As is often the tradition around this time of year, we’ve taken a look back at all that’s happened over the year past, and we thought we’d share our reflections. Here’s are some of the highlights that defined Webkinz World, Webkinz Newz, and the Ganz eStore in 2009:

• The Zumbuddies came to Webkinz World, giving players the ability to visit the beautiful land of Zumwhere.
• The Caring Valley, where players can plant saplings to help Webkinz Foundation contribute to charitable causes, opened.
• Deluxe Membership was introduced, giving players another way to stay active in Webkinz World with exclusive items. It was also later expanded to allow the gifting of Deluxe Memberships.
• Signature Pets, a line of special, more luxurious pets with additional prizes, were launched.

Those are just a few of the big stories for the year. More top stories from the year and a sneak peek of what’s to come in 2010 follow after the break.

Here are some of the other big stories from the year:

• New Pet Rooms were introduced, including the Tree Top Yard.
• Weather and time of day effects were added to Webkinz World.
• New Clubhouse rooms were introduced, including the Super Chef Room and the Survey Room.
• Doug the Dog returned and began collecting gems from players.
• The large playground Kinzville Park opened, and Mr. Moo moved in to sell some delicious ice cream.
• A ton of new items were added, including the Mega Stove which lets members mix up to five items to find Mega Recipes!
• Various interface improvements were made, including updates to Dress My Pet and My Page.
• Kinz Style Outlet, a clothing store complete with a clothing-making machine, opened.
• The Kinzville Academy got a break from its studies with the addition of Recess.
• A bunch of new mini-games were released, including Bamboo Break, Webkinz Rally, Eager Beaver Adventure Park, and Polarberry Jam for the Arcade, Super Modelz for the Arena, and Prize Klaw and Jumbleberry Fields for the list of Daily Activities.
• The Music Starz showcase was introduced to showcase our awesome new Pet Of The Month music videos.
• Webkinz Newz expanded with more stories and the ability to leave comments, helping us to connect directly with you and powering new features like Feedback Fridays and the Comment Forum.
• The eStore enjoyed a great year full of some awesome sales, new items, the introduction of Birthstone Pets, and the new Value Pack bundles.
• The Magical Forest was improved with new activities, including Pixie Pod Pachenco.
• The translation of the entire world of Webkinz began, making the game available to play in 14 different languages.
• And, last but certainly not least, Webkinz Jr., a site built to bring younger players the fun of Webkinz, was launched and continuously updated with exciting new content over the year.

While 2009 was an award-winning year for us, 2010 will be even bigger. 2010 will mark the fifth anniversary for Webkinz, and we’ve got some really big plans for the year ahead. We’ve got new games, new items, and new in-game locations. There will also be many new eStore items and plenty of Webkinz Newz content and contents, as well.

Best of all, we’ll have one of the biggest updates ever in the site’s history coming in the new year. This huge addition will launch alongside a bunch of brand new plush that will greatly expand the roster of cute critters in Webkinz World. A slew of surprises await for those who join us in our journey into 2010 and beyond!

As always, stay tuned to Webkinz Newz for all the latest information about the game and previews of what’s to come, visit the Ganz eStore for great new items and exclusive sales, and, of course, dive right into Webkinz World and enjoy the game!

We’ll see you next year!

The Prize Klaw will be available to everyone between 6am and 11:59pm on December 2, 2009 — keep watching the Today’s Activities page for more chances to play!

Update: Now that you’ve had a chance to play, what do you think about this new activity? ]]> http://www.webkinznewz.com/wp-mu/2009/12/the-prize-klaw/feed/ 1864 http://www.webkinznewz.com/wp-mu/2009/12/christmas/ http://www.webkinznewz.com/wp-mu/2009/12/christmas/#comments Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:30:17 +0000 sallyc http://www.webkinznewz.com/wp-mu/?p=8687 Webkinz World is celebrating Christmas in a BIG way this year! Those of you that have been with us for a long time know that each Christmas you can spin the Super Wheel and get a special gift. That’s all still true, but this year you get to tell Santakinz what YOU want! Head on over to the Clubhouse and join the Santakinz room — click on Santakinz and line up to tell him which of three gifts you’d like to receive in your Christmas present this year! (And don’t forget to visit us on Christmas day to get your present.)

You may have seen Ms. Birdy in the Clubhouse, too — she’ll be returning to the Adoption Center today, but she’ll be back on December 14th. Ms. Birdy LOVES Christmas, and she’s going to help us celebrate this year! Starting on December 14th, Ms. Birdy will be giving one small gift each day — there are 12 gifts to collect! Ms. Birdy will be spending all day, every day from December 14th until the end of December 25th in the Clubhouse, so she won’t be hard to find. She only gives out one gift a day, so you’ll need to find her once a day for each of the 12 days to complete your collection. So what do you think of this year’s Christmas celebration? Tell us all your Christmas-related thoughts!

]]> http://www.webkinznewz.com/wp-mu/2009/12/christmas/feed/ 2041 http://www.webkinznewz.com/wp-mu/2009/11/music-starz/ http://www.webkinznewz.com/wp-mu/2009/11/music-starz/#comments Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:52:11 +0000 sallyc http://www.webkinznewz.com/wp-mu/?p=8529 Want to see all of the great Pet of the Month music videos? Now you can watch them any time you want in Webkinz World! Just click on “Music Starz” in the Things To Do menu and select the video of your choice.

And it gets better! If you adopt the Pet of the Month during its month, you’ll get to download a free MP3 of your special pet’s  song. Take these catchy tunes wherever you go! Kinz Tunes MP3s are also available at the Ganz eStore, if you’d like a copy of any of the songs you may have missed.

We’ve added two new costumes to the KinzStyle Outlet – the Black Ninja Costume and the Scarecrow Costume. There are also two great new pieces for the Haunted House theme — the Jack O’Chair and the Spooky Spider Web.

If you love cooking, you’ll love the brand new Super Chef room in the Clubhouse. We’ve added some great new secret recipes to discover using the Super Chef stove!

We hope you enjoy these great new additions to Webkinz World!

What Halloween room is complete without a piece from our Haunted House theme? This spooktacular set is back for the Halloween season – one piece you haven’t seen for awhile is back! Something new will be added a little later, too.

Remember the Ask Plumpy contest? Read Plumpy’s Place starting this week to see the answers to those winning questions!

From now on, the first person to discover a secret recipe will receive their very own trophy and make front page news on Webkinz Newz! There’s a bunch of Mega Stove recipes that are still undiscovered — get cookin’ and you just might get the trophy!

If you like cooking, you’ll LOVE the clothing machine! Combine three common clothing items (no holiday or Kinzstyle clothes) and see what you end up with! We’ve given you one sample recipe, but there are a dozen or so other recipes to discover!

We’ve also got two brand new room designs in the Clubhouse — check out the stylin’ new look for the “Girls Rule” and “Garden Yard” rooms!

Applique Ripcord Pants	Dapper Shirt and Vest	Powder Blue Skirt
Purple Beanie	Purple Kilt	Rainbow Stripe Pants
Wing Tip Shoes