GIVEAWAY: Holiday Survival Kit from P&G CAN 12/20 #PGmom

P&G would like to help a Canadian out this holiday season with their Holiday Survival Kit. This kit is valued at $65.  Everything you might need to…

Be Beautiful

• Pantene Moisture Mask
• Venus & Olay Razor
• Satin Care with a Touch of Olay Shave Gel
• Herbal Essences Set Me Up Heat Protection Spray

Be Fresh and Tide-y

• Secret Outlast Deodorant
• Tide To Go

Be Prepared

• Duracell Batteries

This will be a quick giveaway as the holidays are approaching fast.

This giveaway is open to residents of Canada Only 18+. Giveaway is open until Dec 20 11:59 PM EST so you should have a great chance to win! By entering the following contest you are accepting that if you win your contact information will be shared with a P&G PR Agency for the purpose of mailing your prize.

Use the rafflecopter form below to enter. A copy of the giveaway rules are on the rafflecopter form. Entering the giveaway means you have read and agree to the rules. If you need help, email me at callistasramblings AT cogeco DOT ca

Moshi Monsters Moshlings Theme Park for DS and 3DS (Holiday Gift Guide 2012)

The newest Moshi Monster game for Nintendo DS is here in time for the holidays. 

“Based on the worldwide phenomenon Moshi Monsters™, and building on the ever-growing popularity of the Moshlings characters, Moshi Monsters™: Moshlings™ Theme Park takes fans on an exciting journey into a new Moshi universe. The game invites players to explore wondrous locations as they work to rebuild the legendary Moshlings Theme Park.”  - press release

Website and DS Game are Interconnected

Unlike many games, the DS game and online site MoshiMonsters.com are interconnected. You can find secret codes online that unlock special content on Nintendo DS or 3DS and you can unlock content on the website by achieving high scores in the DS game.

Nintendo 3DS Features New 3D Technology

For the first time ever, those playing with Nintendo 3DS can interact with other 3DS players using StreetPass™.  This technology brings a whole new dimension to the game.

Moshi Monsters: Moshlings Theme Park Features

• Furnando, a brand-new Moshling Character
• Comes with a free week-long membership to MoshiMonsters.com
• Redeemable code to interact with your new Moshling on the Moshi website.

Moshi Monsters Are New to Us

Moshi Monsters are quite popular with kids 6+ but my children who are five and six have not met with them yet.  However they love similar games where you have pets or babies that you care for and play games with so I know it will be a hit.

MoshiMonsters.com

“Moshi Monsters™ is an interactive social online world for kids aged 6-12 years, combining adoptable virtual pet monsters with online gameplay. With engaging puzzles, stories, and exciting missions, the Moshi Monsters™ world is an ever-growing success story with books, magazines and toys to name just a few of the available monster offerings.”

Where to Buy

Moshi Monsters: Moshlings Theme Park is available at most places that videogames are sold. Recommended Retail Price: DS $29.99 3DS $29.99

*Disclosure: I received the product mentioned above free of charge by the company or PR representative for evaluation purposes. No other compensation was provided. See my Disclosure Policy for more information.

FLASH GIVEAWAY: Set of Three Christmas DVDs - US/CAN - 12/15 11:59 PM EST

FLASH GIVEAWAY!!

This giveaway is open for 12 hours ONLY!! All three DVDS above will be given to one random winner in US/CAN. Giveaway is open until December 15, 11:59 PM EST. Winner will be picked December 16 and will have until 5pm EST to respond or another name will be chosen. This is a quick turnaround giveaway as I'm trying to get the winner his or her DVDs in time for Christmas!

You can read my review of these Christmas movies or what I thought or just to see the synopsis.

Use the rafflecopter form below to enter. A copy of the giveaway rules are on the rafflecopter form. Entering the giveaway means you have read and agree to the rules. If you need help, email me at callistasramblings AT cogeco DOT ca

GIVEAWAY: Chuggington Icy Escapades DVD US/CAN 12/30

You can read my review of Icy Escapades first if you would like. You’ll get bonus entries for commenting on that review.

This giveaway is open to US and Canadian Residents. Giveaway is open till Dec 30 11:59 PM EST

Use the rafflecopter form below to enter. A copy of the giveaway rules are on the rafflecopter form. Entering the giveaway means you have read and agree to the rules. If you need help, email me at callistasramblings AT cogeco DOT ca

Chuggington Icy Escapades DVD

The newest Chuggington DVD is perfect for the Winter Season. See how the Chuggers deal with common Winter issues in a train yard such as frozen rails, blizzards, snow drifts and wintery winds.  As always, life lessons are learned during these adventures.

