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Giveaway & Review: Zhu Zhu Pets Toy Hamsters [CLOSED]

If you've visited my blog before, then you may know that ours is a house full of animal-lovers. Despite that, my husband and I have agreed that our children are still too young to have small pets like hamsters. That is why our children, especially our kindergartner, were over-the-moon when we were given the opportunity to review these toy hamsters, habitats, and accessories.




What my children and I thought about these Zhu Zhu Pets:

1) I have to say that the hamsters are adorable. Not only are they soft and have cute little faces, but they make different sounds depending on whether they are in "Loving Mode" or "Explore Mode". They definitely have personality and appear to have a mind of their own. I found out how unpredictable they can be when I attempted to collect footage for my video.

2) The pieces shown below include the Hamster Funhouse, the Hamster Wheel & Tunnel, the Surfboard & Sleep Dome, the Hamster Car & Garage, the Spiral Slide & Ramp, the Skateboard & U-Turn Ramp, and the Go Go Adventure Ball. I like that we were not restricted to only one configuration and that we could change it as often as we liked to see how the hamsters would react.



3) I do think that a young child would not be able to assemble the habitat. It does take some dexterity and patience. The connectors were very secure. Everything snapped together tightly, except for the pink cover on the Funhouse. One of the tabs would not snap in, which caused all the other tabs to come undone very easily.


(Click on each photo to view the full size image)




4) I think it's great that the kids can play with the hamsters without setting up the habitat. They very much enjoy just letting the hamsters scoot around the floor either on their own or using the car, surfboard, or skateboard. Speaking of which, this toys works great on hardwood floors, but I did not have the chance to test it on carpeting.

5) Although the hamsters would get stuck once in awhile in the wheel, trying to travel uphill, or turn on their sides in the hamster ball, I think this toy performs well overall. My husband and I would sigh when something like that happened because we are lazy adults who want to be entertained without too much effort on our part. The kids did not mind these little glitches because they were constantly interacting with the hamsters anyways, rather than trying to set them in motion and then sitting back to be a spectator.

Please take a minute to watch this short video of our Zhu Zhu Pets in action . . .



I think Zhu Zhu Pets takes the currently hot trend of pretend play pets and virtual pets to the next level. This toy is more complex than any other pretend pet toys I have ever seen. This is the closest our children can come to having live hamsters. I often hear them talking to the the toy hamsters, so I know that my children appreciate how realistic they are in appearance and behavior. The best part is that we don't have to deal with any mess, odors, feeding, cleaning, or allergies. Our dog, cats, and fish keep us busy enough.


Look for Zhu Zhu Pets this fall at major toy retailers, such as Toys R Us, Walmart, and Amazon.com .


Thank you to Mom Central and Zhu Zhu Pets for providing us with both a review product and a contest prize free of charge.



What you can win:
One lucky reader will receive a Spiral Slide and Ramp Set plus one Hamster (Prize may vary from the hamster pictured below) .



Limitations:
This giveaway is open to U.S. addresses only. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address and be age 18 years or older. If you enter anonymously and do not include a valid email address in your comment entries, I will not be able to notify you should you win this random drawing.


How to Gain Entries:
Take a look at the assortment of Zhu Zhu Pets Sets. Leave a comment telling me which set looks like it would be the most fun (aside from the spiral ramp). You MUST do this to be eligible to win this contest.


Extra Entries:

1) For 5 extra entries, leave a relevant comment on one of my non-giveaway posts. Then leave FIVE separate comments with the name of the post on which you commented. You will earn 5 extra entries for each different non-contest post you comment on.

2) For 5 extra entries, enter one of my other contests. Leave FIVE separate comments here telling me which contest you entered. You will earn 5 extra entries for each contest you enter.

3) Add this blog to your Technorati Favorites. Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so and under what username. Add to Technorati Favorites

4) For 10 extra entries, blog about this contest linking back to this post AND ZhuZhuPets.com . Then come back here and leave TEN separate comments with the link to your blog post.

5) Friend me on Facebook. Then leave a separate comment with a link to your Facebook profile.

6) Follow me on Twitter. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Twitter profile.

7) Tweet about this giveaway linking back to this post. Then come back here and leave the link to your tweet in a separate comment. You may do this once per day until the end of the contest.

8) Subscribe to this blog's feed. Or you can follow me through Blogger or subscribe via email (widget is on sidebar). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

9) Add my button or blog link to your blog's sidebar. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your blog.





(All entries will be verified prior to awarding this prize.)


Random Drawing:
This contest will be closed on Thursday, September 24th, 2009 at 11:59pm EST. A random number drawing will be held shortly after. The winner will be announced here and will be contact via email or through their blog. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new number will be drawn.



Good luck in the drawing!