CafePress Ornament Designer

Shh... I'll let you in on a secret. This Christmas I'm getting my mom and dad a series of tree ornaments personalized with their grandchildren's names! They love any kind of present that features their grandkids, so it's perfect for them.

I myself love commemorative holiday ornaments that show the passage of time. For example, how cute is the Baby's First Christmas ornament in the photo above? It's from Cafepress.com, the largest online retailer of user-generated t-shirt designs and other products. They've got all the themed ornaments you can think of, with a variety of templates to choose from including baby’s first Christmas, Hanukkah, Twilight/New Moon and more -- but the ornaments I like most are the personalized photo ornaments -- and this holiday season Cafepress has made it easy as pie to make them.

They recently introduced the Ornament Designer, a tool that lets users customize their own holiday ornaments with text and photos. You choose the border, upload the photo and customize the text, and Cafepress will send you a flat white porcelain tree ornament with your personalized design printed on one side. Cafepress generously provided me with a gift certificate so I could personalize my own ornaments.


The Bongga
The Ornament Designer is soooo easy to use! You can create your own ornament in 4 simple steps:

1) Log on to www.cafepress.com/designer/ornament

2) Pick a design style. This is probably the hardest part, because there are so many cute designs. They come in round or oval shapes, and a variety of holiday borders. If you want, you can choose to have your photo come right up to the edge of the ornament, with no borders at all.


3) Once you select your design, you'll be asked to upload a photo and enter text (if the design you chose includes customizable text). You can move the photo around and change its size to maximize your little darlings' cuteness. Speaking of cuteness, that baby in the photo is my new niece, Pizza. Yup, that's her nickname. Never mind why. Look at her, all pink and pretty in her wintery ornament frame.... I tell you, if there's anything guaranteed to melt a grandparent's heart, it's a Baby's First Christmas tree ornament!



4) Select the number of ornaments you want to purchase, and that's it! Your order will be added to the shopping cart, and once you check out, your cute new holiday ornament will be on its merry way. It's that easy!


Did I mention that the ornament designs are utterly adorable? I was so in love with Pizza's ornament that I decided to make another one with my kids on it. The vintage brown-and-blue design is to die for.



Finally, I am BLOWN AWAY (yes, I did mean to use all caps there) with how quickly my order arrived! I ordered the ornament last Wednesday, December 9th. The order confirmation email gave an estimate of Dec. 18-22 for my package arrival -- yet here it is in my happy little hand! It arrived yesterday, and I couldn't be more pleased. The actual ornament looks nicely kiln-fired, glossy on both the front and the back. The photo, borders and text came out very well, with nice, bright colors. It's truly a keepsake ornament!

The Blah
The character limit for text personalization is pretty limiting, only 10 characters. I couldn't even get "Christmas 2009" written on the ornament! And in the actual ornament, the "2009" came out really small anyway; it looks like there should have been more than enough space to write out "Christmas 2009". Last but not least, I would advise anyone who's thinking of making one of these ornaments to use a photo with only 1 or 2 people, otherwise the photo will end up too small to see.


The Bottom Line
The CafePress Ornament Designer is the easiest thing to use and a great option for a last-minute holiday present that needs to get ordered, stat!

I received a gift certificate to CafePress.com in order to review their custom ornament creation tool. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Last-minute Gift Ideas: Erin Condren Life Planners

Every holiday season my mom, an office manager, would receive all sorts of calendars and planners and organizers from clients. I hated them all because they were so ugly! Fortunately nowadays there's a much wider range of choices for organization tools. Case in point: the calendars and organizers on Erin Condren's online store look so stylish and chic, each one is practically a work of art. I was invited to choose from a Life Planner from her collection, and I fell in love with this one:
It's her classic "Taffy" design, and it's going to keep me organized in style all year long. I can't wait to receive it -- and once I do, I'll tell you all about it!

If you're looking for a last-minute holiday gift idea and can't wait for my review, the good news is that you can still order a Life Planner from ErinCondren.com -- along with an assortment of personalized calendars, gift labels, and other stationery -- in time for December 25. Orders placed today, December 16, will arrive by December 23 if you choose Priority Processing or Overnight Shipping.

I will be receiving a sample from this company for a future review. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Last-minute Gift Ideas: Chic Canvas prints

If you're like me, you're just waking up to the fact that the 25th is just about a week away, and you have a friend or relative or two who you totally forgot about -- until their presents for you and your kids arrived in the mail.

Here's a great last-minute gift idea: photo canvases from Chiccanvas.com. They'll take any photo you send (okay, not any photo; you want to send them photos with resolutions of 300 dpi or higher for best quality) and turn it into a canvas work of art. It's a great keepsake gift for anyone -- and no, I don't just mean photos of your kids for your grandparents. How about a photo of Yosemite Falls for a godmother who went there for the very first time this year?

The good news is, they can still deliver in time for Christmas if you act now and order by the 18th. They'll even take 25% off your holiday order if you enter holiday09 at checkout. ChicCanvas.com will be sending me a photo canvas so I can see the quality for myself; I can't wait!

I will be receiving a product sample from this company to use in a future review. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Tom's of Maine Silly Strawberry Toothpaste review and giveaway - win a $100 Visa giftcard!

Win a $100 Visa giftcard! To find out how, keep reading....

When I was a kid, getting ready for bed was boring. We used whatever the grownups used to wash our hair, scrub our bodies and brush our teeth. No fun flavors or yummy scents, no cartoon characters on the bottles. No wonder I hated going to bed. Things are so much better in today's world of personal care products for kids! I know, I know, it's the usual You've-got-it-easy-in-my-day-I-had-to-walk-five-miles-to-milk-the-cow story, but as a parent I'm nothing but happy at the way kid-friendly products turn bathing and brushing teeth into a fun, pleasant activity. It goes without saying that the ingredients in a kids' product should be gentle, not harmful. BlogHer Reviews recently sent us a tube of Tom's of Maine Silly Strawberry toothpaste for kids, which I was more than happy to try because I know Tom's of Maine has a reputation for safe, natural and effective. But is Tom's kid-friendly?

