New Year's Is the Holiday for Gamers

We're throwing a New Year's Eve party. Low key. No major event planning. Just games, drinks and food. The food and drink we had to run to the store for. The games, we had plenty of those.

We have board games, card games, Xbox, Gamecube and PS2. We're inviting neighbors and friends. People want to play games? They know the house to come to.

It's not going to be a big crowd. And that suits us fine. Gives us more chances to have a turn playing Rock Band.

Happy New Year's everyone! And happy game playing!

Foxtrot and Pokemon

Moral of the story? Buy both.

HT: Go Nintendo

Two New Webkinz for Christmas - and a new Wii.

We have two new Webkinz critters in our household. My older daughter got a white rabbit, and my son got a black cat. They were both very happy.

We were able to log in on Christmas day for just long enough to get their Webkinz set up. But right when we were done, the server went down. We tried to get back in through the day, but it didn't work.

I wonder if they had server over-load from all the Christmas Webkinz.

We tried to log in yesterday too, but it gave us a message that the servers were being updated. How frustrating to have down time when it's obvious so many people will be logging in with their new Webkinz.

Fortunately, my dad got the little bros and sis a Wii. So we're plenty distracted.

Remember to Log Into Webkinz on Christmas Day

There will be a special gift waiting for you!

Penguin Webkinz

This is the Webkinz my older daughter wants for Christmas. Or at least, that's the one she wanted two weeks ago. I asked her again which one she wanted, and she said, "Anything is fine. I just want one."

Right now, we have one single Webkinz. My younger daughter carries it with her everywhere. Sleeps with it. Plays tea with it. Asks me to kiss it good morning and give it love.

Will having more Webkinz diminish the girls' love for them?

Webkinz and iPhone

My Google Alerts sent me this article for my Webkinz keyword search. I thought it was going to tell me that we can play Webkinz on the iPhone.

If I could easily play Webkinz on the iPhone, I might be tempted to buy an iPhone.

2 Hours of Webkinz a Week

I was reading a blog today that said 2 hours of computer time a week is plenty for kids. And Webkinz are making kids play on the computer all hours of the day instead of reading and other things. (Wait, don't kids do this in school?)

Here's the question on my mind: how can we get everything done on two hours a week? There's feeding, Wheel of Wow, games, Bingoz... the list is endless.

Is It Fair to Say "No Ads" In Our Commercial-based Society?

Webkinz has ads. Some people don't like it and are trying to get them taken out.

IMHO, ads give the company more resources to have more fun stuff. So long as they aren't intrusive, annoying or discontinuous, why not? The ads are for things the kids know exist anyway (ie. Alvin and the Chipmunks movie).

How much is too much though?

Webkinz Secrets

I thought Webkinz was pretty straight forward. You go in, you play games, you spin the wheel of wow, feed your pet, log out.
But noooooo. It's not at all that simple. There are secrets.
The first secret I found out about was that we get extra stuff if we click on the ads. The second secret I discovered today was that the little critters can cook food.
I asked my daughters about cooking. They said, "No". But when I asked them about the grill or the blender, they said they didn't have enough money to buy them.
So, like in the real world, the more money you have, the more secrets you have access to.
Webkinz imitates life, or life imitates Webkinz?

Hidden Fruit on Webkinz

There are some new hidden fruit on Webkinz apparently. Among other new winterey things.
I haven't found the fruit yet though. If I find the fruit, I get have some for my pet!

I mean, for my daughter's pet. Right. My daughter's.

How Many Webkinz Is Too Much?

If I had 140 Webkinz in my house, I would scream.

I shouldn't say anything though. My kids have been asking many people for Webkinz for Xmas. We might just end up with more than a few.

Pokemon Christmas Cake

Cake. Strawberries. And Pokemon. What do you get? A pokemon Christmas cake. Yummo!

Testing the New Google Video Ads

I got an email today from Google asking me to try out their new video ads. I messed around with it a bit. I tried to place it in my side bar, but it's too big. So, I'll try to add it here, and see what it looks like. It's supposed to put up videos that are relevant to the blog topic. What do you think. Does it work?

Watch the latest videos on YouTube.com

Collecting Webkinz - Is It an Obsession or a Learning Experience?

My daughter has 1 polar bear webkinz. I really like webkinz, but I'm on the fence about whether or not having more than one critter is a positive learning experience or an obsession in the making. Or perhaps, it's merely collecting, like kids used to do with stamps.

We're getting our other two kids a webkinz for Xmas. We have one computer. That will certainly be a lesson in shared computer time, if anything.

Free Stuff in Webkinz

I found out today that if the girls click on the ads in Webkinz, they might get free stuff. I have to say, that's a super smart marketing idea. It doesn't cost a dime to implement, and it compels lots of people to click on an ad they would otherwise ignore.

I know I'll be clicking on the ads to see what they give us.