Mattel is a trusted brand in my home. We often purchase items from this brand and try our hardest to keep up with the latest and greatest things available. In fact, I often look ahead to toys that are just outside my children's age groups to see what sort of things we have to look forward to as they grow.
Now, Christmas (for us) is a wonderful time to go shopping for these things and when Mattel gave me the opportunity to review a few items, I was very excited. Here are the things I chose.
Little Ladies first:
For Eliana, I chose the Little Mommy Play All Day Baby.
Here's the description of the doll from Mattel.
Girls can play their way through the holidays with Little Mommy™ Play All Day® Baby. Play All Day® Baby features realistic reactions to its nurturing needs – just like a real, baby. As you move your baby, she’ll respond with sweet and silly phrases and playful positions. From bouncing and dancing to giggling and talking, little girls will delight in all the interactive ways to play with their Play All Day® Baby.
And what does Eliana think of her baby? From the first moment she laid eyes on it, she was smitten. When her Little Mommy Play All Day Baby laughs, it makes her laugh. She loves to toss, flip, hug, and rock her doll. And every time she does, the doll has something fun and different to say.
This baby is a hit in our home and I'm sure she'll be something that Eliana will play with for some time to come. (The doll is currently parked in Eliana's grocery cart just waiting for her next walk around our home.)
Buy It: You can purchase the Little Mommy Play All Day Baby for around $34.99
I also chose this year's Holiday Barbie Doll as a collectible for Eliana to enjoy and look at. (Because a doll this beautiful shouldn't be handled by a one year old, in my humble opinion.)
Mattel's description of the doll is this:
Celebrate the holidays with this traditional holiday Barbie® doll. This collectable Barbie is dressed in a snowy white gown featuring intricate red and golden embroidery on her bodice, a velour red wrap and ribbon bow extending the length of her dress. A magnificent headpiece and chandelier earrings complete this festive look. This is the perfect doll to start or add to your Barbie collection.
My thoughts on the doll? I just adore the detail that went into the 2010 Holiday Barbie Doll. It's something that can't be captured adequately by a camera. It really is something you need to see for yourself to appreciate. Every stitch is pristinely placed on the gown but my favorite is the beauty in the embroidered top.
This doll takes me back to being a young girl seeing the collectible Barbie Dolls in the store. I was always in awe and always wished I could hold one for just a moment. I just wanted to see all the little details on the doll and appreciate it for just that.
So, I opened the box to get a few shots for you.
Buy It: You can purchase the 2010 Holiday Barbie Doll for $39.95
For the Little Guys on your shopping list, I have a few items to share.
First up, I'd like to tell you about the Thomas & Friends My First UNO King-Sized Card Game.
As you know, this game is a classic. I played it all the time when I was young and I'm happy to not only see it still around for my little ones, but to also be taking on familiar characters that appeal to their likes.
Alex is a huge Thomas & Friends fan. That's really no secret. He's never had the patience to sit down and learn how to play a game like this before. I was worried that this would be the same but it wasn't at all. Alex was extremely excited to play his new game and is growing more and more confident in his ability each time he plays.
This gift would make a wonderful stocking stuffer. Keep your eyes out for the new, Toy Story 3 version as well!
Buy It: You can pick up the Thomas & Friends My First UNO King-Sized Card Game for $5.99
Next, I chose the Cars Toons I-Screamer for Alex to play with from the Cars Toons Monster Truck Feature Assortment. Along with this truck there are others available that are also available.
Here's Mattel's Description:
Boys will roll in the holiday cheer and bring the Cars Toons story “Monster Truck Mater” characters to life in a whole new way with cool features, exciting movements and fun sounds. Each character comes in a slightly larger 1:43 scale – perfect for smaller hands – and allows kids to take their opponents down for the count with great wrastlin’ action and sounds seen in the popular Cars Toons.
Alex loves this truck. He carries it around, drives it over smaller toy cars, pushes the back down to make the truck kick it's wheels, and even offers me some ice cream from time to time from the truck. ;) He loves playing with this truck so much that he always wants to see the other ones available when we're at the store. He thinks they're pretty neat.
