Holiday Lights and #Holiday Swap

This is an annual tradition....going to see the lights on Spruce.

Wow. The lights are just crazy.

This Microsoft Windows 8 phone takes great pictures. Both of these shots were taken at about 9 o'clock at night. The colours are so vibrant. I love the quality of photos this phone takes. The large screen also allows the user to get a good look at the shot being taken. This was a great opportunity to get a chance to use the phone's camera as part of this #Holiday Swap campaign.



I received a Nokia Lumia 920 from Microsoft Canada to try out. I am being compensate for my posts but the opinions written here are my own.

Christmas Craftiness - DIY

 Homemade Christmas gifts. A grape vine wreath, old Christmas ornaments and a hot glue gun!

Share The Joy! with Kinder

I love Christmas. The entire season is great. I love the decorations and the presents ( buying them and receiving them)  but mostly I love sharing the season with my family, especially my children. Christmas is a great time to share what the holidays mean to me with my children.

As part of the season, we make sure we give to others. Sharing the joy of the season with others is one of the most important things we do during the holidays. We do a lot of small things, including donating to our local food bank. In years past we have packed shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child with Samaratian's Purse. My kids love to pack a box full of great stuff that a child on the other side of the world might need and enjoy, like toys, school supplies, socks, a new towel and soap. It makes us feel good to know a small effort on our part can mean something big to another person's life.  We also make sure to give toys and books to as many local toy drives as we can. This year we have several books and toys to donate. The kids love to know  they are sharing the joy of the season with a child who might otherwise not have a Christmas if it were not for the kindness of others.     

We also like to share the joy of the season with people we know. Every year spend a few hours in the kitchen lovingly making a number of sweet treats for our friends and neighbours.  I always carefully select several recipes that the kids can help me with, some even no bake cookies. We whip up our creations and carefully pack them up and then head out with our Santa hats and red wagon and deliver our Christmas treats to all our neighbours. The kids love it. They take so much pride in the task of delivering a little taste of Christmas to friends. It is an important lesson to teach children (and not just at Christmas). While receiving is exciting, it is really important to give to others. It is a way to show others how much you care about them and that you are thinking about them. It warms my heart to see my girls learning to share and give back to others, especially the people who make our lives special throughout the year. 

Part of being a KinderMom we get a chance to taste some great Kinder treats.  This week we received another surprise in the mail ( although it is still a surprise for the kids). 

(photo to come...having trouble taking the picture because I can only do it when the kids are out. I don't want to spoil the surprise for them)

I put away all but one of the treats for Christmas. As a family we shared the Kinder Mini Eggs and they were delicious. Sadly, they were so good we ate them before I could take a picture of the package and the kids enjoying them. 

You can have a chance to taste these sweet Kinder treats. To kick off the sharing the great people at KINDER Canada are giving away 7,500 coupons so you can enjoy their delicious Kinder mini eggs for FREE. The giveaway is underway RIGHT NOW for the next ten days. Every day there will be 750 coupons given away.  

These Kinder Mini Eggs are a sweet treat. They have a great hazelnut centre. While they are not nut free like the Kinder Surprise Egg, they are just as tasty. This is an exclusive for Kinder's facebook community. It is all part of the Kinder A Joy To Share program in support of Children's Miracle Network of Canada. Check out this link to participate www.facebook.com/KinderCanada!  

There is a way you too can share the joy this holiday season. Please take a moment to watch the Martin Family story. Share it with your friends and family to help encourage donations to the Children's Miracle Network. For every share of the video, Kinder will donate $1 to the Children’s Miracle Network, up to $5,000. 

“Disclosure: I’m part of the Kinder® Mom program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.”

Shopping with Sears Club Points

Before I say anything else I should just say that I LOVE shopping with points. Last Christmas I redeemed many points for presents and gift cards. It was a great feeling to be cashing in those points that I had carefully collected throughout the year. So naturally I was more than a little excited about the opportunity to work with Mom Central Canada and Sears Canada and use the retailers Sears Club Points program.





Firstly, here is a bit of information about the Sears Club Points Program:

When you receive a Sears Financial™ Mastercard® or Sears Card, you’re automatically enrolled in the Sears Club™ Points Program. You get up to 2% back in rewards every time you shop.

 Some of the Sears Club Benefits…

-       You can earn DOUBLE points at Sears everyday
 -       1,000 points = $10 towards anything at Sears, including travel ( with some exceptions)
-       You can also donate them to Sears in your Community



There are two great ways to use your Sears Club Points. You can redeem points online at sears.ca or in store. I chose to experience both ways to redeem.

