Checking Our List #29: Curious Chef {Review & Giveaway}

{This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations, chatterboxchick81!}

It's funny how when you're young you want to grow up and do all the things that adults get to do, isn't it? I can remember wanting to be the one to get to stay up late or cook or drive and it just seemed like childhood was never going to go by fast enough. Who wants to be a kid when grown-ups do all the fun stuff?

Now? What I wouldn't give if I could go to bed early, have my meals made by someone else and have a chauffeur to drive us all around. Hey, I can always dream!

So when it comes to wanting to grow up (or at least pretend they are), my daughters are no exception. I pull out the vacuum and Big Sister E is right there asking me if she can help; I get out a broom and Little Sister B is right beside me with a toy broom declaring, "Seep! seep!" as she sweeps. And the number one place where they want to help out the most? The kitchen.

Unfortunately, when I hand over the measuring cups or the rolling pin, they're too large and unmanageable for their small hands and things just end up with everyone frustrated and a mess on the counter. Which is exactly where Curious Chef and their child-size kitchen tools and gadgets comes in.

Created by a group of parents who were tired of struggling to find cooking utensils that their children were able to use, the Curious Chef collection of kid-friendly kitchen tools are just right for little hands. The full line of products consists of everything from cookie cutters to cutlery to gadgets (and much more) that children are able to use safely, comfortably and successfully to really cook.

With holiday planning well underway around here, one of the main things that is always a big hit when it comes to preparation for Christmas is baking cookies. What would the season be without them? This year, instead of just having to watch (and taste), Big Sister E and Little Sister B are able to be right there helping bake thanks to the Curious Chef Holiday Cookie 26-Piece Kit.

As soon as I opened the box, I realized what Curious Chef meant when they said that their items are "Tools, not toys." I had still sort of been thinking that these were going to be like the pretend play cooking utensils that we have, but they weren't at all. Aside from the four paper chef hats and four plastic aprons, the cooking tools were completely real and high quality, just in a smaller size.

Along with the hats and aprons, this kit provides just about all of the essential tools for making sugar cookies for Christmas: angel, tree, gingerbread man and star cookie cutters, cookie turner, rolling pin, 6-piece measuring spoon set and a 6-piece measuring cup set.

As I admired the durable, high quality of the pieces included, I also appreciated the shopping list right on the side of the box that helps you know you are prepared to start baking.

Getting everything set up, the girls couldn't wait to get started making cookies. As we began measuring and mixing, it was easy to see that these were going to be utensils that weren't only easy for the kids to use, but that I would like as well - they're just so easy to handle!

Whether your child is just getting started as a kitchen helper or it is already a favorite task, the Curious Chef line is a great way to get kids excited about cooking and all of the discovery and fun that they can have. Each of these products are high quality and durable, perfect for pulling out again and again to hold up to the cooking and baking experiences that you're sure to have together for years to come.

Considering how good these two are at making cookies, maybe it won't be too long before they'll be in charge of getting dinner on the table... hmm...

Thanks to the generosity of Curious Chef, one person will have the opportunity to spend some time in the kitchen celebrating the holidays with products that are made with kids in mind, because...

One lucky person will win a Christmas Cookie Cutter 4-Piece Set from Curious Chef!

To enter to win: Visit Curious Chef and tell me which of their fun products you would like to have.

Extra Entries (available after the mandatory entry above is completed; please leave a separate comment for each entry in order for them to be counted).

1 Extra Entry if you head over to A Mom's Balancing Act and enter to win a set of Christmas Cookie Cutters from Curious Chef over there as well!
1 Extra Entry (per method) if you follow Curious Chef on Twitter and/or Like them on Facebook.
1 Extra Entry (per giveaway entered) - Enter any (or all) of the Holiday Gift Guide giveaways (Checking Our List giveaways ONLY) running on Thanks, Mail Carrier for the duration of this giveaway.
1 Extra Entry if you follow me on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway by copying and pasting the tweet below and leaving me the link. Tweet daily for an extra entry every day!

Checking Our List 29: WIN a Curious Chef Christmas Cookie Cutter Set for tasty fun! #thxmailcarrier http://bit.ly/e0PpBi #giveaway #win

2 Extra Entries (per follow method) if you follow me with Google Friend Connect, subscribe to my RSS feed, subscribe to Thanks, Mail Carrier by email or become a fan on Facebook.
3 Extra Entries if you put my cute button up on your blog. Please leave an address where it can be found.
3 Extra Entries if you have our Checking Our List {Holiday Gift Guide 2010} button up on your blog. Please leave an address where it can be found.
3 Extra Entries if you blog about this giveaway linking back to Thanks, Mail Carrier and Curious Chef. Please leave an address where it can be found.

Giveaway will end on December 23rd at 11:59pm CST. Do me the favor of leaving an email address or making absolutely sure it is visible in your profile, I have to have a way to contact the winner. The winner will be chosen by random.org and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to contact me or respond to notification or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only.

A big thank you to Curious Chef for providing a Holiday Cookie Kit for me to review as well as a Christmas Cookie Cutter Set for one lucky giveaway winner. The opinions shared are my own and honest and if you really need to see more, click here to see how I roll.