Play-Doh Creations Caddy {Review & Giveaway}

{This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations, Concern!}

Usually when I think of Play-Doh, I think two things. One, that my girls love it. The texture, the color, the creativity - they always have a good time with it. Two, that I enjoy Play-Doh as well and seeing my daughters happily playing with it... until they run out of ideas and the parts, pieces and modeling compound itself is left everywhere.

As much as Play-Doh is one of the most iconic, classic toys around, in our house it was just spending time shoved in a big container because there was otherwise nothing to do with it.

I say was because that was before the Play-Doh Creations Caddy entered our lives and took this malleable substance that we all know and turned it into the coolest all-in-one imagination station around.

The list of items included in the Play-Doh Creations Caddy is a veritable who's who in entertaining children's crafts and activities. The five two-ounce containers of Play-Doh, rolling pin and pizza cutter accessory were ones that I would have expected. But then add to them the four texture tools, three stampers, roller, knife accessory and scissors and that would have been pretty great.

But Play-Doh didn't stop there. The Creations Caddy is the first that I've seen that has six reusable coloring parts (to add shape and dimension to your creations), four wet-erase markers, four washable crayons and two activity mats to ensure that your child's creativity and fun far surpasses that of any previous Play-Doh experience. In fact, both Big Sister E and Little Sister B were prepared to rip into the box themselves if I didn't move fast enough.

With two activity mats included, I was already happy about not having to figure out how to have my girls share one location for creating their own masterpieces. After laying out all of the pieces and accessories for them, there was half a moment of pause as they admired the Creation Caddy's tools and materials before they dove right in.

Even though the Play-Doh Creations Caddy is recommended for ages four and up, I was sure that there wouldn't be any problems letting Big Sister E and Little Sister B let their imagination guide them. And I was right.

Although she didn't create a beautiful underwater scene on her activity mat (there are some really great ideas and examples that come with the Creations Caddy), Big Sister E used both the markers and the crayons right away to decorate it. Then, choosing between the molds and rollers, she went right into making the most of her Play-Doh.

Little Sister B also colored a little bit but then preferred to break off small pieces of Play-Doh and lay them purposely around her mat. However, after watching her sister and I, she quickly picked up on how many more possibilities there were to enjoy.

All three of us had a great time using the stampers and texture tools to make images or shapes appear and being able to create and then recreate over and over kept the interest level up high. Big Sister E even helped me mold our very own friendly little mouse and, by using the simple accessories, we took normal Play-Doh molding further by giving him sturdy legs to stand on.

Having so many new ways to make playing with Play-Doh even more fun than usual, the Creations Caddy really opened up some new imaginative possibilities for us. Another big plus? When we were done playing, every one of the pieces stored right inside with no problem. I helped to make sure that the lids to the Play-Doh were on tightly, but otherwise the girls were able to do all of the clean-up themselves - what more could I ask for?

For a back-to-school surprise or a great birthday or holiday gift, the Play-Doh Creations Caddy is something that all kids will enjoy. Molding, stamping, rolling... it's hard for adults to not want to get it on the fun as well! When it comes to being creative, Play-Doh is already a name that comes to my mind, but now words like elaborate and convenient are there, too.

Plus, thanks to the generosity of Play-Doh's parent company, Hasbro, one lucky family will also be able to turn their imagination into reality, because...

One lucky person will win a Play-Doh Creations Caddy! ARV $19.99!

To enter to win: Visit Hasbro and tell me another of their amazing items that you would like to own.

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).

1 Extra Entry (per method) if you follow Hasbro on Twitter and/or Like Play-Doh on Facebook. 1 more Extra Entry if you leave the following message on their wall: I love Play-Doh and just entered to win an amazing Play-Doh Creations Caddy at Thanks, Mail Carrier! http://bit.ly/cNeX7E
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!

WIN a Play-Doh Creations Caddy ($20) and let your child's imagination come alive! @thxmailcarrier http://bit.ly/cNeX7E #giveaway #win

2 Extra Entries (per follow method) if you follow me publicly with Google Friend Connect, subscribe to my RSS feed, subscribe to Thanks, Mail Carrier by email or become a fan on Facebook.
3 Extra Entries if you put my cute button up on your blog. 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 Hasbro.

Giveaway will end on October 1st at 11:59pm CST. 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. The winner will be chosen by random.org and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to contact me or respond to notification or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only.

A big thank you to Hasbro for providing a Play-Doh Creations Caddy for review as well as for one lucky giveaway winner. The opinions shared are my own and honest and if you really need to see more, click here to see how I roll.