I never know what to gift people for the holidays. I mean, how do you tip the garbage and recycle guys? Wouldn’t they just throw it in the truck when they grab it at 4am in the dark? And the mail carriers – we have like three mail carriers that rotate… People like music and ballet teachers are usually getting some sort of homemade goodie. But what about my sitter? The UrbanSitter 2012 Holiday Gifting Survey Infographic has a great summary:
What To Get Babysitters for Christmas:
– 3 out of 4 parents surveyed give their babysitter gifts or a year end bonus for Christmas.
– Of the parents who give cash, 17% give less than $25, 39% give $25-75, and 44% give over $75.
– If you live in San Francisco, be prepared to give a bit more, as the average parent gives over $75 to the babysitter for Christmas.
– New Yorkers are likely to give the babysitter a year end bonus of over $100!
Reading bedtime stories is a huge part of our lives. Bedtime stories are one of my strongest memories as a child. And now its a huge part of our nightly routine. The books are changing a bit, more The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, less Elmo. It runs in the family – family vacations are hilarious as kids run from room to room trying to figure out who is reading the book they want to read most! My brother in law even recorded himself reading a book for his son while he was deployed. How sweet is that?
So we love Hallmark’s Disney Recordable Storybooks!! Its a way to share a story with the little in your life when you can’t be there. And they all star your kids favorite characters, like princesses:
“The Wish My Heart Makes for You”
All you do is record your voice reading the book (which is very simple – if I can do it, anyone could!) then send it off to your grandchild or tuck it in your child’s bed as a surprise when you are leaving on a business trip and they will be able to listen to you read stories anytime. There are lots of options – not just princesses, superheros too – so there is something for everyone! And to bring the enchantment of Disney Recordable Storybooks to life, Hallmark is sponsoring the Disney on Ice tour hitting cities across the nation, including the Philadelphia area!
To celebrate the launch of Hallmark’s new line of Disney Recordable Storybooks Hallmark has offered to send one lucky family a recordable storybook and 3 tickets to see Disney on Ice in Philadelphia on Dec 29th!
Giveaway Hallmark Disney Experience
This new show, Rockin’ Ever After, is the first Disney on Ice appearance of Merida from Brave and includes some of our favorites like Rapunzel, Belle, and Mickey and Minnie. Here’s a little sneak peek behind the scenes of the show.
WIN IT
To create a unique Disney experience Hallmark is sending one lucky reader a special package! It includes a Disney Recordable Storybook and 3 tickets to Disney on Ice Rockin’ Ever After tickets for 12/29 3pm at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
To enter, tell me who your child’s favorite Disney character is in the comments.
Additional entries:
(please leave an additional comment for each entry completed)
One winner will be selected at random using the WordPress plug-in And The Winner Is… and will be notified by email.For other contest rules, see my giveaway policies page. NOTE: Due to the timing of this giveaway and the actual event, I’ll notify a winner on Monday December 24th and will need to receive confirmation they can attend that day. If I do not hear from winner within 24 hours, I will be drawing a new name.
Disclosure: We were provided with these tickets and book to facilitate a giveaway, as well as tickets and a book for us to experience. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author alone.
We all know that Hickory Farms offers a variety of specialty foods and holiday food gifts that are perfect for any budget and for everyone on your list this year – they make terrific gifts for anyone from teachers to bus drivers to neighbors to that hard-to-buy-for relative. They always present beautifully and who doesn’t like yummy treats as a gift? I still remember a white elephant exchange where someone included a Hickory Farms set – people were fighting to get it for themselves!!
But Hickory Farms is so much more than just yummy. They are committed to charitable causes and to supporting our military through Operation Gratitude – a national nonprofit that creates care packages for military men and women and their families. Hickory Farms gifts ship wonderfully overseas to that special soldier you want to support. Hickory Farms has eight products that they offer free shipping to military APO and FPO addresses, including the “Home for the Holidays” gift basket (see picture below). What a fantastic way to offer a someone serving overseas a taste of home for the holidays!
