holiday Archives - Rave & Review

Gifts that give back this holiday season from World Vision

Do you want to make a difference this Christmas? Give with the help of World Vision and you will know that your contribution is going towards making a difference where it is needed most. You can buy a goat and chickens, medicines, bed nets, or even clean water by making a simple donation in your … Read more

Seattle: get your Santa pictures at Northgate Mall

Are you in the Seattle area? If so, you are definitely going to want to head to Northgate Mall, part of the Simon family of shopping centers, before the holiday season is over. While you’re there, find your way to their holiday display by Kay Jewelers to get your pictures taken with Santa. This year … Read more

Give the gift of history with Felicity from American Girl

It’s hard for me to picture Christmas time without American Girl. I vividly remember circling items in the American Girl catalog each year in my youth, then I remember shopping their online store with my nieces years later, and now I’m taking my own kids to the Seattle American Girl store for them to make … Read more

Festive and fun last-minute shopping for everyone on your list at Seattle Premium Outlets

Can you believe Christmas is less than a week away? It seemed like I had things under control and then late last week I checked I still had a dozen of presents left to buy and the days were flying by. Instead of stressing out, I decided to take an afternoon off and head up to Seattle Premium Outlets in Tulalip, WA for a day of shopping, meeting up with friends, and ultimately, crossing off my list once and for all. Baby and I set off on an epic shopping trip that started with meeting up for coffee with a long-lost friend, and then ended with her falling asleep clutching an empty Coach shopping bag, a Tigger bracelet, a handful of stickers, and a notebook – all of which were given to her on our shopping trip for being such a delight. We stopped by guest services where we were greeted with beautiful holiday decorations on the fireplaces flanking the food court. This is where you can pick up mall gift cards as well as shop their huge selection of restaurant, store, and experience gift cards at the gift card kiosk.

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.

10 things to stock up on before your holiday guests arrive

Are you ready for the holidays? The cooking, the crafting, the cozy-ing… oh, and all the cleaning; the holidays are coming, ready or not. So, while I’ve been out running around picking up ingredients and presents, I’ve also stocked up on all of our essential holiday paper supplies for holiday entertaining and last-minute guests.

What do you mean you don’t head to Walmart to stock up on Cottonelle, Kleenex, Scott, and Viva products for the holidays? You get that the kids are going to want to help craft and clean, right? I don’t know about your kids, but mine are MESSY. Spills, smears, and splatters are a way of life when cooking and crafting with kiddos.

Here are some of our favorite items to stock up on before holiday guests arrive:

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?

We love the 2015 Hess Fire Truck and Ladder Rescue

My son loves vehicles of all kinds. Big ones he can sit in and pretend to drive, little ones that fit in his pocket, and medium sized ones that he sets up scenes for so he can play make believe all day long. But, although he loves all trucks, cars and vehicles, fire trucks are the epitome of cool to him. So, when I heard that the new 2015 Hess Toy Truck that was released this November was a Fire Truck and Ladder Rescue, I knew it had to be his. A quick look into the “Hesstory” of the company {see what they did there?}, and I already knew this was going to be a yearly tradition with me and my son.

Have you heard of Hess Toy Trucks before? The tradition began in 1964 when the first toy truck was revealed. Each November the new design is released to their eager fans, which includes both collectors and kids alike.

Think Portrait Innovations for family pictures this fall

Did you read my post last month about our awesome photo sitting at Portrait Innovations and have been meaning to make an appointment? Do it now, seriously. Trust me when I say that the holidays will sneak up on you and before you know it you will be ordering holiday cards wondering why you don't have one single picture of your family with everyone smiling {nicely} at the camera with their eyes open. I know this because that was me last year, and the year before, and the year before…

But not this year, because I thought ahead and scheduled a fall sitting at Portrait Innovations that gave me lots of pictures to choose from when it comes time to order holiday gifts, prints to frame, and finally, holiday cards. The family photo shoot was easy, it was professional, but most of all it was actually fun. Yeah, I said fun. With three kids under 7 you rarely hear the words "fun" and "photo shoot" in the same sentence, but it was surprisingly enjoyable and the pictures really speak for themselves about what kind of shoot it was.

Create your own locket with PicturesOnGold.com

Remember last year when I was raving about PicturesOnGold.com? Well, it's been almost a year since we received our daughter's personalized locket and with every month it's become more and more special to her. She still shows it to everyone and wants to talk about how it was made special just for her, and it's the first thing she looks to when she needs something sentimental to get her through a day without us or a tough day at school. So, when Pictures on Gold asked us if we wanted to create another special piece for the holiday, we couldn't say yes fast enough. We all decided that the new baby needed a special necklace just for her that would match her sister and we got to work making a locket for her.