Last Minute Easter Gifts

I received these products to review.

I received three adorable dolls made by Corolle (Babibunny, Sweet Heart Pink and Sweet Heart Toffee Pink).  Each doll is 12 inches tall, the perfect size to be cuddled and cradled in a young child's arms.  They are designed and styled in France.  They feature the signature vanilla scented vinyl hands and face.  Each doll has a sewn in label where you can fill in your child's name (or your own as the parent) and phone number.  This gives a greater chance of the doll being returned if it is ever lost. 

This is the Corolle Mon Doudou Babibunny two in one Musical Baby Doll and Nightlight.  She is named Floral Bloom.  Her soft design and music makes her perfect for even babies, and the nightlight will give comfort in the night.  If she gets dirty, the battery casing can be removed so you can throw her into the washing machine on gentle cycle.  You can purchase Floral Bloom on Amazon for $39.97.

This is the Corolle Mon Premier Poupon Sweet Heart Pink Baby Doll.  The hat with the bunny ears can be pulled off of her head, but it is firmly attached to the back of her neck so you don't have to worry about it getting lost.  Her sewn on pajamas are made of a variety of materials and textures to encourage and stimulate emerging senses.  She has fixed blue eyes and is suitable for ages 9 months and up, and she would be an excellent choice for a first birthday gift.  You can purchase her on Amazon for $29.29.  

 
This is the Corolle Mon Premier Poupon Sweet Heart Toffee Pink Baby, Doll.  Like the Sweet Heart Pink doll, the hat with the bunny ears can be pulled off of her head, but it is firmly attached to the back of the neck to prevent it from getting lost.  She also wears sewn on pajamas that are made of a variety of materials and textures and is suitable for ages 9 months and up.  This doll has fixed brown eyes instead of blue.  You can purchase her on Amazon for $19.99.    

Next we have three products from Faber-Castell.  They are the Rainbow Sandland, Rainbow Fluffy Paint and the Magic Bean Garden.

This is Creativity For Kids Rainbow Sandland.  It comes with everything you need to make a beautiful layered sandscape.  You get the clear window frame curved container, 5 vibrant colors of sand, glitter, a wooden design tool, stickers, funnel, craft glue, mini unicorn figurine and a fitted cap piece to glue in place above your sand layers.  This will hold the sand in place so your design will remain in place and it will prevent the sand from leaking out.  Combine the glitter with the colored sand and layer the colors in the container.  Use the design tool to create intricate patterns that are unique to your imagination.  Finish off your design using the unicorn figure and the stickers.  Once you have finished your sand art masterpiece, avoid shaking or tipping it.  Even with the cap in place, the sand can still shift and you may lose your intricate patterns that you made with the design tool.  So proudly display it on a shelf or table top without tipping it.  It is recommended for ages 6 to 96.  You can purchase it on Amazon for $15.99.    

This is Rainbow Fluffy Paint.  With a 3D whipped texture, it's like painting with fluffy frosting.  You can mix, layer and design in dimension with this fluffy paint.  This set includes 5 different colors of fluffy paint in pouches, drawing and mixing tool, texture card, stencil, black papers and white papers.  Everything is allergen free and comes in a snap case box with a handle for carrying.  Use the texture card to create patterns and the stencil to make 3D dots.  use the tools to smear and scratch to make a stunning drawing or blend the paints together to form a rainbow.  Use your imagination with your are, that's the funnest part.  The paint dries quickly and will hold the 3D effects.  Recommended for ages 6 and up.  You can purchase this on the Faber-Castell website for $17.99.   

I saved this one for last because it is so incredibly cool!  It's the Magic Bean Garden.  What makes it so cool is that when your plant grows, it will have words or images on it!

You get everything you need to grow your own magic beans.  You even get supplies to decorate the planter.  Included in the box is a planter, colored garden stones, potting mix, 5 colors of paint, a paint brush and three double sided magic message beans.  

First, you paint your planter using your paints.  Make sure you spread newspapers over the table surface before you begin and have some water and paper towels handy in case you spill.  These acrylics paints will not wash away once it is dry, so clean up any spills immediately while it is still wet.  Wear old clothing or an apron because if you get it on your clothes, it will not wash out.  Stir your paint thoroughly before using it because it can separate over time.  If it seems too thick, add a drop or two of water and mix it in.  Make sure you thoroughly rinse out your brush and dry it each time you switch colors, and also when you are finished painting.  You can use your imagination and paint your planter any way you want to.  You can come up with your own design, or look at the package for design ideas.  Let the planter dry completely before moving on to the next stage.

