Holiday Gift Guide - Round 3

It's time for another round of great holiday gift giving ideas. Get prepped and ready for the holidays now!

Christmas just isn't Christmas without a big beautiful tree. And that's exactly what you can expect when choosing a tree (and more) from King of Christmas. If you ask me their name says it all!

Sleigh the Season: Best Tech Gifts for Children This Christmas

Navigating the holiday season can be stressful, but when you find a perfect tech gift for your child it can be such an exciting and fun part of the hustle and bustle. The world of tech has certainly come a long way. Technology has provided a wealth of creative devices for developing individuals and for people who are into gaming, learning, or tech. No worries! We have curated a list of the tech gifts that add up to your children’s Christmas.

Ugly Christmas Sweater

The folks over at UglyChristmasSweater.com love the holiday season. And what's more to love than an Ugly Christmas Sweater? Whether you're attending an Ugly Sweater Contest or just going to your family Christmas dinner, you should definitely check out their wide variety of sweaters. They have original designs for everyone. They even have ugly Christmas suit jackets, pajamas, onesies, and accessories as well.

Make a Next-Gen Gingerbread House

A favorite seasonal tradition is decorating a gingerbread house with the family. Some make them from scratch, some use kits, and well some even buy them already made. This year the traditional gingerbread house is getting a Go Organically "renovation" with fun swaps and alternative decorations that everyone will love. It's being called the "Next-Gen Gingerbread House". Here's how it's done!

Step 1: Go House Hunting

First you'll need the gingerbread structure itself—meaning the walls, roof and doors. Your two options are baking and buying.

Baking: Find a basic gingerbread house recipe online, like this one from The Food Network. It includes paper patterns for your gingerbread house template so you'll know how big to make the walls, roof, etc. It's easy to swap out any of the ingredients for organic versions, such as organic butter or organic all-purpose flour.

Buying: The holidays can be hectic, so if you can make things easier with a pre-made kit, why not? This one from IKEA* includes just the structure itself and lets you add whatever decorations you want. Better yet? It's only $3.99. Perfect! If you're not near an IKEA, any kit will do. Simply save any unused decorations or icing for other holiday baking projects.

Step 2: Make the Cement

Next you'll need to make a binder to hold the structure together. Traditional royal icing is made with confectioners' sugar, egg whites and vanilla extract, and you can find the instructions here. For a Next-Gen version, consider modifying the recipe with coconut confectioners' sugar and free range eggs. Or skip the royal icing altogether in favor of melted organic white chocolate. Use your "cement" of choice to assemble the house and let it sit for a bit while you gather your decorations.

Step 3: Decorate with the Unexpected

Now comes the fun part: decorating! While we love candy canes and gumdrops as much as the next person, there's something so elegant about a natural-looking gingerbread house adorned with nuts, popcorn and fresh herbs. A few ideas to get you started:

• Thatched roof: Use shredded wheat cereal to create a thatched roof. You can either apply whole pieces as shingles, or shred them with your hands and scatter them across the roof for a rustic effect.
• Pathway: Create a "stone path" leading up to the front door using a mix of almonds and walnuts.
• Windows: Outline your windows with pumpkin or sunflower seeds to mimic the look of a wooden frame.
• Wreath: Shape a wreath out of fresh thyme to hang on the front of the house.
• Pop of color: Use Go Organically Organic Fruit Snacks to add visual interest while keeping the rest of the look low key. Stick on a red door knob or outline the roof with a string of colorful holiday "lights."

Happy decorating from all of us at Go Organically! Made with real fruit, our gluten-free, nut-free, dairy-free kids snacks are a great choice for your on-the-go life. Be sure to follow us on Facebook for more kid-friendly ideas!

*Note: Go Organically is not associated with IKEA.

Connect with Go Organically Organic Fruit Snacks: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of the above mentioned brand. I received product(s) in exchange for my honest and unbiased thoughts. All thoughts and opinions stated are my own and are in no way influenced by my partnership with mentioned brands.

