Cranium Bloom Toys

Let’s be honest here. Playing long games with children can be equated to torture, depending on the age of your children and their mood. Interactive activities are great, but when they take two hours, any activity can get tiresome for both parent and child. My daughter has one game in particular that drives me insane. One needs a degree from Harvard to even begin to understand the proper way to play and it takes forever to complete the game. That is just one of the reasons why the Cranium Bloom toys are so fabulous.

We received the Cranium, "Let’s Play Count and Cook" game and it is fun, educational, and quick! The lid promises you’ll be finished in about 10 minutes, and that is absolutely true (of course it may take a bit longer if you have a two-year old who likes to trash the board occasionally like mine does). Players begin by placing the various ingredient tokens on the game boards. It doesn’t matter where they go, so this part is stress free for parent and child. Then, you choose a little chef and choose a recipe. There are recipes for spaghetti, cookies, macaroni & cheese, sandwiches, etc. Players roll the dice and move around the board, adding the proper ingredients and a surprise ingredient or two if you land on a star token.

My girls, ages 2 and 6, thought this was great fun. The best part is that if your children are feeling a little ornery, you choose a small recipe and if they’re settled in for the long haul, you can choose a longer recipe to complete. Interspersed with the recipes for the game are other learning activities. Complete will actual recipes for cookies and activities having to do with measuring, etc. the cookbook can keep a little one busy for quite some time.

The best part about the actual real recipe is that it details out which parts the adult should do, and which parts are kid friendly. If you’re a control freak like me, this will help you greatly to release some control in the kitchen and let your kids join in on some good cooking fun. Although the box says this game is for ages 3 and up, my 2-year old was able to follow along and play quite well. It was a quick and fun game that we certainly won’t mind playing again and again. The ingredient tokens also make great confetti for a final celebration when the game is over. Just ask my two-year old.

The Cranium Bloom "Let’s Play Count and Cook" game can be purchased online here or at Target, and retails for $12.99. If you have a budding little chef in the house, you won’t want to miss this game.

If you have a puzzle fan, the Cranium Bloom "Let’s go to the Zoo Seek and Find Puzzle" will surely be a hit. This puzzle is for ages 3 and up. My little one had a bit of trouble doing the puzzle part by herself. There are 24 pieces, but with help she enjoyed putting it together. My 6-year old also thought it was great fun. This is a puzzle that is truly for all ages.

Once the puzzle is together, it’s time for the real fun. The puzzle comes with two activity books, a beginner and an advanced book. My 2-year old enjoyed finding the zebra, lions, and objects that were certain colors. Once found, she was able to use the erasable marker to circle the items she had found. (O.k. maybe not circle, but rather just scribble over top, but you get the idea.)

When my little one was done with scribbling, my 6-year old took a turn using the advanced book. The advanced book asks kids to find items that start with certain letters. Parents can show them pictures to help them out or make it even more advanced by keeping the pictures a secret. My 6-year old thought the puzzle was a lot of fun too. There’s enough action happening on the puzzle to keep the attention of both a 2 and a 6-year old and that is saying something.

The puzzle retails for $9.99 and can also be found online here or at Target.

Both of these toys are unique in that they can be adapted to real life quite easily. Want to make cookies with the kids? Take the recipe part of the game with you to the store and let your children find the ingredients. Going to the zoo? Take the notebooks along with you and have your children find the real deal in the zoo.

For being fun, interactive, applicable to real life, and speedy, BBM gives the Cranium Bloom toys. . .