Holiday Gift-Giving: Gift cards!!!

We LOVE gift cards in this house (both giving and receiving), so I was excited when I saw that SocialMom and GiftCardsRock were looking for some bloggers to write about gift cards.

I am normally a last minute shopper.  You know- the shopper who is running all over the night before the holidays start trying to figure out what to get people.  I always have lots of great ideas but then I can never decide what that perfect present will be.  So more often than not, we will get someone a gift card to a store or shop that we know they love. 

This year I have noticed that many retailers have a deal with their gift cards- when you purchase a gift card for someone else, you will get a little gift card for yourself for example.  And my gas station offered me fuel discounts when buying gift cards in grocery stores nationwide through fuel savings programs. I love it!

I also love that some of my credit card companies will let me trade my points in for gift cards.  I have a couple credit cards that will let me trade in for Amazon.com giftcards which is just fantastic since I can get anything I want there.

Sara (my 4 year old) LOVES getting gift cards.  This year she actually decided that when people called to ask her what she wanted for Hanukkah that we would let them know we are saving up to go to DisneyWorld next year and that we would love a gift card to go towards that.  She knows that it will help her get towards her goal and because she is getting something tangible, she still feels like she has gotten something really cool and it makes her really happy. 

I looked online to find some neat gift card tips:

One of my favorite tips that I found was to decorate the wrapping for the gift card.  This is one of the hardest things for me about gift cards since they usually don't get wrapped up fancy like other gifts so I absolutely love this idea.  Someone even used a plantable card to house their gift card to a nursery.  How clever is that!

I also found out that there are lots of places where you can purchase a gift card for charity in someone's name for the holidays.  I think this is such a nice idea.  I may have to do this next year for some people.

Gift Cards Rock! is an online community for people who love to give and receive gift cards.  If you need some help this holiday season head on over and I am sure there will be tons of suggestions, as well as sharing of great deals and exciting gift-giving tips. Click on the like button and then head on over to their facebook page!

 
I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Gift Cards Rock blogging program, for 6,000 My SocialMoms Reward Points.  For more information on how you can participate, click here.   All opinions and thoughts (unless otherwise stated) are my own. I will only post reviews for items that I believe are worthy products. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Never miss a review or giveaway- sign up here:

Holiday Gift-Giving: $1 for 4 Disney Movies plus toy with free shipping

This is a fantastic deal for the holidays!  4 Disney Movies Only $1 plus free toy! Enjoy Your Favorite Disney Classics and New Releases. Free Shipping Now! 

This post includes affiliate links.  All opinions and thoughts (unless otherwise stated) are my own. I will only post reviews for items that I believe are worthy products. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising
 
  Never miss a review or giveaway- sign up here:

Holiday Gift-Giving: KRE-O Transformers Building Sets

I find that I can get really overwhelmed with the holidays.  My personal goal this year is to try to keep my spirit bright and do fun holiday activities with the kids.  My bloggy goal is to focus on some toys that I think will be fantastic.


I was given information about KRE-O from Social Moms and Hasbro and it seems to be a pretty fun toy for this holiday season and I am excited to share it with you all .


These are my top 3 reasons that I think this toy will be a blockbuster this holiday season (for kids ages 6 and up):

$7.99 for this 90 piece set.  Fantastic!

1.  KRE-O Transformer sets are affordable.  This is a big one for me personally.  I love great toys but we are on a budget.  There are 12 different sets available and the price range from $7.99-$59.99.  Each set allows kids to construct one of two models- either the robot or vehicle.

2.  Kids of all ages loves Transformers.  And when I say kids of all ages, I mean everyone.    I know that my husband would actually love one of these.  And my 10 year old nephew as well.

3. One of my pet peeves when toys are not compatible with other ones and then you need a whole new toy system for each toy.  I love that these sets will work with other leading brick based sets on the market.

Some of the activities that I plan on doing to keep my spirit bright and have a good holiday season are:

1.  Making cookies with the kids.  We love to bake together and I would love to incorporate more of it during the holidays.

2.  I am going to try to remember that my kids are young and that we can not cram as many activities in as I would sometimes like.  And I will try to remember that it will be okay.

3.  I want to go see the holiday lights with the kids.  We went last year to see the local lights and Sara loved it but Matty was too little.  I think Matty will be old enough this year to really enjoy it, so that should be fun.

4.  I am going to make handmade gifts for family and friends.  I am not sure what yet, but I really want to do this.

5.  I am planning on focusing on all that I have and not all that I want.

6.  Remember those less fortunate.  Sara and I are going to be volunteering to give out food to the homeless this weekend.  I hope that it goes well and we can do this more.

What do you do in order to maintain a bright spirit during the holidays?

Don't forget to enter to win one of over 1,000 KRE-O Construction Sets in the Great Brick Giveaway!

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Hasbro blogging program, for 8,000 My 
SocialMoms Rewards Points and a KRE-O gift. The opinions expressed in this post are mine and don’t
necessarily reflect the opinions of SocialMoms or Hasbro. For more information on how you can participate,
click here.  
All opinions and thoughts (unless otherwise stated) are my own. I will only post reviews for items that I believe are worthy products. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
  Never miss a review or giveaway- sign up here: