Put it Under the Tree: Fisher-Price Cadillac Escalade

Dear Santa,

Great news! This Christmas eve, you can skip our house during your frenzied gift-giving spree. That’s right; we’re all good. You see, Christmas came early this year; the boys were treated to the “Cadillac” of presents (ha ha ha! pun intended) courtesy of Fisher-Price, and since they’ve been more than blessed with good health, a loving family and kick a** toys, please re-route their presents to someone less fortunate. We’ll be doing the same in appreciation of the kind gesture from Fisher-Price; the money we had set aside for Christmas presents will be used to help feed the hungry, and the boys will have to make do with one present… albeit one big, shiny, freaking awesome present.

Kind Regards,
Lena

p.s. However, if you happen to find a spare Danier winter coat in your sleigh – particularly style #192980026 – I won’t be offended if you shove it down the chimney. Is my husband reading this? Hint, hint.

Earlier this month, you may have seen me tweet out a photo of a great big box. Inside the box: The Fisher-Price Power Wheels Cadillac Escalade Ride-On. If F-P wanted to blow my mind, congratulations: mission accomplished. I am speechless.

(Well, not really – I don’t think it’s humanly possible for me to shut my mouth for more than 2 minutes. Perhaps blown away is a better description. I am blown away.)

Why it rocks:

The Toys ‘R’ Us Cadillac Escalade is loaded with luxury features! Premium sound system includes a real-working FM radio and sound boosting rear speakers. See-through windows, chrome wheels and grill and doors that really open and close add to real driving fun, with a battery charge indicator that lets kids know when it’s time for “refuel”! Drives two speeds forward (2.5 and 5 mph, max.) plus reverse on hard surfaces and grass with a high-speed lock-out for beginners and Power Lock Brake System.

Why it’s relevant:

Ryder has always been obsessed with cars. He collects them, races them, makes those little boy “brrrrr” sounds, and even has names for them: Yellow Mommy’s Car, Blue Mommy’s Car, Red Mommy’s Car, etc. I know, terribly creative. At last count, he has 88 Hot Wheels.

Recently, he’s taken a real interest to our real, grown up cars – he likes sitting in the driver’s seat and asking questions about the instrument panel, touching the stick shift (which he calls the “boon”) and pretending that he’s driving while madly maneuvering the steering wheel. In essence, everything he’s learned through playing with cars has translated into a true curiosity about the way things work in the “real world”. In fact, after a session in the driveway and a passenger seat trip around the block (shhhh – don’t worry, we live on a crescent with zero traffic and he’s safely buckled in), he often returns to his toy cars and searches out the tiny features and details. And tells his little brother that he’s not allowed to drive faster than 40 km/hr.

That’s the joy of learning.

I am incredibly excited for Ryder and Reid to unwrap the Cadillac Escalade Ride-On this Christmas. Presently, it’s still in the box in our storage room, where I’ll suspect it will stay until spring – I just don’t have the heart to open the toy now knowing they won’t be able to play with it until the weather is much warmer. And frankly, I don’t have the patience to try to keep the kids off it if I do choose to assemble it in the basement.

Ahem, did I just call it a “toy”?  Check out this review from Toys R Us:

“I bought this for my kids 3rd bithday, but I bought it a month and a half earlier, because I added some items, such as working HID headlights, tail lights, side markers, underbody glow kit, and stobe lights. I also added 6 1/2″ marine speakers and a marine deck, plus a 12v remote kill switch, this unit has 2 extra high powered batteries 1 battery for the stereo, and the other battery for the lights. The body is a little flimsy. But I am sure I can engineer some extra structure. Once my kid gets the hang of it I will be upgrading the gearing and the motors to make it faster.”

Oy.

Anyhoo, great news if you’ve been inspired to grab it for your own child – the Fisher-Price Power Wheels Cadillac Escalade Ride-On is currently on sale at Toys R Us! Down from $499.99 to $419.97 (a savings of $80), it’s the perfect time to blow someone away. Or make them speechless.

I am part of the Fisher-Price Play Panel and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.