Holiday Gift Guide - For Kids: FyrFlyz & Potato Chip Science Kit

Kids like fun. Fun can come in many ways, and here are two greats gifts that will have them enjoying the holiday season this year! First off is FyrFlys,

"FyrFlyz is the revolutionary new spinning toy where amazing LED lights shows come alive in the palm of your hands. By swinging the connected two strings and applying tension or slack, you can create a continuous movement and awesome tricks."

We received the Blue Angels FyrFlyz to review and couldn't wait until it was dark out to try it out. FyrFlyz is fun, for both kids and adults. I'm guilty of hogging it for a while as I tried out tricks to perform on it. I got the handle of easier ones like the Flywheels and Spinning Stars. Night time is best to play with them, as their color combinations create color coordinated trails of light to show off. My brother, 9, took a huge liking to the FyrFlyz and even mastered a couple new tricks of his own, but for my 5 y/o sister, it was just getting to move the light where she liked that made her happy. The FyrFlyz are available for $10 and in Blue Angels, NytFyr and Cyclone, all of which have their own unique color combinations.

Next up is for those who like to put their brains to use. If you have little scientists or inventors in the making, the Potato Chip Science Kit Bag will keep them occupied. The Bag which is "high on saturated facts" includes some items to make science experiments and a 96-page book that lays out instructions on how to do 29 experiments from Physics and Earth Science to Chemistry and Biology. The book is marketed to 8-12 year olds but I think that younger and older kids can easily get interested and help out.

My brother and sister, 9 and 5, took a huge liking to the Potato Chip Science Kit Bag. We got started on a couple of the easier experiments like the Dancing Chips, Sound Spinner and Spud Crud. My siblings liked them but are anxious to get started with the Shrunken (Potato) Head experiment, its the one that caught their attention the most. The book, aside from the experiments, has quite a lot of great facts having to do with the particular experiment at hand. Its a great read, and I think a wonderful present. Potato Chip Science received the Gold Medal from The National Parenting Publication Awards, and a Gold "Brain Child" Medal from Tillywig. Certainly great for a kid who "has everything". It retails for $14.99.


Disclaimer: I was NOT paid for this post, however I did receive the product in question,  from the company or their representing  PR company,  free of charge in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own and I have provided a fair and honest review. I received no other compensation for my review nor was I under any obligation to give a positive review.

Holiday Gift Guide - For The Kids: Tom & Jerry: Fur Flying Adventures Vol.3

 

Great Holiday Gifts come in all forms, DVDs are always a great gift to receive. Tom & Jerry: Fur Flying Adventures Vol. 3 was released on DVD October 4th from Warner Brothers Home Entertainment. The DVD is packed full with 14 episode, both new and old:

1. Ah, Sweet Mouse-Story of Life
2. Bad Say at Cat Rock
3. Jerry, Jerry, Quite Contrary
4. Beach Bully Bingo
5. A Life Less Guarded
6. Northern Light Fish
7. Doggone Hill Dog
8. Love Me, Love My Mouse 
9. Sasquahed
10. Shutter Bugged Cat
11. Snow Mouse
12. The Unshrinkable Mouse
13. Spook House Mouse
14. Don’t Bring Your Pet to School Day

With so many kids shows on T.V. to choose from nowadays, its great to find my siblings interested in the classic Tom & Jerry cartoon show. Watching the DVD with them brought back memories of when I would watch them in the morning on Saturdays. Tom & Jerrys antics never get old, and I believe they will continue to entertain children and adults generation after generation. This is a great stocking stuffer for kids or even adult for the Holidays! I particularly liked that they had Spanish subtitles that allowed us to watch it with our parents. Tom & Jerry: Fur Fluing Adventures Vol. 3 is available online for only $9.99 so grab yours soon!

Disclaimer: I was NOT paid for this post, however I did receive the product in question,  from the company or their representing  PR company,  free of charge in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own and I have provided a fair and honest review. I received no other compensation for my review nor was I under any obligation to give a positive review.

Holiday Gift Guide Giveaway - Vamplets Plush Doll

Vampire Plush Toys are not only for Halloween, but year-round! Especially with these cuties! Vamplets is a line of adorable baby vampire plush dolls that include Evilyn Nocturna, Cadaverson Nightshade, Lily Rose Shadowlyn, Midnight Mori, Burton Creepson Jr. and Count Vlad Von Gloom. They all hair their own personalities, with some being inventors, bossy, cruel and more.

