Webkinz JR. Party (and a giveaway for you!)

One of my favorite items from this year's BlogHer was the cute pink Webkinz Jr. elephant that I picked up from the MomSelect Swag Suite. My kids are wild about Webkinz -- not just the online world, but also the actual plush toys themselves -- and thanks to MomSelect, even though they're out of the target age range for Webkinz Jr., they now love Webkinz Jr. as well! Since Webkinz Jr's are designed for kids up to age 6, they're bigger, rounder and softer than regular Webkinz and Lil'Kinz pets. Webkinz Jr. also have their own online world where you can enter Webkinz Jr. codes and adopt a virtual version of the plush pets.

Since Webkinz Jr. is for younger kids, the online world is simpler than the regular Webkinz World. Kids don't need to read in order to figure out what to do, thanks to simple visual cues and audio directions. They can feed their virtual pets, play games with them, decorate their rooms and play games in order to earn cash to buy food and clothes and home decor. Unlike Webkinz World, Webkinz Jr. requires a parent account to set up kids' accounts, enter codes and add friends, which gives it an added layer of security for younger kids. It's a great introduction to Webkinz (or a great addition to your child's Webkinz collection).

MomSelect must have heard my kids' oohs and ahhs and These Webkinz. Jr's are soooo cute!, because not long after I got home from BlogHer, MomSelect invited me to host a Webkinz Jr. party for my children and their friends! It was a perfect way to start the school year. Each child was thrilled to receive a Webkinz JR. goody bag containing a coloring book, cd, stickers -- and best of all, their very own plush Webkinz JR. pet.

They chose from an assortment of baby animals -- giraffe, mouse, dog, cat and pink elephant. Aside from these goodies, the party kit also contained lots of tips, recipes and materials to keep the kids entertained throughout the afternoon. We received an assortment of plastic beads so the kids could make friendship bracelets for each other. They also made bracelets for their Webkinz Jr. pets (which turned out to be a good thing, because some kids ended up with the same animal, and they used the bracelets to identify whose pets belonged to whom).


The second craft activity was making animal paper bag puppets, but the kids ended up using the paper bags, pom poms, stickers and paper to make costumes for their new pets. I'm not one to stifle children's artistic impulses, so I tossed the instruction paper in the bin (actually I think one of the kids cut it up to make a bonnet) and went with the flow of their creativity. Any grownup dropping by our house that afternoon would have thought a paper factory had exploded, with all the bits and scraps floating around! It was so cute to see them interacting with their Webkinz Jr. pets and each other.

I used the recipes included in the party kit to make some snacks that the kids couldn't keep their hands away from (or, apparently, their pets). Check out my party recipes post on Finding Bonggamom to see how they turned out! We kept the party lively with music from the Webkinz cd, "Bebop & the Beats" (click here to read my review of the Bebop & the Beats cd on Bonggamom Finds).


Try Webkinz Jr. FREE for 15 days
The good folks at Webkinz Jr. and MomSelect have given me some Webkinz Jr. trial codes to share! The first 20 people to leave a comment on this post with a valid email address will receive 2 unique codes, each good for a free 15-day trial on Webkinz Jr -- one to use and one to give away! You'll get to try out the wonderful world of Webkinz Jr. (note: this code is good for new Webkinz Jr. accounts only), and you'll also be entered for the giveaway below....




Win a Webkinz Jr. Goody Bag
Three lucky Bonggamom Finds readers will receive a Webkinz Jr. Goody Bag consisting of:

* 1 sheet of Webkinz Jr. stickers
* 1 Webkinz Jr. coloring book
* 1 Webkinz Jr. audio cd, "Bebop & the Beats"

Update 9/10/10: I am thrilled to announce that Ganz has contacted me and sweetend the giveaway pot by offering a Webkinz Jr. plush pet to each of the 3 winners! That's right, the Webkinz Jr. Goody Bag will now consist of:

* 1 Webkinz Jr. plush pet (winner's choice of pets from the Webkinz Jr. online catalogue)
* 1 sheet of Webkinz Jr. stickers
* 1 Webkinz Jr. coloring book
* 1 Webkinz Jr. audio cd, "Bebop & the Beats"

What was once a great giveaway prize has now turned into a fabulous giveaway prize (for 3 people, no less!) so hurry and get those extra entries in!!


Required Entry
To enter this giveaway, leave a comment on this post with your email address (remember, the first 20 to do so will also receive free Webkinz Jr. trial codes!).


Extra Entries
For extra entries, you can do any or all of the following. Please leave a separate comment for each extra entry with a way to verify the entry (i.e. tweet link, blog post link, Facebook id, Twitter id, etc.). I'm picking THREE winners so get those extra entries in!

1) Grab my blog button and post it up on your blog (1 entry).

2) Subscribe to Bonggamom Finds updates (1 entry).

3) Follow Bonggamom Finds on Networked Blogs (1 entry).

4) Follow Bonggamom Finds on Blogger(1 entry).

5) Leave a comment on my Webkinz. Jr. recipes post (1 entry).

6) Leave a comment on my Webkinz. Jr. cd review post (1 entry).

7) Follow Bonggamom Finds on Twitter and tweet this, up to once per day (1 entry per day, leave a comment with the tweet link for each tweet):

3 winners will receive a Webkinz JR. gift pack from @bonggafinds and @WebkinzJr enter now! http://tinyurl.com/36rt7u8 #giveaways

8) Follow Webkinz Jr on Twitter and tweet this, up to once per day (1 entry per day, leave a comment with the tweet link for each tweet):

Win your own plush Webkinz Jr. pet from @bonggafinds and @WebkinzJr enter now! http://tinyurl.com/36rt7u8 #giveaways


9) Tweet this, up to once per day (1 entry per day, leave a comment with the tweet link for each tweet):

Want to try Webkinz Jr. free for 15 days? Go to http://tinyurl.com/36rt7u8 to get a code from @bonggamom and @WebkinzJR ! #giveaways



The Rules
This giveaway ends at 11:59PM PST on October 2, 2010. I will email codes to the first 20 people who leave their email address in a comment on this post. I will also draw 3 winners at random on October 3 from the pool of valid entries (not just the first 20) and post the winners' names after the winners confirm acceptance. US addresses only. For additional giveaway rules, click here. Good luck!

Disclosure: I received an assortment of Webkinz JR. products and party goods from Webkinz JR. and MomSelect. I was not paid to review the product or give my opinions. Product information is provided by the featured company/product and is clearly indicated as such. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.