Hilltown Families 
Review & Giveaway: Eco-Friendly Cottage Playhouse
Review & Giveaway: Kidscraft Cottage Playhouse
Enter to win your very own Kidscraft Cottage or Shuttle Playhouse. Details below. Deadline is June 14th. - The cottage pictured here, painted by Ashfield Community Preschool Alumna, will be donated to the school. (Photo credit: Sienna Wildfield)
How many creations can your child come up with for a large empty cardboard box? A go-cart? Pirate ship? Doll house? Rocket to the moon? The ideas are endless! The National Toy Hall of Fame recognizes the imagination that an unassuming cardboard box can stir in our children, inducting it into the Toy Hall of Fame along with 44 other toys, including the bicycle, jump rope, baby doll, jigsaw puzzle, roller skates, Slinky, Lego and Frisbee.
Kidscraft Playhouses has tapped into the cardboard box’s ability to captivate a child’s imagination with two playhouse designs made from 100% recycled materials in the USA. They sent us their Cottage Playhouse design to review, one of two designs they offer. The Cottage Playhouse has five windows, a door, a mail slot and a sunburst skylight. It measures 42”L x 39”W x 54”H. The other design they make is a cool space Shuttle Design for kids with their sites on the stars.
Arriving in a large flat box, the white exterior surfaces of the Cottage Playhouse were blank canvases for my daughter and her friend to decorate. A perfect rainy day activity! Inspired by the smooth blank spaces, the girls used non-toxic acrylic paint to create an outdoor scene of flowers, ladybugs, and butterflies; the moon, sun and clouds. They stenciled the word “Welcome” to the front door and “Mail” to the mail-flap, added colored stones to the chimney, and filled in the empty spaces with their little hand-prints. Crayons and colored markers could easily have been used too – less messy and no wait time to dry. The girls loved it!
After a night to dry, we assembled the Cottage Playhouse outdoors. The pre-cut flaps and slots require no cutting or taping. The sturdy design and photo instructions made the assembly process a breeze, and we had the cottage up and in the yard for imagination play in no time!
The best part about this playhouse, other than the creative and imaginative opportunities it provides, when your kids are done with it, you can recycle it. Something I wish I could say for the plastic dollhouse taking up space in our garage!
ABOUT KIDSCRAFT PLAYHOUSES
KidsCraft is not just your average toy manufacturer, the company carries a strong message for kids and parents for how to become charitably responsible and environmentally friendly. They are setting an example by donating 100 of their structures to local charities, along with a percentage of every sale. They have also partnered with Trees for the Future Foundation in an effort to support sustainability by planting one tree for every product sold.
GIVEAWAY:
Your chance to win a free Kidscraft Playhouse is as easy as 1-2-3 (4-5)! To win simply
- VISIT www.kidscraftusa.com and find out one interesting thing about the company
- SHARE WHAT YOU FIND OUT HERE and be sure to include your
- FULL NAME and where you
- LIVE (TOWN/STATE) Must include your town and state to be eligible. We’ll randomly draw a winner from those who share an interesting fact about Kidscraft (along with their full name and town/state) and contact the winner via email. So be sure to leave an
- ACCURATE EMAIL in the email field of the comment box (we never share your email address).
IT’S THAT SIMPLE! — Winner will be able to select the Cottage or space Shuttle design and it will be shipped to your home for free!
Deadline is Monday, June 14th, 2010 @ 7pm (EST).
I love that they are big enough for more than one kid! And so cute!! I live in Texas and I saw that there isn’t ANY place to buy them?
That your company is Eco Friendly which is very important to me. Thank you
We recieved the “rocket ship” yesterday and I put it together all by myself in a matter of minutes. Our boys think it’s the coolest thing ever. It’s constructed well too.
Congratulations to:
Stephanie has won her choice of a Kidscraft Cottage Playhouse or Space Shuttle design, and should contact us for information on how to receive her winning.
Thank you to all for participating in our giveaway! Look back for more great opportunities to win tickets, music and cool stuff!
I learned that they partner with the Empty Stocking Fund!
Amanda Ayala; Robins, IA
They dontated trees for earth day.
Jessica Morris, Northampton
I learned that the playhouses were inducted into the National Toy hall of Fame – impressive!
