Friday, October 09, 2009

Zhu Zhu Pets Hamster Review & Contest Giveaway - CONTEST ENDED!!!!


A few months ago I had the opportunity to receive a new toy for me (and Jacob) to try out and test. I received it back in August but with so much going on (MIL visiting, back to school, weddings etc) I haven't had time to write about it until now.



I've loved hamsters ever since I was in elementary school and we had a live hamster in Mr. Steven's class. Charlie was a very kid friendly hamster since he was always getting played with. So then I convinced my parents to let me buy a real hamster. And guess what? My real hamster wasn't as friendly as Charlie. I found out that real hamsters have sharp teeth and can bite. Plus I had to clean the cage with all those poopies, feed him, listen to him running on his wheel all night long. Worry about him when we went on vacation etc etc. Then have to deal with him when he died, since live hamsters generally only live a few years.

So I guess what I liked was the *idea* of having a hamster, but what I really wanted was all those fancy Habitrail tubes and fun gadgets for it, but without the hassle. But my parents were too frugal to let me buy all those cool Habitrail tubes and such. (So I saved empty paper towel rolls and tried to make my own version - but it didn't last long since, duh, live hamsters like to chew.

So...when I heard about the opportunity to test out a new toy hamster, I jumped at the opportunity and the company sent me (I mean Jacob) two Zhu Zhu pets (Mr. Squiggles and Chunk) plus a ton of accessories.

They're for age 4 and up (so I fall into the "and up" category). Best part? They don't bite, they don't stink, they are cute, they don't die (you can always replace the 2 AA batteries), you don't need a pet-sitter when you go on vacation. No food to buy. No cage to clean. Jacob is 9 but he likes playing with them (when I'm not.)

The accessories include ramps and slides, balls, garage & cars, etc etc etc. Setting up the accessories needs help from an adult. And of course an adult needs to remove the Zhu Zhu from the packaging due to the tie-wraps in the packaging. The Zhu Zhus explore better on hard floors than carpeting.

Toys R Us has announced Zhu Zhu Pets as one of the Hot Holiday toys for 2009

The Zhu Zhu company is allowing me to run a contest here on my blog to giveaway one Zhu Zhu hamster plus a slide/ramp. There is about 10 different Zhu Zhu hamsters, all with their own personality and name.

To enter, just post a response to this posting and tell me who you would give your Zhu Zhu to, or if you would keep it for yourself. And also post your email address if you are posting anonymously - so that I have an easy way of contacting you via email. If I don't see an easy way to contact the winner, I will draw another number and try again. Enter by midnight (EST) October 17. One entry per person. USA only. The winner will have to provide me with your name & address which I will pass onto the promotions company for Zhu Zhu Pets. The Zhu Zhu will be mailed directly from them.

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IF YOU ARE ONE OF THE FIRST 10 PEOPLE TO RESPOND - you are entitled to come back later before the contest ends and post a SECOND time to increase your chances of winning. This is for the first 10 who respond only. Everyone else just gets one chance to win.
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One winner will be chosen randomly on October 18 and notified that day.

p.s. Here is a video that I took of my Zhu Zhus enjoying life here at the castle - so you know they really do what they do in the commercial.



THE GIVEAWAY CONTEST HAS ENDED

41 comments:

Susan said...

I would love to give this to my daughter. She would love playing with this, and I am sure I would have fun too, they are so cute!

Anonymous said...

If I won this Shu Shu pet I would give it to one of my Grandaughters. Then of course I would have to buy one for my other Grandaughter! They love this kind of thing!

birrrd said...

I would give this to my 5 year old daughter. She would go nuts for it! Actually I have been looking for these and Walmart is ALWAYS sold out whenever I look. I agree with Toys R Us and think this will be a hot toy this holiday season!!!

Kimberly said...

I would give the Zhu Zhu to my son... who in turn would probably torture the cats with it! Fun! :)

mygoodcents AT cox DOT net

Colleen said...

If I won your Zhu Zhu Pet, I would give it to my grown daughter. She lives in an apartment in Chicago and can't have small critters. She would take good care of it because she's a certified and licensed vet tech. The hamster would get the best of care!!!

