NEW My Little Pony Toys - Easter Gift Guide

MY LITTLE PONY RAINBOW WINGS TWILIGHT SPARKLE Figure
(Ages 3 years & up/Approx. Retail Price: $19.99/Available: Spring 2019)

Imagine the Princess of Friendship soaring through the clouds above Equestria with the Rainbow Wings Twilight Sparkle 8-inch pony figure! This purple pony figure has gorgeous rainbow wings inspired by scenes in entertainment. Push her signature cutie mark to see her unicorn horn and wings light up. Her rainbow wings also flutter while holding and guiding her up and down to pretend she’s flying. When her wings flutter, they light up too! She also comes with her signature princess tiara and a comb for styling her purple mane and tail. Available at most major toy retailers nationwide. My Little Pony Website.




MY LITTLE PONY MANE PONY CLASSIC Figure Assortment
(Ages 3 years & up/Approx. Retail Price: $4.99/Available: Spring 2019)

Inspired by the MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC television series, this MY LITTLE PONY MANE PONY assortment features 3-inch figures designed to look like some favorite characters from entertainment. Collect the Mane 6 in their colorful pony figure form with molded hair, character-inspired looks and signature cutie marks. These are great pony figures for kids who are beginning their My Little Pony collection and long-time fans alike! Each sold separately. Available at most major toy retailers nationwide. My Little Pony Website.


MY LITTLE PONY CUTIE MARK CREW SERIES 4 BLIND BAG: Beach Day Collectible Mystery Figure
(Ages 4 years & up/Approx. Retail Price: $2.99/Available: Spring 2019)

The Cutie Mark Crew combines the worlds of My Little Pony and Equestria Girls to imagine a universe of play and friendships beyond the mirror's portal. The My Little Pony Cutie Mark Crew Series 4 has an "Away We Go" theme, bringing together characters from the My Little Pony and Equestria Girls for a tropical vacation! Pretend some favorite My Little Pony characters are having fun in the sun with their beach-themed accessories. Each Beach Day blind bag includes an adorable 1.5-inch figure, beach-themed accessory, collector card, and a cute storage case. Collecting more Cutie Mark Crew blind bags means more stories to create. Which character is waiting inside? Find out! 12 of the 24 available blind bag figures have fun treatments, like neon or glitter! Look for all 24 to stack more cases and build out a world of pony, seapony, and Equestria Girls Cutie Mark Crew figures. Each sold separately. Available at most major toy retailers nationwide. My Little Pony Website.

Our Thoughts 

When thinking about Easter basket ideas for the kids, it's always hard to figure out what to put in their baskets; especially for little girls. The new My Little Pony toys are a great choice for those last minute Easter basket adds. 

My daughter has been able to play with the items of this review for the past week and has loved all of them. She is a kid who loves the little collectables and is crazy over horses so these My Little Pony toys are great for her. 

My Little Pony Rainbow Wings Twilight Sparkle is so much fun. My daughter loves the wings that move and they light up! Being able to comb Twilight Sparkle's hair is fun and her hair is easily able to be braided or twisted in different styles because of the softness. The girls have a great time playing with this toy with her friends and by herself. My daughter, who is five, opened this item herself without help. She was able to take Twilight out by using scissors with supervision but didn't need adult assistance at any time. 

The My Little Pony Mane Classic figure assortment is reminiscent of my own childhood and the My Little Pony figures I played with as a child. My daughter has loved playing with these figures and keeps them in my vehicle so she can have them while we are on the road or other places where she normally gets board very easily. Because they're about 3" tall, they are compact and easy to carry in my purse or in a small carry bag. The packaging was easy to open and was simple enough for a five year old to do it on her own. 

The My Little Pony Cutie Mark Crew Series 4 Blind Bags are fun for kids because they're surprised with the characters they get in the bag. My daughter really loved these and she got some of the characters she wanted and they were fun to open together. The only thing we didn't like about the blind bags were the confetti that came in the packaging with the bag. The confetti, while it was paper and not plastic, it made a mess and was difficult to clean up because it was in small pieces. The packaging itself was easy to open and deal with. 

If you'd like to see more of the My Little Pony items, please visit their website. They also have a kids website with games, videos, and character bios. 

Pump Rocket Air Archer Air-Powered Bow & Rocket Set with EZ-Pull Bungee Power

Product was received for free in exchange for an honest review.

The Air Archer, with its flexible, bow-like arm, dramatically increases the power of the pump rocket launcher. To operate, simply pull back the launcher piston, stretching the elastic bow string attached to the ends of the bow. When it’s fully drawn back, let go and the rocket goes screaming off into the air at a great speed.

The Bungee Blast ramps up the fun and excitement by an order of magnitude. A patented elastic bungee cord inside the pump cylinder boosts the launching power. Load a foam rocket into one end and pull back the cylinder, feeling the increasing tension of the cord inside. Then let go. Kids will be amazed as the stored energy of the cord pushes the piston of air very forcefully, blasting the rocket out at hyper-speed.

My thoughts:

My eight year old loves this.  It is very easy to use.  He puts the foam rocket onto the one end, than pulls back on the cylinder as far back as he can, and than lets go.  And the foam rocket goes flying.  

 This is a very well made, durable toy for boys as well as girls.  The bungee pull isn't to hard for a kid to pull back on.  The foam rocket is well made also.  It is made heavy duty foam, and when it hits a harder surface, it keeps it shape, without bending or breaking.  And the rocket goes flying at a fast speed towards target intended.  

