Best 6 Personalized Gift Ideas For His Birthday

There is no doubt to the fact that your husband is the light of your life. It is the companionship that you share with your partner that presents you with the energy and strength to deal with no matter how difficult the circumstances are. It only makes sense that the person who has made sure to walk along with you on the difficult path in the life is reminded every now and then that you are grateful for his support and well being. While it is a well-established fact that you never need a person to deal with your problems and concerns in life but the fact is when you have someone by your side, all the problems seem to get a tad bit smaller. The strength offered by your husband can help you move mountains in life. Thus, it is highly essential for you to make sure that you celebrate the birthday of your partner in the most exquisite manner. Whether it is the birthday cake delivery, birthday presents, decorations or any other thing, make sure that you keep tabs on everything to know that everything is working just as you have planned. However, if you are feeling a tad bit lost when it comes to the gift, it is strongly advocated that you should opt for something personalized. The warmth a personalized gift can present is somewhat difficult to find in a store brought a gift. The following is a list of pointers comprising of different personalized gift ideas for the birthday of your husband that he will surely love. Read on in order to be able to plunge right into the details.

Get ready to party. Birthday party that is!

This past weekend we had a combined birthday party for my kids with some family and close friends. The kids are exactly a week apart date wise, but there's six years age difference between them. Thankfully they get along pretty good and are okay with having a combined cake and party saving us having to try to schedule two separate parties back to back. My mom is always generous enough to make their cake for them and always tries to come up with something that's fitting for both of the kids. This year she did flowers for my daughter and music notes for my son. And I finished it off with some edible candles from Let Them Eat Candles.

Vera Bradley Gift Wrapping Paper Books

Iconic fashion brand Vera Bradley has partnered with Pennsylvania publisher Fox Chapel Publishing on an exciting and gorgeous new gift wrapping paper collection. Finally quality gift wrap that you can even take with you on the go! I love that this collection comes in a book style because it's so easy to store. No more trying to figure out where to put those big long rolls in between uses! The colors are patterns are just beautiful. I really like that they are unique patterns that you don't normally see. And honestly they can be used for any occasion because they aren't micro-targeted with photos of babies etc.

Just as founders Barbara Bradley Baekgaard and Patricia R. Miller envisioned their elegant designs brightening up airports many years ago, the company has once again imagined their colorful patterns bringing beauty and joy to the pleasure of gift giving. Vera Bradley and Fox Chapel Publishing are pleased to launch five gift wrapping paper books, which include gift tags that you can customize and color in, to celebrate life's many milestones.

The giftwrap series includes: 
Baby Bump Wrapping Paper
Birthday Bash Wrapping Paper
Happy Holidays Wrapping Paper
Oh Happy Day Wrapping Paper
Wedding Belles Wrapping Paper

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

The Year of the Dog Themed Birthday Party

If you don't already know this year is the Year of the Dog for the Chinese Zodiac New Year. The only reason I know this is because my daughter will be 12 this year so it was the Year of the Dog when she was born. Oh and because she told me all about it. She decided that this year is a special birthday since she will be turning 12 and her Chinese Zodiac from when she was born has made it's way back around. If you didn't know they rotate every 12 years. I'll admit I had no idea until she filled me in with her pitch about her Year of the Dog Chinese Zodiac themed birthday party. So after talking with her dad we decided that if she had educated herself that much on something without any prompting than she deserved a birthday party for it. And thus began the quest to find things for her party.

If you've ever searched for Chinese Zodiac party supplies you know there are actually quite a few out there. Some are very specific to the theme too, like these cute treat bags I found on the Oriental Trading website. They are super cute and will be great for holding all of the other dog themed goodies I found. They also match a bunch of other party supplies on their website. Besides the specific supplies we also did some general "dog" themed things too. We decided to do some stuffed plush mini-dogs, Squishy dogs (since they are so popular right now), and some DIY ceramic dog banks (great for birthday party crafting). Oh and of course lots of fortune cookies! I mean what Chinese New Year themed party would be complete without some fortune cookies. We already taste tested a few of them so I can confirm that they are just as good as the ones you get with your Chinese take-out orders.

Connect with Oriental Trading: 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.

Our party was the cat's MEOW

So my daughter is beyond obsessed with this series of books called Warriors. It's a series all about cats. From what I understand the books are written from a cat's perspective instead of the typical humans perspective. So of course that's the one thing she wanted for the theme of her birthday this year. And guess what? There's no such thing as a Warrior cats party theme. So this mamma had to use her thinking skills and get creative. For me that meant heading online and seeing what I could find that even remotely resembled the cats from her books.

