When I like to do something, I like everyone else to like to do it too (as you may already know, if you were my Facebook friend back when I was into the virtual gardens/pets) (sorry about that, but IT WAS FUN, WHY DIDN’T YOU WANT TO PLAY TOOOOOOOOO?). By birth and by nature I’m a bossy older sister, and I TRY not to push TOO MUCH, but sometimes it is HARD to be so RESTRAINED.
Anyway I’m into Webkinz right now and I want you to do it too so why arennnnnnnnnn’t you? No, I do understand. My kids started doing Webkinz when Rob was, like, 7? or 8? or something? And yet I didn’t even have the idea of getting a Webkinz for myself until a few months ago: the games didn’t really appeal, and that seemed like the main point. I don’t remember even WATCHING Rob or William play, or having much interest in what they were doing—though part of that is that I find it physically painful to keep myself from butting in when I’m watching a child play a game.
Zip forward to the present, when I am logging on daily (DAILY) to make sure I “do my dailies” (definition: play the games that can only be played once per day). I am watering virtual gardens. Collecting virtual gems to make a virtual crown. Spinning a virtual wheel to get a virtual prize. Earning virtual money by playing virtual Webkinz versions of Bejeweled and Yahtzee. Purchasing virtual clothing for a virtual animal. Fervently and genuinely hoping to win rare virtual items. Etc.
I can’t really explain it, especially since the site can be pretty annoying and glitchy. All I know is WANT TO PLAY WEBKINZ, LET ME PLAY IT RIGHT NOW. And also: WHY YOU NOT HAVE ONE, IT’S SO FUN.
I think one thing I like about it is that there are so few actual TOYS in adulthood. So few, in fact, that “adult toys” sounds dirty (as in “adult bookstore”) or else tongue-in-cheek (as in “Oh, er, no, this is a special kind of juice kids can’t have—ADULT juice”). Do you remember being a kid and thinking the presents your parents got for Christmas were UNIMAGINABLY SAD? I remember my mom explaining that no, no, these were the things adults wanted to receive! And I thought something like “Mental note: Christmas fun ends at adulthood.” That turned out not to be true, and now I explain the same thing to my incredulous children—but STILL, this Webkinz is a TOY, it’s an actual TOY, and I wanted it, and I found that quite, quite fun. And it is fun, now, to decide to spend some free time Playing With A Toy. I have found it surprisingly spirit-lifting. (Bonus: the children find this hilarious and delightful.)
But I can see how you might be uncertain (it took me about a month to get from “I might even like to have one myself, ha ha!” to “It appears I am seriously going to follow through on this silly idea”), so here is what I thought I’d do. Some of the Webkinz are quite cheap, so it’s an easy thing to try; if you don’t like it, very little has been wasted. What if I bought a couple of Webkinz and gave them away? And then two people who were wavering on the issue could try it without having to leap the hurdle of purchasing one, and plus we’d have the fun of a contest? What if THAT?
Here is what we will do. I will make a list of some of the cheaper Webkinz (there are some that are even cheaper than the ones I’m listing, but those are “add-on” items, which means they’re only at that price if your order is $25 or more). To enter, leave a comment saying which one you’d like to win. (I like to do a Google image search so I can see what they’d look like in the virtual Webkinz world, too.) I’ll choose two winners on…let’s say Monday, June 17th, 2013, and I’ll ship you the little guy you liked best. So, here are the candidates to choose from:
(HEDGEHOG; photo from Amazon.com)
(POM POM KITTY; photo from Amazon.com)
(PUG; photo from Amazon.com)
(CHARCOAL CAT; photo from Amazon.com)
(VELVETY ELEPHANT; photo from Amazon.com)
(POLAR BEAR; photo from Amazon.com)
(SKUNK; photo from Amazon.com)
(GREY ARABIAN; photo from Amazon.com)
(MOOSE; photo from Amazon.com)
(WHITE TERRIER; photo from Amazon.com)
(LEMON-LIME GECKO; photo from Amazon.com)
(WALRUS; photo from Amazon.com)
(APATOSAURUS; photo from Amazon.com)
There! That seems like a nice assortment.
