Disney Tangled Favorite Moments Doll - Hair Play by Mattel Review and Giveaway

If you have become a fan of Disney's recently released Tangled movie, you will love this adorable doll! With about almost a foot of hair to play with, any little girl be able to spend hours braiding and styling Rapunzel's hair.  This is also the perfect 'take along doll'.  She can easily be carried for car trips and outings without without getting lost.

The Disney Tangled Featuring Rapunzel Hair Play Doll  comes with  accessories including, a brush, crown, and barrette's.  It will be hard not to fall in love with this precious doll. 

Would you like a Rapunzel Hair Play Doll for your little doll?  Head on over to the main Blog and fill out the Giveaway form.


Disney provided me with the item above in order to facilitate this review.  All opinions are 100% mine.

Playmobil Fire Chief and Car Review

Have you purchased any gifts from Playmobil for this season yet?  Well, if not, you better get out there and get some!  Playmobil's line is awesome!  I was able to review just one of the many items offered in their extensive line of toys.

This fire-fighting themed truck from Playmobil is ready to go at a moment's notice!  You can have your car packed and ready to go with a fire extinguisher, car cones, megaphone, first aid kit and much, much more.  This all fits in the car's storage compartment, too.  This Playmobil set also comes with the Fire Chief figure that you can sit inside of the drivers seat of the car.  Oh, and the fire chief's car comes with a removable roof.  How cool is that?!

This makes a great partner toy to the other Playmobil Fire Rescue sets.  I love toys that are multi-purposed.  Not only is this fun to play with, but this fire fighting set creates the opportunity to talk to your little one about the danger of fire and fire safety.  For this reason, I think this a great toy with valuable lessons that can be learned from play.

Check out more great toys from Playmobil at http://www.playmobil.com/index.html.

Playmobil provided me with the product reviewed above in order to facilitate this review.  All opinions are 100% mine.

Mega Bloks Thomas Adventrue on Misty Island Review

Calling all Mega Bloks and Thomas Fans!!!!  Mega Bloks Thomas Adventure on Misty Island is the perfect buildable play set for children 3 and older.  It is based off the hit movie Thomas & Friends: Misty Island Rescue.  Your little one becomes the engineer of the track, so they can design it any way they want.  You can build and rebuild Misty Island over and over in countless ways.  You can build the track up high or low down, creating endless adventures.

There are 101 pieces in this cool set.  The pieces assemble easily, although a younger child would probably need some help from a parent.  Included are Thomas and James with pull-along carts that you can push up or roll down the tracks.  Other accessories included are lakes, tunnels, break-through barricades and rocks.

This play set will definitely keep young children busy.  Children will be having fun while refining their motor skill development.  What is great it that you can also combine it with other Thomas characters and play sets.  This opens up the possibilities for endless fun!

Mega Bloks Adventures on Misty Island Review retails for $49.99 and can be purchased at Amazon and Toys R Us.



Mega Bloks provided me with the items reviewed above in order to facilitate this review.  All opinions are 100% mine.

Pinkalicious Review: Pinkalicious UNO, Purplicious Doll and Pinkarella Game

UNO: Pinkalicious

I remember the original game of UNO.  It was always a fun game to play on family game night.  However, I don't remember winning that often, but it was always fun.  You can continue the tradition of game night with the Pinkalicious fans in your house with UNO: Pinkalicious Edition.

Pinkalicious UNO is the same great game of UNO you remember, but with a twist and a special Pinkitits Card and Rule, which can only be cured with a dose of green veggies (or all the green cards you hold in your hand)!  There are two ways to keep score.  Either the first player to reach 500 points is the winner or the person with the lowest amount of points is the winner.  It just depends on how you keep score with the remaining cards. 

Pinkalicious UNO comes in a nice collector's tin container to neatly hold all the UNO playing cards.  It also displays a picture of Pinkalicious dressed in her usual attire while holding her signature wand and pink cupcakes.  This game includes 112 custom UNO cards featuring Pinkalicious, her friends, and the foods that have made Pinkalicious famous.  The artwork on the cards is very well done.  They are bright and colorful and lend themselves for many hours of Pinkalicious UNO fun.  If you are a UNO and Pinkalicious lover, you can't go wrong with this edition of UNO. 

