Polly Pocket Playtime Pet Shop Play Set

We're back with our second installment of play time with Polly Pocket!  The Playtime Pet Shop Play Set has been a big hit with my six year old daughter and all the little friends we've had over for play dates this month.  This colorful set has several neat features, making it an extra special way to play.  It comes with extras like pet leashes, food bowl, and even toys to make it more realistic. 

The pet shop theme is very popular, as most little kiddos like the idea of having many animal friends to play with.  Mine included!  Plus this is one pet friendly shop with many fun areas to for the animals to play in.  Let's check out some of our favorite features before we get to the video, with my daughter's take on the it!

Polly has a comfy swing seat and a special spot for one of her friends to sit.  The animal bunk beds are nearby.  ER likes to put the kitty on one level and the sleeping kittens on another so they can be close by to their mother.

To the left of Polly's swing is another perch, perfect for the love birds.  It comes off, but as you can see I've left the plastic ties on for the time being.  It holds it securely when ER moves the Polly Pocket Playtime Pet Shop from her bedroom upstairs, downstairs.  ER really likes to attach the birds to Polly's arm so it looks like she is holding them.

On the other side of the swings is a pet care center, where the animals can be washed before being put to bed.  I love that a little shelf for their toiletries and even a little towel has been included.  The green slider has a spot to stick in Polly's feet so she can "stand" and bathe the pets.

A carrier is included so that when the animals are adopted they can travel in style.  It opens and closes securely.  Please note this brown and white dog is not part of this set.  It's from the Polly Pocket Hangout House, Kitchen add on set, which you saw in our Polly Pocket post last month. 

I'm sorry if there is any confusion, my daughter snuck this one into the pile of accessories to play with and I didn't notice until I was processing the photos.  When I asked her about it, ER said that of course this puppy would be in the travel carrier.  She was adopted earlier and came back to visit her friends still at the pet shop.  Even though she is only six she totally said that in a voice that said, "Duh, Mom!"  Oh the imagination that one has!

There is a cool hidden trap door where the pets can drop down a level and be ready to get picked up by their new owners.  There is also a slide that both pets and Polly can take. 

My favorite detail is the food dispenser.  Press the lever and food drops down, cute! 

Like the Hangout House we got last month, the Polly Pocket Playtime Pet Shop Play Set also has the ever popular elevator feature.  Now let's check out what ER has to say!
My daughter says the Pet Shop is her favorite yet, she has four Polly Pocket sets in total including the two we were sent to review, because of all the animals. She likes it even though Polly and the animals do not have the suction cups on them to hold the pieces in place like the Hangout House. That made it easier for things to stay in place if the table or house were bumped.

ER keeps everything in a canvas storage box so loosing pieces from the Pet Shop hasn't been an issue so far and it's easy for her to carry the box around when she wants to play somewhere other than her bedroom. She carries the Hangout House in a box too, because she is on the petite size and the irregular shape of the house can make it difficult for her to hang on too, even with most of the movable parts suctioned cupped to it.

She likes how this play set has more detail, like the trap door, spinning pet display, and the pet bunks that are built right into the actual play set so you don't have to worry about moving them about. The Pet Shop is also more elaborate than the base Hangout House so that's another plus, although it does have higher price tag.

Besides the Polly Pocket Playtime Pet Shop Play Set we also received a Polly Pocket DVD featuring "Friends Finish First".  You can also view it, and many more videos, online in the video section of the Polly Pocket website. 

In the video Polly and her friends are taking part in a roller blading race, on what must be the coolest track ever!  They've been having fun together, when a producer picks Polly and her friends to be in the adventure of a lifetime and compete against one another in a roller blading contest.  She thinks Polly has star qualities and is a fierce competitor who will do anything to be crowned the first adventurista ever!  It's not all fun and games, Dr. Alexandra Cassandra's had an ulterior motive.  She wants to produce the most watched show ever and thinks the competition will get high ratings.  Along the way Polly is torn between winning and friends.  She figures out what really matters and teaches Dr. Alexandra Cassandra too.

My daughter thought "Friends Finish First" was very exciting to watch, with all the fast paced action and the amazing tricks the girls perform.  Her favorite part was when everyone celebrates on a fantastical shiny floating blimp-like vehicle that Dr. Alexandara Cassandra gets around in.  It's like a flying cruise ship and thought the idea of being in the sky and swimming in a pool was pretty neat. 

