Or — do you frequently get frazzled trying to keep your kids occupied while you wait for the food at restaurants?

Eat & Play to the rescue!

This nifty kit from Chronicle Books is the perfect solution for every pre-meal stress-out.

Included in the convenient see-through pouch (with a handle):

- 40 12″x10″ paper placemats
- 24 plate activity sheet
- Three 2-color crayons

The placemats are just for writing on. They feature word searches, crossword puzzles, drawing and doodling prompts (draw your favorite foods, anyone?), and much more. The plate activity sheets give your kids something to do/fill out AFTER the meal is done, giving their compliments (or complaints) to the chef. The crayons look just like mini utensils — adorable! Everything you need is right within this pouch; easy to tote when you go out, or tuck into a drawer in the dining room at home (where ours stays).

You can purchase Eat & Play directly from Chronicle Books for $16.99.

FTC info — Disclaimer: I received the above products and product information from Chronicle Books at no cost per my review….but my review is honest and my opinions are my own. I did not receive any other monetary or product compensation for this review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Do your kids love to build?

Build something fun — with Mega Bloks Blok Squad!

A new subcategory within the Mega Brands toy lineup, Mega Bloks have offered for years a lower-priced alternative building block for kids. The new Blok Squad line features community heroes at work: Construction workers, firefighters, and police squads.

Mega Bloks sent over the new Blok Squad Construction Site set for us to try out! This 218-piece set builds three construction vehicles — and includes construction workers and other accessories, as well (a wheelbarrow, for one).

What’s cool about the Blok Squad Construction Site set?

- The pieces are vividly colored and durable — they fit together snugly and the finished products feel tough enough to truly play with!
- The instructions are easy to follow.
- It’s a great value for the price! (SRP $19.99)

You can purchase the Blok Squad Construction Site set via Amazon.com and other select retailers!

FTC info — Disclaimer: I received the above product and product information from Mega Brands via Childs Play Communications at no cost per my review….but my review is honest and my opinions are my own. I did not receive any other monetary or product compensation for this review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Masterpiece Studio: A Paint-by-Number Kit has everything the artist in you needs to create five beautiful masterpieces suitable for framing.

Five classic (yet contemporary, and a bit quirky) subjects are portrayed on the printed canvas boards: A dressed-up cat, flamingoes, a giant hamburger, outer space, and a San Francisco street scene.

Ten small pots of high-quality acrylic paints are included, with instructions showing how to mix them to create all of the shades and hues you’ll need to complete these paintings. Also included is a fine-tipped paintbrush, an instruction booklet, and a cardboard “DIY” workspace. (Clever!)

We’re really enjoying the Masterpiece Studio: A Paint-by-Number Kit at our house! You can order one for yourself via Chronicle Books for $19.95 (as well as via Amazon and other retailers).

FTC info — Disclaimer: I received the above product and product information from Chronicle Books at no cost per my review….but my review is honest and my opinions are my own. I did not receive any other monetary or product compensation for this review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Taking the plain old blanket fort to brand new, exciting levels, the Fortamajig Fun Fort adds pizazz to hideouts both indoors and out!

Here’s some information about the Fortamajig Fun Fort:

An 8×8 foot square piece of durable, water-resistant (and machine washable) material, THE FORTAMAJIG FUN FORT! has built in, patent-pending “stretchy loops” that invite countless hours of creative play. Extremely easy for even young children to use, the FUNFORT! features 20 adjustable exterior loops and 9 interior loops which allow young architects to build just about anything — a fort, teepee, tunnel or canopy — from one single, ingenious square of material! Able to fold up to less than 1 square foot for easy storage and portability, the FUN FORT! is also lightweight and portable, and, with no hard pieces to break or lose, it’s the ultimate portable, storable and durable all-in-one play space!

The Fortamajig Fun Fort is so multi-useful. We were sent one to try out and within two days’ time the kids had created a canopy indoors in our school room — a teepee outside in the grass — and used it to add a tunnel up high in their wooden play fort!

What we like about the Fortamajig Fun Fort:

- The stretchy velcro straps — with extras included. These let you assemble the fort practically anywhere, with no worries about making a perfect stretch/fit from one securing spot to another.
- Kids can do it themselves! Very little adult help is needed.
- There’s a secret pocket to hide special things — ours usually holds magic wands and binoculars. You know, really necessary stuff.
- The vivid color choices!
- It’s ultra light weight, durable, and folds up neatly into a convenient tote bag.

