Search Results for: holidays

Make The Holidays Merry & Bright With Wonster Words!

December 21, 2018 by Beeb Leave a Comment

This is a sponsored post.

For most kids in our area, today was the last day of school before holiday vacation. We all look forward to having a nice break during Christmas – it’s a great opportunity to spend more quality time together as a family. However, school holidays can also lead to boredom and learning loss. Fortunately, you can keep the kids occupied while you wrap up those last holiday errands, and they’ll be learning priceless skills at the same time – thanks to Wonster Words!

If you’ve heard me talk about Wonster Words before, then you already know that I’m a fan. Wonster Words is an award-winning educational app for Android and iOS that helps build your child’s understanding of ABC phonics and spelling. Taking inspiration from the classic educational TV programming that we all grew up with, Wonster Words is an interactive puzzle game featuring cute characters that lead children through stories and introduce them to concepts such as basic word families and the 44 most common phonemes. The app prompts kids to figure out the spelling of words by dragging and dropping animated letters as they sound out the phonics, consonant blends and gliding vowels. When the letters are arranged correctly, the meaning of the word is visually illustrated by short animations and mini-games. It’s a fantastic way to teach children how to spell, because they get to interact directly with the word structure in a hands-on way to see where the letters should go, while playing with the sounds and watching the story of what each word means.

Learning through stories on the Wonster Words app

Wonster Words contains 12 word stories about fun topics like birthdays, friendship, and space that take children through 12 word families, so as they explore the app, they’ll be exposed to hundreds of different words. Because the format presents the material naturally within a fun game, children are encouraged to explore at their own pace without pressure, for an organic and enjoyable learning experience.

The app is updated frequently with new content, and they have all kinds of fun additions for the 2018 holiday season! Wonster Words has a brand new user experience with the interactive Wonster Island landing screen, which allows users to explore a fun island full of new and different themes. Now, in addition to the great phonics exercises, Wonster Words is loaded with new educational biomes that cover basic math, science, art and music. It’s the perfect way to familiarize students with different topics in the same effective and fun format that we’ve come to love from Wonster Words, using interactive shapes and sounds to introduce new concepts. Alongside the new Wonster Island interface, the 2018 holiday update also includes new mini-games and 5 new original scores; and there will be more great content coming soon to Wonster Words, including vowels.

Try Wonster Words in your family, and you’ll soon see why it’s won awards from Parent’s Choice, National Parenting Product Award, Children’s Technology Review Editor’s Choice and more. I think your family will love it as much as mine does! The app is geared towards children aged 3 to 6, and is free with in-app purchases. Get it today on iTunes, Google Play, and Amazon!

The True Spirit of The Holidays

December 23, 2017 by Beeb 3 Comments

This post is sponsored by DreamWorks Animation.I recently got a fun surprise in the mail in celebration of the third season of Spirit Riding Free, a Netflix Original Series from DreamWorks Animation Television. This show follows the adventures of three best friends and a wild horse named Spirit, and Season 3 has all kinds of new adventures:

Season 3 of Spirit Riding Free begins with Spirit and Lucky desperately trying to find one another and finally reunited in Miradero. Once together, the PALs and their horses set out on all-new thrilling adventures – racing to stop an oncoming train, helping a horse deliver her foal, trying to stay one step ahead of pesky Snips and cousin Julian or embarking on daring rescue missions. Amidst all the excitement, we will see the PALs exploring environs beyond Miradero, making wonderful new friends and meeting some new horses from Spirit’s herd. Join the PALs for an action-packed journey that above all celebrates the unbreakable bond between Lucky and Spirit.

I was so charmed by the toys I received. With Spirit & Lucky fashion doll set, where you can actually “Feed” Spirit carrots – how cute is that?!

I also received two products that made me nostalgic: A Spirit model horse and paint kit, both by Breyer, who have been famously making beautiful horse models since 1950. I had a large collection of Breyer horses when I was a child, so it really took me back!

Since I had so much fun with Breyer toys when I was a child, I wanted to share some of these for another child to enjoy. I had planned to drop them off at a Christmas donation drive I saw at a grocery store at beginning of the month, but the drop box was gone when I came back with the toys. I figured I would try again later, but I ended up being sick for so much of December that I didn’t get a chance to look again until this week. Since we’re just days away from Christmas, I was worried that I had missed the deadline, so I put out a call on Facebook to see if there were any local organizations still accepting donations. Thanks to all of my awesome Facebook friends, I found out that a local school was in the middle of wrapping all of their toy drive presents last night, and that if I hurried, I could try to catch them before they were finished! So, Jai and I set off on a Christmas adventure driving into the stormy night to the next town over.

