HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE – Day 8: Kre-O and Nerf Review + Win a Tonka XT: Ricochet Tricksters RC Car

If you have some boys ages 6+, I have some great gift ideas for you for the holidays. I received a few products from Hasbro that I want to tell you about (I will even be giving one of them away as part of my Holiday Gift Guide)! Keep reading through the reviews and the giveaway will be listed at the bottom of this post.

The first is the Tonka XT: Ricochet Tricksters RC Assortment. This is one very cool car and it happens to be on sale on Amazon for just $19.99. It is valued at $24.99.

The Tonka XT Ricochet Tricksters are double-sided stunt vehicles that can perform stunts with the click of a button! This is really awesome because my 6 year olds can easily play with and control this vehicle. This car has the ability to perform freestyle stunts, which you and/or your child can have fun learning to do, but it also has pre-programmed stunts. When you push the Trick Trigger button, you can get the car to zig-zag, flip, sip and more. I assure you the kids (and some adults) will have a blast with this little car.

I also like that this car is not tiny like some of the other popular RC cars that have recently come out. It does require 5 AA batteries, but also comes with a rechargeable battery. You can get a good 20 minutes of play after each charge.

For your battery needs, I happen to notice that there is a great price on Duracell Batteries right now. Get a 20 pk of Duracell Coppertop Batteries for just $7.72 with the Subscribe & Save option on Amazon. This also includes a $.75 coupon that can be found right below the product pricing!

Back to the car, I think my kids will be playing and fighting over this car for quite some time. I love the possibilities of creative play because of the stunts. My boys are wanting to build some ramps and things to really see what this car is made of.

If you want to see the car in action, watch the Youtube video below.

The next item I received to review is the Kre-O Transformers – Prowl Set. We had the Optimus Prime set already and my 7 year old loves it, so we requested the Prowl Set. Now we’ve got a hero and a villain.

If you aren’t familiar with Kre-O’s because they are fairly new, let me tell you a bit about them. Kre-O’s are similar to Legos, but are made by Hasbro. A wonderful trait about them that you may not be aware of is that they will match up with any legos you may already have. They are interchangeable! I love this because I don’t feel like I am buying a completely new set of toys that won’t go with what we already have.

Another great thing about the Kre-O Transformers is that the sets aren’t made to make just one thing. Of course you can build whatever you’d like with your Kre-O’s, but they come with instructions to build two things, just like transformers. Just like all transformers, the Prowl Set can be a vehicle or a robot. Use your Kre-O’s to build Prowl as a police car for some fast action play, then take it apart and build a robot! I love the versatility and the fact that you are getting basically 2 great toys in one!

Kre-O’s are intended for ages 6-12. We haven’t actually opened our Prowl Set yet because I am saving it for my son’s birthday. Since we already have a Kre-O set, we know how much we love them already – and he is going to be thrilled!

Do keep in mind that putting the robot (moreso than the car) together may be challenging for some children. My 7 year old (nearly 8) is extremely good at building so this isn’t a problem for him. When the Transformers are in their robot form, rough play would not be my recommendation, since these are bricks that can break apart.

Most of the Kre-O Transformers also happen to be on sale on Amazon. They have a nice variety so feel free to browse around. They make excellent gifts.
You can grab a Kre-O coupon for $5 off a $20 purchase. Plus stack it with the newest Target Mobile Coupon here.

The last toy (if that’s what you want to call it) that I got to review is the Nerf Vortex Praxis Blaster. First I gotta say that we are big Nerf fans at my house. I also got to test out some very cool Nerf products while at BlogHer 11. You can’t really go wrong with any type of Nerf product – especially if you’ve got boys!

Nerf guns are the only guns my kids are allowed to play with and they provide hours of endless fun with my kids. Yes it is true that we have lost darts and gotten some stuck up on the roof, but that’s why it’s a good idea to buy big packs of them. We surprisingly manage to hang onto most of them.

The Nerf Vortex Praxis is valued at $24.99, but is on sale for $23.49, over at Amazon. That is currently the lowest price anywhere that I know of. The Vortex Praxis is different than any other Nerf gun we have had because it doesn’t shoot darts, but it shoots discs. My kids absolutely LOVE this!! I would love to post some video footage of my kids playing with this, but my camera is broken and my phone takes some shotty video. Maybe for Christmas I shall get a new one?!!? Plus,  it would only be fair of at my oldest’s opponents (brothers) had a Nerf Vortex Praxis to defend themselves with. Maybe another Christmas gift….

Here are some of the awesome features of this particular Nerf Gun: