Working to take the hustle out of your holiday bustle!

Working to take the hustle out of your holiday bustle!
Working to take the hustle out of your holiday bustle!

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Play-Doh Twirl 'n Top Pizza Shop by Hasbro Review

Who hasn't played with Play-Doh as a child?  I had so many containers of it, I couldn't keep track.  We made everything our imagination would allow out of Play-Doh!  Mason is finally at the age where he is really into playing with Play-Doh.  I started him off with one can and now he has the Play-Doh 24 Pack of Colorson his Christmas list.

I was thrilled that we were lucky enough to try out the Play-Doh Twirl 'n Top Pizza Shop.  This is Mason's first set and he was as excited about it as I was!  He immediately recognized it as a Pizza play set and since he LOVES pizza, I knew this would be a hit.

Set up of the set was a breeze.  All I had to do was attach the cheese sprinkler to the oven by snapping the two pieces together, making one play set.  Next, I placed a pizza dish under the cheeses sprinkler and I was ready to start making pizza with Mason.

Mason started his pizza with making the crust.  I helped him get an appropriate amount of brown Play-Doh and he put it in the pizza pan and put it in the oven.  He easily pulled the handle on the oven, creating the pizza crust.  We put the pan in the pizza dish under the cheese sprinkler and added some Play-Doh to the sprinkler.  I attached the cheese grater handle and showed Mason how to turn the handle so we could grate the "cheese".  Mason then created his pizza toppings of mushrooms, green peppers and pepperoni.  He did need some help getting the toppings out of the mold since they were small.  I used a couple toothpicks to help get the Play-Doh out with no problem.  Mason happily added his toppings to his pizza and I helped him slice it up.  He handed me the first piece and said, "Here you go, Mommy".  He was so proud of himself!

Overall, this Play-Doh set was lots of fun and so easy to use!  Mason loved making pizza to share with me and even told his Daddy all about it when he came home from work!  With some adult help, it is a great set for children 3 and up.

From a parents perspective, I think this set will stand the test of time and it seems durable enough to be played with often.  Clean up of the Play-Doh out of the molds was easy.  I also love that this set is all inclusive.  It comes with everything you need to get your own pizza shop started.  Included in the set is the oven, cheese sprinkler, sprinkler handle, dish, server, cutter, pan, instructions and 3 two-ounce cans and 1 five-ounce can of Play-Doh.  It is recommended for ages 3 and up.  It retails for about $16.99.  I think this makes it a great buy for the price!





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

Monday, October 17, 2011

Monkey Dunk by Hasbro Review


Playing with Mason is my favorite thing to do.  We paint, read books, color, play ball, etc., but sometimes it is nice to be able to sit down and have some structured time with him.  I think it is very important for him to have structured times during the day and I am thrilled that Mason is getting old enough that we can start playing board-type games.  I think it will be both educational and fun for him.  However, it is difficult to find a game for Mason that is "lax" in rules or we can make rules or change them as we need to along the way.  Monkey Dunk! is a great starter game for Mason, as the rules are far from complicated and Mason can try to play from the very start.

Monkey Dunk! is a super cute game.  Monkey Dunk! is a jungle-themed game where you have to try to give monkeys a bath.  Simply 'dunk" the monkeys into one of 4 lagoon swimming holes by flipping them in to water and collect bananas along the way.  Each player gets 4 monkeys to start off the game.  You have to "flip" the monkey into the water.  Hopefully you will have gotten a monkey in the water, but will it stay there?  Elefun will pop up unexpectedly, which ends the game.  If your monkey is still in the water after Elefun pops up, you win a banana!  The player with the most bananas wins.


The game is totally all inclusive.  The box actually becomes the playing area and the jungle decorated backdrop creates the lagoon.  Masons favorite part of the game was the anticipation of the Elefun popper. Elefun is placed into one of the swimming holes where it waits to POP UP.  Elefun will also knock out monkeys of the point scoring swimming holes. Mason laughed and laughed each time it and the monkeys popped.

Monkey Dunk! is great for developing and testing motor skills and aim.  It is very colorful perfect for little kids to play with.  The plastic monkeys were adorable.  The monkeys were a bit hard for Mason to flip because of his young age, but with practice and patience, it should be no problem for older kids to master.  Mason still did enjoy playing that game and though it was fun to put the monkeys into the water while I tried to flip them. 

Monkey Dunk! can be played with 2 to 4 players and is for ages 4 and up.  Included in the game is the Elefun figure, 16 monkeys, game board with backdrop and tray, 20 banana tokens, lily pad blocker and instructions.

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

Monday, October 3, 2011

New Cabbage Patch Kids Fashionalities Review


Did you have a Cabbage Patch Kid when you were growing up? Did you have the diapers, clothes and accessories that went with them? I did! I confess, I still have my Cabbage Patch Kids and just recently pulled them out for Mason to play with. After all these years, they are holding up and in pretty good shape for all the years of being played with and loved.


I was very excited when I heard that JAKKS Pacific was going to bring back Cabbage Patch Kids, and with a twist. Cabbage Patch Kids Fashionalities have a modern look that kids today will easily relate to while maintaining the Cabbage Patch Kid "look" that everyone have come to know and love.

Did you know that over 123 million Cabbage Patch Kids have been adopted to date? The 12 new Cabbage Patch Kids Fashionalities will continue the tradition of Kids being adopted. You will be able to adopt Fashionalities like "Preppy Boy", "Playground Girl", "Artsy Girl" and "Skater Boy", each with a unique personality and style. Kids will easily be able to relate to these "Kids", some of which wear glasses, have long hair, short hair, brown hair, or red hair.

What do I love about the new Cabbage Patch Kids Fashionalities? I love when I opened the box, my doll smelled like baby powder, just like when I was a child. I was happy to see that this detail was not left out. Included was the adoption papers and birth certificate, just like mine did when I was a child. Included is also a unique code to download the adorable Cabbage Patch Kids video, “The New Kid”! The dolls hair was super soft. I loved that the hair was red, curly and long enough to easily be restyled. She wore a super cute, soft and sporty outfit. I love the layers look, that is so popular with kids today. No detail was left out, from the bow in her hair to the socks and shoes on her feet. I also loved that this doll stands 14" tall, which is a perfect size for any toddler or child to carry.


New Cabbage Patch Kids Fashionalities are recommended for ages 3 and up. They retail for $34.99 and can be found at Toys R Us. You can also get accessories for your new Cabbage Patch Kids Fashionalities, which retails for about $9.99. Don't forget to check out more about Cabbage Patch Kids Fashionalities online or on Facebook.

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