Wish List for Hasbro

Hello Hasbro, are you listening?

I'm sure their little elves are busy at work producing new Strawberry Shortcake items - because the new playsets and dolls that are coming out for this line seems to be always growing.  But before they make any more little play sets, I'd like to throw in a few suggestions, and pretend they're listening.

First though - these are the main play sets that I have found for berry bitty city in production so far:

Strawberry's Cafe

Raspberry's Boutique

Lemon's Hair Salon (Discontinued)

Berry Bitty Market

So these are great, and my daughter loves them to pieces (reviews to come later), but I couldn't help but notice that some spots in Berry Bitty City were noticeably absent.  I noticed this when my daughter Amy kept asking Santa Claus for Plum's dance studio, Blueberry's book store, and Orange's store for Christmas.  Yep - she noticed too.

In case you're listening Hasbro, here is a wish list I have for you for the coming year.  Thank you in advance!  ;)

Plum's Dance Studio

These play sets do not have to be huge, they could be the same size as the club house, which sells for half the price of the market, and is approximately half the size.  I would only ask that they be shaped like the fruit they represent (which shouldn't be too difficult, since they managed to pull it off with the other three characters).  For Plum's dance studio, perhaps it could have a moving mechanism - similar to that of Raspberry's fashions, that you would attach Plum and one of her friends by the little peg hole in her foot, and send her spinning across the floor. Mirrors would be nice too, and beams.  Also, if it's not too much trouble, a second level with a little bed (similar to that of the cafe) would be nice for Plum to get a little nap.

Orange's General Store

This could be the same size as the dance studio, and feature a cash register (similar to that of the market place) and maybe some shelves with different types of inventory.  (Cans seem to be very, very popular with Orange).  Little bags with Orange's logo on them would be cute too.

Blueberry's Book Store

This would be possible with an illustration of shelves of books stuck to the inside wall, with maybe a few little "books" loose to put on shelves.  A little computer desk, computer and chair would be a nice little touch as well.

Maybe these are already in the works.  Maybe they never will be because they will find more profitable lines of toys to come out with.  To me though, the sets seem to be "missing" these elements, and I know that my daughter would love them.  Do you have any ideas?  Include them in the comments!

Thanks for reading!

xo

Jeanne

Cherry Jam Colouring Pages!

What little girl doesn't love to colour?  Since my very first post was about Cherry Jam, I thought I would share the latest and greatest Cherry Jam colouring pages with you, available for free on www.strawberryshortcake.com !

PDF Image Links Below:

Cherry Jam # 1
Cherry Jam # 2
Cherry Jam # 3
Cherry Jam # 4 (With Strawberry Shortcake)
Cherry Jam # 5

Enjoy!

An Introduction and Cherry Jam!

Hello everyone, and thank you for visiting my new blog!

My name is Jeanne, and my daughter's name is Amy.  I've created this blog because my daughter, who is almost three years old, has been a HUGE Strawberry Shortcake fan since she learned how to talk -- and probably even earlier than that.  Because of my daughter, and my mission to make her happy - I've become a fan through association, and I've got to admit - I feel just a teensy bit silly admitting that.  But here I am, and I'll own it!  :)

I'm going to gear this blog toward Canadian parents of Strawberry Shortcake fans, because I have found that finding Strawberry Shortcake items in Canada has been a bit of a challenge, and I'd like to share the resources I've found - for those of you in the same predicament.  I will also be providing honest and independent product and toy reviews, and anything else SSC related that I stumble across!

Since this is an introductory post - what would be more fitting than to talk about Cherry Jam - the newest addition to Berry Bitty City?  Before I start talking about this little cutie, I have to admit that I haven't yet seen a full episode with Cherry Jam in it.  One of the quirks of being a Canadian, and the area that I live, is that I only have one channel that shows Strawberry Shortcake (Playhouse Disney), and my PVR hasn't caught her yet.  That said, I'm very aware of who she is, thanks to the miracle of the interwebs!

As I am writing this, Cherry Jam's "Anything is Possible" video is playing, for the fifth time in a row (on Youtube), and my daughter is dancing around the room and cheering.  Watch it here: Cherry Jam - Anything Is Possible  (See more music videos at www.strawberryshortcake.com)  It's so catchy - and like all of Strawberry Shortcake's new songs, they carry a great message for little girls!  What's not for a mother to love!

She's a rock star, she's got catchy tunes, and she's cute as a button.  I just can't wait to see the first episode with her in it!

I'll also take this opportunity to do a quick toy review.  Before Christmas, I was lucky enough to stumble across Cherry Jam and Lemon Meringue:

Before I get started on the review, I need to vent a small frustration.  It is so difficult to find specific Strawberry Shortcake items in Canada, and more specifically - Ottawa.  I will use Toys R Us as an example.  Their website has 1 page, 12 items of Strawberry Shortcake toys.  When I visit the store, they either have quite a bit - or barely any at all - and there doesn't seem to be any consistency with what they carry.  Toys R Us the American site, has *five* pages of Strawberry Shortcake toys. 

Anyway, I was strolling through Toys R Us, the tiny little section that carries SSC of course, and I stumbled across this little gem.  A small set, I'm assuming quite rare because I had to take my own picture, I could not find it anywhere online!  It includes Lemon Meringue, Cherry Jam, a strawberry table, a teapot and two teacups. 

Pros:

• The shoes are removable (the hole on their foot is placed on their bare foot). 

• The dresses (I find) are very cute, and so is Lemon's hair-do.
• They have a hair decoration with a small peg on their heads.  I can only assume that they've been designed this way so you could switch the decorations (Cherry Jam has a flower and Lemon has a lemon).

• The tea cups have the handles that make it possible for the little dolls to hold them on their own

Cons:

• The biggest con I have with the set is actually the hole for the hair decoration.  The little decorations kept falling out on the first day, and they didn't seem to snap in quite right.  As a result, both were lost (thus why you cannot see them in the pictures), which bugs me to no end because I try to keep track of all the little pieces.
• The set by itself is actually sort of boring.  The strawberry is a bit pointless, and although the tea set is cute - if you have the cafe or the market, your little one will have plenty of imaginary drinks and food to play with.  

I apologize, because I threw out the box and I do not know the name of the set - but you'll know it when you see it.  I'm guessing it's a bit of a sneak peak, as the rumour is that we have to wait until spring 2012 for Cherry Jam toys, though it seems the slightly bigger doll has already been introduced http://www.bcshopper.com/strawberry-shortcake-garden-pretty-cherry-jam-doll.  However, I haven't seen it in stores around here yet.

If anyone has the name of the toy, please put it in the comments - and I'll update the post.  Also, thank you for visiting!

xo

Jeanne