What’s on Your Holiday Wishlist This Year? ($3800 in Prizes???)
November 23, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · 9 Comments
Win a Sleighful of Gifts!
TodaysMama and Provo Craft are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter, I’m sharing this meme with you. Did I mention this giveaway features $3,800 in prizes? For those of you that know me, you know I’m not exaggerating, because if I were, I’d exaggerate using an odd number. LOL!
Click here to check out the ginormous amount of goods.
To enter to win them, all you need to do is the following three things:
- Answer the questions in this meme on your blog.
- Make sure to post links back to TodaysMama.com and Provo Craft (using this link: http://bit.ly/4ikY3c ).
- Tag your friends!
Create a Wishlist!
1. What 5 items are top on your holiday wish list?
- A piano
- A trip to India
- Maid service (even one a month would be heavenly!)
- A trip to New York City (I would love to get this gift early, so I can go this December!)
- A new printer like my old one (where the sheets feed into the copier)
2. What is your favorite handmade gift you have received?
Do my grandma’s banana cookies count? Honestly… there is no better handmade gift than that!
3. What handmade gift have you always wanted to tackle?
I’d love to knit a hat as long as someone else could do the knitting for me!
4. What was the best Christmas gift you received as a child?
Holly Hobby Easy Bake Oven… hands down the best gift evah!
5. What items are top on your kids wish list this year?
- My 6YO wants an electric guitar.
- My 8YO wants us to get a piano. He’s willing to forego toys for it!
6. What is your favorite holiday food?
Where to begin?
- Reindeer cookies
- My MIL’s sugar cookies
- Saurkraut
- My mom’s prime rib roast
- Caramel Apple Spice from Starbuck’s
- Hot chocolate
- Veggie trays (especially if I got to chop the veggies)
- Olives (especially when eaten off my finger tips… tell me you did that as a kid too!)
7. What will you be hand-crafting for the holidays?
Thankfully, nada (unless making reindeer cookies as neighbor gifts counts)!
8. What is your favorite holiday movie?
All of them! I love holiday movies!!! If I had to choose just one, I would probably say How The Grinch Stole Christmas, especially the part when his heart pops out of his chest!
9. Favorite holiday song?
I can’t choose just one:
- Oh Come All Ye Faithful
- We Three Kings/Star of Wonder by BNL & Sarah McLaughlin
- Bring the Torch, Jeanette Isabella
- That one by the Osmond’s that @troypattee dies for (can’t remember the name… not Puppy Love though!)
10. Favorite holiday pastime?
Giving!
Tag! You’re It!
Now, it’s tag time! I’d love to see answers to these questions from all of you, but since the task is to tag some of you and since tagging all of you would mean the rest of you would have no one to tag, here we go!
- Amy from Mom Spark
- Niri from Mommy Niri
- Robyn from Pensieve Robin
- Melissa from Isly
- Carissa from Good and Crazy People
- Angie from 7 Clown Circus
- Elizabeth from Parenting Pink
- Kim from Crafty Mama of 4
- Holly from June Cleaver Nirvana
- Jenny from Jenny on the Spot
GIVEAWAY! Win a PBS KIDS Gift Pack Perfect for Holiday Gift Giving!
November 13, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · 346 Comments
With the holidays right around the corner and with names like Electric Company, Curious George, and Sesame Street, the PBS KIDS gift pack would arrive right in time and be the perfect present for the kids in your life this holiday season.
Prize
Three lucky winners will receive the following prizes in this PBS KIDS gift pack (retail value $100 each):
- Electric Company Backpack on wheels
- PBS Kids baseball hat
- Curious George plush
- PBS Kids T-shirt
- Steve Songs CD
- Music from Dinosaur Train
- Sesame Street Playground (Songs and videos from Around the World)
- Martha Speaks book
- Super Why book
- PBS Kids Color Foil book
- Super Why Hidden Word Puzzle
- PBS Kids USB port
- Sid The Science Kid Toy Microphone
- PBS Parents photo envelop
Entry Requirements
To enter for a chance to win, you are required to do the following three things. Make sure to leave a comment here linking to each one:
- Check out the http://pbskidsgo.org/lunchlab site and leave a comment here about your or your child’s favorite part of the site.
- Comment on the PBS Kids Healthy Eating for the Holidays Whrrl story and leave a comment here, letting us know you did so.
- Retweet and/or post the following two messages on Facebook and Twitter and comment here, linking to your update/post:
GIVEAWAY! Enter 4 chance 2 win $100 gift pack from #pbskids (3 Winners!). http://bit.ly/3PlZta PLS RT
Visit http://pbskidsgo.org/lunchlab 4 gr8 healthy eating/cooking w/kids tips just in time 4 holiday cooking/baking! #pbskids PLS RT
Extra Entries
You can earn up to two extra entries this week. Leave a comment for each one on this post!
- Follow @pbsparents on Twitter.
- Become a fan of the PBS Kids Facebook page.
The Fine Print
No purchase necessary to enter. Winners will be selected randomly through http://random.org. PBS and Mom It Forward employees are ineligible to participate. All entries received after Wednesday, November 18 at midnight PT will not be considered. Entries that do not follow all of the entry requirements will not be considered. Winners will be notified and will have 24 hours to confirm receipt of the e-mail. If they do not reply within 24 hours, another winner will be selected. Open to participants in the US and Canada 18 years and older. One entry per person.
Chat About Creative Holiday Gift Giving This Tuesday on Twitter With Crayola
November 6, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · 98 Comments
With the height of the holiday season right around the corner, are you getting excited to start your shopping and decorating? Or, have you already begun?
Join us at the #gno Twitter party this Tuesday from 9-11 p.m. ET as we discuss creative holiday gift giving with our friends from Crayola. They, along with other amazing women in our community, will be sharing shopping tips and highlighting the latest and greatest from Crayola (like this project created with the new Glow Dome, left)—just in time for the holidays.
Also, join the #gno Whrrl story to share your holiday shopping tips! Click here to join, contribute to, or view.
- What: Crayola is sponsoring this week’s #gno Twitter party (Click here to learn about #gno!)
- When: Tuesday, November 10, 9-11 p.m. EST
- Where: Click here to party with us on our custom Tweetgrid. (Use hashtags #gno and #crayola.)
- Topic: Creative Gift Giving
- Who: @carissarogers @cerisecheri @crayola @gograhamgo @jollymom @makeandtakes @noflashcards @skybluestacy
- Party Favors: Click here to enter for a chance to win products from Crayola just in time for the holidays.
- RSVP: Please leave your Twitter ID in the comments to follow and be followed (on Twitter, of course!) by other #gno gals. The best format is as follows: http://twitter.com/jylmomIF.
Mom It Forward This Halloween by BOOing!
October 26, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · Leave a Comment
Check out these great Halloween boo-ing ideas from fellow blogger and friend, Cindy Hopper from Skip to My Lou. She shares how it’s not to late to Mom It Forward Halloween style to your neighbors, family, and friends! What’s more is this is a perfect family activity! In her own words: “It is all about the ding & dash.”
Gather some treats, download and print this special Ghost Door Hanger and you are ready to go. One side lets everyone know you have been booed, the other a fun poem and instructions about how to BOO!
You might also like this unique way to BOO with a decorated plastic pumpkin. “Am I a Cat or Jack Boo Pumpkin” makes a great way to BOO your friends.
Another idea is to make a special BOO! Cone .
If you are into paper crafts a BOO! Sign is a wonderful way to share some Halloween fun!
Let the “BOOING” begin!
Giveaway—Design-her Gals Gift Package ($275 Retail Value)
July 5, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · 56 Comments
Design-her Gals has made products fun and perfectly tailored to you with their personalized stationary, stainless-steel water bottles, and invitations. What’s more is for those of you that are in business, they offer personalized business cards and luggage tags, stylish totes, time management planning systems, and more. And what a better way to get up close and personal with their product than by winning a Design-her Gals Gift Package ($275 retail value).
Giveaway Prizes
Two lucky winners from this site will be selected to win a gift package, including the following:
- 50 business cards
- Business card holder
- Luggage tag
- Stainless-steel water bottle
- Tote bag
Entry Requirements
To enter to win, you are required to do the following two things:
- Take this week’s SOS Challenge to Make Some “Me” Time by completing one of the post’s 10 suggestions or an idea of your own that fits within this week’s theme.
- Leave a comment on that post.
- Leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite “me” time activity. You must enter by Sunday, July 12 at midnight PDT, including your e-mail address.
Leave an additional comment for each of these extra entries (for a total of five extra entries):
- Join the Mom It Forward Friend Connect (in right sidebar).
- Join the Mom It Forward Flickr Group.
- Share a picture of your favorite “me” time activity on the Flickr group!
- Click here to join the Mom It Forward Facebook Page. (This is different than the group!)
- Post about this giveaway on Twitter and/or on your Facebook wall using the link http://www.designhergals.com in your tweet and/or update.
The Fine Print
No purchase necessary to enter. Winners will be selected randomly through http://random.org. Design-her Gals employees and Mom It Forward family members are ineligible to participate. All entries received after Sunday, July 12 at midnight PDT will not be considered. Entries that do not follow all of the entry requirements will not be considered.
DIY—The Benefits of Giving Handmade Gifts
May 5, 2009 by Kris Thurgood from youcanmakethis.com · Leave a Comment
The DIY phenomenon is here and more and more people are choosing to give handmade. Why is that?
1. Because It Is Cost-Effective.
More often than not, you can make something for less. Of course there are exceptions, but this works well when you have a budget to stick to. Kris recently made some chalkboard mats for her nieces and nephews. Can you believe she was able to make 9 of them out of 1 yard of fabric? Talk about a bargain! Another friend of ours made purses for all her girlfriends for a holiday gift exchange they had. When making many gifts at one time, doing so in assembly line fashion works really well as we purchase all needed items at once, lay out the materials, and thrust into the project at hand. Before you know it, we’re finished with something that was not only enjoyable to do, but cost very little in relation to purchasing something in a store.
2. Because It Can Be Personalized.
When we make a gift for someone, we always keep in mind what is important to them or about them. Whether it’s a name on the gift, remembering their favorite colors, or making something of a sentimental nature, a handmade gift is one way of showing you care. Handmade gifts can be very unique and different. Countless times we’ve been so impressed with those who can create the same project, yet individualize each one to make them special for the one they are giving it to. Whether it’s something that has been knit, sewn, painted, or glued, you can make the right gift for just the right person.
3. Because It Can Become a Treasure.
Kim still has a crocheted blanket our grandmother made for us when we were young. Seeing this reminds us of her love and dedication to our family. We can imagine the excitement she must have felt while making it. In retrospect, we don’t know if we ever showed my full extent of gratitude when that gift was given. Oftentimes that may be the case. But looking back, our hearts are filled with thanksgiving as we recognize the hours that must have gone into something so extraordinary.
Do we still purchase gifts for family and friends from stores? Of course we do. But while acknowledging that making handmade gifts does take more time, for us, giving a gift that is handmade is very fulfilling to both the giver and receiver.
Mother’s Day Gifts With Proceeds Going to Charity
May 3, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · Leave a Comment
Check out these Mother’s Day gifts with all or a portion of the proceeds going to charity.
Sassy Mother/Daughter Apron
Check out this duet apron set from the fabulous gals over at You Can Make This. I’m telling you right now… I don’t like to sew. But, this fun and adorable pattern may just change my mind. (My mom would be so happy after all the money she invested in sewing lessons for me over the years!)
This step-by-step pattern is only $5, is super easy, and is the perfect mother/daughter gift. The best part? 100% of the proceeds of your purchase will go to support women in Kenya in an effort to fight poverty.X
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Yummy Bath & Body Products!
Now, for something a little tastier. I wish there were a way to have smells come across the computer, because I assure you if you could smell the mint chocolate truffle soap in this Basa Body Kiss Me pack, you would be salivating over this purchase.
Not only are all the products made with the coconut oil extracted by mompreneurs in Kenya, but a portion of the proceeds of this purchase goes directly to Kenya—to their villages, in fact—to help provide more women with opportunities to support their families, thus fighting poverty!
The best part? When you purchase a Kiss Me pack between by May 12, you not only get to enjoy the Basa Body Mother’s Day 10% off discount, but when you use the “momitforward” promotion code, you get an additional 10% off. So pamper yourself this Mother’s Day (or point your hubby in this direction) all for under $30!
Freshwater Pearls
And if you happen to live in Utah… take advantage of this offer for a FREE strand of pearls. Simply download and print this image and take it into Goldsmith Co. Jewelers in Provo by Saturday, May 9 and enjoy a freshwater pearl necklace just in time for Mother’s Day!