While your planter is drying, take a look at your beans.  Each bean has a word on one side and a symbol on the other.  When the plants grow from these beans, those words and symbols will magically appear on the plant.  

 
Once your planter is completely dry, fill it with the potting mix.  Then plant your beans. 

Sprinkle your garden stones over the top and add a little water.  Then set it aside and wait for the beans to sprout!

Once your plants start growing, make sure you water them regularly.  But don't give them too much water.  Ask your parents for help if you are not sure how much water to give them.  They will also need sunlight, so place it on or near a windowsill where the sun shines in.

Examine your plants.  You will see that the words and symbols that were on the beans have magically appeared on your plants!  Isn't that cool?  

The Magic Bean Garden set is recommended for ages 5 to 95.  Older children can do this on their own, but younger ones will need their parents' help.  You can purchase this on the Faber-Castell website for $14.99.  

Need some last minute Easter Basket ideas?

I was given these products to review.

This is the Animal Jumble 60 Piece Set from Magformers.  The set includes 20 additional shapes and animal accessories for hours of fun!  There are 8 triangles, 27 squares, 2 pentagons, 2 hexagons, 2 isosceles triangles, 2 trapezoids and 17 clip in animal accessories.  These are compatible with all other magformers shapes and accessories.  They are guaranteed to connect thanks to the neodymium rare earth magnets and are made of BPA free plastic.  It encourages STEM learning and inspires your child to use his imagination.  The magnets help make cleanup and storage easy as well because you can neatly stack them to take up less room.  An added bonus is the fact that your child will actually enjoy stacking them!  I love watching my kids play with this.  They come up with some of the funniest animal combinations.  This would make a wonderful alternative to candy for a last minute Easter gift.  Recommended for ages 3 and up.  The suggested retail price is $59.99.     

This is the Ooze Labs Slime by Thames & Kosmos.  This is another toy that encourages STEM learning and would make an awesome Easter Basket filler.  Each container is a big plastic test tube that allows your child to make slime that is safe to create and play with.  All kids love slime, right?  I know mine do!  Creating the slime is a simple and basic lesson in chemistry.  I received the Glitter Slime Ooze Labs, but there are also 6 other varieties which include Magnetic Slime Ooze Labs, Hot Ice Crystals Ooze Labs, Magic Sand Ooze Labs, Hypercolor Slime Ooze Labs, Glow In The Dark Slime Ooze Labs and Sunshine Slime Ooze Labs.  All varieties are available on Amazon, at Nordstom and at your local toy school.  This is recommended for ages 7 and up.  The suggested retail price is $4.95.

This is Elmo's Wagon by Green Toys.  Load it up with all of your favorite things.  The wagon is sturdy and durable for indoor and outdoor toddler play.  It features fun Elmo faces on each side of the wagon.  The 100% cotton rope handle makes it easy for little ones to haul around their most prized possessions.  It also tucks away inside for convenient, safe storage.  It is made in the USA from 100% recycled plastic with no BPA, phthalates or PVC.  It comes packaged with recycled and recyclable materials printed with soy inks.  It is recommended for ages 18 months and up.  The suggested retail price is $24.99.      

Spice up your Game night with Spicy Dice.

Spicy Dice provided these products to me for review.  The dice are 100% acrylic.  They are pearlized with rounded corners and edges.  They look great and roll perfectly. 

This is the Spicy Dice Main Game Pack.  These are special dice that have some of the numbers colored red and and some white.  The object of the game is to score as many points as you can in the ten boxes on your score sheet.  You can score each box only once, but you can do them in any order you choose.  First you roll all 6 of your dice.  If you roll a red number, you can turn that die into any number you choose.  But you have to do it before you roll again.  You can re-roll any dice you choose.  There isn't a limit of rolls per turn, but you only get a total of 30 rolls per game.  When you choose to end your turn, you score your dice and mark it in the box of your choice.  You also write down how many rolls you used on that turn.  Once you have all of your boxes filled in, add in your bonus if you have one.  If you use all 30 of your rolls before you've scored each box, you get a zero for the bonus and a zero in any unscored box.  Add up your total score.  Your game is now over, but the other players continue until they either use all of their rolls or have written a score in every box.  The highest score when every player is done playing wins.  If you play by the classic rules (which is what I just described) on main game pack is enough for an unlimited number of players if you share the dice.  There are also rules for alternate versions where each player will need his own dice.

You can get expansion packs to give each player his own set of dice in his own color.  The dice come in several different colors. 

