Paperspring

From the company: Photo holiday cards, personalized holiday cards, beautiful Christmas cards, corporate holiday cards, beautiful Hanukkah cards. Paperspring will help you look great this holiday season with stylish, modern, tasteful and unique photo holiday cards. Our personalized holiday card designs will instantly bring holiday cheer and spread it to friends, family and colleagues. From corporate holiday cards to personalized Hanukkah cards, we have you covered! Order your photo holiday card today and have it in only a few days!

My take: When I saw a review of these cards over on another site, I knew I had to get them for my holiday cards this year. So I was thrilled to be allowed to review one of their holiday cards. I knew immediately which card I wanted from their very extensive photo holiday card collection:

Very Merry Everything
Wish your loved ones everything merry this holiday season with this playful photo holiday card. The bold holiday message in a festive red pops on top of a warm chocolate background. This photo holiday card allows for up to three personalized photos. Product Information:
Dimensions: 5" X 7" (w x h), flat
Paper type: 100% recycl. cardstock:
130# premium matte cardstock, 100% post-consumer waste recycled and FSC-certified
StickyStock: An innovative and fun paper that lets you affix your card anywhere like a post-it Turnaround: Four business days
Envelopes: Blank envelopes included with each order
Editor's Notes: Everything about this photo holiday card is cheerful and fun. The bold and bright holiday message in this photo holiday card is playful and all-encompassing! The brown and red color combination used in this photo holiday card beautifully complements any photo. And the holly is such a cute little detail that adds to the charm of this photo holiday card.

Our cards arrived in just about a week and I am very impressed with the quality of these cards (I'm not putting up a picture of our actual cards since the full names of my children are printed on the front of them but believe me when I tell you the look amazing!) I chose "A Very Merry Everything" since I send cards to people of all faiths and beliefs at this time of year - I thought this was a very clever card to cover all my bases. Ordering them was incredibly easy - took maybe 15 minutes tops - you load up your pictures and can move them around (the photo editor allows you to zoom and crop) and then you approve the proof right on line then. You also choose your own text. Couldn't be easier. We love our Paperspring Holiday cards and you will too!

Of course, now I'm thinking I may need to get some of the Digital Art Holiday Cards too - these are so cool! Actually, ALL the Digital Art products look so amazing I'm thinking business cards, change of address cards, etc. etc. Check them out!

Bonus: Use the code HOLIDAYCARD for a 20% discount on holiday cards. The code expires on 12/13/2009.

The giveaway: One lucky winner will win a promo code worth $50 to use on your very own Paperspring order! To win, visit the Paperspring site and then come back here and leave me a comment telling me what you would purchase if you won! Be sure to leave your email address with your comment if you are not a blogger or your email is not easily found on your blog. This giveaway is open until 11:59 p.m., EST, Friday, December 11, 2009. Good Luck!

Bonus entries: Get up to 8 extra entries for a total of 9 entries (please leave a separate comment for each extra entry):

• Follow @paperspring on Twitter
• Become a fan of Paperspring on Facebook
• Blog about this giveaway (don't forget to leave the link in your comment)
• Twitter, Stumble or Digg this giveaway
• Subscribe to my blog via RSS or Email (see top left sidebar)
• Add my blog to your blogroll or my button to your sidebar (leave your website address for verification)
• On Technorati - click on this link, then on Fan or Fav (or use the green link on the top left sidebar)
• Follow me on Blogger (see top left sidebar)

This post was written for Paperspring who provided me with a $60 promo code (I paid $19.50 for my order of 50 cards) for review. They also are providing the promo code for giveaway. I was not compensated in any way except for the promo code.

Alphabotz (review and giveaway)

ALPHABOTZ™ SUPERPHONIC DECODER CARDS ENLIVEN READING SKILLS IN A KID-FRIENDLY WAY

Emerging Readers Improve Their Phonics Skills With Colorful & Fun Cards

From the PR Firm: Colorful robot characters on oversized flash cards are taking learning to read to a new level by helping emerging readers to comprehend nearly four dozen sounds created from the 26-letter English alphabet. The robots are called the Alphabotz, and when youngsters dive into the Superphonic Decoder Cards, they grasp the idea that letters equal sounds, sounds build words, and words tell amazing stories.