Pinkalicious UNO can be found on Amazon.  Pinkalicious UNO retails for $18.99

Pinkalicious: Purplicious Doll

"When Pinkalicious mixes pink and blue, it's "Purplicious".  This smaller version of Pinkalicious is adorable.  You can have fun anytime since you can carry her around anywhere you go!  This 12” Pinkalicious soft doll is wearing her artist smock and pink beret as featured in the “Purplicious” book.  There are 3 to collect in all.  This sweet doll retails for $9.97.  It is available at Walmart.

Pinkarella



Pinkalicious: Pinkerella is based on the game BINGO!  What a great way to celebrate everything Pink.  Pinkerella is for 2-4 players and is so easy and fun to play.  The object of the game is to fill your game card with the cupcake disc.  You take turns with the other players drawing cards and even trading cards.  If you get a card that matches a picture on your mat, you put a cupcake disc on your game card.  When your card if full, you shout, "PINKERELLA!" and you win!

The Pinkerella game includes 54 cards and 24 cupcake discs.  This is appropriate for children ages 4 and up.  It retails for $9.99.  You can purchase this game at Walmart, Barnes and Nobles, and Amazon.


Pinkalicious provided the items above in order to facilitate the review.  All opinions are 100% mine.

Pinkalicious Review (Pinkalicious 3 in 1 Classic Card Game and Pinkalicious Scrabble Jr)

Pinkalicious 3 in 1 Classic Card Game

Card games are classic and never grow old.  I played card games with my grandmother every time I went over her house.  We played Gin Rummy, Fish, and WAR, just to name a few.  Those were good times.

Pinkalicious has created a new 3 in 1 set of classic card games, Pinkalicious style, of course!  The three games include Cupcake Snack, Golden Wands, and Princess Purple.

Cupcake Snack is based on the classic game of Slap-Jack.  This is such a fun game!  There are 2 versions of this game you can play.  Here is Game 1.  Players take turns flipping over a card for all to see.  When a Cupcake card is turned over, everyone has to quickly place their hand over the Cupcake card.  The first player to "eat" the cupcake wins the pile of cards.  If a player mistakenly slaps another card, they have to forfeit all their cards and return them to the draw pile.  Game 2 is for you to find out when you buy this great set!  Here's  hint: it is based on the classic game of Spoons.

Golden Wands is based on the classic game of Crazy 8's.  There are also 2 versions of this game.  In Game 1 players are dealt a hand of cards.  It is each players job to get rid of all their cards by matching the card in the discard pile by either color or number.  All Golden 8 cards are "magical" and are wild cards.  If you cannot match by color or number in the discard pile, the player must choose a card from the draw pile.  First player to get rid of all their cards wins!  Game 2 is for 2 players and is a number stacking game.

Princess Purple is based on the classic game of Old Maid.  Again, 2 versions of this game can be played.  In Game 1, all the cards are dealt to the players.  Players discard any matches from their hand.  Players offer one card to be picked, if a match has been made, those cards get laid down.  Players do this until all matches have been made and one player is left holding the Pinkalicious card. They are the automatic winner.  Game 2 is a version of the classic game, Memory, but Pinkalicious style!

These cards games are for ages 4 and up and retails for $12.99.  It is available at Walmart.


Pinkalicious Scrabble Junior

I admit, I definitely don't play enough Scrabble.  I love the game and always have a great time playing.  I will be playing more now that Pinkalicious has now turned this fun game Pink with Pinkalicious-Junior Scrabble!

Straight from out of the box, this game is adorable.  For younger players, the playing board displays fun Pinkalicious pictures and easy to read lettering.  The reverse side of the playing board allows older players to form their own words, with some suggestions along the sides for help.  The letter tiles are large and easy for little hands to manipulate. 

There are two versions of Pinkalicious Scrabble.  The first on uses the pre-lettered side of the playing board.  Players take 7 letters and attempt to spell the words using the correct letters, in the correct order.  If you are the player to complete a word, you get to collect a scoring chip.  You play this game until all the letters on the board have been covered.  Then see who has the most scoring chips, that is the winner!

The second version of Pinkalicious Scrabble is more like the original Scrabble game.  Players create words on the board in crossword fashion.  Each player takes a turn creating a word, earning one point for each letter used.  Keep playing this game until all possibilities for words have been exhausted.  The players with the most points at the end wins!

