5 Minutes for Mom » playskool

Thank YOU for Putting Presents Under the Tree

Erica — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 07:33:23 +0000

One heartache for parents is struggling to give their child a Christmas. While it’s easy for an adult to understand sickness and financial issues, for a child, Christmas is full of magic. While older children may understand and try to empathize, we know that deep down they are wishing and hoping for something fun to surprise them on Christmas morning. This is one of the reasons why we began Under the Tree.

This year, we had many families write in asking us to help to give their children presents for Christmas. We truly wish that we could have helped all of you, and you have all been in our thoughts and prayers.

If you or your nominees were not selected, please forgive us. It was an impossible task.

Thank you for participating and for caring so much to nominate your friends and families.

We want to be sure that we are able to help out families again next year, so we would love it if you would take a moment to comment here and thank the companies who participated in Under the Tree this year.

Thanking, Thanking, Thanking, from the bottom of our hearts!

The heartfelt Thank You’s that we received warmed our hearts and made us teary-eyed as well. The families receiving the gifts were so grateful. So, we pass on their thanks and our thanks to you and to the fantastic companies involved.

Thank you to these generous companies who donated gifts to our Under The Tree Program. We couldn’t have done it without you!!!

Readers – please remember to show them your appreciation by clicking over to their sites.

Thank you again for being part of the 5 Minutes for Mom family! We appreciate you so much and we pray you are having a blessed and happy holiday season with the ones you love.

Merry Christmas!!!

A Very Playful Christmas with Playskool

Stacey — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 17:38:39 +0000

WEEBLES wobble, but they don’t fall down!

Oh, those lovable little WEEBLES! No matter how hard you try you just can’t knock them down. (Kind of a good example for life, don’t you think?) I grew up with WEEBLES and, like some of the other toys from my childhood, I was very excited to see them make a reappearance now that I have kids!

Today’s WEEBLES maintain their original egg-shaped, wobbly form and lovable faces but are a little bigger than the WEEBLES of past. I love this alteration to the WEEBLES because it makes them safer and easier for little ones to handle. The WEEBLES of today also have a whole new set of accessories for interactive play!

The WEEBLES Musical Treehouse from Playskool offers your child’s WEEBLES figures a colorful and musical place where they can wobble, climb, slide, hide, and dance! Turn the handle and watch as the WEEBLES go up the escalator and then send them spiraling down the twirly slide. When the WEEBLES reach the bottom of the slide they are greeted with a fun song, music, or some sort of other silly sound. My girls absolutely love this feature and are often found pushing that little sound button before their WEEBLES ever make it down the slide!!!

The Musical Treehouse playset also features a wobbly deck and a lookout post where the WEEBLES can hangout or have a little dance party! My daughters also love the secret little space inside the tree hidden behind a little door. I love that little space because it’s a great spot to store the WEEBLES when we’re not playing with them!!!

PLAYSKOOL has other great playsets available this holiday season, too! The Wheel Pals Animals are colorful and fun animal-themed toys that will have your toddler zooming around your house in hours of action packed fun! The Wheel Pals animals are just that — little animals that move around on wheels instead of legs! I’m pretty partial to the penguin! Zoom the Wheel Pals around the living room floor, take them on a jungle exploration through the Jungle Journey playset, slide down a haystack at the Rolling Acres farm, or have an icy-good time at the Polar Party track! Any way you spin it, it’s hours of fun!!!

If your little one isn’t quite ready for all that zooming or wobbling, then check out the Explore ‘N Grow Musical Gear Center from PLAYSKOOL’s Explore ‘N Grow line of infant development toys. Your curious little one will love the movable gears, colorful happy faces, music, and rolling balls. The Musical Gear Center is also a great way to help practice baby’s fine motor skills as the colorful gears can be stacked and reconfigured for even more silly, spinning fun!

WEEBLES MUSICAL TREEHOUSE — Ages 18 months & up — Retail Price: $29.99
WHEEL PALS ANIMAL TRACKS PLAYSETS — Ages 18 months & up — Retail Price: $14.99
EXPLORE ‘N GROW MUSICAL GEAR CENTER — Ages 9 months & up — Retail Price: $19.99

Each of these toys are available this holiday season and can be purchased at most major toy retailers nationwide and on HasbroToyShop.com. Your little one is going to love finding one of these great toys under the tree this Christmas and you’re going to love watching their little faces light up as they explore and play with these fabulous new toys!

Well, make room under your tree this Christmas because we are giving away all three of these fabulous toys to one lucky reader! That’s right, one winner will receive the WEEBLES Musical Treehouse, a Wheel Pals Animal Tracks playset, and the Explore ‘N Grow Musical Gear Center! That’s a gift pack of nearly $65! To enter, simply leave us a comment below!