She liked the video so much that now she enjoys watching others on Polly Pocket's website as well.  She likes the modern and hip look of the characters and how it feels less babyish than the preschool shows she can see on TV.  You can also play games and check out Polly World there.  I really like how the all of these features on the site combine to make it a really fun way to continue the fun online.  The games were basic enough for ER to have fun without getting frustrated.  She's quite the fashionista so she really liked getting to virtually dress up Polly.

I know we will continue to play with and enjoy our Polly Pocket play sets after this review campaign. ER is hoping a vehicle of some sort and some additional clothing options for her dolls will show up under the Christmas tree. She really likes their trendy fashions! She'd also like a Polly Pocket with "real" hair as opposed to the plastic molded hair.

Polly Pocket and her friends are the perfect for girls who are outgrowing preschool toys but who aren't ready for more mature looking dolls and play sets. Mine is scared of the more Gothic themed toys that seem to be popping up. I am glad we have a more wholesome alternative in the form of Polly Pocket for her to continue her make believe play.

The Polly Pocket Playtime Pet Shop Play Set retails for $29.99 and is available at the Mattel shop and many local retailers. Does your child like Polly Pocket?  How does he or she like playing in Polly Pocket's world?



Disclosure: I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Mattel Polly Pocket. I received a product samples and a promotional item as a thank-you for participating.

Mattel's Polly Pocket Hangout House Playset & Stick N Play Room Review

My daughter turned six last month and two of her friends gave her Polly Pocket sets as birthday gifts.  While my kiddo has no shortage of toys, those were our introduction to the world of Polly Pocket.  ER really liked them and was already talking about wanting to add to her collection.  I'm not sure who was more excited, her or I, when the opportunity to try out some new Polly Pocket play sets came my way through Mom Central.  As part of the blog tour I will be featuring Mattel's Polly Pocket on my blog both this month and the next.  The coolest part, naturally, is getting to check out all the newest toys!

A few weeks ago a Polly Pocket Hangout House arrived and we had to open it immediately!  ER was literally squealing and jumping up with excitement.  This lightweight play house has three levels of rooms, elevator, spinning "staircase", and pet basket.  It's coolest features include a bed that flips over to turn into a roof top pool.

Polly Pocket heading up on the elevator.

It's time to swim now, but later it'll turn into a bed!

Time for a snack with my favorite pet pooch and some delicious looking treats, all of which come with the set.  There's lot to play with!

The addition of the larger sized suction cups on the accessories makes this toy idea for being played with inside and out.  They make it less likely that bits and pieces will get lost during transportation.  My daughter has taken her set outside onto the back porch and up onto the playhouse, that's part of her play structure.  When she carries it up the ladder the pieces stay put and we haven't had any problems with parts coming off and dropping into the grass.  We also put the entire thing into a fabric container box and took it over to Grammy & Papa's house, everything made it there and back safely.  There were no loose pieces in the box.

Besides the Polly Pocket Hangout House we also got a Stick N'Play Room to expand our set.  This is the kitchen.   The extra sets are nice because you can easily slide them into the house to expand your play area.  My daughter enjoyed how the pie is sized just right to actually fit inside of the stove and the little mixer is one of her favorite pieces of her entire Polly Pocket collection.  I was happy to see that the Kerstie® doll that included was a brunette, providing a bit of diversity to the dolls.

More Stick N'Play rooms are available all of which also slide into the main Hangout House frame.  There's a Patio and a Game Room both of which look like a lot of fun and are on ER's wish list.  In fact, if I had to choose Stick N'Play Rooms to purchase first I would pick one of those two over the Kitchen just because I think they provide a bit more variety.  The Polly Pocket Hangout House already comes with a kitchen like room and accessories like a refrigerator.

I can already tell that Polly Pocket is going to become a big part of my six year old's playtime and that her collection will continue to grow.  She has been wanting toys that were more mature than some of her preschool aged sets now that she is going into first grade.  Polly Pocket's hip appearance, modern accessories, and smaller pieces fit the bill perfectly.  I know she likes Polly Pocket but I'll let her tell you in her own words what she thinks in the video below.  (Subscribers will need to click over to view.)




I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Mattel Polly Pocket. I received a product samples and a promotional item as a thank-you for participating.