Nicole said...

I would love to give the zhu zhu pet to my son, if I won. nicoleingermantown@yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

i love hamsters myself, they are sooo cute, i had a really weird experience with them through. I got two at once, which the pet store said were both girls, and turns out they were a boy and a girl, which i discovered when babies appeared annddd i thought i'd wait until they were mature enough to live without their mom, and two weeks later, there was another litter of hamsters, so i just took them all to the pet store, and kept the one i knew was a boy lol, who died about three years ago now, soo i would love to have one again =)

email - gcleogurl91@aol.com

Karen said...

I would probably give this to my youngest daughter since she wants a pet of her own but i don't think would be able to take care of a like one.
karenslack69341@hotmail.com

Leslie said...

I would love to give this to my daughter. She too loves the "idea" of a pet and recently our hamster Zoey, died.
lmcsanchez@msn.com

Unknown said...

My daughter would love this. She's wanted a gerbil since she saw "Bolt". She's almost 4, so I don't think she'd notice the difference between a gerbil and a hamster.
rholymo@hotmail.com

Anonymous said...

How cute that you got to test the hottest toy before it came out!

If I won, I would give the "pet" to my 4 year old daughter. I've been unemployed since March and am actually trying to prepare for Christmas now. Buying little things here and there when I can spare the money.

onlynamelefttoday AT YAHOO DOT COM

Anonymous said...

I would give it to my son who LOVES animals!! However, he is not gentle enought to have a real hamster yet so this would be awesome!

leigh_snyder@yahoo.com

cheri p. said...

I would love to win this for my 7 year old daughter. They are on my daughter's christmas list and when I read how popular they are on your blog, I thought I better order some. Well no place has them in stock and I can't afford the Zhu Zhu's on Ebay. I have been stalking toysrus and walmart online. I plan to go to walmart early in the morning tomarrow to see if I can score a couple. I think I'm obsessed :) Thanks for the chance to win them because it looks like it will be VERY hard to find them and this is the one thing she wants.

Anonymous said...

I would love to win a Zhu Zhu and accessory for my two daughters who are 5 and 7. The ad for these critters has been running on the Nick channel and every time they see it they go crazy (and I get a heart palpitation because they are no where to be seen in my area stores). Personally, I think it looks like a very fun toy! Barbara (email is sandbar86@aol.com)

Anonymous said...

I would love to give this to my grandchildren for Christmas. They currently rent and are not allowed a pet. I know they would love it!

carolyoung106@yahoo.com

Nicole said...

I'm posting again... since I was one of the first 10. Would love to win a Zhu Zhu! :) nicoleingermantown@yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

I would save this to give to my son for Christmas :)
thezambranas@hotmail.com

Unknown said...

I'd give this to my daughter. Last spring we had to give away her 3 guinea pigs due to allergies/ asthma. Later we found out the people who took them, got the crazy idea they were rabid because one was biting (she always did) and took them to the humane society to be put to sleep. Then she had the nerve to come to our house and tell my daughter (who was home with pneumonia) and I they were dead and she was sorry she didn't ask about their behavior first. Pretty traumatic. Anyhow- this sounds like the perfect hypoallergenic pet!

Michele said...

That is the funniest thing I have seen in a long time! Since our dog died this past spring, my daughter hat been begging me for another pet, but I have been saying "NO!" since I will be the one who ends up taking care of it. And with 3 kids, I don't need a pet to take care of, too. This pet, though, I could handle. I'd give it to my daughter. Thanks for sharing this site with us. I may need to buy one if I don't win. :-)

Anonymous said...

If I win I would give it to my son, who is 11 and probably thinks he's too old for it. But really I would probably play with it more than him. It is too cute. And I agree. The real thing is adorable but a lot of work. This would be SO much easier! Thanks for doing the giveaway.

Tina
t.dobson@windstream.net

GailsPlace said...

I would love to win this for my grandson!!! Things are kind of tight right now and this would really be a great Christmas gift!

Elizabeth said...

My nephew would really love this as he keeps asking for a hamster as a pet. Trouble is they already have two HUGE Maine Coon cats and that hamster wouldn't stand a chance. Zhu Zhu Pet Hamsters would be ideal instead (if they'd be prepared to mail to the UK that is.)