This giveaway is part of our Christmas Giveaway 2010 event. If you haven’t already, please be sure to visit our main Christmas Giveaway 2010 post to review our giveaway rules and to find out how to earn additional entries.

This giveaway is open to US shipping addresses and closes on December 4th. Please see our site’s terms and conditions for our complete contest rules.

Thanks so much to PLAYSKOOL for providing my family with these amazing toys for review purposes, for providing the prizing for this giveaway, and for providing the Explore ‘N Grow Musical Gear Center for our Under The Tree 2010 program! Receiving complimentary products in no way influences my opinions. All opinions stated here are my own.

A Playskool, Hasbro, Playmobil Christmas

Erica — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 17:40:09 +0000

As always, Playskool, Playmobil and Hasbro are offering some of the hottest toys this Christmas. We are thrilled to bring several giveaways this week, giving you a chance to win some of these popular toys for your children.

For the first giveaway we have ALPHIE, a PLAYMOBIL Fire Station and Play-Doh 3-D Flash Art. What fun!

Do you remember ALPHIE from your childhood? I used to have an ALPHIE and I absolutely adored him.

Well, he is back with an updated look, and your kids are going to love him.

There’s practically nothing this little dynamo doesn’t want to “talk about” — from letter sounds and shape sorting to patterns, cause and effect, vocabulary development and much more, the ALPHIE robot is like a classroom in one little portable robot buddy. Educational fun on-the-go is as easy as can be, too, with this little guy’s handled noggin and storage spot for his cards in his backpack.

ALPHIE includes and requires 3 “AA” batteries. He also comes with 30 double-sided cards. There are also booster packs available to provide your children with even more educational fun. Each booster pack comes with 25 double-sided cards, providing more than 300 questions and challenges.

Your little firefighter will love the PLAYMOBIL Fire Station.

Yes, it does come in many pieces and assembly is required, but you can include your child and make it a learning and bonding experience. Once it is put together, it’s obvious that you have yourself a high-quality, durable toy that your child will enjoy for years to come.

The fire station comes with a firemen’s pole, fire hose tower, and a large gate for the fire emergency vehicles. Set also includes two figures and many other accessories.

The Play-Doh CREATIONS 3D FLASH ART playset takes my memories of Play-Doh fun to a whole new level. This playset is perfect for my daughter, who loves to create.

This cool set lets you create artwork with any combination you want of paint, Bend and Build sticks and PLAY-DOH modeling compound. When you’re done, press a button and your art “comes alive” — spinning around with lights to create amazing patterns! Come up with as many amazing designs as you can; they’ll all look different once they’re spinning and this fun set lets you create something new again and again!

Set comes with 3D FLASH ART machine, plastic blishter, 3 paint bottles, 4 design cards, 5 Bend and Build sticks, instructions and 4 one-ounce cans of PLAY-DOH modeling compound. Requires 4 “C” batteries (not included).

For even more fun, you can find Play-Doh creation tutorials on the Hasbro website. Here are instructions for creating a Reindeer.

Would you like these toys under your tree this Christmas? One of you will win ALPHIE, a PLAYMOBIL Fire Station and a Play-Doh CREATIONS 3D FLASH ART Playset, total retail value approximately $135.00.

This giveaway is open to US and Canadian shipping addresses and closes on December 4th. Please see our site’s terms and conditions for our complete contest rules.

We received ALPHIE, a PLAYMOBIL Fire Station and a Play-Doh CREATIONS 3D FLASH ART Playset for review. All three toys have also been supplied for giveaway purposes.

A Playskool Christmas For Baby

Erica — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 18:01:48 +0000

Our darling babies grow so fast and it is such fun observing them as they begin to explore the world around them.

The Explore ‘N Grow Collection from Playskool intrigues and delights, “with bright colors, fun patterns, silly faces, and various textures”. The Explore ‘N Grow collection grows with your child and encourages them to explore their world.

This Christmas, we have a Playskool giveaway that is perfect for your little explorer.

First, say hello to CHASE ME CRITTER—the cutest crawler in town. This Critter will help get your little one on the move! Just give its smiley blue head a push and let the delightful crawling and ball-popping action begin. Want to change directions? Just turn the Critter’s head to send it off on a whole new path!

When your little one is young, he’ll love sitting and watching the ball-popping action, and putting the balls back in after they pop out of the Critter’s back. As baby grows, switch to active-mode and CHASE ME CRITTER moves across the floor, popping balls out while playing spirited songs and making silly sound effects. All this action will encourage little ones to get crawling after this active Critter to chase down the fun! Retail Price: $24.99

For those chubby thighs and wobbly legs, we have the STEP START WALK ‘N RIDE.