Welch's Fruit Snacks Christmas Challenge @WelchsFruitSnck

I recently received a fun package from Welch's to help my family and I craft a custom stocking as part of the Welch's Fruit Snacks Christmas Challenge. The package included things like Christmas cut-outs, snowflakes, bells, pom-poms and more. Oh and of course some tasty Welch's Fruit Snacks of course. I decided since my daughter got so excited when I opened the box that I would let her do all the crafty work. She decided she wanted to create an outdoor winter wonderland. Complete with snowman, Santa, and a bear all enjoying Welch's Fruit Snacks from the fruit snacks tree. I thought it was pretty creative how she attached little bits of fruit snacks to the hands of the snowman and Santa. That girl is pretty crafty! I of course had to contribute at least a little bit so I could say I helped. So I slipped in the special Christmas themed box as a stocking stuffer. And there you have it a Welch's stocking inside and out!

Connect with Welch's Fruit Snacks: Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of the above mentioned brand. I received product(s) in exchange for my honest and unbiased thoughts. All thoughts and opinions stated are my own and are in no way influenced by my partnership with mentioned brands.

Advent or 12 Days of Christmas?

Some people are firm believers in celebrating the advent every year in December. While others are firmly against it. I for one like to celebrate the advent with my family, but with all the hustle and bustle going on we don't always remember to start on time, and don't always remember every single day along the way. Life is just so full and busy this time of year. To help relieve some of that stress we came up with a back-up plan. If we don't start the advent on time we start our 12 Days of Christmas celebrating instead. We start it whenever we realize we missed being able to fully celebrate the advent, and then move through the 12 days as we remember to do it - in other words not always 12 days in a row. However we always end the last day on Christmas Eve. This is just how we like to end our celebration in preparation for Christmas Day.

Each year we prepare a little something different for our 12 days of Christmas. This year we decided to do some fun drawstring bags with goodies inside of them. We are going to paint the numbers 1-12 on them so we know which day we are on and how many we have left. Using some super cute colored clothes pins I am able to hang the little bags from the picket fence pieces that we are going to also paint. Day 1 is actually going to be celebrated with the kids doing all of the painting, and mom and dad filling the bags. Each bag will have two small items for the kids (like squishy emoji's and bubble tape) so they both get the same thing to avoid arguments. And the last day will be filled with something extra special for the whole family to enjoy. I'm thinking maybe movie tickets or something we can do over Christmas break this year.

How about you? Do you have a special way you celebrate the Advent and/or 12 days of Christmas?
You can find lots of fun ways to celebrate the Advent and 12 days of Christmas on the Oriental Trading website. All products featured in this post are from Oriental Trading.

Connect with Oriental Trading: Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of the above mentioned brand. I received monetary compensation or product(s) in exchange for my honest and unbiased thoughts. All thoughts and opinions stated are my own and are in no way influenced by my partnership with mentioned brands.

Christmas Traditions & Legends

Every year we do things around Christmas time that many would call traditions. And some traditions stem from legends started way before we were even born. You know like hanging mistletoe in a doorway so you can meet your sweetie there for a kiss. :-)

One of my all time favorite Christmas legends is leaving milk and cookies out for Santa - even though we all know he's not the one really eating them. I guess in some ways we are rewarding ourselves for all of our hard work during the holidays. Every year I make up little goodie bags for my daughter's teachers. And this year I decided to do them with a Christmas Legends theme. Instead of trying to make cookies from scratch and give them a glass of milk I opted for pre-packaged cookies, and little milk bottles filled with white packaged mints to look like the milk. This way I can prepare them ahead of time and not worry anything will spoil. I also found some milk and cookies ornaments that are super cute, and explain the legend of milk and cookies for those that might not know it.

Another fun tradition of ours that is also stemmed from a legend is hanging candy canes on the tree. I'm sure many don't even know there is a story behind the candy cane. My kids however know the story and take pride in it when we are decorating the tree with those red and white swirled candy J's. I've forgotten to pick up candy canes before, and even bought the wrong color (as I was told) and let me tell you it was not a good thing come decorating time. My kids are pretty particular about this tradition, and I'm okay with that.

How about you? Do you have any traditions/legends you celebrate with your family over the holidays?

You can find lots of fun (and some new) ways to celebrate traditions on the Oriental Trading website.

Connect with Oriental Trading: Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of the above mentioned brand. I received monetary compensation or product(s) in exchange for my honest and unbiased thoughts. All thoughts and opinions stated are my own and are in no way influenced by my partnership with mentioned brands.