Fortunately I remembered from previous parties that Oriental Trading has a really nice party supplies section on their website. From there I just started searching for anything cat related (that didn't look like a cartoon cat or Hello Kitty). Boy was it a challenge. But as you can see I did have some luck. I found some really cute cat figurines, cat shaped gummies, cat shaped eggs, a stone cat, and last but not least I found a cat head and tail set that was leftover from Halloween. 

My mom's really creative when it comes to making cakes so I gave her the task of making a cat body to go with the cat head and tail. I was quite impressed with how awesome it turned out. I on the other hand am not as creative so I just put some of the cat figures on cupcakes.

We actually had two parties one for family, and one for my daughter and her friends. So for family one I just did a cute basket for the few kids filled with the candy and cat eggs. For her friend party we filled the cat eggs with the candy and did a hide and find the cats came. Both places they were equally a hit though. Everyone thought the cat eggs were so cute and kept asking where I got them. With Easter around the corner they wanted to get some too.

I also got lucky and found some really cute kitty beads and knot beads (that I thought looked like balls of yarn) so I was able to make my daughter a matching necklace and bracelet with. I have to tell you she was super excited when I gave them to her. She immediately put them on and had to wear them for both parties.

I even found this super cool tribal cat coloring page on the Oriental Trading website. I printed off several copies for the kids to have something to do in between playing games and they loved it! Of course I had to get a little something for myself too while I was picking things out so I got myself a set of mini fine point pens so I could do me a little coloring too.

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

Disclosure: I received the above mentioned 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.

Celebrate Helen's Birthday at Chuck E. Cheese's

Today is Helen's birthday and Chuck E. Cheese's across the US are celebrating all weekend long!

Stop by Chuck E. Cheese's for some great deals (April 27th-29th) and celebrate 39 years with pizza, games, $1.50 Dippin’ Dots, and $2 off Helen Henny plush dolls! Everyone gets a Helen Henny coloring sheet with 5 free token coupon when they leave.

Helen Henny will be at these locations to celebrate and take photos with guests.

Omaha, NE – 225 N 76th St.
Spokane, WA – 10007 N. Nevada St.
Alexandria, VA – 6301 Richmond Hwy
Skokie, IL – 7142 Carpenter
Kendall, FL – 8701 SW. 124th Ave.
Queens/Flushing, NY – 40-24 Collage Point Blvd Ste 8213
Wilmington, NC – 4389 Oleander Drive
Maple Grove, MN – 12945 Elm Creek Blvd.
Boardman, OH – 521 Boardman Poland Rd.
Bakersfield, CA – 3760 Ming Ave

“Helen Henny Fun Facts”

1. Helen Henny’s deep passion for music began at an early age, growing up in New York City—right down the street from Broadway!

2. Helen is a vegetarian – no meat for this chick!

3. Helen is a great singer, but she’s also an amazing gamer and takes pride in mastering every new game at Chuck E. Cheese’s

4. Helen first met Chuck E. when he challenged her to a game of Pong (which of course she won!)

5. Chuck E. invited Helen to join his band right on the spot when he heard her sing a victory song after their Pong match.

Connect with Chuck E. Cheese's:
Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram

Giveaway CLOSED - The winner has been notified via email and confirmed.

Win it:  One lucky reader will win a Helen Henny Prize Pack!
· 1 guest pass (1 large pizza, 4 drinks + 30 tokens)
· Helen plush (you’ll get yours at the store when you visit)
· Helen Henny coloring sheets (includes 5 free token coupon)
· 1,000 tickets
· Helen Henny bookmarks (includes 5 free token coupon)

This giveaway will end June 10th 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.

"Party Like it's Your Birthday" at Chuck E. Cheese's

We recently had the opportunity to visit our local Chuck E. Cheese's restaurant and have to say we had a blast. We participated in a "Party Like it's Your Birthday" event and got the complete birthday party package treatment. From the moment we walked in the front doors and the manager greeted my kids by name till the time we left we felt like we were at a real party!

Booking a party is super easy (I actually did this for my kids birthday a few years back) to do online. You go through a step-by-step process from how many in your party, to the date, and of course what party package you want for each child. Each package has all the basics (like tokens, beverages, pizza, etc), but the bigger ones include more party favors. With a birthday party you get two hours of "party time" that includes your own table space and a dedicated hostess. I have to say our hostess was phenomenal. She gave us the full party experience and even played some games with my daughter.

Now to share with you some of the fun things we did while at our party. Once we were checked in at the door we were taken to our table by the party hostess she explained the whole birthday party process to us. Then she took our food and drink orders to get the party officially started. We checked out all the goodies at the table first of course before heading over to play some games. Our party package included cool cut-outs for us girls to become princesses and my son to become super Chuck E. for our special day. I think my daughter was a little more excited about this than my son, but he played along. From there we headed over to the game area.