This is a pouch to store your dice and score cards in.  It is included in the main game pack.

The suggested retail price of the main game is $14.95 and the suggested retail price for the expansion pack is $5.95.  You can find them on the Spicy Dice site, amazon and many independent toy stores.

You can download pdf files on their site free of charge to print your own additional score cards and rules for 2 additional games.  I thought that was really cool of them to give it to you free of charge.  Overall, Spicy Dice is a really fun game that the whole family can enjoy playing together.

   

Add these to your family game night.

CMON Inc. has provided me with these games for review.

This is Railroad ink Deep Blue Edition.  Inside the box you will find 4 Route Dice, 2 River Dice, 2 Lake Dice, 6 Boards, 6 Markers and a Rule Book.  To play, you roll the route dice then draw the results on your route board.  You score points by having long interconnecting routes, connecting the entry points to your board and having routes through the center of your board.  But you lose points if you have unfinished lines.  In the Deep Blue Edition, the River and Lake Dice add waterways to the map.  You can combine this with the Blazing Red Edition to add meteors and volcanoes.  The Deep Blue Edition is a 1-6 player game and is recommended for age 8 and up.  You can purchase it for $19.99 HERE.

This is Dream on.  Inside the box you will find a 2 Minute Timer, 3 Scoring Cards, 156 Dream Cards and a Rule Book.  To play you enter a shared dream with your friends that is dictated by the dream cards.  It may put you in outer space, another land or under the sea.  Each player gets 3 cards and one card is placed face up on the table to make the dream pile.  Then you flip the timer and players take turns adding one of the cards to the pile and telling the story of your dream based on what cards they play.  There is no turn order, each player adds a card whenever he wants.  The only rule is that you have to draw a new card from the deck after each card you play.  You do this until the timer runs out.  Then you take turns trying to remember the dream in order and check it with the pile of cards everyone played.  You score points according to how well you remember the dream.  This is a 2-8 player game and is recommended for age 7 and up.  You can purchase Dream On for $19.99 HERE.

This is Kaleidos.  It comes with four identical sets of ten pictures.  Each player sets up the same picture to begin the game.  A letter is chosen using a deck of cards.  To play, you have to search the picture and write down everything you see in it that begins with the specified letter. You get 60 seconds per round.  When the round is over you compare your lists.  Any word that is on more than one player's list scores 1 point.  Any word that is only on one person's list scores 3 points.  After each player has their score for the round, a new round starts using a new picture.  You add your scores from each round together.  The person with the highest score at the end of the last round wins.  You can buy Kaleidos for $39.99 HERE.

This is Ta-Da!  In the box you will find 36 Custom Dice, 6 Dice Cups, 45 Spell Cards, 20 Feat Cards and a Rule Book.  To play each player rolls their spells using the colorful dice.  There is a different color of cup and dice for each player.  Each turn you can save one symbol that matches your spell card.  You want to roll your dice as fast as you can because each player rolls at the same time.  Each round the rules are altered by the Feat cards, so you need to think fast and be able to change your strategy.  Some spells can be used to slow down your opponents.  The first player to complete 6 spells wins the game.  This is a 2-6 player game and is recommended for ages 14 and up.  You can purchase it for $24.99 HERE.           

Add these Micro Wheels to your son's Easter basket

I received these Micro Wheels products to review.

These Micro Wheels would be a perfect addition to any little boy's Easter basket.  Actually, a lot of little girls would love them too!  I know mine do!  These are small micro sized cars.  They come in a little garage.  You can attach it to the end of the loop set and use them together.  Send the little cars through the loop and then park them in the garage.

From their description:  "Get ready to race with Micro Wheels!  The speedy wheels you've always dreamed of have all been micro sized!  Discover a new way to race with boost up activation; the more you pump, the faster they go.  Race your friends through gravity defying loops and get to your garage first to win.  Too slow and you'll be locked out!  With over 30 to collect, discover the translucent, metallic and glow in the dark vehicles."

Trust me, your kids will want to collect them all!  My kids like to set them up side by side and send them through the loops at the same time.  I like that they are small enough that they won't damage anything if they hit something.

The Loop Pack comes with two vehicles.  One is visible, but the other one is a surprise.  You won't know what it looks like until you open it.  

These are recommended for age 4 and up.  The Micro Wheels Garage Pack is $3.99.  And the Micro Wheels Loop Pack is $11.99.  


  

Last Minute Easter Basket Stuffers

Easter will soon be here and if you are looking for some last minute editions for your kids' baskets, why not add some Pomsies, Pomsie Poos or Grumblies Miniacs.

