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3 Last Minute Gift Ideas

Posted by html404 on December 18, 2012
in Books, DVDs & CDs, Ebooks, Gift Ideas, Holidays, Movies, Shopping, Uncategorized

I saw on Facebook today that someone still had to start their Christmas shopping! So for all of you out there that are still scrambling for last minute gift ideas…here you go!

1. DVDs.

DVDs are easy and for people who watch a lot of movies and who don’t like to rent them, but love to own them for their home DVD collection, this is a no brainer last minute gift idea.

Last week Ice Age Continental Drift became available on DVD Blue Ray (Dec. 11 to be exact). If you are looking for great last minute gift ideas for movie lovers, this could be one to consider.

Make it educational for your children by visiting this website here. For creationists, I cannot verify that it is evolution free.

Our children have enjoyed all of the Ice Age movies. They are funny, with a little bit of rude humor but they make us laugh and laughter is a good thing!

Crooked Arrow also came out on DVD not too long ago. It is for the sports enthusiast, especially lacrosse. It’s a touching story of how a young Native American man was drawn back to his culture through a game he loved and excelled at when he was younger, but not before making a few mistakes.

I enjoyed this movie very much but I’ve always been drawn to sports movies and especially ones that teach valuable life lessons.

2. Personalized Gifts.

From quilts to photos personalized gifts are always a winner. We have received personalized throws and quilts in the past and have appreciated them very much. Recently I was able to review an item that I got personalized with our names and anniversary on it. We have plenty of blankets but to be honest many of them are falling apart and just not pretty anymore. Nothing brightens a room more than a pretty throw or quilt.

I was very pleased with the quality of this quilt and the personalization was solid.

3. Books. Book lovers can never get enough books. Nowadays there are paperback or hardcover traditional books or digital formats to choose from. Make sure you know what your book lover prefers. At our house we all still prefer traditional books in our hands. Our girls talk about loving the smell of the books, which is missing from digital books.

No matter where you are in your Christmas shopping, choose a gift that is meaningful to the person receiving it. Sometimes in our haste we forget to put our hearts into gift giving.

Hope one of these 3 last minute gift ideas thrills one person on your list!

Happy Shopping!

Faith and Family Reviews received many of the above products in exchange for writing a review or feature about the product. While we consider it a privilege to receive products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.

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Sears #styleSURPRISE

Posted by html404 on December 11, 2012
in Fashion, Holidays, Seasonal Stuff, Shopping

Over the years Sears has been a trusted brand in my life. Guess I learned that from my mother, as well as my mother-in-law as they shopped at Sears…and still do. As most of you know, Sears provides everything from appliances and apparel to jewelry, electronics and more.

This holiday season Sears is hosting their Holiday #styleSURPRISE Sweepstakes where entrants can enter to win $5K worth of SYW points. I entered. It’s very easy, especially if you already have an account. Just sign in or sign up and follow the prompts at the link I just provided.

I think if I won the Holiday #styleSURPRISE I would update my wardrobe, costume jewelry and even buy my family some goodies. Below I’ve shared a little bit of my style.

My Style

At Sears.com I found a pretty Maxi dress that I like, except for the low neckline, love the empire-like waistline though. I usually have to buy petite sizes because I am so short and regular size/length dresses are too long.

Fashion Accessories

I like pretty simple and practical when it comes fashion accessories. Here are a few pieces of jewelry that appealed to my eye and no I don’t think either of them go with the dress above:

You can visit Sears for more everyday fashion inspiration.

Imagine if you won $5k worth of SYW points? What would you buy? Leave me a comment.

This is a sponsored post, I am a Sears blogger, though all opinions are my own.

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Melissa & Doug’s Terrific Twenty Giveaway is Back!

Posted by Brande on December 6, 2012
in Blog Stuff, Contests, Fun Stuff, Giveaways, Holidays, Kids Stuff, Kids Toys, Shopping

Melissa & Doug’s Terrific Twenty Giveaway is back! Head over to Melissa & Doug’s Facebook page or here’s the direct link for the entry form. Enter to win a new prize everyday!! Don’t forget to check out the Terrific Twenty on Melissa & Doug’s website!

I receive nothing for doing this post except an entry into the blogger’s sweepstakes.

