I invited my sweet niece Alyssa (10 years old) over to make some flowers!

First she chose her sheets of tissue paper, stacked them up and began to accordion fold them. Then she twisted a pipe cleaner stem around them. Next, she spread out the petals and began to fluff them up and… she made awesome flowers! These really are giant, just about the size of Alyssa’s head!

When fluffing up the petals, you have to be a little bit careful not to tear the paper. Lori (4) was not so great at that part. But it was really neat for her to watch Alyssa magically turn flat sheets of paper into a stunning bouquet! The recommended age for this product is 5+ and I really wouldn’t go any younger than that. It was fun finding creative places to put the flowers, and when she went home, Alyssa decorated her room with them!

Why I love this product:

• Value: enough supplies to make dozens of giant flowers
• Endless Possibilities: there are so many different colors and petal shapes to choose from so each flower can be unique!
• No Mess: no cutting or gluing needed to make these awesome flowers

Click here to watch a video on making paper flowers.

P.S. If you get the title of this post – nicely done! TMBG is one of our favorite bands.

Princess In The Tub was right up my girl’s alley! There is an adjustable tiara to be worn in the tub, a mirror (to see how beautiful you look with your tiara on) and a wand to wave around (and wish for a prince to appear). The wand, to Lori’s surprise, was extra special because it twinkled and chimed a magical tune every time she dipped it in the water – amazing!

They were super happy to play princess in the tub (if it wasn’t obvious enough by their giant smiles!)

Lori discovered that if you put the mirror up against a flat, wet surface, it will stick –“look ma no hands!” I discovered that the tiara did a pretty good job of keeping the water out of the girl’s faces while I washed out their shampoo. No complaints while washing off shampoo? This really is magical!

If you have a little princess of your own or know a cute one, you might need to get this bath set for them!

Why I love, love, love this product:

• Fun, Fun, Fun! I don’t know too many little girls that wouldn’t absolutely love being a princess in the bath (or anytime for that matter!)
• Makes bath time easier
• It twinkles!!! Hello? Magical sounds and lights in the tub? Need I say more!?!

Here’s a nice video for all you princesses out there:

Growing up in Los Angeles and not having been to a movie premiere yet, I thought it was about time! Having been a long time Smurf fan made it all the more Smurf-tastic. Alex the monkey was free that evening as well. It was a date!

We arrived at the Ziegfeld Theater in New York City nice and early to see the action.  Outside the prestigious theater was a GIANT blue Smurf and a throng of fans hoping to sneak a peak at celebrities. The stars that night walked down, not the red, but the blue carpet – very nice touch.

We rode up the escalators and saw the lobby bedecked with rows and rows of drinks and bags of popcorn – Smurf-alicious! We grabbed our snacks and 3D glasses, found our seats and the movie began. We had heard that there was a big scene in the movie that took place in FAO Schwarz, which happened to be only a few blocks away from the theater. Alex and I kept our eyes glued to the screen hoping to see if we could steal a glance at one of our toys. Have no fear, we were NOT going to miss it!

 ALEX toys took center stage in the big action sequence at the mega toy store. The Smurfs ran into FAO to get a toy sized “stargazer”. Gargamel chased after them with a leaf blower all over the store, trying to vacuum them up. The crescendo of the whirlwind action ended up right inside the ALEX boutique at FAO! The Smurfs ran back and forth through aisles of ALEX toys! I saw our Swirl O-Disk and remembered when we were picking out the colors for the stripes. Seems like it was only yesterday and now look, Swirl O-Disk is famous! Super Smurf-tacular!

We thoroughly enjoyed the movie – it had lots of spectacular action, it was really funny for kids and adults alike and it was really cool to see the Smurf village in 3D.

After the movie was over, we lingered in the lobby and were able to see some twinkling stars. We saw Brooke Shields, who came to see the movie with her children (she is really tall!); Alan Cumming, who was the voice of Gutsy Smurf and Oh My Smurf; and Katy Perry, the voice of Smurfette, who was surrounded by a thick mob teen girls with braces.  We were able to rub elbows with another star: Hank Azaria, the comic genius who plays Gargamel! Hank Azaria is probably most well known for doing literally dozens and dozens of voices for The Simpsons. He was so nice! It was Smurf-eriffic!

ALEX and I went home with big Smurfy grins – what a night!

Have you seen The Smurfs movie? See if you can spot the ALEX toys in the FAO Schwarz scene!

You can see more pictures from The Smurfs movie premiere at the ALEX Facebook page.

You can view the movie trailer here.

http://www.alextoys.com/product/132737/71W/_/Giant_Pipe_Cleaner_Party

Enjoy the video below.