Caillou Toys Prize Pack **GIVEAWAY** ($90)

As many of you know, I am a proud author and reviewer for A Nation of Moms!  Here is my most recent review and giveaway.

For every mother of a preschool boy or girl, the name Caillou is instantly recognizable!

Caillou is a preschooler who delights in the small wonders of the world around him, embellishing everything he sees with his rich imagination.

With a focus on role-playing and make-believe, Caillou toys and games help spruce up reality with a healthy dose of imagination so your kids will be inspired to make up adventures of their own.

Noah and I had the great opportunity to receive and review some fantastic (and new) Caillou toys ~ a small "cherry on top" being right after his birthday and right before Christmas!  We received a 14 1/2" Caillou doll, a Caillou Fireman's House and a Caillou Learning Train.

Caillou Classic 14.5" Doll: 

An actual Caillou doll for your son or daughter to play with!

• Head, hands and feet made of vinyl
• Removable shirt and hat
• Hours of fun using the imagination and stimulating creativity
• Improves sociability and language

My Thoughts:

When I presented Noah will all of his new Caillou toys to play with, I allowed him to choose which toys he wanted to play with first ~ The Caillou doll was his first choice.  I like that all of the exposed parts of Caillou's body are made of vinyl, for easy cleaning.  In addition, his shirt, hat and shorts are removable (as Noah proceeded to show me as soon as I finished untying Caillou from the packaging). This doll is a nice size and fits easily into the playtime of girls and boys alike.

          

Caillou Fireman’s House:

You'll enjoy spending some time with Caillou as he leaps in his firetruck to rescue friends in need. This Caillou Fireman Pack Playset is crafted with
 outstanding detail. Caillou to the rescue! Help Caillou put out the fire and save the day!
Includes:

• Fire station
• Fireman car with fire hose
• Caillou fireman figure
• Cat figure

My Thoughts:

This Fireman's House is a great little toy.  The one drawback to the design, is that the whole toy is small - and its parts are many - and even smaller.  Even as we speak, I couldn't tell you where all the little pieces are.  The toys do comfortably fit inside of the house, which has a collapsible rear to allow the fireman's house to open up into the playhouse, as pictured.  Noah is 2 and I would not recommend this toy for a child his age - it would definitely suit a child that is much older.

Caillou Learning Train:
Little ones will love exploring the many activities featured with the Caillou Learning Train.

Caillou and his little sister Rosie love exploring and learning about the world around them. Now little ones can explore right along with them using the Caillou Learning Train. They'll delight in watching Caillou move up and down as the train rolls when they wind the green key.

• Squeeze the steam to hear it squeak
• Move the colorful bead shapes along the bar
• Move the bell on the detachable train car to hear it ring, and more
• Includes Caillou and Rosie figures
• Dimensions: 14" x 6" x 9"

My Thoughts:

Of all the toys that we were so blessed to receive, this was, by far, Noah's favorite toy.  My favorite feature of the train is the ability to wind up the train and it takes off! (Note: In our play with this toy, the train does not work on carpet, only hard surfaces.) The Caillou train and caboose easily separate from one another. Some drawbacks to this toy, in my opinion, was the ability of Caillou and his sister to each disassemble into the interlocking pieces, as I felt that this is too many pieces for this age.  Also, the flag had a lot of difficulty staying on during normal play.  I did, however, love how the steam cloud squeaked, how the bell rang and how there were moveable shapes on the back of the engine!

Noah's Overall Impressions

After having a few days to acclimate to the Caillou toys, the interest in the fireman's house diminished quickly. With this said, though, I believe that this is only because it is not yet quite age-appropriate for him.  The Caillou doll has become best buddies with Noah's "Charlie Bear" in our living room and the train is played with on a daily basis.

Mommy's Overall Impressions

I was impressed with the toys, for the most part, despite some small quirks that are mentioned in the reviews above.  I did find it quite time-consuming and difficult to extract the toys from their packaging - and in the end - there was SO much packaging!  Granted, it all ended up in the recycle bin, but I wish that there was a way to reduce the amount of unnecessary packaging associated with the Caillou toys.

The quality of the toys, especially the train, was great and I believe that the integrity of the materials will last quite a while.  I would definitely consider buying some of the Caillou toys for some of our little preschool friends on their birthdays ~ and would recommend them to my mom friends as well.

I would be very excited to see the rest of the Caillou toys line in person! There is a great variety of new toys in this collection, including the Squeaky Bath Toy, Bathtime Vehicles, a Treehouse, Tractor and Farm, Puzzles, DVD's and the ultimate gift ~ the Caillou personalized cape!!

                                          

Click here to "Like" the Official Caillou Facebook page or purchase the all-new Caillou toys!

WIN IT!  Win this entire prize pack valued at $89.97 courtesy of Cookie Jar Entertainment!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Other Official Rules and Details: Winner will be emailed after the giveaway closes and also announced on this blog under the featured "Recent Giveaway Winners" section on the homepage of our blog-azine within a few days after the close of the giveaway. Winner will have 72 hours to respond to our email, or another winner will be drawn. We never share your email with third parties. Prize(s) will be mailed directly from the sponsoring brand. No purchase necessary. Erroneous entries (specifically those that did not follow the entry rules) will not be considered. Non-US resident winners may have to answer a series of simple questions in order to comply with international regulations on sweepstakes. To view our complete rules and regulations, please click here.

Disclaimer: The sample product(s) reviewed was provided free of charge. NoM was under no obligation to review it if we so chose, nor was NoM under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product. The views and opinions expressed in this post are solely that of NoM, and are completely honest and without influence. NoM has reviewed this product(s) because we like it and think it would benefit our readers. NoM will not responsible for prizes that have not been received, but will make every attempt to assist winner(s) in securing them in a timely fashion. It is the winner's responsibility to make contact with NoM in a timely manner (within 30 days after the close of the giveaway) to report that a prize(s) has not been received or the prize(s) may be void. Click on the appropriate links to view our full policies, giveaway rulesand disclaimers.