Hexbugs Party!

Yesterday, we had some of the wee ones’ friends over to play. We received a set of Hexbug Nanos (hereafter primarily referred to as Hexbugs) from MomSelect to host a party, and oh did we have fun. In fact, the wee ones played with them until bedtime last night, and the first question this morning (before they were even dressed) was when they could play with the Hexbugs again. Mean Mommy, I made them wait until after school after they’d put away their backpacks.

I’d heard of Hexbugs before. Our local Learning Express carries them, and I’ve seen them dancing in little containers in the store. I’d somewhat written them off though, figuring they were a short term entertainment and something that would quickly get lost. For those who aren’t familiar with them, Hexbugs are a little battery-operated creature that looks something like a large computer chip with tentacles. Kinda. They vibrate when turned on and move all around, including being able to flip themselves back over when turned on their backs.

The Hexbugs world is much larger than I’d anticipated, however. To start, they come in little test tube containers reminiscent of the bug in The Matrix. I had a lot of trouble opening some containers, while Little Miss was easily able to open others – the tops of the tubes just pop off, but the stickers around the edges was stuck to that top a little more on some, apparently. Once you get the test tubes open, there is also a code to an online world in addition to the bug itself. We haven’t yet explored online, but we will soon, especially since it includes learning about science. I’ve heard good things about it from some of the moms who were there yesterday.

Once we got the bugs out, we quickly learned that they won’t work on carpeting, but any other surface appears to be fair game. One friend placed his Hexbugs in the tray of our easel where they happily skittered around; ditto with Little Miss who made an obstacle course in the wagon that contains our building blocks. The Hexbugs now have “habitats” that they can explore. The white octagons connect easily with each other and the trail pieces (curved, straight, and spiral). The wee ones and their friends were easily able to assemble a massive obstacle course that took up the entire room. With the spirals and some of the other pieces, you can have the Hexbugs move from one level to another, adding a new dimension of fun to the games – in addition to simply having a raised habitat using the pegs that insert into any piece. We only had one child who had difficulty figuring out how to use the pegs, and he was able to figure it out once I showed him.

The habitats also have special bridges and other more unique connectors and parts to them that add to the variety of play. While they may not be necessary to enjoy the bugs, they are a nice addition to the sets. The bridge battle set allowed bugs to enter the center “arena” and try to knock each other off the bridge, with the surviving bug being dubbed the winner. This can also be used simply as a bridge byway by changing the direction the entry doors are set. There was a bit of discussion at the end of the party about who would get to take these home. There is also a stop and go door for the bugs to go through. That was one part that confused me a bit, as the stop side doesn’t keep the bugs from going through – at least it didn’t the way we figured out how to put it together.

I like these toys because they don’t require a ton of assembly and work on my part, making them a toy that encourages independence in the wee ones. I’ve had other toys that take me an hour or more to put together and get ready. I assembled a decent obstacle course (without reading the instructions that weren’t very descriptive to begin with – one little nit) in under twenty minutes. While the bugs can “fight” that hasn’t been the focus of the wee ones as yet. Instead, they treat them more like a giant ant hill, and I’m ok with that since I’m not voluntarily allowing any real bugs into my house.

We played several games, although the kids would have been just as happy without any intervention from me. Since I’d prepared a shoebox for a game by cutting special holes in it, I did make sure they played that one at least. Once we got going, they all loved it – seeing which bug would get out of the box first and from what hole. I also had them do an actual race through the obstacle course that was less successful – while the kids enjoyed creating the obstacle course, few of them actually wanted to do the race in it. After that, I let them simply play on their own – and on one was ready to leave when it was time to go, even knowing they were taking home the habitat and their bugs.

The kids all did want to make sure they took their bugs home. They chose their favorite bugs, and they immediately assigned name and personalities to the bug from “Intelligence Ignite” (yes, that would be Mister Man) to “Spaghetti and Meatballs” to “Bananas” and more. I love how they assigned personalities to the bugs and really had a connection to them. The bugs weren’t just appealing to boys, as I was somewhat expecting when I first heard about the party. There were bugs that were purple and pink, red and black, green and black, yellow and blue, and other color combinations that were appealing to Little Miss (and Violet who was at our house this afternoon playing with them).

My only complaint about the habitats is that the doors that close off the sides of the octagon (every side has a door to allow for flexible configurations) to keep the bugs from escaping aren’t as easy to close as I would like. It takes quite a bit of finger strength (and some fingernails) to get them to pop up to be able to close them. Once they’re closed, they’re easy enough to open again. The configuration of the habitats was changed around significantly yesterday – and again today – meaning that my assistance was required to close many of the doors. I’m hoping that they become easier to manipulate as everyone uses them more, but it would be nice if they came easier to use.

All in all, this is a popular new toy in our house, and I think it is in the houses of the kids who joined us yesterday, too. They aren’t super cheap (a single Hexbug Nano in the tube costs $9.99, the Hexbug Nano habitat set with a three octagon pieces, three straight pieces, and four curves cost $34.99 (with two rare Hexbug Nanos), while the battle bridge habitat (that also comes with two rare Hexbug Nanos) costs $39.99 and will be available as of October 15. As more and more children we know get older and already have more toys than they need, I think this is going to become one of our go to birthday presents. The kids definitely had more fun the more bugs were running through the habitat.