Project Life Weeks 35 & 36

I'm still playing catch up with posting my Project Life weeks, here are two weeks at once.  Week 35 was the first week of school.  I took several pictures on the first day of first grade and a few days later when I took LB out onto our back deck while ER was at school.  But otherwise, the camera stayed in my bag.  I think I was burnt out after several hectic weeks of fun filled summer activity. 

I'm so glad that I've come to grips with being okay with not having a photo for every day.  Ever since I've morphed my project to a week spread and not a picture a day layout I've been much happier.  In the past, missing day would cause me to stop and give up.  Can't believe I've made it so far this year!  Since I really only photographed two events from the week, it was easiest to devote each side to one memory.  This really worked out because I wanted to use several pictures from each time.

The first day of school was a big event this year because it's the first time ER's had to get up for school in the morning.  She's always been in afternoon sessions before.  She also now rides the same bus to and from school.  I took our annual picture on the front porch with her backpack and a few more waiting for and then getting onto the bus.  I used the curved lines on the patterned paper to organize my writing and title.

The other half of the first week in September has pictures from LB enjoying what turned out to be one of our last warm fall days.  He is so adventurous, which worries me.  He will climb up onto anything, things ER never dreamed of doing.  We have a little kid sized picnic table and he wouldn't give up until he climbed to the top and then stood up on it. 

He also tried sticking his feet onto our railing and kept sticking a foot up in an effort to climb up over the side rail.  It's a pretty big drop so we'll have to keep our eyes on him every second we're out there.  Dare devil indeed!

The following week we kind of settled into our new weekly schedule, but things started out with some excitement.  Brad's been working on finishing our basement and things are stacked haphazardly down there.  I needed something and he had to move a big stack of plastic storage bins.  I hated to make him do that, but we're know now that in the long run it's a good thing he did. 

When the boxes were moved, he could see behind our extra entertainment unit we're currently using for storage.  And what he saw wasn't what he expected...signs of a MOUSE!  Eek!  We live in a neighborhood but it's in the country so this happens from time to time.  But it's entirely different when it's in MY basement!  He had to don protective covering as he investigated to see if it had burrowed into our insulation.

As a best case scenario, he did find that it had come in through a gap left behind the dry wall when the house was build.  It had some straight down and no evidence of it being elsewhere was found.  From where the opening was, the only choices were either blocked or out where our kitties could get at it.  So we think it might have enjoyed a little warmth in the winter and then left for a safer home.  At least that's what I hope.

The rest of the this side has a picture of LB standing in the block storage, part of the dance brochure for my daughter's studio - her class photo is featured on the inside, and a picture of LB playing with Grandma Norma.  I love the happy smile he's giving her and how the Elefun game is blowing his hair up.

I wanted to point out two freebies I used this week, both from Melissa at A Vegas Girl at Heart.  I enjoy reading her blog, not just for the freebies :)  She is currently doing an ambitious blog series of a 100 cards made in a 100 days and there are a lot of really great card designs to inspire and possibly recreate.  The Project Life coordinating days of the week card can be found here and the shaped label used at the top of the second photo above in this post.  You can find handy links to all of Melissa's freebies on her Pinterest board.

The rest of the week would make it seem like I'm food obsessed.  This is true, but it doesn't normally make it's way into PL.  We had a nice dinner out after Grandma Norma visited us, but indulging in the carrot muffin lead to an incident with my blood sugar levels sky rocketing.  When I ordered it, I didn't realize the muffin is stuffed with a cream cheese filling and has sweet frosting.  Carrot muffins and bread always throw off my BS readings but this one really did me in and I only ate half when I realized it was filled.  Just a heads up to any other readers who might be diabetic like me.

The pastry at the bottom is a delicious lemon cloud that my friend Kate dropped off after telling me about it at lunch on Monday.  It looks big but is very airy so it's a treat more suitable for me to splurge on.  Lemon is my favorite so she knew I wouldn't be able to resist.

The bottom right photo is from the set I took when ER and I did a Polly Pocket review together.  She was so excited to help me and even make her own video. If you haven't seen it, she'd love for you to view it and maybe leave a comment.  She's quite proud of it. 

I fit a bit of memorabilia into this spread.  The sticker came on the box the toy came in the the business card is from the spa day my sorority's alum group held.  Getting a massage should start off every week as far as I'm concerned! 

Sharing at The Mom Creative, can't wait to see what you've been up to!