Crayola Halloween Boo Bucket!
Written: Oct 10 '02 (Updated Nov 09 '04)
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Pros: A great Halloween treat, lots of cool items, trick-or-treat bucket.
Cons: Stickers may be bent so the edges might not stick properly.
The Bottom Line: A terrific Halloween treat for all the little ghouls and boo's! The reusable bucket can be used for tick-or-treating, a bank or for storing Crayola products.
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| Freak369's Full Review: Crayola Halloween Boo Bucket |
With Halloween soon arriving, the little ones are waiting with anticipation for the arrival of the day they can don their costumes and utter the words Trick Or Treat! in exchange for mountains of candy. This year I plan on throwing them a curveball. Sure, there will be lots of candy to pick from but for a few luck little monsters, they’ll walk away from my door with one of the new Crayola Halloween Boo Buckets! I picked these up on a recent shopping trip to the Crayola website for kids that I know truly hate candy. Now I now some of you will be saying “Freak, a kid that doesn’t like candy?” – yes, as hard as it is to believe, there are some that just don’t like it.
I’ve gone through all the sets that I ordered from the website [four total] and pulled out the stickers [more on that below]. I noticed the first Crayola Halloween Boo Bucket we opened had stickers that were bent. I replaced these with other Crayola products and popped the top back on them. Who wants to get a bucket full of cool stuff only to find that the stickers suck? Not me!
The Crayola Halloween Boo Bucket
The bucket itself is very festive with it’s bright orange color and can be used to store all the Halloween craft goodies or for when the little ones go banging on doors for treats. With the lid on it looks much like a very small, short, fat crayon however once you pop the top off it’s the perfect size for holding markers, craft items or any odds and ends that need a new home. If you are going to be doing a lot of trick-or-treating I suggest that you take along a bag to empty the candy into from time to time – this is sturdy but it doesn’t look like the handle is going to be able to stand up to a tremendous amount of weight.
Sidewalk Chalk
For once Crayola got the chalk right! No more of those thin pieces of chalk – these are nice and chunky and perfect for little hands to use. Included with this set are four jumbo-sized pieces in line green, funky yellow, orange and light purple. These are great for chalkboard use or for scribbling on the sidewalk – better yet – use them to decorate the steps of your house for Halloween! As with all the products in the Crayola Halloween Boo Bucket, these pieces of chalk are non-toxic.
Model Magic Pouches
It’s hard to get the complete feel of the Model Magic with such small “sample sized” pouches but it does allow you to give the product a test drive before you invest in the full sized set. You get three one half ounce packets of white, green and orange Model Magic – not enough to create a masterpiece but enough to make some small Halloween decorations. Combine these with some glow in the dark paints to make some spooky creatures! Instructions for use are included so you won’t be left clueless :]
Gel FX Markers
By far one of my favorite treats in this Halloween extravaganza! The Gel FX markers are great for using on black paper, construction paper or on thick poster board. You only get three of these special markers in this set but you can always pick up additional colors at your favorite craft or specialty store. The colors I received were orange, purple and white however I have noticed that the colors do vary a little from set to set. These are also great for layering colors on top of each other but make sure you clean the tip off after each use or you’ll ruin the marker.
Spooky Stickers
The spooky stickers feature jack-o-lanterns with various funny faces. Out of the four Crayola Halloween Boo Buckets I purchased, three of them had sticker sheets that were bent – so the edges of the stickers were either stuck to other products in the bucket or were dried out and wouldn’t stick no matter how hard I pressed on them. Even with this minor issue, there are more than enough other fun treats to entertain the little ones so a few temperamental stickers won’t exactly ruin the fun. I replaced these with Crayola 24 count packs of crayons and Crayola colored pencils.
Black Tablet
This small but very cool tablet is great for making small Halloween greeting cards, writing devilish little notes or just for doodling. The 5 inch square pad contains 25 sheets of thick paper that works great with the Gel FX markers, common Gel Roller pens or metallic markers. It would have been nicer to have more paper to work with – especially for the younger kids – but this lets them play around with the black paper and get some creative juices flowing!
Activity Cards
Along with the sticker sheets, these too were pulled out of the Crayola Halloween Boo Buckets and replaced with cool Crayola products. These “activity cards” were boring, had jokes on them that were older than me [and that’s old] and were simply a waste of paper. I think out of the six cards, two of them were slightly entertaining – the others were simply horrid.
The Bottom Line
These buckets make great gifts for kids that aren’t into sugary sweet treats for Halloween. Chances are you can make your own assembly of Crayola products for about the same price but if you short on time and want something prepackaged – you simply can’t go wrong with this sensational seasonal set. Most of all – everything is non-toxic but I’d keep an eye on the Model Magic around the younger kids – they seem to feel the need to taste test it.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that this would be great for boys or girls. Since it lacks any pink colored items – boys won’t feel that they are having “girlie” items dumped on them. The cool markers and black tablet are sure to be a hit with any girl that loves to draw, be creative or simply write her name a hundred times [yes, we used to do that].
I’m looking forward to giving out these special treats to a few lucky boys and girls in the neighborhood. Most people give them apples, toothbrushes or gift certificates to fast food restaurants – but they’ll walk away from my house with something that will entertain them for hours [well, longer than an apple].
Wishing you a safe and ghoulish Halloween!
^V^ Freak ^V^
© 2002 Freak369
Other Crayola product reviews ...
• Big MiniStampers • Doodle Pad • Watercolor Pencils • Art & Craft Brushes – 8 Count • Create-A-Kid • Collecting Keepsakes • Halloween Treat Pack • Halloween Boo Bucket • Washable Water Colors – 8 Color • Pencil Pouch • Crayola Crayons – 24 Count • Metallic Crayons • Superfine Markers – 5 Count • Gel FX Washable Markers • Tub of Fun • Crayola Sketch Pad • Point Tip Scissors • Sidewalk Chalk – Chicks & Eggs • Art & Craft Brushes – 4 Count • Twistables – 16 Count • Stack-N-Store Art Tower • Washable Water Colors – 24 Color • Sidewalk Chalk – Animal Assortment • Crayola Lap Desk • Click ‘Em On Washable Markers • Washable Markers – 16 Count • Alphabet & Number Pad • Blunt Tip Scissors • Spinning Desk Top Organizer •
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): $8.99
Type of Toy: Arts and Crafts
Age Range of Child: Whole Family
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