Adventures for little ones from Shout! Factory

My little pony is one of my children's favourite toys so we are excited about My Little Pony Friendship is Magic: Adventures in the Crystal Empire coming on DVD December 4th.  

This DVD is about the magical empire that appears in the arctic north of Equestria.  Princess Celestia needs Twilight Sparkle and her friends to find a way to protect their empire.  

The DVD has 5 episodes from the Friendship is Magic series, which are 
*The Crystal Empire, Part 1
*The Crystal Empire, Part 2
*Sonic Rainboom
*Luna Eclipsed*It's About Time

and bonus features that include sing along and colouring sheets.  

We can preorder this DVD on Amazon so it will be available on time to give as gifts :).

Watch for Littlest Pet Shop: Little Pets, Big Adventure that will be available on January 15th.  We can already start to preorder this first DVD collection based on Hasbro's popular Littlest Pet Shop brand toys.  This animated series premiered on November 10th on Hub TV in the US.  

Littlest Pet Shop is an animated half-hour comedy series that follows Blythe Baxter and her father as they move into a Big City apartment above the Littlest Pet Shop store, which is an amazing day camp for pets of all kinds including a doggie diva, dancing gecko, a sweet, adorable panda and others. 

The real adventure begins when Blythe discovers that she can understand and talk to all of the pets. Blythe joins the pets on fantastical adventures that include uproarious song and dance sequences.     

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Floppets will travel anywhere with us

Floppets are cool, creative, flexible little animal characters that are attached to a Velcro strap.  They would go anywhere you take them :)  We love every character of these cute collectible Floppets.  
Floppets are available in a variety of bright and vibrant characters from animals, birds, aliens, sea creatures, teapots and many more.  Both boys and girls will like collecting and attaching these "pets" to their belongings.  
Floppets can be attached to anything we want such as slippers/flip flops, shoes, bag, lunch boxes, pencils, literally anywhere!  

Floppets are on a Velcro strap that can be linked so a few Floppets can attach together and be worn as bracelets, rings etc.  My daughter is very careful with her "pets", as she makes sure they are safely hanging onto her belongings, hand and hair.    
This toy/accessory is for anyone over 4 years.  I like attaching these cute pets to my handbag and key tag as well :)    
We can include Floppets as a reward children can earn, when they do their chores and homework.  Each Floppet is about $2 and can be purchased in these places. 

Check out Floppets on Facebook to see pictures of all the places Floppets get attached to.  Interesting news of Floppets can be followed on twitter.  

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Duracell DuraLock 90th Birthday

Duracell has been a trusted brand for 90 years.  81% of Canadians said, in the DuraLock survey that they would like to be prepared with batteries for the unexpected moments.
I was invited to celebrate the 90th birthday of Duracell.  

The timeline artifacts brought back memories.  I hope looking at these pictures will bring back memories of things you used as well.  (Click on the images to enlarge)  

Radio, walkmans, cassette players, CD players.

Toys from past and present; remote control cars, video games, Elmo and Furby.

Portable devices are a big part of our lives and is becoming more and more part of everything i.e. toys, essential items, medical, home etc.  Duracell batteries; Copper Top, Ultra power, rechargeable battery, Duracell DuraLock are batteries for every lifestyle.

The DuraLock batteries have a "good until date" printed on the package and are recognizable by the ring around it.  Even if the batteries are left with the packages in the cupboard for a long time, DuraLock Power Preserve Technology guarantees the batteries to work for up to 10 years, so we have access to power when we need it.

The special features outlined below guarantees Duracell DuraLock batteries for 10 years.

• The alkaline cells.
• Purity of the ingredients in the battery cell i.e. 24 karate gold, which is the best fuel to create chemical power.  
• The anode and cathode that protects the unique separator, which limits power transfer when not in use.
• The triple anti corrosive exterior protection with the nickel-plated steel keeps the batteries acid resistant.

Next time you are looking for batteries, look for Duracell DuraLock.