In honor of the Parents’ Choice Silver Award, The Happy Kid Company will be discounting THE FORTAMAJIG FUN FORT! for a limited time when purchased directly from thehappykidcompany.com. Through the remainder of the year, anyone purchasing the FUN FORT! online – whether for themselves or as the perfect holiday gift — will receive a 15% discount. Simply visit The Happy Kid Company’s Facebook page for more information on the discount code and details.

Win it!

Courtesy of The Happy Kid Company, one of you will win a Fortamajig Fun Fort to play with at your house!

Here’s how to enter:

1) MANDATORY: Tell me, in a comment below, what you like most about The Happy Kid Company’s products.

2) For a second entry, subscribe to Muse Reviews’ feed OR subscribe via email — tell me in a separate comment if you’re a new subscriber or already a subscriber.

3) For a third entry, become friends with Muse Reviews on Facebook, then tell me you did so in a separate comment below.

4) For a fourth entry, twitter about this contest using @MuseReviews within your tweet, then tell me in a separate comment that you twittered! (Only one tweet per person per contest, please.)

I’ll close this contest at 11:59pm EST on Wednesday, December 21st, 2011. US entries/addresses only. Good luck!

CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.

Congrats to the winner, #14, Amy V!

FTC info — Disclaimer: I received the above product and product information from The Happy Kid Company via Foundry Communications at no cost per my review….but my review is honest and my opinions are my own. I did not receive any other monetary or product compensation for this review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

A few of Crayola’s Gift Guide products are “high-tech!” We were sent an assortment of some of Crayola’s hottest, high-tech, creative products from 2011:

For the child who craves action and adventure, Crayola Story Studio: Spider-Man lets kids upload a photo and transform themselves into a superhero that stars with Spider-Man in personalized comic book they create and color. A free access code inside the kit unlocks the Story Studio application at Crayola.com/storystudio. Kids can choose a super power, story-line, and one of six villains to battle alongside Spider-Man in their own web-slinging adventure. When they finish their story, they can save it, share it or print and color it. The kit includes paper, glossy cover sheets for printing comic book-style covers, binding strips and 15 Twistables® colored pencils to create three complete books.

For the child who loves fairytales and wonderment, Story Studio: Disney Princesses lets kids star in a fairytale with a Disney Princess. Crayola Story StudioTM: Disney Princess lets kids create fairytales starring them and a Disney Princess! Kids upload a photo to transform themselves into a character, then create a story with their character and a Disney Princess! Story Studio includes everything kids need to create personalized storybooks and unlimited coloring pages – just print, color and bind the pages. They can choose storylines from Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, the Little Mermaid, Tangled, Sleeping Beauty, and Princess and the Frog. With the free on-line access code that comes inside, Pip-Squeaks® markers and glitter glue, blank sheets and binding strips, kids create three complete story books!

For the child who likes creative adventures, the Story Studio Adventure Maker: Cars 2 lets kids join the pages of a story with Lightning McQueen, Mator and the Cars 2 characters form Disney Pixar. The set includes 10 Pip-Squeak Skinnies markers, 3 Pip Squeak broad line markers, 2 Pip-Squeak glitter glue tubes, 30 story sheets, 6 glossy cover sheets and 3 comic binding strips to make three complete story books.

All you need is a printer and a vivid imagination to make these Story Studio storybooks come to life! We had sooo much fun with them.

Another super cool product? The Crayola Color Studio HD for the iPad!

Remember how cool it was to receive the Crayola 64 Box with the built-in sharper as a holiday gift when you were growing up? Just imagine how excited your kids will be to turn an iPad into an interactive coloring book using burnt sienna, carnation pink and a rainbow of Crayola colors from the Crayola digital 64 Box! The Crayola ColorStudio HD app and iMarker let kids´ imaginations run wild as they color moving, animated scenes that come alive with music, sound effects and hidden surprises. The app is free on iTunes App Store with the purchase of the iMarker for $29.99 at Toys R Us, Best Buy, the Apple Store and GriffinTechnology.com.

