2011Holiday Gift Guide – Suggestions For the Home

The smell of an evergreen tree…cookies baking…hot chocolate…baked ham…mulled cider…there are so many scents during the holidays that are tied to wonderful memories, fun times – or that just plain smell great. If you’d like to have those scents float through your home all year – or if you have other favorite smells you’d like to treat family and guests to – Scentsy is a great way to do that.

Stacy Mayo is an Independent Scentsy Director who loves her company’s products and the great opportunities with which those products provide her and her team. Scentsy products are wick-less and flame-less meaning no soot, no lead and no worry. Scents are created by placing wax bars in the dish of each ceramic warmer; the dish sets over a light bulb that slowly melts the wax, allowing the fragrance to be released. There are a number of fragrance collections with over 80 scents to choose from in all – everything from Baked Apple Pie to Christmas Cottage to Newborn Nursery.

Scentsy also has room sprays, travel tins, hanging scents for the car, solid perfume and the adorable Scentsy Buddies. The Buddies are sweet stuffed animals that safely hold a scent paks inside. If your little one has a favorite scent, he can take it with him wherever he goes via his Buddy.

2011 Holiday Gift Guide – Suggestions For the Kids

(Be sure to check out all the other great Gift Guide items and giveaways here.)

If you were to ask anyone in my family if I have “Christmas spirit”, they would probably laugh at you. Not because I don’t have any Christmas spirit, but because I have so much. I love everything from the lights to the decorations to the songs to the movies to the feeling in the air.

So I know that my younger self would have loved the new Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town video game (available on the Nintendo DS or the Wii). I know this because my older self thinks it’s pretty cute, too.

Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town is inspired by the classic ABC claymation TV show of the same name. The show tells the story of Kris Kringle and how he became Santa Claus; debuting in 1970, it’s one of the longest-running holiday specials of all time and is watched by millions each year. The game lets you join in the fun as you join Kris Kringle and his friends as they escape the Burgemeister Meisterburger and bring toys to the children of Sombertown.

The game play (we tried the DS version) is simple and straight-forward. It’s basically a platforming adventure game (run, jump, collect things) with a fun Christmas theme. You get to collect snowflakes and deliver toys as you move through the storyline. There are three main adventures to play and over 20 mini-games – everything from puzzles to mazes to coloring.

If you have kids, are a kid at heart, or have kids on your shopping list, I think this would make a nice purchase this year. Both versions are under $20 which makes it nice, too.

Where to Buy:

Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town is available on Nintendo DS ($19.99) and Nintendo Wii ($19.96) from Amazon and other retailers.

Want to Win?

One winner will receive a copy of Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town for the Nintendo DS! To win, just fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Reminder: Rafflecopter can sometimes take a moment to load; if you don’t see it after a minute, please try refreshing your browser.

ENTER HERE:

I received a copy of the game in order to facilitate my review. No other compensation was received and all opinions are 100% mine and my family’s.

My first week of following the Nutrisystem program as part of the Nutrisystem Nation Bloggers group went quite well.

The first few days went smoothly. I stuck to the plan 100%, though some meals I didn’t add in all my “extras”; at each meal you’re supposed to add an extra fruit, veggie, dairy or protein (depending on which meal it was), but sometimes I just wasn’t hungry enough to eat everything. That’s right – this plan keeps you so full and satisfied, that sometimes you don’t even want to eat all your food.

Some of my favorites from the first week include the frozen pizzas, pancakes (you can even add 2T of sugar-free syrup!), chili with beans, frozen meatball sub and the honey mustard pretzel bites.

I lost 3.5 pounds over the course of the week, too, which is a better result than I anticipated due to a couple of indulgences over the weekend. Hubby asked me to bake him some chocolate chip cookies of which I had two (not bad considering it was the one weekend a month that I crave chocolate). We also did fast food one night due to a few different reasons, but I tried to stay as close to the plan a I could (while still enjoying the treat) so I ordered a kid’s cheeseburger meal with child-size fries.

This week I hope to skip the cookies 😉 I’ll let you know on Monday if I was successful!
Week 1: -3.5 lbs
Total: -3.5 lbs
There are some other blogger friends of mine that are participating in the NSNation program. I’d love if you’d pop over and show them some support, as well!

Passport to Frugal
Matter of Cents

Want to lose weight and get healthy on Nutrisystem? Join today by calling 1-888-853-4689 or by visiting http://www.nutrisystem.com/nsblog

I am receiving free food each month in order to facilitate my review. No additional compensation was received and all opinions, as always, are 100% that of myself and my family.

