Holiday Gift Idea For Eco-Friendly Families: Cascades Boutique Cardboard Playhouse

If your kids are anything like mine, they sometimes prefer to play with the box rather than the toy that came in it. When my oldest child was little, he would throw a gift to the side and spend hours happily playing with a cardboard box. He'd make a space shuttle, a fort, a secret hideaway...Whatever his imagination dictated that day. As he's gotten older, he still has a fascination with boxes. When we bought our 46" LCD TV, he kept the box and decorated it, transforming it into a clubhouse. My daughter, who is almost 2, is the same way. She loves crawling into boxes and playing hide and seek, and she's also been known to stick her favorite plush monkey into a box and push him around in it, almost like it were a wagon. Kids' imaginations and cardboard boxes go hand in hand. I think allowing children to engage in pretend play is a wonderful way to encourage creativity. Especially in today's world where so many kids would rather plop down in front of a TV or a computer and do absolutely nothing all day. I am a firm believer that kids should enjoy just being kids, so when we happen to come across large cardboard boxes, we let them have their fun. (As long as they clean up after themselves when the scissors, paints, and glitter comes out!)

But there is another, often overlooked advantage to turning those unwanted cardboard boxes into playthings. It is a way to effectively re-purpose something that is viewed as trash, therefore keeping them out of the landfills. The folks at Cascades Boutique specialize in just that: Taking recycled cardboard and making absolutely unique and beautiful items out of them. They offer children's cardboard furniture, gift baskets, and even cardboard Christmas trees! They even offer products for pets and for the home. This green company has been around since 1964 and has found so many creative and wonderful ways to reuse common packaging materials that would otherwise end up in the trash.They also employ close to 11,000 women and men who work in approximately 100 modern and flexible operating units located in North America and in Europe. How cool is that?!

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I was thrilled to receive an amazing cardboard playhouse to review. Now I have reviewed cardboard play items before, and I have always loved them. But I have to say, this one takes the cake! Not only is it bigger and much sturdier than similar products I have tried, it is also very, very detailed. This playhouse has everything a child would want in their own pretend house. It has a wonderful roof complete with "skylights", a front and back door, windows, and even awnings and a mailbox!

This playhouse was very easy to assemble, and comes completely unadorned. This is great, since it allows children to design and customize the look of their home any way they'd like! I also love the size of this cardboard playhouse. It is big enough for both my 5 foot tall, 125lb preteen and my toddler to play in, and there is still room to spare! Yes, it's quite big! You could even put a little kids' table and chair inside if you wanted.

Take a look at Kyle and Sophie having fun in their cardboard playhouse from Cascades Boutique!

I love the detail. See the mailbox and the chimney?

Are you here to see me?

Sophie, that's what doors are for!

Sophie exploring her new "crib"!

Did somebody knock?

Overall, I absolutely love the cardboard playhouse from Cascades Boutique. Not only is it absolutely adorable, it is very, very sturdy and built to withstand the use (and abuse) of children young and old. I love the realistic details in the design of this house, and I also love the fact that it's very generously sized. I actually "disappeared" into the playhouse to get some work done one day, just for the fun of it! My kids absolutely adore their new playhouse, and can't wait to decorate it. However, they will be taking it outside to do that. We have white carpets throughout much of our home, and I don't want to get paint, marker, and glitter all over the floors. Once the weather here cooperates, it will be a great project for Kyle and Sophie to do together!

I would definitely recommend this product as a gift for the child in your life. Kids already love imaginative play with simple cardboard boxes, so why not wow them with a playhouse from Cascades Boutique? They have certainly taken something ordinary and transformed it into the extraordinary! And you can feel good about the fact that these products are made from recycled materials and are very environmentally friendly. I know as a mom, I can feel good about that!

HOW TO CONNECT:

You can purchase this and many other fun, eco-friendly products on the Cascades Boutique website.

You can also follow Cascades Boutique on Facebook and on twitter to stay on top of their latest products and promotions!

SPECIAL OFFER THROUGH 12/30/2011!

The first 10 readers will receive a whopping 25% off of any cardboard children's furniture from Cascades Boutique!
Simply use the coupon code NEWMAMA upon checkout!
*limit one use per customer

How awesome! And just in time for the holidays!


***Disclosure: I received complimentary product to facilitate my review. No other compensation was provided, and all opinions are 100% honest and have not been influenced in any way.***