But did you know that Hickory Farms also has a partnership with Share Our Strength (SOS) – one of my favorite nonprofits, that works to stamp out childhood hunger. For each Party Planner gift box sold this holiday season, Hickory Farms will donate $5 to Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry Campaign (see below for more information). To date, Hickory Farms and its customers have donated $1.9 million which helped provide funding for summer meal programs, emergency food assistance, nutrition education, holiday charitable giving and long-term solutions for families in need. This box is only $45 and would wow anyone who received it!!
So remember – when you buy Hickory Farms this season, remember that you can so so much more than just send a wonderful gift! You can support two great causes!
Disclaimer:Compensation and products for review were provided by Hickory Farms via MomTrends. I received a free sample of the product for the purpose of review. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions of Hickory Farms.
My daughter (who is almost 10) has been begging for UGGs for about 4 years now. She has ‘fuggs’ and wears them all the time, but living in the rather wealthy area that we do, my girl who cares nothing about fashion and would happily wear the same pair of sweatpants every day for a week, is aware that her boots are not “real”.
She is always pointing them out to me in the shoe store “Look, Mom, these are the ones I want!” while a helpful salesperson offers to let her try them on and I think “Sorry, there is NO WAY I am spending that kind of money on a kid who will just outgrow them!” I keep promising her that when her feet stop growing, I will get her a pair.
But the other day, I was in one of my favorite consignment stores and I saw a pair of black UGGs behind the counter. I asked if they were for sale and they were! They had just come in and they were about to put them out. They were EXACTLY Ellie’s size, too! For only $30!!
So now, my proud little girl is rocking her Uggs every day she doesn’t have gym class! She even slept in them the first night I gave them to her.
Talk about a consignment score! Do you consign?What is your biggest consignment find?
Earlier this week, we saw a sneak peek of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey:
The adventure follows the journey of title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakenshield. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers.-Warner Bros.
Overall – it was incredible. No surprise there. Peter Jackson doing Middle Earth can hardly be wrong! Hobbit purists will find plenty of things to complain about: Obviously, since they are making a 300 page book into three movies, they are blow up those films quite a bit with extra content. (So if you read the book in preparation, you may be confused!) It really is like visiting an old friend or coming back to revisit a childhood favorite. Its changed a bit and isn’t quite what you remember, but it is familiar and comfortable… and very exciting. The best parts of LOTR are all there: music, costumes, scenery – oh, that scenery, but its different too.
Compared to LOTR, The Hobbit is faster paced, has more humor, has more intense special effects and CGI, has more action, and is in 3D. That’s the basic difference between the former trilogy and this new film. The Hobbit, as a story, has a lighter tone. Its not about saving all of Middle Earth and fighting the ultimate evil – its about Bilbo’s great adventure. It has the same themes about true courage: courage is not found in lack of fear, but in doing what’s right in the face of fear. Its why hobbits are such a powerful character in all of Middle Earth. They show courage and bravery where others don’t normally look for it.
Gollum was positively brilliant in the movie. Yes, he was brilliant in LOTR, but you will be in awe of him here. While this movie has tons of CGI characters, Gollum stands out,so realistic that instead of marveling how realistic he looks, you simply forget you’re watching CGI. He’s just Gollum. The expressions, the movement – all of it is taken up a notch in The Hobbit and his character truly stands out in an impressive movie.
The Hobbit is full of very fast paced sequences full of quick edits and (at some points) literally hundreds of characters going in every direction. The Hobbit uses 3D to create a sense of depth and weight to scenes, putting you into the scene rather than just occasionally tossing items out at the audience for a gag. My husband and I compared it to being inside a video game. It’s so crisp and clear and intense its almost too much to take in. With the added depth of the 3D and all the action, you need to be careful if you are sensitive to motion sickness. You are literally spinning at spots and if you have trouble with 3D, this is NOT a movie to test yourself in! Its very intense and fast and you will get dizzy! Stick to 2D.
This is by no means a flawless film, sometimes it was a bit over the top or unnecessarily juvenile, but the result is still miles above what you typically see in the theater. Its fun. Its beautiful. ITS THE HOBBIT! Definitely see it in the theater. This will very soon be a classic of our time and you don’t want to miss it.
disclosure: we saw a sneak preview of this movie free of charge. all opinions are my own.
