2009 October | Table for Five

Apparently, Tonka does not read this blog

October 30, 2009 By Elizabeth

: Image by unloveablesteve via Flickr

Just over two years ago, on October 19th 2007, I wrote a post titled Tonka Trucks: “built for boyhood”? in which I called Tonka to task for their commercial showing boys playing with Tonka dump trucks, a commercial in which not only did they insinuate that Tonka Trucks are built specifically for boys, but used the phrase “boys are built different” several times. A phrase, as one commenter pointed out, that isn’t even grammatically correct. The point of my post was to point out that GIRLS also play with Tonka trucks, so obviously their products are built for girlhood too. My comment that playing with a dump truck does not cause a girl to grow a penis or anything was a big hit with my readers back then.

Well, Tonka, you did it again. In heavy commercial rotation right now is an ad for Chuck the Talking Truck. It goes like this: “Hi, I’m Chuck. Your BOY’S friend”.

*insert sound of facepalm*

Tonka, Tonka, Tonka. You really need to get over this archaic notion that children can only play with gender-specific toys. While I recognize that there are parents who don’t let their sons play with dolls or play kitchens, and don’t let their daughters play with toy guns or pretend power tools, what about the rest of us? What about those of us who want our little girls to truly believe that they can be ANYTHING they want to be when they grow up? Are you telling my daughter that she shouldn’t play with your dump trucks because it’s not like she’s going to grow up and OPERATE ONE some day?

We bought a Chuck the Talking Truck for the boys for Christmas one year when they were probably 4 and 2, and it was a huge hit. I’ve saved it all these years in a tub in the basement because Tonka products are so well-made. Seeing that commercial reminded me that I still have the toy, and I’m planning to dust it off, insert some fresh batteries, and surprise Kaitlyn with it. I predict she’ll love it. The way the toy works is, you clap your hands and call to it, and the truck rolls to you. I bet she plays with it like that for a while, and then loads up the truck bed with My Little Ponies and uses it as a transport vehicle.

I know I’m not going to change the advertising strategies used by Tonka. But I just had to write this follow-up to that 2007 post and point out that like the French say, plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose – the more things change, the more they stay the same.

oh, and in the interest of full disclosure, I work with Hasbro, the makers of Tonka, on lots of campaigns. I LIKE Hasbro. I LIKE Tonka! I just don’t like this particular choice of words for these particular commercials.

Filed Under: Stuff I think about Tagged With: Gender, Hasbro, Tonka, toys

PLAY-DOH Burger Builder Review

October 30, 2009 By Elizabeth

PLAY-DOH Burger Builder is the 2009 Family Fun Toy of the Year Award Winner!

PlayDohBurgerBuilder

Cook up something extra special with this fun PLAY-DOH set and its tons of burger-building accessories! Mold pretend “burger patties”, “onions”, “lettuce”, “pickles” and more, press out “fries” and then use your special TWIST-A-CHIP tool to crank out the coolest pretend potato chips you could possibly serve up! · Super-fun PLAY-DOH set lets kids press, mold, twist and “cook up” a “burger” and “chips” meal that looks almost good enough to “eat”! · Includes 5 56.6g cans of PLAY-DOH compound, molds, press, plate, plastic knife, rolling pin, and TWIST-A-CHIP tool. · Ages 3 and up. Notice Parents: Contains Wheat. Non Toxic.

Hasbro sent us a Burger Builder set to review, and I have to admit, it’s pretty clever. Once I showed Kaitlyn how to pinch off a piece of the colored dough and press it to form the “burger” parts, she had fun making the parts for me to assemble. Here she is hard at work:

Kaitlyn with Play Doh Builder

Your child can get as creative as they want with the colors, make a green burger on a red bun if they want, I’m just a stickler for doing things the way they are “supposed” to be done, so I encouraged Kaitlyn to make the components the “right” colors. Here’s our finished “burger”:

Burger

The only part we had problems with was the extruder that squeezes out yellow strips that are supposed to be french fries. They come out in short little stubs that don’t really look fry-like at all, so we didn’t make too many. Then I hit on the idea of rolling out the bright yellow Play-Doh into flat sheets and cutting it into squares to make “cheese” for our burgers. That’s how we like to eat ‘em anyway! Kaitlyn was happy with our finished result:

Kaitlyn with Play Doh Burger

Hasbro’s PLAY-DOH Burger Builder has a suggested retail price of $14.99, but I found it through my Amazon Associates link for only $10! Click this link if you’d like to buy it from me and help me earn a nickel - Play-doh Burger Builder
It’s a recommended gift for the holidays!

Filed Under: Reviews, Stuff I think about Tagged With: holiday shopping, Play-Doh, toys

Nestle Family School Supplies Giveaway

October 29, 2009 By Elizabeth

This giveaway is closed. Congratulations to the winner, comment #27 from Andrea V.!

I was invited to attend a blogger event at Nestle Headquarters in California at the end of September, but I had to decline because the dates overlapped with my trip to IZEAFest. I was really bummed out that I had to miss it, because I had been to the Nestle Culinary Center earlier this year and had such a wonderful time meeting some of the people that make Nestle brands. Even though I wasn’t able to attend the event, Nestle offered me an opportunity to give away a terrific pack of Mead and Five Star brand products, from a campaign they did for back to school on the Nestle Family website. They sent me the same prize pack so I could see what the giveaway winner would be getting, and I have to tell you, it is pretty cool:

If you’re not familiar with the Nestle Family site, you really should check it out. You’ll find Halloween snacks and decorations, recipes, and coupons for Nestle Family products like Stouffer’s, Libby’s Pumpkin, Nestle Toll House, Juicy Juice, Ovaltine, and more. There’s also a link to the wonderful family calendar and organizer from Cozi, I’ve been using it for over a year and it’s terrific.

What I really like best about the prize pack is that there’s something for everyone – the Storybook and Stencil Kit for younger kids, the notebooks and folders for older kids, and the messenger bag has a padded section that makes it a laptop bag too!

WIN IT: To enter this giveaway, leave a comment on this post telling me one thing you and your family are doing to make school mornings go more smoothly. Do you set the breakfast table the night before? Have breakfast in the car on the way to school? Whatever you’re doing, tell me in a comment. Don’t have kids? Visit Nestle Family and browse the site, then come back here and tell me one recipe or tip from the site that interests you. Enter by November 6th at 12:00 PM EST. Open to U.S. only.

BONUS ENTRIES: Help me spread the word about this super quick giveaway and earn extra entries for yourself!

Use the Social Bookmarking icons at the bottom of the post to promote this giveaway on Twitter, StumbleUpon, Mixx, Digg, and more. Leave a separate comment for each that you do. You can retweet the link once per day and leave a new comment each time.
Post the giveaway link on your Facebook wall and leave the URL in your comment.
Post the giveaway link on any forums you belong to and leave the URL in your comment.
Blog about the giveaway for FIVE extra comments! Leave a separate comment for each with the URL.
Enter any of the other giveaways I’m running here on Table for Five or on MomReviews (the links are at the end of the post under Related Articles) and leave the name of the giveaway you entered in a comment for FIVE extra comments! Leave separate comments for each.

Thanks for entering and good luck everybody!