Click here to read the rest of my Silly Strawberry review and enter to win a $100 Visa Giftcard...

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If "It's All Too Much", Peter Walsh is here to help

There's a lot to look forward to during the holidays: parties, cooking, baking, cards, presents, shopping, wrapping, travel, relatives...... and I'm getting stressed just listing it all down. "It's All Too Much" is a familiar theme that's running around this holiday season (kind of like the flu!), and it also happens to be the title of organization expert Peter Walsh's new DVD. Like with all his books, Peter is going to help you simplify your life and control clutter -- only this time, you'll get to watch Peter walking the walk, not just talking the talk.

Here's a short preview of what you'll get from the DVD:


I can't wait to receive my review copy; hopefully his tips and tricks are going to help me make getting organized one New Year's resolution I can keep!

I will be receiving a review copy of this DVD as a reference for a future review post, but no monetary compensation. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Join the Squeeballs Party!

At our house, we have a rule: no videogames or computer games or tv when a friend comes over for a playdate. Sometimes we relax the rule for a short dvd, but I've been pretty adamant about the video game rule because I don't like the idea of one kid hogging the game console while the other kid watches forlornly by his side, waiting for his turn. Even if they take turns, they're not really playing together, are they?

I recently received a game to review for Nintendo DS -- Squeeballs Party -- that actually lets kids play against (or with) each other on a single console. It just might tempt me to let the boys take the Nintendo DS out the next time they have a playdate. Here's my review of it:

The Basics
In Squeeballs Party, players "test" little creatures called squeeballs the same way auto companies test crash-test dummies. You can cook, slice, bat, splat, race, bowl, and generally try to destroy squeeballs in a variety of games. The game is made by PDP; it's available for the Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS/DS Lite/DSi, and as an Apple iPhone and iPod Touch application.

Here's a more detailed description of the game from the makers of Squeeballs:
"Squeeballs Party" features 12 small, furry creatures called Squeeballs that are manufactured on a secret island somewhere in the Pacific. Before the Squeeballs can be sold to children across the world, you put them to the test - to the point of destruction. The game's mischievous antics provide a nice mix of fun and guilty pleasure that both kids and adults will enjoy.

The ultimate party game, "Squeeballs Party" gets you up and moving this holiday season as you have to blow up, cook, slice, bat, bowl, shoot and bounce the Squeeballs. The game features a unique collection of 11 party games, each taking place in a different environment from lava-filled canyons, bowling alleys and kitchens to science labs and snow-capped mountains. As the game progresses and more challenges are met - each one more difficult than the last - the game showcases more than 150 unique challenges.

The Bongga
You just cannot help but fall in love with these funny-looking creatures, even as you're trying to destroy them. They just keep coming back for more! The version that PDP sent us had a bonus squeeball stylus included (it has a plastic squeeball on one end of the stylus). It's not too practical --we don't really know where to store it -- but super-cute nonetheless.


In addition, they sent us a couple of stuffed Squeeballs, which are possibly the most adorable swag items I've ever set eyes on:

They're like ball-shaped Ugly Dolls, so hideous that they actually look cute. 3Po immediately went for the green one and Jammy for the black one, leaving poor Pea out in the cold with no squeeball to love. I immediately went searching for a third one to buy, but the best I could come up with was a Gamestop promo that offered a free squeeball plush for every purchase of a Squeeballs Party Wii game. Since that was posted back in October, and since we don't have a Wii, I'm just going to have to keep looking.

The other thing I really like about this game is the fact that the Nintendo DS version has a multi-player mode that lets friends play games together, like on the Wii. So, for example, you can set up a Squeeball bowling game (which puts the Squeeballs on top of bowling pins and you try to knock them down) with 2 players, and each player takes turns bowling a frame, just like in the real game.


The Blah
This game doesn't fully utilize the touch screen and stylus the way other Nintendo DS do, so it was a bit difficult intially to figure out how to play each game.

And by the way, I'm serious about those stuffed squeeballs -- they are adorable, and it's such a bummer that they're just promo items and not actually sold separately. I'd buy them!


The Bottom Line
Squeeballs Party features adorable characters, classic, easy-to-play games, and best of all, it actually lets kids play on the DS together. I like it!


Sale!
PDP has dropped the price of Squeeballs Party for the Wii and DS from $29.99 to $19.99, just in time for the holidays!


Win It!
Watch out for a Squeeballs Party giveaway here on Bonggamom Finds; it's all party of my 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways event, starting December 25.

I received a sample in order to review this product, but no monetary compensation. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Bonggamom's Friday Finds -- The Bestest Giveaways Around the Blogosphere

As a giveaway blogger, I've found it's a great way to get more traffic to my giveaways. And as a person who loves entering giveaways, I've found it's a great way to find out where all the best giveaways are.

So I've started a weekly giveaway roundup post that hopefully people will find useful. Feel free to leave links to your giveaways, everyone. And don't forget to get cracking and enter all those giveaways!

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Tiana's Cookbook: Recipes for Kids

Disney's new animated movie, The Princess and the Frog, opens tomorrow. I definitely want to watch this one, not just because I think no one does classic cartoon movies quite like Disney. I also think it will be interesting to see how Disney moves this fairytale from its traditional blond-princess, medieval/french rennaissance setting to Louisiana and the bayous. And I think it's great that The Princess and the Frog will help bring elements of Creole and African-American culture into young kids' consciousness.