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$700 Shopilly Holiday Cash Giveaway

Posted by html404 on November 20, 2012
in Contests, Giveaways, Shopping

Welcome to the Smokin’ Hot $700 Shopilly Holiday Cash Giveaway sponsored by Like a Bump on a Blog, with considerable help from the lovely Lexie Lane at†VoiceBoks and Bridget at Giveaway Promote. Enjoy the post provided by our generous sponsor, Shopilly,†to learn more about them, and then enter via our Rafflecopter entry at the end.

It’s a cold Sunday night, and Iím huddled on my couch, flipping through never-ending channels on TV. I think I get about 400 channels, and it can be overwhelming to decide what to watch DWTS, Idol, The Voice? Luckily, my trusty DVR puts all the shows I like — and only those shows — in one place, where they wait patiently for me to catch up on them.

Email is a little like TV. Every day I get tons of emails from my favorite brands, retailers and flash sites. I love getting all of that information and having so many choices, but my inbox is getting a little out of control. It’s nearly impossible to sort through the clutter to find emails I really care about, and I have to select and delete almost all of the marketing emails, always wondering whether I should opt out or stick around to see if something actually relevant lands in my inbox.

But I’ve discovered that now there’s a DVR for email! It’s called Shopilly. By signing up for a free account, I can ask Shopilly to automatically pull all of the marketing emails from my email inbox and put them in a fun “visual inbox” in my Shopilly account, where I can review them when Iím ready. My inbox is totally clean; it’s like a breath of fresh air. And when the time is right for me to check out my latest offers, theyíre neatly collected for me at Shopilly.

Shopilly is organizing my email inbox for me, and that’s great. But it’s more than that. On Shopilly, I can also opt in to view offers from other brands I wouldn’t have discovered otherwise. The way they’re presented makes it really easy to check out all of my options and to add or remove offers from my window shop. It’s like visiting my own personalized shopping mall right from the comfort of my couch.

Now, where did I put that remote control?

Improve your shopping life at Shopilly today and tell us what you think at contact@shopilly.com.

****************************************************************

If you’re ready to enter the giveaway and make your holiday shopping even sweeter, you may do so below now!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck and happy winning!

Please†share†this post with other people who might need extra shopping money this holiday season.

If you missed the last post, read it here:†Islands of Adventure and City Walk

Feature images courtesy of Shopilly.†

**Post syndicated with permission, and the original can be found †here:† http://www.amberrisme.com/2012/11/20/smokin-hot-700-shopilly-holiday-cash-giveaway/

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Sleep Number Review #sleepnumberm9

Posted by html404 on November 14, 2012
in Bedding, Furniture, Home, Reviews, SALES, Shopping

I had never heard of Sleep Number before until I received an opportunity from Smiley360. We have been slowly trying to replace older mattresses in our house, especially now that the children are getting older too. I was excited to check out Sleep Number beds.

Last night Peanut and I went out to the closest Sleep Number store to check it out.

Sleep Number Review

Our local Sleep Number store had a rather small show room, but very bright, clean and neat. The gentleman working the store was very courteous and helpful. He greeted us and asked how he could help us upon entering. Then after I told him why we were there he gave us a demonstration of the C3 mattress, which was very cool. Peanut and I loved the remote and the fact that two people on the same bed could adjust their mattress to their own comfort level. There was a complimenting video that went with the demonstration, however, his computer was not working. He didn’t want us to hold that against him so we didn’t. Oh and before the demonstration the sales rep even put a sheet of tissue over the pillows our heads would touch while we laid on the mattress.

I’d definitely consider purchasing from Sleep Number under the right circumstances money-wise. If money were no object, then I would have purchased tonight and had items delivered!

The great thing about Sleep Number they have several different series of mattresses to choose from and with those choices are another variety of choices to help individuals get a good night’s sleep. From air to memory foam and elevation their beds are sure to appeal to a broad range of people.

They also carry custom comforters, pillows, bedding and mattress covers.

NEW Sleep Number Mattresses

Sleep Number has two new mattresses M7 and M9. Unfortunately our little store only had the M7. Loved it’s soft texture better than the polyester. Here are a few tidbits about the M9:

• It’s a memory foam mattress

• 13-inch bed offers the highest memory foam profile

• Exclusive SLEEP NUMBER® DualAir technology

• 5-inches of LuxFit™ foam softly cushions pressure points and features a breathable air-flow design

• Temperature balancing sleep surface is designed to absorb excess heat that can disrupt sleep

• Luxuriously soft fabric made from natural fibers

• 2 wireless, digital remotes, plus Full-Fill and Memory features

Sounds comfy, eh? I can attest to the comfort of a memory foam mattress as that is the kind of mattress we have now and we love it!

