If you’ve ever caught your child meticulously lining up their stuffed animals in front of a makeshift stage or noticed your vintage fashion dolls seem to be "waiting" for a night out, you know that the world of play doesn’t stop at the toy box. For many collectors and kids alike, the "show" is where the magic happens.

Earlier that day, six-year-old Maya had spent hours painstakingly cutting tickets from construction paper. She had lined up her audience: a stoic plastic dinosaur, a one-eared rabbit, and a very confused golden retriever. But the show started only after Maya’s bedside lamp went dark.

, this family-friendly class lets you craft a personalized puppy doll using yarn. Doll Painting Workshop

A doll that looked exactly like Lena—same uneven bangs, same scar on her left thumb, same way of biting her lip when she was nervous—walked onto the stage. It dragged a tiny replica of Lena’s childhood bedroom behind it: the unicorn wallpaper, the twin bed with the quilt her grandmother made, the closet she used to hide in when her parents fought.