To help us get jazzed up for the movie, Disney Consumer Products and Disney Press sent us a copy of Tiana's Cookbook: Recipes for Kids, along with a Princess and the Frog doll, some fun Princess and the Frog party goods and an apron. We had a grand time cooking up some of Tiana's recipes! Here's more about what I thought of the cookbook:


The Basics
Tiana's Cookbook: Recipes for Kids is Disney's latest movie-themed cookbook containing recipes from Princess Tiana's world that kids can make themselves. Here is what Disney Consumer Products and Disney Press have to say about the book and the movie:

Opening nationwide December 11, The Princess and the Frog is a magical fairytale set in New Orleans that marks Disney's return to musicals and the warmth and grandeur of 2D hand drawn animation. The film also introduces Disney's newest princess in more than 10 years, Princess Tiana. From the heart of Louisiana's mystical bayous and the banks of the mighty Mississippi comes an unforgettable tale of love, adventure, comedy and heart where food and cooking are central to the storyline. Tiana's Cookbook: Recipes for Kids offers great Bayou-inspired dishes like those Princess Tiana would prepare. The recipes are rated on a five-frog scale in terms of difficulty so you can select the one that works best for your children.


The Bongga
There are going to be a lot of Tiana fans after families start watching The Princess and the Frog, and this cookbook is a fun way for those fans to explore Tiana's world! There are a variety of recipes for different tastes and abilities, and the recipes are rated for difficulty so you can decide which ones your child can tackle. I really like the fact that the recipes, while mostly simple, aren't "dumbed down" for children. No mashed potato faces or pigs in a blanket here; you get real food like gumbo and crumble. Of course, there are fun recipes like froggy cupcakes and alligator cake, but grownups will enjoy making and eating every single recipe -- even the peanut butter sandwiches cut into cute flower shapes make great tea sandwiches.



The first dish we tried was Tiana's famous beignets, which are dense, moist doughnuts. The recipe was super easy to follow, and The Pea was able to do practically everything by herself, even the deep frying.



In retrospect I would have cut the dough up into smaller squares (the recipe says it makes 16 doughnuts but I would have cut it up to make 32), but the end result was delicious! I've never been able to identify the difference between a donut I love and a donut that's so-so, but thanks to Tiana's recipe, I can now -- it's the nutmeg. The nutmeg is the magic ingredient! After munching on those beignets, my kids and I can't wait to see The Princess and The Frog, and we'll definitely be enjoying more of Tiana's recipes in the future.

The Blah
Since this is a kids' cookbook, I think it should have included step-by-step photos, especially for the more complicated recipes.


The Bottom Line
Tiana's Cookbook: Recipes for Kids is a fun memento for kid who enjoy The Princess and the Frog movie and a nice way for them to explore Tiana's world. It' s also a great cookbook and a wonderful way to introduce kids to a new kind of cuisine.

I received a sample in order to review this product, but no monetary compensation. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Bosch MIXXO Cordless Immersion Blender

I'm a big fan of soup: tomato, cream of broccoli, cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, pumpkin, butternut squash, split pea and ham, cauliflower and white beans, lentil, black bean... the list goes on and on.

We have soup about once or twice a week. Soup is nutritious and filling and cheap, and it's so easy to throw everything in a pot and simmer it on the stove, but I'll admit that sometimes I get lazy and open up a ready-to-serve can or box. Those are usually the soups that require blending to smooth out the lumps, like tomato soup or cream-of-anything. I just hate having to transfer everything to the blender and back again, so we usually have lumpy soup :)

Bosch appliances recently invited me to review their cordless handheld immersion blender, the Bosch MIXXO. I've never owned an immersion blender and have never owned a Bosch-branded appliance, so I was definitely interested to see how it would perform. Here's what I thought:

The Basics
The Bosch MIXXO Handheld Blender has all the convenience of a cordless device -- you can take it anywhere, and in particular, you can use it to blend food straight in whatever dish the food is in. Then just place it in its holder to charge it up. The MIXXO doesn't just make soups; you can also use it to make smoothies and cocktails and baby food. It even comes with a chopper accessory so you can chop onions and herbs and other small quantities of food.

Here's what Bosch has to say about their product:
The Bosch MIXXO Cordless Handheld Blender is a revolutionary cordless handheld blender used to prepare tasty food and refreshing drinks without the hassle of cords or plugs. The unit utilizes cutting-edge lithium battery technology – the first among kitchen appliances – to provide twenty minutes of continuous powerful blending; nearly twice as long as other handheld blenders.

The cordless feature of the MIXXO allows for ultimate multi tasking. Imagine being able to answer a phone call on the opposite side of the kitchen and continue blending a smoothie for an on-the-go breakfast, baby food for the newest addition, soup for tonight's dinner, and a cocktail for after a long days work. Even better, imagine cutting down on mess and cleaning time by being able to blend your food in whatever bowl or cup you serve your dish in.

The Bongga
You know how once you've set up a wireless router at home you wonder how you ever survived with archaic wired-up printers and computers? Using the Bosch MIXXO is kind of like that. Once you try it, you won't know how you got along without it. When I think of all the times I've had to put soup in a blender -- with all the spills and cleanup that implies -- or had to make do with lumpy soup...... The blade may be small, but it gets the job done. I've gone through 3 soup-blending sessions and it's still holding its charge! And cleanup is a snap, because the blade attachment twists right off. Oh, how I do NOT miss having to wash up that huge glass blender jar.



The Blah
I wish the blender tool had a snap-on cap or something that I could cover up the blades with; I feel like I can't put it down whenever my kids are in the kitchen! Also, I wish this blender had an attachment for mixing dough and batter. I haven't dared to try it on mashed potatoes or cake batter or anything like that because I don't want it to break, but I really wish I could! I know, I know, I'm being greedy but the ease and convenience of cordless has me hooked, and now I want it all!


The Bottom Line
The Bosch MIXXO cordless immersion blender frees you up from the messiness and inconvenience of a corded blender. If you're big on creamy soups, it's a must-have!

Win It!
Sorry, I'm just teasing. No giveaway today. But I will be giving away one of these babies in a couple of weeks. So stay tuned -- keep logging on to Bonggamom Finds or subscribe to receive updates so you don't miss this giveway!