We received the Count Vlad Von Gloom Vamplets Plush Toy to review. This little guy is an adorable little vapire packaged in an awesome coffin box. Although he looks cute and innocent he is described as,

"...a descended from a direct line that dates back to Count Dracula. Therefore he is arrogant...he's royalty after all! He is never full when fed. Keep a full warm bottle of blood handy at all times. This is a warning! Vlad is totally fussy about his appearance. A stray drop of blood on his diaper can cause a tantrum. If a tantrum occurs quickly place him on his bed of nails. This is a favorite among his many torture device playthings"

My little Vamplet Plush Toy came packaged along with a Disappearing Bottle of Blood and a very creative "Undeath Certificate" from the Gloomvania Department of Deportransmutation with a pin. The certificate states their condolences and sympathy for our decision of bringing little Count Vlad Von Gloom into our life. Overall I think the effort put into packaging these Vamplets is very imaginative. Its little things that help make an impact. The Vamplet is very well made, stitching is great and I love the care take into little features like the green glow around his eyes, the pins and skull on his diaper, the bar hair pins and bracelet with the words "bad" written on his wrist. I also love that Vamplets has a virtual World of Vamplets online where you can head to thir blog, forum of even learn more about your Vamplet in the Nursery, Hall of Horrors, etc.

Vamplets Vampire Plush Toys retail for $19.99 and the Disappearing Bottle of Blood for $5.95. Vamplets online store also sell other accessories, T-Shirts and Onesies. They all feature their adorable line of Vampire Plush Toys! This surely makes an adorable gift for those plush and vampire-fans in your life!

Want to win a Vamplets Plush Toy? Click "read more..." to enter the giveaway!

Holiday Gift Guide - For The Kids: Camping Mama: Outdoor Adventures Game

Video Games are always included in kid's Christmas lists. They always seem to be a popular gift and I think they will continue to be for a long time coming. So, as part of our Holiday Gift Guide we want to future Camping Mama: Outdoor Adventures available for the Nintendo DSi.

This game comes from the same makes of the Cooking Mama line of video games (of which I own a couple for the Nintendo Wii and DS). We adore these game, and love the new Outdoor Adventures. What makes this different than its Cooking Mama counterparts is the fact that it has an "explore" mode which you can play as daughter or son. Mama and Papa explore the islands and give you chores, as you go on and look to complete them you can explore and find hidden items in shrubs, treasure chests and trees to use and craft items for survival.

The Cooking Mama games do not have an "explore" option or any goal, but was full of mini-games. Camping Mama: Outdoor Adventures has over 100+ new mini games that you have to unlock via the new "explore" mode, you can then go on "challenge" mode and re-play them for better scores. The game, overall, is very fun. I have yet to finish it entirely, but it does have good replay value, as the mini-games are quite fun. Camping Mama: Outdoor Adventures is definately a great stocking stuffer for any previous (and new) Cooking Mama fans.

The game is rated "E" and retails for $19.99. I find it good for kids over 4 years old. My sister, 5, needed help reading instructions but got the goal of the games within the first play. We all think its fun and enjoy cooking, crafting, treasure hunting, and playing its action mini-games.

Disclaimer: I was NOT paid for this post, however I did receive the product in question,  from the company or their representing  PR company,  free of charge in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own and I have provided a fair and honest review. I received no other compensation for my review nor was I under any obligation to give a positive review.

Holiday Gift Guide - For The Kids: IKEA Soft Toys + Donation

 

We're starting off the Holiday Gift Guide @ Student Saving Bucks with a Gift Idea for the kids! Every kid likes plushies, but these come with a little more satisfaction! IKEA's Soft Toys are adorable, but they also help children in other countries. To review, we received the TORVA Collection of Soft Toys; It includes the Brocolli, Strawberry and Carrot. This collection was designed to help kids learn how to grow veggies and introduce them to environmental thinking with a "Vegetable Patch" theme Children's Book. I absolutely love them, as do my little brother and sister. We learned that the carrot is actually a squeaky toy, which kids just love to squeeze for hours from what it seemed. 

IKEA's Soft Toy Campaign will be running from November 1 - December 24th, 2011. It is an annual event, in which IKEA donates 1 Euro ($1.35 USD) to the IKEA Soft Toys for Education Campaign for each Soft Toy purchased. Each Euro is split and donated to UNICEF and Save The Children for projects giving children in Asian, Eastern Europe and Africa access to a quality education. IKEA's Soft Toy Campaign has donated 47.5 million to UNICEF and Save The Children since 2003. The campaign has helped about 8 million kids in 40 countries get a quality education.

This year, make a difference in a child's life while helping put a smile on your own. These adorable IKEA Soft Toys (which also include stuffed animals, finger puppets and books) retail from $0.49 - $19.99 and are available online or at your local IKEA store. A huge thanks to IKEA for providing us with our adorable Soft Toys and donating to children's education. I believe education is the first step to change. 

Disclaimer: I was NOT paid for this post, however I did receive the product in question,  from the company or their representing  PR company,  free of charge in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own and I have provided a fair and honest review. I received no other compensation for my review nor was I under any obligation to give a positive review.