Review: Toys Story Action Link Sets

I recently received a box of goodies from MomSelect that made my 4 1/2 and 7 year old squeal with delight! They have been seeing commercials for the Toy Story Action Link Sets for weeks and they both LOVE the Toy Story Franchise. They just could not wait to get the sets all set up and get start playing!

We hosted a Toy Story Action Link Party this week and invited some friends over to play with the toys and see what they thought. Here's what came in the package:

All 5 action links playsets which include all the characters:

• Toy Story 3 Action Links Junkyard Escape
• Toy Story 3 Action Links Sunnyside Breakout Stunt Set
• Toy Story 3 Action Links Buzz Saves the Train Stunt Set
• Toy Story 3 Action Links Jessie to the Rescue Stunt Set
• Toy Story 3 Action Links Evil Dr. Porkchop Attacks Stunt Set

Plus 10 Buddy Packs to share with our friends!! Inspired by scenes from the film, the ACTION LINKS Stunt Sets allow kids to re-live their favorite Toy Story 3 moments while piquing their imaginations to create new adventures. Kids can build their very own "Toy Story" universe or recreate iconic scenes from the film. The five distinct stunt sets are a blast on their own or can be linked together for the ultimate interactive action adventure.

So we set all the sets up. We didn't really put the sets together in sequence of the movie, but how my boys wanted them to be set up. That's whats so great about these toys is that you don't have to have all the sets and you don't have to have them in any order to still have fun with them. You can play with them however you like. The sets were very easy to assemble and to hook together.

We had 2 pieces of the set that didn't seem to work right - the train in Buzz Saves the Train Stunt Set and the Claw in the Junkyard Escape. And of course the whole set together is kind of like a booby trap. As you are setting it up if you accidentally hit one of the buttons it triggers them all to go off and mommy goes a little nutty!

But after awhile they got the hang of how to set it up and were giggling as all the pieces worked together a set of dominos! My younger son even had fun just playing with the trash conveyor belt by itself and imaginative play with the mini figures. The friends we had over seemed to play for a bit and then stray away so I didn't think it was a hit because it didn't really hold their attention for that long, but my 2 kids alone have been playing with it quite a bit.

Overall the boys really enjoyed playing with the Action Links and would definitely keep them on their wishlists if they didn't already have them. Big thanks to MomSelect for choosing us to host this party!

Disclosure: I was not paid to write this post. We did receive the Toy Story Action Links and Buddy Packs to review and keep from MomSelect and Mattel.

MomSelect: Schleich MommyParty and Review

When MomSelect invited moms to participate in a party for Schleich's new line of toys, I of course replied that I was interested. My boys didn't have any of these toys, but I knew how much my nephew loved their line Knights and Dragons!

Schleich is celebrating 75 years this year! 75 years ago Friedrich Schleich founded this company with the same name. Ever since then they've been creating imaginative play worlds with hand painted, lovingly created figurines and accessories. We were sent the Elf House Shadow Rock and the new line of Bayala toys (a land of magical elves), along with that some of their traditional animal figures too!

There was a lot of excitement when my boys got their first look at the toys! My oldest quickly picked out Apricum as his favorite but I had to contain him until the rest of our friends arrived!

My youngest was more interested in the animal figures and shared his favorite with his Gram! He also loved just carrying around the goodie bag with his little pig key chain compliments of Schleich!

The girls went straight for the fairies and the horses! By far the favorite fairy elf was Marween! She's a beautiful winged elfin laying on the back of a horse!

These toys are so well made, they look like real people/animals. They are great for collectables and for playtime. The kids sure did show their excitement over Schleich toys and pointed out some ideas for the holidays of the ones they didn't get to take home from the party!!

To check out their full line of toys visit Schleich's website!

Disclosure: MomSelect and Schleich provided these toys to me to share with my children and their friends and moms. I was not paid to write this review but I did get to keep some of the toys we did not give away at the party.

Hampton Inn Chain Of Friends Sweepstakes

This summer, Hampton Hotels is making it easier than ever to connect with your friends and family with their Chain of Friends Sweepstakes. One grand prize winner will win an entire hotel for a weekend (100 rooms for two nights)!! 100 other lucky folks will win a free weekend stay for them and three friends. Go here for your chance to enter (ends 9/4/10).

Planning your vacation now? They're offering guests 20% off the best available rate at participating hotels when you book at least seven days in advance for stays until July 15, 2010. Visit here to take advantage of this great offer.

This post was written to participate in Hampton Hotels blog promotion with Mom Select to possibly an overnight stay at a Hampton Hotel.

PaperMate MomSelect Party!!

Tonight I am lucky to host a Paper Mate party through MomSelect!! Paper Mate is debuting a new commercial tonight during the Opening Ceremonies of the 2010 Olympic Games! They have also graciously sent me a box of goodies to share with my friends and family! Included were:

• Paper Mate Gel Pen – The ink is bright and smooth, water resistant for vibrant lasting color.
• Paper Mate Design Pen – Fashionable designs on durable metal barrels with a comfort grip and superior writing system that provides smooth intense writing – not only looks good, it writes well.
• Paper Mate Biodegradable* Pen and Mechanical Pencil – *A majority of its components are made from corn-based material and will biodegrade in backyard soil or home compost in about a year. Disassembly instructions are provided on packaging. It also features a superior writing system for smooth, intense writing.
• Paper Mate Silhouette Mechanical Pencil – A sleek hourglass shape with a soft-touch, full-length grip to provide comfort where you hold it, and a side advance system for continuous writing in a mechanical pencil.
• Plus notepads and recipe cards!

I normally don't make a fuss about what pen I grab, but when I tried out the Paper Mate Gel Pen today I was surprised at how smoothly it wrote! I'm looking forward to sharing them with my IRL friends but wanted to spread the word to my online family too!

Visit Paper Mate online or on their facebook page for more information about their products!