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DK LEGO books and contest

This LEGO DK ultimate sticker collection book was really enjoyed by my little one.  It is better to paste the stickers with the young children instead of them doing the book by themselves.  This way we can ask questions and talk about which stickers belong where i.e. which sticker should we put in the farm or the zoo etc.  

This LEGO DK Brickmaster brings reading and play together.  It helps children follow instructions and build creative toys.  This set allows children to recreate the story that they have read.  It was fun to build the LEGO pieces with my children and see the lego characters from the book in action as the children played with them.  

I liked that the book has five chapters so we can read and build one chapter at a time.  With each progressing chapter the amount of building increases.  Children can also get creative to make their own structures and tell their own story.  This LEGO DK book is for children over the age of 5 years although with supervision 3 1/2 to 4 year old children can participate.  

My daughter enjoyed reading this DK reader about Friends. She liked the pictures throughout the book and related the story to the LEGO characters. 

The story in the reader was interesting so she didn't mind sitting to read the whole book :) These types of DK readers are encouraging for the children to read. The books have fun stories with reading levels. The stories are not too long to finish reading from beginning to end for young children.

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Twister game

Twister Dance is an innovative game that combines dance music with the classic Twister spots.  It allows the whole family, especially girls to move their feet to the coloured spots on the floor that coordinate with the multi-coloured LED lights on the Dance console.  Players can rock the spots to their own music choices by connecting any mp3 player to the Dance console; this makes it more challenging and fun every time they play. 
This game is aimed for children age 8+ and is available at toy stores.
It includes 8 moveable, iconic Twister spots (4 per player), Dance console with superior sound quality and bright, multi- colour LED lights, MP3 connector cord, and 5 pre-programmed dance songs.  It includes 4 AA batteries.

My children like the different music that were already there.  They also enjoyed connecting with the iPod and mp3 player to dance to their favourite music.  My daughter was wondering why the LED light had purple colour flashing, when there wasn't a purple colour Twister spot.  My children liked having fun with this game for a long time.  My daughter was telling me that this is a good game because she gets to do her exercise through this.  It is a fun way for the family to spend time together.

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Hasbro toys Preview event 2012

My children and I enjoyed all the toys at the Hasbro 2012 event.  My kids tested almost all the toys that were there, and they got attached to many of the toys.  There were lots of our old favourites made new, hope you get to check all these toys at your toy stores.  It is pretty hard to make a choice with the variety that is available, so make the list for holiday shopping soon :)

Battleship: The battle for Earth begins at Sea

Hasbro has created many action-packed toys, KRE-O building sets and a line of licensed goods inspired around the Universal Studio movie, Battleship.  
This movie directed by Peter Berg, will be in theatres on May 18th.  We are excited and looking forward to watch the movie. 

My children and we were excited to see the battleship toys in this cool box.  This Hasbro packaging will definitely be reused as my son has already started storing his treasure in it.  To start him off there was a Hasbro battleship dog tag necklace.  There are holographic radar screen pictures printed inside the box and a red "fire" button to press where we can hear submarine sonar sounds.  





It is exciting to build these KRE-O brick sets.  The children helped their dad build this cool set and it was wonderful to see it come together :)  The only con is that the bricks come apart a little too easy so while playing and moving we have to be careful.  My children were using their imagination to play with the toys and figures that came in these sets.  
The sets have clear colourful instructions, which are easy to follow.  All the parts come in small packages.  Once completed the KRE-O battleship sets make a lovely display.  
The sets are for children over the age of 6, some sets are for 7+ and some for 8+.  The price of the sets varies from $10 to $80 available at these retailers.  
The 2012 KRE-O battleship line includes: The ocean attack set, land defense battle pack, combat chopper set, alien strike set, mine stryker set, air assault set, battle base set and U.S.S Missouri set.  