That’s the equation for making learning and reading fun, and the inventors behind the Alphabotz felt so compelled to bring their unique, and as it has turned out award-winning, concept to reality that they found a way to do it, despite the challenging economy for starting a new business. Designed for children ages 3+, these 46– 10" x 4.5" Alphabotz character cards are colorful, sturdy, and packaged in a sliding drawer box for easy storage.

Let’s face it – phonics can be confusing and daunting to beginning readers. But not with the Alphabotz, whose visual clues, fun characters and stats show youngsters how to use decoding keys when coming across new word patterns. Each Superphonic Decoder Card contains a robot character who wears a letter or letter team on its chest and an icon on its head that serve as constant visual references to the sound the character represents. Each card also contains stats about the character that tell a story about its life and personality in order to make the sounds memorable and aid in development of letter recognition and phonemic awareness skills.

Here’s how the Superphonic Decoder Cards break down:

The Alphabotz are grouped into squads. Each squad has a designated code that appears in the upper right-hand corner of the cards.

First, there are the 26 letters of the alphabet cards and they’re marked with a star code to make them easily identifiable, such as the letter “B.” The Alphabot named Boomer represents the “buh” sound. Boomer wears his letter (B) on his chest, and a ball on his head. Kids quickly discover that this little ’bot is a baseball player, lives in a bungalow in Bluebird Ballpark and has his own secret phrase: Bebop, batter, batter, brushback broom! Bang that baseball, bop, bam, boom!

The A, E, I, O, and U of the alphabet cards are the Superphonic Shorts (the short vowel sounds of these letters). But the fun continues when kids are introduced to the other colorful characters including the Superphonic Longs (long vowel sounds), the Impersonators (who “copycat” other letter sounds because they don’t have one of their own), the H-Bunch (consonant digraphs), the R-Rangers (r-controlled vowels), the Vowel Teams (vowel digraphs) and even one Silent E character named Elaine who’s job is to be perfectly quiet. This is one of the unique things about this set of flash cards –children get much more than just the alphabet. And, the Alphabotz team has created a clever way for kids to remember even the trickiest of sounds, all the while keeping them engaged and entertained.

There are four more cards in the deck of Alphabotz to help make the product even more useful and fun: two of the main characters from the back story of the Alphabotz that will be featured in their upcoming storybook—stern librarian Miss Spella de Books, an avid believer in old, boring teaching methods and Alphabotz foe, and Professor Ben Letterman, who discovered the Alphabotz as a young boy while struggling to read—come into play with some of the card games kids can play for more advanced use. One card that serves as the ultra Decoder “how to” for the product, explaining all of the codes and features of the Alphabotz cards, plus one game and activity card that details numerous games and three levels of play activities that entice kids into having fun with this product:

Level 1: Sound Detectives, includes introductory games such as Superphonic Secret Agent and Rhyme Time that put a creative spin on detecting, recognizing and manipulating sounds of the English language.

Level 2: Letter Agents, includes games such as Letterlicious and Alphabotz Soup that help children with letter names, shapes and sound correspondence.

Level 3: Word Wizards, for word structure and putting it all together, this slightly more advanced level includes fun and creative games such as Silence is Golden and Alphabotz Story Tag.

Superphonic Decoder Cards are the first product in the Alphabotz line planned by Ideopolis, a company whose mission is to bring innovative educational programs for children to market. Vining, who is also a graphic designer, explains her vision: “Why couldn’t a program that helps children learn invaluable reading skills have the appeal of a Lemony Snicket or a Harry Potter? Instead of contrived educational text, children embark on adventures in the magical Kingdom of Alpha where they break codes, solve problems, tell stories, perform and pretend.” She continues, “more importantly, instead of one learning method for all children, a combination of strategies is utilized that engages the senses and accommodates different learning styles.”

Indeed the Alphabotz Superphonic Decoder Cards are “Not Your Grandma’s Flash Cards!” The fun-filled and sturdy cards, priced at $19.95, not only have wowed parents, kids and educators but also caught the eye of industry experts like Creative Child Magazine, who awarded them the 2009 Preferred Choice Award in the Educational Products category.

Who can benefit from Alphabotz? The list is endless: speech therapists, home-schoolers, children ages 3-7, grandparents, school districts, teachers of English as a second language and, of course, parents.