This is a great game that can help enhance letter recognition and spelling skills.  Included in this game is the 2-sided playing board, 101 letter tiles, and 44 scoring chips.  This game is recommended for children ages 5 and up.  It retails for $19.99 and is available from Amazon.

If you love Pinkalicious and want to add some "Pink" to your holiday season, check back for our Giveaway starting on Monday, November 22, 2010!!!!!!



Pinkalicious provided me with the products reviewed above in order to facilitate this review.  All opinions are 100% mine.

Electra Doodle Creative Light System by Cra-Z-Art

Cra Z Art Electra Doodle Creative Light System is SO cool!  I could not wait to get this out of the box to play with it.  And to my delight, I was not disappointed.

This Creative Light System uses colorful light to create pictures.  When you turn on the Electra Doodle, you have two options, Draw and Play. 

In the Draw mode, you have 4 options, Draw, Doodle, Dot-to-Dot, and Kaleidoscope. 

• Free Draw allows you to draw whatever you want on the screen.  This is where you can be as creative as you want.  You also have different brush sizes to choose from and when you are done, you can animate or invert your picture. 
• The Doodle option gives you 18 images that you get to enhance by drawing on the picture.  I had fun coloring in the pictures and adding silly faces to the pictures. 
• Dot-to-Dot will give you 16 different connect the dot pictures to choose from.  When I was a kid, I loved dot-to-dot puzzles but I wasn't sure how this would work.  It was actually quite easy!  Just like a regular dot-to-dot, it starts with part of a picture and then it is your job to follow and connect the flashing dots to finish the picture. 
• Kaleidoscope - this is probably the coolest drawing option.  When you draw, your picture is automatically mirrored on the screen.  This is also a great feature for the kids because they don't have to draw a perfect picture.  Whatever lines and scribbles you draw turns into beautiful artwork.  Again, you can use different brush sizes to create different effects.

In the Play mode, you also have 4 options.  Options include Tic-Tac-Toe, Mazes, Match Em', and Find Smiley. 

• Tic-Tac-Toe is the same game that everyone loves to play.  As soon as my husband saw that, it was game on!  Needless to say, we played about 15 games and somehow I only won 2 games. 
• Mazes will test your skills navigating through 16 different mazes.  Who doesn't love mazes?
• Match 'Em is a game similar to Memory.  You will be presented with 8 circles, making 4 pairs of images.  Select each circle until you find 2 that match.  When you find all 4 pairs, you win the game.  This is a great memory skill building game for kids.  I love this one too! 
• Find Smiley is a game where you will see 8 random images on the screen.  Your job is to find and touch the smiley face.  For each smiley face you touch, you earn 1 point, and for each wrong image you touch, you lose 2 points.  This game is timed for 30 seconds per game.

The Electra Doodle also has 6 features to choose from - Clear (obviously erases the screen), Erase/Draw (though this button to turn your brush into an eraser and visa versa), Brush Size (choose 1 of 4 brush sizes to use), Invert (flip your images from color and color to black.  also invert a black screen and use the eraser to draw), Animate (bring your art and pre-loaded images to life), and Home (goes to the main menu).

If you are looking for an original and creative gift for the holidays, this is it.  Kids will have hours of fun with the many games offered in 1 package.  The Electra Doodle has a handle that make it easy for kids to carry around with them.  It would also be good to use during car trips or to take  to friends houses when visiting over the holidays.

Cra Z Art Electra Doodle Creative Light System is for children aged 5 and up.  It retails for $29.99.

Cra Z Art provided me with the product reviewed above in order to facilitate this review.  All opinions are 100% mine.

Kung Zhu Review

I have fallen in love with the original line of Zhu Zhu Pets.  Now Cepia, LLC has introduced a new line of Zhu Zhu, Kung Zhu.  These new "battle" hamsters are geared for boys aged 4-10. 

Kung Zhu Hamsters have 4 Modes, Talk Mode, Explore Mode, Sleep Mode, and Power Up Battle Mode.  The Talk, Explore, and Sleep modes are the same as the original Zhu Zhu Pets.  The Power Up Battle Mode is new!  In the Power Up Battle Mode, the Zhu Zhu will change both its sound and behavior when it reads one of the codes that come with the armor and the battle arena.  Kung Zhu's battle for about three and a half minutes then will go to sleep to save the battery.