In the interest of full disclosure, I was provided with Hexbugs and habitats for a party with the wee ones and friends by MomSelect. The bugs and the majority of the habitats were given away to the attendees of the party. I received no compensation, and all opinions expressed are my own.

Review: Bayala By Schleich

Note: I have a bunch of great photos, but Blogger won't let me upload any.  I will be updating this soon - I hope!

This past Friday, I hosted several of Little Miss and Mister Man's friends at our house for a Mommy Party by Schleich. I have to be honest that I'd never heard of Bayala before, but they were a huge hit.

Bayala is a world filled with elve and animals. The figurines are pretty tiny, and when I first unwrapped the box they came in, I assumed they were ceramic because of the intricate detail each figurine has - from the tiny gold threading in the bodice of one elf's dress to the nails in the shoes of a horse. I was a little concerned about how quickly they'd get broken given the delicate pieces such as the horns on the caribou. Fortunately, I was mistaken, and these are flexible plastic molded figures that do not appear in any danger of breaking whatsoever.

When the party began, the third grade sister and her friend of one of the attendees came in during drop off and immediately gravitated to the elves and animals. They picked them up and started playing with them on and around Shadow Rock, and they did not want to leave. They were eventually forced out (not by me!), and all they did was tell that mom how wonderful Bayala was and how they wanted to play, too. I loved that these were toys that older children wanted to play with, too.

The younger children - the kindergarteners, first graders, and second graders - had just as much fun with the Bayala figurines. Everyone was able to choose their favorite figures without (too much) fighting over who gets what. Luckily, we were sent enough that everyone was able to take home at least one figurine, and several children took home multiples.

The girls, not surprisingly were drawn toward the fairy looking elves - Marween, Florindel, and Feya. The boys were drawn towards the warrior-looking elves, Gregis, and Apricum. It was interesting to see the games they set up and played, especially since none of them knew the stories behind Bayala. There isn't a tv series or movie that supports these figurines, which I like, as it gives the children a chance to really use their imaginations more - and use their imaginations they did!

I had several games set up for the kids to play that were Bayala themed, but I didn't even convince most of them to stop playing with the figurines long enough to eat the snacks I'd made, let alone play a different game. It was nice to see how entertained they were on their own with the toys.

There isn't a Schleich relailer near me - which may be why I hadn't heard of these before - but you can purchase them online if there isn't a store near you that carries them. There are many online retailers that carry them from Target to Think Fast Toys to Funagain Games to Amazon.

Given the intricate detail available on the toys, I was expecting them to be exhoritantly expensive, as creating molding like that can't be cheap. They aren't as expensive as I'd feared, though. The suggested price appears to be in the $14 to $17 range, with many on sale for $10 or $11 apiece.

Considering that the wee ones have played with the Bayala figurines every spare moment they've had since Friday (including Little Miss playing with them now while I finish writing this), I'd say that isn't bad at all. I do love the fact that these weren't play with them once and then ignore them toys and also that both boys and girls were interested in them and found ways to play - with all the figurines we had to choose from.

Every hour or so, I get a call from the wee ones to "take another picture of Bayala, Mommy!" because they created a new way to play and want me to capture it. And who am I to discourage that creativity, especially when these toys don't involve the guns or knives or fighting that so many others do. It's refreshing.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received toys from MomSelect and Schleich to host a Bayala party. The wee ones were able to keep two of the figurines each; the remainder were given to attendees of the party. I received no compensation, and all opinions expressed are my own.

Kung Zhu Party

In the interest of full disclosure, I was sent a Kung Zhu Party Pack to host a party with the wee ones and their friends. I received no compensation, and all opinions expressed are my own.

I'd heard of Zhu Zhu pets before we had our party, but we'd never played with them. When my giant box o' goodies arrived, I was amazed by all the hamsters and their accessories. This went way beyond the stuff toys we had when I was growing up.

Today, I spent two hours (yes, two - it was worse than Christmas!) putting together the various tracks and battle arena accessories. It wasn't super hard, but it was time consuming to figure it all out and make all the pieces fit correctly.

Fortunately, the directions were relatively straightforward, although someone might want to do some proof-reading and quality checking. I noticed a few typos from the "l" missing when discussing "flags" and a statement that the connectors should "be fulling put in." I'm guessing a native English speaker didn't write them. And somewhat disappointingly, one of the training grounds was mispackaged. When I opened Training Ground Bravo, the inside was a duplicate of Training Ground Alpha that I had already assembled.

I was a little nervous about the actual party - 9 boys and two girls in my house to play was a lot of energy. Fortunately, everyone showed up pretty much on time, so we were able to get moving.

Everyone picked out which Kung Zhu - and amazingly, there were zero arguments. I think they were so excited to have one to play with - and they didn't fully get that they were keeping their goodies - that they were happy no matter what. With eight different hamsters and eleven provided, we had some duplicates and luckily no issues amongst the children.