While we were waiting on the pizza we had time to play games and enjoy some fun time as a family. This is one of my favorite parts because it allows us parents to be kids too and play games alongside our children. My daughter and I "rode a roller coaster" while my husband and son played football. Of course we all played individual games, and even did some fun photos so we would have something to take home with us.

Once the food was ready our hostess let us know to meet her back at the table so we could eat while it was hot. She served us all up a slice and then allowed us some time to eat before the next phase of the party started. Once we were done eating it was time for Chuck E. Cheese himself to arrive. He did his special song and dance where he passes out tickets to everyone at the end. It was nice that they do something that includes the entire store before they head over to your party so that other kids get to see him too.

Then he made his way to our table and did a dance with us. Then he sang happy birthday to the kids (awesome photo op time). Once we were done with Chuck E. the hostess served up the cake and we had our dessert before the final phase of the party.

Then the final part of the party was to check out the ticket blaster. And let me tell you if you've never seen it in action it's pretty awesome. It's so awesome that we all had to take a shot at it! I had it set up for the kids and myself to try it out, but the manager even convinced my husband to give it a whirl. It was so much fun. And in case you're wondering my husband was the one to snag the 1000 ticket bonus prize out of the ticket blaster! Guess it was a good thing he was the last one to try it out.

And of course once we were all done with the party we had to feed all of the tickets we had won from games and caught in the ticket blaster into the machine that counts them. We took our printed ticket count over to the prize counter and my daughter picked out her prizes. She ended up with a bracelet kit to make her own jewelry and a cute little stuffed kitty. Needless to say she left there one very happy little girl.

If you've never been to a Chuck E. Cheese's I'd say you definitely should check it out...even if you don't have kids it's a ton of fun for adults too! The food was very good (we ate two whole large pizzas) and the atmosphere is awesome too.

Having a Birthday Party with a little help from Oriental Trading!

As some of you may know both my son and daughter had their birthdays earlier this month. Their birthdays are exactly a week apart so we usually have a combined party with our relatives to make it easier on everyone. This year they decided they would like to have a hunting themed party since they both enjoy hunting with their dad. I knew right away exactly where I was going to look for party supplies so I pulled up the Oriental Trading website and started looking for hunting themed supplies under their party section. I was actually quite surprised at how many great themed things they had in this category. I could have gotten the entire line of table service products in camouflage even. I chose to only get the dessert plates (shown above) because we were having the party in a restaurant this time and didn't need all the other stuff like cups/napkins etc. I also got a themed tablecloth for the kids present and cake table so it would stand out from the other tables in the room as being for them. It was a super nice plastic tablecloth that I was even able to just wipe off the little bit of icing that got on it and fold it back up to use again later. I've purchased some in the past that were so thin they ripped with just the slightest tug. This one didn't rip at all and was really nice looking with their themed decor. I also picked out a really cute display stand with a deer on top that holds little paper cones. I filled them with brown candies (my idea of deer poo) also from Oriental Trading. The kids all loved them and the adults thought it was a super cute idea.

Another great item I found was a package of Magic Color Scratch Paper Activity Sheets. If you're not familiar with those they are what looks like black sheets of paper that actually are full color underneath. They remind me of a scratch off ticket. They come with little sticks making it easy to draw and create lots of great pictures. The kids (and adults) loved these and kept busy through out the party drawing away. These are great to just have on hand for fun too.

And finally I got a few decor items.  I hung the Hunting Hanging Swirls above all the tables where we were eating and where the presents were at. I hung the Big Buck Cutout on a flat wall and we used it to play pin the bulls-eye on the buck. My SIM card in my camera got messed up and I lost about half my party photos and unfortunately I lost the ones of the kids playing the game. But you can see what it looks like in the above photo. I made little bulls-eyes and put glue dots on the back then blindfolded the kids for a little fun game.

All in all we had a wonderful time at the party and everyone was super excited about my decor. I have to thank Oriental Trading for the awesome party supplies because they helped make my kids birthday party a big hit!

Products featured at the birthday party from Oriental Trading:
• The Hunt Is On Treat Stand with Cones
• Brown Chocolate Candies
• The Hunt Is On Tablecloth
• Camouflage Dessert Plates
• Big Buck Jointed Cutout
• Hunting Hanging Swirls
• Magic Color Scratch Paper Activity Sheets

Snuggle Bear’s 30th Birthday Celebration with a Prize Pack #Giveaway #LetsSnuggle - Ends 9-28

For 30 years, Snuggle Bear has warmed the hearts of millions of families. Heck I can even remember seeing him on commercials as a child growing up. The cute little bear bouncing on the clean towels. Now that beloved bear is celebrating his 30th Birthday and he's celebrating by sharing gifts with us! You my lucky readers will have the chance to win the exact same birthday celebration prize pack that I did from the Snuggle Bear Den.

