Taking yourself out of the ordinary and doing something entirely weird or whimsical increases the store of magic in your life.  Here are some other things you can use to create magical experiences four yourselves and your kids. Hint: If  you aren’t willing to embrace the silly, it’s not going to work for you.

FriendsWithYou Book, Snazaroo face paint, rainbow bounce house, picnic basket

Tury (white shirt) does crafts with kids in Toronto.

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