Holiday Gift Idea: MEGA BLOKS Billy Beats Dancing Piano and First Builders Toys

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

When I was a kid, it seems that every year I received some sort of building toy for Christmas. My little brother and I would spend hours and hours building towers, houses, and even odd looking block creatures. We'd play together, and would play quietly, since we were so engaged with the building projects at hand. (And my poor parents would get a break from Mike and I trying to kill each other!) 

Now that I am the parent of 3 kids, I totally understand why building toys are all the rage. They help little ones with so many different skills from hand-eye coordination, creativity, and if playing with a sibling, teamwork. 
My youngest children love building, so I knew that this Christmas, there would be tons of MEGA BLOKS toys under the tree. 

My little ones will be receiving the Billy Beats Dancing Piano, as well as a MEGA BLOKS First Builders Big Building Bag and Character sets. These are super-fun products geared towards toddlers and preschoolers, and are sure to be a huge hit! 

Of course I just had to open these great toys, at least temporarily, to see how the kids reacted for review purposes. Luckily, Sophie and Xander are still very young and by the time we open gifts on Christmas morning, they will have forgotten that they'd already played with them! (We hope!) 

Billy Beats Dancing Piano :

I'm sure you've probably seen the Billy Beats Dancing Piano all over lately. It seems to be one of the hottest Holiday gifts this year, and for good reason. This piano not only allows kids to build with MEGA BLOKS, it also plays a variety of sounds from catchy tunes to animal sounds. Oh, and did I mention that he "dances" while the kids play with him? 

Here are some of the features of the Billy Beats Dancing Piano:

• 3 modes of play: Dance with Billy, Teach Me, and Free Play
•  8 colored light-up keys that can play single notes or 8 pre-programmed songs
• Sheet music on stickers included to let you build and stack a song to follow along!
• Cool Piano, Whacky DJ and Funny Animal sounds with On/Off switch
• Includes 8 First Builders blocks and 3 c-size batteries

As you can see, Billy has several MEGA BLOKS building blocks stored inside of him. We left those intact, but allowed Sophie and Xander to play with the piano part. 

My little ones were immediately hooked once we took Billy Beats out of the box. They spent a couple of hours laughing at Billy's dance moves, playing music, and hearing the animal sounds. They even got up, laughing hysterically, and tried to dance along with Billy. They imitated his side-to-side movements, and soon we had a Billy Beats dance party on our hands! 

I would definitely recommend the Billy Beats Dancing Piano when you're getting your Holiday shopping done. This was a huge hit with my little ones, and it's sure to delight any child that receives him! The music, animal sounds, and light-up keys make the Billy Beats Dancing Piano a fun, interactive toy for young children. 

First Builders Big Building Bag and Character Sets :

Sometimes you just can't go wrong with the classics. So naturally, we were thrilled to receive the MEGA BLOKS First Builders Big Building Bag. This contains 80 multi-colored building blocks, and is designed for kids ages 1-5.  This is a great starter set for beginning builders, and the blocks are large so they pose no choking hazards. 

We also received these great companion character sets to bring our building fun to life. From left to right they are Block Buddies, Rescue Squad, and Hero Team. Aren't they adorable! And of course, they can be incorporated into any of the building creations, as they will fit onto MEGA BLOKS building blocks. 

Sophie and Xander really liked these toys, too. They tried building a tall tower, and really enjoyed having the characters to play with. They had little make-believe stories about sending the rescue squad to save a puppy at the top of the tower while the dragon tried to breathe fire on them. (Good thing there's a firefighter, right?) 

Again, I would definitely recommend these toys. Sometimes simplicity is the best option since simple toys allow little ones to use their imaginations and come up with their own unique brand of creative play. 

So when you're finishing up all of your Holiday shopping this year, definitely keep your eye out for MEGA BLOKS First Builders products. They're available online and at most major toy retailers. Trust me, you're bound to see tons of smiles when your little ones open up these fun toys on Christmas morning! 

How to Connect :

You can check out the awesomeness that is MEGA BLOKS  on their website. 

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Keep your eye out for more great MEGA Brands reviews soon for different age groups!