First, I hit the Sears site and did a lot of shopping online. It was actually hard to decide what to get and frankly, who to shop for. I looked around for things for the house but then I decided that was too practical. In the end I decided to try to shop for everyone in the family. With Christmas coming it was a great opportunity to get some things for the kids. I managed to find several pairs of leggings for the kids and some really great tops! They are going to look so stylish at Christmas!

       


 I did find a little something for myself ( some very nice boots that should be coming the first week of November).



Now here is how it works online. You select the things you want to purchase, dropping them into your cart and then when you are done head to the checkout. Once at the checkout you need to select a credit card to charge your purchase to but also make sure that you enter your Sears Club Points number. The idea is that you will pay for your purchase first and then be credited your account once your purchase is processed through your Sears Club Points.

Here is how it is described on Sears.ca

1. Enter a valid credit card and the Sears Gift Card or Rewards Card identification number
2. Sears Canada will process your credit card for the total amount of your order
3. Sears Canada will process the Sears Gift Card or Rewards Card for the balance remaining on the card
4. Sears Canada will reimburse (debit) the customer for the total amount processed on the gift card or rewards card.
**Credit card debits may take up to 2 weeks to process and may, due to processing timing, actually appear on the next statement after the initial charge.**


While it says it could take up to two weeks it only took a matter of a few days. And the items started showing up at my doorstep in just a couple of days. That was just exciting.

Now, sadly I had to return one of the items that I purchased for the kids. The shirt was just too small. Returning couldn't have been easier. No questions asked. No fuss! No muss! I walked in and said that I needed to return the shirt. I had the bag with the shipping receipt on it and the sales associate in the catalog customer service just said no problem and refunded the money back on my Visa card.

Of course while in the store I couldn't help looking around. I still has some Sears Club Points to use up and using the points card in the store was so easy. I just took what I wanted up to the cash desk, handed over my Sears Club Points and swiped. It was just like using a gift card!

Disclosure – I am participating in the Sears Club Points program by Mom Central Canada.  I received compensation for my participation in this campaign. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Holiday Decorating with 3M

It is one of my favourite times of year. Christmas time. I know we are still several weeks away ( I am not counting really because that might just stress me out) and that means it is a perfect time to start decorating. I love to get the house ready for the holiday season. There is nothing better. It helps everyone in the family really get in the Christmas spirit and it just makes me feel good. It brings back happy memories of holidays gone by. I think back to when I was a little girl and how great it was to help get the house ready for Christmas. Decorating also makes me think about all the great traditions my husband and I  are creating for our two girls. These traditions will give them years of happy memories.

This year I got a little help to kick start the decorating process. EverythingMom and 3M Command Products really got the ball rolling.

 With a few 3M hooks and strips I was able to easily hang wreaths, garland, lights, ribbon and decorations.  Fifteen bloggers were asked to participate in a Holiday Decor Challenge, to come up with some great DIY holiday decorating ideas and get decorating with 3M Command products. I was up for the challenge.

So head over to EverythingMom and check you my holiday inspired decorating ideas. There are some great pictures and a post to help you get started.

CONTEST

The gallery idea with the most votes wins a prize. The best part is that not only will your vote help me win, you also have a chance to win a weekly cash prize too:

November 15th -$50

November 21st - $100

November 28th - $200

December 5th - $200

December 12th - $100

The contest ends December 12, 2011 so hurry over and vote today. The contest is open to EverythingMom members so this is a great opportunity for you to join the site. Don't forget to vote for me

CHRISTMAS CRAZINESS

I know, I know.

Christmas is everywhere but it does seem early to be talking about Christmas. My hubbie and I have been talking about all the places and people we need to see this holiday season. Frankly, I am amazed at how much we have to do next month. We have a company kids party, dinner with friends, my parents holiday open house, Christmas dinner with the in-laws, meeting friends we haven't seen in years who are coming to Ontario from out West, Christmas dinner with my parents, and then drive to Florida. I'm sure I am forgetting a few things in there.

It may not seem like a lot, but remember I do have to get kids to school, get myself to work, write a couple of freelance articles, Christmas shop, pack for our trip. ahhhhhhhhhhhh. I'm tired just thinking about it.

I worry that the part of the holiday's that I love the most, spending time with friends and family, will get lost in the shuffle of Christmas. I especially love to curl up on the couch with the kids, with a great coffee or hot chocolate ( with lots of marshmallows), and watch great Christmas specials, like Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Frosty, It's a Wonderful Life.

What's your favourite part of the holiday season? Do you have a favourite Christmas special on TV?