Both of my boys are big fans of Sesame Street, especially Elmo so when I got the chance to review the Sesame Street Activity Ball Pit I couldn’t resist the opportunity.  With Lucian being 3 and Warren 21 months, I knew they were just the right age for something like this and we recently completed a playroom in our basement so space wasn’t a concern.

My husband tackled putting it together and said he had no problems whatsoever but he did use a hand pump from an exercise ball to blow it up.  It only took about 15 minutes and we were set to go! Our boys both took to this right away and have been having a blast breaking through the door flaps and landing in the pit. Lucian also loves to just hang out in it, laying his head on the side and Warren likes sticking balls (and anything else that will fit) through the hole in Big Bird.

Pros:

Love the Sesame Street theme and overall size. Not too big and not too small, it is perfect for our space. I also like how lightweight it is so I can easily move it whenever I like. My boys really have fun playing in it.

Cons:

This would be hard to blow up without a pump/air compressor and the 25 balls included aren’t nearly enough.You simply must get more balls or it really isn’t much of a ball pit. These can be purchased from mass retailers and are generally $10 for 100 balls.

The balls do fly everywhere and I’m not exactly sure what the purpose of the side rail on one side is. The front one with Elmo on it is enclosed which helps to keep balls in but the one side is completely open (for easy access I’m sure) and the other side is partially open. I’m not exactly sure what the purpose of the one partially enclosed side.

The static created during play really made my little guy’s hair stand on end!

Conclusion:

Overall, I’m still happy with this ball pit. It does exactly what I wanted it to do and that is keep my kids entertained for a longer period of time. They certainly don’t mind not having a lot of balls and I plan to add more for them shortly.

This ball pit can be purchased from Amazon or Target, although Target.com was sold out last I checked. Look for it at your local Target store for $39.99.

{ Giveaway }

I have a Sesame Street Activity Ball Pit to give away to one lucky readers!

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This contest will end on 12/9/09 at 11:59 pm CST. US residents only. The winner will be drawn via random.org and will have 24 hours to respond to winning notification email before I draw another winner or do a live giveaway.

Disclosure: I received a sample for the purpose of this review . This has no bearing on my completely honest review above and was not influenced by any type of monetary compensation. The opinions and experiences I’ve shared with these products are my own and yours may differ.