RaveAndReview.com - Pirate's Treasure Play Tent Review - June 2012

Feast your eyes on this gorgeous-ness. These are the Caro-Lini and Pirate's Treasure Play Tents from HABA and they are even cuter in person than online.  Hard to believe, right?  I got to see these two beautiful tents in the HABA booth in Kentucky last year and was thrilled when I got to choose either the pink or blue tent for review earlier this year.  Since I wanted something both kids could enjoy, I chose the HABA Pirate’s Treasure Tent and then eagerly awaited the day my kids would get a chance to play in it Hubby and I set up the 47” x 49” tent while they were napping, which consisted of unzipping the storage bag and springing it to life in mere seconds.  Then we slipped in the pole supports a la tent style, attached the Velcro windows, flag, and set it up with pillows and toys to meet them when they came running downstairs. As I expected, their responses did not disappoint. My kids absolutely love the HABA Play Tent and play with it at least a few hours every day.  Because it’s one of the few toys that was deemed cute enough to get a spot in the living room, it has become their special play space in the middle of the main floor of our house and a veritable child haven. But as cute as it is, it was given this place of honor in the middle of our living room/dining room because it is so incredibly open-ended, and thus the kids use it for just about every game they dream up.  Since it only has a subtle pirate theme, it can either be downplayed or it can be exaggerated and it allows them to use their imaginations to make believe the tent is all sorts of places. Whereas one minute it may be a pirate's cove, the next minute it is a grocery store, a castle, a post office, a house, a puppet theater or just about anything else they can imagine and it’s fun to try and decipher what the tent has become throughout the day.  I love that in just the past few weeks since the tent has been in my living room I have seen their imaginations truly run wild and witnessed such awesome cooperative play. While they have both always been really imaginative on other fronts, they weren't really interested in role play and dress up, even though I tried my hardest to make it happen.  In fact, they both refused to even touch the dress up bin even though I would try and think up different ways we could use it for games they already played.  At least, that is until we got the tent.  Now, a good portion of their day is spent dressing up in the tent and coming out a princess, a pirate, a knight, or sometimes a combination of all of these. I’m not sure why the tent made the difference in their sudden love of dress up, but now they each wear capes {when they are superheroes and it's their super hero lair and also when they are queen and king and it's their castle} almost all day long.  When they get bored of their capes, they put on shop keeper aprons, doctor gear, and more and the tent becomes a store, a nursery or business just that quick. Not only is it great for allowing my kids to play well together even with their age difference, I love that the Caro-Lini and Pirate's Treasure play tents are completely versatile alone or in groups.  When friends are over, the little ones all congregate in the tent and it’s like their own private clubhouse away from the grownup.  But, then when they are tired and want to read books or daydream, it's a great place to escape and have quiet time in their own special hideaway. While I thought my kiddos would really like the tent, it turns out that they adore it.  They love it so much that we even do our bedtime book/snuggle ritual in it now {which is admittedly a little crowded with the four of us, but very much worth it for how much joy it brings the kiddos}.  The kiddos play in the tent for hours just giggling and imagining things together and I couldn't be happier with it. The Pirate’s Treasure Tent is truly stunning in person and it was one of the best additions we've ever made to our main floor.  In fact, every parent that comes over wants to know where to get one for themselves and I have been telling everyone how it just won the PTPA Seal of Approval and then directing them to Maukilo.com so they can see the different theme options and buy. While it is higher priced than other play tents, once you see it in person you are willing to spring for the extra few bucks for something that is made so well and looks so good.  Then once everyone hears that setup only moments and it comes in a little carry case that you can store it in, the price is more than reasonable.  Besides, when you figure the Caro-Lini tent is going to be a toy the kids will remember well into adulthood it truly is a bargain. A big thank you to PTPA and HABA for sending a play tent for our review.  As always, all opinions are 100% ours and no form of monetary compensation was received in exchange for this Rave Review.