Smart Solutions for Busy Moms!
Did you know that Saturday, November 10th is Neighborhood Toy Store Day? This is an awesome day to take time to enjoy the amazing events happening in your area, promote shopping locally, and checking out the unique selections of quality toys available right in your own neighborhood!
Welcome to the Melissa & Doug ‘Deluxe Floor Standing Wood Easel’ Flash Giveaway! It’ll run from November 2nd- 4th, 2012, and this amazing giveaway was made possible by . I’ve partnered with some other awesome blogs that I think you’ll love too – check it out…
Mega Bloks First Builders party time… You know how much I love to entertain, right? From summer pool parties to holiday dinners – and all of the playdates, game nights, and impromptu get-togethers in between – Having our house full of friends and family is what makes me happy. And – I loooove when I get a chance to host a great event like this one from Mom Select, where I get to share great new gear with Abby’s friends – We recently had the opportunity to have a Mega Bloks First Builders playdate party, and the kiddos had a blast! Take a peek, and check out some of cool new toys for toddlers from Mega Bloks that are fun, and teach great building, spelling, and motor skills…
“Don’t call me GODDESS, don’t call me QUEEN, just call me the cutest PRINCESS that you’ve ever seen.”…. As a little girl, I adored princesses – like most other little girls do. So I have been seriously SO happy that my little girl has recently been bitten by the princess bug too. {We’re even planning a big party here to celebrate the remastered release of Cinderella on DVD soon…} We like to play dress up – Yes, mommy too. We like to play princess songs and dance and sing in the kitchen while making dinner. And we love any type of toys that let us play with princesses too. So – I’m excited to share a new fave that we’ve found, and even MORE excited to give you guys a chance to win one too. Check it out…
How cute is this, right? We have a few other castle-type playsets, but this one is extra cool because you are able to build it into a different castle each time you play. The towers can be detached and switched around in several different ways – With one tall as in the pic, with two tall ones, or with the tower tops used as a back piece to the bottom rooms, so that you can easily store all of the pieces. LOVE it. And there are other blocks and accessories included too, to customize things even more. We’re pretty big fans of Mega Bloks here – we have the Steer-Me Steve, a few basic building block sets, the Thomas the Train sets, and a really fun new set of alphabet blocks – watch for a post soon about the playdate party we’re having, to share more of those sets with Abby’s friends too. These are just a perfect toy for encouraging creative play for little ones who are still perfecting their motor skills. And they’re all simply adorable too.
While this is sure to delight just about any little girl – It’s extra perfect for a toddler’s little hands. Unlike a lot of the princess sets we’ve seen recently, these are chunky-sized characters and accessories, making them easy for toddlers to hold. And, all of the pieces are super durable… My 2 year old is a sweetheart, but can be pretty wild – I have to be careful with the toys I give her, since she can break things quickly, leading to small {unsafe!} pieces lying around. But these are totally unbreakable. {I mean, if you ran over it with a Power Wheels, it’s probably not going to make it. But during regular toddler play, they’ll be just fine.}
There are some other super cute features to this playset too – Things that are super adorable and will totally delight the kiddos. Here are some of the stuff you’ll love:
Love it, right? And now you and the little princess in your life have a chance to win this whole playset and accessories, totally free! I always get super excited to give away great prizes like this :) Use the easy peasy Rafflecopter form below to get your entries in – and remember, you can complete as many, or few, entries as you like. The more you enter, the more chances you have to win! And if you’re feelin’ especially lucky today, scroll down my sidebar to enter to win all of the other fun prizes that I’m giving away this month! Good luck!
today!
“Raising kids is part joy and part guerilla warfare.” – Ed Asner… If you’re the mom of a toddler, you understand what this quote means, right? It’s a never ending battle of wills… You tell them to eat their veggies, so they throw the veggies – along with the entire plate, fork, placemat, and bib, onto the floor. You tell them to play nice with the other kids, so they whack them over the head with a foam sword for the third time. Ah… The joys of motherhood. Well, now there’s a super cute trio of plush dolls that are sure to win your fussy one over, even during the grumpiest of days – Meet Lilikin & Friends.
“It’s not that they’re depressed or anything; they’re just hard to impress. They’re like that guy who, instead of laughing uproariously at a hilarious joke, simply declares dryly, “That’s funny.” It’s a little hard to tell, but they really would love to get to know you. Whether you’re happy, sad, or just plain confused, your new friends understand and will stay by your side. They can turn frowns upside down, and make smiles shine even brighter!” – Isn’t this the perfect way to teach toddlers that those wild waves of emotions that they feel are ok? They also a great partner for kids with Autism, {and they even have a special set of Autism Awareness Special Edition dolls that raise money for the Canadian National Autism Foundation. Very cool, right?} – They show them that it’s ok to not always have the smiley face that everyone expects of you. These little dolls are adorable, and meaningful – and we’ve fallen totally head over heels from them in our house!
There are three different adorable plush friends available – Lilikin, The Melancholy Grey Kitten. Mollycoddle, The Ultra-Dainty Albino Bunny {love, love, LOVE her adorable tutu.} And Eleven, The Small-for-his-Age Monkey. I am so glad that I found Lilikin & Friends – I know so many moms who have kids with disabilities or challenges. What a great way to show them that different is ok, by giving them a little plush buddy to love on that’s also a little different. As kids, we need to identify with others – so having a doll that’s “like us” means a lot. My favorite toy as a kid was my Cabbage Patch doll that had brown hair, brown eyes, and wore one of my old baby dresses – Just like me :) These toys are great for any kiddo – but can have some extra special meaning for extra special kids!