I was worried that everyone would be gone by the time we made it to the school, so I was very happy to see all the lights on and a large group of volunteers working away to wrap gifts! They were so nice, excited to receive more donations and thought the toys were awesome! It was truly Santa’s workshop come to life, with so many people wrapping gifts for the kids. We have so many children in need right here in our community, so I applaud the kind school staff who do whatever they can to help.

It’s been a hectic month around here – I haven’t even put my tree up yet, and Christmas is in two days!! – so I haven’t really felt the holiday spirit this year. I think the best way to turn that around is to do something like this, so I want to thank Spirit the horse for getting me into the holiday spirit – how fitting is that? – and providing some lovely gifts for local kids in need. Merry Christmas!

Holiday Movies Anywhere: Digital Movies In One Spot #HolidaysAreHere #MoviesAnywhere

December 22, 2017 by Momstart 13 Comments

This is a sponsored post by Movies Anywhere.

Movies Anywhere is a game changer when it comes to keeping up with digital movies and it’s about time. My husband has been a fan of digital movie codes since digital movies came out. We hate keeping things that take up more space in the house and that includes DVDs. But it’s kind of annoying when we are in the mood to pick out a movie but we aren’t sure what we are in the mood for. We have to remember which service had that movie on it. I think we ended up almost always just watching a Disney movie because Disney Movies Anywhere had our largest collection of movies.

Now all of our movies are connected in Movies Anywhere and just like the name suggests, the movies are available to be watched from anywhere you have a device.

Movies Anywhere is a free app and website that combines your movies from Amazon Video, Google Play, iTunes and Vudu. So now, while being able to see all my Disney, Pixar, Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm options, I can now also see my Sony Pictures Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox, Universal Pixtures and Warner Bros. Entertainment all in one spost. It’s a huge library of options. Plus the app works on an array of devices. You can use Amazon Fire devices, Android devices Apple Airplay and Apple TV, Chromecast, iPhones, iPads and iPod Touch, Roku and internet browsers. So the kids can watch in the car, at the hotel, at the airport, and anywhere and everywhere.

One of my favorite holiday traditions is snuggling on the couch and watching movies together. This year we aren’t traveling anywhere. We are staying home, but my mom and step dad came over to visit us. So my kids are going to spend a night with them. What I love is that they can take their movies with them and can watch a movie with Mema and Papa at the hotel with them.

My favorite holiday movie is now available on Movies Anywhere. That’s Elf, under the Warner Brothers movies.

But what’s great about Movies Anywhere is that you can explore all of the Holiday classics. And it looks like Elf is free right now to stream. So tonight I’m going to be watching Elf from my couch with my son who happens to be a little sick. Happy Holidays everyone and I hope you enjoy streaming all your favorite movies from one location: Movies Anywhere!

The Holidays are Bright and Cheery with Jojo Maman Bebe!

December 20, 2017 by Jaime Leave a Comment

Samples provided.

It’s time to stand up and cheer, Holiday style with Jojo Maman Bebe is here!

One of my favorite brands, Jojo Maman Bebe has created such a fun line of Holiday clothing as part of their Winter collection. My daughter, Juniper, absolutely loves the cozy reindeer suit – I not-so-secretly really want one of these for myself…

The Robin hat and mittens pair perfectly with the Robin sweater, and provide extra warmth with coats on very chilly days.

The Smocked Tartan Party Dress is festive, yet comfortable- perfect for Christmas!

And the Vintage Cardigan is the ultimate layering piece that will take us right into Spring.

As always, Jojo Maman Bebe pieces are the highest quality, employing classics and whimsy in equal measure, making the styles versatile and timeless.

Reasons To Visit Disneyland For The Holidays In Photos

December 7, 2017 by Momstart Leave a Comment

We recently had the amazing opportunity to visit Disneyland thanks on our most recent trip to LA provided by the Disney Studio. They also covered transportation and our hotel while we were in LA for the Star Wars press conference. Although Disneyland is very busy on a Saturday night it’s still very beautiful and magical and has many things going on right now that aren’t always happening. I feel with Disneyland, you can always find just the right time to go and when done correctly it’s always so fun and beautiful. True Disney fans know how to have a good time line and all. And I saw lots of cheery people while I was there. So here is a list of our top reasons to visit Disneyland during the holidays.

1) The Castle is all lit up with beautiful strands of white lights

2) It’s a small world is decked out to the nine. It’s completely covered in lights and every country you visit is celebrating the holidays.

3) This could be the most important reason to go to Disneyland right now and that’s to ride Star Tours. Star Tours now has footage from the film The Last Jedi.

4) You can get your picture taken with Kylo Ren. That guy scares the crap out of me, but it’s fun to go visit him and see what he does every single time.

