Kids Products Archives - Page 24 of 62

Relax, there’s still time to score the perfect gift thanks to the Kmart Fab 15 Toys

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of the Role Mommy Writers Network and Kmart. All opinions are 100% my own.

Are you still shopping for the holidays? Yeah, me too. This year has been really hard for me to cross off my list while still working and doing all the school and family obligations, and I'm way behind with just days to go.

The fact that I'm running behind isn't really the surprise, it’s who is still left on my list that is the crazy part. It's not the usual hard to buy for group of teenagers and those that have everything, it's the kids. You know, the normally easy to buy for kids that I usually have gifts for back in June. Those kids are still on my list. Every time I’ve gone to shop for them, I’ve started doubting my choices worrying that it’s not the perfect gift and I've left with nothing. And, it’s not just nieces and nephews that I’m second guessing myself on. Would you be surprised that I still don't even have Santa presents for my own children? Yep, it's true. Santa might be a big 'ole letdown this year because of my lack of planning and the fact that I've been struggling to find where to start looking for the vague gift ideas they gave the big guy. Are you scared for me?

Don't worry, because Kmart is coming to my rescue, again. Kmart boasts ridiculously awesome toys and games for kids of all ages and stages, and that means that I can find everything I need in one place. But, what if I get overwhelmed when I walk in the toy section and see all those awesome choices? That’s where the Kmart Fab 15 Holiday Toy List comes in.

Easy entertaining with Hickory Farms

As the member of a big family, we have lots of gatherings each holiday season, and that means we bring food to most of them. Because we know it’s always a hit, we usually do up a cheese and sausage plate from Hickory Farms. It’s easy to bring, even with our busy schedules, and it doesn’t require me taking over the kitchen to prepare once we arrive at our destination. But, the best part about this tradition is that it works well both before the meal and after when family and friends are hanging out and snacking.

Hickory Farms has been America’s most famous holiday food gift brand for over 60 years, and it’s perfect for gifting as well as serving at gatherings for family and friends. Hickory Farms helps you enjoy all the little moments by allowing you to cut, serve, and relax while entertaining.

Pocket-sized ZINK Zero-Ink photo printing with the Polaroid ZIP

Oh teenagers these days. They just don’t even understand how good they have it with their smartphones and digital world. Do they even know what it was like waiting for our film to come back all those years ago? I’m guessing probably not.

But, while the teens of today take thousands of pictures, selfies, shots of shoes on sidewalks, and photos of creatively arranged food, they also don’t know what they are missing out on. They are missing out on the joy that comes from having an actual photograph of good times shared with family and friends.

Granted, they might own picture frames, but you certainly won’t find many that have been updated this decade with new pictures. In this an era of instant digital photos hidden away on smartphones, teenagers these days don’t have anything tangible that they can hang up and make them smile every time they see it.

What they need is an introduction to Polaroid. No, not the Polaroid film cameras of my youth, the Polaroid ZIP Instant Photoprinter is the newest technology – a pocket-sized photo printer that makes inkless prints utilizing your smartphone pictures.

The perfect gift for the artist on your list: Winsor & Newton Pigment Markers

Have you ever gotten a beautiful piece of art made with markers that you loved so much that you framed it and hung it up? Were you surprised when only months later the colors faded to almost nothing and it looked like it was decades old?

Whenever the kids draw or write me something that just makes me melt, I have to weigh whether I want to display it which ultimately ends up ruining it quickly with light exposure, or if I want to hide it away in their special box where it will just slowly fade away. Honestly, neither option is okay with me.The sentimental side of me wants to hide everything away and hope that it survives, but the mom in me wants my kids to grow up in a house where art is encouraged. That means that beautiful pieces need to be celebrated by putting them where they can be seen and enjoyed..

That’s where Winsor & Newton Pigment Markers come in. Rarely do I use the word “revolutionary” to describe markers, but that was before I heard about Winsor & Newton, the world’s first pigment-based, lightfast markers.

The complete guide to storing and organizing children’s clothing: hand-me-downs, outgrown clothing, and long term storage

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #ZiplocSavesSpace #CollectiveBias I love the spread of ages of my children in most instances. I love that the three of them are incredibly close friends, but just enough apart in age so that they each have their own time to shine in their different stages. Really, the only time the age difference bothers me is when I’m packing, storing, and then keeping track of all these different sized clothes, blankets, and seasonal gear. But, as miserable as running my own personal small children’s boutique can be at times, there is nothing sweeter than knowing that all of my children wore a beloved item, or when I realize how many memories are in those tiny clothes they are handing down. Stories of places we’ve been together, people that gave us the clothes who are no longer with us, or simply amazing memories we’ve made while the kids were wearing the items. That makes it all worth it in the end.

