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!

MAIN ENTRY: Tell me why you think this would make a great Christmas gift for someone in your life.

Want more entries? (How fun would this be? Of course you do!) After answering my question do any of the following and leave a comment telling me what you did. Each is worth one entry unless otherwise noted. Your comment is your entry so please leave the appropriate number of comments for each extra entry.

-Follow my blog publicly
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Win a Sesame Street Ball Pit @babylovingmama http://tinyurl.com/yg4acxh #giveaway PLS RT!

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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.

K’NEX has recently introduced the Sesame Street Neighborhood Collection perfect for little users ages 2-5 and features their favorite Sesame Street characters including Elmo, Cookie Monster and Ernie. With four sets to choose from, these individual sets are designed to coordinate with a building set or used as stand alone.

We received the Ice Cream Truck Building Set which was an instant hit with both my 3 year old and my 21 month old.  It caught my 3 year old’s attention simply because it had wheels and if it has wheels, it is his new favorite toy. My 21 month was thrilled to see his beloved Elmo and immediately stole the character piece. It was nice that this is a toy that both my boys can play with!

The parts are big and chunky which helps my younger one’s ability to build and play. We did however have some issues with keeping the wheels from falling off, not that it seemed to bother them. I liked that the set came with a Play & Learn activity sheet to give me some fun activities. Overall we were pleased with the set and I love that we got something with Elmo that doesn’t have any sound for a change and inspires them to use their imagination to build.

This Ice Cream Truck Set coordinates with the 123 Brownstone Building Set shown below. How fun would it be to deliver ice cream on Sesame Street?

These retail for $9.99-$19.99 and can be purchased directly from K’NEX, Amazon or mass retailers like Target, Wal-Mart and Toys ‘R Us.

Does a chance to win over $1,000 worth of K’NEX Toys and be featured on the KNEX.com web site sound awesome to you?

Simply make a video and include select K’NEX Products and post to your blog or web site. Submit the link along with a completed entry form, including your name, age, email address and phone number to knexvideocontest@knex.com. You can still enter even if you don’t have a blog or website. Just submit the video DVD/VHS along with a completed entry form to: Make a K’NEXion Video Contest, K’NEX Brand L.P., PO Box 700, Hatfield, PA 19440. Please be sure to include a completed entry form with your name, phone number and email address so that they can notify you if you are a winner!

Deadline for entries is December 7th, 2009 and your video must be at least 30 seconds long but no longer than 3 minutes and must include the  K’NEX 400 PC Tub and/or K’NEX Sesame Street Building Sets.

The 10 finalists will be posted on www.knex.com and the K’nex Facebook Fan page and then fans will vote for their favorite video.

Disclosure: I received a sample for the purpose of this review from K’nex through TeamMom. 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.