Hasbro has created a classic battleship movie edition game.  They have instruction on how to play the game in different ways.  The goal is to sink the opponent's fleet before they sink yours.  Although it is a two-person game we can play it in two teams if we wish.  This new version has special op cards.  
This classic game comes in two folding hard cases, which makes it convenient to take on trips and transport.  There is a little drawer on each case to store the pegs, ships and cards.  I like this feature as it saves the pieces from getting lost.  Initially, I found it hard to remove the ships from the slots.  This game is for children over seven because it involves reading and there are little pieces.  Hasbro also has Deluxe battleship electronic edition and hidden threat card game.  


We enjoyed the battleship game and building the KRE-O building sets.  Children over the age of 7 will enjoy these toys as they recreate the movie and use their imagination.  These games and building sets would be lovely gifts and a good activity to do during family time and quiet play time.    


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Playtime has become fun with the Toydozer

Do you remember the time when you have stepped on little toys in the middle of the night, got hurt and became really angry?  Was there some point of time when you felt like throwing all the little toys that you got for the children because cleaning up was such a hectic job?  
All this will change with this innovative tool that mompreneur Amy Bradley has invented.  


Every parent and child will love the Toydozer.  This cleanup bulldozer will be very useful for everyone with children, including classrooms, daycares and play spaces.  





Every time I say to my children, "Its time to clean up" all I hear back is "I didn't make the mess" although they were both playing with the toys.  
After we got the Toydozer both of them want to clean up, so I am really happy :)

The design of the Toydozer is well thought-out.  The velcro tabs keep the gatherer and scoop together.  It is easy to store and hang when it is not in use.  There is no need to pick up each toy, cleaning will be fast.  
This product will teach children responsibility to clean up after themselves at a young age.  It is made out of strong plastic, but it is light in weight so children can easily use it.  It comes in three vibrant colours blue, yellow and purple.  The Toydozer is very helpful picking up small toys such as blocks, train pieces, puzzles, cars, the little ponies, squinkies and all the other toys.


This Toydozer has made a dramatic change in my home, I don't need to crawl all over the floor to pick up toys and the children have become really helpful cleaning up.  


It is sold online.  To get a 20% discount on your purchase use this coupon code: BLOGGER20.  Shipping is free within USA and Canada. 


If you want to win one please leave a comment on this post.
Follow Toydozer on Twitter and Facebook to keep up-to-date with their latest promotions.
Please follow my Twitter and Facebook so you will know when the winner is announced.
The giveaway ends on May 5th. 
Open to people in Canada and USA.


Update: The giveaway winner is shineyaim

Disclosure:  I received this sample Toydozer as a part of the Toydozer blogger outreach campaign.  All rights reserved on photographs and opinion of the written content Createwithmom © 2012. Please Ask First

Jay at play toys

Jay at Play is a company that has cute innovative toys that children will like. Their new line best flower buds dolls and Stinky little trash monster are 9" to 15" high, plush figures. The flower bud doll pops in and out of the soft pliable rubber like pot, which is a lot of fun for the children to play with. I haven't seen a toy like this before, my children like this unique toy as well. I think this cute flower bud doll will look good on my desk too :) We can leave it as a doll or as a flower on a pot by putting the doll inside the pot.

Fun with Jake and the Never Land pirates

Ahoy! Mates,

Jake and the Never Land pirates: Peter Pan returns is available on DVD since April 3rd; it has over 2 hours of special features.

This story is about Peter Pan's missing shadow. While Peter was playing the game Catch-me-if-you-can, he looses his shadow and Captain hook takes it. He goes to ask his friend Jake's help. His friends Izzy, Cubby and parrot Skully join to work as a team to find Peter's shadow. Peter needed his shadow to fly so he had to get it back from captain hook.

This is a lovely movie with lots of songs to keep the children entertained while you are doing some spring cleaning and catching up :)

Painting egg shells. This could be a lovely activity for anytime of the year. To make these Pirate eggs we need to remove the inside yolk and white. First shake the egg carefully, then use a sharp skewer or fork and pierce the narrow end of the egg. Make the pierced part a little big, place a bowl and invert the egg to remove the inside and save it for cooking.

Wash and let the eggshell dry upside down.