Kung Zhu's have the same playfulness as the original Zhu's, but different in that you get to "Train, Transform, and Battle" your Zhu for combat in the battle arena.  Your Kung Zhu will train as it goes through the training ground.  Once it get through that, you can put on the battle gear to transform your Pet.  Finally, you send your Zhu Zhu into battle, where only the strongest will survive!  The first set of hamsters are the "good" hamsters.  They include the Ninja Hamsters, the Delta Forces, the Rangers, and the Dragon Tribe.  The "bad" hamsters are called the Bad Skull Tribe. 

Instead of  clothes for these hamsters, these battlers have battle gear to wear.  This is sold separately from the Kung Zhu Pet.  You can also purchase the Battle Arena, Training Arenas, and the Special Forces and many other accessories to build you own, unique play set. 

Like the original Zhu Zhu Pets, the Kung Zhu's are innate to imaginative play.  Kids will spend hours arranging and rearranging the play sets to create new battle scenarios. 

Check out Kung Zhu  online too.  You will find  Hamster Bios,  Fun and Games, News and Events, Info and Instructions, and much more!  Kung Zhu Zhu Pets sell for about $9.99 each and accessories like battle armor, retail for about $7.99.  Additional play sets will retail from $9.99 to $29.99.

Here are the Bios I found online:

Kung Zhu Pet Battle Hamster Toy Stone Wall Special Forces:

Stonewall: Loud, crazy, and no one really knows what he’s saying. Pretty much if there’s a fight, just point him in the right direction and when the dust settles, you’ll find one happy hamster..

Likes: Battles, Wrestling and Ladders.

Dislikes: Checkers, Capes, and Ladders.

Kung Zhu Pet Battle Hamster Toy Sgt. Serge Special Forces:
Sgt. Serge: Sgt wants nothing more than a great day for everyone, and if that great day doesn’t happen, then by golly, he’ll know the reason why.

Likes: Warm apple cider, apple pie, and folk lore. (Johnny Appleseed.)

Dislikes: Cloudy days, swings without kids swinging, and hamsters who play with the idea that it is okay to swim before the allotted 30 minutes time frame for digestion.

Kung Zhu Pet Battle Hamster Toy Rivet Duke Special Forces:
Rivet: Master of demolitions and leader of the special forces, Rivet loves a good explosion, so much that every 4^th of July, all the Zhu Zhu’s that can make their way to his house always love the amazing fireworks show.

Likes: Good jokes, tasty brats, and tough obstacle courses, not in that order, but doesn’t mind if they happen at the same time.

Dislikes: the color red, cold pizza, and snails.

Kung Zhu Pet Battle Hamster Toy Rock O Special Forces:
Rock-O: Some call him noodle ‘cause he has the biggest brain in the bunch. Rock-O is in charge of communications and technology. If he doesn’t know the answer to your question… he’ll Zhu-ogle it.

Likes: Video Games, Potato Chips, and Sky Diving.

Dislikes: the lack of knowledge

Kung Zhu Pet Battle Hamster Toy Drayko Ninja Warrior:

Drayko: a JONIN in his clan, drayko is a fast learner of the ancient art of stealth, and he still has a lot of power to tap inside. Drayko will stop at nothing to be the best dragon he can, and leaving his clan to help the world is one way he sees best in helping him become SHOGUN.

Likes: his family Katana, the code of the dragon, and pudding.

Dislikes: the skull clan, tape and pop rock candy… it doesn’t help with being stealthy.

Kung Zhu Pet Battle Hamster Toy Thorn Ninja Warrior:

Thorn: no one knows where he came from, or what he wants. He truly is zhu-vil. He’s rough, tough and isn’t afraid to cheat.

Likes: maybe Azer knows, but he won’t tell. Thorn is the zhu of mystery.

Dislikes: we’re pretty sure it’s everything… literally.

Zhu Zhu Pets - Kung Zhu Ninja Warrior - YAMA the Hamster:
Yama : only a student in the dragon clan, yama is the best friend of Drayko, and well never leave his side. Some might say he’s too loyal. Yama might not be the fastest ninja, but he’s definitely the strongest. He’s the only hamster in his clan that can use the boars head, the ancient war hammer of the dragon clan.

