Swiffer is doing a Holiday Home Tour Sweepstakes - you can win a home makeover or some Swiffer products - you can even show off your holiday decorating! This runs through December 30th, so enter soon.

As part of their promotion, they sent us a Carpet Flick for review. It was initially startling to see all the parts come out of the box, but assembling it was reminiscent of my childhood tent camping experiences - locking in the metal parts of the pole for the handle. It took all of a minute to assemble and stick the little cartridge in there, then we were off! It scooped up a few stray Cheerios, but balked at the gingerbread crumbs. After applying a little more force and a few extra swipes, it eventually relented.

What I’m wondering is why I wouldn’t just use the vacuum - the vacuum only requires one pass and no extra force, cleans more space at a time and cleans into the carpet (where the Carpet Flick only skims stuff off the top). I think if you had parties at your home quite a bit and didn’t want to have to use the noisy vacuum to clean up crumbs during the party, it might be nice, but otherwise I really don’t see the need to spend the money ($14 for the initial package and then $5 for 12 refills).

I think it will make a nice weapon for the little one though, he’s already put a nice dent in my wall and almost in my head with the metal handle. Maybe I’ll hide it….

Shannon of Rocks in My Dryer also reviewed this product a few days ago if you’d like another opinion.