The clever decoder cards can be used year after year as the novice reader emerges as a competent one. A three-year old can just play with the cards to recognize letters, shapes, characters, pictures, and vibrant colors. As he grows and his reading skills mature, the phonics cards become appealing in a new way with the intriguing stats, storylines and rich vocabulary.

Beyond the Alphabotz cards, the folks at Ideopolis have several upcoming products in the works to complement the Superphonic Decoder Cards. Look on their website to see a preview of a music CD and books that teach beginning readers phonemic awareness through alliteration, song, repetition and of course, fun!

Updates: Alphabotz were named one of Dr. Toy's 100 Best Children's Products of 2009, and it was just announced that they also won a Tillywig Toy & Media Award Brain Child Award!

Another development with the Alphabotz is that you can use dry erase markers on them! We just learned that standard dry erase markers can be easily wiped off of the cards. This adds another level to the cards, and kids can trace over the letters and learn how to write as they're learning how to pronounce words and read!

Bonus 1: The Alphabotz website, www.alphabotz.com, offers a page of free superphonic fun that supplements the decoder cards. Choose from Bookmarks, Decoder Club Chart, Coloring Sheets, Alpha-tastic songs, and a 12-page Funzine, filled with games and activities that kids can download. Go to http://www.alphabotz.com/ and click on "FUN," to discover the downloadable Funzine, 48 coloring pages to reinforce the letters and Alphabotz characters and more!

Bonus 2: Use the code KSBLOGS1 for 20% off the purchase of Alphabotz through Amazon.com (direct link to the product is http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0615227554/ref=dp_olp_0?ie=UTF8&condition=all). Note this code is ONLY good for purchases made through Amazon.com. The code expires on 12/18.

Bonus 3: Now, through December 14th, you can receive FREE GROUND SHIPPING when you order two (2) or more sets of our Superphonic Decoder Cards. This undercover learning tool is loads of fun, and it makes a perfect gift for those early readers on your list! To order your Superphonic Decoder Cards and receive FREE GROUND SHIPPING, visit our website at http://www.alphabotz.com/.

My take: I have one child who needs help with reading and another child who is not yet a reader so I was excited to get these Alphabotz cards to help them both. I'm not a teacher, I don't have any idea how to teach reading and I'm in awe of those who do. I do know that the key for learning though can be found in three words: reinforcement, reinforcement, reinforcement! What better way than with flash cards like these. And as you read above, they are not just any flash cards - so full of reinforcement for each letter, it's impossible not to learn.

I also lent the cards to my daughter's kindergarten teacher and she played the Alphabet Soup game with the kids. She reported back to me that she really liked the cards because they are colorful (kept the kids' attention). She said all the kids really seemed to enjoy the game, and the kids who play Pokémon seemed to really understand the games the best. She liked that they have levels that build up and there is a wide variety of learning with them - "they cover long vowels, short vowels, silent e, and even diagraphs." Her verdict? If she had a set she would definitely use them in her class curriculum. My verdict? We love the Alphabotz cards and look forward to using them for a long time to come, through all the levels, as our reading skills progress. If you have an emerging reader, be sure to pick up a set of Alphabotz for their stocking this Christmas or as a perfect Chanukah gift!

The giveaway: One lucky winner (US address only please) will win their own Alphabotz set!

To win: Visit www.alphabotz.com and come back here and leave me a comment telling me the name of one of the characters on the Alphabotz cards. Be sure to leave your email address with your comment if you are not a blogger or your email is not easily found on your blog. This giveaway is open until 11:59 p.m., EST, Thursday, December 10, 2009. Good Luck!

Bonus entries: Get up to 8 extra entries for a total of 9 entries (please leave a separate comment for each extra entry):

• Follow Alphabotz on Twitter
• Become a Fan of Alphabotz on Facebook
• Blog about this giveaway (don't forget to leave the link in your comment)
• Twitter, Stumble or Digg this giveaway
• Subscribe to my blog via RSS or Email (see top left sidebar)
• Add my blog to your blogroll or my button to your sidebar (leave your website address for verification)
• On Technorati - click on this link, then on Fan or Fav (or use the green link on the top left sidebar)
• Follow me on Blogger (see top left sidebar)

ABOUT IDEOPOLIS LLC: Four founding partners, Pat Vining, Kelly Barton, Randy Barton and Nicole Sigsby launched Alphabotz as the first of many Ideopolis branded products. They all agreed that a technically sound, multi-strategy approach to reading -- that was also fun and engaging -- was missing from the juvenile marketplace. The Baton Rouge, LA-based company is enthusiastic about launching other innovative educational products in 2010. For more information on Ideopolis and Alphabotz, visit their award-winning interactive website at www.alphabotz.com.