Likes: moving mountains, changing the course of rivers and reading.

Dislikes: birds.

Kung Zhu Pet Battle Hamster Toy Azer Ninja Warrior:

Azer: the older brother of Drayko, Azer was raised in the dragon clan. He left the clan to better himself, and joined the kung zhu forces. But when his best friend Duke beat him in the arena for title of Lieutenant, he knew he couldn’t take it anymore. He left Kung Zhu, but couldn’t return to his clan because of shame. He created the skull clan, and so far only has one member, and the two of them will stop at nothing to bring about the worlds not so happy day.

Likes: spoiled milk, baseball and the katanas of fire (his personal swords)

Dislikes: sunny days, ice cream and Sgt. Serge

I have no doubt that these Kung Zhu Zhu Pets will be a hit this holiday season.  Be sure to pick up the whole line so your kid can have hours of fun battling all the Kung Zhu's.

Mega Bloks Play'n Go Musical Train and Mega Bloks 3 in 1 Fire Truck Ride On Review

I have found that at 18 months, kids want to play with toys that may be appropriate for a 3 year old, but either are developmentally or physically too young to be able to play with a toy safely.  Safety is one of my main concerns and when it comes to Mega Bloks, I have no concerns.  The Mega Bloks are prefect for little hands!  They are also the perfect size not to be swallowed.  I have finally found a brand of toys perfect for my little guy that I feel comfortable letting him play with on his own.

Mega Bloks Play'n Go Musical Train  and Mega Bloks: 3-in-1 Fire-Truck Ride-On have got to be two of the cutest toys for the 1+ crowd this holiday season.  We LOVE Mega Bloks in our house.  Mason started getting into Mega Bloks about 2 months ago and he has been full steam ahead!  These are the first Mega Bloks play set I have introduced him to and I can honestly tell you that he has NOT stopped playing with them since I received them for review.  

If you are looking for a toy for your little one that is fun and can be safely played with, check out the Mega Bloks Play'n Go Musical Train.  This "farm-themed" railway has all the necessities any little budding farmer needs.  Included in this 28-piece buildable railway, you will find a train with 2 train cars attached, a Farmer, a Cow and a Sheep figurine, the railway track, archway and blocks to create a tunnel for the train to go through, complete with swing doors.  There are also special accessory blocks like bunnies, vegetables, and a duck crossing.

I set up the train tracks for Mason and he immediately pressed the smoke stack and off the train went!  He followed the train around the track wiggling to the song, "Old McDonald".  The train chugged around and whistled as it went.  I love the amount of possibilities possible with the Play'n Go Musical Train.  I can easily see Mason spending hours of imaginative play with the train and recreating the tracks over and over again.  He also took the train off the  track and let chug around on our hardwood floors.  It moved so it easily without the track too!

The Play'n Go Musical Train retails for $29.99 and is appropriate for ages 1 and up.

Have a cat stuck in a tree?  Your little one can imagine they are a real fire fighter while riding to the rescue with sirens calling all around the backyard!  With endless possibilities, the 3 in 1 Red Fire Truck will make any little kid happy. 

Mega Bloks: 3-in-1 Fire-Truck Ride-On is one of the best ride on toys we have come across for Mason.  This is a 3 in 1 Fire Truck toy that has a large sterning wheel, lights, fire truck siren sounds, and a "open-top bed" that can hold an array of toys, blocks, balls, or just about anything else.  Mason likes to collect stones from our backyard and push the truck back over to the patio to dump the stones all over. 

This Fire Truck also can be used  as a "push-behind walker" to help early walkers get around on their own.  Mason is a very steady runner these days, but he still love to push his toy truck around instead of riding on it.  He also loves to sit and ride on it, all while playing with the fire hose lever activating the lights and sounds. 

I love that you can play and build with additional Mega Bloks right in the bed of the truck.  This is a nice feature that offers even more play possibilities.  This fire truck is really a perfect size.  Little ones can easily climb on and off the truck by themselves.  This will definitely help develop and strengthen those leg muscles!

Mega Bloks: 3-in-1 Fire-Truck Ride-On is perfect for children 1 and older and retails for $39.99.  It includes 11 pieces in all. 