2011 Holiday Gift Guide – Suggestions For Her

(Be sure to check out all the other great Gift Guide items and giveaways here.)

I think that most – if not all – women like a little bling. I prefer my bling to be silver, usually, and so I love the items at Something About Silver (they do have a few gold items, too, if that’s your preference). Not only are they, well, silver, they’re customized and unique.

The Something About Silver studio is located near the sunny beaches of Clearwater, Florida, where they fabricate all of their custom hand stamped jewelry. They offer a wide selection of keepsake necklaces that would make a perfect gift or could become your own most cherished piece of jewelry. If you don’t find exactly what you’re looking for, you can even email them and they will work with you to create a piece that is perfect for you or your gift recipient.

Their site has so many pretty things that it took me hours to choose my favorite and even then there are at least a half-dozen other items I really want (are you listening, Santa?). What I did choose is The Family Tree necklace. It’s a 1 1/4″ washer with a tree charm that hangs inside it. Mine came on a ball chain (various lengths available) but you can also choose a link chain if you prefer. We had our last name engraved on it; you could also do each of your kids’ names, or all the grandkids’ names as a gift for Grandma.

The finished product was exactly how it looked online – really beautiful. They’re also really well-made. Depending on what you choose, it could easily become a family heirloom.

Their packaging is really nice, too; it makes it feel like you’re giving yourself a gift (or if it is a gift, it will feel extra-special).

In addition to necklaces, they have rings, bracelets, earrings, bridal jewelry, ornaments, baby spoons and more. Here are a couple other items I love.

Where to Buy:

You can purchase directly from the Something About Silver website. And I have an exclusive promo code for you! Enter LMC502 at the checkout and get 10% off your order (expires12/19).

Want to Win?

Something About Silver has provided one winner with a $40 Gift Code for their site! You’ll get to choose your own beautiful item. To win, just fill out the form below. Reminder: Rafflecopter sometimes takes a moment to load; if you don’t see the form after a minute, please try refreshing your browser.

I received an item in order to facilitate my review. No other compensation was received and all opinions are 100% mine and my family’s.

2011 Holiday Gift Guide – Suggestions for Kids

(Be sure to check out all the other great Gift Guide items and giveaways here.)

It can sometimes be hard to find age-appropriate video games for the preteen set. Many games kids consider too “babyish”, some are too complicated in the game play and many are too graphic. The Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion XL is none of those things.

Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion XL is a brawler video game with 26 playable characters from shows like Johnny Bravo, The Powerpuff Girls, Dexter’s Laboratory and many more. There are six play modes: story mode, battle mode, arcade mode, PTE mode, Fight the Drones mode and training mode; with both story mode and battle mode up too 4 players can play together (or against each other!). You’ll also find 26 different battle arenas in which to play. Cool items and characters can be unlocked in the PTE store using the coins you earn battling.

A2 tested out the game for us first. He thought it was okay, but shared that he felt kids 8-14 would probably enjoy it most. I also think that adults who enjoy some of the Cartoon Network TV shows would enjoy this game as a fun break from more “serious” games, too. (I always enjoy a good Dexter’s Lab.)

The controls are very intuitive, especially for those familiar with the brawler genre. All of the character each have four special moves, but this doesn’t make the game complicated.

Below is a screen grab of a battle scene with Johnny Bravo so you can have a feel for what the game play looks like. As you can see it’s all fun, cartoon-y stuff, not blood and gore.

You can also check out the video below from the developers.

Where to Buy:

Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion XL is rated E (Everyone age 10+) and in addition to the PS3 version ($39.99) it is available on the Xbox 360 ($39.99) and Nintendo Wii ($29.99).

Want to Win?

One winner will receive a copy of Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion XL for the PS3. To enter fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Reminder: Rafflecopter sometimes takes a moment to load; if you don’t see it after a minute, please try refreshing your browser.

ENTER HERE:

I received a copy of the game in order to facilitate my review. No other compensation was received and all opinions are 100% mine and my family’s.

Views From the Ville

Liza

2011 Holiday Gift Guide: Scentsy Warmer and Scent Bars #SfSHolidayGiftGuide

2011Holiday Gift Guide – Suggestions For the Home

2011 Holiday Gift Guide – Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town Video Game – Review & Giveaway (12/16) #SfSHolidayGiftGuide

Nutrisystem Week 1 Update – #NSNation

2011 Holiday Gift Guide: Something About Silver – Review, Giveaway & Promo Code (12/16) #SfSHolidayGiftGuide

2011 Holiday Gift Guide: Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion XL PS3 Game – Review & Giveaway (12/16) #SfSHolidayGiftGuide