We painted these eggshells using sharpie markers.

To make holders

Cut a strip of light board or construction paper about 1" wide, for the length measure the circumference of one side of the egg.

Decorate the strip.

Then slit 1/2" on one corner of the strip from the top and for the other corner cut from the bottom 1/2" (click on the above picture and look closer).

The slits should go into each other and attach.

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Nutella Crêpe and French café playhouse

Kate Fagelman, the mompreneur of Little play spaces made this creative Parisian style café with recycled corrugated cardboard. This eco-friendly French café has lots of beautiful artistic detail.

Squinkies® Zinkies™

Blip toys released a new line of Squinkies called Zinkies. These new teeny tiny squishy squashy characters are a cute line of mini collectibles. They come in their own plastic toy bubble.

There are six unique sets of Zinkies that are lovely to display when children aren't busy playing. i.e. Snug a bug sunflower, tiny tea party teacups are some of the sets.
Each set comes with 12 zinkies, 4 coloured bubbles, a squeezer; which is a plastic soft tweezer and a magnifying glass.

The tiny toys that include monkey, kitten, horses, and other cute characters have a lot of detail although it is so small. The magnifying glass enables children to take a look at these characters closer and examine it.

It is good toy that test fine motor skills when the children pick it up with their fingers and squeezers to place it in the hiding spots. Both my daughter and son enjoyed playing with the zinkies and were naming each one. I am sure they will start collecting and exchanging these with their friends.

The toys will be available at Target, Walmart, amazon and Toy 'r' us. Squinkies fans already know how cool these toys are as Squinkies bubble packs, cupcake surprise bakeshop, Adventure mall surprise have earned lots of awards since they launched in 2010.

Follow their tweets and Facebook and get to know their latest news.

Thank you Blip toys for introducing us to these trendy toys. All opinion and rights reserved on photographs and written content Createwithmom © 2012. Please Ask First

Perplexus

Perplexus is toy/game for adults and children over the age of 6 years. This is a fabulous entertainer that doesn't require batteries.

All you have to do is flip, twist and spin to move the steel ball along the numbered path. If it falls off the tracks, just start over at one of the starting points and have fun.

I wish the numbers were visibly printed on the tracks, so it is easier to follow the ball on the track. It would have been cooler if it glowed in the dark.

If you become a professional on this Original perplexus, you can enjoy it by racing with your friends or against time. You would also want to try the perplexus rookie and epic.

One thing is for sure; you won't be able to put it down, as it will leave you perplexed.

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Green toys

Green toys are safe, fun and good for the earth. All green toys are made with 100% recycled plastic milk containers which is already food safe plastic. Since these toys do not contain BPA, PVC, phthalates, coating, melamine or metal in any of their products, it makes me feel comfortable as my children handle and play with these toys.

uKloo a treasure hunt game for early readers

uKloo is a game that every parent will want for their children. This game is created by Doreen Dotto, a mom who was motivated because of her own children. She wanted to teach her sons to read in a creative approach.

With this game, children will get active running around the house to find the clues. Even my three year old wanted to help his sister look for the cards. The children learn to work together. If they are just starting to read and can't read words yet, they will be able to refer to the colourful picture poster and match the words to figure it out.

uKloo targets 3 levels of reading, each level has 14 cards in different colours. There are 12 blank surprise cards for the parents to write a surprise that will fit their child's interest. Doreen has suggested surprises that work in the box. There is also instructions on different ways to play the game, so children will be excited each time they play.

Before starting, I made sure to tell the children that I will not be hiding the cards beside the stove, in pots or kitchen cupboards; just for safety. So make sure to set some ground rules.

As a parent, with a child in French immersion I try to teach English every chance I get. Games like uKloo makes it more easier to approach reading at an early age than making the child sit for a lesson :) I also think it is a fun way to introduce reading to children. While the children are busy looking for the cards, I can do my thing ;)

Children will actively learn, become confident, try hard to read on their own and feel a sense of achievement when they find their surprise. They will not want to stop playing this game. It is a worthy purchase.

