weekend giveaway: CloudPets (with two winners!)...

This giveaway is a little different that what I've done in the past, but when I was approached about reviewing a CloudPet of our own, I kind of fell in love with the idea behind them (and was so thrilled I would be able to give away not one, but two to my readers!). Eisley loves hers, which she has somewhat unsurprisingly named Cinderella, and I'm excited to know that two of you will receive your own to either keep or give away to a child you love.

Basically, these stuffed animals—you choose from bunny, cat, bear or puppy!—can both send and receive voice messages (up to 10 seconds per message) through a free app you download onto any smartphone. When a message is received, the heart on the front of the pet lights up, and the child can press one of the paws to hear the message. (It's kind of amazing how clear the messages come through!) The child can also easily record a message of their own to send back by pressing the other paw and simply speaking to the pet. The recipient will then receive the message through their app, which they can then listen to. You can give your child's account information to as many people as you want, so they can receive messages from any number of friends or family members! It is also secure, because only those invited can send messages to the child, and every message must be approved by the parent (via the app) before the message is sent to the CloudPet.

The retail price runs higher than I would normally pay for a toy ($39.99) but I personally feel like this would be a fantastic gift idea for grandparents who love to splurge (and perhaps live far away from a grandchild!) or a comforting, unique gift for a child who has a parent who is deployed or is often away. I love having one for Eisley, because so many of our relatives live states away from us, and this is such a sweet way to send and receive little messages! I'm excited to encourage those grandparents, aunts and uncles to download the app, too, so they can start sending her messages.

One thing to keep in mind is that there is a plastic base on these stuffed animals (for the battery pack) which means it may interfere with the cuddle-factor of the pet—but my daughter still begged to sleep with hers at nighttime, so it didn't bother her at all. Also, you do need to have an internet connection to send or receive messages. Although you can receive messages from anywhere in the world, the CloudPets themselves sync with the app on the parent's phone, so it must be within 30 feet from the phone to send the received messages to the actual CloudPet.

For more information on this product, you can visit their website here and view their FAQs here!

If you'd like to enter to win one of these CloudPets, simply leave a comment on this post sometime before Monday, June 1st! Next week, two winners will be chosen—so be sure you have an email connected to your commenting account, should you win! Please note that this giveaway is limited to US only, and the winners will be able to choose from whichever CloudPets are currently in stock and available to ship immediately.

The giveaway is now closed! As always, I used the handy random number generator on Random.org to choose the winners. Congrats to the following commenters: Vanessa G. and Christine W.! I will be contacting you this week so you can receive your CloudPets as soon as possible! And thank you to everyone who took the time to enter the giveaway.

I received a free product in return for this review and hosting a giveaway, but all opinions are my own. View my disclosure policy here!