Kids Will Love Trading Messages With Text Bands From Hallmark {Review & Giveaway}

Texting. It seems to be the preferred way of communication these days for both kids and adults. I know I would much rather send someone a text than to make a phone call in most instances, especially when I just have something quick to say.

Rylie and Bryce both know what texting is, even as young as they are. Instead of asking me if I can call a friend's mom to see if they can come over to play, I hear "mommy, can you send Emma's mom a message and ask if she can come over and play?" I haven't yet decided when the "proper" age is for kids to have cell phones, but obviously my kids are too young.

Thanks to Hallmark, kids don't need cell phones to send texts. They can now trade messages with Text Bands!

We were recently sent two Text Bands starter packs to review - one charcoal and one purple. They are soft, adjustable silicone bands with a texting module in the middle. At first glance they don't really seem like much, but they are way cooler than they look.

Text Bands are super easy for kids to use. They use the buttons on the texting module to program their message, and then simply bump fists to trade messages with one another. The message you have programmed into your Text Band will then show up on the Text Band of the friend you just bumped fists with. High fives even work too! Here is a short video that shows how they work...

Rylie thought the Text Bands were super cool and couldn't wait to try them out! Since she is only 4 and can't spell all that many words, I programmed her Text Band for her. She wanted hers to say "Hey!", and I programmed mine to say "I Love You". Once the messages had been saved, we got to fist bumpin! The messages were transferred from Text Band to Text Band on the first try, and it was so neat to see the other person's message come up.

After Bryce saw how much fun Rylie and I were having trading messages, he decided he needed to get in on the action too. Even Daddy joined in later to trade messages with Rylie. I think we need a couple more of these so we can all trade messages at the same time!

While my kids are still a little young to use these without help from an adult, I think these are great for kids of all ages! What I really like about the Text Bands is that they come with a "bad word filter" so kids are not passing inappropriate messages back and forth. Way to go Hallmark! I also like that they are completely adjustable and even fit tiny little wrists like my kids have.

The only drawback to the Text Bands is the material they are made from. While it is soft and lightweight, it also attracts every little piece of fuzz, dust, pet hair, etc. After just one use, our Text Bands had all sorts of stuff stuck to them. They are not waterproof, so you can't rinse them off either.

All in all, I think the Text Bands are vrey cool, and I feel that younger kids who are still too young for cell phones will have a lot of fun with these. You can find the Text Bands starter kits at your local Hallmark store for $14.99. They come with one band and a texting module. You can also purchase additional style bands for $4.99 that you can snap the texting modules to for a different look each day.

So tell me, what message will you program into your Text Band?

~*~Giveaway~*~

~*~Two Text Bands Starter Kits~*~

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Disclosure: All opinions are my own. I received the Text Bands at no cost, in order to facilitate this review. No other compensation was received. A big Thank You to the representing PR agency for providing the giveaway prize!