I received a sample in order to review this product, but no monetary compensation. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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You're Invited to a Style Lab Twitter Party

Great news: Bonggamom Finds is partnering with Ubisoft to bring you a Twitter Party that's stylish and girly and oh-so-fun. We're talking fashion, makeovers, and games girls play. We're talking moms, daughters, sleepovers and manicures. And we're talking prizes!


What: a Style Lab Twitter party
When: Tuesday, December 15th, 5:00 - 6:00 pm PST
Where: Chat with us on Twitter using the hashtag #games4girls (you can use services like Tweetchat or Tweetgrid to follow the conversation)


So come and join the party, and be sure to follow @bonggafinds and @Ubimoms on Twitter throughout the party for contest details, updates, prize information. We'll have 3 prize packs to pass out during the party, each containing two great Style Lab video games for the Nintendo DS:

Style Lab Jewelry Design: Create beautiful designer jewelry with your own unique designs. Make jewelry that fits your style, then order, own, and wear your own creations






Style Lab Makeover: Discover and experiment with makeup, hairstyles and other makeover activities using your own face! Take on beauty challenges to earn points and rewards, learn tips and tricks, and discover your own unique style with personality quizzes and in-game expert recommendations!




RSVP here: (Note: You do not need to RSVP to join the party, but you must participate in the Twitter party on Dec. 15 in order to be eligible to win the prize packs above. One of the prize packs will be drawn from the RSVP list below and announced during the Twitter party.)

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More Twitter Parties
Ubisoft is sponsoring a "Week of Style" -- December 9 thu 15 -- so lookout for additional Twitter parties hosted by other awesome bloggers like Momma Findings and Girly Mama. Just head to Twitter and look for the hashtag #games4girls!


Win more Games for Girls
You'll get the chance to win some fun Style Lab games at next week's Twitter party.... but the fun is starting right here and now! Two lucky Bonggamom Finds readers will each win one game from Ubisoft's Imagine line for girls:

One reader will win an Imagine Detective game for the Nintendo DS. In this game, girls can live the thrill and adventure of being a teenaged private investigator fighting for truth and justice in Imagine® Detective! Discover clues, take photographs, question witnesses; it’s up to THEM to solve the mystery!




One reader will win the Imagine Boutique Owner game for Nintendo DS. In this game, girls can unleash their creativity and design all types of gifts, including flower arrangements, plush toys, and jewelry. Please customers by helping them choose the perfect gift, then offer complimentary gift wrapping to make it extra special for them!




Required entry:
Put your name down on the RSVP list above (scroll to the top of this page!) AND leave a comment on this post saying you RSVP'd.

Extra entries:
(you can only do each entra entry once; please leave a separate comment for each extra entry):

1) Become a fan of Bonggamom Finds on Facebook (leave a comment with your FB id).

2) Tweet out the details of this party, including the #games4girls hashtag and @bonggafinds in your tweet, anytime between now until 5:00PM PST on December 15. Then come back and leave a comment here with a link to your tweet. Here is a sample tweet you can copy and paste:

Join @bonggafinds @Ubisoft 4 a Style Lab Twitter party Dec 15, 5-6PM PST RSVP http://tinyurl.com/gamesforgirls win great prizes! #games4girls

3) Tweet out the details of this giveaway, then come back here and leave a comment with a link to your tweet. Here is a sample tweet you can copy and paste:

Win Imagine games for Nintendo DS from @Ubisoft and @bonggafinds -- 2 winners! http://tinyurl.com/imaginegamez #games4girls

Maximum of 4 entries per person. This giveaway ends at 5PM PST on December 15. I will draw 2 winners via Random.org and announce their names at the #games4girls Twitter event. You do not have to be present at the Twitter party to win the Imagine games, however you do have to be present to win the Style Lab games . Good luck, and see you at the Twitter party!

I did not receive a sample or monetary compensation for this post. Party prizes and giveaway prizes were provided by Ubisoft. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Kill Bugs with EcoSMART -- Win a bottle of Home Pest Control Spray

I've got a great giveaway for you today. EcoSMART, maker of safe pesticide solutions, is offering to give away a bottle of their Home Pest Control Spray, which kills and repels over 100 common household pests. EcoSMART's products are safe to use around children and animals because they are based on plant essential oils used by plants and trees as part of their natural defenses to kill bugs and ward off pests. I have not tried this product so I can't speak personally about how well it works, but anything that kills ticks and cockroaches without harming my kids is worth a try, right? They also have an insect repellent that I'd love to try because it's organic, DEET-free and quick drying.

Win It!
One lucky Bonggamom Finds reader will win a bottle of EcoSMART Home Pest Control Spray.

Required entry:
Leave a comment on this post and tell me why you think EcoSMART products would be important to have in your home.

Extra entries:
For extra entries, you can do any or all of the following, (you can only do each entra entry once; please leave a separate comment for each extra entry):

1) Grab my blog button and post it up on your blog (leave a comment with your blog URL).

2) Subscribe to Bonggamom Finds updates by email (leave a comment with your email address).

3) Become a fan of Bonggamom Finds on Facebook (leave a comment with your FB id).

4) Tweet this giveaway (leave a comment with a link to your tweet). Here is a sample tweet you can copy and paste:

Earth-friendly giveaway from @bonggafinds and EcoSMART http://tinyurl.com/ecosmartie

Maximum of 5 entries per person. US addresses only. This giveaway ends at midnight PST on December 17, 2009; I will draw a winner at random on December 18 and post the winner's name as soon as the winner confirms acceptance. For additional giveaway rules, click here. Good luck!


I did not receive a sample or monetary compensation for this post. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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$1 Oatmeal at Jamba Juice

I've tried Jamba Juice oatmeal and it is gooooood. So when I received this coupon for $1 Jamba Juice Oatmeal, I wanted to post it and spread the warm fuzzies all around. It's good until Friday, Dec. 11 so head on over now. Although I warn you, you might get hooked.