Once we divided into teams - The Ninja Warriors and The Strike Force - we started our first activity. They created paper airplanes with designs based on the symbols of their teams, and each child made the plane look like the individual hamster, too. It was a blast to see what they created.

Once we finished up, we headed outside to fly the planes before the thunderstorms arrived. While I remember only the basic paper airplane shape, some of the kids actually created some pretty good planes that flew a decent distance.

They spent a good ten minutes running around seeing how far they sould make them go and whether or not they could get them to land in a tree or on a car. I'll have to remember this as a diversion again!

Once we got back inside, we prepared our hamsters, which was an undertaking in itself. They aren't the simple little creature we were expecting. Each one came with a surfboard looking thing that "powers it up" for battle. More than one child left it in the packaging that had to be dug through later!

The hamsters also have a little disc that we've yet to figure out, but we'll get there. The armor was fortunately very intuitive, and the kids all figured that out on their own. Once they were "dressed," they started buzzing them all over.

Since the hamsters are motorized, they are pretty easy to operate. Pressing a button on the back stars them up, pressing the symbol further down makes them go backwards, and pressing their noses makes them talk - sorta cute.

It was a bit of chaos as we started out. Everyone was going everywhere, but they were fine with it. I was amazed how every single child was enraptured by the hamsters.

Once they had a little more time to play around, we were able to sort of start doing some battles.  The kids "trained" their hamsters in the training ground and powered them up for battle.  Once in the battle arena (the circle in the center), the battles weren't too official, but they had a blast, and eventually we figured out how to have a real battle: power them up, send them in, and the first one knocked over loses.

One of the things I thought was pretty cool was that all the kids were into this.  The girls liked the Kung Zhu, and so did the boys.  We had kids who were a young four all the way up to nine, and every one of them played with them the whole time.

I was a little concerned that once all the friends left, the wee ones would quickly tire of the Kung Zhu. Mmm not so much. The wee ones did "real" battles following the rules for the rest of the day. When it was time for dinner, we had to pry them away. When Little Miss went to gymnastics, Mister Man sat playing with it by himself, creating battles between the two hamsters until I sent him to bed. And after each battle, I received an official update of what had happened. In my mind, that's a winner.

Review: Near East Home Party

In the interest of full disclosure, I received a Near East Party Kit including free Near East product which I distributed to party guests, and I received a set for myself, as well. I received no compensation, and all opinions expressed are my own.

I am always looking for an excuse to have fun with my friends, and often we let too much time go by between our girls' nights. Luckily for me, Near East sent me a party kit that gave me a great excuse to have friends over to hang out.

I have to admit that I haven't had the Near East cous cous before, although a few of my friends had. I love cous cous, but I just never think to make it at home. And since I make so much from scratch, buying a flavored cous cous didn't even cross my mind.

My mind has been altered. This stuff was actually really good.

But first, the party!

Seven of my friends were able to join me for the fun, and we made it a pot luck event. Knowing that we had the Parmesan flavor of the cous cous, we decided to have an Italian themed night. Good call, even though we did end up with three different types of tomato and mozzarella appetizers - and somehow no bread. It was all great.

Some of my friends prepared their foods ahead of time (or stopped at the bakery before my house!), while we made others together during the party. It was so much fun to cook with friends, and we ended up one rockin' dinner party.

Once we decided to really start our eating, we moved into my dining room where we pretty much devoured the appetizers - and a couple bottles of wine. We weren't expecting the entree course - sauteed spinach, the cous cous dish, and a chicken and vegetable side dish - to be super filling.

Boy were we wrong. The Parmesan cous cous turned into an absolutely fantastic dish. One friend had three helpings - it was truly that good - and somewhat unexpectedly so. It wasn't processed tasting at all, which is what I had expected.

We made a chicken cous cous that used the spice packet that came with the product, sauteed chicken and garlic, tomatoes, and feta. W.O.W. I am pretty sure that we will all be making that one again - and the recipe is right on the back of the box. Shhhh don't tell anyone that we left out the broccoli!

Our whole dinner was great - and we ate in the true Italian style. We cooked together, we ate the meal late, and we ate slowly, savoring each bite. The variety of flavors we made actually worked really well together without being too heavy a meal, something I'm sensitive to in summer!

It was almost 11pm before we finally broke it up - and that's the true sign of a good party on a weeknight! Everyone who made it wants to know when I'm hosting my next one, and a couple people who had to cancel at the last minute are awfully jealous after hearing about it.

The best news for me is that a pot luck means that I had less mess than normal to clean up, and the cous cous was a one pot dish - score!

When it was time for everyone to leave, I handed out the goody bags, and the box of cous cous they took home put a smile on everyone's face.

With Near East having introduced several new flavors, there's an opportunity for you, too! They have a Near East Around the World in 5 Sweepstakes where you can enter for a chance to win prizes including a 7-day Mediterranean Culinary Adventure Cruise (sorry, that one's mine!). You can enter until August 31, 2010 here.