12/22/13: VTech Connect to Cell Cordless Phone

Our cellular connection in our house is not good.  Most of the time the phone call will drop off when I enter in to the house.  I love VTech's solution to this problem.  It is the VTech Connect to Cell Cordless Phone.  It allows you to make a receive both your landline calls and cell phone calls through this home phone system.  We received the DS6511-3 Connect to Cell Cordless Phone and it is fabulous.  The sound quality is awesome and the functionality is great.

I have had so many times that I am on my way out or in and end up waiting to finish the call.  Now with this phone I don't need to as it is an easy transition.  It is so easy to connect as you just need to pair the Bluetooth device.  Plus you can store your contacts from two cell phones in this phone.  You can add handsets to it if needed.  They also have this 5 handset one that has some cool colors.

Plus VTech has lots of cool phones.  Check out this Retro one.  Super cool and functional.

We have always had VTech phones and loved them.  Plus we like VTech Toys too.

Like VTech on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/VtechPhones

Follow them on Twitter: @VTechPhones

Disclosure:  I received this phone for review purposes.  No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

12/19/13: Win Tickets to AMSOIL Arenacross

CONTEST CLOSED:  CONGRATULATIONS TO RACHEL!
Still looking for a gift?  I have another great giveaway for a cool show that the whole family will enjoy.  AMSOIL Arenacross is coming to the DCU Center January 3-5, 2014 and I am giving you a chance to win 4 tickets for the Friday, January 3rd show at 7 pm.

You can purchase Tickets Here:  http://www.ticketmaster.com/AMSOIL-Arenacross-tickets/artist/1792989 

Photos Credited to Shiftone Photography

More about the show:

AMSOIL Arenacross, Featuring Ricky Carmichael’s Road to Supercross, the world’s premier form of indoor off-road motorcycle racing, is coming to DCU Center January 3-5th!  Don’t miss all of the high-octane action!  It is the world's premier form of enclosed off-road motorcycle racing.  Affectionately considered to be the most intimate form of racing on the planet, competition takes places on one-of-a-kind, man-made dirt tracks filled with jumps, turns and other various obstacles in only 18,000 square feet of space. Beginning in 2013, AMSOIL Arenacross established the Road to Supercross program, partnering with the most successful rider in the history of the sport, Ricky Carmichael, to develop an official feeder system for Monster Energy Supercross.  Now, amateur riders looking to turn pro will need to hone their skills in the highly-intense competition of AMSOIL Arenacross in order to earn their license for Monster Energy Supercross.  The new initiative ensures that the future stars of the sport will showcase their talents on the unique and intimate confines of AMOSIL Arenacross. 

 In addition to Ricky Carmichael's Road to Supercross, AMSOIL Arenacross also introduces a brand new competition format for the 2013 season.  Highlighted by a pair of points-paying Main Events during each night of competition, the on-track action in this new era of AMSOIL Arenacross is sure to be more exciting than ever.  An inversion rule serves as a wild card element of the second Main Event, in which zero, eight, or potentially the entire 16-rider field will have their gate picks inverted prior to the last race of the evening.receive a coveted championship point towards his overall total.  All of this culminates in the brand new Race to the Championship, set to commence over the final four rounds of the season.  Beginning at the seventh stop of the schedule, the Race to the Championship will be an all-out battle for the title amongst the top-10 riders at the conclusion of the first six rounds of competition.  

Championship points will reset, and the field will give it their all over the final month of racing in hopes of capturing the prestigious AMSOIL Arenacross crown.  Drama is a guarantee in this season-ending showdown amongst the best riders in the championship.  Additionally, Head-to-Head Bracket Racing will pit the top eight riders on any given night of competition in a series of one-on-one, two-lap elimination races that will ultimately crown one winner.  As an added bonus for the performance, the winning rider will AMSOIL Arenacross is all new for the 2013 season, and it officially marks the dawn of a new era in this truly unique spectacle of dirt-bike racing where excitement, drama, and close competition are the benchmarks for a captivating championship.  

