THE GOOD THE BAD & THE UNGLY (Ina's Toy review)

Well the children received some nice things for the holidays, and we are very thankful for them all. . Toys, electronics, books, gift cards ans of course clothes. Clothes are clothes. we all have our own opinions there, and gift cards are the same, they are great if you buy the right ones for the right person. Books are generally the same, it's personal taste so for the most part I won't include them...so on to the rest...cuz reviews are helpful.

THE HAUL OF SUNNY NOT:
Well 13 yr old Sunny Not did get what she asked for. We purchased her a Kodak z16 pocket camcorder (also takes still pics) and santa gave her the required SD card. She loves it, it works great. As for the ease of upload to youtube (as advertised) that will depend on her reading the online instructions and tips. Some things are simple enough that a teen can skip instructions (having a basic idea of the tech world)...this isn't one of them. But for a teen wanting a video camera and parents not wanting to spend hundreds...perfect choice...and they should read instructions. Her Dad and Granny celebrated with her on xmas eve. They gave her an ipod touch and nintendo DSi. Sunny Not prefers the perfect single gift over quantity. The ipod barely left her hands allthough she did mention that lots of stuff cost money to add. However she was going to look into what she could download to her computer for free and then upload to the ipod. The DSi she left at her dads...enough said I think.

Some Thumbs Up for the Kodak z16



SW: THE BRAVES GREAT GIFTS:
11 yr old SW finaly has a DS lite. We decided not to get a DSi based on price and reviews of the new features. Santa gave him an R4 card. The DS appeared under the tree last yr for Ko-Ko so I knew I liked it as a game system for the kids. In general I like Nintendo. They have a wack load f games that are fun and suitable for all ages and always have. The other systems seem to have more mature games. The R4 card is brilliant. It requires a micro SD card (which I only discoverd by researching them on the net) we got a 4 gb. A friend had a portable hard drive full of nintendo DS games for us to download. it took hours for my husband to format them correctly and weed out the euro games and asian games since each region has a different format and an american system can't play a game from another region. I can not imagine how long this would have taken if we had to do it all from scratch. Once done the download of 150 games took 10 minutes. And another 10 minutes for Ko-Ko's R4. He also got a nerf dart gun. This was Dad's choice. big hit, minimal play because it's an outside toy and it's winter here.

Multiple Thumbs up for Nintendo DS lite



KO-KO'S GIFT EXTRAVAGANZA:
She also recieved an R4 card...again, not easy for the parents to prepare but when all is said and done...oh the money we will save. She also received the classic easy bake oven...requires adult supervision but yeah...she has already tried it on her own. I am not sure how I feel abou the easy bake. Sunny Not had one when she was younger and the adult supervision (she listened) ment that it ended up in a garage sale cuz in a large family there is limited one on one time, and most of it is one on one plus baby. My plan is to teach her to use on her own. I know, I know...but hey most girls do anyway...I did, her Aunts did. it is what it is. Santa gave her a Camnex game 2 go. In my mind this was the best bang for the buck $50 toy (if your interested...at walmart). It has 10 built in games. It is an mp3 player with super simple upload (I figured it out in seconds), it also takes pics and basic vids plus you can voice record. She loves it and so do I.


R4 and easy bake are 2 thumbs up and one down


. . .Camnex game 2 go; all thumbs up



RUNNER'S BEST TOYS:
Runner recieved mega block streetz. This is way better priced then lego city. The buildings are great, need some adult help. The instructions are step by step pic instructions (easy to follow...more so for dad) The street pieces attach together like hot wheels tracks making for a smooth ride. The set went together fast enough that there was time to play. I definatly vote this as a better set then the competitors. Santa brought runner race o rama (Disney cars) for the wii. It starts a one player. You have to acheive certain goals for a second player to join. As a Mom of 5, you can guess this is a thumbs down from me. But the game is fun, and just the right level of difficulty for 7 yr old Runner. He also got some new matchbox planes. We were always a hot wheels family but Runner prefers matchbox. These basic cars and planes are still priced in everyone's price range (under $5 although there are biggger ones) and they still entertain boys.

Runner's toys all receive multiple thumbs up.




They were given a box for then all of the seasons hottest zhu zhu pets. 3 hamsters and accessories. The hottest toy of the season is all hype. (yep I fell prey to the hype). It entertained them briefly. Electronic pets are not the same as the real thing even with the same accessories. This is a total thumbs down from me. Seems like a neat idea, but didn't pan out in the long run. Also the hamster ball is so hard to put together that the hamster has stopped moving . Also Uncle and Aunty from North of 7 gave the 4 of then the new Super Mario Bros for the Wii. Big fun, Big hit and 4 players, playing all at the same time...just what a Mom always wanter...4 siblings playing together without fighting. So toy of the season...No. Wii game of the season....Yes.


All Fonze Thumbs down (thats bad) for ZhuZhu

...Big Thumbs up for New Super Mario Bros (Wii)


BABY INDY LOVED HIS TOYS!
Santa brought him the Elmo that sings "elmo loves you so so much". He loves it. He loved it in the store and he loves it still...Aunty however is out to kill elmo but if your a Mom you learn to tune out stuff. Playmobile replica of the old farm house is as fun down as it was then but the hit of the season was Playmobile's crash and spin race way. All three boys have been having hours of fun with this. Baby Indy loves it. the only negative is the C batteries (I think we will get some rechargables) and trying to get the older boys to back off and let Indy play. If you have a little boy it really is a great toy. Indy was gifted many books as he is a big fan and they were great as books tend to be. I said I wouldn't review these ...for the most part. But there is one a set that I will comment on. Indy received a play-a-sound set of baby einstein books and sesame street They include 3 cute books each and one sound pad with buttons that comes off one book to go on another. They get lost easily and can not be used with another set...better to get the kid that has the sound pad attached.

Multiple thumbs up for baby Indy's toys,




except books with losable parts, that's one down.