The Xmas plush cuff set by Pipedream is best suited for beginners or couples who aren't actually serious about tying each other up. It serves best as a seasonal gag, if your idea of a gag is having your lover wake up on Christmas morning, bound to the bed by easily removed Velcro cuffs. It can accentuate a naughty Holiday costume, and comes with a Santa hat and matching blindfold. Alternately, you can avoid using it altogether and give it to a friend as a gift to enjoy with their partner.

I would, however, warn lovers interested in practical, sturdy bondage to look elsewhere. These cuffs are held closed by rather weak strips of Velcro, which moderately strong tugging will undo or allow slimmer hands to slip right through.

To be frank, this Xmas bondage kit could have been made better. Overall, the quality is that expected of a one-time cheap gag. It won't fall apart on you right away, but it won't stand up to many uses either.

The Santa hat's construction consists of three parts: body, brim, and trim. The main cone/body of the hat is red with a furry texture on the side that faces outwards. The inside of the cone, however, has a rough, burlap texture. There is no lining. There is only one discreet seam of running stitches in the cone, and it faces inward, so that it is nearly invisible when worn. The brim is made of white felt and is attached to the body of the hat via a single row of running stitches. The trim is a single, thin band of white marabou feather trim haphazardly glued to the brim of the hat. In some places, the glue was applied in glops, so that you can easily feel it through the trim. In others, the glue was not applied at all and the trim is loose. A small semicircle of the trim is glued to the point of the hat to give the appearance of a "poof". The hat is not at all elastic and has a circumference of approximately 20 inches. Persons with larger heads (like me) will find that the hat is very difficult (impossible) to wear.

The blindfold is constructed from similar material. The side that faces out is made of the red fur with the white marabou trim running around the perimeter, with an indent for the nose. The overall look is less than spectacular, and my boyfriend had some rather unkind things to say about it. The side that touches the face is lined with soft, black material. The edges are lined with red satin, which follows the shape outlined by the marabou trim. A triangle of the red furry material is left for the nose. All fabric pieces are held together by a double row of running stitches. The marabou trim is, again, attached via hot glue. Two slim elastic bands are attached via running stitch under the red satin trim. The elastic bands are sturdily attached to the blindfold, but a couple of good yanks reveals that the red satin trim easily comes loose from its stitches. The blindfold is about 6.75 inches across at its widest point.

The cuffs come in two sets--one set for the wrists, and one set for the ankles. Both sets are constructed similarly. Both sides of the cuffs are of the red furry material with Velcro tabs at the end. At one end of each cuff is a loop made from an additional strip of the red fur. An O-Ring encircles this strip, and it is to the rings that either end of the chain is attached. Only one end of each chain has a lobster claw clasp; the other end is permanently attached to the ring unless you want to get your pliers out. A strip of white marabou trim is glued down the middle of the outside of each cuff. The ankle cuffs are 3.5 inches wide and a foot long, with an inch of Velcro at each end, which puts the effective length to about 10 inches. The chain is approximately 14 inches long. The wrist cuffs are 2.75 inches wide and 10.5 inches long, again with an effective length of 8.5 inches. The chain is approximately 12 inches long. The length (circumference) of the cuffs are marginally adjustable between the effective length and actual length. Again, all fabric pieces are held together via running stitches.

The Xmas plush cuff set's performance was a little lacking. Nothing fell apart on the first go, but a few seams busted loose and the globs of glue started to give out. The marabou trim tends to shed a lot as well, so take that into consideration before trying out this set on dark sheets... unless you like that dandruff-y feather look on your bedroom furniture, of course.

The hat did not fit my head at all. I do have a rather large head (or so my mother tells me), so this wasn't too surprising. Given that your head is small enough for this hat to fit, it droops triangularly over your head. The hat is not at all elastic. If the hat doesn't fit, an alternative use would be using it for texture play. You can use the marabou "poof" at the tip of the hat for a soft, feathery touch and alternate it with rubbing your partner raw with the burlap texture found on the inside of the hat.

The blindfold did fit me. It didn't provide an absolute blackout. If I opened my eyes, I could still see light coming in through red material and some blurry shadow. The elastic bands were comfortable, even if the edges of the blindfold were a bit too stiff for my liking. After a single use, the satin trim was already starting to come off, as the stitches did not do much to hold it in place.

The cuffs were a disappointment. The Velcro strips are at the end of the cuffs, so minimal struggling can pop the cuffs open. In my case, my hands actually slipped right out of the cuffs. It would be a major improvement for the Velcro trips to be longer, providing for more adjustment and wraparound affect so it's harder to just pull out of them.

My boyfriend described the blindfold, with its red fur and mangled white marabou trim, as resembling "an old woman's vagina". While I find this description a little distasteful and perhaps unfounded (I doubt he has actually seen an old woman's vagina... right? right???), I have to agree that the appearance of the blindfold is not that appealing.

The photographs of this product on EdenFantasys are rather pretty. The marabou trim looks snowy and poofy and the red is very attractive. You can probably achieve a similar look with your set if you carefully comb out the marabou trim from the band of glue under which it is trapped. And also if you use white sheets. With nice, ambient lighting. But straight out of the box, the set is a little less attractive.