A Squishmallow walks into a Target to make a Bullseye MiniVerse salad

Nov 14

The branded toys are like the McDonald’s I ran when I was 5.

Kids like mashups. It’s how they play. Here’s a mashup: The Polly Pocket Target Bullseye Adventure Set and their MGA’s Miniverse Make it Mini Target - Image: Riley Wilkinson

When I was six, my mom converted an old house in Oxnard, California, into a preschool called Pathways. It was a 1970s wonderland, headed by a hippie named DeAnn and co-teachers from around Ventura County.

My memories are like blips: the Crayola Caddy, lots of macramé and wooden beads, baked Styrofoam cup monsters (yikes), and a McDonald’s.

As a preschooler, I marveled at the idea of working in — and owning — my own miniature McDonald’s restaurant. The idea of handing out fried pies and French fries meant I’d get some for myself.

My mom took the cheaper, more creative route. She scrounged up an empty fridge box, cut windows and doors, and folded a cutout down to create a drive-through counter. The other kids used smaller boxes as cars and lined up for lunch.

But here was the magic: our mini restaurant was somehow stocked with authentic McDonald’s Styrofoam Big Mac boxes, cherry pie sleeves, cups, and McDonald’s paper hats that grill workers wore in the real deal. (Yes, it was the 1970s, and Styrofoam was aplenty. I think we even had aprons.)

That experience shaped my lifelong obsession with the fast-food giant. My first job in high school was on the “front line” at McDonald’s, where I perfected my drive-through voice and quick-response skills. My burgundy clip-on square-bottom tie felt formal.

Looking back on my favorite toys as a kid, the Playskool mini McDonald’s was up there with the Fisher-Price Play Family Castle.

The McDonald’s branding made me feel like I was part of the real world — the early childhood dramatic play allowed me to try out different careers.

Target has brilliantly done the same thing. With the release of their wide assortment of Bullseye consumer products, children pretend they’re working in the store, shopping in the store, or making food to be sold in the store.

Children pretend they’re working in the store, shopping in the store, or making food to be sold in the store.

I can’t stop buying the toys, and I want you to see why. Sure, you can argue that branding toys in this way only encourages kids to shop. I prefer to reframe it as an introduction to the worlds of commerce, social interaction, customer service, design, and comparison shopping. I mean, the pretend play shopping cart is stocked with Target’s Favorite Day house brand, so kids are definitely being encouraged to shop off-brand and save a few dollars.

Take a look at what I’ve filled my cart with. Maybe I’ll open my own miniature store. Your kids may do the same!

All items available at Target HERE.

I’m a Target Partner and all opinions are my own.