Tryazon Hero Grill

We had some friends over to try out this new characoal grill system from Hero. When they arrived, we all went outside to watch Charlie light the grill, and I explained the features. Then the ladies went back in while the guys grilled, and we all enjoyed burgers and an "indoor cookout" (It was cold and dark- November in Wisconsin!)

Here is our review of the grill:

Pros: I love its compact size and how everything can fit into a carrying case. The grill itself is very nonstick and just the right size for four, not six burgers. Maybe our burgers are "too big." It was easy to light and there was very little smoke when lit. There was no weird taste to the burgers. It cleaned up nicely in the dishwasher. I like that it is eco-friendly, though that raises the price considerably compared to other charcoal grills.

Cons: It did not get very hot. It also burned through the bottom of the cardboard.... the lava rock tray did not burn, just got hot enough in a couple places to scorch the cardboard. But it took forever to heat up and didn’t sear the meat very well at all. Will continue to use from time to time but the price point of the charcoal pods is way too high for our use (when we go camping we take a big bag of charcoal and cook for at least 2 meals a day- we can't afford $10 a meal just for the charcoal.)

Tryazon Cozy with Cocoa Kids Party

During CT's birthday week, I hosted a Cozy With Kids Cocoa Party with Tryazon and Meribel Jamco. My kids all love hot cocoa and we tried a new recipe in the crockpot.

Meribel Designs makes novelty mugs and adult slippers. Either would make a great gift. I gave the two slippers they sent as door prizes for my guests and kept the unicorn mug, which my daughter loves.

Jamco Brandz makes Peek a Boo Palz which are cute puppies that play Peek A Boo and sing Do Your Ears Hang Low. I think they are kind of annoying and a little too babyish for my kids (ages 3, 5, and 7) but the kids LOVE them. Would make a nice gift for a baby or young toddler, maybe. Though it would probably annoy their parents.

Jamco Brandz also makes Walkie Talkies which is not what it sounds like... it is a stuffed animal that "walks" and repeats what you say. It is a weird design-- the animal only makes a few steps (our elephant often falls over as it "walks") and you can't set it to record a certain thing by pressing Record and Play, you just turn it on and then talk and it sort of anticipates when you are done talking and repeats it, in a high pitched, fast voice. Then it turns itself off (or I think you can turn it off by pressing the button again) so it won't always repeat everything it hears. Ours did not come with any instructions. The button makes a high pitched BEEP which is annoying. We've noticed that the toy repeats our youngest child the best- probably because of her high pitched voice- and she LOVES the thing. We have to tell her to turn it off sometimes because she would play with it all day. I would NOT give this as a gift.

Both toys have a battery pack which allows it to be turned on and off. Typically I do not purchase toys that make sounds, but when we are given them as a gift, we wait till the battery runs out and then don't replace the batteries, or sometimes, take the battery pack out (if it is a stuffy). These plushes both have "robotic" limbs (plastic or metal skeletons, I'm guessing) so I don't know if they would really be a good toy once you take the battery pack out- you would be able to tell that something is missing.

Overall, I thought the mugs and slippers were better holiday gifts than the toys. Thanks, Tryazon and Meribel for allowing us to test-drive these products with our friends!