It's time for the Ho-Ho Holidays with Thirty One!

When I think about Thirty-One I don't just think about organization. I mean yes it's a big part of what they do, and let me tell you they do have some really awesome organizational products. Plus during the holidays they always go above and beyond with exclusive colors/patterns that look pretty cool around the house. Kind of like these products I got in the exclusive Frosted Metallic fabric. Honestly a photo doesn't do it justice, it's a beautiful shimmery silver color. Right now if you host a party you can get the Catch-All Bin and the Mini Catch-All Bin in this awesome color! Part of being exclusive means it won't stick around long (like the products in the photo) so if you love it as much as I do you might want to hurry up and PARTY!

Being a hostess means you get special rewards when other people order through you're party. And right now is the prime time to host a party so you can earn your way to FREE gifts. I mean who doesn't want to get awesome gifts for free?

Around the holidays my favorite thing to shop is the fun holiday patterns that Thirty-One offers. Last year I got their reindeer pattern and this year I got this "Cool Cutie" Snowman pattern. So now I can decorate with them as a pair. I love decorating with things like the Littles Carry-All Caddy because I can fill them up with holiday treats for my family and guests to enjoy. Both of these also make great gifts too. Just fill them up with things your recipient loves and you have yourself a fun holiday themed gift basket that they can enjoy all season long. They may call it mini, but the Mini Storage Bin is plenty big enough to fill with lots of goodies!

If you're still searching for that perfect gift, and want something unique that not everyone else will be getting then I have something for you! The Just Write Snap Bracelet can be customized to say anything you like (up to 16 characters). Maybe a name, nickname, or just a cute short saying. Any way you go no one else will have the exact same gift. Just for fun I had mine customized with #BLESSED. And if you pair it up with the color coordinating Keepin' Cozy Scarf and Mini Zipper Pouch you have yourself a really neat gift-trio. Both the bracelet and scarf actually fold up and fit really nicely inside the pouch too. It's like an accessory bag for on the go!

The nice thing about Thirty-One is that you don't have to host a party to shop, you can do it right from your home on their website. Just browse around, pick an item and personalize it to fit your needs. They even show you right on the screen what your personalization will look like so there won't be any surprises when it arrives.

Shop Now!
Be sure to check out the "Specials" tab for the current monthly special, sales on limited quantity products, and online only exclusives. - And of course the hostess special just in case you want to check that out too.

Time to stock up on those last-minute gifts! Order by Dec. 11 for guaranteed delivery by Dec. 25.

Connect with Thirty-One: Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of the above mentioned brand. I received monetary compensation or product(s) in exchange for my honest and unbiased thoughts. All thoughts and opinions stated are my own and are in no way influenced by my partnership with mentioned brands.

The Star movie hits theaters 11/17 #TheStarMovie #FlyBy

The all anticipated nationwide release of The Star from Sony Pictures Animation is on November 17th. From the producers of Heaven is for Real and Miracles from Heaven it's another chart topper you won't want to miss. I will be the first to admit I have watched every single trailer for this movie I'm so excited about seeing it in theaters! It's one of those serious topic shows that adds in a little comedy to make it a can't miss movie.

Just check out this trailer and tell me you don't agree with me!

I have probably seen half a dozen different movie versions of the first Christmas, but honestly never one quite like this. It's a totally different story all together since it's told from the animals point of view. And a mighty funny one I might add. It's a great movie to start a new tradition with this holiday season!

About the movie:
In Sony Pictures Animation's The Star, a small but brave donkey named Bo yearns for a life beyond his daily grind at the village mill. One day he finds the courage to break free, and finally goes on the adventure of his dreams. On his journey, he teams up with Ruth, a lovable sheep who has lost her flock and Dave, a dove with lofty aspirations. Along with three wisecracking camels and some eccentric stable animals, Bo and his new friends follow the Star and become unlikely heroes in the greatest story ever told - the first Christmas.

Extras:
Interactive Animated Coloring Book
Meet the Characters

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of the above mentioned brand. I am a featured Contributor of The Star Influencer Program. All thoughts and opinions stated are my own and are in no way influenced by my partnership with mentioned brands.