Listen to the music said...

If I won the hamster pet, I would donate it to the inner city preschool that I work at. We have eight special education classrooms in the building. I would let every classroom have a turn with the zhu zhu pet hamster. You will have potentially over 100 children enjoying this toy, hopefully for years to come. Many of these children's families are not only able to afford toys, but many of these kids do not even have clean clothes or shoes that fit. If I, you and the Zhu Zhu company can give these children some pleasure in having an exciting toy to view and play with, you will make a world of a difference in their lives. I will even get my own personal classroom that I work in, to send a personalized thank you note!

Sujomi said...

If I am the lucky winner, I would give it to my daughter, StellaDella-age 5. Everytime this commercial come on, she calls me in to see it and tell me how much she would love one from Santa since I told her a real one is out of the question (we already have 2 cats, 1 dog and a goldfish!)

Anonymous said...

I would love to win one of these to give to my nephew he would love this.

loves2shop712@earthlink.net

Zakary said...

Oh, Zoe would love this! She wants a hamster so badly, but I cannot stand the way the smell!

Zakaryw at gmail dot com

Anonymous said...

Hi Chris! Such a fun giveaway :) If I won, I would give this to my 7 year old daughter. She's been asking for one and we tried to get one for her birthday a few months ago and Toys R Us didn't have any left in stock. She'd be pleased as punch if she won! And me too, so I won't have to get her a real pet.

dicity said...

I would give it to my grandson.

dicity

Susan said...

Thanks for giving me another chance to win for being one of the first 10 to enter! My neice and my daughter would have so much fun playing with this together. The video is great!

Anonymous said...

My six year old son really wants a pet---Mom, not much. This would be perfect for him without the the cleanup or feedings. Thanks for the Zhu Zhu pet giveaway. Amy paris626@earthlink.net

twins said...

My twin boys so want santa to bring this for xmas this year. They would love to have a pet hamster.

Anonymous said...

I would give it to my daughter. She has been asking for them for awhile now. They are too cute!
citypark@paragould.net

birrrd said...

Since I was one of the first 10 to enter I'm just puttin my name in the online hat again! Like I said earlier I would give it to my 5 year old and she would go gaga over it! Thanks again :)

Colleen said...

Since I was one of the first 10 people to enter your contest, I thought I would enter one more time. The Zhu Zhu hamster would be a great Christmas present for anyone, especially small children. But my daughter who can have cats in her apartment, but no dogs or small critters would love this hamster for her 2 cats to chase around. The hamster would get great care because she knows how to take care of real critters with her vet tech degree.

(email: catslave49@hotmail.com)

Ash said...

If I won one of these Zhu Zhus, I would donate it to my daughter's Early Intervention Specialist. My daughter has special needs and is only one, so she would be too young to appreciate it. But I know many other children with special needs could have a smile on their faces if her specialist brought this to their houses to play with.

charleighsmommy@hotmail.com

slugmama said...

Please enter me to win the zhu zhu.
I will give it to a child in the family we will be providing xmas for this holiday season, since my kids are past the age of wanting toys. I have heard that these things are quite popular so I'm sure the kiddo in our holiday family will love it!
denise
arcure@ptdprolog.net

Tina H said...

Ooh! It's so cute! If I should be so lucky to win the hamster,I would give it to my grandson,Liam. It would be great fun to watch him and my little puppy play with the hamster! What a nice little extra Christmas present that would make!

Tina

6skiers@bright.net

Dee said...

Oh how I laughed at your story! That is why my 5 year old daughter does not have a real hamster yet: poopies! I'd give this to her but this does look like a toy everyone of all ages would enjoy. Thanks for the contest, Dee

Anonymous said...

I would give it to my son, he has been begging for a pet and adores the Wonder Pets Linny (he is a guinea pig). Since I'm allergic to cats and dogs, I figure a hamster would fall in the same category- this would be a great alternative and no pet hair!

cleokot@hotmail.com

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
pet for sale said...

I like this Zhu Zhu. It's so pretty and cute. I already gifted it to my son and he never left it alone for a moment..