I Took the Challenge and Hosted A Kung Zhu Hamster Party

Last year, thanks to Mom Select, I was the coolest mom on the block when I hosted a Zhu Zhu Party with 13 kids and their parents (review, pictures and video here).

This year Zhu Zhu pets have a whole new "army" of warriors geared toward boys. When Mom Select was looking for this years Blogger Zhu Crew, I wanted in. Zhu Zhu Pets and for boys, what could be cooler?

I have the most patient kids in the world. The biggest box in the world arrived right after I came out of the hospital on June 9th. The box sat in the hallway for almost a month when I finally told them we could set the Zhuniverse up.

We opened the box and were met with the coolest toy around. If your kids love Zhu Zhu Pets, they will freak over this set up.

Kung Zhu Pets! These warrior hamsters are far from being the cute and cuddly Zhu Zhu Pets that everyone fell in love with. But make no mistake, these ultra cool, tough pets will be a sure competition to the original Zhu Zhu Pets! With eight original characters split into two battling groups called Special Forces and Ninja Warriors, Kung Zhu Pet owners will have the thrill of training each character to transform fighting, battling warriors. While these Kung Zhu hamsters may start of as “cute” and “mild-mannered” once they are sent into their main training grounds, smart chip technology will actually allow you to hear a distinct personality transformation of fighting ninja and warriors.“

The invites were sent and we quickly RSVP'd.

I set up the Zhuniverse which included the Special Forces and Ninja Warriors headquarters

And tons of add on playsets to transform your mild mannered hamster pet into a fighting ninja and warrior.

The Delta Forces tribe is made up of Rocko and Stonewall, who team up with Rangers Duke and Sergeant Serge. Also on the side of good are Kung Zhu Ninjas Drayko and Yama. While each of these hamsters have their own zany and determined personality, they join together with one goal in mind- to keep the no-good warriors from the Skull Tribe, Azer and Thorn, from wreaking havoc on the Zhu-niverse!

I was sent pretty much everything you see here. The stage was set, the kids were excited and now it was simply a matter of waiting for our friends.

I know, it's a terrible picture. If you can look past the streaked mirror, this was taken just as there was a knock on the door. They are running to open it. Can you say, "exited?"

Two cancellations, 12 minutes past party time, kids anxious, there is a knock at the door. Guests start pouring in, boys excited and loads of gasping.

The boys are sent over to the display to select a pet (I wish I had video of this. They were picking them up, talking, shouting, debating, and basically having a hard time deciding on the ONE. This was probably because each pet is SO COOL! I would never have been able to decide if I were to pick only one after Goddess picked "Stonewall" (the blue/black one which would have been my favorite too).

Play time begins....

The boys loved the battlefield. They were so excited and while I tried to get them to start at each headquarters and race to the battleground, they were just too busy to listen.

It was fun to watch the boys "fight" it out. This is definitely the perfect boy toy. They laughed, battled and moved around the track following their "pet" for an hour.

Some moms didn't want their little ones on the blog, so I didn't interview anyone on camera like last time but what I can tell you:

• The boys were interested in who was a warrior and who was a ninja.
• When pressed for their favorite part of the Zhuniverse playset they all said, the Battleground!
• The moms loved that it was very "boy" and two loved it more than the first set.
• When put together, it is huge!

• The boys didn't even need the hamsters to make noise, they provided complete battle sounds all by themselves.
• Six boys together make a lot of noise.
• The two girls who were there, talked about their pets, holding them and refusing to put them in with the boys.
• Two of the moms said they would purchase the whole set!
• The boys especially love the armor and were happy to get to keep their pet and armor.
• All the boys said it was really cool and they liked the colors of the playset.

As you can see the battle ground was the most popular area.

Mid way through, we moved onto stupid pet tricks. I was concerned about the wheels turning on and having to do emergency hair cuts but thankfully it never happened.

As per person who put the sets together, here is what I have to tell you. If you buy one or more pieces at a time, probably not that big a deal. If you buy the whole thing in one shot; you will pull your hair out. I must have spent 3 hours putting the thing together and another trying to configure it so that each headquarters lead to the battleground. Finally, I gave up and while my girlfriend Lauri was visiting asked her to take her analytical mind downstairs and please, please, please figure it out.

I would like to thank Mom Select and Zhu Zhu Pets for allowing me to once again, be the coolest mom on the block. 

Please come back for an upcoming Zhu Zhu Pet Giveaway this week. 

Disclaimer: I received a very generous package of complimentary Zhu Zhu Pet items in order to throw this party thanks to Mom Select and Zhu Zhu Pets.