Here is the main issue: one reason I like doing giveaways of things from Amazon is that I have a Prime account, so I can ship Amazon gifts within the U.S. for absolutely free, which is very pleasant considering how expensive it is to ship things now. So that means the giveaway is for U.S. addresses only, which is kind of SAD and UNFAIR (like ADULT CHRISTMAS) but THERE IT IS.
The secondary issue is that sometimes a particular Webkinz animal will sell out at one price and then suddenly they’re another price. All of the above were chosen in the $5/$6/$7 range; if one of them suddenly goes up (or suddenly no longer qualifies for Prime shipping), and it’s the one the winner has chosen, I’ll have the winner pick again.
So if you have a U.S. mailing address in mind, and you’d like to try a Webkinz, leave a comment below saying which you’d like to win:
Hedgehog
Pom-pom kitty
Pug
Charcoal cat
Velvety elephant
Polar bear
Skunk
Grey Arabian
Moose
White terrier
Lemon-lime gecko
Walrus
Apatosaurus
I’ll pick two winners on Monday, June 17th.
Pom-Pom kitty!
Velvety elephant! Or any other… so cute!
I used to play the games when my kids logged on. I really liked Pizza Palace (do they still have that one?) “eeeee”
YES. I like that one too! I start taking it a little too personally: “Just a MINUTE. I’m working as fast as I CAN. You can SEE I’m all by myself here and I have a line, so why are you stiffing me on the tip??”
Grey Arabian! Love toy horses.
Why is the skunk so dang cute?
Ok, so enter me for the skunk!
Waallllllrus! My son does this stupid (but funny) thing with his fingers on his face when he’s pretending to be a walrus, I call him Walrus sometimes. Mine is chosen for me.
The elephant! But the apatosaurus’s expression SPEAKS to me. And I have a gecko tattoo so maybe I should go with that. No. Yes! no. Whatever. Elephant. GAH.
So hard to choose, they’re all so cute! Have to go with the hedgehog, it makes me think of Hedgie in the Jan Brett books!
1. Hedgehog! This sounds like fun.
2. CANDY CRUSH. You have to play candy crush with me. Perhaps it’s not a TOY toy per se, but it makes my phone (or computer) seem like a toy when I’m playing.
Pom-pom kitty! If I’m going to take the toy leap, I might as well leap all they way to the pink cat with the fluffy tail! Fun idea, thanks.
My daughter would go wild for that purple Pom-Pom Kitty!
Moose! Mooooooose!
Also, Candy Crush. Yes.
Oh my goodness HEDGEHOG! I will make it a little pair of goggles and it can be a space hedgehog! Or maybe not, so that it can stay in my house and snuggle with me. :)
It’s so hard to choose…but I don’t think I can resist that Walrus!
This is one of those situations where I feel like there is only one correct answer and it’s so OBVIOUS to me which is the best, why are all these people choosing inferior ones?
So, hedgehog, obviously.
Oh my. I was skeptical, but then the Christmas explanation (I remember specifically marking that too – who wants dishes for a present?! Now its “bring on the Fiestaware!) and fun with kids won me over. And the cuteness! I would go elephant, skunk, polar bear, moose, pug and hedgehog order (because I couldn’t stop myself). Also, super fun. Thanks!
Ok, peer pressure ruled.
Pug. Or skunk.
I’m kind of partial to the skunk. I’d name him “Stinker” (thas is if webkinz would allow it. YEARS ago, my daughter couldn’t name her golden retriever “Buttercup”… I guess because it had “butt” in it. 7 yo Macy was so, so sad.
Also, 6 months ago I ran across some full-size Webkinz at Tuesday Morning for $2.99 or $3.99 (I don’t remember). My kids begged to get one…. they hadn’t been on Webkinz in 2 years…. “But we can reactivate our accounts. PLEASE MOM!” I’m a sucker, I bought them. They logged on maybe twice each.)
I love the elephant!
Oh that hedgehog is adorable!! Plus I can play the games and give the doll to my daughter. Score!
Love the moose. Can’t resist animals with silly headwear.
