Despite the complaints about the turtle playing O Christmas Tree ...
935283
Despite the complaints about the turtle playing O Christmas Tree rather than You Are My Sunshine as advertised I took a chance and ordered this for my new grandchild since there were many others who got the correct tune. Sadly I got the wrong tune and it will be going back. For $30 I should have got what I ordered.
2935431
My wife loved the turtles. I do however have one complaint. One of the magnets was put jn the wrong way, so they actually repel instead of kiss. Going to have to find a way to fix this. I wonder if there is couples counseling for turtles to get them to kiss again. :P
3793908
Leslie McGuirk, Ho, Ho, Ho, Tucker! (Candlewick, 2005)

Cute-enough Christmas story featuring a naughty little dog... or at least a dog who starts off as a naughty little dog and then becomes Rudolph the Red-Nosed Puppy.  Okay, okay, I know, it's kind of ridiculous of me to talk about, and maybe even to expect, character consistency in a board book written for the pre-lit set, but David Shannon manages it in the Diaper David books with exactly this kind of character. Still, Davey's having a good time with it, so I'll keep reading it to him on and off before bed until it has to go back to the library. ***
751959
The tree never stood up for us but the ornaments is where it is at anyway. I would have hoped for a few other colors like black or brown.
Still this was a huge hit in my house with two boys.
4448202
I buy toys all year round for giving at Christmas to the Angel Tree for underprivileged children. This is a very nice toy for a reasonable price.  I received the item mentioned above for free or at a deep discount in the hope that I would review it. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I have used personally and believe will be good for other customers as well. If you feel my review has helped you in any way please click yes below.
1873905
This is not a Christmas tale for children. This is appropriate for late teens and adults.

Christmapus is a hilarious comedic telling of spreading the joys of Christmas. Even to those pesky people who have found their selves on Santas naughty list!

The Christmas Octopus Chris and his wino steed do not discriminate as they hand out their holiday loot. This pisses off the jolly ol Santa. I mean he did check his list twice. He has a system.

I liked the story. Its rhyming and cadence were fun. The story although humorous still has a moral point.

Even people like winos deserve to enjoy Christmas. Regardless of what some bearded fat man decides.

The illustrations are fun and follow the story well.

Its a fun gift for the person in your life who enjoys a bit of sideways humor.

To see my full review, check out my blog! AlliesOpinions on wordpress!
3161919
This is a good story, with a great Christmas message.  Sometimes I just wanted to slap the main character and tell her to stop being stupid.  At times it got a little long.  Overall a fun Christmas story.
2233856
...since our six-year-old usually takes his toys apart after a few days and creates new things with the pieces. He's done this soooo many times, I now look for interesting aspects he can re-use, instead of looking at the as-packaged toy. It's amazing what he does with Dollar Tree train tracks, some wooden blocks, track from the Thomas Ultimate Set, and some Hot Wheels road - and a black Sharpie marker.

I did want to thank the folks who had problems with this for speaking out. I'm hoping they (Mattel, I'm lookin' at you !) fixed the design flaws between 'movie release toys' and 'video release toys', but after some thought, Beloved Hubby and I realized it wouldn't matter for our son. However, it is a major problem for kids who want this to work as-is. So here's hoping !

And thanks, everyone, for reviewing. It really does help the rest of us make our very important toy decisions.
3545604
The villains of the fairy tales want to win for a change. The giant wants to eat Jack. The evil step-mother wants Cinderella to provide slave labor. They don't think it's fair that the good guy always gets to win.

They have come up with a perfect plan. Ruin Christmas and the heroes are bound to give them the endings to their stories. They will get their evilly perfect ending.

Santa has determined that every child deserves a toy. There is good in every person, sometimes it just has to be looked for a little harder. While the villains think they have a perfect plan, Santa knows the truth, he just has to teach the villains that their plan is not as perfect as they thought it was.

This is a great Christmas story to share with Children. It takes some of the most loved and hated characters of favorite fairy tales and adds Santa to the mix. It is bound to capture the imagination of children and adults of all ages.

It is a quick read, it took me less than a day. I enjoyed the story and look forward to listening to the Copper Mine Club and Dinner Theater's original cast recording. Michael McClean has written some of my favorite songs. The link to the recording is in the back of the book. :)

I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an hones review.
1810445
I bought this item over a month ago, and am I glad I did.  ... even though this Nativity Set doesn't light up or play a tune, it will teach my granddaughter the real meaning of Christmas.  A child does not always need music and lights included with a toy, when using their imagination is much more important to their development. The Little People figures are a perfect size for a child to hold and play with. If she ever tires of playing with it, it will be a set she will have for years to come to display each Christmas in her room. All children would love pretend playing with this great Fisher Price toy.
2778689
We bought the advent last year also.
I understand that there are *little* toys in them, but this year the only good one was the Santa that was opened on the 24th.

My child wasn't that excited about the toys either.  He enjoyed opening one ea. day, but the toys weren't worth it this year.
1274396
For close to a year, reviews have complained that the holes in the rubber band dowels were too big for the #10 screws supplied. I figured that after a year, the company had fixed the error. Silly me. The holes are too big for #10 screws and the dowel end caps are too small for #12s. I had to drill out the end caps to use #12s. I wasn't happy on Christmas Eve.

I wrote to the company's customer service and got a cut-and-paste response that detailed a list of everything they wanted from me before they would send me replacement dowels. You would think that after all the complaints, responding quickly and in the affirmative would be a no-brainer. Just wish they would fix the @#%$& problem!

As for the horse itself, it was a Christmas hit. My one year old grandson does not get off it. I have it set up in rocker mode and he rocks around the clock. The horse is cute and the electronics is cool for a kid. As others have stated, the rocker slides across the carpet, but my little cowboy doesn't mind at all.
2731065
My beloved cat from my childhood, Moosey, got one of these for Christmas last year (although his was the bird one, not the fishies) and he absolutely adored it. As soon as I opened it for him and let him have it he spent a good half hour licking a big wet spot in the middle of it, and then curled up on it and refused to move even when our younger cat tried to play. I cleared a spot under the Christmas tree right in front (Moose always loved that tree) and put his mat there and he spent the rest of the Christmas season sleeping right there. It turned out to be his last Christmas before kidney failure finally caught up with him, so I'm very grateful for the wonderful memories and photographs I now have of that last Christmas with my kitty.

Now that Moose is gone, the mat is going to go on a shelf along with his collar, favorite catnip toy, and his ashes. I think he would have wanted it that way. :)
1489971
I am not completely pleased, but I give it a 5 star rating because the true essence of Christmas is present in this book. It is entertaining and very colorful.  Thank you.
1204471
I look forward to watching this around christmas time. The one thing that always irks me about this move is how rude the santa claus is. Other than that, this and A Flintstone Christmas Carol makes the holidays the holidays.
2686208
Christmas trees aren't a pain any more.  This took all of 20 seconds to set up.  I put the tree in, stepped down a few times and filled it with water.  The tree is straight, and I didn't have to crawl under it and grunt cuss and cry while I tightened up 3 eye-hook screws.  The worst part of Christmas is now one of the better.
2186211
Many children think that Christmas is all about Santa and receiving presents.  The children will love to hear the story of the Nativity especially since it's told by none other than Santa Claus himself.