I did not receive a sample or monetary compensation for this post. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Tiny Prints Holiday Cards

And as a thank you for hosting a Tiny Prints giveaway on my blog this summer, Tiny Prints sent me a voucher to use on their site. I was so tempted to use it right away, but I resisted the temptation and saved it for a holiday card order. Since we're spending the holidays away from home this year, I didn't want to go through the hassle of buying holiday cards, printing our holiday photos and sticking them on the cards. Besides, this year I wanted cute cards.


The Bongga
Oh, Lordy, Lordy, are these cards cute. They were definitely worth the wait. Alfie says they are the best holiday cards we've ever sent! The cardstock is nice and thick, and the paper has that matte finish I love. The ink used to print the photos really blends into the paper; it doesn't stick out like a shiny sore thumb (did that make sense? Sorry I don't know the technical terms, I'm not in the printing business). And I love the software on tinyprints.com that let me customize not just the front layout, but the inside and back layouts as well. I was able to stuff the card full of photos, and even write our holiday newsletter on the back flap. Bonggamom doesn't let any space go to waste!

The Blah
There's only one thing I would change about this card. I wish the layout had allowed me to put text only on the back flap (the only 2 layout options for the back flap were a photo only, or text plus photo). There wasn't much space to write anything, so I used the smallest font size, and it came out much smaller than I had realized. Oh, well. At least now the relatives and friends who don't want to read our newsletter can say the font was too small for them to read!


The Bottom Line
Tiny Prints cards are simply the gold standard for customized stationary.


PS: Check out the note cards that Tiny Prints gave me and the other SV Moms bloggers at our holiday party. Again, they are the best (note: I Photoshopped my real name out of the photo below and wrote "Bonggamom" on it, so the real thing looks even better than it does in the photo).

I received a sample in order to review this product, but no monetary compensation. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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PartyLite for the Holidays

This holiday season I find myself with too many things to do and not enough time to do it. So, unfortunately home decorating has gotten shoved to the bottom of my to-do list. As of December 1, my holiday decorating was limited to hanging the kids' Advent calendars on our kitchen wall. Not exactly the stuff Martha Stewart model homes are made of.

Fortunately a package arrived for me from PartyLite with exactly the thing I needed to create a holiday ambience without any fuss at all. They sent me a set of Red Twirls Decorative Sleeves and white pillar candles to match. Can you say Instant Holiday Decor? With those on our dining table and the Party Lite Change-O-Luminary on our coffee table (with the snowflake magnetic panel stuck on, of course), I can cross "Decorate home" off my holiday to-do list with a clear conscience, and it only took me seconds to accomplish! Here's more about what I thought of the sleeves:


The Basics
PartyLite is a direct seller of home ambience products like candles, candle accessories, home fragrance, accent decor and more. They carry an assortment of seasonal products for the holidays, including the Ruby Red Hurricane lamp, porcelain Hanukkah votive holder, and the Red Twirls Decorative Sleeves, which I reviewed. These sleeves come in two heights (6" and 8"), and are made with shiny red metal. You simply set a pillar candle on the red base and slide the sleeve over it. You can purchase Party Lite products from Party Lite consultants at a party. If you don't have a Party Lite consultant near you, you can purchase them online -- or consider becoming a consultant yourself!

Here's what Party Lite has to say about this product:
Ornate swirls on the stamped metal sleeve create stunning patterns of light that dance on nearby walls and tabletops. Metallic, shiny red finish. Available in two sizes, each sold separately.

The Bongga
I love how the deep red color makes a such bold statement. Right from the moment anyone steps into our living room, their eyes are drawn to these candles. And once it's time to dim the lights and light the candles, these sleeves really look great! You can see the gorgeous swirl patterns they make in the stock photo at the top of this post, but just in case you think it's some kind of fancy-shmancy photographer trick or Adobe Photoshop magic, I took a photo of my own:

See? Swirly shadows, even in my lo-tech photograph. Lo and behold, instant holiday ambience with just two candles!

The Blah
Alfie and I aren't fans of the bright, shiny, glossy metal they used to make these sleeves. Our tastes both run to the deep, dark matte finish of the Change-O-Luminary we reviewed in October.

The Bottom Line
These Red Twirl Decorative Sleeves from Party Lite are an easy way to add holiday ambience to any room!

I received a sample in order to review this product, but no monetary compensation. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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All Decked Out

With all the things I have to do this holiday season, I may not have the time to decorate my house for the holidays -- but I can certainly make time to decorate this review blog. I've always liked giving my blogs seasonal themes, and now I've found a holiday design that screams Ho! Ho! Ho! (no, I don't mean that kind of ho, even though the little minx carrying the ornaments and presents certainly looks like one) in a fun, chic, not-too-tacky way. Hmm.... I'd better start thinking about what this blog is going to look like when Valentine's Day comes 'round. Hope you like the new look!

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Bonggamom's Friday Finds -- The Bestest Giveaways Around the Blogosphere

As a giveaway blogger, I've found it's a great way to get more traffic to my giveaways. And as a person who loves entering giveaways, I've found it's a great way to find out where all the best giveaways are.

So I've started a weekly giveaway roundup post that hopefully people will find useful. Feel free to leave links to your giveaways, everyone. And don't forget to get cracking and enter all those giveaways!

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Zooni Mop Top Hats

One of the cutest things in the swag bag I received from the Silicon Valley Moms Blog Holiday Party was a pair of shaggy hats from Zooni children's wear. I first saw them at a local trunk sale, and fell in love with their cutie-patootie animal socks and mittens. Their specialty, however, are their one-of-a-kind, shaggy Mop Top Hats.



The Bongga
Can you say cuuuuute? The colors of this hat are gorgeous! It gets even better for younger kids. They put little ears amidst all that shagginess to make the hats look like monkeys, lions, puppies and pandas. They also have styles with little hearts or flowers or fishies.





The Blah
This is the kind of style that people either love or hate. Unfortunately, my husband falls into the latter category. He insists it's a girl's hat. I think it looks cute on my boys, but I will admit these hats are probably more suitable for younger boys. And since largest size is for 5 year olds, I think Zooni must agree with me. However, the black-and-white Hipster Mop Top scores way high on the dude points, and even boys ages 5 or 6 could wear it without fear of schoolyard taunting.


