Best Gift Ideas For Your Little Gamer

October 11, 2017 by Kathryn 2 Comments

With kids in the house, the excitement over the holiday season is palple. It’s in every glass of eggnog you sip, gingerbread man you ice, and classic Christmas movie you watch together. Every kid waiting for Santa is bubbling with anticipation, and it’s building with each turn of the advent calendar.

(That small piece of chocolate to start the day only adds fuel to the fire!)

Their excitement is contagious, and the big day always arrives faster than you thought possible. In addition to doing all the fun stuff with your kids, you have presents to buy! Between your own children, nieces and nephews, cousins, godchildren, and your friends’ kids, you don’t always have time to brainstorm the perfect present for everyone on your list or waste time window-shopping during peak holiday hours.

Good thing we’ve got you covered. Here’s a shopping list of gamer-approved presents that will satisfy every kid on your list, so that when December rolls around, you’ll be ready.

Kid-Friendly Games

PlayStation has a huge catalogue of games that runs the gamut of genres. Few will be as tame as the games you remember playing in your youth, even if you preferred fighting games like Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter at the arcade. Thanks to improved processors and graphics, many of the top PS4 games portray violence, gore, and disturbing content in stunning clarity. [Read more…]

Hasbro Has the Hottest Holiday Gifts for Boys-Giveaway

November 25, 2016 by Kathryn 159 Comments

Every year when Christmas rolls around, my boys make a long wish list of all the gifts they’re hoping to find under the tree. And every year, there are fun-filled toys from Hasbro on that list! Hasbro has so many brands that my active boys love and if you’re on the hunt for the best Christmas gifts for your little men this year, these are my top toy choices!

NERF N-Strike Mega Mastadon Blaster

This battery-powered blaster is sure to provide hours of fun both indoors and out. My boys love the challenge of hitting a target with the bouncy NERF darts, so I’ll often set up a paper target outdoors and let them blast away to their heart’s content. This blaster is especially fun since it doesn’t use hand pumping to build air pressure. The blaster features a rotating drum that holds 24 NERF darts and motorized blasting action. When cold weather has my boys wanting to stay indoors, bundling them up, snapping on some safety goggles and pulling out these blasters is a sure-fire way to ensure they’ll get fresh air and exercise! [Read more…]

Surprise Kids on Christmas Morning with the Newest Building Sets from PLAYMOBIL-Giveaway

November 16, 2016 by Kathryn 150 Comments

When Benjamin was about four years old, he had birthday money to spend and used it to buy a PLAYMOBIL horse and stable set. It was my first experience with PLAYMOBIL and I fell in love with the high quality, interactive building/play sets at first sight. The company is constantly coming out with new themes and this year, PLAYMOBIL has some great choices for kids of all ages! Since Benjamin has just started skating and gained an interest in hockey, my personal favourites are the new PLAYMOBIL licenced NHL Hockey sets. Recently I received the NHL Score Clock with Referees and the NHL Arena so I could see for myself what they were like.

The NHL Score Clock features an actual working score clock and two referees, so that kids can keep track of the score as they pretend to play. With a countdown clock, sound effects and whistles for the referees, this set lets kids get the full hockey experience as they play! And with the logos of all the NHL teams emblazoning the clock, kids will be ready to cheer on their favourite teams. [Read more…]

Give the World this Holiday Season with Artisan Boxes from GlobeIn-Giveaway

November 16, 2016 by Kathryn 114 Comments

When it comes to great Christmas gifts, I have a special fondness for items from other countries. A simple home décor item that was handmade by a talented artisan in another country usually becomes a memento that’s treasured for years. And if you’re shopping for somebody that loves exotic items as much as I do, GlobeIn has a great gift option you’ll want to check out! The company’s Artisan Boxes come in a variety of different themes and feature one-of-a-kind items from other countries. I recently had the chance to check out the Savour Box for myself and I couldn’t wait for it to arrive.