If you have a little fan of the Cars Toons in your home, they're sure to like this fun toy too. And for the price, I'm sure you'll put one on your shopping list this year.
Buy It! You can purchse the Cars Toons I-Screamer truck (and his friends) for $14.99 per truck.
Finally, I chose an extremely fun Hot Wheels toy for Alex. It's the new Hot Wheels Criss Cross Crash Track Set.
Here's Mattel's Description of the Track Set:
One of the most popular track sets in history is back for the holidays – Hot Wheels® Criss Cross Crash™ – which lets kids line up their Hot Wheels® cars to let them rip for near-misses or total wipeouts in four intersecting crash zones! With more than 16 feet of track that includes hairpin turns, motorized boosters and a giant crash zone, kids can enjoy crash-and-bash fun for hours on end during those snow-filled days indoors. The track set comes with one Hot Wheels® car. (Not for use with some Hot Wheels® vehicles)
Alex was most excited about this set. He wanted me to open it before I opened anything else. Being the smart mom that I am, though, I took note that the set was a little beyond his age range and told him to wait for his Dad to get home from work before we opened it.
Once the hubster was there to help out, we had it set up in no time. The tracks that hook into the motored base and into each other are all labeled clearly and it didn't take long at all before we had the track up.
The Hot Wheels Criss Cross Crash Track Set comes with one car that fits on the track and drives the loops perfectly. This is good to note when you're digging through the cars you already own to include in play; find cars that are about the same size and weight as the one that comes in the box. It will save you from dealing with frustrations of trying cars that won't budge to cars that won't loop.
Alex was a bit frustrated when he learned that not every car will work but he didn't mind too much after he understood. He just wanted to watch his cars run on the track and he laughed every time one car hit another. Since he's 3, he won't be able to handle playing with this set on his own but we never mind doing things with him that he enjoys doing. :)
Buy It: You can purchase the Hot Wheels Criss Cross Crash Track Set for $39.99
THE GIVEAWAY!!(NOW CLOSED)
I have some wonderful stocking stuffers to give to one lucky winner! 3 Hot Wheels cars will be sent to the winner. (I don't know about you, but I have a 3 year old boy who would be flipping out over these right now.)
To Enter: Tell me one, specific, Mattel toy that you think the little one in your life would enjoy. (include your e-mail address to make your entry valid)
For additional entries:
Blog about this giveaway and or Holiday Gift Guide with links back to this post/blog.Become a fan of Coffee with the Mrs. on Facebook.Grab my button for your sidebar. Subscribe to my blog by e-mail through feedburner(at the top of the right sidebar. comment with the e-mail address you subscribed with)Follow my blog *For 2 Extra Entries* (right beneath the Giveaways listing on sidebar. Comment with 2 separate comments for credit)Follow me on Twitter @TheMrsC (comment with your twitter name)Tweet about this giveaway. If you want, you can say “CoffeeWithTheMrs.com is giving away Hot Wheels cars in her Gift Guide and I want to win!” Just make sure to link to my blog or the giveaway). (comment with a link to your tweet)TWICE daily retweets are available for extra entries. Leave a comment with a link to your daily tweet(s)
Please leave a separate comment for each entry. This giveaway will run until November 18th at 11:59pm ET. The winner will be selected by using random.org and will be contacted and announced on or around November 19th. If the prize is not claimed within 48 hours of initial contact, I will randomly select another winner. Void where prohibited. No purchase necessary. Open to everyone, everywhere.
**Thanks to Mattel who supplied the complimentary, mentioned items to facilitate this review. I wasn't compensated in any other way for this review. In this post I share my thoughts and opinions of the products being reviewed. Others may have a different experience or opinion.**
Smokey The Fire Truck is an interactive toy that lights up, talks, and even sings and dances as children play. He comes with aqua-colored balls that represent water blasts and will say that he's thirsty so the child knows when to use them.
Mattel was generous enough to send this over and I've found time to check it out for myself. From a mom's perspective, I'm very impressed with this toy. There are no small pieces for me to worry about my son losing or my daughter putting in her mouth and the toy is constructed in such a way that I know it's going to be able to keep up with him as he plays. Alex is going to go bananas over this toy and I'll be happy knowing that it's safe and durable.
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