I thought I was the only adult still playing those games. But I feel I am ineligible for this contest, because I already play Webkinz, so I decided to take advantage of your price-shopping and buy myself a new webkinz so that I can play ALL of the games again. (I don’t know if you’ve considered this, but for one year, we had a deluxe membership, which can be spread across multiple household accounts. It was quite a lovely little group gift when the kids were still playing the games regularly.)
Hmm, I think Pug. I’ll never have a pug in real life (cat person!), but something about them charms me.
I’m going to say hedgehog because you just don’t see too many stuffed hedgehogs out there and I’m a sucker for the underdog. Er, hog. Whatever.
However, there were other strong contenders in the contest in my mind. I have a soft spot for walruses, but we actually have a couple stuffed versions around here, so, sorry, Mr. Tusk. And then there’s the pug, because my brother has a pug and we all adore him but he’s now moved so very far away and we don’t get to see them as much. So I love the pug, too.
This is totally going to suck me in, isn’t it?
Oh, the cuteness of the polar bear …
Hedgehog! It is so cute, I love it!
Aww I love the moose!!
Hedgehog!
I used to ‘help’ my SD play some of the games back In the day, and I really should take the initiative and get my own account? Do you know anything at all about the iPad app?
No—I only play it on a desktop computer. I’ve heard there’s a Facebook version, and I’m considering that!
APATOSAURUS
The white terrier! It makes me think of McDuff, who’s one of my favorite children’s book characters.
This is the one annoying thing about being Canadian–always excluded from online givaways!!!
My four year old got into webkinz a few months ago, and I have been wanting one myself the whole time…finally got one of the free online ones, but since you can’t play a lot of the games or buy a lot of things(including extra rooms!) it isn’t nearly as fun. My daughter’s birthday is coming up, and I can’t wait to get her a new webkinz, so she (and I) can try out the treetop or underwater features!
A contest PLUS toy? Sounds like a winner to me!
I’d choose either the hedgehog, cause it’s adorable or the white terrier, because we used to have a Westie.
Thanks, Swistle!
They are all so cute! I think the little skunk just edges out the others though!
I love the hedgehog, but all are cute! Our entire family has played Webkinz for a couple of years now. The kids play off and on, but they have a standing agreement that one will buy the other a new webkinz for their birthday to keep their account free for another year. My favorite game is Antantiles (or however it’s spelled) – addicting! Thanks for the chance!
Skunk!
Velvety elephant or skunk…. I can’t decide which is cuter.
You mean there are other adults who like to play games like this, I may have to really. If I win I would like the pug
The moose! Although they are all pretty adorable :)
That looks fun! I’ve thought about it before, too, but never gotten past the thinking stage. I would pick the charcoal cat.
I’d like the hedgehog!
I give in! So cuuuute! Hedgehog!
Oh my goodness, the moose is too cute!
I like charcoal kitty!
I just noticed the W on the foot in the picture, my son has a little husky puppy toy with the same logo on it’s foot, I wondered what that was for, it was second hand. I wonder if I could still play with a second hand toy or if it already has an account that I can’t use or if there is some special code that it came with that was on a separate paper or something. I’ll check it out, but still me and little guy would like the charcoal kitty.
Yes, they come with a little plastic tag that has a code on it, and the code is used to activate the account. Without the code, it’s a plain (albeit cute!) stuffed animal.
That moose is the cutest darn thing. I’d choose him, for sure.
The charcoal cat!!!! I log on everyday to my kids account and play the dailies so they can rack up the coins. I am a fan of Where’s Wacky? myself and when the sight is running super slow I can get past level 10. On my Mother’s Day card, made at school, my daughter said all I did all day was get Webkinz coins for her. She would love that pretty kitty!!!
I’d give the polar bear a try!
cute! I like the moose! these remind me of neopets, which I played in middle school. first the game came out and later they sold stuffed toys and other things.
The skunk is adorable! I used to play on my daughter’s account A LOT, but I think it’s expired now. Smoothly Moves was one of my favorites, and I always made sure I “did my dailies” too!
Is this like Neopets (something I played years ago)? It sounded very similar until the part about the ACTUAL TOY.
They are all pretty damn cute but sadly Australia.
Horse!
I almost bought one for myself, er E, on vacation, thinking of you. The skunk FTW!!!! PS. This is really fun!
