Surrender, Dorothy: Reviews

Hot Wheels Trick Tracks

My daughter is such a girly girl.  She turns up her perfect little nose in disdain at what she deems "boy toys" -- Transformers, dragons, pirates and ... Hot Wheels.  When Parent Bloggers Network asked if I wanted to review some Hot Wheels, I said YES! Because I am so tired of the gendered toy thing, and I wanted to see if we could change her girly little mind.

We got the Power Loop Stunt Set.

And the Triple Stunt Starter Set.

 

We tested both out on both my daughter and some little boys we enticed over for football and Hot Wheels.  Although the Power Loop Stunt Set looked more impressive, both my daughter and I preferred the Triple Stunt Starter Set.  The Power Loop set has all those loops, which, frankly, increases the likelihood something will go wrong.  As with many Hot Wheels toys, the challenge is getting the car to stay on the tracks, and while I love a good challenge, wrestling with little plastic parts can be annoying for an adult, let alone a 4-to-8 year-old.  The Triple Stunt Starter Set had just one loop and a really cool crane thing that drops a car to get everything started. My daughter, who preached for three days it was DADDY'S TOY and she DID NOT LIKE IT and WOULD NOT PLAY WITH IT literally squealed with delight the first time she got the stunt to work on her own.  We have a convert here, folks.

If you get this for the holidays, make sure you buy some more Hot Wheels if you don't have a zillion at home. The sets come with one car each, which is totally not enough to do the stunts. But really, who doesn't need more Hot Wheels?

MIFFY

A friend of mine at Ty's asked I would like to give away a Miffy toy.  And I was all, "sure, Miffy's hip."

So here we are.  Time for MIFFY's contest.

This is a random selection. She informed me there is indeed a scientific way to do random selections (though I still prefer writing all your names on pieces of paper, sticking them in a hat, and making my husband pull one out - it's fun for the whole family).  No haiku this time. Just wishing on a big, Miffy star.

Miffy is really big.  Like two-feet-tall big.  Perfect for your already space-cramped child's bedroom.  Ahoy!

Here's an inspiring quote from my friend:  "These Miffy plushes are only available through Ty's Toy Box, so in addition to being, well, gigantic, they're an exclusive item. Ty's is currently making them available to their customers for a limited time for $1 with any Miffy purchase, but other than that and these giveaways, there's no other way to get them."  Makes you salivate a little, doesn't it? 

Also, since Ty's Toy Box is offering Free Giant Miffy, here's some marketing schtick:  There is automatic free shipping on domestic orders over $65 (and a $10 shipping credit for international orders over $65), and through December 3rd they can also use coupon code HOLIDAY5 to take $5 off a $50+ order.

Here are THE RULES:  You have until Wednesday night at 11:59 p.m. Central Standard Time to leave a comment on this post for a chance to win Miffy. You should go visit Ty's and come back here and leave a comment telling me which Ty's item would make your child delirious with glee on Christmas morning.

I will pick my random winner by 11:59 p.m. Central Standard time on Thursday, Dec. 6.  If you win, I'll contact you via e-mail to get your mailing address and welcome you to MiffyTown.  Get cracking!

UPDATED TO ADD: BECAUSE MIFFY IS HUGE, WE HAVE TO LIMIT THIS CONTEST TO U.S. RESIDENTS.

Ready Set Learn! Paz's Radio Control Fire Truck

This fall, the Parent Bloggers Network sent us a radio-control fire truck. 

In the interest of full disclosure, the first one they sent us didn't work.  When the box arrived, it was split open, and it looked as though it had been dropped off the side of the Empire State Building.  We requested one that worked, and it arrived duly in the mail.

The little angel, Pa and I ventured outside after the new one arrived while my parents were visiting. I wanted to really test this toy, since I was a little wary of any toy for ages 3+ that breaks that easily from being dropped. (The product packing cautions strongly against dropping this toy.  Que?)  However, the firetruck totally tamed my cul-de-sac.  We toured it all around the cul-de-sac, up the slope of the driveway, even jumping the curb with ease.  (It veered a little to the right on rocky surfaces, but was fine on smooth ones. Pa says this is due to the back-up mechanism, and since he is an engineer and I am not, I believed him.) Inside the house, the firetruck was awesome, but ramming something into walls isn't fun for me, so we took it outside, stat. 

The fire truck comes with four little firemen and a remote control for all these fancy manuevers. It makes noise and raises its ladder up and down expectantly when it moves.  Bella the Cat adores it.

I think this is the perfect Grandparent Toy.  Because it really shouldn't be dropped, you should probably supervise the child using it.  Yay, grandparents.  It makes noise and is large, which is another great reason to buy it for the grandparents rather than your own parental toy chest.  It's really fun for old men - I had to literally rip the two-button remote from my father's hands in order to give it to the little angel. I think he liked it more than her.

All in all, great toy - needs space, makes noise, shouldn't be dropped.  Coolness factor is very high, though. The little angel forsook all her ridiculous princesses for a full two days to give this fire truck precedence.