Monday, January 25, 2010

This Little Piggy's House Amazing Cardboard Playhouses {Review & Giveaway}

{This giveaway is now closed. Thanks to those who entered!}

If there is an age that children reach when they stop being overly amazed by cardboard boxes, my girls haven't gotten there yet. Every time that a new box appears in our house, they have to fully examine it, push it around, climb inside and attempt to come up with new ways to play with it.

However, the excitement is always fairly short-lived. After a little while of playing, the cardboard has gotten bent or torn, someone complains that someone else is taking up all the room (it's not like we're getting refrigerators delivered here or anything, the boxes aren't that big) and, with the creativity disappearing, the box goes back to being just a box.

The lack of excitement radiates from this picture.
Look at us. In a box. Whoop-de-doo.

But what happens when architects, digital artists and graphic designers look at kids playing in a cardboard box? They take their skills and ingenuity and make the most original, detailed and cutest cardboard playhouses that have ever been created and form This Little Piggy's House. And then, fortunately, they decide to share their handiwork with the rest of the world so that all children can have the chance to enjoy an environmentally-friendly place of their own that will delight and entertain them for years to come.


Available in kraft, white or beautifully hand-painted, This Little Piggy's House Cardboard Playhouses combine all the features that form a perfect toy. Made from recycled 275 pound corrugated cardboard, the playhouses themselves are also 100% recyclable, meaning that after your child has outgrown all possible uses (playing in the house themselves, using it as a stuffed animal house or as storage, etc) this house will never end up in a landfill.

As well as being incredibly eco-friendly, a playhouse from This Little Piggy's House isn't just a cardboard box with a few holes cut in it. Cute, stylish, contemporary - these are houses that not only delight children, but amaze adults with their intricate details and unique design. How many cardboard playhouses have you seen that have mailboxes, chimneys or RAFTERS? I sure can't list a single one.

Any attempt I previously had at converting anything cardboard into something interesting was significantly shown-up when this house arrived for my girls. It was only minutes from the time I opened the long, flat box to when it was clear that this house was going to be special.

I appreciated the illustrated step-by-step directions (there is also an assembly video available online) but I found that it was fairly intuitive as to which pieces went where as Big Sister E and I watched a house come together before our eyes without using a single tool. It's not often that a 3-year-old gets to be an architect, so she was pretty excited to be able to help.

As I can't escape my need to pretend that I'm a creative and/or artistic person, I took our playhouse one step further during Little Sister B's nap time and (with Big Sister E's explicit instructions that it must look "like a house! Like a HOUSE!" and her help with some painting) decorated it a little...

Plus they can still color all they want on the inside as well. Bonus!

Both girls love their special house. They play in it together (having a door at each end is a definite lifesaver) and they play in it separately, maybe bringing in a small stack of books to read in peace. Little Sister B is slightly too rough on the doors and often has to be reminded to not bend them while she is going in and out, but that hasn't affected the use at all. And, even though glue isn't really necessary, between the climbing in and out and the all the playing, I could see how a few drops here and there would help hold things together.

This Little Piggy's House playhouses really are an ongoing arts-and-crafts project for children (and adults like me) of all ages. What a great way to engage in an activity together that will stimulate a child's imagination and creativity... and result in something that provides hours of fun, both loud and boisterous or quiet and calm at the same time.

As well as their amazing playhouses, This Little Piggy's House also carries beautifully constructed paper goods and gorgeous little dresses. Everything on the site is fully designed and made in America and, to top it off, This Little Piggy's House believes that no child should go hungry and donates 5% of all of their profits to organizations that feed hungry children around the world. What a great sign of commitment and caring from an original company that strives to help us encourage our children and be environmentally-friendly at the same time.

What else is left to ask for? An amazing Little Playhouse of your own? Well, thanks to the generosity of This Little Piggy's House...

One lucky person will win their own Little Playhouse from This Little Piggy's House (in kraft or white)! ARV $59.99!


To enter to win a Little Playhouse from This Little Piggy's House: Visit This Little Piggy's House and tell me something that you learned or another item there that you like. Do me the favor of leaving an email address or making absolutely sure it is visible in your profile, I have to have a way to contact the winner.

Extra Entries (available after the mandatory entry above is completed; please leave a separate comment for each entry in order for them to be counted. For example, if you subscribe, leave one comment saying "I subscribe #1" and a separate comment saying "I subscribe #2")

1 Extra Entry if you tell me about a playhouse you had or your child has now. (Did you love to make forts out of furniture and sheets? Does your child dream of having their own space to imagine and play in?)
1 Extra Entry (per giveaway entered) - Enter any (or all) of the giveaways running on Thanks, Mail Carrier for the duration of this giveaway.
1 Extra Entry if you follow me on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway by copying and pasting the tweet below and leaving me the link. Tweet daily for an extra entry every day!

This Little Piggy's House amazing eco-friendly playhouse (ARV $60)! SO FUN! @thxmailcarrier http://bit.ly/azGwQD #win #giveaway

2 Extra Entries (per follow method) if you follow me with Google Friend Connect, subscribe to my RSS feed or subscribe to Thanks, Mail Carrier by email.
3 Extra Entries if you put my cute button up on your blog. I've moved! Please update your button code! Please leave an address where it can be found.
3 Extra Entries if you blog about this giveaway linking back to Thanks, Mail Carrier and This Little Piggy's House. Please leave an address where it can be found.
5 Extra Entries if you make a purchase from This Little Piggy's House before this giveaway ends. Let me know which amazing item(s) you chose!


Giveaway will end on February 18th at 11:59pm CST. The winner will be chosen by random.org and announced here as well as emailed. The winner will have 48 hours to contact me or respond to notification or a new winner will be chosen. Giveaway open to continental U.S. residents only.

A huge thank you to Waibun at This Little Piggy's House for providing an amazing little playhouse for me to review as well as a kraft or white playhouse for one lucky giveaway winner. Endless creative fun that won't ever go in a landfill - we love it! The opinions shared are my own and if you really need to see more, click here to see how I roll.

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