Icy Escapades is also available as a picture book, wherever books are sold. It’s the perfect show for a snowy, blustery day inside. Perfect for children ages 4-8, it would be a welcome holiday gift as well.

My girls have always loved Chuggington and it even captured the interest of my toddler. I think part of the reason why kids love trains so much is because they aren’t allowed to be around them in real life so it’s something different to them, whereas they seem ordinary to adults.

Episodes:

• Chilly Chuggers
• Snowstruck Wilson
• Wilson’s Icy Escapade
• Heave-Ho Harrison
• Hodge Sails Away
• Rolling Reporter Wilson

Bonus Features

• Bonus Badge Quest Episode: Honk Your Horns
• The Chugger Spotlight: Speedy, Frostini
• Coloring & Activity Sheets

Run Time: 61 min.

From Anchor Bay Entertainment

*Disclosure: I received the products mentioned above free of charge by the company or PR representative for evaluation purposes. No other compensation was provided. See my Disclosure Policy for more information.

Christmas Movies for the Family to Enjoy

I just can’t get enough of watching Holiday movies this time of the year. I love having a large selection, even if I don’t get around to watching all of them, I can choose what fits my mood. Not everyone likes every Christmas movie but that’s okay because there are so many to choose from!

The movies above are perfect for the family, especially if you have children ages 8-12 but even I myself enjoyed Chilly Christmas and Elf-Man. Sure there were some corny parts but I could tell a preteen child would find it funny and I was able to look past those moments as the rest of the movie was entertaining or touching enough.  I did not watch The Dog Who Saved the Holidays but if you are a fan of the rest of the series, I’m sure your family would enjoy the latest one as well.

Chilly Christmas

In this movie, Bobby Cole and his dad and dog Chilly live in Sunshine Beach, California. Bobby’s dad is offered a job in New York City but Chilly is too rambunctious for a small apartment and Bobby is told they must find him a new home. Heartbroken, Bobby and his friends try to teach Chilly to be an indoor dog such as getting exercise using a treadmill and relieving himself in a  toilet. Meanwhile a dog napper is trying to get Chilly.

Bobby’s dad is played by Thomas Howell (E.T., The Extra Terrestrial, The Outsiders) and the dog napper is Tom Arnold (True Lies, “Roseanne,” A Christmas Wedding Tail.) The Chilly training is quite funny, even the few parts that were a bit much for me. The children in the movie did a great job and it was nice to see different “types” of children than you usually see in a movie. A non-Caucasian or African-American boy and a tomboyish girl round out the character of Bobby. The three children aren’t all the best of friends from the start either but grow to get along.  The actor playing the father could have been better. It just wasn’t as believable and it seemed like he was the brunt of the jokes too much. He became a comedy or movie extra more than a main character.

Overall though, it was a cute movie and once my children stop being scared of the littlest things, I will enjoy watching it with them.

Elf-Man

I must say I was apprehensive about this movie. It just seemed like it was going to be what I call “Stupid-Funny" which is something my husband enjoys but I don’t. However I ended up really enjoying this movie! Just like Chilly Christmas, there were a few spots that seemed over the top to me but I felt like a preteen would enjoy but the storyline was so great that it didn’t matter. Elf-Man actually wasn’t as much of a comedy as I thought it would be. The storyline was emotional and pulled you in. The humour came from the typical dumb bad guys that every movie seems to have.

The stars are dad Eric (Mackenzie Astin, The Facts of Life) and butcher Amy (Mirelly Taylor, LOST) plus the Elf (Wee Man) and the head robber (Jeffrey Coombs, Reanimator.)

I underestimated the movie and the lessons it left and I will be watching this movie with the rest of my family this year.

The Dog Who Saved The Holidays

I didn’t watch this one so I’ll leave you with a description.

