Cahooties Review and Giveaway

Only four days till Christmas -- have you bought your stocking stuffers yet? As if I don't have enough to do, I devote a fair amount of time thinking about the "perfect" stocking stuffer. It should be small enough to fit in a stocking, inexpensive enough not to overshadow the "main" presents, sturdy and fun enough for the kids to enjoy for longer than a day (so I don't feel like I've thrown my money away on cheap junk). And the less calories, the better (it's not like there isn't enough candy and cookies already!).

I was recently introduced to a toy that actually fits the bill -- Cahooties. I was sent an assortment of Cahooties for my kids to enjoy and for me to review (they also gave me 30 Cahooties to help make it a brighter holiday season for the less fortunate members of the community -- isn't that nice of them? I'll be putting up a post one of these days detailing the organizations that benefited from their generous donation). Keep reading to see what we think of Cahooties, and to get a chance at winning some of your own.....


The Basics
Cahooties are based on the classic paper fortune telling game -- they look like a paper fortune teller, but they're made of sturdy, laminated cardboard so you can use it again and again. Also, Cahooties don't just "tell" fortunes -- players also have to answer fun questions, learn interesting facts and complete silly dares. There are over 17 different kinds of Cahooties, with themes ranging from birthdays to best friends to arctic animals to politics. Although the majority are girl-themed, there's a Cahootie for everyone, including boys (they have a line of Animal Planet Cahooties), families and grownups!

Here's a brief description from Cahootie:
Remember the homemade folded paper fortune teller game we all played as kids? Cahootie's award winning products have been developed to expand upon and enhance this timeless and iconic game that children have played around the world for generations to deliver fun, learning and connection among Tweens (kids ages 7-12) and their families and friends.

Each Cahootie theme comes with one highly durable, pre-folded laminated paper game piece with fun, colorful graphics and 40 removable and interchangeable stickers containing fun fortunes and thought-provoking questions. Cahootie is distributed through Justice stores (formerly called Limited Too), Hallmark stores, specialty toy and gift retailers nationwide, and online at Amazon.com and Toysrus.com.



The Bongga
Cahooties are so much fun! They're colorful and shiny, so each one is sure to capture your child's fancy as easily as it did with my kids. They're easy to set up -- just select eight stickers (each containing a fortune, a fun fact, a question or an activity), stick them inside the folded game piece, and you're ready to play.

I love that each Cahootie comes with forty reusable stickers so you can play the game over and over using different stickers and not get bored. These Cahooties are really going to come in handy when we drive up to Tahoe in a couple of days! They're inexpensive enough so that you can actually buy each of your kids one of their own, or buy them a couple. There are so many different themes, there's sure to be one your child will love!

My kids particularly love the Truth or Dare, because it's so much fun to make each other do silly things. "Truth" stickers include having to share how many days you've ever gone without taking a bath or shower, the worst thing you've ever done, and most embarrassing moment. "Dare" stickers include writing your name with your toes, dancing around the room like a lunatic, and crowing like a rooster whenever someone says the word "Dare". Since there are extra stickers, game players can pre-select Truths and Dares so that no-one ends up with hurt or mortified feelings, and everyone has a great time!


Here's The Pea, standing on her head and singing Old McDonald Had a Farm!

The Blah
Instead of keeping the Cahootie in its clear -- but bulky -- plastic box, I would rather have a sturdy envelope to store the Cahootie in so it takes up less space.

The Bottom Line
Cahooties are entertaining, inexpensive and sturdy -- in other words, the perfect stocking stuffer, party game, party favor and "just-because" present!


Win a Cahootie Party Pack
One lucky Bonggamom Finds reader will win a Cahootie Party Pack, which includes the following Cahooties:

* Wishes & Dreams
* Truth or Dare
* My Fab Future
* Would You
* Best Friends Forever
* Birthday Wishes.


Required Entry
Leave a comment on this post and tell me which Cahootie your child (or you!) would most love to play with. This entry must be completed before any extra entries will count.


Extra Entries
For extra entries, you can do any or all of the following. Please leave a separate comment on this post for each extra entry, with a way to verify the entry (i.e. tweet link, blog post link, blog comment link, Facebook id, Twitter id, etc.).


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

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

3) Write this on the Bonggamom Finds Facebook wall (1 entry):

I entered the Cahootie Party Pack giveaway! http://tinyurl.com/25cxwlv

4) Write this on the Cahootie Facebook Page wall (1 entry):

I entered the Cahootie Party Pack giveaway on Bonggamom Finds! You can enter too at http://tinyurl.com/25cxwlv

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

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

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

Enter to win a Cahootie Party Pack from @clubcahootie ! Enter at @bonggafinds http://tinyurl.com/25cxwlv #giveaway

8) Join any open giveaway on Bonggamom Finds (1 entry for each other giveaway you join, please leave 1 comment for each giveaway you've joined)


The Rules
This giveaway ends at midnight PST on January 5, 2011; I will draw a winner at random on January 6. I will post the winner's name in the comments section after he/she confirms acceptance. Continental US residents only. For additional giveaway rules, click here. Good luck!

Disclosure: I received a sample of Cahooties to facilitate my review. I did not receive monetary compensation for this post. Product information is provided by Cahooties and is clearly indicated as such. Thank you to Cahooties for providing the giveaway prize as well as a donation of 30 Cahootie toys for families at our local shelter and hospital. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.