- Kids can select from 64 colors in the digital Crayola 64 Box and then use the iMarker to create the look of Crayola crayons, markers, paints and colored pencils as the stylus interacts with an iPad. The digital coloring pages respond with movement and sound as the pages come alive as kids color.

- Animated images stop moving on the screen so kids can easily color them in without going outside of the lines, so objects look picture perfect when they start moving again. Tidy up your page with an eraser function or an “undo” arrow that removes larger areas of color.

- In addition, kids can save their work in a gallery to be emailed, printed or uploaded to Facebook (mom´s account, and with her permission and help of course!), and also free draw, play interactive games and create their own customized coloring pages they can print and color off-line.

Check out the Crayola Gift Guide for more info about these and other fantastic Crayola products! And also be sure to check out Crayola’s Facebook and Twitter pages for even more cool stuff. (And Griffin Technology’s Facebook page, as well!)

Win it!

Courtesy of Crayola, one of you will win the same gift pack that we received, a prize containing all four of the above-mentioned Crayola high-tech products!

Here’s how to enter:

1) MANDATORY: Tell me, in a comment below, another product from the Crayola Gift Guide that you’d love to gift this season, who it’d be for, and why you’d choose it!

2) For a second entry, subscribe to Muse Reviews’ feed OR subscribe via email — tell me in a separate comment if you’re a new subscriber or already a subscriber.

3) For a third entry, become friends with Muse Reviews on Facebook, then tell me you did so in a separate comment below.

4) For a fourth entry, twitter about this contest using @MuseReviews within your tweet, then tell me in a separate comment that you twittered! (Only one tweet per person per contest, please.)

5) For a fifth entry, “like” Crayola’s Facebook page or follow Crayola on Twitter, then tell me that you did so in a separate comment below.

I’ll close this contest at 11:59pm EST on Tuesday, December 6th, 2011. US entries/addresses only. Good luck!

CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.

Congrats to the winner, #72, Kristine M!

FTC info — Disclaimer: I received the above products and product information from Crayola via My Blog Spark at no cost per my review….but my review is honest and my opinions are my own. I did not receive any other monetary or product compensation for this review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Chronicle Books introduces The Small Object Thumbprint Masterpieces kit!

This tote-sized art kit contains 30 ready-to-complete cardstock cards with instructions, a two-toned ink pad, 2 sheets of stickers, and millions of creative possibilities.

Each mini work of art just requires one thing, really: Your printed thumbprint. Add your own facial expressions to your “thumbprint guy or gal,” as well as sticker shirts, pants, tails, and whatnot.

There are gnomes inside, as well as stockings to fill, a house on a hill to populate, a bicycle to man, and snails to personify.

The colors are vivid, and the artwork is whimsical and adorable. There’s a space on the back of each on which to write the artists’ name, date, and a special message before giving to someone special!

You can order The Small Object Thumbprint Masterpieces kit directly from Chronicle Books for $14.95, via Amazon, or at select retailers nationwide.

FTC info — Disclaimer: I received the above product at no cost from Chronicle Books per my review….but my review is honest and my opinions are my own. I did not receive any other monetary or product compensation for this review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The “blah” days? The boredom-filled kind of day — or just an all-over bad day?

Or are you itching to jumpstart your creativity — as an artist, a writer, a designer — whatever?

Have I got a fun little book to show you.

Chris McDonnell, for Chronicle Books, has created a unique and definitely one-of-a-kind drawing book in Sasquatch’s Big Hairy Drawing Book.

This portable-sized, 120 page book is full of partial drawings by McDonnell, just waiting to be finished and embellished by yours truly. It’s crazy how inspiration hits as you sit and ponder over these “starters.”

Some are silly, some are a little crude, others a bit grotesque. We’ve all had fun with this book at our house!

You can order Sasquatch’s Big Hairy Drawing Book directly from Chronicle Books for $12.95

 
FTC info — Disclaimer: I received the above products at no cost from Chronicle Books per my review….but my review is honest and my opinions are my own. I did not receive any other monetary or product compensation for this review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Check out Educational Insights’ Facebook page for new product info, team and inventor biographies, and cool contests!

Educational Insights is offering a SUPER huge giveaway, as well:

Everyone who “likes” their Facebook page (and tells me you did so on this post) will be entered into a drawing for a $50 gift card promotional code for use on Educational Insights’ website!