The Bottom Line
Zooni hats are street-stopping stylish, and an easy way to put some ZING into your little one's outdoor wardrobe. I wish my head were smaller so I could wear one, too!


Save now!
To get 15% off your Zooni purchase, use the coupon code LUVZOONI when you shop at Zooni's online boutique.

I received a sample in order to review this product, but no monetary compensation. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Win a $25 Giftcard from Hellman's!

When the holiday rush sets in, it's all too tempting to resort to takeout, frozen food, food from a box or even --yes, I'll admit -- ramen noodles. Which is even worse, considering the amount of gingerbread cookies and eggnog that's floating around to tempt us! The more real food I can get into my kids during this season, the better for their health, right? To help out challenged parents like me, Hellman's has partnered with celebrity chef Bobby Flay and created the Hellman's Real Holiday Helpings website.

Hellman's Real Holiday Helpings has the tips and tricks busy parents need to help them make real, simple meals. You can print out coupons, watch videos of Bobby preparing some recipes made with Hellman's Real Mayonnaise, and enter to win free groceries for a year. Best of all, the site has a collection of great holiday recipes, from main dishes to desserts, about half of which were developed by Bobby Flay. There's even a section entirely devoted to turkey, as well as a section for dishes made from leftovers. How cool is that?




Win It!
One lucky Bonggamom Finds winner will receive a $25 American Express giftcard to use in their own Real Holiday Food shopping trips (or whatever they want!). To enter, visit the Hellman's Real Holiday Helpings Holiday Recipes section, then come back here and leave a comment telling me which recipe you'd like to try. This entry is required, and must be completed before any extra entries will count.

For extra entries, you can do any or all of the following, (you can only do each entra entry once; please leave a separate comment for each extra entry):

1) Grab my blog button and post it up on your blog (leave a comment with your blog URL).

2) Subscribe to Bonggamom Finds updates by email (leave a comment with your email address).

3) Fave Bonggamom Finds on Technorati (leave a comment with your Technorati id).

4) Tweet this giveaway (leave a comment with a link to your tweet). Here is a sample tweet you can copy and paste:

Win a $25 giftcard from @bonggafinds and Hellman's http://tinyurl.com/yj574xo

Maximum of 5 entries per person. This giveaway ends at midnight PST on December 22, 2009; I will draw a winner at random on December 23 and post the winner's name as soon as the winner confirms acceptance. For additional giveaway rules, click here. Good luck!

Disclosure: I received a $25 giftcard -- courtesy of Hellman's Real Holiday Helpings program and Mom Select -- to use in my own Real Holiday Food shopping. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Vicks ComfortFlex Thermometer

We are a Vicks family. As a doctor, my dad's first line of defense against chest congestion was never medicines, but a good, thorough rubbing of Vicks Vaporub on our chest and back. My mother uses Vicks Vaporub to cure all her ailments from chest colds to mosquito bites. Even my extended family is into Vicks; all my dad's siblings love it, and when her nose is stuffy, my aunt snorts that Vicks Vapor Inhaler tube like it's crack or something.

With Vicks rubbed (like that pun?) into my childhood, it's no surprise that when I became a parent and had to buy thermometers, I went to the drugstore and grabbed the most familiar brand on the shelves: Vicks. Our Vicks thermometers have stood up to 3 kids, 8 years and countless fevers. I'd be happy to keep using it till the battery runs out, but Vicks recently sent me a sample of their latest and greatest thermometer, the Vicks ComfortFlex -- so our old Vicks thermometer has been relegated to backup thermometer and this new Vicks ComfortFlex is taking center stage.

The Basics
Vicks ComfortFlex thermometer is a digital thermometer that reads temperatures in about 8-12 seconds. It has a large, backlit color-coded display. It's also flexible and waterproof, and comes with a storage case.

Old Vicks thermometer versus New Vicks thermometer. Sorry, Old VT, you've served us well but it's time to retire.

The Bongga
I love the lightning-fast temperature reading -- no more squirming and squiggling for the kids while waiting for the thermometer to beep! And the backlit display is so easy to read -- no more squinting for the adults! The color-coded display feature (the backlight LCD is green when the temperature reading is between 97 and 98.8F, yellow between 99 and 100.9F, and red for 101F and above) is a nice bonus, especially for new parents who don't know whether to smile in relief or freak out when they read the temperature numbers (having said that, Alfie found this feature absolutely useless, since he's color blind!).

The Blah
The readings only seem to show in Fahrenheit, not Celsius. Most people in the US are used to Fahrenheit, but I'm thinking of my relatives in the Philippines and Europe, who would love to get their hands on this thermometer but would prefer to read temperature in Celsius. Hopefully Vicks has an international version of this temperature?

The Bottom Line
The Vicks ComfortFlex thermometer makes temperature reading super easy -- if only the fever were just as quick and painless!

I received a sample in order to review this product, but no monetary compensation. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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CyberMonday Deals at Mabel's Labels

Here are some great Cyber Monday deals from Mabel's Labels:

30% off Holiday Gift Tags and Return Address Labels
Regular Price: $18.50, sale price $12.95

40% off Selected Write-On! Stationery, in choice of Bzzz or Cowpoke designs
Regular Price $34, sale price $20.40

Backyardigans Write-On! Stationery Kits 40% off

I did not receive a sample or monetary compensation for this post.

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Imagine: Fashion Designer -- Review and Giveaway

Win an Imagine: Fashion Designer World Tour game for Nintendo DS by Ubisoft! To enter, keep reading....

