We’ve been talking a lot about food over here on NKT, but what we haven’t been talking about enough are toys. Well, that’s because I’m doing things differently this holiday season, which I’ll explain in an upcoming post.
In the meantime, we recently gathered some friends together to indulge in the very cool Toy Story 3 Action Links from Mattel. As huge fans of Toy Story 3, when I was invited to apply to host an Action Links party via MomSelect’s Mommyparties, I jumped at the chance.
Undoubtedly, Toy Story 3 has been the most talked about movie in our house this year, so naturally, this, too, would have been an exciting party to take on and share all about. So, when the giant box of toys arrived, you can imagine our excitement!
At our Toy Story Action Links party, we invited some of Jack’s fellow TS3 fans, all of whom are in the 3-4 age group. We played off the TS3 theme and had hot dogs wrapped with Pillsbury Crescents on sticks, veggies, cupcakes and more. Toy Story Action Links was a great reason to get friends and kids together for a fun afternoon.
I first learned about Action Links at Toy Fair earlier this year. But because the movie wasn’t out yet and because the toys recreate key scenes from the story, I could only talk so much about this interesting concept.
When we first opened the Action Links sets, my husband and I were reminded of the Rube Goldberg concepts, much like that game, Mousetrap. Remember that?
Action Links embodied that same Rube Goldberg concept, where each interlinking set created a chain reaction, complete with Toy Story 3 figures.
Though it was tricky at first to set up, it was a blast seeing the kids’ excitement when the entire Action Link set created the chain reaction. From the Playground scene, to Jessie’s Train to the Junkyard, it was so awesome watching how each Action Link evoked the same scene from the movie. Once we got the hang of it, each kid had fun taking turns setting off the chain reaction. And I have to say, Dr. Evil Porkchop was the crowd favorite.
Though the kids at our party were younger than the intended 5 and up age range for the toys, all the boys are diehard Toy Story fans, so their patience endured the somewhat complex set up of Action Links. Because of the sensitive nature of the toy’s chain reaction, Action Links requires dexterity and patience, something that our kids didn’t have at times; that is, until they saw and understood what the toys could do.
Check out one of the videos of the chain reaction:
My kid continues to play with his Junkyard and Sunnyside Breakout Action Link sets, but his Buddy Packs–the small Toy Story figures–are frequent companions when we go out.
Some of my mom friends offered such great feedback about the toys. One mentioned that Action Links is great for Toy Story 3 fans, especially this younger age group, but required parent engagement. Another said that the stunts sets were a great reason for friends to play together, share and see how all of the sets interacted. Besides all the fun, Action Links were a great lesson for cause and effect. Oh, and patience, too.
Overall, we found that Action Links were a fun, interactive and innovative toy set that underscored our preschoolers’ enthusiasm for Woody, Buzz and the gang.
A big thank you to MomSelect for letting us share all about Toy Story Action Links.
Check it
Want to pick up some Action Link Toys for your kids? You can find them at retailers like Target and Toys R Us, with prices ranging from the $5 range for the Buddy Packs to the $100 range for the entire Deluxe Stunt Set. All ten different Action Link Stunt Set can be purchase separately, and are in the $10-20 range. And if you’re on the market for the Sunnyside Breakout stunt set, it’s only $7.99 on Amazon (regularly $24.99)
Full disclosure: I was not compensated monetarily to host this party, but all toys were furnished by Mattel and MomSelect’s Mommyparties. As always, all opinions on NKT are my own.
