It’s the end of the summer. Time to reminisce a bit, and see what worked and what didn’t for kid entertainment.
First up, we have the 3-lane Slip-n-slide. It has nice wide lanes so more than one kid can play at a time. The center lane doesn’t get sprinkled all that much, making it a good spot for Joe to play and still get splashed. A good alternative to playing in a pool.
Dan didn’t like the “slipping” part all that much, until he realized you’re SUPPOSED to. The anchor spikes kept coming up out of the ground as it got wet. Alannah got cranky with it (Yeah, she’s got my temper too. Shup.) and ended up ripping a hole in it. The colors faded REAL bad in the sun – we started out with red, blue, and yellow lanes….and ended up with pink, whitish-gray, and yellow/white spotted.
We’ll be buying another one next year, and I’ll dedicate a few brain cells to the anchoring problem.
8′ round Snap set pool. What’s not to love about a pool? We all had a blast with this one, although I don’t think I’m going to let the girls play in it next year. Their favorite “game” involved splashing all the water out (not a good idea since we’re on well water). I *do* wish these things lasted longer than one season, but what d’ya expect for $20?
Pop-up tent/tunnel playset. We won’t be buying one of these again. The novelty wore of REALLY quickly, and they take up a ton of room.
4-person tent and queen airbed. These were bought in anticipation of going camping at the beach for a few days. Unfortunately, we ended up spending a month in TN instead. The tent was raised as a “clubhouse” for the girls. The airbed wins hands down as the best toy I’ve bought yet. It stays in the livingroom, and is perfect for the kids to flip, jump on, and snuggle to watch TV.
The Jail Cell. Made of our (previously in storage) Pack-N-Play and a box of plastic balls in an effort to give the kids some variety outside of the two laundry baskets full of little toys that they assiduously ignore anyway. Oh, and we can’t forget making “time in the pen” more entertaining. Although a big hit to start with, it’s mostly ho-hum now.
That’s all the big stuff that I can think of right now.