This award winning game is available in many stores within Canada and online. In the USA, it is available at Timeless toys. If you are in the USA and would like to purchase it from your local toy or educational game store please request for this game to become available. There is also uKloo2 coming soon with riddles, thinking and problem solving. Do follow uKloo on Facebook and twitter.

Happy reading and hunting!

This was one of the surprises the children had.

Maple puffed rice snack

3 tbsp peanut butter *

3/4 cup maple syrup

4 cups puffed rice

* Can substitute with almond butter or another type of flavoured butter.

Heat peanut butter and maple syrup in a pan, when it comes to a boil turn off the cooker and stir in the puffed rice.

Put it into a plate and let it cool, then make into balls. The hands may need to be greased to make balls.

All rights reserved on photographs and written content Createwithmom © 2012. Please Ask First

Strawberry banana milk shake and plasma car giveaway

I had a wonderful opportunity to review this plasma car. It is an awesome ride. The only thing needed to ride this car is, energy and a mood to have fun.

Didn't ride on this flooring, just for the purpose of pictures

Everything on the car is controlled by the steering wheels. There are NO batteries, gears or pedals. It is easy to assemble, as the instructions are straight forward. The car will hold upto 120lbs on uneven surfaces and 220lbs on smooth surfaces. I love the sleek design and the attractive choice of bright colours that are available.

It is recommended by the designers to ride the car on smooth floors. We used them on hardwood floors because it is freezing outside and there is snow :) So far, nothing happened to the floor and there were no scrapes.

Children and adults will have to learn to share ;) and patiently wait for their turn to ride the car. It is easy spend hours of fun moving around in this car.
We are eagerly waiting to try it outdoors in the Summer.

Plasma car is generously sponsoring 2 cars to giveaway.

Giveaways are open to USA and Canada and ends on January 31st.

To enter the random draws to win the plasma car:
Please like Plasma car on facebook and twitter.

Leave ONE comment. (Please make sure there is a contact email on the comment, if it is not linked to your profile or site. So I can reach you if you win.)

I will be drawing one person from Torviewtoronto and one from Createwithmom).
You can also like Me on Facebook and Twitter, this is not a requirement for the giveaway but I will appreciate :)

Updated: The giveaway winners are Heather and Laura

Here is a delicious Strawberry banana milk shake to drink after the ride...

1 to 2 ripe bananas chopped

1/2 cup strawberries hulled

1 cup milk

1 cup cold water

2 tbsp sugar optional

Blend all together and serve.

All rights reserved on opinion, photographs and written content Torviewtoronto and Createwithmom © 2012. Please Ask First

Nano bridge battle habitat set

We enjoy playing with the Hexbug nano bridge battle habitat set. My children love all types of toys, specially "tech" toys, hence Hexbug toy was well received.

These are innovative toys, which allow children to use their imagination, become creative and inventive when creating bug habitats and playing with the nano bugs. I like the choice of colours they have used in this kit.

The set is very cool, as you can build different unique habitats. Although it is easy for children to assemble the habitats, it is a little difficult for children to remove the pieces on their own. It would be better if the edges are little bit more rounded, so it won't have sharp edges that will prick the fingers or be stepped on. Even adults will enjoy building different habitats :)

Nano bugs are entertaining to watch. These critters vibrate giving a tickly feeling, my children love this as they were using it to tickle each other. The bugs have an on/off button on the bottom. These micro robotic creatures have tiny rubber legs that act like real bugs.

These attractive toys are good for the whole family to play together or to allow children to be entertained for hours on their own. My daughter and son were immediately drawn to Hexbug and enjoy it. They are eager to collect all the variety of bugs and habitats. Hexbugs would be perfect as gifts for boys, girls or adults as it is an entertaining toy :)

Updated: The watch sized batteries on the bugs don't last very long and needs to be replaced often.

Received a kit to review. All opinion and rights reserved on photographs and written content Createwithmom © 2011. Please Ask First