So what are you waiting for? Head on over and “like” Educational Insights on Facebook right now!

Leave one comment below telling me you did so (with your Facebook user name/page name in the comment) — and you’ll automatically be entered into the contest.

(Contest closes next Monday, October 24th, 2011 at 11:59pm EST. Sorry; US entries only.)

Good luck!

CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.

Congrats to the winner, #23, Lana Bradstream!

FTC info — Disclaimer: I will be receiving a coupon code from Educational Insights in exchange for this announcement/contest….but my review is honest and my opinions are my own. I did not receive any other monetary or product compensation for this review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

That really hasn’t changed much. More of a verbal whiz than a math one, I still get giddy when I find a new word-based board or card game. Especially one that I can play with our kids!

From renowned educational product manufacturer Educational Insights, KaBAM! is one of these games I’m talking about!

KaBAM! is specially suited for kids ages 7 & up (and adults). This quick-thinking card game can be played in teams or between individuals. The objective? To see who can add up the most cards by building words using the letters shown on two randomly drawn cards on each turn.

Bright, colorful letters and patterns make this game visually appealing, and the word challenges vary depending on luck.

It’s kind of a loud game, too, since the teams compete at the same time to form a word — shouting when they have one!

There are KaBAM! cards strewn through the stack…when one is drawn, a KaBAM! round begins, allowing a greater win of numbers of cards to up the score.

KaBAM! was developed and invented by Daniel Acuff, a writer and teacher. The game can be purchased directly from Educational Insights’ webpage store — or look for it where Educational Insights items are sold.

Win it!

Courtesy of Educational Insights, one of you will win KaBAM!

Here’s how to enter:

1) MANDATORY: Tell me, in a comment below, tell me another Educational Insights item your kids would love!

2) For a second entry, subscribe to Muse Reviews’ feed OR subscribe via email — tell me in a separate comment if you’re a new subscriber or already a subscriber.

3) For a third entry, become friends with Muse Reviews on Facebook, then tell me you did so in a separate comment below.

4) For a fourth entry, twitter about this contest using @MuseReviews within your tweet, then tell me in a separate comment that you twittered! (Only one tweet per person per contest, please.)

I’ll close this contest at 11:59pm EST on Monday, October 9th, 2011. US entries/addresses only. Good luck!

CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.

Congratulations to the winner, #13, Amanda Thompson!

FTC info — Disclaimer: I received the above product at no cost from Educational Insights per my review….but my review is honest and my opinions are my own. I did not receive any other monetary or product compensation for this review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

They’re taking parts of the nation by storm already — unique light-up toys that amaze and entertain!

FyrFlyz let kids (and adults!) create amazing light show entertainment for friends and the entire family.

Small and simple to maneuver, FyrFlyz can create over 10 different glowing light effects just with the spin of your hands/arms. They are available in several different color combinations. An on/off switch makes sure that the batteries last a long while.

MomSelect sent us some FyrFlyz to try out — here are the kids testing out their new FyrFlyz moves:

FyrFlyz are available on Amazon.com and at Toys R Us (where a sale is going on now through this Saturday the 24th: Buy 2 get the 3rd FREE!).

Win it!

Courtesy of MomSelect and FyrFlyz, one of you will win FyrFlyz!

1) MANDATORY: Tell me, in a comment below, tell me something cool you saw or read about on FyrFlyz’s website.

2) For a second entry, subscribe to Muse Reviews’ feed OR subscribe via email — tell me in a separate comment if you’re a new subscriber or already a subscriber.

3) For a third entry, become friends with Muse Reviews on Facebook, then tell me you did so in a separate comment below.

4) For a fourth entry, twitter about this contest using @MuseReviews within your tweet, then tell me in a separate comment that you twittered! (Only one tweet per person per contest, please.)

I’ll close this contest at 11:59pm EST on Wednesday, September 28th, 2011. US entries/addresses only. Good luck!

CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.

Congrats to the winner, #12, Cynthia C!

FTC info — Disclaimer: I received the above products at no cost from MomSelect and FyrFlyz per my review….but my review is honest and my opinions are my own. I did not receive any other monetary or product compensation for this review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”