Semi-Annual Sleep Number SALE!

Save $500, 0% financing for 18 months (restrictions apply). See www.SleepNumber.com for complete details.

I received a gift item in return for this post as a member of the Smiley360 blogger program. All opinions are my own.

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Pinypon Party Review!

Posted by Brande on November 14, 2012
in Fun Stuff, Gift Ideas, Holidays, Kids Toys, Reviews, Shopping

I was very excited when I received an email saying Faith and Family Reviews was chosen for this Pinypon Party! I love to review new toys and I know my daughter does too! We live in Northwest NJ and lost our power on Monday October 29th due to Hurricane Sandy. I got the congratulations email Nov 1st (thank you iPhone) and this HUGE box came within the next day or two, which was such a treat for my daughter since we didn’t get our power back until November 7th. Needless to say we started our party early, thanks to MommyParties.

Here’s a picture when we opened the box.

So, a few of you are probably asking “What is a Pinypon?”

These little guys are Pinypons. They are all interchangeable.

Mix and match their legs, bodies, hair, and heads. Some even have 2 different faces on each side. Get product for small motor skills for the pre-schoolers.

Here’s the party set up! MommyParties graciously sent two sets of Vans, a few extra dolls and an extra baby doll to giveaway at our party.

Pinypon Party Review

We played find the Pinypon card to win a Pinypon. In addition, there was a drawing out of a hat for the extra Pinypon Van and the Baby. The Mom’s took extra coupons to pass around to other friends. So, everyone went home happy with their new toys. Due to all our outages and impassable roads, some of our party goers were unable to attend. I did have a parent ask that I not post pictures of her children and I am respecting their privacy.

All in all, Pinypon and Nenuco are great toys. Pinypon dolls do come with some very small pieces and parents should watch their children with the dolls and pieces. The recommended age on the box is 4 and my daughter is that age. She did wonderfully with them and loves them.

Here’s a few pictures of her playing with them.

Visit Pinypon and Nenuco on Facebook or Twitter Pinypon and Nenuco

Be sure to check out their websites too!

www.pinypon.com and www.Nenucofamosa.com

Oh and as a side note, with the holidays upon us this would make a great gift idea for the little girls in your life. Christmas, birthday etc.

Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.

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Melissa & Doug Terrific Twenty List and Giveaway

Posted by Brande on November 8, 2012
in Blog Stuff, Books, Deals, Education, Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, Giveaways, Holidays, Kids Stuff, Kids Toys, News Worthy, Parenting, Shopping

Head over to Melissa & Doug’s Facebook page to enter to win one of their Terrific Twenty! Then, don’t forget to visit Melissa & Doug’s Website to see all of the Terrific Twenty and the many other fabulous learning toys Melissa & Doug has!

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Party Time with The Amazing Spider-Man! #SpiderManWMT #Cbias

Posted by html404 on November 3, 2012
in DVDs & CDs, Family Stuff, Movie Reviews, Movies, News Worthy, Reviews, Shopping

Ever since our first post about The Amazing Spider-Man our children have been eagerly anticipating hosting our party and watching The Amazing Spider-Man movie, which is due to be released on DVD on November 9th. It took us four different extended invitations before we found some guests available and interested in coming to a Spider-Man themed pizza party and each time our children asked, “Is so and so coming over?” so they were pretty excited when we got the yes.

We went party shopping at Walmart and bought fruit – we made carmel apples – veggies, Spider-Man themed party supplies and Marketside pizza. Walmart will be releasing Amazing Spider-Man themed Augmented Reality triggers that will be included on the pizza box & display pallet, triggering special Amazing Spider-Man experiences on the iPhone, iPad or Android in-store, especially for shoppers.

I found that playing hostess with people outside our household didn’t give me or my daughters the same freedom or time in snapping photos of everything and anything due to taking care of my guests. I tried though.

We ate first before going down to our basement to watch the movie.

The Amazing Spider-Man Movie

All the younger children waiting for the rest of the adults to watch the movie. Sorry about the dark photo.

The adults were upstairs talking and enjoying quiet conversation while the children were downstairs waiting. We interrupted them to get a group picture.

If you read my previous post, you know that we took advantage of the pre-order opportunity to get a digital download of Spider-man on DVD or Blu-Ray on Vudu.com. I also set up an UltraViolet™ (UV) account, which “is a new movie industry standard that allows you to securely store your digital movie collection in the cloud.” We really like online streaming technology.