Evergreen Elf Christmas Tree Water Monitor #ad #EvergreenElf

As we all know time around the holidays can be super hectic. And trying to remember all those small details and things we're supposed to do isn't always easy. So if there's something out there that can help alleviate one of those daunting tasks wouldn't you want to check it out? Well, that's exactly what I did, and am here to share with you today! It's called Evergreen Elf, and it helps monitor your Christmas Tree stand water level. The innovative and interactive Christmas Tree water monitor will alert you when the tree is dry, saving you the hassle of climbing over presents and under branches to check the water level in your tree stand.

The facts:
Every year, millions of dollars in damages are directly related to Christmas tree fires, causing tragedy during a time of joy. This fire risk can be reduced by ensuring that the tree is never thirsty.

About Evergreen Elf:
The Evergreen Elf Christmas tree water monitor has both a visual alert and a fun audio alert, works with most available commercial tree stands, and the interchangeable batteries are designed to last the entire holiday season. The Evergreen Elf’s engaging personality helps make watering a fun activity for the whole family. This year, forget sticking your hand in that dirty water. Get an elf to help – Evergreen Elf!

Evergreen Elf helps make watering your Christmas tree a fun activity for the whole family. Just check out this video to see for yourself how valuable this little helper can be!

Buy it: Be sure to use my special code TILTONELF95 when checking out online for extra savings!

Connect with Evergreen Elf: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of the above mentioned brand. I received monetary compensation or product(s) in exchange for my honest and unbiased thoughts. All thoughts and opinions stated are my own and are in no way influenced by my partnership with mentioned brands.

Adventure Force™ Light Command - #Giveaway Ends 10/25

Are you looking for the perfect gun to take out those zombies this Halloween? Or maybe you're starting your Christmas shopping early and want a top toy for someone on your list. Either way the Adventure Force™ Light Command from Prime Time Toys is exactly what you should be looking for. According to the kid experts at Walmart it's one of this year’s must-have toys. The super-powerful blaster with light-up action is one of only 25 toys featured on Walmart’s annual Top Rated by Kids toys list.

Recognized for power and performance, the Walmart-exclusive Light Command does it all at the most affordable prices in the blaster category.  Kids can light up their opponents with the featured ILLUMINATED BLAST PANELS that keep the action going, day or night.  It’s packed with power and automatic action featuring a 20-dart belt that fires the entire belt under 20 seconds projecting darts up to 80 feet, leaving opponents running for cover.

Both of my kids have always been big fans of dart guns, and let me tell you their eyes lit up when I opened the box containing the Adventure Force™ Light Command. Of course that lead to a whole big discussion about who was going to get it...I guess that means I'll be picking up a second one on my next trip to Walmart so they both can have one come Christmas morning.

Win it:  One lucky reader will win a Adventure Force™ Light Command. This giveaway will end October 25th at 11:59 PM EST. The winner will have 24 hours to respond to my email. If no response, a new winner will be chosen.  Prize fulfillment will be made by the sponsor, I am not responsible for prize delivery or lost or stolen deliveries. Open to residents of the US.

Entry Method:  Please use Rafflecopter form to enter.
a Rafflecopter giveaway


And while you're here make sure you check out some other awesome giveaways that are part of the Howl-o-Ween Hop hosted by The Kids Did It & The Mommy Island


Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of the above mentioned brand. I received monetary compensation or product(s) in exchange for my honest and unbiased thoughts. All thoughts and opinions stated are my own and are in no way influenced by my partnership with mentioned brands.

Stocking Stuffers and crafts galore!

One thing I love about Christmas is filling the kids stockings. It's always fun to fill them with an assortment of candies and fun things then watch to see how excited they get. Every year I try to do something a little different from the previous year and I try to do some sort of theme. This year I decided that everything was going to be Christmas themed. So I picked out some fun Christmas candies and stocking stuffers that were red, green, and white. 

Another thing I get excited about doing is making up goodie bags for my daughter's class at school. I love it when she comes home all excited because her friends liked what was in them. This year I decided to include the history of the candy cane in their bags. They had been talking about different traditions in class so I thought this would be a great way for them to take home what they've been learning about.

