Disney Junior DVD : Review and Giveaway

Last week I hosted a party  full of 2-6yr olds.  Well okay, there were like 5 or 6 or 8 of them.  I lost count at various times, because I was too busy trying to camouflage myself into the walls and furniture, in an attempt to avoid sticky fingers and hurty ears.

Yes I’m okay, I’ve come through mostly unscathed.

But seriously, it was actually fun.  Fun because the kids were so enthralled with the latest releases from the Disney Junior DVD collection, that I didn’t actually have to do much by way of party hosting or entertainment.

Porter Novelli were kind enough to send me the latest Disney Junior DVD releases, along with a fantastic party pack to keep the natives entertained.

After taking a few pic’s of my feet (unintentional) and my own face (also unintentional), I captured this :

Behold, this is what kids look like when they are being entertained in a totally motionless and silent fashion!

Please note the lack of :

• whining (as normally denoted by scrunched up pained expressions)
• destruction (as normally denoted by startled expressions as they’re busted with texta making direct contact with lounge and/or wall and/or cat)
• inappropriate food usage (as normally denoted by same startled expression, and hands in ears, up nose, in hair of sibling – covered in Vegemite or Jam or mashed potato)
• inappropriate food consumption (as normally denoted by bulging cheeks and hand within close proximity of mouth, covered in something that I sincerely hope is either chocolate or homemade Playdoh)

Or is it just my family pics that always seem to end up like that?

Handy Manny : Big Construction Job

The younger kids absolutely loved this.  Mstr2 (normally the resident princess) is a bit into yellow hard hats at the moment, and goes nuts for trucks, tractors and tools (needless to say, his father is delighted by this macho, blokey side of his Dora, purple, and plastic dress-up heels loving persona).  Mstr2 was completely engrossed in this DVD.  The only problem being, he now gets annoyed when his own toy tools don’t talk back to him like the ones on the DVD.  Cue stock-standard tantrum and whining and shouty voice repeating “No! Bad! Stop ittttttttt”.  At least it’s the unresponsive tools copping it this time, and not the back fence.

We had a break for lunch – kindly provided by Porter Novelli (which is my way of saying thanks for the Coles Myer gift voucher, and I did use it for party food, I most definitely did not use it for booze…as evidenced by the well nourished kids who were not snacking on 2 minute noodles and a packet of biscuits while I sat in the corner with a rather “serene” expression).  They even sent me some kiddy-friendly recipe ideas.  I have been living off the Chewy Muesli Slice ever since.  If anyone wants the recipe, let me know.

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse : Numbers Roundup

To be honest, I wasn’t sure this one would fly with my kids.  I figured Miss6 would be a bit old, and the twin tornado a bit young.  Not so.  Miss6 is all about showing off, and saw this as a prime opportunity to display her counting skills.  There was one dispute over Mickey creating a new number between 7 and 9…until I showed Miss6 the calendar, and her own counting homework from the previous week, and then got her to count to 20…and guess what?  There actually is a number 8.  Who knew?  And also, how does a 6yr old forget the number 8, when she rattled it off while counting, mere seconds earlier?

Insert appropriately timed “Bitches be loco!” from Mstr2.  I know, I know, totally inappropriate language for a 2yr old.  I will never ever let him watch Cougar Town again.  Also, I did hide my smirk, so he doesn’t know that I thought it sounded totally awesome and cute and was perfectly timed.

The twin tornado, despite enjoying their older sister’s mini-meltdown over the rogue number 8, also loved this one – much to my surprise.  They’re also learning to count at Daycare (not at the educational hand of their own mother), and so they were having a ball trying to keep up and get to 10 without making any mistakes.  Every time they counted to 8 they cackled hysterically and stared at Miss6.

After the DVD viewing, there was some singing and dancing to the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse soundtrack.  It was like a house party, yo.

So we moved it outside, because at this point I wanted to share the joyous sound of 2-6yr olds singing out of tune and making up their own lyrics (Miss6’s included various Katy Perry references, for which she may well have to fork out Copyright fees).

I received this pack from Porter Novelli and Disney Junior DVD, so you’d expect me to be all gushing and positive – but I can honestly say that I’m amazed at how Disney and Mickey Mouse still remain so popular with kids.  In a time where everything is going all 3d interactive, and there’s new animated characters popping up every week, Disney somehow manages to maintain that special something that captures kids’ imagination.

The soundtrack, however?  That’s a whole other issue.  If I get in my car and find it blaring out at me the second I turn the ignition one more time, somebody will pay.  There’s only so much high volume Sprinkle Sprinkle Little Rooster I can handle…. Be warned kids, the soundtrack is to be played on Saturday’s while Mummy’s safely at work and Daddy is at home looking after you – or Little Rooster gets it….

What does this mean to you?

Well it means you should check out the latest releases from Disney Junior DVD.  Educational and entertaining – therefore, guilt-free babysitting, yay!

Also, thanks to Porter Novelli and Disney Junior DVD, I have a set of Handy Manny : Big Construction Job and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse : Numbers Roundup to give away.

For your chance to win, complete any and/or all of the following, for one entry for each :

1. Follow this blog (I’m needy)

2. Follow on Facebook (I want to feel liked)

3. Follow on Twitter (I need to feel like people are listening to me at 140 characters or less)

4. Re-tweet this competition (don’t forget to tag me)

5. Share this competition on Facebook (again with the tagging)

Then comment once below, listing each of the entries you have completed.

Entries close midnight (WST) Tuesday 29 November.

The fine print….

Competition is open to Australian residents only

Winner drawn by random.org

Winner announced on Facebook and Twitter Wednesday 30 November

Winner has seven (7) days to respond, at which point I will cry many tears and carry out a re-draw

What a great Christmas gift, just in time for that special day!

And just a reminder to the Mum's....this is the voice behind Handy Manny :

Something for you to visualise while the kids are being appropriately entertained by the DVD.  You're welcome.