Mega Bloks is celebrating its 25th birthday by giving families the chance to instantly win $25,000 for their children's future.  How do you win?  Purchase an 80 piece Mega Bloks bag and you could win one of  25 Mega Bloks prize packs valued at $500 each, as well as offering them $5 off their next Mega Bloks purchase,  From October 1 to November 30, 2010.  There are two ways to enter and win actually - in-store and online. At all major retailers in North America, participants can simply purchase the award-winning 80-piece Mega Bloks bag and peel off their in-pack peel off contest card to instantly get the chance to win the grand prize of $25,000 for their children's future or one of 25 Mega Bloks prize packs valued at $500. Participants also have another chance to win one of 25 Mega Bloks prize packs valued each at $500 by going online and registering at www.megabloks.com/25. Good Luck!!!!!!!!

Mega Brands provided me with the product reviewed above in order to facilitate this review.  All opinions are 100% mine.

Dinosaur Train All Aboard Game Review

We are quickly becoming big Dinosaur Train fans in my house.  For years, Mason's older cousin is into dinosaurs of all kinds, shapes, and sizes.  Now when he comes over to visit with Mason, they will sit together and watch Dinosaur Train.  Seeing this happening, I was very excited to have the opportunity to review, Pressman's new Dinosaur Train All Aboard Game.

Right off, the packaging is eye catching!  You have the bright and colorful character of Dinosaur Train right on the cover!  The game board and playing pieces are just as attractive.  The greens, blues, and yellows used to create the landscape and train tracks are very inviting.  It makes you want to jump on in and get the game started!

To start off, you have to choose a familiar character from the show - Buddy, Tiny, Shiny, Don, Cory, Tank, or Mr. Conductor.  The object of the game is to move along the tracks through the three dinosaur eras, Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous.  You win the game by advancing closer to and being the first player to reach the nest.  Mr. Conductor tells you how many spaced to move.. There are also "Stopwatch" spaces that let you move closer to the nest and "Dinosaur Crossing" spaces that send you backwards.  The first player to reach the nest wins!

The Dinosaur Train All Aboard game is a great game that the whole family can enjoy.  It is age appropriate for the 4 and up crowd and it engages children to continue practicing numbers, counting skills, and critical thinking skills.  If you are already a fan of Dinosaur Train, you will easily see how this game brings the educational aspects of the show to the game.

This game is recommended for ages 4 and up and is for 2-6 players.  It includes the game board, pocket watch spinner, 7 movers, 6 stand movers, and the rules of the game.  It retails for about $12.00.
  

If you are not yet familiar with the hit TV show, Dinosaur Train, here is a little bit of information about it from 360 Marketing and Communications:

"Dinosaur Train embraces and celebrates the fascination that pre-schoolers have with both dinosaurs and trains.  This top-rated, award-winning series, which airs on PBS KIDS, encourages basic scientific thinking skills as the audience learns about life science, natural history, and paleontology.

The stars of Dinosaur Train are Buddy, and adorable preschool age Tyrannosaurus Rex, and his adoptive Pteranodon family who board the Dinosaur Train to embark on adventures to prehistoric jungles, swamps, volcanoes, and oceans.  Paleontologist, Dr. Scott Sampson, is also featured."

Check out more about Dinosaur Train at www.pbskids.org/dinosaurtrain.  You will find additional learning resources for parents and teachers like activities, games, videos, and more.

Jim Henson and Pressman Toys provided me with the product reviewed above in order to facilitate this review.  All opinions are 100% mine.

Playmobil's Pony Ranch Advent Calendar

Growing up, Advent Calendars were always a big deal in my house.  Every year we would buy an Advent Calendar in anticipation of the Christmas season.  I had to take turns with my sister opening the numbered doors and I could only imagine what waited to be uncovered!  Would it be a sparkly picture or a real treat, like a piece of chocolate, waiting for me behind the little paper door?

This is definitely a tradition I will carry on in my family for Mason and Playmobil is helping to make that happen.  Introducing Playmobil's new Pony Ranch Advent Calendar for your Advent Calendar adventure this holiday season.  This Pony Ranch Advent Calendar will bring smiles to both girls and boys alike as it helps to countdown the days until Christmas.  Like a traditional Advent Calendar, it contains 24 surprise items, one for each day of Advent. 