This beautiful set is perfect for an avid cook and features hand painted salt & pepper shakers from the Palestinian Territories, a matching hand painted spoon rest, a hand-carved spice bowl from India and either a palm leaf basket from Mexico or hand-harvested sea salt from the Philippines. Every one of the items was absolutely beautiful, but I loved that they were all so useful too!

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Creative Fun is Guaranteed this Christmas with the Crayola Air Marker Sprayer-Giveaway

November 14, 2016 by Kathryn 118 Comments

Almost every kid loves creating unique pieces of art, and if you’ve got a creative child on your holiday shopping list, Crayola has a great new gift idea that you’ll want to see! The Crayola Air Marker Sprayer uses a special electric sprayer unit, Crayola markers and stencils to let kids create colourful rainbow pictures with a unique air-brushed style! Recently I had the chance to test out the Crayola Air Marker Sprayer for myself and I couldn’t wait to see how my boys liked it.

Using the device is as simple as plugging it in, securing a marker in the nozzle and pulling the trigger. The boys liked being able to either freestyle a design onto the paper or use the included stencils to add leaves, flames, letters and animals to their pictures. Zackary especially loved the dragon stencil and had a lot of fun combining different colours to get the look he wanted! [Read more…]

Surprise Your Favourite Little Designer with the Crayola Creations Jewel Maker

November 8, 2016 by Kathryn 30 Comments

I’m a big fan of toys that encourage creativity and creation, which is why I’ve always loved the newest innovations from Crayola. This year, the company has quite a few great products that are perfect for holiday gift giving and I was lucky enough to receive some of them to review! Crayola’s hottest new product this year is one that girls everywhere would love finding under the tree: the Crayola Creations Jewel Maker!

I decided to test out the kit by making a few fun jewelry pieces for my three nieces. The kit contains four different colours of gel jewel solution, catalyst solution, glitter, mixing containers, charms, gem molds, clasps, beads, icon-fetti, clasp bracelets, a work mat and a storage base. I loved how many different choices there were for creating something fun, special and personalized. The icon-fetti even included popular emoji icons that could be added to charms! [Read more…]

The Epic Big Nate Hardcover Collector’s Book is Epic Fun for the Holidays-Giveaway

November 2, 2016 by Kathryn 66 Comments

If you’ve got an older school-aged boy in the house, you may have already heard of Big Nate. The loveable sixth-grade hero of the Big Nate cartoon strip and book series may be a bit of a self-absorbed underachiever, but his goofy demeanour and love of pranks have made him a favourite of kids across North America. Now, just in time for the holidays, Big Nate is coming to bookshelves in a big way with the release of the hardcover collector’s book Epic Big Nate!

This beautiful book celebrates 25 years of the Big Nate comic strip with hundreds of cartoons specially selected by cartoonist Lincoln Peirce, information on the history and evolution of the comic over the years and an extensive Q&A with Peirce and his equally popular counterpart Jeff Kinney, author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. While some of the book might be a little heavy for school-aged readers, the many cartoons will keep them entertained regardless and the book is sure to become a treasured heirloom in years to come. [Read more…]

Give the Gift of Creativity with Subscription Boxes from Kiwi Crate-Giveaway

December 15, 2015 by Kathryn 79 Comments

If there’s one thing that I believe is hugely beneficial in my boys’ development, it’s building and creating with their hands. From simple crafts at school to projects at home with wood scraps, a hammer and nails, there’s so much learning that goes on when a child is building something on their own! That’s why I’ve always loved Kiwi Crate subscription boxes.

These fun-filled boxes for different age levels contain a craft or building project centered around a certain theme. The Koala Crate is for children from 3-4, the Kiwi Crate is for children from 5-8, the Doodle Crate is for craft-loving kids from 9-13 and the Tinker Crate is for future engineers between 9-13. No matter what types of activities your children love, there’s a crate for them!

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