“The fur-flying fun begins when the Bannister family, George (Gary Valentine, “King of Queens”), Belinda (Elisa Donovan, Clueless, “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch”) and their kids, Kara (Caitlin Carmichael, “iCarly,” “Dexter”) and Ben (Wyatt Griswold), jet off with their dog Zeus (voiced by Joey Lawrence, ABC Family’s “Melissa & Joey”) to celebrate the holidays at Aunt Barbara’s (Shelley Long, “Cheers”) stunning Malibu mansion. Aunt Barbara surprises them with a new puppy named Eve (voiced by Peyton List, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Something Borrowed) and the whole family is smitten except Zeus, who quickly learns the new pooch is not as innocent as she seems. Zeus decides to run away, but when he spots two familiar thieves, Ted (Dean Cain, “Lois & Clark” and The Dog Who Saved Christmas) and Stewey (Joey “CoCo” Diaz, The Longest Yard), breaking into the house, he knows it’s up to him and Eve to beat the bumbling burglars and save Christmas once and for all!”

So if the movies sound good to you, grab them this season and add to your holiday movie collection.

*Disclosure: I received the products mentioned above free of charge by the company or PR representative for evaluation purposes. No other compensation was provided. See my Disclosure Policy for more information.

Make a Difference With the Aviva Community Fund

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Aviva Community Fund for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I've mentioned before about the Aviva Community Fund. It is an annual charitable activation funded and supported by Aviva Insurance. The fund was created to help influence positive change in our communitites. Instead of supporting one specific organization, Aviva lets you vote to decide what cause will be supported. Avivia Insurance will donate $1,000,000 to the winning cause.

There are all kinds of ideas that you can support such as building new playgrounds, helping animals, Special Needs Awareness and more. Anyone in Canada can vote for the ideas simply by registering for the Aviva Community Fund website.

Simply register and sign in and then click Vote Now on any idea you wish to vote on. You can also vote directly through the Facebook voting app which you can find at the Aviva Community Fund Facebook Page.

Canadians can vote during each of the Qualifying rounds and the Semi-Final phases of the competition. You can vote 15 times during each of the three intitial rounds and another 15 during the Semi-Finals but you can only vote for each idea once a day.

This is your chance to find a cause you beleive in and share with others, asking for their support such as my friend Sam who asked all her friends to help support the Hannah House idea which sadly did not make it to the semi-finals. You don't want a cause you wish to support to not make it to the finals right?  Don't just sit by and let others determine what cause will receive 1 million dollars. Go over and vote now!

Be sure to Like Aviva Community Fund on Facebook and Follow @Aviva for updates.

Christmas Picture Book Advent Idea

When I was a kid we cut out strips of red and green construction paper and wrote things to do in December on them (like read a book, watch a Christmas movie, go for a walk, sing carols etc.) and then linked them together into a chain. Each day we took one off and did what it said.

I decided this year to do something similar with  my children but a bit different. I started it late but that’s okay, the kids can still count down to the big day. If you still don’t have an advent calendar, don’t think it’s too late. Just start as soon as you can!

Our advent calendar this year counts down the days with a good Christmas book everyday.

Step 1 – Prepare the Paper

Use a ruler to draw lines horizontally on the paper to guide you when you cut out the strips. We use red and green paper but you can use whatever you want. You will need 24 if you do this before December starts, otherwise, figure out how many days are left including Christmas Eve and that's how many you will need.

Step 2 – Gather Your Christmas Picture Books

Gather together your holiday picture books. I had more than enough for one a day. If you don’t, you can double them up, just space them out so you aren’t reading the same book twice in a row or hit the thrift store and get some more.

Step 3 – Write The Titles on the Strips of Paper

Try to keep them away from the edges. My first few were great, but the title of the second last visible one was so long I had to go near the edges. The reason for this is when they are taken off, part of the title may be ripped.

Step 4 – Cut the Strips Apart

Cut them all apart and mix them up. Get a stapler for the next step….

Step 5 – Assemble the Chain

Take one and make a circle and staple it closed with the ends overlapping just enough. Take another (opposite colour) and put it through the first and then staple. Repeat alternating the colours.

Step 6 – Hang Your Advent Chain Up

Each night, one of my children takes a link off and reads the book title and then tries to find it in our bin of Christmas books. This aids in their reading skills as well. BONUS!

I had so many books I made a couple with two books so they are surprised occasionally with two bedtime stories instead of one!

Enjoy!

Heart to Heart Girls–World Dolls Now in Canada

Dolls are a common gift, especially for girls. If you are like me, you can feel like you don’t want any more dolls because your house is being overrun by them. Heart to Heart Girls is different. First of all, they are not babies. Second, they are from different cultures. Third they come with information about the country they come from so they can be educational too.