Win it:  One lucky reader will win a Snuggle Prize Pack just like mine. This giveaway will end September 29th at 12:00 AM EST. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email. If no response, a new winner will be chosen. Open to residents of the US.

Entry Method:  Please use Rafflecopter form to enter.
a Rafflecopter giveaway Disclosure:  Thanks to PR Firm/sponsor I was provided with the above mentioned product for the purpose of my personal review. This blog post is not a paid post and the honest opinions stated are my own. Please allow 4-6 weeks for prize delivery from the sponsor.

Birthday Freebies/Rewards

Have you ever wondered what kind of rewards were out there for your birthday? Well, let me tell you my birthday was yesterday and I got a TON of awesome rewards right in my email inbox. I was so excited I started compiling a list so I could share them with you so you could sign up and get them too for your birthdays!

Swagbucks - Emailed me 50 bonus Swag Bucks.

Tyndale House Publishers - Emailed me a free ebook.

Kellogg’s Family Rewards™ - I received a code for 100 bonus points.

Disney Movie Rewards - I received 100 bonus points.

Kohl's Rewards -  I received a $10 bonus reward. (no minimum purchase)

Market Force - I'm a mystery shopper for them and they offered me a $$ bonus for any shops I assigned myself on my birthday.

International Delight - Emailed me a coupon for $1 any International Delight product.

Silk - Emailed me a coupon for $1 any Silk product.

Driscoll's - Emailed me a coupon for 50¢ any Driscoll's product.

Famous Footwear - Emailed me a $5 off any purchase coupon.

Speedy Rewards (Speedway Gas Station) - Emailed me with 200 bonus points.

Pepe's Mexican Restaurants - Emailed me a Free Mexican Dinner Entree coupon.

Red Lobster - Emailed me a $5 off two meals coupon.

Texas Roadhouse - Emailed me a coupon for a free appetizer.
Culver's Restaurant - Emailed me a coupon for a Free One-Scoop Sundae.

Noodles & Company - Emailed me a coupon for a Free bowl of noodles.

Applebee's - Emailed me a coupon for a free desert.

TGI Fridays - Emailed me a coupon for a free desert.

Starbucks - Emailed me a coupon for a free drink or food item in store, and a coupon for an online store discount.

McAlister's Deli - Emailed me a $5 off any purchase coupon.

These are just SOME of the emails I received yesterday. I also got several just saying Happy Birthday from various groups I belong to.

Betty Crocker’s First Birthday Smash Cakes!

Betty Crocker, America’s baking expert, surveyed moms and found that the most memorable part of a first birthday party is the birthday cake itself. To help make the moment extra special with a homemade touch, Betty Crocker has created a line-up of easy-to-make birthday smash cake recipes that babies can’t wait to get their hands on.


No. 1 Cutout Cake – This little cake says, “I’m one!” in a big way. Add your own twist to the toppings, including bits of fruit, crackers, sprinkles, cereal and more.

Peas & Carrots Smash Cake – If you’re looking to sneak some fruits and veggies into baby’s first sweet treat, this round smash cake is your best bet.

Polka Dot Smash Cake – Encourage your budding artist to create a messy masterpiece with this two-layered, three-inch round smash cake. The red confetti polka dots and turquoise-frosted cake will create swirls of color.

 

Sprinkles Smash Cake – Transform baby’s favorite toy into an edible creation. All you need is a No. 1 cut-out template and sprinkles for a cute contrast.

  
Striped Mini Smash Cake – Pastel frosting with bright orange stripes and polka dots make this two-layered round cake beg for baby’s attention.

 

Confetti Cake Stack – Confetti sprinkles make this mini smash cake sweet and simple.

 


Watercolor Cake – This elegant little cake features purple and teal pastels. It’s almost too lovely to smash.


I think these cake ideas are awesome. Both of my kids are well past their first birthdays, but I think I'll be keeping this information handy for an upcoming friend and their little ones birthday. I think any little one would love to dig into one of these great cake ideas!

What do you remember most about your little ones’ first birthdays? Did you let them smash their cake or did you try to keep it clean? If you were to have another first birthday party (or maybe are already planning on celebrating another one!), which Betty Crocker smash cake would you make?

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. All opinions are my own.