The Amazing Spider-Man is rated PG-13, unfortunately for families with young children. I wish I had watched it in advance. I naively thought “Spider-Man…what could possibly be wrong with it” and neglected to read the rating, I should have known better. There were a couple of scenes I quickly had to cover up. A brief glimpse of one scene made our 10 year old son say, “That scene on the subway was unnecessary.” And guess what? He’s right.

The movie wasn’t bad, if you haven’t seen it yet, but a lot of the story line was changed if you are use to another version. Even the children noticed since they’ve watched the animated version. We tend to not like new changes.

After watching the movie we gave our younger guests The Amazing Spider-Man goodie bags and they left for home since it was getting late. We thoroughly enjoyed entertaining and look forward to the next time.

Friends talking

For additional information about The Amazing Spider-Man upcoming DVD release, check out Twitter (use hashtag #SpiderManWMT) or Facebook.

“I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment #CBias #SocialFabric” (Feel free to add any additional wording you would like such as “all opinions are my own”)

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Christmas Shopping

Posted by html404 on November 1, 2012
in Coupons, Family Stuff, Farm Stuff, Gift Ideas, Shopping

It’s the beginning of November and we all know what that means, right? The retail Christmas shopping season has officially begun. As I eluded to in a post last week, I have a few more hard-to-get gifts to buy. Robert’s mom and his aunt are super hard to buy for because they have everything and to be honest I never really know what they will absolutely love. I may just opt for sending them flowers as that is something either of them buy for themselves. And then our little 6 year old niece will be easy to buy for, not to mention fun!

We might be buying ourselves electric fencing and a solar panel with battery pack. A farm expense, but out-of-the pocket expense since our farm is not yet turning enough profit to cover it. Now some of you may not “get” that but we value our poultry “friends” and the food they provide for our family. Now that it’s cold outside the children are tired of always having to chase them when it’s time to bring them in after we let them free-range. The only thing is the electric fencing won’t be much help once the snow flies but we will be able to get a little use out of it if I get it ordered this week. Regardless, it will be needed in the spring anyways.

What about you? Starting your Christmas shopping? Looking for sales? K-Mart is hosting a Family and Friends sale this Sunday, November 4th. Visit Kmart.com to download coupons and get started on Christmas gifts for your family and friends.

This post is sponsored through a Mom Bloggers Club member program. All thoughts and opinions are our own.

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OctoNovemCember Shopping Holidays #OctoNovemCember

Posted by html404 on October 24, 2012
in Holidays, Seasonal Stuff, Shopping, Uncategorized

Can you believe there’s only a week left of October? Seriously, I don’t know where time goes. Before we know it we will be snowed in! But shhh….you didn’t hear that from me!

What does the above image make you think of? To me it denotes Autumn, Thanksgiving and Christmas (insert your preferred holidays) all rolled up into one. I generally only shop for food for Autumn and Thanksgiving, as we do not give gifts for either of those holiday events. I shop for gifts for Christmas.

For Christmas gifts I am usually shopping all through the year. I am not as good about starting right after Christmas with the end of year sales as I use to be, but I am done shopping well before Christmas except for maybe…one…or two last minute gifts for the hard-to-buy people in our family.

This will probably be weird but I don’t shop on Black Friday. I have never relished putting myself or my children~~‘s lives at risk~~ through the crowds and hassle of racing for the sales. It never seemed worth it to me.

It saves money to shop early and to have a budget in mind of what you are going to spend. With the advent of technology there are even more ways to save by taking advantage of online sales, FREE shipping, using sales or coupons in conjunction with FREE shipping offers increases your savings.

Shopping Holidays

This holiday season, you can visit the promotion page to learn about the OctoNovemCember™ shopping season and watch the video about Pumpkin-Headed Turkey Claus, the King of OctoNovemCember™:

Win a $1000 Shopping Spree

Now thru 10/31 you have a chance to win a $1,000 shopping spree by sharing the Pumpkin-Headed Turkey Claus video. The more times you share, the more entries you get (up to 20!) and one winner is picked each week.

Tech Savvy Shoppers

RetailMeNot has Coupons App for iPhone and Android phones to access deals, coupons, popular stores and categories to help make shopping easier.

Social Media Shoppers

If you are a Social Media Maven be sure to “like” RetailMeNot.com on Facebook, follow the company via Twitter @RetailMeNot and add them on Google+ to stay current with deals you don’t want to miss.

Happy OctoNovemCember™ Shopping!

This is a paid post by One2One Network and RetailMeNot.com

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