Archive for the ‘Play Sets’ Category

KidKraft Majestic Dollhouse Review

Wednesday, November 9th, 2011

KidKraft has done it again as the KidKraft Majestic Dollhouse is simply fabulous! This dollhouse is almost five feet tall and comes with finely crafted wooden furniture which comes to be 34 pieces in all. The eight large rooms can be decorated by the kids to make a complete kitchen, bedroom, and patio, and there is even a laundry room! Large windows give the kids different angles to play from and there’s an elevator that goes between the second and third floor. The entire house is built and planned very realistically including a garage with swinging doors.

The dollhouse is really large, which is fantastic because more than one child can play at a time and this simply means no fights and no tears. The large rooms also mean that popular fashion dolls like Barbie can fit in perfectly into this house. Assembling this house was quite easy and an amateur like me took about three hours. Instructions came with pictures as reference and all the parts were labeled. The craftsmanship is very fine with all the grooves and walls slide into place, and the directions given were really simple. The different screws came in separate pouches, and are color coordinated with the wall they are supposed to fit into. The quality and finish of the wood is fabulous, and is a better option than the cheap plastic stuff available nowadays.

One of its parts arrived broken, but that is probably because of shipping. There is a contact number in the manual and also a section on the website where you can write in the parts that arrived damaged and it’s replaced in a few days. KidKraft really does have the best customer service as they are very prompt. This is a dollhouse which I would recommend to everyone as it is packed with fun and will make moms want to be kid again!

Read more about the KidKraft Majestic Dollhouse

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Fisher Price GeoTrax Transportation System Remote Control Timbertown Railway Review

Tuesday, December 7th, 2010

These days there is a lot of competition from many toy manufacturers for the attention of your children. These companies are doing everything they can to steer your children in the direction of wanting to play with their toys. This doesn’t have to be a bad thing, I would just prefer my children to have a toy that is going to encourage to them to be productive, creative, imaginative, and encourage them to be creators. I found with the Fisher Price GeoTrax Transportation System Remote Control Timbertown Railway, they would be able to do all of this and more.

Children would get to be the conductors of their very own train.

Even though you would think trains would not be popular among small children or slightly older children, the popularity is still there. Kids are able to use their imaginations while playing with trains, and I believe this is a big reason for the continuing popularity despite all the other entertainment they can be engaging in. With this particular set, it is completely remote-controlled, and the three-car train features auto aligning wheels that ensure the train stays on the tracks. This was a problem in the past where trains would frequently become derailed because of problems with the tracks. Luckily, these types of problems have now been solved.

So what does all this mean?

It means that children who do not want to worry about the train falling off the tracks will not have to. Your children will be able to enjoy running the train around the railroads through many different bends, looms and slopes. These are usually the individual features that make the train entertaining. But other features would include the ability to use the working crane to load logs onto the train, make quick stops at the easy rail station, along with other benefits designed to engage a small child’s imagination.

All in all the Fisher Price GeoTrax Transportation System Remote Control Timbertown Railway is a great option for parents who want their small children to enjoy the ability to use their imagination. Having this type of toy will also encourage freethinking ability and set characteristics for the future that will encourage productive traits.

Click here for more about the Fisher Price GeoTrax Transportation System Remote Control Timbertown Railway

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Star Wars General Grevious Spinning Electronic Lightsaber Review

Tuesday, December 7th, 2010

Many children and even some adults are still very enamored with Star Wars. Children are still very enamored by it and are constantly on the lookout for toys that will enable them to play out their Star Wars fantasies. The Star Wars General Grevious Spinning Electronic Lightsaber will enable them to do just that. I know a lot of people are concerned that this particular toy may not be good for children, but just think of the other options out there. Let’s run through a few of the strong points of the Star Wars General Grevious Spinning Electronic Lightsaber.

What small children will be able to do while playing

A lot of small children who are into Star Wars are fully aware of who General Grevious is. Many of them will be able to close their eyes and envision themselves battling the Jedi with the lightsaber just as he does. All this is going to be very harmless activity, and will engage your children in innocent playful activity.

Children will be able to come upon their opponents with spinning blades; they will also be able to wield the lightsaber separately for two-handed use. It also has a gyro grip for spinning light saber motion, along with spinning and connections sounds, glowing arc wave energy blades and power activation comic sound.

Children will be able to create different configurations

Upon considering whether this would be something children would be interested in, I had to check and see was it at least to some degree customizable. I found that children would be able to create four different configurations, double bladed spinning light saber, two single light sabers, double bladed light saber or single spinning light saber. This product also includes two light sabers and connection handles.

Suitable for only small children

I feel that the Star Wars General Grevious Spinning Electronic Lightsaber is definitely only suited for smaller children. I feel it would be completely inappropriate for children who are much older to play with it. But I’m sure everyone is going to be of a different opinion. These days’ small children are losing their imagination, and I feel that this particular lightsaber will enable them to engage their imagination in a very safe manner.