I think I could get into Webkinz if I had the Hedgehog.
I’mma need that skunk. :)
We haven’t been on Webkinz in a while but the kids really want to get back into it. I loved playing the games so I’m thinking it’s time to head back over.
I am basically a 34 year old who is a 16 year old at heart, so I am guessing that I would love it.
I’d take the elephant :)
Polar Bear or elephant
My boys LOVE their Webkinz! We went to an event and I got a bunch of bookmarks with bonus codes on them. I would be happy to send you some…if you can tell from these two sentences that I am not crazy and would send me your address. See email on comment if interested.
Hedgehog! Or skunk. Or hedgehog…..
i like the hedgehog, grey arabian or white terrier. i think i would like to play the games too!
I don’t understand why everyone isn’t going for the hedgehog when it is CLEARLY the cutest.
Hedgehog!
I’ve never played this before, how does it work? I have seen the animals at Kirlins but I always tell my daughter no, because I don’t even know what they are for?! lol
My 7 year old is animal crazy! Sounds like a fun thing!! I think the gray horse is darling!
It’s a weird concept. The stuffed animal is pretty much irrelevant: it’s more of “an item that can be presented as a gift.” But it comes with a tag with a code on it. The code gives you a year’s access to a website. The website has a bunch of games (knock-offs of Bejeweled, Yahtzee, etc.), and I think of the games as about two-thirds or three-quarters of the point of the site. The remaining point is about playing with a virtual version of the stuffed animal. I have a stuffed fox, and then on the site I have a little cartoon version of him. I feed him and decorate his room, and I can build new rooms on his house. He has a little garden in his backyard, and I water and harvest the crops. I can change his clothes and feed him. You earn Kinzcash (virtual money) for playing the games, and then you can use the Kinzcash to buy the clothes and the new rooms and the food and so forth.
I am so in love with the hedgehog. Gone, I tell you. I tried to like the others, and they are cute, but the hedgehog got me. Count me in for him!
This is so awesome! I had a horrible time picking…there are so many cute ones! But I believe Velvety Elephant is my favorite.
How can I resist? Apatosaurus!
I don’t think I could spare the time to fully commit to a Webkinz of my own–they won’t let me play at work, sadly–but I wanted to comment and say that you’re not alone! I have been known to demand playing time with my daughters’ Webkinz under the pretense of “helping” them earn points; I am particularly good at Cash Cow.
The Pom-Pom kitty for sure. So cute!
I would love to give Webkinz a try, and I’d love to receive the little Pug boy. Too cute. Thanks for including me in your fun!
MOOOOOSE!! They are all so very cute and my only hesitation is that I tend to get addicted to these kinds of games….. but for such a cute moose I am willing to try something new!
I’ve been trying to find something new for my 6 yr old son to become interested in. Anything besides the muppet obsession we are going through! The hedgehog would be my choice.
Elephant. Or pom pom kitty.
I actually had the german shepherd (who I named Schnitzel) when my niece was into them many years ago. I wonder where he went?
The little white terrier.
Oh man, I am going to blame you SO MUCH if I get obsessed with this… but…
Hedgehog!!
I used to play on my kids’ account – cash cow 2 was my game. That was – gosh – 5 years ago? Wow. Sure, sign me up. I’ll take the polar bear, please.
Elephant! My son is obsessed with elephants now, so even if I hate the games (unlikely, as I used to play gaia online) he can have a stuffed elephant.
Charcoal cat to remind me of Dude the Cat. I had a similar fun time when neopets first came out and Chicken LOVED them. Me too!
MUST. HAS. ELEPHANT. So I don’t lose my mind from boredom in a new city with only a husband in school full time :) Candy crush (as an above commenter mentioned) is solely taking on the task right now. And I collect elephants :) from all over (I have a few from the Uk and elsewhere). And cuz, who doesn’t need another excuse to become more attached to their computer?!
Gray Arabian!
I’ll play! I’d take the elephant. :)
I know you already did the giveaway but I just saw this. I love Webkinz! My son’s account just expired because he hasn’t gotten any new animals in awhile. I miss Pizza Palace. We have the hedgehog- her name is Tumbleweed. :)