Its completely normal in our house to have an Anne Taintor item or two in our Christmas stockings. My sisters and I all love Anne and find her hysterical! Accept no substitutes – Anne is the funniest! Some pics for the stockings this year:
Her magnets are probably my favorites!We need this one in my office. Cause it is completely and totally true. And at $5 they are a perfect stocking stuffer!
Maybe this one for my sister who is expecting a baby 😉
And this for my sister-in-law. Hilarious!!
Another great stocking stuffer? Lip balm! Also $5. I have this one in my purse already 😉
Or minitrays! How cute are these? Perfect for appetizers or just to put on your desk as a decoration (and a giggle). Also $5. Disnwasher safe and so adorable!
I think my mom might find this cute vintage towel in her stocking!$10. These are so fun!
What is your favorite Anne Taintor gift?
disclosure: i received a few items to facilitate this review. but i’m a huge fan already and all opinions are my own.
Isn’t getting mail FUN this time of year??? I love opening my mail and getting lovely cards from people we love. Of course, picking out those cards is so fun – but hard because there are so many cute cards to choose from! We’ve used Shutterfly for years and our cards always look amazing.
I tend to go towards classic red and green. What can I say, I’m traditional!
We generally don’t have one big nice picture, so we go with a collage design.
And don’t forget that Shutterfly has fabulous gifts for the holidays as well!! My sister-in-law I as given everyone a Shutterfly calendar for Christmas every year and its fabulous!
This past week, Colin and I had the honor to attend the grand opening of the New Fantasyland in Magic Kingdom. This is huge – HUGE. If you haven’t seen the New Fantasyland, you haven’t see Fantasyland! Its just incredible. This is the largest expansion in the history of Magic Kingdom park, offering more immersive enchantment and interactive experiences in the Enchanted Forest and Storybook Circus!! And we had a special sneak peek the night before it opened! It was AMAZING! I want to show you everything – and if I did this post would be like three days long – so I got all fancy and made a gallery! Click through the gallery to see the whole scoop!
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disclosure: i attended this media event and received tickets to the park and many perks to experience new fantasyland.as always, all opinions are my own.
Gracie is totally in love with the Corolle Lila Baby Doll!! This is the coolest, most realistic baby doll we’ve ever seen. She coos, she babbles, she giggles, she sucks her bottle, she cries and she’s adorable! Check her out:
Corolle’s Les Classiques Lila has a huggably soft body, especially for a doll with special features that require batteries, which usually results in a hard, plastic body. Her smooth skin that is delicately scented with vanilla — a Corolle signature. She comes with her own bib, feeding bottle, pacifier, and teddy bear, and she has four interactive features — she can giggle, coo, cry, and suck on her bottle!
Corolle Lila Baby Doll retails for around $100, but can be found on Amazon for about $80.
Disclosure: I’m a brand ambassador for Corolle this holiday season. These samples were provided to us to facilitate our reviews. As always, all thoughts and opinions are our own.
We adore brands that are eco-friendly and uses sustainable materials in their products like PlanToys does. All of their toys are made out of from preservative-free rubberwood and they are one of the leading companies to create new material and process to minimize waste up to zero. For this review, I checked out the Chalet Dollhouse with Furniture.
Plus, who doesn’t love a toy that doesn’t make noise and doesn’t need batteries?? I just love simple toys that encourage imaginative play!
I love how you can customize the house for whatever your imagination can think up! There are several rooms with furniture for the kids to move around and hours can be
spent playing with this toy! The 5 rooms of furniture includes everything from a little flat-screen tv to bunk beds complete with pillows and blankets! It was a little tricky for me to put together (as I have a handyman skill level of ZERO) but I managed it all by myself in about 20 minutes!
“The Wish My Heart Makes for You”
!! This is the coolest, most realistic baby doll we’ve ever seen. She coos, she babbles, she giggles, she sucks her bottle, she cries and she’s adorable! Check her out: