I had the pleasure of eating lunch with the twins today at their Preschool. What a wonderful lunch it was.
They made very special placemats for the occasion.
And mummy had a yummy treat waiting in the car to keep the little ones occupied on a long drive to San Francisco to pick up their uncle (my brother) who is visiting for the week from Australia to celebrate Thanksgiving and Jay's birthday with us.
Oxfam is a organization my family and I have stood behind for many years. My brother competes in Marathons, Triathlons and who knows what else (let's just say he's a fitness freak) and one in particular that he has done over the years is the Oxfam Trailwalker which is a 100km trek (run/walk) through Australian bush in under 48 hours with 4 participants to a team. Each team commits to raising at least $1,000 to support Oxfam's work in 28 countries including Australia (my home country). I have always donated to not only support his team but also to raise money for a worthy cause.
Last year you may remember my Gifts That Give Back post which has a lot of ideas on how your gifts can give back to so many. Oxfam America Unwrapped was one of the ideas I mentioned.
This year I was given the opportunity to participate in a blogging campaign for Oxfam America Unwrapped.
In honor of my brother being the one who introduced me to Oxfam, his gift this holiday season is to Irrigate a farmer's land for two months.
There are many, many ways Oxfam America Unwrapped gifts can give back this holiday season. Here are just a few of the gifts you could give:
*Disclaimer: I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Oxfam America Unwrapped and received a credit for a gift on the Oxfam site - a gift of a dozen chicks will be going to my sister.
There is still enough time to get crafting and give your kids handmade gifts this holiday season.
Seeing as we have just recently moved to a new town and don’t know too many people, I didn’t organize a big birthday bash for the twins this year.
Yes, those who know me personally are gasping in horror right now.
That doesn’t mean that we won’t be celebrating. After all, we had a last week while my parents were visiting from Australia and we will have another one tomorrow on their actual birthday.
Instead I arranged for the kids to have a celebration in their classroom at school.
In keeping with the ‘school’ theme I sent along bags of organic fruit (oranges, apples, pears and peaches) that the teachers cut up after lunch and I made educational gift bags for all of the children in the class to take home.
Each gift bag contained:
And all of this for a little under $2 per gift bag.
On each chipboard book I hand-stamped “My Book” on the cover and then using the twins play-doh cutters as stencils I cut out assorted characters that the children could glue into their book.
Each book kit was put into a lunch bag.
I hope all of the children in their class enjoy the extra art activity that we sent home with them today.
Check out these retro whistles from the Hunter Company
Perfect for parties.
Speed Cop, Train Engine and Fire Truck. $2.99 each.
![GHOT Modern Hits Bundle Contents[1]](http://lh6.ggpht.com/_tYeog2zCoSw/SlbBgaxSQbI/AAAAAAAATuA/wjNmuOH05as/s1600-h/GHOT%20Modern%20Hits%20Bundle%20Contents%5B1%5D%5B5%5D.jpg "GHOT Modern Hits Bundle Contents[1]")
We left on vacation and that’s when the email arrived. Your Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits for the Nintendo DS system is being sent to you. EEK! was my first response. I knew Jay would be stoked. Then the sweats started. You see, not only were we on vacation but we were moving house. I knew Jay would be disappointed if I had to pull out of the review so I sent off a quick email explaining the situation and they were kind enough to give me an extension on my review and low and behold his Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits was waiting for us when we picked up the keys to our new house. Phew.
Next problem. His Nintendo DS was packed with the rest of our belongings. It took days to wade through boxes before we finally tracked it down. He was ‘supposed’ to bring it on vacation for the car ride so he wouldn’t be bored, but it accidentally got packed into a box.
So finally, we have our act together. Drum roll please ….. here it is, on tour at the playground.
and check out the stylus … it’s a guitar pick, that slots very nicely into the system.
Some of the features are:
The cost:
Rating:
Jay thinks it’s great for playing away from home. Especially in the car when the twins are hogging the DVD player and while he sits at the dog park waiting for the pooch during his play dates. It wouldn’t surprise me if he hides it under his covers to play once his lights are supposed to be off too.
*Disclaimer: This product was provided for reviewing purposes with thanks to Mom Central for Guitar Hero On Tour.
THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED.
WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED TOMORROW
I was sent a box of chocolate dipped fortune cookies (to review) recently by the wonderful Erin at Fancy Fortune Cookies.