Ready to get started organizing all your little ones’ clothing? Great!

Get her before she’s gone: American Girl Grace collection is 30% off in-store!

Do you have an American Girl fan on your list? Chances are they would love to open up Grace Thomas Girl of the Year doll and accessories this Christmas. Remember how we were super excited to announce her arrival last January as the 2015 Girl of the Year? This is just a gentle reminder that you only have until 12/31/2015 to get any Grace items before she’s gone for good! Many of her really popular items are already gone, so don’t wait too long if you’re planning on purchasing.

And, want to know something really, really cool? If you live near an American Girl store, you can get 30% off the Grace collection now, including the doll! How awesome is that?

Our annual tradition: Breakfast with Santa at Northgate Mall

This weekend we got a chance to cross off another family tradition on our list this year: the Northgate Mall’s annual Breakfast with Santa. Every year we look forward to the beginning of December so we can dress up the kiddos in some fancy new clothes from Gymboree and head to Northgate Mall to meet the big guy himself while enjoying a nice continental breakfast. Yes, we could technically see him any day since he has been in the mall for weeks, but there is something special about waiting for the event for the whole experience. Like last year, there were awesome crafts, we ate donuts and had coffee, and there were carolers to make it extra fun and festive.

10 reasons why you should get a Lundby dollhouse

I’ll admit that I never really outgrew my childhood dollhouse. Even when I finally moved it out of my bedroom in my early teens and let my sister play with all of my miniatures, I was more than just a little sad. In fact, I think I spent more time that summer helping her paint and decorate her new dollhouse than she did, which at the time I chalked up to being an awesome big sister. Clearly, it was just an awesome excuse to redecorate a dollhouse one last time.As soon as I found out I was having a daughter, I knew I would one day share with her the joys of miniature building, decorating, and playing. And, I couldn’t wait. When the day came that our Lundby dollhouse arrived and was ready to be decorated, I realized just how much I missed playing with miniatures. Yes, it was still about my daughter and what she wanted from a dollhouse, but it was also about what we could build and do together that got me the most excited. I look back now to that day two years ago and I realize now why people thought it was crazy to bring such a fragile dollhouse into our living space with a 2 ½ year old and a 5 year old, but at the time I was too excited to care. In the years that have passed, I have not only grown to trust them with the house and all its little pieces while supervised, but about a year ago I started allowing them to play with it all by themselves. And, as soon as baby learns "gentle", she's going to be allowed to play with it, too.

Adorable and life-like stuffed animal friends from Aurora Miyoni

Like most kids, my children are obsessed with stuffed animals. They have stuffed animals they have gotten from toy stores during our adventures, dozens from friends and family, still more that they won at fairs and carnivals, and some that they get at events we go to.

And, the level of love that they have for these stuffed animals usually goes in that order. Silly carnival and event animals usually have a 3 month or less shelf life around here before they ultimately get ditched and then thrown in the donate bin, but those given as presents and those from our adventures typically become beloved friends that they play with day after day. One day while they were playing Zoo with all their stuffed animals it dawned on me that most of their favorite stuffed animals for playing with are Aurora Miyoni Signature Series. This isn’t really a surprise considering the life-like detail that goes into each Miyoni plush. My kids have great imaginations, but even they don’t want to play with purple cats and tigers with hats. No, they prefer animals that you can almost believe are the real deal.

Planning an adventure? Meet the Polaroid iE090 dual-screen waterproof digital camera

I’m going to date myself a bit here, but there was a time when us photographers used to take pictures and then it was days, weeks, or even years until we ever saw how those pictures turned out. Crazy, right? So, back in the day, the absolute coolest thing you could have is a Polaroid camera with “instant” photos that you could share, display, or put into albums immediately.

We now live in an era where instant photos are the norm, but that doesn’t mean that Polaroid isn’t still relevant and cool. In fact, the technology has just gotten cooler throughout the years. They now make printers that fit in your pocket that work with your smartphone {yes, really}, fancy digital cameras that can survive a swim, and even retro Polaroid cameras with “instant” film like I fell in love with all those years ago. We got to check out the Polaroid iE090 Dual-Screen Waterproof Digital Camera this holiday season, and I just love it. Since it takes high quality, 18MP images, it’s perfect for when I want great pictures but don’t want to risk ruining my DSLR. Shock proof, waterproof, and sized perfectly for your pocket, it makes it easy to take with you even on the most extreme adventure.