Giveaway: Battery-Free Fun With the Portable "PLAYMOBIL Take Along Soccer Match" Playset (ARV $59.99) [CLOSED]

Our 8-1/2 year old son unofficially declared that he was retiring from soccer at the end of the Spring season this year.  This does not mean that he stopped enjoying the game.  I could tell when he was so excited to have received the PLAYMOBIL Take Along Soccer Match playset.  In fact, since we opened it, he has almost exclusively played with this toy.

If you are familiar with PLAYMOBIL building sets, then you know that building is part of the fun.  To get to the playing part, you need to work for it.  For the Take Along sets, there is minimal building, so children can start playing much sooner.  The 22" x 33" soccer stadium comes in the form of a carrying case that holds all the playset's pieces inside.

(Click any photo to enlarge)

To set up the stadium, simply open the case and remove the black connector and the black handle.  Then bring the two interlocking halves of the stadium together.  The soccer field is made of green felt, so there was a thin layer of green fuzz all over the inside of the stadium.  I had to wipe it down before I could apply the banner decals which go all around the inside walls of the stadium.

Next, I applied the number decals on the six PLAYMOBIL soccer figures.  A smaller number was placed on the front thigh and the matching larger number on the back of the player's jersey.  I thought it was odd that I received 3 complete sheets of number decals when I only need 6 large numbers and 6 small ones.

The rest of the set-up was just as simple.  Our 8 year old son was able to attach the four kickers to their stands, assemble the two goals, and attach the goalies to their stands, which snap right onto the stadium.

Each kicker had a lever on the back of their swinging leg for you to tap to prompt the kicking motion.  The goalies could move in a half circle as well as turn sideways to simulate diving for the ball.  This set comes with two soccer balls, which is good because, more than once, the ball was able to escape the stadium when kicked hard enough.

The PLAYMOBIL Take Along Soccer Match playset is so easy to take with you just about anywhere your children need to be kept occupied or entertained.  It retails for $59.99.  This playset is recommended for children ages 5 to 10 and does contain choking hazards.  You can learn more about this and other PLAYMOBIL sets by visiting PLAYMOBIL USA's website, as well as their Facebook and Twitter pages. For a limited time, you can receive 20% off all PLAYMOBIL Take Along items when you checkout with Code: US72A12C at PlaymobilUSA.com.

Thank you to PLAYMOBIL USA for providing the product sample, contest prize, and product information through MyBlogSpark to facilitate this review.


A NOTE TO 3G2S READERS:  As an effort to give back a little, I will be adding an extra optional entry in some of my giveaways to "Like" the Facebook page of various small businesses that I have identified as needing a little love.


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Ruby Tuesday: Last Game of the Season

Last Saturday marked the end of the season for Spring soccer.  The last game was the best of the season, in my opinion.  The teams were very evenly matched.  Our son's team ended up tying the game 2 seconds before the final whistle blew.

After the game we took a group photo and went off to a celebration, which included lunch and ice cream sundaes.  The coaches also presented each team member with a trophy.  This was our son's first trophy, aside from any medals won in taekwondo, and he was both extremely excited and proud.  He decided his desk at home would be the best place to display it.  He is definitely going to sign up to play soccer again in the fall.

If you'd like to see more Ruby Tuesday photos, go visit Mary at Work of the Poet!

Review: Soccer Books for Children of All Ages

My boys are soccer fiends. My oldest, Avery (8 years old), plays soccer on a team and Quinn, my 3 year old, has been in a couple instructional programs so that he can play when he’s older, which he can’t wait for. So, when we were given the opportunity to review four soccer-themed books, we were very excited. All four books were good in their own right and we thoroughly enjoyed them all.

Goal! by Mia Javaherbin is a story set in South Africa. The main character, Ajani, wins a soccer ball (called football in the books) for being the best reader in his class. He and his friends set out to play “football”, even though the streets are not safe. They encounter some bullies during their game, but they persevere over them. The book is brilliantly illustrated and all the kids in my daycare loved them. Avery, who is in 3rd grade, easily read this, though the traditional African names were tricky, even to me. From 18 months to 12 years old, they all loved this story.


Bob Kolar’s children’s book, Big Kicks is a story about a lovable bear, Biggie, who enjoys his collection, playing music, and being a loner. One day, the neighborhood soccer team knocks on his door because they are in need of some big help and they think Biggie’s their man. He may be a clumsy bear, but he is very sweet and endearing and this book really draws you to him. All of the younger children loved the tale of Biggie and asked me to read it over and over again.

