The Most Important Little People

This year I bought the Fisher Price Little People Nativity set, and the girls have played with it almost every day.  This morning while Rachel and I were learning a new Christmas song, I peeked over at Reese and saw that she had placed people and animals all around Baby Jesus.  I'm pretty sure her setup is not far off from the reality.

Baby Gizmo Giveaway

If you're a mom, Baby Gizmo is a great baby product resource site to have in your favorites!  They have reviews, news and price comparisons for tons of baby products!  On top of all this, they host some awesome giveaways!  Right now they are on day 12 of the 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway!  Sadly I missed the first 11 days, but day 12 is totally worth entering - a Bugaboo Chameleon!
In addition to the Christmas giveaway, they are hosting a giveaway for a $250 Visa gift card to bloggers who help spread the word!

Holiday Giveaways!

I'm a little late posting this given that the giveaways are halfway through, but there is still time to enter and win!!

One of my favorite sites, Hip2Save has been doing giveaways all day from magazine subscriptions to fruit baskets to flip flops :)

Frugal Coupon Living is part of the "Win Giveaways" facebook group of 12 bloggers, which means up to 12 chances to win!  These giveaways include shoes, a Dell printer, a bike, a Red Envelope credit, and restaurant gift cards!

My newest finds are two awesome blogs who teamed up for a holiday gift guide & giveaway!  A Mom's Balancing Act and Thanks, Mail Carrier have giveaways for a Bissell floor cleaner, a Nestle baking gift basket, a Kolcraft Contours stroller, and lots more!



Check them out, enter, and win!  :)

Last Minute Gift Ideas

If you're really organized and plan ahead, you're probably already done with your Christmas shopping.  You're "one of those" who have shopped and stocked up all year long and finished up with a few last deals on Black Friday or Cyber Monday.  But if you're like me, a major procrastinator, there are still gifts to be found and bought.  This one's for you.  Here are my quick & easy go-to gift suggestions:

For the Kiddos
These are tried and true favorites/most played with!
Fisher Price Little People - the beginnings of imaginative play!  Remember all the time you spent playing Barbies?  This is the 2-5 year old version.  We have the house, the barn, the castle and lots and lots of people and animals (mostly from yard sales :), and the girls play with them almost daily. 
Magnetic Doodler - aka "Magnadoodle".  We started with just one of these, and then the girls fought over it so much that we bought another.  We also have mini Doodlers for the car - great as stocking stuffers!
Tag Reading System from Leapfrog - I actually won this from a Leapfrog sweepstakes after Christmas last year and both girls have loved using it. I ended up getting a Tag Jr for Reese (age 2), but she can use the Tag pen just fine, and it reads both Tag books and Tag Jr books (the Jr only reads Jr books).
anything Crayola Color Wonder - This is one of my favorites!  If you haven't yet discovered this awesome line from Crayola, it is a mother's dream!  Mess-free markers and paint!  They are clear and only appear on the special Color Wonder paper - not hands, clothes or the wall!

For Me (and others like me)
You know all those techy gadgets that everyone has?  Well everyone doesn't have those, because I still don't!  I still don't own a smartphone or a gps or a flip video camera.  Mostly because when it comes down to spending money, I try to only buy things we need.  But I'd gladly take any of those as a gift ;) Anything that would make someone's life easier is always a good bet.

Gift Packages
For the people who have everything or whom you don't know well enough to know what to buy them.  A gift package is easy to put together and fun to receive!  Stick it all in a nice basket and add a bow!

• Movies - a favorite movie, popcorn, a blockbuster/netflix gift card
• Cookies - ready to mix cookie recipe and some cute cookie cutters
• Cocoa/Coffee - a package of special coffee and a fun mug and some biscotti
• Wine - a fav bottle, wine tags, bottle stopper, cheese, etc
• Cocktails - all the makings of a favorite drink and a fun new glass
• Music - concert tickets or an iTunes gift card & snazzy headphones

And when all else fails, bake a bunch of cookies, snag some gift cards or give to their favorite charity in their honor!

God Gave Us So Much - Book Review

I'm excited to have joined a couple of book review sites where I will be sent a free book of my choice (from their list) in exchange for my review of it.  How fun!

The first book I received was "God Gave Us So Much" written by Lisa Tawn Bergren and illustrated by Laura J. Bryan.  This is actually a 3-in-1 Limited Edition that includes "God Gave Us the World", "God Gave Us Love" and "God Gave Us Heaven".  My four-year-old and I started reading as soon as we opened our package, read through all three stories, and have read it a few times more since then.  Each story is about Little Cub and her many questions about God's creation and His love.  I love that many of Little Cub's questions are the same ones I have heard from my own girls, and that the answers she receives from her Mama, Papa and Grandpa are loving, honest and biblically based.  In addition to the stories, we also really enjoyed the illustrations of the polar bear family and their love for each other.  This book would make a great gift, keepsake, or to use as a reference when your own kids start asking these questions!

Feel free to rate my review here.

Disclaimer:  I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.