TRACK PARTY INFORMATION:  On 5:00pm Saturday get a one-of a-kind chance to meet the riders and walk the track at the Monster Energy Track Party, an experience you won’t forget! Free with your race ticket and an empty Monster Energy can! 

Enter to win tickets below to the Friday, January 3rd Show at 7 pm.

Disclosure:  I was provided 4 tickets to the Arenacross to promote it.  I was also provided the giveaway tickets.  No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

12/17/13: Mega Bloks Barbie, Skylanders and Hot Wheels Sets

I have reviewed Mega Bloks before and have always loved their sets.  Last year at Time to Play Mag's Showcase they debuted their Barbie sets and they were a huge hit.  This year there were more Barbie sets which are super cute. 

We received the Tropical Resort and my daughter is extremely excited to put it together.  It has a buildable pier, jet ski, Dolphin, and two smaller Dolphins.  I love that it has glittering block stand and accessories.  I love that it has a Barbie figure and some sea life.  It retails for $24.99.

For the boys in your life there is a super cool Skylanders Swap Force Set.  My son loves playing Skylanders Swap Force and was beyond excited to put them together.  We received Flynn's Rescue Ship.

 This set is so awesome with many of your favorite characters.  It has three characters - Magna Charge, Hot Head and Flynn.

Plus one even lights up.

Here it is as packaged.

Last year we put together the Skylanders Giants Crusher's Pirate Quest and my son loved it.

 He has no issues putting together these sets and they stay together extremely well to be able to play with them after.

We also reviewed Skylanders Giants Arkeyan Copter and Evan loved that set too.

The last set I may be the most excited about is the Hot Wheels Mega Bloks.  Here is Twin Mill III (Red), Bone Shaker (Black), and Twinduction (Blue).  I like that you can customize all these vehicles with parts from other Hot Wheels vehicles.  They are all interchangeable.

I love that you can put the driver in the seat and race around.

Then test your creations in the Super Stunt Test Facility.

Here is the Super Stunt Facility as packaged.  It retails for $39.99.

 Here are the individual cars.  They retail for $9.99.  Great for stocking stuffers, or holiday exchanges at school.

I highly suggest Mega Bloks for anyone on your Holiday list.

 Like them on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/megabloks

Follow them on Twitter:  @MegaBloks

Disclosure: I was provided with these Mega Bloks sets for review purposes.  No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

12/15/13: Phineas and Ferb Quest for Cool Stuff 3DS Game

My kids love Phineas and Ferb.  I guess what kid wouldn't love them, they live for summer and do really cool stuff.  When I saw they had a cool 3DS game called Phineas and Ferb: Quest for Cool Stuff from Majesco Entertainment I knew they would love it.

Based on the top-rated Emmy Award-winning hit series, Phineas and Ferb: Quest for Cool Stuff is a fun adventure in their newest invention, the A.T.T. (All-Terrain Transformatron.  It allows you to hunt for cool stuff to display in the Museum of Cool in their backyard.

It also includes our favorite Perry the Platypus, aka secret Agent P.

Other favorite character are included including Candace, Isabella, Buford, Baljeet, and the evil Dr. Doofenshmirtz, who is determined to unleash his latest creation, the “get-rid-of-cool-stuff-inator” on the Tri-State Area. 

There are also Multiple Gameplay Modes: Exploration Mode: Switch on-the-fly between ambitious innovator Phineas and silent, but stoic "Man of Action" Ferb as they explore an ancient lost temple, underwater caverns and more in search of treasure! Build, upgrade and customize the A.T.T. (All-Terrain Transformatron vehicle), then take it on treasure-seeking adventures around the world. Action Mode: Transform Perry from subdued pet to super Agent P and battle the evil Dr. Doofenshmirtz. 

The game also is made for Xbox 360, Wii U, Wii, Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo DS.  I bet your kids would love it!