Winning Words: Sports Stories and Photographs is written and illustrated by Charles R. Smith Jr. It is a non-fiction book with inspiring stories about amazing athletes who are both motivating and moving. These stories are all different, but have one common theme: strive to be the best you can and face your fears head on. The photographs are amazing and even Quinn loved looking at the pictures, even if he was uninterested in the stories. Avery, however, loved this one. It was his favorite of the four.

Keeper by Mal Peet was my personal favorite of the four, though each of them were amazing in their own way. Keeper is a story about El Gato, the amazing South American goalkeeper who singlehandedly brought his team to the World Cup and is told by the reporter, Paul Faustino, that interviews him. Faustino rapidly learns that his story is no ordinary one. What follows is El Gato’s compelling life story, which begins in the South American rainforest with a magical, but very real mentor, the Keeper. This story was an amazing tale filled with apprehension, desire, hope, and is very enchanting. A must read for older readers and parents alike.

Any of these books would make a great gift for a blooming or an avid soccer fan. Each can be purchased from RandomHouse.com and from many other book retailers.

Thank you to Candlewick Press for sending us sample books free of charge to base this review upon.

Review: Disney's Air Bud "World Pup" (DVD)

For almost a year now, my 3 dog-loving children have been enjoying Air Bud DVDs. The most recent adventure featuring this ball-playing dog is Disney's Air Bud: World Pup. It turns out that this talented Golden Retriever can play more than just basketball and football. He can now add soccer to his list of skills.

In this DVD, Kevin Zegers returns as Josh to continue this series about a boy and his dog. In the last movie, Josh's mom finds romance, but this time it's Josh's and Buddy's turn. They both stumble into puppy love, which results in a humorous adventure.

In addition to romance and soccer action, this movie also offers a pair of villains, one of whom is an ex-dog catcher. Their get rich quick scheme is to dognap family pets for ransom money. Parents need not worry. There is nothing remotely frightening about these dognappers.

This movie is fun and lighthearted. Plus, the two dogs' budding romance resulted in puppies, which just adds to the cuteness.

Take a look at Buddy showing off his skills . . .

As usual, my children's favorite parts of the movie were during the displays of physical comedy. I think everybody, both adults and children, loved the scene when the dognappers were defeated.

This Special Edition Air Bud: World Pup DVD comes with a mesh Air Bud drawstring sport bag and can be purchased at the Disney Store and other retailers of Disney movies.

Thank you to Click-Communications for sending us a sample DVD free of charge to base this review upon.

Review: "Ball Claw" Ball Storage System

When you have three young children, almost everything is a process, including getting everyone ready to go outside to play. After a round of socks, shoes, sunglasses, sun hats, and sunscreen, there is still gear to gather. Anyway to make our children more self-sufficient is a step in the right direction. That's where the Ball Claw comes in.

This simple invention allows us to store balls of all different types off the floor on free wall space. Currently, the Ball Claw comes in three sizes . . . one for regulation size basketballs, one for soccer and volleyballs or youth basketballs, and one for youth to regulation size footballs or smaller playground type balls.

What we thought about our Ball Claws:

1) They were easy to install. The Ball Claws just screw into the wall and comes with a circular cover bearing the Ball Claw logo to cover the screw.

2) Before I saw these in person, I thought that the claws would be on a spring and I was worried about whether a young child would be able to insert and remove a ball easily. That is not the case at all. The whole Ball Claw is plastic and there are no springs. The claws are ever-so-slightly flexible. Our 3yr olds had no problems using this product at all.

3) I was pretty happy that we were able to make use of vacant wall space. We put our Ball Claws in a row about 2 feet off the floor right under our row of coat hooks.

4) This product is much more user-friendly for younger children than other types of ball storage, such as drawstring mesh bags and deep bins.

If you tend to look for products that are made in the U.S.A. then you have just found another one. At $11.99 each, I think the Ball Claw is reasonably priced, considering how much use a household like mine would get out of them. I also think this product would be exceptionally useful in a school, a gym, or a youth center.

To find out more information about this product, visit BallClaw.com .

Thank you to BallClaw.com for sending us sample Ball Claws free of charge to base this review upon.