You can visit Lilikin & Friends online – learn more about these adorably soft little buddies, and order right from the site. And make sure to show your support by following them on Facebook and Twitter – to stay updated on new products and promotions!
{I received a complimentary product from the lovely Rachel Florio PR – Celebrity Baby Trend Expert – to review for this post. Only the best products make it onto Sunshine and Sippy Cups – We love Lilikin & Friends, and know that you will too!}
HouseParty.com – The budget hostesses best friend!… If you’ve never heard of House Party, you can read details here – How to host a House Party. The basics are just to sign up on their site, apply for parties you’re interested in, invite friends when you get approved, and party it up with your free party packs when they arrive. Totally simple, and totally awesome.
Ok, as a long-time member of HouseParty.com, I admit – the parties aren’t always as good as they used to be. If I could offer the brands that sponsor parties a word of advice, it would be to choose fewer hosts, and send those hosts bigger packages – instead of trying to send very bare-bones packages to a huge amount of people. It makes the hosts more excited to get a generous package that they feel good about inviting friends over to share, it makes them more likely to build buzz for your brand, and it just gives a positive vibe to a TON of people who received a sweet package from you. The whole point is to get people talking about you, spreading the word about new products, and building some great buzz for your brand, so you want to make sure the packages you send make people excited enough to do that. And…. One brand who clearly TOTALLY understands this is Fisher-Price – Check out the package that they sent us this weekend:
Ok – this isn’t the greatest pic ever. We unloaded the GIANT box of free toys in the spare bedroom that’s still kind of a mess after my brother and the kids moved out – and it was getting late, which meant not a great amount of light. But neither Abby or I could wait until morning to check out this big ol’ package…. And ohmyHECK, we were not disappointed! Here’s what we received:
: We had to open this one early to check it out – and Abby absolutely adores it. There’s a little gadget to set the princesses on, and then you turn it back and forth to make them dance – that’s Abby’s favorite part. And it recognizes each different princess character figure, making each one sing a different song. Love it.
: We also received a couple of extra princess character sets. This Beauty and the Beast due, plus Rapunzel and Tiana
, which we were excited about since Tangled is Abby’s favorite movie right now!
: I am SO in love with this! Not only is it a super fun kitchen-themed play table, but it also can lose the accessories, and convert to a basic table for coloring and projects. Very cool. We also got 4 accessory packages to keep the play-food fun going…
: This set pairs well with the Servin’ Surprises Birthday Set
, since everyone loves cake and ice cream together, right? They also included the Servin’ Surprises Grill Set
set too.
: Abby has a little Cailou doll who is the PERFECT fit to sit in this chair – and she loves feeding him his dinner. So cute.
: This is going to be a BIG hit with Abby too… She LOVES anything with teapots and cups, and sings the Little Teapot song all of the time. Now she can have some really awesome tea parties with this whole big set.
: This super fun car set also came with an extra 12 individual play wheelies cars, one to put into each of the 12 goodie bags for kids at the party!We still have one more shipment on the way, with all of the other goodie bag gear – Fisher Price coloring books, DVD’s, coupons, and more. So that if the kids find a new favorite while playing with this new fall line-up of fun toys, moms can save some bucks if they want to head out and purchase them too! Awesome, right?
Learn more about the upcoming Fisher Price House Parties by following #FisherPricePlaydate on Twitter – or check out @HousePartyFun for updates on upcoming parties you can apply for!
So – now that you know how awesome these packs from House Party can be – make sure to sign up for a free account today, to get updates on new parties to apply for over the holiday season. They have everything from food and wine, to basic household supplies like the new Kleenex hand towels – to totally fun party packs for holiday entertaining, like the Kmart Halloween party that’s open to applications now. So get signed up and apply to host some fun {and totally FREE!} parties today!
Labor Day Weekend shopping – deals and coupon codes… This is one of the best weekends of the year to shop. Retailers need to push out the stock of summer clothes and gear that they have left. They’ve gotta move the rest of their back-to-school gear. And they’re already rolling out sweet savings on their new fall and winter lines too. To help you make the most of it all, I’ll be sharing TONS of my fave sales, deals, coupon codes, and rewards sites to match ’em with, all weekend long. Enjoy….
OhmyHECK – how adorable is this stuff? Seriously, it was hard to pick just a couple of pieces to show you guys – the selection of Labor Day sale kids clothes on Zulily right now is amazing. Super cute, super discounts – plus free shipping on all orders over $50 bucks. This winter set – it’s called “Velvet Chic – Black Tier Puffer Jacket & Beanie” – and comes in toddler and girls sizes – It comes with the coat and the fun hat, and it’s only $15! The regular price on this bad boy is $68 bucks. Amazing. There are also major deals in every single other category on the site – maternity, moms fashions and accessories, baby gear, boys clothes, home decor … And my other favorite, toys and games!
You’ll find prices starting at $1.99, with brands like Crayola, Lego, Star Wars, Mega Bloks, Leap Frog – and so many more. Plus – Every time you share these deals with one of your friends, {because friends don’t let friends pay full price, right?} – you can earn $20 bucks when they order! Sweet.
What are you waiting for? The biggest discounted items are already starting to sell out – Hurry and shop Zulily today
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"The phrase "working mother" is redundant." I'm Meagan - a Momma, a Blogger, a Freelance Writer, and a total Social Media Junkie. I love sparkles and … [Read More...]
