Holiday Gift Guide - K'Nex & TinkerToy Review & #Giveaway

TINKERTOY BIG TOP BLDG SET 

  Designed to encourage young builders to play and learn, the TINKERTOY Big Top Building Set is ideal for children ages 3+! Budding builders can create a tent, animal, trapeze artist and more or use their imagination for other spectacular events!

The newly redesigned TINKERTOY pieces snap together and stay together for satisfying, long-lasting play. You'll find the nostalgic TINKERTOY pieces you remember, plus unique parts such as bendable rods, wheels, and eyes, allowing your child to add personality to their creations along with adorable buildable figures to encourage imaginative role play.
The TINKERTOY Big Top set comes in a durable box with lid for easy clean-up and take-a-long play and includes 188 durable, plastic pieces including spools, straight rods, bendable rods, wheels, eyes, two buildable figures and more!  Rods, spools and flag pieces are made in the USA.  Comes in a durable box with lid for easy storage and portability. SRP $49.9

 My Thoughts

My preschooler loves playing with blocks. He amazes me with how quickly she can snap the over-sized blocks together and create abstract works. But as he gets older, he is getting bored with the large blocks and their limited options. Lately he has been grabbing at her older brother's K'NEX sets. But those are way to complicated for such a little boy. Luckily, K'NEX has the perfect solution for this in between stage.

We were lucky enough to receive one of new 188 pc TinkerToy Big Top Building sets. They are designed for children three and up, and give kids all they need to create tons of different adventures. The set we received has a circus theme and comes with instructions to build everything from a Ferris Wheel to an elephant. There's even a lion and tamer! The instructions are simple to follow but younger children will need some assistance.  The blocks are just the right size for little  fingers to slide together. The pieces are easy to snap together and don't fall apart once assembled. So once they have them together, its easy for them to play pretend for hours at a time. They can make all kids of different scenes and since there are plenty of pieces, even if you lose a few you can still play.

K’NEX TYPHOON FRENZY ROLLER COASTER BUILDING SET

Bring a wave of fun from the ocean to your living room with the new Typhoon Frenzy Roller Coaster Building Set from K'NEX!  Build with over 640 K'NEX parts & pieces like rods, connectors and track, and add motorized power to send the silver coaster car twisting and turning through over 19 feet of swirling, non-stop action!  Plus, download exclusive instructions to build an incredible second model, the Tsunami Surge Coaster!  All K'NEX rods and connectors are made in the USA!  Ages 9+ SRP $39.99 Available exclusively at Toys R Us

My Thoughts

We also received the Typhoon Frenzy Roller Coaster Building Set. This is for ages nine and up and my son was so excited to try it out. We loved it, but I have to be honest. This one is a little frustrating for kids to complete independently. My son is eleven and he couldn't do it on his own. I tried to help, but even I lost my patience. The tiny pieces are hard to match up and if even one is out of place, it doesn't work at all.  Finally, my husband had to get it together for us and it took a few days. Once it was assembled, all my kids LOVED playing with it though and it was definitely worth the extra effort. It stands almost three feet tall. It runs like a real roller coaster, using mechanical pullies that drag the car up the ramp before releasing it down on its thrilling ride.  Its amazing watching the cars loop around the tracks. Its definitely a great toy. Just be prepared to have to lend a hand if you get this one for your kids unless they are a little older or have more patience than mine do. Also be sure to clear a large flat service, because it takes up a lot of space.


The Giveaway

  One lucky winner is going to receive a 188 PC set of TinkerToys. To enter just fill out the rafflecopter form below Open to the US only. This giveaway will end on 11/13/13 at 12:01 am EST. The winner will be notified via email and will have 48 hours to reply. Thanks again to K'nex for offering this fantastic prize.


 a Rafflecopter giveaway


 ***Please note that I received no form of monetary compensation for this post. The opinions expressed in this review are my own and were not influenced in any way.  Please note that New Age Mama is  not responsible for the delivery of this prize and can not be held accountable if, for any reason, is it not received. Furthermore, New Age Mama  is in no way liable for any injuries that may result from the use or misuse of this product. ***