I loved designing clothes when I was a little girl, and The Pea is just like me. Whether it's drawing designs on paper or cutting up bits of paper to drape on paper dolls or pinning scraps of cloth to make a cape for Barbie and American Girl, she can spend hours dreaming up all kinds of outfits. Recently Ubisoft sent us three Nintendo DS games from their popular Imagine girls' series to help The Pea satisfy her clothing design cravings. Imagine: Fashion Designer World Tour, Imagine: Fashion Designer New York and Imagine: Babyz Fashion differ in storyline and characters, but they all allow girls to pretend they are fashion designers and let them design all kinds of clothes. I'm happy to let her play these games because they a fun addition to her clothes design play, and she gets to exercise her creativity and imagination.


Imagine: Fashion Designer World Tour follows the adventures of a young Hollywood fashion designer -- the game player -- who wants to create her own label and take it global. To do that, players have to create seasonal collections and promote them via runway shows and fashion shoots. At the end of the season, players must meet a minimum sales target (which serves as a "score") in order to move onto the next season. It's all a bit complicated to me, and involves quite a lot of dedicated play (which is kind of difficult for The Pea when she gets limited screen time and has to choose between so many games to play!), but there are also some mini-games that players can complete in a short timeframe. Anyway, The Pea is too preoccupied with creating clothes and dolling up the models with hair and nails and makeup and accessories to pay too much attention to the overarching storyline at this point.

I really like how this game incorporates the features of the Nintendo DSi. For example, you have to blow into the game console's microphone to dry your model's nails! Another really cool feature is the ability to use the DSi's camera to take photos of things and use them in the clothes you design. Do you adore that shade of pink in your grandmother's rose garden? Use it to tint the bolt of cloth! Or take a photo of your own lovely lips and use it as a pattern for the next miniskirt you create! You can also use the DSi's wireless feature to share the garments you've created with your friends (they need to have their own DSi and Imagine: Fashion Designer World Tour game plugged in).



Imagine: Fashion Designer New York is a lot like the World Tour version (it was actually released before World Tour) in that the player creates their own fashions for fashion shows and photo shoots. The story is slightly different: in this game, the player is a novice fashion designer who joins a fashion house in New York, and the goal of the game is to become a great fashion designer. Players get there by completing tasks and challenges such as selecting models, dressing models and putting on a fashion show. Completing the tasks increases the player's experience level and unlocks more style options and fashion advice, which in turn help the player complete more challenging tasks. Throughout the introductory section and tasks, girls get the fun of choosing clothes, designing clothes, and deciding on hair, makeup and accessories. It's a bit more basic than the World Tour version, but there's' still more than enough to entertain girls.


In Imagine: Babyz Fashion, the stars of the runway are cartoon-y toddlers. You can design outfits for them and dress them up and choreograph their catwalk performances. I really like the part where you can choose the baby's dance moves and choose the music they walk down the runway to (anyone remember the Ally McBeal dancing baby?), but I have to admit, the concept of babies toddling down runways and entering fashion contests kind of creeps me out. I know it's all a simulation, but it smacks too much of that icky JonBenet Ramsey, Toddlers and Tiaras, infant beauty pageant world. I much prefer the part of the game where you have to feed and play with the baby, which is something that all girls like to do, even the older ones. They just won't admit it -- so caring for virtual babies lets them play mommy-baby and still maintain their cool girl facade.



Win It!
One lucky Bonggamom Finds reader will win their own Imagine: Fashion Designer World Tour game for Nintendo DS. To enter, go to the Ubisoft Parent's Corner and take their Perfect Gift Quiz. Then leave a comment on this post and tell me which Ubisoft game(s) the quiz recommended for your child. This entry must be completed before any extra entries will count.

For extra entries, you can do any or all of the following, (you can only do each entra entry once; please leave a separate comment for each extra entry):

1) Grab my blog button and post it up on your blog (leave a comment with your blog URL).

2) Subscribe to Bonggamom Finds updates by email (leave a comment with your email address).

3) Fave Bonggamom Finds on Technorati (leave a comment with your Technorati id).

4) Tweet this giveaway (leave a comment with a link to your tweet). Here is a sample tweet you can copy and paste:

Win a copy of Imagine: Fashion Designer World Tour game for Nintendo DS from @bonggafinds http://tinyurl.com/y8s9uvh

Maximum of 5 entries per person. This giveaway ends at midnight PST on December 16, 2009; I will draw a winner at random on December 17 and post the winner's name as soon as the winner confirms acceptance. For additional giveaway rules, click here. Good luck!

I received a sample in order to review this product, but no monetary compensation. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Klutz.com Holiday Sale

Can you say, Ho Ho Holiday Sale? Klutz.com is having a holiday special until December 16 for 25% off your entire order. Just enter promo code HOLIDAY25 when you check out at Klutz.com. Now is the time to get those great activity books and craft books your child loves -- I recommend any of the Paper Fashions books for girls, any of the Building Cards books for boys, or any of the Window Art books for boys and girls. Heck, practically any Klutz book is a winner!

I did not receive a sample or monetary compensation for this post.

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The Fairytale Collection -- review and giveaway

It's a fact that kids like to watch and listen to other kids. Think of the live video footage on Sesame Street, Yo Gabba Gabba, The Wiggles, Barney, and other shows. And it's also a fact that parents don't like it nearly as much as their kids. Take Kidz Bop and other cd's where little kids sing nursery rhymes. I know my kids like it, so I'm happy to play it for them, but I can totally understand why some parents groan when their kids ask for those kinds of cd's: the kids' voices are charming, but they're often out of tune, with no variation in tone or volume as the song goes on. When I was invited to review The Fairytale Collection: Classic Favorites with Unexpected Twists by The 6Pence Players, I could almost compose the review in my mind: the kids loved it, it's a great way to keep them enthralled in the car without resorting to a DVD, but parents might want to turn the sound balance all the way to the back. With apologies to the 6Pence Players, I was dead wrong!

The Basics
The Fairytale Collection: Classic Favorites with Unexpected Twists contains five classic fairytales -- The Three Billy Goats Gruff, Cinderella and Friends, The Emperor's New Clothes, The Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolves, and The Princess and The Pea -- read aloud by children ages 5 through 17. As the title implies, the stories are given modern tweaks here and there, and the dialogue is peppered with modern language.

