Review and Giveaway! The Creation Cottage Cardboard Playhouse from KidsCraft

Who doesn't remember playing with cardboard boxes as a kid?  Even now, if you give my children a box, they'll readily play with it for hours with all their other treasured toys forgotten.  So, what could be better than a cardboard box that is already designed to look like a house, or even better, a rocket ship?  About a month ago, I was sent The Creation Cottage Cardboard Playhouse from KidsCraft for review with my two little munchkins.  This is not our first cardboard playhouse, although it is the first from KidsCraft, and there are many reasons why I think our KidsCraft Playhouse will be around a lot longer than our last.

Full Review - based on a 4-star scale:

Fun Factor **** - What is more fun than having a secret little hideaway to play with all your favorite toys in?  One that is too small for your mom to bug you, but just big enough for you to hang out with your little brother and your favorite Schleich animal collection?  Since I finally got around to assembling our playhouse last week, Nadia and Isaac have been playing in it pretty much non-stop.  It's just big enough for both of them to crawl into together.  Now, they're not throwing dance parties inside because it's not quite that big, but it is big enough for both of them to hang out in comfortably.  At an assembled size of roughly 42"Lx40"Wx54"H, I anticipate all of my kids to be able to play in their house comfortably for a good long time.  I really feel like this house it meant for an appropriate age group.  At 2, Isaac can understand how to be careful with a toy, whereas when he was younger, he definitely didn't get it.  Because the KidsCraft Creation Cottage is bigger, it makes sense that you won't introduce it to your playroom until your child is older, unlike other playhouses that we've had.  I haven't broken out the markers, crayons and paint yet to decorate the playhouse which is really part of the fun because I'm saving that for an activity during our upcoming move.  When all the toys are packed away, it will be nice to be able to decorate the playhouse for its new home.

Materials/Durability *** - I'm not going to go any higher than 3 stars here because after all, this house is made of cardboard.  No matter how gentle my kids are with it, eventually it will have seen enough play.  However, as far as cardboard playhouses go, I do believe the fact that there are only 4 pieces is a huge plus.  The fewer pieces there are to disassemble, the more likely the house is to survive.  The pieces also fit together with little tabs.  When we move, I'm planning on gluing the whole unit together using Clementine Glue which is also available from KidsCraft.  I think that the tabs combined with the glue are really going to make our Creation Cottage super sturdy.

Price - At $60 for The Creation Cottage and $70 for The Shuttle Imagination, you'll find that the price for the KidsCraft cardboard play structures to be about average.  Shipping is included in the price in honor of Earth Day until 4/30/2010!

Overall Rating ***1/2 - As far as cardboard playhouses go, I think The Creation Cottage by KidsCraft is top of the line.  It was easy to assemble and has already provided hours of fun for my kids, and we've only had it assembled for a short while!  You do need a significant amount of floor space which makes it not ideal for tiny spaces, but I'm looking forward to it being a semi-permanent addition to one of my children's new bedrooms in our new house this summer.  I opted for the cottage originally, but considering that Isaac's new room is going to be space themed (read Star Wars themed per his father's request,) I'm thinking that we might end up with The Shuttle Imagination someday soon, too.

Want to win your choice of either The Creation Cottage or The Shuttle Imagination for you child? We have one to giveaway to a lucky Kid Buy Products reader. To enter, first visit the KidsCraft website to learn more about the company.  Return to this post and leave us a comment about something interesting that you learned.  Your comment will enter you to win your choice of either The Creation Cottage or The Shuttle Imagination.  All comments must be received by 11:59 PST on Monday, May 3.  Winner must be 18+ and a resident of the U.S. to win.  You can read the rest of our giveaway guidelines HERE.