This weekend I had the opportunity to host a fun Zhu Zhu Pet Party, thanks to Mom Select. My kids amd their guests had so much fun playing with the Zhu Zhu Pets! You can read more about how the party went on Bonggamom Finds, and here's what we thought about the Zhu Zhu Pets:
The Basics
Zhu Zhu Pets are furry electronic, interactive hamsters. They have a little sensor on their nose that makes them back up whenever they bump into something, so when they are in Explore Mode, they will scoot, scamper, and zhu-zhu-zooom everywhere. They also have a Loving Mode where kids can pet them and listen to them make cute little chattering sounds. We received four varieties of Zhu Zhu Pets -- Chunk, NumNum, Pipsqueak and Mr. Squiggles -- each with his own unique personality and whimsical sounds. We also received a bunch of Zhu Zhu playsets to try out:
* Hamster Funhouse
* Hamster Wheel & Tunnel
* Hamster Car & Garage
* Spiral Slide & Ramp
* Skateboard & U-turn ramp
* Go-Go Adventure ball
Each playset is a mini habitat for your Zhu Zhu pet, where it can scamper back and forth and around. Each playset can be played standing alone, but for even more fun, they can be snapped together to create a whole hamster "habitrail".
The Bongga
My kids absolutely love their Zhu Zhu Pets! They treat them like real pets, chasing them around, cuddling them, talking to them and making sure they're settled into their little cardboard boxes at night. They make great pets -- they don't need to be fed or cleaned, and they make such cute chattering sounds. Best of all, I love that these little pets have inspired a whole new realm of creative play. My kids and their friends spent half the afternoon making hamster homes out of cardboard, and the other half of the time setting their pets up in their new city, making them go shopping, take other hamsters on tours of the hamster wheel and slide, even holding hamster elections!
The Blah
While we all adore the pets, as far as the accessories are concerned, we could probably take it or leave it. I do agree they are lots of fun -- it is super entertaining to see the Zhu Zhu pets scamper through them. It's even more fun when there are 3 or 4 pets inside, because they bump into each other and back up into each other and somehow manage to sort themselves out, just like real pets. My kids and their guests did enjoy it -- but after ten minutes of watching the hamsters run through the playsets, my kids and their guests moved on and spent the rest of the afternoon creating their own cardboard playsets.
And from a practical perspective, the playsets are pretty bulky and difficult to store. So unless you have the space, think long and hard about splurging on the whole set. Okay, I'd make an exception for that Spiral Slide and Ramp. We can't make that one out of cardboard, and it is the coolest thing ever.
The Bottom Line
I'm a big fan of the Zhu Zhu Pets - their lifelike antics and adorable sounds warmed my kids' hearts and have inspired lots of creative pretend play. The Zhu Zhu playset accessories are fun add-ons, but make sure you have the space for them!
I received a product sample for this post, but no monetary compensation. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.
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