While the kids are on break from school we always like to do DIY crafts together. It's always fun because we get out all sorts of crafting supplies and see what fun things we can come up with. This year I wanted to do something special so we are going to make snow globes and decorate snowflakes. Then we will give them as gifts at our New Years party. The kids love making things they can give to others and make them smile. And me? Well I just love spending quality time with my kids so it's a win-win for us all!

Do you have any great ideas or traditions you'd like to share? Please feel free to leave them for me in the comments below.

Connect with Oriental Trading: Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram

Disclosure: I received compensation in the form of product in exchange for my honest and unbiased thoughts. All thoughts and opinions stated are my own and are in no way influenced by my partnership with mentioned brands.

Merry Kissmas!

One of my favorite parts about the holidays is all of the fun sweets that come out in limited-edition flavors. And Hershey’s Kisses just happens to be one of my favorites. I love all of their fun-filled chocolate kiss flavors, and the special holiday packaging the offer. It makes filling a bowl with Kisses so much more fun with the bright festive colors. Of course in my house they never last very long for me to enjoy the pretty packaging. Plus they are great for making crafts and using as stocking stuffers too!

During the holidays, there is no better present than Hershey’s Kisses Kissmas Chocolates. Whether you’re planning an ugly sweater bash, trimming the tree, sending letters to Santa or tying ribbon on that perfect gift, these uniquely wrapped treats are sure to inspire new ways to make the season sweeter.

The Hershey Company has partnered with four retailers to offer these limited-edition holiday-themed foils on the classic Hershey’s Kisses Milk Chocolates to add even more cheer to the season:

• Hershey’s Kisses Kissmas Gift Chocolates – Sold exclusively at CVS. Available in 9 oz. (SRP $4.49).
• Hershey's Kisses Santa Hat Chocolates – Sold exclusively at Target. Available in 11 oz. (SRP $3.49).
• Hershey’s Kisses Kissmas Sweater Chocolates – Sold exclusively at Walmart. Available in 11 oz. (SRP $3.24).
• Hershey’s Kisses Kissmas Tree Chocolates – Sold exclusively at Kroger and the Kroger Company family of stores. Available in 11 oz. bag (SRP $3.50).

Be sure to check out the Hershey's holiday website for lots of fun recipes, crafts, and holiday product information.

Connect with Hershey’s:
Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest

Disclosure: I received compensation in the form of product in exchange for my honest and unbiased thoughts. All thoughts and opinions stated are my own and are in no way influenced by my partnership with mentioned brands.

Paw-some ways to include your furry family members in the holidays #treatsforall

Happy Howlidays! 

I love the holiday season — the cold weather, the yummy food, and of course, all of the festivities! You know who else loves them too? My dog, Caper. I'm thinking it may be because of all the extra lovin' and gifts he gets from the family.

It turns out that I'm not the only pet mama to spoil her pup during this time of year.  That's why I love this super cute website called TheNosePrint.com from Big Heart Pet Brands (the makers of Milk-Bone, Pup-Peroni, Canine Carry Outs, and Milo's Kitchen).  They really know how to celebrate the holidays with your pup!

Decorate your home with The Elf WorkShoppe

Step aside "Elf on the Shelf" because The Elf WorkShoppe has a whole line of elves and accessories that are ready to fill your home lots of holiday cheer. These elves are super cute and they are semi-poseable with their Velcro hands. You can can choose from four different elves (male/female and blonde/brunette). Plus there are a bunch of decor options to choose from to keep your elves busy and looking their best. My daughter chose the Elf Express Train because she thought it would look neat under our tree. I thought the bath tub was cute, but gave in to her because I usually let her do the decorating since she's the youngest and my teenage son really doesn't get into it like he did when he was younger. I thought these elves were really cute, and they even sit up on their own so you can move them around just like an "Elf on the Shelf" if you wanted to.

About:
The Elf WorkShoppe, “Where Christmas Comes to Life,” offers fun and magical collectable accessories for the company’s snuggable Elf doll or for another companies’ elves.  Accessories include “Comfy Home” items, such as his or her own teddy bear and gifts, rocking chair, bath tub, bed, and other charming accessories to make an Elf feel right at home; as well as “Transportation Center” notions so a child’s Elf can travel to the North Pole in his own car, Elf express train, sleigh or sled.

Shop: You can shop The Elf WorkShoppe online anytime day or night. Plus right now with code "elf" you can get 50% off!

