When Land of Nod contacted me about the possibility of hosting a review and giveaway at first I was elated (yay! free stuff, we love free stuff!). But then I became somewhat hesitant. I don't want to become one of those blogs that is always hawking other people's stuff and saying things along the lines of - "today we drank yummy Minute Maid juice with our breakfast (so nutritious, I wouldn't drink any other kind) then we packed up our safe, wonderful Odyssey mini-van so we could stay for free at the Ramada, which was seriously the best hotel ever." On the other hand, I work hard at blog and if companies want to give me free stuff (especially stuff that appeals to my readers) I'm okay with that. All of this is just to say that I promised myself that when it came to reviewing the "I'm Not Bored Anymore" jar I would be honest. If we hated it, well, then we hated it.
Luckily, the jar was a HUGE HIT. F actually called it "the coolest thing I've ever done" (seriously? even better than Disney? why do I even try?). The jar's magic apparently stems from the fact that it lets kids create on their own terms. Nobody is telling them what to do, yet at the same time they're being provided with all the "tools" that kids love - a whole jar full of confetti, googly eyes, glitter, pipe cleaners, pom poms, funky scissors, wood knobs, beads, foam shapes, felt letters, brightly-colored paper plates (these were a huge hit), etc. Even T had a blast "I like it mommy, I like it" (the jar is recommended for kids 6 and over but T scoffs as such age restrictions).
We now take out the jar every few days, as it has become our solution to those after-school BLAHs. And I really enjoy seeing the -sometimes odd - stuff my kids come up with - F decided to make her own "I spy" letter picture (I hate to be a downer, but the letters were pretty easy to spy), P created all these beautiful drawings with glitter details, and T lined up balls and pom poms in little rows. On the downside, the jar comes with glue and glitter-glue but we quickly ran out, so I'd make sure to have some extra around (extra scissors and scotch tape also proved helpful).
Anyways, if you'd like to buy one, they're available here for $29 (Land of Nod also sells a "junior" version for $24.95). Or if you'd like to WIN one, please either (1) "like" me on facebook then leave a message on my wall saying whatever you want to say (maybe write "i want to win!"?) OR (2) post a comment to this post stating your favorite rainy day activity. The giveaway ends one week from today on November 22nd. All entries must have a United States address for shipping.
HAVE A GREAT TUESDAY EVERYONE!
THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW OFFICIALLY CLOSED! CONGRATULATIONS TO CATHI FOR WINNING THE JAR!!!