As a sturdy, stable walker, the newly designed STEP START WALK ‘N RIDE toy helps babies learn to stand, take their first steps, and walk.

It then easily converts to a first ride-on toy, with a locking mechanism that parents can activate. The engaging toy features hands-on busy activities for baby in both modes of play.

It’s the perfect toy for building confidence and independence. Retail Price: $24.99.

We would like to put both of these toys under one lucky reader’s tree this Christmas. Here is how you can win:

See our Christmas Giveaway 2009 post to read more about
participating in our Christmas Giveaway

Either link back to this post and include a Christmas Giveaway 2009 button in that post or on your sidebar, or link to the individual giveaways you choose to enter. We have a ton of different buttons and styles for you to choose from. Click here to get the button codes. (If you post and include the button, either in your post or on your sidebar, and link back here, you are good for all the giveaways. No more linking required.)

You may earn additional entries for the following:

If you are already subscribed and are on our newsletter list, you qualify for these two additional entries. Go ahead and leave your additional comments below.

Spread the word to your friends via your blog, twitter, etc.

Remember to leave a comment for each thing you do!

Entries are open until Friday, December 4th at 12pm EST.

Our winner will be drawn randomly and we will announce the winner Saturday, December 5th. Please make sure to check our site and your email address to see if you have won a prize. We must receive your reply within 5 business days. (If you want your prize to arrive in time — the sooner we hear from you, the better!)

This contest is open to US AND Canadian shipping addresses. Due to legal restrictions, this promotion void where prohibited.

Please see our site’s Terms and Conditions of Use for a complete list of our Contest and Giveaway Rules.

*We received a Chase Me Critter and a Step Start Walk ‘N Ride to review.

A Playskool/Hasbro Christmas For Boys

Erica — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 20:20:27 +0000

You know that nursery rhyme about what little boys are made of? It says frogs and snails and puppy-dogs’ tails is what little boys are made of.

This Christmas we have a perfect Playskool/Hasbro giveaway for the boys in your life, the ones who may also be made of dinosaurs and trucks and running amuck.

We are featuring these fun Playskool/Hasbro toys: TONKA Chuck and Friends, Dino Roars Monty Rex, Nerf-N-Force Sword and Nerf Dart Tag.

For the younger crowd, we have two interactive and fun toys that are sure to amaze your preschooler. (Reviewed by Erica)

TONKA CHUCK & FRIENDS CHUCK MY TALKING TRUCK is a preschool boy’s best buddy who always has something to say! This friendly truck featuring sound recognition technology is fully interactive and will roll forward when called!

CHUCK is revving to go with over 40 onboard phrases to encourage play such as “We’ve got work to do!” Toddlers will enjoy rolling the brightly-colored dump truck across the floor, tilting back the dump bed to unload big hauls, and going on adventures with their fun loving pal CHUCK.

Both of my boys love cars and trucks and have LOVED playing with CHUCK. He has received many giggles and smiles and has taken part in many adventures. CHUCK is definitely a well loved toy in our home.

DINO ROARS MONTY REX Dino is sure to delight your preschooler. Standing over 15-inches tall, this lifelike dino not only moves its head, tail, and arms, but also actually walks!

Toddlers can enjoy fun filled adventures with this realistic T-Rex pal that responds to touch, roars back when spoken to, and dances along to four engaging onboard songs.

While he is the king of the dinosaurs and roars like the best of them, MONTY REX is also soft to the touch. I was worried that my youngest would be a little afriad of MONTY REX, but he pets and kisses MONTY REX before roaring away and stomping around the living room with him.

The next two featured toys are a hit for the older crowd, the ones you always have to remind to stop jumping off of the furniture and running crazy throughout the house.

Nothing fits this rowdy crowd better than NERF toys. (Written by Janice)

Nerf N-FORCE MARAUDER LONG SWORD is the second addition to the new NERF N-FORCE line. These swords are both longer and wider than previous N-FORCE Swords to help your son march into any mission feeling confident and cool. They are available in red and black.

Boys and their weapons, right? I am always amazed how a simple sword can provide Jackson with hours of entertainment. I get a kick out of watching him become a knight, ninja warrior or scary villian all with a toy sword and childhood imagination.

When Jackson invites his friends over, I like to get them outdoors. The NERF DART TAG FURYFIRE 2-PLAYER-SET is a great way for boys to burn off some of their energy.

Complete with two new rapid-fire FURYFIRE blasters featuring auto-advance barrels that hold ten darts, two redesigned scoring vests, two sets of VISION GEAR eyewear and 20 DART TAG DARTS, the NERF DART TAG FURYFIRE 2-Player Set inspires engaging, energetic team play.

