Cardooo - or Card Don't?

This post will be a little bit different.

I was contacted by the people at Cardooo cards and asked if I would be interested in reviewing their product for my blog. The concept sounded interesting, so as agreed I'd like to share my thoughts with all of you.

Just to clarify, I have received review copies of the product, but otherwise have received no money or other benefits for writing this review.

So with that out of the way.....

What is Cardooo?

From the website, Cardooo (yes, there are 3 o's in the name; no, I have no idea why) thinks that greeting cards should be more than just cards. They should be full of stories, activities and games, to create an experience to remember. 

However there is another motivation behind the product - the people at Cardooo clearly believe that their product will help children develop their numeracy and literacy skills; and seeing as the UK has one of the worst literacy and numeracy levels in the developed world, anything that can help improve this has got to be a good thing.
Cardooo aim to make the giving of a greeting card an experience to remember, rather than something that is glanced at once and forgotten.

What am I buying?

Cardooo's come in a variety of types, and all fit a standard sized letter and can be posted in the UK with a first class stamp.

The actual product is a greeting card, with multiple pages inside that open in all sorts of ways to provide the experience of a small book, in a product the size of a greeting card.

Here's an example:

This is the front cover - as you can see, it's the size of a standard greeting card

 The card opened up at the first page.

As you can see the middle pages open out into a very large board game, and comes complete with a paper dice that you can construct.

This particular card has lots of these little pouches throughout that contain more things to discover. In this picture, I've deliberately partially pulled out the hidden clue so you can see it better, but it does fit snugly into the pouch.














Here's a video of that card which probably does better justice to the product than my camera has managed:

So far, so good - what about the price?

Most cards are £3.50, so much more expensive than a trip to the Card Factory.

However, if you're planning to purchase a Moonpig card, then Cardooo are at a similar price point.

Also, Cardooo provide a video of many of their cards so you can actually see what's inside. Here's a video of the Doctor Who card I was provided:

So, what's the verdict then?

So here we are at the sharp end of the review - what do I think of the product, and is it something I recommend you purchase?

Well before I answer that, I suppose I should state my starting point here. I've always thought that greeting cards are a little pointless. Let's face it, when we are kids, all we want to do is tear that shiny wrapping off that big present and find out what's inside, but before we can do that we hear are parents - "wait, open the card first!". So we dutifully open the card, acknowledging that this exciting present has been given to us by Auntie Judy, and then get on with the fun business of tearing that wrapping paper.

Even as adults, how many greeting cards do you actually 'cherish' and read over and over again? I mean, sure it's nice to know that someone has thought of us, but is a card really any better then a post on Facebook, a text or an email?

If that's my starting point, does Cardooo do anything to change my opinion?

Well.......maybe.

I know, I know, I need to be careful not to get splinters in my rear from sitting on the fence, but that is honestly how I feel about this product. It's not a product that excites me and makes me want to rush to the store and buy loads, and for a card it is quite expensive.

But, here's the thing. For children, I can see this being quite a fun thing. Rather than just a card, Cardooo does succeed in making it an experience - whether it's "an experience to remember" is debatable, but a Cardooo definitely has more longevity than a normal greeting card.

And how about the aim of improving literacy and numeracy? Well, this is hard for me to judge - Benji really enjoys reading and maths, and doesn't need any encouragement to read a book. However if your child is more reluctant to read, then the puzzles and short 'reading-bites' (is that a thing?) could be a way to engage your child and start to help them discover the joy of reading. Even if it doesn't help, it certainly can't do any harm!

So after all that, here's my final thought. 

Cardooo certainly won't be a product a buy for a 'regular birthday' - it's just too expensive for that. However, for tht special child in your life, if you were going to spend money on a personalised card from Moonpig, then certainly check out Cardooo - the personalised card is good for a quick chuckle, but Cardooo is so much more.

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