The Smurfs Dance Party Wii Review + Redbox Code Giveaway!

Oh my gosh! What a fun game! We went grocery shopping yesterday, and decided to check out our local Redbox, and saw that The Smurfs Dance Party for Wii was available. The kids were super excited to try it out, and we ended up playing it all day!!

My kids haven't seen the movie yet, but they want to- but they loved dancing with all of the characters. I laughed harder than I have in months to "Mr. Smurftastic" a clean rendition of Shaggy's Mr. Boombastic, and loved Smurfette dancing to Katy Perry's pop hit, "One of the Boys".

My only complaint was that it took the kids a little longer to get the moves right than it did when they play the Just Dance games, but I have a feeling it has to do with the avatar being a weird blue Smurf blown up on the large living room TV. Also, since we only rented it I didn't have time to figure out what the Smurfberries were for, or if the game actually keeps record of high scores like JD. I'm sure that with the instruction book those issues would be cleared up in no time. Even without instructions, this game is easy to just pop in and play.

Whether you're a fan of the Smurfs or the dance-type games, definitely give this game a try. Great for a family fun night!! The best part is that since it's offered on Redbox, you can try it out and see how much the kids love it BEFORE you buy it, if you prefer.

Because I loved it so much, I have several exclusive Redbox Codes (or more..) that I'm going to giveaway to my Facebook Fans. If you don't "Like" us yet, be sure you do, and tell your friends. To enter, just leave me a comment on our wall! Visit 4BabyAndMom on Facebook now to enter!!

At least one code per day will be given away! Ends 9/1

Nintendo Wii, Redbox, and Facebook.com is in no way related to this giveaway, and cannot be held reliable for anything related to this giveaway or to 4BabyAndMom.com.

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Cars Toon: Mater's Tall Tales for Wii *Review*

When I was a kid, some of my fondest memories were playing Yahtzee with my parents at the dining room table. I hope that as my kids get older they treasure and remember the time we've spent together doing fun stuff the way that I did.

I love spending time with my family. We do family game nights, and make a mess with chalk or paint or fun dough, and everyone always has a blast. We got a Wii in March this year, and since then we've been spending family time playing games both for fun, and competitively. The kids love watching me beat daddy on one sport or board, and they love it when daddy totally annihilates my record high score. It's still super new to us and we love finding new and exciting games that will keep the kids entertained and will still be fun for us.

We all win sometimes, and we all lose sometimes, and I really feel like it helps teach the kids to have fun-whether you're winning or losing. 

We were recently given the opportunity to review the brand new Wii game, Cars Toon: Mater's Tall Tales, rated "E" for Everyone.

Inspired by Disney/Pixar's wildly popular animated shorts of the same name, Cars Toon: Maters Tall Tales brings Mater together with Lightning McQueen and the Cars gang in a collection of pick-up-and-play games. With 30 levels, you'll have enough variety to keep everyone in your family entertained, whether you want to try death-defying stunts in "Mater the Greater," run with the bulls in "El Materdor," or help a friend with "Rescue Squad Mater." Plus both cooperative and competitive games give you the option to team up or take on your kids in a fun head-to-head family challenge. The kids will delight in the fun stories and adventures that may or may not have happened.

With a seven and a four year old at home, the movie Cars is a favorite in our house. We've had Mater's Tall Tales and Pixar Shorts on our DVR since last holiday season when they were on television for first time. Every time new shorts come up, the kids love them, and now that the Disney channel has started randomly playing Mater's Tall Tales, the fire for Mater and Cars had been reignited even hotter!

Keep them full of laughter with what we have named a 4BabyAndMom Must Have, and one of the HOTTEST games for this Holiday Season! In fact, we even bragged about it on Twitter! 

So what are you waiting for? Find this game anywhere Wii games are sold, online at retailers such as the Disney Store and Amazon and more.

"I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Disney Interactive Studios and received the Cars Toon: Mater's Tall Tales Wii game to facilitate my review."

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JumpStart: Get Moving Family Fitness Wii Game Review

Both of my kids are huge fans of the JumpStart brand. They have been for over 4 years now.

When Alex was little, we played computer software games. As he grew, he loved his JumpStart program so much we wore out the disk! Now that Abbie is at about that same age, she's also learning to love JumpStart. We've reviewed the online JumpStart program last year, and since then, they've been even more hooked. I love that they play it, and (most of the time) have no idea that it's educational!

Needless to say, when I was given the opportunity to review the brand new JumpStart: Get Moving Family Fitness for the Wii, I jumped at the chance.

Hosted by fitness expert Brooke Burke, JumpStart Get Moving Family Fitness is a great way to have fun and get your blood pumping! Kids can set up their own Jumpees, just like in the online version, and they play their way through sports and obstacles. Alex's favorite is none other than baseball, but Abbie loves the foot races!!

It's so fun to watch them work together, and independantly on the tasks, and I love participating with them. If you're kids are familiar with JumpStart.com, then they should love this game. If you've never been to JumpStart.com, run, don't walk over there and let your child try out their online world, absolutely free. If they love what they see, then definitely check out this game!

Now, from a reviewers standpoint, there were a few things that I wish they would have done a little bit better. The graphics online are so fun, and although the background picture changed during the Wii game, it wasn't overly exciting. The kids had fun, but they are 4 and 7.. My son who gets easily bored enjoyed playing it, but mentioned that baseball is also on the Wii Sports. I think what he liked most was that his Jumpee looked like the same Jumpee he plays with online. It is not a die-hard exercise game, but it does make you move (like many Wii games on the market). You also have to make sure your calibration is dead-on with this game, as the first time we tried to play, the placement of our sensor was not working with the game. I have no idea if this was just us and our Wii, or if this might be something they need to fix. The kids do prefer the online JumpStart game versus this one, but I think it may be because there have been recent changes to the program. As a mom, I wish they incorporated more educational material into this game. After all, that is one of the things I love the most about the online game.

In my honest opinion, I do believe that this game is a fun game if your kids like the online JumpStart program. So check it out: http://www.jumpstart.com/ and let the learning begin.

Special thanks to our friends at JumpStart for allowing us to review this game in exchange for our honest opinions on this game.

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