If I had to recommend the Star Wars General Grevious Spinning Electronic Lightsaber to another parent I would definitely tell them to go for it. Their children will be able to enjoy being children with this light saber, and they will be able to engage themselves in a way where you won’t have to worry about their safety.

Click here for more information on the Star Wars Grevious Spinning Electronic Lightsaber

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Squinkies Gumball Surprise Playhouse Review

Monday, September 20th, 2010

Squinkies Gumball Surprise Playhouse reviewThe Squinkies Gumball Surprise Playhouse has a very cute and popular commercial with a catchy theme song that is airing on all the popular kids cartoons and channels, which is making this toy a very popular entry on children’s wish lists lately. In fact, this may be one of, if not thee, hot toy of Christmas 2010.

The Squinkies Gumball Surprise Playhouse is basically a gumball machine, with lots of bells and whistles. Your child turns the knob, much like those old fashioned gumball machines, and a little clear plastic ball comes out. Inside of each ball, there is a Squinkie inside. Squinkie’s include dogs, babies, horses, frogs, bunnies, cats and many other characters. There are many of these little Squinkies available for your child to collect. This may be a good start to a collection for your child, if you want to encourage collecting, something of the Hot Wheels, Cabbage Patch Kid nature, yet much smaller and easier to store and handle. Each Squinkie is soft and squishable, which is apparently where they got the name from. They also squeak like in the commercial. What’s interesting is that you can use each Squinkie for another purpose, like make them into a bracelet, ring or a pencil topper. You can buy more Squinkie’s for the set, they are available in sets, called Series, which have a dozen Squinkie’s in them and each series is different. The gumball machine has sides that open to create a themed play set, where your child can play with the Squinkie’s.

This particular set is recommended for ages 4 and up, but big kids who enjoy anything “cute” will find these adorable as well. The set comes with the playhouse, play set and 9 Squinkie’s. The machine holds up to 15 Squinkie’s bubbles at one time. So, if you give this set to your child for his/her birthday, you can buy a refill for the machine for their birthday, extending the life of this toy. There’s other play sets for Squinkie’s as well, including a Cakeshop playset and palace. Lots of other accessories are available as well.

Our testers found this set and all the Squinkie’s to be absolutely adorable and a load of fun to play with. These may just be the HOT toy of Christmas 2010 or at least one of the hot selling toys of Christmas 2010. The set isn’t particularly durable, but shouldn’t break very easily either.

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Lego Ultimate Building Set Review

Sunday, August 8th, 2010

We all had Lego’s as children, these are the classic sets of building blocks, with the rather sharp edges. Who hasn’t stepped on a Lego in the middle of the night and experienced searing pain in their foot?

Well, regardless of how annoying they are to step on, Lego’s remain one of those surefire toys that will give children, or anyone of any age for that matter, a way to be creative and build to their heart’s content. Lego’s are especially great for bringing out creativity in a child. They are easy to put together and take apart, and surprisingly easy to clean up, as every set comes with a box or container to place them in.

This particular set, called the Lego Ultimate Building Set contains 405 pieces, enough to build a small house, car and other little accessories. This set comes with extras, specifically for building a house, buildings or vehicles, including wheels, windows, doors, a figurine and a building plate for everything to stand on.

Overall, the Lego Ultimate Building Set is a good value for what you get. If the set is for one child, this is perfect. However, if there are two or more children who would be playing with it, you may want to get a couple sets or different set that can add-on to this one. Kids from 5-8 will especially enjoy this set. It may be just the thing to get their creativity off to a good start.

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Fisher-Price Little People Wheelies Stand ‘n Play Rampway Review

Sunday, July 18th, 2010

The Fisher-Price Little People Wheelies Stand ‘n Play Rampway is a play set with lots of action, with ramps, roads and small vehicles that are easy for children to grab and play with. There’s 2 spiral ramps that make it easy for the cars to gain speed going down them. There’s even a little gas station with a hose that makes fun sounds. Even the lights signals work! The elevator works to bring the car to the top of the set. Lots of interactivity and action in this playset.

Includes the 2 foot tall self contained playset plus two vehicles, built-in handle and storage.

This set is perfect for kids who are developing an interest in cars. Optimal ages of children who would enjoy this set would be between 1 and 3 years old.

The toy is built quite sturdy and should easily withstand even the hardest playing child. Set up was simple and should take about 10-20 minutes. Multiple children can easily play with the set, one being on one side, and another on the other side.

Overall, the Fisher-Price Little People Wheelies Stand ‘n Play Rampway was a big hit with our testers who loved the interactivity, the movement and action. Nothing to learn from this toy, but it should certainly keep the attention of kids for hours, especially those who are interested in cars.

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