Connect with The Elf WorkShoppe:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram

Holiday Treats from GourmetGiftBaskets.com

If you're hosting a holiday get together I have some unique treats that might be perfect for you. I know when they arrived at my house they were both well received. I actually had to threaten my husband and kids to stay away from the Santa Cookie Cake so I could use it for our dinner with family later in the week. It was a long few days, but I am happy to report they did behave and Santa didn't get devoured before dinner. After dinner...well, that's a totally different story. The popcorn on the other hand we enjoyed it spread out over several evenings as well as at a movie night we had friends over for. It was actually quite funny because I dumped a few bags into bowls and didn't tell our friends it was flavored popcorn. It was fun to see the look on their face when they realized what it was. We even had a little extra fun doing a guessing game to see if they could figure out what the flavorings were. The Holiday Dinner Party Popcorn Sampler is great for having fun with guests during dinner or at a movie night for sure!

Santa Cookie Cake
Make this season extra sweet with this delightful Christmas treat! We've loaded this 12-inch cookie cake with rich chocolate chips and hand decorated with sweet frosting, creating a holiday dessert that's impossible to resist!

Holiday Dinner Party Popcorn Sampler
Enjoy all the tastes of a holiday dinner...without having to wash single dish afterwards! We've used our handcrafted gourmet popcorn to recreate the flavors of festive favorites, like succulent Turkey, creamy Mashed Potatoes, and tart Cranberry Sauce. And since no dinner is complete without dessert, this collection also boasts sweet flavors, like classic Apple Pie, creating a delicious gift that's sure to add a little more fun to any holiday celebration!

Buy it: You can purchase these and other great holiday themed treats from GourmetGiftBaskets.com.

Indulge a little with Island Treasure Gourmet Rum Cakes Giveaway #holidaygiftguide - Ends 11/25

Island Treasures Gourmet™ makes Gourmet Rum Cakes that are perfect for anyone wanting to serve for a dinner or gift over the holiday season.  They are available in both a 4oz sample size and a 32oz full size cake. The sample sized cakes are good for 8+ months in your pantry (or longer if frozen) so they are great to keep on hand for gifts. Island Treasures Gourmet™ is enjoyed by all ages, as the alcohol is baked out, leaving a smooth, moist, full flavor. I was sent a sample sized cake to try out and thought it was very good. I was pleased with how moist it was for a pre-baked in a box cake. The Cinnamon Pecan Streusel sounds like a great one for breakfast Thanksgiving morning!

Flavors: Vanilla, Cinnamon Pecan Streusel, Coconut, Chocolate, Banana, Raspberry, and Chocolate Chip.

Connect with brand:
Website | Facebook | Twitter

Win it:  One lucky reader will win a Full-Size 32oz Island Treasure Gourmet Rum Cake. This giveaway will end November 25th at 11:59 PM EST. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email. If no response, a new winner will be chosen.  Prize fulfillment will be made by the sponsor, I am not responsible for prize delivery or lost or stolen deliveries. Open to residents of the US.

Entry Method:  Please use Rafflecopter form to enter.

Join the #ThankFULL4Giveaways Hop and win a Sew Softies™ Kit - Ends 11/24

I can remember learning to do basic sewing tasks when I was a kid and thinking how cool it was being able to stuff and sew things like a little pillow for my dolls. Now there are so many great products available like Sew Softies™ that can make learning to sew even more fun. And the best part is the Sew Softies™ kits include kid-friendly components and illustrated instructions. Each kits contains all the necessary materials to create adorable Softies creatures that kids can even play with once they are done. With over sized needles and pre-cut holes, Sew Softies™ are totally child-safe!

We received the Sew Softies™ Sea Creatures kit and my daughter thought it was really neat because instead of a basic pillow (like I had taught her to make) she got to create characters with dimension. I was impressed with how quickly she picked up how to do it all on her own. She opened the box, read the instructions and got started without any help from me. And I was super proud when I saw her final results were sea creatures with dimension!

Want to win a Sew Softies™ Sea Creatures kit of your own? Then enter to win through my Rafflecopter giveaway form. And once your done scroll down and check out all of the other amazing giveaways you can enter too!