The Bongga
This cd far exceeded my expectations! I expected the kids to like it, but I didn't think that The Pea, at the ripe old age of eight, would enjoy it as much as she did. And I didn't think I'd like as much as I did. Come on, it's the Three Little Pigs, for Pete's sake! But they made it fresh and funny and a delight to listen to. Here are three reasons why:

The storylines have subtle changes and twists that keep these old classics fresh and funny. For example, the princess in The Princess and the Pea counts flamingoes and bears and turtles to help her get to sleep on her "lumpy" old bed. And one of the tailors in The Emperor's New Clothes has asthma and needs to know whether they get medical insurance. And the 3 Little Pigs have 3 wolves, not 1, and these wolves don't rely on their lungs to blow the pigs' houses down -- they use mini fans and hairdryers (The Pea was in stitches over that one)!

* The dialogue is witty and real. (The princess in The Princess and the Pea tells everyone it's raining pheasants and dragons, and when one of the pigs tells the wolf, "Not by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin, the wolf snorts, "What's THAT supposed to mean?". That got a good laugh too). It's also modern, with common phrases like "weird" and "freaks me out", so kids can relate.

* The voice talents are really, really gooooooood. It's hard to believe they're all between the ages of 5 and 17!


The Blah
I can't think of anything I don't like about this cd, other than it the fact that it's not readily available. Currently parents can only purchase the cd online at their website, and at select retail stores in North Carolina and Georgia. It will soon be available on iTunes and CDBaby to download, which should make it easier for everyone to purchase and enjoy the cd.

The Bottom Line
This is one cd that won't leave parents groaning inwardly when their kids, want to listen to it. I heartily recommend it!

Win It!
One lucky Bonggamom Finds reader will win a copy of The Fairytale Collection cd. To enter, simply leave a comment on this post and tell me your favorite fairytale.

For extra entries, you can do any or all of the following, (you can only do each entra entry once; please leave a separate comment for each extra entry):

1) Grab my blog button and post it up on your blog (leave a comment here with your blog URL).

2) Fave Bonggamom Finds on Technorati (leave a comment with your Technorati id).

3) Tweet this giveaway (leave a comment with a link to your tweet). Here is a sample tweet you can copy and paste:

Win a Fairytale Collection cd from @bonggafinds http://tinyurl.com/y9uv2jx

Maximum of 4 entries per person. This giveaway ends at midnight PST on December 14, 2009; I will draw a winner at random and post the winner's name on the comments section as soon as the winner confirms acceptance. For additional giveaway rules, click here. Good luck!

I received a sample in order to review this product, but no monetary compensation. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Shopping for the Perfect Holiday Present at Staples

When the Silicon Valley Moms blog selected me for a $200 Staples shopping spree, I thanked them and politely declined, saying we didn't really need anything from Staples.

Joke!!! Are you kidding me ???? I snatched that giftcard and wrote my name on it in permanent marker and coughed on it and peed around it in a circle to make sure everyone knew that Staples giftcard was mine, all mine. I could think of a million cool things Staples sells that I could spend that $200 on..... a wireless printer.... an iPod nano... half a netbook.... a digital camera.... a digital photo frame.... The possibilities were endless.

The problem is, I'm kind of a cheapskate. I knew I'd end up spending it on printer paper and toner and cartridge and all the practical stuff that we need. Not a very exciting shopping spree, huh. So I decided to give the giftcard to Alfie as a present. I told him he had complete say in how to spend the $200; I would not interfere (okay, I did try and put in a few good words for a Canon Powershot camera), and all he had to do was let me take his photo and blog about the experience.

Imagine my disappointment when the first thing he reached for was an extension cord. Then a power surge strip. Then a compressed-air canister for blowing dust out of keyboards. I tried to point out the iPod docking stations. The ergonomic office chairs. The iPod Touch. But he only had eyes for the HDMI cable (okay, that one isn't an everyday purchase, but it's certainly a geeky one. I don't want to blog about how I got my husband a video cable for a present!).

Er.....no, Alfie. That's not what you buy on a shopping spree, that's what you buy on an errand! I could have done that myself and stocked up on printer ink! Now is not the time to be practical! My resolve to not interfere was sorely tested. I was beginning to wish I had just gone to Staples myself and bought him a Sony digital reader. Now that's a present.

Then we moved to the GPS aisle. And that is where he found the perfect present.


Alfie is absolutely hopeless when it comes to directions; he can barely find his way around the block. He bought his car in 1996 and his motorcycle in 2002, when installed GPS systems weren't common yet. When we bought our minivan in 2004, we decided not to spend the extra money to get a GPS system since I happen to be good at directions and I'd be driving the minivan most of the time. So whenever Alfie goes anywhere without me, he prints pages and pages of maps and directions. Which is why a portable GPS is exactly what he needs.


Alfie's perfect present, the Garmin Nuvo 1200, was just $169.99. We also decided to get the Staples Technical Support & Protection Plan since we'd get full protection for damages and defects for 2 years, as well as a guaranteed one-time replacement (basically, Staples would issue us a $169.99 credit towards the purchase of a new GPS) within the next 2 years. We ended up buying all the other stuff that Alfie had picked up, because it was something we needed anyway, but I'm so happy that we were able to find a practical present for just over $200 (with the protection plan), with major coolness points! Alfie was so happy with his present, and so was I! Thanks Staples!

I received a $200 Staples gift card and used it to review the shopping experience at Staples. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Bonggamom's Friday Finds -- The Bestest Giveaways Around the Blogosphere

As a giveaway blogger, I've found it's a great way to get more traffic to my giveaways. And as a person who loves entering giveaways, I've found it's a great way to find out where all the best giveaways are.

So I've started a weekly giveaway roundup post that hopefully people will find useful. Feel free to leave links to your giveaways, everyone. And don't forget to get cracking and enter all those giveaways!

Continue reading...