This is a very fun rocket launder toy.  My son even took his to the beach to play with his eleven year old sister with it.  She had a blast shooting it also. I, even had fun launching the rocket.  And it doesn't hurt it hits you on the body.  A definite must have for any kid.

  

Review: GoodWood Deconstruction Blocks, Mulch Heap

GoodWood Deconstruction Blocks

Mulch Heap

*** Winner of Dr. Toy's Best Green Product Award ***

*** Winner of Dr. Toy's Best Vacation Product Award ***

Goodwood deconstruction blocks are a new system of innovative wooden blocks, designed to invite real creative play. The beautiful, precisely crafted blocks are intentionally packaged without instructions or other prescriptive guidelines, in order to cultivate open-ended exploration. Unlike most modern toys, this puts the child in complete control of the child-toy relationship, and encourages them to come up with their own ways to play. The different shapes allow for building outwards in every dimension, and the creation of structures which are both architecturally and geometrically interesting, as well as visually pleasing. They are suitable as a construction toy for children, and increasingly popular as a desk toy for design-minded adults as well. The ever-growing goodwood system currently includes seven original designs. Each set is designed to be fun and interesting on its own, and to provide new features when combined with the other sets as well. All sets come with pieces in six vibrant colors (water-based acrylic paint), made from forest-friendly rubber wood, and CPSIA tested. Care has been taken to ensure that the product reflects responsible social and environmental decision-making, and the developer's website provides a mechanism for purchasing discounted sets for donation into orphanages and kindergartens in the developing world.

building futures
Aroundsquare works hard to bring you good things related to our core themes of learning and development. We believe in the power of play, and think that children everywhere deserve the opportunity to enjoy the benefits that real creative play has to offer. For this reason, if you purchase directly from us, we'll match your purchase with a donation to childcare facility where the toys will be enjoyed by children in need. Our multiple award winning Goodwood Deconstruction Blocks are designed for real creative play. They're proudly handmade in China, in a small and ethically run factory, from sustainably harvested rubber wood, painted with non-toxic water-based acrylic paint, and independently safety tested. All eight designs are inter-compatible. Aroundsquare toys are guaranteed to play well, and guaranteed against breakage from normal use for a year after purchase. If you have questions or feedback, please feel welcome to leave a comment on our blog, review our products on amazon or email us: info@aroundsquare.com

Purchase Goodwood Deconstruction Blocks on Amazon and Aroundsquare.

Our Thoughts
I grew up playing with wood blocks, but these GoodWood Deconstruction blocks have got to be the coolest wood toy blocks I've ever seen!  They aren't your average block shapes - they can be put together in any way your creative mind imagines!  They purposely do not come with any sort of instructions, so anything you or your child build with them comes straight out of the imagination.

We have the Mulch Heap set, which has several different sizes and colors of wood block shapes.  I love that all eight of the Deconstruction sets are inter-compatible - after owning one set, you'll want more to see what else you can build!  Really - your imagination's the limit here.  The Deconstruction blocks fit together in so many different ways, and with all the different colors, you will have a hard time building the same thing twice!  I don't know who will have more fun with these - our child or us parents!!  I want to spend hours playing with these blocks!

And for parents who want safe, eco friendly toys for their children, GoodWood Deconstruction Blocks are made with sustainably harvested rubber wood and come in 6 vibrant colors (painted with non-toxic water-based acrylic paints) in an ethically run, small factory in China.   Highly recommended!

Jigglit - The Answer Band

Product was received for free in exchange for an honest review.

The Jigglit is a creative product that is much like a new wearable, electronic version of the popular Magic 8 Ball game of decades past but the new Jigglit Answer Band offers much more than just an entertaining new product. The creative family behind Jigglit is using thi s fun product to give kids a unique way to make money, learn about business and give charitably to the less fortunate.

At first glance the Jigglit Answer Band appears to be a colorful ordinary watch -- and it does indeed double as a digital watch when not in jiggle use. But this is no ordinary watch. Once set up and attached to the wrist, a user simply asks the Jigglit any question, then a quick jiggle of the wrist prompts a fun and sometimes surprising response to the query. The rechargeable unit is loaded with 23 various Jigglit answers that play randomly as the unit is jiggled

As much lighthearted fun as the Jigglit is, what is shaking things up even more is its interesting ability to uniquely engage kids socially by teaching them how to make some extra money as young entrepreneurs while helping raise funds for charities as well.

My thoughts:

The Jigglit is really cute.  My daughter and her friends love playing with it.  I hear them giggling while asking questions to the Jigglit.  They ask it questions like, "is it going to snow tomorrow so we won't have school?", and "will my mom let me go to the movies with my friends?"

The Jigglit has a flap band, and is very sturdy. My daughter has a small wrist, and this stays on and hasn't slipped off.  It is also a digital watch. It comes in Black, Blue, Orange, Red, White, Yellow, Pink and Purple.  We have a White one, but my daughter wants one in Purple now.   "     

Here are just some of the answers you get from the Jigglit:  "not a chance", "not happening", "a big yes", "lucky you", "no way", "my sources say yes".  And there are many more answers. I would definitely recommend the Jigglit. 

For more information go to: http://www.jigglit.com

***Please note that I received no form of monetary compensation for this post. The opinions expressed in the review are my own and were not influenced in any way.***