Don’t these look delicious.
The flavors I received were (I say were, because let’s face it, things like this do NOT last very long in our house … thanks to me and my sweet tooth and 3 kids who were allowed to sample them too) Vanilla, Cappuccino, Cherry, Coconut, Orange and Raspberry. I think it was the Raspberry dipped in white chocolate that tasted like a Strawberry Milkshake and the Orange dipped in milk chocolate that oh my goodness seriously tasted like a Jaffa. Now a lot of you will be sitting there scratching your heads and wondering what an earth a Jaffa is and if I’m in fact speaking English. Jaffas were my all-time FAVORITE candy growing up in Australia. They are small round balls of chocolate coated in a hard orange flavored shell and they are divine, especially in a Chocolate & Vanilla ice-cream/Jaffa/Whipped cream/Hot chocolate fudge Sundae *mopping up drool* so you can see why I loved these ones so much.
I’m getting completely off track though, so back to the Fancy Fortune Cookies.
These are perfect for parties and can be personalized:
Varieties of fortune cookies available:
Chocolate covered fortune cookies – white, milk and dark chocolate Benefits of ordering from Fancy Fortune Cookies
Oh, and did I mention that there will be a GIVEAWAY too. A $75 gift certificate giveaway to be precise. $75 worth of fortune cookies. This is perfect if you have a party coming up soon
To enter:
Visit Fancy Fortune Cookie and tell me what you would spend the $75 gift certificate on if you won. Leave a comment below (please ensure I have a way to contact you in the event you win).
Want additional entries? (you’ll get one additional entry for each thing you do)
Tweet about the giveaway (leave me your twitter id)
Subscribe to my blog
Follow my blog
Place my button on your own site
Blog about this giveaway (even if it’s just a little “hey by the way head on over here to enter this giveaway” at the end of a blog post)
Become a fan of my blog on Facebook (just click on the Networked Blogs link over there –>)
This contest is open to all residents of the U.S and will end at Thursday 28th May 10pm PST.
Product review item provided free of charge by: Fancy Fortune Cookies
These delicious little cookie cubes were part of the swag we received at National Mom’s Night Out.
Life Made Sweet make some truly decadent cookies including truffle stuffed. I mean, who wouldn’t love cookies named Chocolate Raspberry Martini or Coconut Lime Mojito or even the White Russian (pictured above).
They also offer a Cookie Chew Cookie of the Month Club.
What a great gift idea for the cookie lover.
I won these in a raffle last night at National Mom’s Night Out.
Half the box is gone already.
What a great gift idea!
Supporting Etsy crafters
APPAREL & ACCESSORIES
Polyhrt – custom made short and long-sleeved t-shirts for moms and grandma’s.
rainbowswirlz – pretty bird babydoll tee
modest maven – poppy pins
French Press Knits – felted slippers
Peaches 4 me – Headband
mygreatgifts – apron (free shipping for Mother’s Day)
JEWELLERY
world of beads – two peas in a pod necklace
starry designs – rings, earrings and pendants especially for mom.
minty fresh – custom Mother’s pendant
Steinvika – LOVE. Fine silver enamel double disc pendant with rubber cord
santanartist – Wild Wacky Wonderful Mom glass pendant
Rose’s designs – mother and daughter bracelets
BAGS
John met Betty – plain Jane mini clutch
The craft pantry – recycled tote
Matey Couture – scrappy wallet
Thumperlove – re-useable produce bags
Shnury – eyeglasses case
Downstairs Designs – Little Red Riding Hood snap pouch
KNICK KNACKS
truLuxe – posies in moss
sjENGRAVING – Mom’s Nest. Engraved rocks
wise impressions – handmade ceramic magnet
foryoo – personalized stamp
Alchemic Muse – handmade natural trio of soaps
Mud Hutt Studio – day dish
ecogeneration – recycled felt embroidery frame
CARDS
smockpaper – letterpress card on bamboo paper
Michelle Brusegaard – tulips Mother’s Day card
Ginger dead shoppe – Mummy’s day card
KittyKatKards – origami dress
cutiepie company – vintage card
Seasonal Delights – vintage Mother’s Day card
* FEATURED ON: Type-A Mom
Looking for gifts?
Craft for a cause
