As we all know, pink is most certainly NOT my signature color. It makes my stomach turn. Hurts my eyes. So of course, I ended up with not just a little girl who enjoys pink (thankfully it is NOT her favorite color, Orange is,) but also, a little boy who seems to love pink, as well. I blame my husband…..he likes pink. ARGH.

However, Barbie™ is awesome. Mega Bloks® is equally as cool, right? Together, they are a big hit with kids of all ages.  I use to play with Barbie when I was a kid, and most little girls like Barbie, right? Even some little boys out there, too. Well, Barbie pink has invaded my home. I have no one else to blame, but myself. I just didn’t realize how much pink would be in the Mega Bloks® Barbie™ Build ‘n Style Luxury Mansion, and the Mega Bloks® Barbie™ Build ‘n Style Pool Party. I should have known, I mean the whole entire Build ‘n Style revolves around, pink, right?

I’m not a lover of pink, and it’s now in my home…….and I have to put it all together. Welcome to my own personal hell. Would you like to see it? Here it is:

Torture. To. The. Extreme. It took forever to put them together. The pool I tackled first, it was insane how many little, itty pieces were involved. Just bags, and bags, of tiny pieces. Uh-huh. What does this translate to for me? Hours of pink, in my hands, my eyes, and all over my floor. I muscled through the insanity, and it came out pretty good, if I do say so myself.

Oh, but wait, it gets better. The mansion. The box opened, I almost peed myself in fear. Talk about bags of little pieces, and a baby pink color nightmare. I felt like I stepped into a batch of cotton candy, no joke. Another two hours of it in my hands, looking at it, and having it all over my floor.

Finally, after a couple of hours, the torture ended, and it was assembled.

What pushes me to do these crazy things? Gets me to submerge myself into the living hell of pink in my house? Dealing with bags, upon bags, of tiny pieces, and stickers that never go on straight, and directions that can be a little difficult to read. You guessed it……the kids. THE KIDS. If they weren’t so dang cute, it would be a lot easier to say HELL NO, to all of these crazy pink antics.

However, the insanity doesn’t stop there. Of course not, this is me, right? Sure, I do this for my kids, but also for all of your kids out there. Let’s bring on the little girls!!!! Little Miss loves to host parties, we love to give feedback on amazing new toys, so together, we’re a perfect duo. Girls filed into our home, and played the day away. Why? Because Barbie™ is cool. Even if she has a pink nightmare of a mansion, and pool. Luckily, these girls love pink…….and that’s all that matters!

What made me laugh was the moms. They all wanted to kick the little girls out, and play with the mansion and pool. It brings out the kid in all of us, doesn’t it? Toy mansions, Barbie™ and all kinds of little pieces shaped like hot dogs, pizza, cupcakes, and more. No one can resist the alluring vibes of a fantastic toy mansion and pool! Even Ken gets into the action with the pool party.

Each girl loved the little accessories for the Barbie dolls that come with the sets. There are hats, and skirts, and bows for her hair. She’s got bags to carry, and food to hold…..there’s even a float for the dang pool! What is it about these toys that can hold the attention of children? I still cannot figure it out, but they thoroughly enjoyed acting out scenes with the dolls. Super cute.

In all seriousness, I kid about the pink (actually not really, I truly hate the light pink crap that’s all over this mansion,) I love that my son enjoys the toys, as well as my daughter. He has no problems getting in there, putting new hats, and hair accessories on the dolls. He has no issues playing with pink mansions, and skirts, and bags. It makes me smile, because it gives me a little hope that he’ll be one of those kids who can stand his ground, and be who is without having labels. This is boy stuff, this is girl stuff…….that’s silliness. Toys are toys! Play with them, enjoy them, and most importantly, share them.

Little Miss was super excited to be able to give some goodies away, too! Each little lady that attended was able to pick either an ice cream, or a boutique, accessories kit. Each kit is about $9.99, so it’s a fantastic alternative to spending a ton on the larger items, like the mansion, and pool. The girls spent the most time with the boutique one I assembled for them to check out. It came with little things for Barbie’s hair, hats, bags, and they loved it.

My issue? It’s a lot to put together, and it could stand to be made a little sturdier. I placed them on a table, so the kids could play without sitting on the floor. My son, being the bull in a China shop that he is, knocked over the mansion. EVERYTHING popped apart, and scattered all over the place. Nothing was broken, but even the window frames that were decorating the outside of the windows came off……to me, with other brands of building blocks, this doesn’t happen.

I’m not sure I would pay so much for these toys……they are definitely not as sturdy as I would like them to be. I wouldn’t say flimsy, but definitely wouldn’t want to spend close to $40 for the pool set, and close to $80 for the mansion. Perhaps if they were larger, and made in this same fashion, it might be a little easier to drop down that much cash. However, the mansion is small, the figures/dolls are rather small, and the pool set is small.

If you have a kid that LOVES to play with dolls, with houses, I have to be honest, the child will fall in love with the whole mansion. For a Mom who has kids who love the whole figures, and houses kind of thing, then I’d spend the money. It will keep the child entertained often! Set it up in their room, let them have a ball.

Personally, for me, I’d wait for a sale, find a coupon, and get them when the prices drop a bit. Paying full price for them, not recommended. Even if you have die hard Barbie™ nuts in the house, hold off for a bit, and wait for a good sale at your local toy store, or online. Instead, get one of the smaller accessories kits, which are amazingly cute. Super fast to put together, compared to the larger pieces, and I have to tell you, out of all the girls that attended, 9 out of 10 were in love with the smaller boutique accessories kit. It’s the Build ‘n Style Accessories Boutique. Get one, give them as gifts for all those little girl birthday parties you’ll be attending this year. Perfect price point!

Disclosure: By publishing this post, I received free products as part of a promotional program with MomSelect. All opinions are my own, and that of the party goers.