This is Zoey the Dragon.  It is so cute with its soft pink fur and bright blue eyes.  It just makes you want to say "AWWWWWW".  Zoey is a Pomsie.  Pomsies have a long tail that you can wrap around your wrist, arm, leg, backpack, or hair.  You can wear it and take it along with you as you go out and about.  It also comes with its own brush,  They have two modes of play:  Virtual Pet Mode and Freeze Dance Mode.  Pet the three touch points on their head, nose and mouth to nurture them.  They will tell you if they are tired, hungry or cold.  And they will sing while you dance with them.  They have 50 different reactions and different cute sounds.  And their eyes light up.  They use 2 CR123A batteries, which are included.  Pomsies are made by Skyrocket and are recommended for age 3 and up.  But these things are so cute that even adults love them.  The suggested retail price is $14.99.

  
This is one of the Pomsie Poos.  They are miniature pomsies that do not have the electronic features.  But they do still have the long wrap around tail and are still as cute as can be!  They have a heart shaped clasp to attach to your backpack, clothing or whatever you want to attach it to.  There are 12 adorable animal characters to collect including dogs, cats, pandas, foxes, koalas, bats, raccoons and more.  They are made by Skyrocket for ages 3 and up.  The suggested retail price is $4.99.  

And finally we have the Grumblies Miniacs.  These are miniature versions of the popular Grumblies characters and you can take them with you wherever you go.  These grumpy guys have highly detailed, lively facial expressions and colorful hair that you can style and shape.  They can be put on the ends of your pencils, thrown in your backpack or stack and display them on a shelf.  There are 12 different characters to collect and each one comes in individual blind packs.  They are made by Skyrocket for ages 5 and up.  The suggested retail price is $3.99.

Colored Pencils and Markers for Artists

I received these products for review from Peter Pauper Press.

This is the Studio Series 26-Piece Sketch and Drawing Pencil Set.  It has everything that a sketch artist needs if they prefer to draw in pencil.  It's perfect for novices, dabblers and seasoned artists.  It includes 26 essential sketching tools stored in a nice reusable case.  There are 12 graphite pencils (5H-8B), 3 charcoal pencils (soft, medium and hard), a soft graphite sketching pencil, 3 charcoal sticks (soft, medium and hard), 3 graphite sticks (soft, medium and hard), a sharpener for the graphite pencils, a sharpener for the charcoal pencils, a kneaded eraser, a plastic eraser and a storage case.  You can purchase this set for $14.99 HERE.  

This is the Studio Series Calligraphy Pen Set.  This is a great set to learn the art of Calligraphy with.  It has everything you need to get started.  The set includes 4 stainless steel pen nibs (1.1 mm, 1.5 mm, 1.9 mm and F-point), 3 black pens with chrome plated pocket clips, 20 ink cartridges (6 black, 6 blue, 2 red, 2 green, 2 purple and 2 turquoise), instruction booklet and a reusable storage tray.  Please note that this set is not a toy.  It contains very small parts that could pose a choking hazard for children.  They recommend that it not be used by children under 12.  You can purchase this for $24.99 HERE.

This is the Studio Series Deluxe Colored Pen Set (Set of 50).  There are so many shades in the set!  It's perfect for artists who prefer to have their drawings in color.  There are 50 vibrant shades here.  You get luminous color saturation from the high performing pigments.  They have soft core leads for easy blending and shading.  They are equally effective for bold pencil strokes or delicate shading.  These pencils are perfect for both beginners and experienced artists.  The set comes with a sturdy tin to safeguard your pencils.  The tin has 2 tiers of pencils in flat trays for easy organization.  You can purchase this set for $24.99 HERE.

This is the Studio Series Professional Alcohol Dual Tip Artist's Markers.  There is a nice assortment of 24 vivid color markers.  They have dual tips...one end is a fine tip for detail work and the other is a brush for broad area coverage.  They are blendable regardless of whether the ink is still wet or if it has dried.  You get even saturation thanks to the optimal ink flow.  These markers are great for illustrating, designing, sketching, crafting, coloring, cartooning and anything you want to do with them.  They work on paper, fabric, glass, wood, metal and ceramics.  The alcohol based ink is archival, dye based.  They will not damage the surface of your paper.  They will write on nearly any surface and are made to last!  You can purchase thesefor $39.95 HERE.