Each set includes one green and one orange blaster; gather a group and divide teams by color to create an extreme NERF DART TAG environment.

We have each of these toys to give away to one lucky reader. Here is how you can enter to win:

See our Christmas Giveaway 2009 post to read more about
participating in our Christmas Giveaway

Either link back to this post and include a Christmas Giveaway 2009 button in that post or on your sidebar, or link to the individual giveaways you choose to enter. We have a ton of different buttons and styles for you to choose from. Click here to get the button codes. (If you post and include the button, either in your post or on your sidebar, and link back here, you are good for all the giveaways. No more linking required.)

You may earn additional entries for the following:

If you are already subscribed and are on our newsletter list, you qualify for these two additional entries. Go ahead and leave your additional comments below.

Spread the word to your friends via your blog, twitter, etc.

Remember to leave a comment for each thing you do!

Entries are open until Friday, December 4th at 12pm EST.

This contest is open to US AND Canadian shipping addresses. Due to legal restrictions, this promotion void where prohibited.

Please see our site’s Terms and Conditions of Use for a complete list of our Contest and Giveaway Rules.

*Erica received CHUCK and MONTY REX to review. Janice is scheduled to receive both NERF toys to review, but they did not arrive in time. We didn’t want lost mail to keep you from missing these fun toys and having a chance to win them, so the Nerf info is based on product description. Playskool/Hasbro is also providing the prizing for this giveaway and product for Under the Tree.

More Hasbro Fun

Erica — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 00:36:20 +0000

Such a fun assortment of toys we have for you in our second Hasbro Giveaway. This is the perfect giveaway for a family with several children, that’s for sure.

First, we have a fun toy sure to bring smiles and squeals from your little one. Janice also tried out this toy with Olivia and they both LOVE it. Janice says that the Busy Ball Popper is one of her all time favorite toys!!!

The Playskool Busy Ball Popper is poppin’, droppin’, air-powered fun!

Simply drop the balls down the track and they pop back up again. The action is accompanied by silly sound effects and 8 fun songs. For Ages 9 Months and up, (My two-year-old loves it). Retail Value, $19.99.

Next up is a favorite of all little boys, a TONKA Dump Truck. This TONKA-tough dump truck delivers skill-building activities and loads of fun to boys of all ages!

Your little one will love its real dumping action and spend hours placing the three “boulders” into the truck bed, only to dump them out and start again.

The working steering wheel turns the front wheels, and as the rear wheels turn, the truck makes rumbling noises. Retail Value $19.99

Finally for the older child we have one of Parents Magazine 2008 Best Toys of the Year, The Martian Matter Alien Maker Spaceship. Get ready for some creative fun that’s totally out of this world!

Jackson was our toy tester for Martian Matter this summer, and he loved it. If you are considering this creative toy for one of your kids, be sure to read Janice and Jackson’s reviewfrom August.

Using the LUNAR LAVA and METEOR MOLD compound, your child can create more than 90 different wacky alien combinations.

With the included tools your child can then dissect their creations or choose to fly them around in the spaceship.

Spaceship playset comes with 14 alien half-molds, plastic knife, roller, tweezers, cutter, 3 two-ounce bottles of LUNAR LAVA gel and 3 two-ounce cans of METEOR MUD compound. Retail Value $17.99.

Thank you Hasbro for your generous donation of these toys to our Under the Tree Program.

And for our readers, we will select one winner to receive all three toys.

Here’s how to enter:

See our Christmas Giveaway 2008 post to read more about
participating in our Christmas Giveaway

Either link back to this post and include a Christmas Giveaway 2008 button in that post or on your sidebar, or link to the individual giveaways you choose to enter. We have a ton of different buttons and styles for you to choose from. Click here to get the button codes. (If you post and include the button, either in your post or on your sidebar, and link back here, you are good for all the giveaways. No more linking required.)
Please leave one comment below to enter this giveaway. You may earn additional entries for the following:
1. Subscribe to our Feed
2. Sign up for our Newsletter
If you are already subscribed and are on our newsletter list, you qualify for these two additional entries. Go ahead and leave your additional comments below.
As always, non bloggers are welcome to participate! We understand you can’t link – but please spread the word to your friends via facebook, twitter, etc.
Entries are open from Sunday, November 23rd through Friday, November 28th at 12pm EST.
Our winner will be drawn randomly and we will announce the winner Monday, December 1st. Please make sure to check our site and your email address to see if you have won a prize. We must receive your reply within 5 business days. (If you want your prize to arrive in time — the sooner we hear from you, the better!)
This contest is open to US shipping addresses. Due to legal restrictions, this promotion is not available in Arizona.
Please see our site’s Terms and Conditions of Use for a complete list of our Contest and Giveaway Rules.