5) All the rides you always love

6) Cars land, town, whatever they are calling it now is all decorated for the holidays. You will find Christmas trees and lights everywhere.

7) The fireworks are fantastic and can be seen and heard from all parts of the park.

8) It’s just so beautiful to walk around.

And finally, just having fun with friends.

The Last Jedi is in theaters December 15th.

Prep For the Holidays with LG Appliances at Best Buy

October 22, 2017 by Momstart 14 Comments

The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free.

The best way to get ready for the holidays is to have efficient appliances that help you prepare all that amazing food and LG and Best Buy have everything you need. From the refrigerator to the oven the features are everything you need. As you prep your home for entertaining during the holidays, you can count on the Best Buy expert service to find you the right LG appliances at an unbeatable price.

So about that fridge:

This refrigerator features a sleek glass panel that illuminates with two quick knocks on the right-hand refrigerator door, letting you see inside the easy-access compartment without ever opening the door. You and your holiday guests can decide what you want without even opening that door. Then once you know you can get it out easily.

About the Oven:

The oven circulates air evenly throughout the lower oven OR the ProBake Convection speeds cooking times for fast and flavorful meals. Both are excellent features while preparing that feast.

HOW MUCH CAN YOU SAVE?

You can save up to $600 on LG Kitchen Appliance Package. Here is how. When you purchase a selected LG refrigerator, range OR wall oven, over-the-range microwave OR cooktop, and dishwasher you will save between $100 – $400. You can save an additional $100 when you choose a package in black stainless steel (excludes cooktops). And to get that final $100 when you select LG washer and dryer. See BestBuy for further details: LG and Best Buy

Making a List & Checking it Twice: Getting Organized For The Holidays

December 7, 2016 by Beeb Leave a Comment

This is a partnered post; product was provided, but all thoughts are my own.

For the last few years, I’ve been so busy with work around the holidays that I’ve gotten very behind in my holiday preparations, doing a lot of last-minute shopping and wrapping. I wanted this year to be different, so I was thrilled to complete 95% of my Christmas shopping before the end of November – yippee! What made the difference for me this year was carving out the time to organize and prepare ahead of time. As a writer, I’m a very pen-and-paper traditionalist and believe that nothing beats having a physical planner to keep track of my schedule. So to help set myself up for holiday success, I’m utilizing the TUL™ Custom Note-taking System from Office Depot and OfficeMax!

The customizable TUL Note-taking System is an amazing way to get organized, because you can build your own personalized system with its add-ons and accessories in whatever way works best for you. Each person has their own way of organizing information, so being able to set it up exactly as you like, rather than being hemmed into something that is pre-printed, gives you maximum flexibility. Here’s an example of how I’ve set up mine:

Christmas Binder #1 – Shopping & Schedules

I created my first set of Christmas planners using the junior size notebook with both poly and leather covers. These planners are the perfect size to tuck into my purse, so I elected to use them for shopping lists, scheduling, and other tasks that I want to keep track of while I’m on the go.

Using the To Do List Refill Pages, I can easily snap a to-do list in any portion of the planner and mark its spot using Tab Dividers. I can also switch up the paper by using Graph Ruled Refill Pages, depending on what I want to notate. Did you know that you can use graph paper to create your own calendar? As someone who uses multiple calendars at any given time to keep track of different things, I thought that was a really inspired idea!

Finally, I loaded in a set of two Pocket Dividers to store things like greeting cards or envelopes.

Christmas Binder #2 – Wrapping Paper, Cards & Decorations

TUL Custom Note-Taking System Discbound Notebooks, Letter Size

These letter size discbound notebooks are ideal for keeping in my wrapping paper box to keep track of things like wrapped gifts and Christmas card lists.

The leather cover discbound notebook has handy pockets for storing things such as gift receipts, coupons, and gift tags.

Every year, I write down each name on my Christmas shopping list and note what I have gotten for them. This way, I can easily see who I’ve already gotten gifts for and who is left on my list.

Once again, this binder is customized to my needs using Graph Ruled and Dot Grid Refill Pages. Dot Grid pages are great for drawing and making craft designs – I remember when I was a kid, my parents used to put up so many Christmas decorations that they actually made a hand drawn floor plan illustrating which rooms different items should go in. I’m not quite that ambitious myself, but this binder would have been great for them too! 😉

And if I have a specific piece of paper or notes that I want to save and include with the binder – say, a handwritten fruitcake recipe from Aunt Bertha – I can use the Discbound Hole Punch to make it fit. Nice! And once I have all my pages in place, I can simply use the Page Flags and Tab Dividers to quickly refer to whatever section I need at a glance.

I hope that my Christmas binders give you some ideas for getting organized this holiday season! For even more inspiration, make sure to visit OfficeDepot.com and follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and YouTube.

