Toca Boca Hair Salon Me For Inspired Play This Winter Break (Adults Will Love It Too!)

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Momma Told Me: Just be a kid!


Isn't it ironic that we spend most of our childhood pretending to be adults, only to one day 'grow up' and find ourselves longing for those simple moments where we can feel like a kid again?

Whether you ran around playing 'House' with a gaggle of baby dolls in a Tweety bird stroller, or put out record breaking blazes with nothing more than a disconnected lawn hose, you most likely enjoyed hours of pretend time during your childhood. It's not our fault we are conditioned to look up to those around us, and asked what we want to 'be,' from an early age. Some of my proposed professions included dolphin trainer, crime scene investigator, and giant mouse greeter at the local kid's arcade. Of course I never really knew what I wanted to 'become,' and in many senses, I still do not know today. But I enjoyed every moment of that magical playtime where I got to pretend, if even for just a moment.

For the better part of this year my iPad tablet has been bombarded with an array of suggested 'Top Apps' in the game and educational application categories. One developer in particular had consistently released top grossing content, the Toca series. For months I overlooked it; several of the apps, in particular the Band and music apps, were geared towards kids as young as 2, and intended to occupy through bright colors, animations, and sounds. Then the Toca Salon apps hit my feed and I was oddly intrigued. I rarely pay for apps, especially non essential (game) apps, but this kawaii and whimsical interactive hair salon captured the power of the modern tablet. Kids, and most assuredly the adults once the kids went to sleep, could snap a photo on their parent's tablet and instantly begin editing a hairstyle for themselves.

Toca Boca Hair Salon Me isn't a realistic application, per se- the myriad of effects you can play with in the salon behave realistically, but the rendering is supposed to be colorful and animated. Your Toca character will often make faces as you interact with them and their budding doo, and the seamless integration of your photo face into their cartoon animations and skintone is quite remarkable. Choose from several sections of the salon including color, cut/grow, styling and even a shampoo and blow dry station. Then, once you've perfected your hairstyle, take your character to wardrobe and change everything from your shirt color and background to facial hair and accessories. I made the mistake of tapping over to this app a week ago and I still find myself killing time on it today. Of course, that's when I can pry it out of Sabrina (11's) hands.

Toca Boca Hair Salon Me is just one of many educational and interactive applications in the series that are sure to bring children and parents together through goofy characters and real life pretend play. Creative apps such as this are essential in the midst of the holiday season when long road trips and Winter vacation tantrums are on the rise. Keep your little ones, and perhaps even your husband out from under foot this holiday, with a creative app like Toca Boca Hair Salon Me. For a sneak preview of the app's many interactive features and rendering, check out the video below, then head to your Apple App Store for more information and to download.

What Daughter Says: Unwind with some creative play in an inspiring app.