Included is also a pony ranch backdrop so you can create the pony ranch scene as the figures are unveiled from the box.  The Pony Ranch Advent Calendar also features a pull out windows that hold the Playmobil figures.  Other accessories included in this play set are three figures, horse, ponies, donkey, mule, stable equipment, and pony stalls, just to name a few.  What is particularly nice about this play set is when the holidays are over, it can remain out for year-round fun!

The Advent Calendar Pony Ranch is recommended for ages 4 and up.  It retails for $18.99.  Make sure you get yours today so you have time to create a new tradition or keep and old one going.

For more information, don't forget to check out http://www.playmobil.com/index.html.



Playmobil provided me with the item above in order to facilitate this review.  All opinions are 100% mine.

Pinkalicious Review (Pinkalicious Doll, Book, Activity Easel)

I am new to the Pinkalicious trend that little girls everywhere have already fallen in love with!  Now, I too, have fallen in love with all things pink.  By creator Victoria Kann, Pinkalicious celebrates all things pink and inspires girls that being themselves is just perfect!

Pinkalicious Cloth Doll-18 inch

This Pinkalicious Cloth Doll is just one of the sweetest dolls I have seen yet.  She is so soft and is just begging to be played with!  She is dressed is a beautiful pink fairy princess dress that is made of the softest satins I have felt on a doll.  Her angel wings look like they are covered in lace and are fluffy and soft.  She is complete with a magic star wand and tiara to finish off her ensemble.  Little girls will spend hours playing with this special doll while recreating scenes from the Pinkalicious stories.  This doll is for children ages 3 and up and retails for $19.97.  It is available at Walmart. 



Pinkalicious: School Rules! (I Can Read Book 1)

Pinkalicious: School Rules is about what Pinkalicious likes and does not like about school.  She misses her unicorn, Goldilicious, and decides to bring her to school one day.  It continues with Goldie getting into trouble and Pinkalicious must teach her the rules if she is to stay in school for the day.  Pinkalicious teaches Goldie rules like being quite at reading time, no pushing others while standing in line, and playing nicely with other kids.  This is a great book that reinforces expected behavior, not only in school,
                                                       but in social situations generally. 

Pinkalicious: School Rules is a great book for early readers in Kindergarten or older.  On the inside page of the book, there is an explanation of the 5 Levels of reading the Pinkalicious series offers.  School Rules is a Level 1 book which explains, "The Beginning Reading Series has short sentences, familiar words, and simple concepts for children eager to read on their own".

Pinkalicious: School Rules retails for $3.99 and can be purchased at places like Walmart, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Borders.



Pinkalicious Activity Easel



When I was a little girl, I had a glitter sticker collection from Fluf-N-Stuff.  I used those stickers to decorate my drawings, coloring books, diary...you name it, I glitter stickered it!  Pinkalicious has done the same buy introducing their new Pinkalicious Activity Easel.  What little girl doesn't love the color pink and being creative with stickers, paper, glitter glue and markers? 

Check out this Pinkalicious Activity Easel.  This kit contain everything any little girl needs to draw, create, or share with her friends and family.  When she is done drawing, she can display her art work on the easel for everyone to see. Pinkalicious just keeps coming up with great new and creative products.

The Pinkalicious Activity Kit  is for ages 4 and up.  It is available at Walmart and retails for $14.99.  This kit contains:

• 1 Easel
• 1 Drawing Pad with Pink Paper
• 1 Stencil Sheet
• 4 Markers
• 1 Glitter Glue Stick
• 2 Sticker Sheets

Pinkalicious provided me with the products above in order to facilitate this review.  All opinions are 100% mine.

Cra-Z-Cookn' Cotton Candy Maker by Cra-Z-Art

 

When I was little, I had the Snoopy Sno Cone Machine.  I loved sno cones so much, I actually remember setting up my sno cone machine one summer day so I could try to sell them!  I love cotton candy too, but I didn't have a cotton candy maker.  After trying the Cra-Z-Cookn' Cotton Candy Maker, I wish I had.

If you love cotton candy as much as I loved sno cones, the Cra-Z-Cookn' Cotton Candy Maker is for you.  I have to be honest, I have not had cotton candy in YEARS, but I have a feeling that cotton candy will become a staple once Mason realizes the sugary goodness.