How do you stay organized over the holidays?

Holidays are Big at Great Wolf Lodge

November 28, 2015 by Momstart 1 Comment

We were invited to spend the night at Great Wolf Lodge and we had a blast.

To start off our journey we got there early so that we could enjoy the water park. By the time we had our bathing suits on our room was ready so we walked upstairs to put our clothes in there. Then we started playing at the water park. It was fun this year because Miles has decided that he LOVES water slides. He rode quite a few before we went into the swim area. Zoe and I spent quite a bit of time in the wave pool and that ended up being her favorite part. When we ere done swimming we went back up to our room and put our clothes back on.

Great Wolf Lodge let us stay in one of the special Snowland Suites complete with twinkling garland, decorated tree, oversized snowflakes, and an assortment of take-home goodies. We got to keep the blanket and story book.

They gave us a Paws Pass, there are three different Paws Passes to choose from and if you plan on doing any of the extra activities there it is such a good deal to get a Paws Pass. We worked up quite an appetite and decided to eat at Lodge Wood Fired Grill.

We spent many hours playing Magi Quest. After all our fun Violet the Wolf hand delivered milk and cookies. That comes with the Snowland Suites.

The next day before we left we made sure to finish our MagiQuest. The kids had so much fun while it exhausted me. We went up and down and up and down the stairs but it was great seeing the kids solve all the riddles. I was really tempted to go to the spa with Zoe and get a mommy daughter treatment but we ran out of time. I think if you stay at Great Wolf lodge and want to do more than the waterpark you need to stay for about three nights.

You can eat in the Gingerbread House.

Families are invited to celebrate the magic of the season by dining inside the world’s only life-size, dine-in gingerbread house. Great Wolf Lodge has partnered with Just Born, makers of PEEPS, Mike and Ikes and Hot Tamales, to create each gingerbread house. Featuring more than 5,000 candies, 600 pounds of gingerbread dough and 1,320 pounds of sugar, each house will be baked, iced and candied to perfection, providing the setting for a memorable holiday feast. The appetizing walls of the lodge-baked abode have as much heart as taste as the proceeds for each meal goes to charity. Up to six individuals can dine in the gingerbread house for a $10 “sitting fee.” The sitting fee is then directly donated to local Ronald McDonald House Charities. Over the past three years, Great Wolf has raised $65K for charity from their Snowland fundraising efforts.

My only recommendation is that you request a room that is AWAY from Magi Quest. It was a little loud.

All the decorations are beautiful and it was so fun. We love going to Great Wolf Lodge and are greatful we got to stay.

Happy Holidays From The Secret Life of Pets #TheSecretLifeOfPets

November 26, 2015 by Beeb Leave a Comment

Here’s a charming holiday greeting from The Secret Life of Pets, an animated film featuring an all-star cast that hits theaters next year:

THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS – In Theaters July 8, 2016

For their fifth fully-animated feature-film collaboration, Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures present The Secret Life of Pets, a comedy about the lives our pets lead after we leave for work or school each day.

Comedy superstars Louis C.K., Eric Stonestreet and Kevin Hart make their animated feature-film debuts in The Secret Life of Pets, which co-stars Ellie Kemper, Lake Bell, Jenny Slate, Bobby Moynihan, Hannibal Buress and Albert Brooks. Illumination founder and CEO Chris Meledandri and his longtime collaborator Janet Healy produce the film directed by Chris Renaud (Despicable Me, Despicable Me 2), co-directed by Yarrow Cheney and written by Brian Lynch and Cinco Paul & Ken Daurio.

Gourmet Peppermint Hot Cocoa Recipe #NMVHolidays

November 1, 2015 by Beeb 1 Comment

Samples provided.

The holiday season is here, so it’s time to get cozy by the fire! And what better way to warm up after a day of Christmas shopping than with a delicious cup of peppermint hot cocoa? I can’t resist chocolate and mint together – yum!

Gourmet Peppermint Hot Cocoa

Recipe courtesy Nielsen-Massey

Ingredients:

⅓ cup unsweetened quality cocoa powder (Dutch processed)
1½ cups powdered sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
4 cups whole milk
2 cups half-and-half
1 teaspoon Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract
½ teaspoon Nielsen-Massey Pure Peppermint Extract
¼ teaspoon Nielsen-Massey Pure Chocolate Extract

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, combine cocoa powder, sugar and salt. Place over medium-low heat and gradually whisk in milk and half-and-half until combined. Stirring occasionally, heat to desired temperature, being careful not to let the mixture boil. Stir in pure vanilla, peppermint and chocolate extracts.

Before serving, top with a Vanilla Bean Marshmallow. For an extra blast of peppermint, drop a peppermint candy in the bottom of each mug before serving.