Find Majesco Online:  www.majescoent.com 

Follow them on Twitter:  @majesco

Like them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MajescoEntertainment

Disclosure:  I received this game for review purposes.  No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

12/15/13: Freeze Up Game Review

We have started having family game night at our house and our newest addition of games to play is Freeze Up! from Educational Insights.   This game challenges players to answer quickly.

It is started by selecting the amount of players.  You can play in manual or automatic mode.  We played in automatic.  It will then ask you a category, to name something in with a starting letter and give you a time limit.  For example "Name an animal that starts with the letter c".  The player when then call out Cat.  

If you have a brain freeze and can't come up with an answer you can then select the button to either choose another letter, or choose another category.

I love that my kids were talking right up to it.  I think they thought the little game device could hear them.  They are so used to Siri and other technology that responds.

My kids thought it was fun and you would be amazed how challenging it is to come up with an answer for certain categories starting with a certain letter.  I think it is great for vocabulary for kids though.

The game features over 170 categories and can be played by 2-8 players or teams.

 Here it is as packaged.  It sells for $24.99 at Educational Insights.

Like them on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/educationalinsights

Follow them on Twitter:  @ed_insights

Follow them on Pinterest:  http://www.pinterest.com/edinsights/

Disclosure:  I received Freeze Up! for review purposes.  No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

12/15/13: Sonic Speeders Review

Next up in my Holiday Gift Guide is Sonic Speeders from MaxTech Toys which is part of the Maya Group.  It is always fun to race cars and the kids had fun with this set.  It uses air-powered technology and really launches the cars quickly.

It is really easy to setup.  The only batteries needed are for the starting lights you can see above.  Then you pull up on the front little black knob and then pump the back knob 10-15 times.

Pump, pump, pump.

Then attach your cars to the tubes.

Then press the button to watch them fly.  They race up to 25 feet per second! 

There is a little finish line that has a flag that falls to the side that wins.  The kids had a blast racing their cars and it worked extremely well.  The cars really went fast.

This deluxe set has it all: 2 Sonic Speeders 1:43 scale vehicles equipped with die-cast wheels, dual launcher pumps, starter lights and a finish line. 

Here are Sonic Speeders as packaged.  They sell for an average retail price of $29.99.  You can purchase them here at Toys 'R Us or other retailers.

Disclosure:  I received Sonic Speeders for review purposes.  No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

12/13/13: The Bridge Direct Flying Heroes and Pinkie Cooper

Next up in my Holiday Gift Guide are a couple of really cool toys from The Bridge Direct including Flying Heroes and Pinkie Cooper.  First off is the Spider Man Flying Hero.  Here you can see him in flight.

The first thing I like about this toy is that it doesn't require batteries!  I feel like I have been using so many batteries lately.  You just place the Super Hero in to the launcher, pull the cord and watch him fly.

Evan was having fun flying him all around.

Then Lauren got in to the action.

You can see him up in the air after launch.

Here you can see him closer.  There is also Super Man and Bat Man.

Here is a picture of all of them from Time to Play Mag's Holiday Showcase I attended in NY.

Here it is as packaged.  It sells for about $17.

Next up is Pinkie Cooper.  We are a big lover of dogs so this doll is super cute.  

We received Pinkie in London.  

She is super cute and comes with an umbrella, little doggy, camera and brush.

Lauren got right to work brushing her hair.  She thought her hair was really soft.

You can swap her hair around as it comes out.  This is a pretty cool feature as you can give her different looks.

Then you can switch the darker side to the front.

The little doggies ears come out too, so Lauren was playing with them.

Here are all of the Pinkie Cooper dolls.

Here is Pinkie in London as packaged.

Check out all of The Bridge Direct Toys here: http://www.thebridgedirect.com/  Great toys for this holiday season.

Like them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheBridgeDirect

Follow them on Twitter:  @TheBridgeDirect

Disclosure:  I received a Flying Hero and Pinkie Cooper for review purposes.  No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.