I was particularly interested in this product because the cotton candy makers claim it "makes REAL cotton candy REAL fast".  Can it be that easy?  The answer is a resounding, "YES!", it is that easy.

Assembly of the Maker was a matter of connecting the plug, plugging it in, twisting the bowl to the ON position and letting it heat up.  There are suction cups on the bottom of the machine, so it securely stays in place while you are using it.  Once it is heated and ready to go, all you have to do is slowly add the floss sugar mixture into the column cap and watch the cotton candy appear!  Don't forget the paper wand to hold your cotton candy treat.  It takes a little practice to get the perfect cotton candy shape, but with practice, it shouldn't be too hard.

The cotton candy maker was so easy to use and so much fun.  We tried the Banana flavor and it tasted great!  I can tell you it tasted so good, my husband ate my stick of cotton candy and I had to make myself another one. 

The whole experience really brought back memories of being a kid at the circus, cotton candy in hand.  The whole process was pretty quick and there was hardly any mess.  A little sugar ended up on the counter after the first pour of the sugar floss, but once the machine started producing the cotton candy, all the sugar stayed in the bowl.  The machine also broke down easily for cleanup.

The Cra-Z-Cookn' Cotton Candy Maker is great for kids aged 10 and up.  This is a fun toy to keep at home for rainy days, movie night, or would be great to bring out for parties.  Believe me, it will be a huge hit with the kids.  It retails for $39.99.

The Cra-Z-Cookn' Cotton Candy Maker includes the Cotton Candy Maker unit, Power Pack, Paper Cones Tool, and Instructions.  I wish the Cotton Candy Maker came with 1 pack of sugar floss as a starter pack, but refill sets are available.  They retail for about $6.99.

Don't forget to check out more cool products by Cra-Z-Art on their website at: http://www.cra-z-art.com/products.php

Cra-Z-Art provided me with the product above in order to facilitate the product review.  All opinions are 100% mine.

Kidz Bop Dance Moves DVD Review

Ok, so I've listened to the Kidz Bop 18 CD.  I've moved and grooved with the Kidz Bop Dance PartyVideo Game for Wii.  Now, it is time to actually learn some real choreographed dance steps to an actual pop song with the Kidz Bop: Dance Moves DVD!  This DVD teaches kids (and adults) moves to 4 different songs including, Party in the USA, Single Ladies, Evacuate the Dance Floor, and Telephone.  Here we go!

This fun DVD starts with options to play the entire DVD, just learn the dance steps (Instructionals), watch the music videos, or watch the bonus features.  I chose 'Play All'.  I watched the 4 music videos of the KIDZ BOP Kids first and got really excited to learn the dance moves.  Next, I moved onto the dance instructionals led by the KID BOP Kids.  Here is where the fun really started!

Thank heavens for the introductory dance vocabulary tutorial before we even started to learn any dance steps.  Since I am a visual learner, this really helped me to learn the dance steps.  I need to see the dance steps and know the terms in order to remember all the steps.  For each of the four songs, the KIDZ BOP Kids taught the dance moves step by step, repeated it in slow-mo, then finally added music to the steps just taught.  I had to rewind the DVD a few times while learning the dance steps, but it's not a big deal.  The Kids encourage the viewer to learn at their own pace.  Kids will also learn terms like Chorus, Hook, Verse, and Freestyle.  

Bonus Features include two of the KIDZ BOP Kids, Dana and Valerie, teaching some Freestyle moves.  You will learn moves such as the Pop and Lock, The Jerk, Vogueing, Moonwalk, and Isolations.  This is great for kids who are not sure about improvisation and just gives some basic ideas for cool dance moves.

There is also a Behind the Scenes look at the making of the KIDZ BOP Dance Moves DVD.  In this section, you will see all the clothes, make-up and props used by the KIDZ BOP Kids.  You will go into their dressing room, see them practicing, and see the making of the music videos.

This is a great DVD for kids who really want to learn the latest dance steps to some popular songs on the radio today.  It retails for $14.98.  It will take some practice, but the steps are easy to learn and, most importantly, fun.  For the parents out there, don't be afraid to get up with your child and learn the dance steps.  You might look silly, but it is great exercise, and a great way to spend time with your kids!



KIDZ BOP provided me with the product reviewed above in order to facilitate this review. All opinions are 100% mine.