You Can Help Change the World

How can buying a doll help change the world? A portion of each doll sale is donated to World Vision to help children in the country represented by the doll.

Introducing Nahji from India

All the dolls come with a bracelet for the child to wear (shown top left in image below) and authentic clothing and accessories -Nahji has Henna on her hand (see below.) Each girl also comes with a small story booklet that explains what life is like in the doll’s country of origin. There is also an interactive website to navigate.

The dolls quality is amazing. Nahji’s hair is silky and flows like real hair. She is jointed so her arms and legs move a bit. Her jewellery and clothing are great quality as well.

The other available dolls are currently: Lilian from Belarus, Tipi from Laos, Rahel from Ethiopia, Consuelo from Mexico and Dell from the USA. I’m not sure why there is a doll from the USA and while there are certainly kids there that need help, I would have liked to have seen dolls from other countries not as well of in general as most of North America. There are two more dolls available in the USA that are not available yet here as well.

The Hearts for Hearts Girls line is recommended for girls ages 6-12 and is available at Wal-mart across Canada. Find them in the USA at Target, Toys R Us and Amazon.

*Disclosure: I received the product mentioned above free of charge by the company or PR representative for evaluation purposes. No other compensation was provided. See my Disclosure Policy for more information.

Shoes for Crews–Slip Resistant Footwear

I usually dread shoe shopping because I never know what size I should buy since I have a wide foot and I always end up with low quality shoes that split and break in less than a year.

I was offered a chance to try a pair of shoes from Shoes for Crews so I thought I’d try it as I’d never bought shoes online before. Shoes for Crews makes shoes designed for those who walk or stand a lot, especially for their job. For example teachers or medical professionals who don’t sit much during their work day.

Although I don’t have one of those types of jobs, I do walk a lot as I walk my kids to and from school each day, often multiple times per day. I’m also a Girl Guide leader and I do two units so I am pretty much standing from 5:00-9:00pm once a week and that’s not including all the standing I do before it starts as I make dinner and prepare to go.

My Choice: Eastside running shoe (because I’ve always wanted to try a slip on shoe)

I also ended up going to Toronto twice in one month for the She’s Connected Conference and a P&G Mom event so I was on my feet a lot then too. I think I tested them out well.

Why Shoes for Crews is Different

What makes Shoes for Crews shoes different is their patented SFC Mighty Grip Slip-Resistant Outsole. If you go to that link and view the first video, you will see what I mean. I’ve never seen a shoe with grip like this. I tried the shoe in many conditions, hardwood, ceramic, linoleum, cement, grass, asphalt, carpet and wood. I tried all those surfaces that can be outdoors while wet as well. I have not tried snow yet because we have not had any yet. I never slipped, not even once. I normally walk extra carefully when it is raining because I’ve slipped so many times. Now I have to train myself to walk normally again.

The shoe is also water resistant, made of genuine leather, has a padded collar, stitch-reinforced toe and a shock-absorbent outsole.

Types of Shoes

Shoes for Crews sells different types of shoes like athletic shoes, women’s slip-resistant footwear as well as clogs, steel-toed boots and dress shoes. You can also browse by industry.

What Impressed Me Most?

The shoes came with a little shoe cleaner. It looks like a little piece of of the bottom of the shoe with little picks coming out of it that you can run through the lines on the bottom of the shoe to get everything out of it.  I LOVE IT!

How It Performed

The shoe itself is designed beautifully and I'm sure they will last me a long time. I do wish however that I had NOT gone with slip-ons as I had a hard time deciding on shoe size even with their charts and they are a bit big on me. I had a blister for a while on my smaller foot although I'm fine now. I think if they had laces, I would have been able to tie them tighter and make them fit better. Part of my problem was that this shoe doesn’t come in a wide size and I have wide feet. So I really should have picked a shoe that came in wide.

If you know what size your shoes are or at least don’t have problems with them being quite different in size or one wider, I think you would be fine buying shoes online.  Despite this, I am happy with my shoes. I like that they are athletic shoes but look nice if I go out too since I HATE dress shoes.

Connect with Shoes for Crews

Twitter: https://twitter.com/shoesforcrews

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shoesforcrews

*Disclosure: I received the product mentioned above free of charge by the company or PR representative for evaluation purposes. No other compensation was provided. See my Disclosure Policy for more information.