And finally we have the Studio Series Metallic Markers.  You can color, draw and write on nearly any surface with these fine tip metallic markers.  The metallic colors look awesome on a black surface.  There are 7 beautiful colors in this set (blue, gold, green, purple, red, silver and white.  The sturdy plastic market tips will keep their shape and won't wear down and go dull.  They have a valve that ensures smooth and dense ink flow.  Will write on plastic, glass, metal, paper and more.  You can purchase these markers for $17.99 HERE.      

These games would be great additions to your family game night

Looney Labs has provided me with these games in exchange for an honest review.  They are all very fun games and would be perfect for family game night. 

This game is called Choose One.  It's a 3-10 player game and is recommended for ages 14 and up.  To play this game, Player one chooses a topic card from his hand and shows it to the rest of the players.  There are two options on each topic card (one highlighted in blue, one highlighted in white) and each player tries to figure out which option player one will pick.  Each player (including player one) places either their blue or white choice card face down to show which one they thing the first player will choose.  Player one's choice card will indicate which one he is choosing.  Once everyone has laid out their choice card, you flip them all over to see if anyone guessed correctly.  If no one guessed correctly, player one gets 2 points.  If some of the players get it right, but not all, then player one and those who guessed correctly each gets 1 point.  If everyone guessed correctly, no one gets a point.  mark the scores accordingly and the next player gets to choose the topic card.  The game is won when some one reaches 11 points.  This is a fun game.  It retails for $20 and can be purchased HERE

This is Time Breaker.  With this card game you get to chase a Chrono-Criminal across time.  The Time Breaker is jumping from on time tile to another reaping havoc everywhere he goes.  You must capture him and return with him to Time Repair HQ before your opponents catch up or the Time Breaker slips aways.  This is a 2-5 player game recommended for ages 8-Adult.  The manufacturers retial price is $25 and you can purchase it HERE .

And finally we have Chrononauts.  This is a card game for 1-6 players age 11-adult.  In this game you are a Time Traveler with a secret mission, secret identity and an assignment to fix time paradoxes.  You need to gather the rare artifacts listed on your mission card.  Or you can adjust history in the three ways  needed for you to return to the alternate reality from which you originally came.  The changes in history are tracked by a layout of 32 cards called the TimeLine.  This is a fast paced, fun game.  The manufaturer retail price is $20 and you can purchase it HERE.

Snap Swaps, collect them all!

Kristen, the Co-Creator of Snap Swaps, has kindly provided me with an assortment of Snap Swaps for review.  She has also been a wealth of information about the evolution of this product.  This is Kristen with her fiance Shaun.

Kristen came up with the idea for Snap Swaps after noticing the way children were focused on computers, cell phones and tablets instead of interacting with each other and enjoying the world.  She wanted to come up with something that would get kids out of the digital world and back into the real one.  What she came up with, with the help of her husband, was Snap Swaps.

Snap Swaps are little links that can be connected together to form bracelets or necklaces.  Each one has a fun face painted on it.  Kids can trade links with other kids, or just admire each other's collection.  They encourage kids to interact with each other.  But they didn't develop these adorable links over night.  For about a year and a half, Shaun would work 10 hours per day at his shipping and receiving job, then go home and work on the links for about 4 hours each night.  He was slowly working out how to connect the links and the design for them.  They wanted the links to snap together and keep the bracelet securely fastened, but they also wanted them to challenge the kids so they would have to work at the snaps to master them. 

This a the first rough prototype that Shaun made our of wood. This design would grow and evolve many times.  Eventually, he would sculpted the first working piece out of sculpting clay, and used it to create a silicone mold.  Then he cast it with fiberglass resin to create the first Snap Swaps and had them hand painted by a locol nail artist named Casandra Bartrum.   

 

The picture above shows the first working hand painted pieces.  During this time, Kristen was taking classes and learning how to handle the business end of their venture.

Snap Swaps was intended to encourage kids to interact with each other in order to compare their own with others' or make trades.  The main goal being to get the kids away from computer or phone screen.  But there has been other surprising uses found for them as well.  They have heard from child psychologists telling them that they are using Snap Swaps with their patients as feeling checks.  And they've also learned that some pediatric nurses are using them to communicate to some extent with children who find it difficult to communicate.  I think that is amazing!

The 3 photos above are some of the prototypes for future lines that they are working on.  I really like the dolphin one.   As for my own 3 children, they love Snap Swaps!  They've divided the samples I received among themselves and use them as a barter system with each other.  They are showing them to their friends and telling them where to buy them so they can start trading with them.

Snap Swaps are suggested for ages 5 and up.  You can purchase them from their website https://snapitswapit.com/ .