Win it:  One lucky reader will win a Sew Softies™ Sea Creatures kit. This giveaway will end November 24th at 11:59 PM EST. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email. If no response, a new winner will be chosen.  Prize fulfillment will be made by the sponsor, I am not responsible for prize delivery or lost or stolen deliveries. Open to residents of the US.

Entry Method:  Please use Rafflecopter form to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Welcome to the ThankFULL for Giveaways Hop brought to you by The Hopping Bloggers!

Hosted By: Mama Smith's | Women and Their Pretties
Co-Hosted By: Comeback Momma | Better on a Budget | Our Mini Family | SassyGalBeauty

Many bloggers have come together to bring you a chance to win some amazing prizes! Go ahead and enter them all because there is no limit to how many you can win! Good luck!

Skylanders Superchargers Starter Pack for PS3 #HolidayGiftGuide #skylanders

Activision provided me with a copy of this game for this post.

When we received the Skylanders Superchargers Starter Pack from Activision it was the first time my kids had played one of the Skylanders games. And now that they've played it they are both begging me to get them more character sets so they can do even more with the game. I thought it was really neat how the characters you receive in the set are actually used to activate things within the video game itself by placing them on the included game board. The game is easy to navigate and it's smooth playing so my kids don't lose interest in it. It has a combination of you playing the game and a story that goes along with it. It's nice to see my kids getting along so well when they have this game out. So it looks like this mamma will be getting them some more characters for their stockings this year.

About:
Skylands is in peril! Kaos has unleashed his most evil weapon yet – the Doomstation of Ultimate Doomstruction. With all of Skylands on the verge of collapse, a special team called the SuperChargers has been assembled to pilot an unstoppable fleet of incredible vehicles. Now you and the SuperChargers must embark on epic adventures over land, under sea, and through the sky to stop Kaos and save Skylands!

Skylanders Superchargers Starter Pack is also available on PS4, Wii, Wii U, XBOX 360, XBOX ONE, and 3DS.

Connect with the Skylanders:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Gifts for those creative kids on your list! #HolidayGiftGuide

My kids are the kind that like to build and create things with their hands. And they are also both very creative so they enjoy activities where they have the ability to express themselves too. With the 3D Art Studio and Pinblock sets they have the ability to do just that. My daughter is one that likes to do things on her own so I've been sitting back and watching her working with the 3D pen and trying to figure out how it all works. So far she's only done 3D art that's simple and small, but I know before long she will get enough confidence to create larger creations too. My son snatched up the Pinblock set as soon as he saw that it was a building set. He made the Silver Falcon on the box, then tore it apart so he could build something he wanted. He keeps interest in things like this when he can create on his own. As a mom I love interactive sets like these where my kids can fully express their creativity and make things that aren't from a drawing on paper. It shows them it's okay to be different and because they aren't following a pattern they can't "do it wrong" and feel like they messed up.

IDO3D 5-Pen 3D Art Studio
IDO3D is the leader in kids’ 3D art, using technology to bring amazing artwork to life! Kids can create 3D art by simply drawing, connecting and constructing designs using IDO3D’s 3D printing technology! These specially crafted drawing pens contain 3D printing ink that magically transforms liquid into solid in just seconds; just shine the IDO3D spotlight on your awesome creation! Kids can use the familiar form factor of pen to draw numerous designs, either from their own imagination or from the 3D Guidebooks that are included with each set. IDO3D is safe, affordable, easy to use and has forever changed the way kids can create beautiful art.

Pinblock
Pinblock gives builders loads of new possibilities because all sets have one piece that can twist, turn, stack or lay flat, allowing for non-stop 3D building. Because each Pinblock piece is the same and each set comes with enough pieces to satisfy any idea, the unique round connecting pins allow for building planes, buildings, utilities, wearable gadgets and more! Unlike any other building toy, the pixel-like quality of Pinblock allows the maker to easily explore, design and create gorgeous pixelated artwork that the world has yet to see. Follow the Pinblock Red/Blue Fusion Jet or Silver Falcon manual or start from scratch and use your imagination with the Pinblock Freestyle set. This set comes without any instructions, but with a greater variety of colors and more pieces. What can you build?

Buy it: You can purchase the IDO3D 5-Pen 3D Art Studio and Pinblock sets online.