Raising Knights: Post Christmas Toy Review - Pacific Play Tents See-Me Tunnel

Jan 10, 2011

Since I have five boys and more toys than they really need, I have to put more effort into coming up with great gift ideas for them. I prefer classic, durable toys with open-ended play value. It should be able to hold up well to typical boy handling and make it through more than one child. I could definitely do without batteries, characters, and cheap plastic. Oh, and I don't want it to make much noise...my boys can do that all by themselves. Now that we are a few weeks past Christmas, I thought I would review some of the gifts I chose for our boys and let you know how they were received and how they have held up so far.

I remember a crawling tunnel from my childhood, but it was made of cheap, thin plastic and wire that tore easily. This is NOT that tunnel. Pacific Play Tents makes the See-Me 6 foot tunnel with flame retardant 70 denier nylon and sturdy, collapsible, padded steel spring construction. It has two nylon mesh windows for seeing in or out and has velcro tabs at the ends to connect to a play tent or another tunnel.

I purchased the tunnel primarily for my 10 month old and 3 1/2 year old sons but knew that my 7 year old would enjoy it also. When I received it, I hid the box under my bed until I was ready to wrap it for Christmas and then forgot about it. I found it the next week and it was like Christmas morning again for the hobbits. They loved it! M2 wasn't hesitant at all and had a blast hiding and crawling through it. Of course, I had to give the older two warnings about misusing it, like jumping on or over it or being too rowdy.

They have played hide-and-seek with the baby, pretended that it was a shower by standing it up, and that it was a rolling, hollow log too. They play with it daily and it is still in great condition, which is saying a lot because my boys don't play gently. I love that it is collapsible with velcro straps and it fits under our ottoman for out-of-sight storage. I would recommend the See-Me Tunnel for active, indoor play for any child who is crawling up to age 8.

6 comments:

MichelleJanuary 10, 2011 at 11:41 PM
Visiting from the HHH. I love this post on great toys for kids, our almost five year old has had a tent or tunnel of some sort since she could crawl, we also give them as gifts since they are relatively inexpensive and provide hours of creative play time.
SusanaJanuary 10, 2011 at 11:41 PM
Stopping by from the HHH, and I'm glad I did! This play tent looks like something that would be a huge hit around here! We currently have a tunnel that needs to be retired and this looks like a great replacement. Thank you!
UnknownJanuary 11, 2011 at 1:20 AM
What a great gift. My son would love one of those. (Five boys?!? lol) God bless you!
RebeccaJanuary 11, 2011 at 5:35 AM
LOVE the name of your blog. I am stopping by from the Hip Homeschool Hop...and am a new member. Looks like we have a few things in common and I would love to read more about how you're raising your Knights...we have two...and I want them to truly become Knights....my heart longs for that!!! Many Blessings...and we have a tunnel...it's 7 yrs old and has seen some battle, but it's holding on......hopefully it will last a few more years!!
JoyJanuary 11, 2011 at 11:30 PM
I love tunnels and tents! Thanks for joining in the Hop!!
MandeeJanuary 12, 2011 at 9:43 PM
My 5 boys would LOVE this! I love that you have 5 boys as well. I wanted to comment on the comment you left on my blog,but you don't have your email set up. (It has been harder after my 5th as well, but I'm doing great with the workout and diet that I am doing. I just hope I can stick with it. One tends to get tired enough after chasing 5 boys-you would know, right? :)