We’re in South Hadley, MA
Thanks for the wonderful giveaway!!
I learned that the idea for the playhouses came after KidsCrafts moved their office and were left with lots of empty boxes. The kids in their lives were drawn to those boxes and took to them with markers. I know my kids would do the same!!
Hatfield, MA
I learned that I’d have to drive 2.5 hours to get to a store that sells these. Northampton, Ma would be a super place to sell your creative play houses!
I live in Northampton, Ma.
Among many pluses about your company, like how eco-friendly you are, I think what stands out the most to me is that the kids were naturally drawn to something so simple, like a card board box, to make life fun and interesting for them; and that they were your inspiration for the play houses. Recently after my son received a present in a big box, he was more interested in making the big box into a space ship than the gift inside.
I live in Amherst, Massachusetts.
from wilbraham mass, the product is made of 100% recycled cardboard materials and 100% post play recyclable
The company started making these playhouses after being inspired by the kids who decorated and played with cardboard boxes during a move the office made.
Interesting! You never know when and where an good idea will appear.
I’m in Greenfield, MA. I totally don’t have room for this playhouse in my apartment but I will make room! I love it.
I learned that even the markers they sell are organic!
The company planted 1,000 trees for Earthday! Plus the playhouse is made from 100% recycled material. Awesome!
Amy Cullen
Williamsburg, MA
They donate a percentage of their sales to charitable organizations! I’m in Florence, MA.
KidsCraft Playhouses is dedicated to the health and welfare of children, as demonstrated in their corporate support of children’s charities and fund raising activities benefitting The Rainbow House and The Empty Stocking Foundations
Rory Dexter
Pelham, Ma
Parenting seal of approval, it says on website. We’d love it! We’re in Easthampton MA
I found alot of interesting things about this company but I must say that having the nearest store in Mystic, Ct is surprising. I think they should open one in Northampton, it would do well!
We live in Florence, Ma
I found out that it is made of 100% recycled cardboard materials and 100% post play recyclable
Kidscraft is 100% recyclable and has community initiatives to restore forests.
I love how “green” the company is. Planting Trees is vital if you are selling paper products. They should requre the purchaser to plant trees too! to landscape aruond their tiny cottage! If we win we will of course do so!
Tony(a) and Zoe in Ashfield
KidsCraft Playhouses is dedicated the idea of supporting our future through our children first and secondly by our continuous efforts to be socially and environmentally conscious.
Love that kids of all ages can enjoy their playhouses, again and again. And again!
Florence, MA
It’s cool they planted 1,000 trees for Earth Day! We planted 1 too.
Hatfield, MA
I adore it. And the kids would too! -Kelli Ann Ferrigan, Sutton, QC, Canada
I learned that they donate to children’s charities like The Rainbow House and The Empty Stocking Foundations. We’re in Houston, TX.
A cool, eco-friendly company that is also dedicated to improving the health and welfare of children . . . they donate a portion of their profits to charities that help kids. We would love to have one of their playhouses.
Sandra Dias
Holyoke, MA
Made in the USA and soy crayons!
We are in Easthampton.
The playhouses are designed so that 2 or 3 children can easily fit inside — neat!
Williamsburg, MA
They are a green company. They use recycled (and recyclable) materials, and they plant lots of trees.
I like that it’s made of recycled cardboard and can be recycled again when my kids are done with it. The company embraces green values!
I like the star shaped crayons for the fine line coloring. That’s a neat idea. Thanks for the opportunity to enter in the contest and we are from Chicopee, MA.
One interesting thing … the only place in New England you can buy one is Mystic, CT.
Thanks,
Megan in Colrain
I live in Needham, Mass.
The interesting thing that I learned about KidCraft is that they got the idea from their playhouses when they were moving offices and had a bunch of cardboard boxes and the kids went to town on them with markers and crayons and had hours of fun!
The closest store to buy their products is in Mystic, CT. I’m surprised.
Haydenville, MA
Oops– and we live in Shutesbury MA
I learned that they planted many, many MANY trees in honor of earth day!
One of the many interesting things that I found out about this company is that not only do they sell the playhouses, but they also sell soy crayons.
What a great giveaway! We’re in Deerfield, Mass.