Alphabotz Mission Statement: Fun without formulas . . . at Alphabotz, we are committed to doing things differently as we celebrate the joy and wonder that is childhood. We will create innovative products that raise the bar as opposed to settling for minimum standards. Injected with humor and the honesty of a child, our quality educational products will engage and motivate children in a fun-filled way—and serious learning will occur before they even know it. Our lighthearted approach will capture the imaginations of children everywhere and inspire a love of learning that stays with them throughout their lives.

This review was sponsored by

KidStuff Public Relations

This post was written for Alphabotz and KidStuff PR who provided the items for review and giveaway. I was not compensated in any way except for the complimentary product.

Poster Brain

From the company: PosterBrain turns photos into gorgeous, full-size posters that will get a great reaction from anyone on your list. They do this overnight and for under $30 including shipping. Not only are they fast and inexpensive, but the quality is amazing. Consumers will receive a red-wrapped poster tube complete with a bow the next day on their door step or to the door of a loved one. What a great way to bring a smile and send a memory to those you love.

Posters Made Easy!

• Make a poster in 3 minutes - So easy it's fun!
• Use any photo (jpg, gif, png, tif, bmp - at least 1 megapixel).
• Premium quality prints - Beautiful satin finish, 200-year archival paper
• Printed & shipped within 24 hours - Same-day for orders placed by 2pm Eastern
• $4.99 flat-rate shipping - Any quantity of posters, anywhere in the US.
• 100% Satisfaction Guarantee - Unconditionally love your posters - or your money back.

My take: A personalized gift that's easy to order, inexpensive and is unconditionally guaranteed? Really, it's a no-brainer (pun intended) - Poster Brain makes the perfect gift - for the holidays and beyond! It was so easy to order my poster:

Step 1: Upload your photo.
Step 2: Choose your size (16" x 24" for $11.11 OR 24" x 36" for $24.99 OR 36" x 54" for $56.23)

Step 3: Checkout.

DONE! Just a week later the poster arrived on my doorstep and I immediately put it up in the kitchen:

PERFECT! I just love it!!! And everyone who has seen it has been impressed too. I'm thinking, what a great idea for Christmas gifts for my family...hmmmm...be sure to check out Poster Brain yourself!

The giveaway: One lucky winner will receive a code to make their own poster (including free shipping).

To win: Leave me a comment telling me who you would make a poster for if you win. Be sure to leave your email address with your comment if you are not a blogger or your email is not easily found on your blog. This giveaway is open until 11:59 p.m., EST, Monday, December 7, 2009. Good Luck!

Bonus entries: Get up to 6 extra entries for a total of 7 entries (please leave a separate comment for each extra entry):

• Blog about this giveaway (don't forget to leave the link in your comment)
• Twitter about this giveaway (leave link to your tweet in your comment)
• Subscribe to my blog via RSS or Email (see top left sidebar)
• Add my blog to your blogroll or my button to your sidebar (leave your website address for verification)
• On Technorati - click on this link, then on Fan or Fav (or use the green link on the top left sidebar)
• Follow me on Blogger (see top left sidebar)

This post was written for Poster Brain who provided the products for review and giveaway. I was not compensated in any way except for the complimentary product.

ebeanstalk.com

From Ebeanstalk: I received the following toy from ebeanstalk.com:

Solarscape Puzzle

Price: $14.95

Included with this order: Expert written Instruction Card and The Happy-Kid Guarantee (The ebeanstalk Happy Kid Guarantee: We are so confident in the toys we pick that if your toy is not age-appropriate or your child doesn't like the toy, return it to us within 30 days from the date of purchase for a refund. Happy?)

Age: 7 Year+ (Target Age: 7 Year)

Target Age: Children grow and learn at different speeds. This item can be enjoyed by younger and older children depending on their interests and abilities. The Target Age is the time most children START enjoying this toy, game or book as determined by our Child-Experts. Please be aware of small-part warnings when choosing toys for younger children.

Brand: Melissa and Doug

Description: This vibrant and eye-catching 100 piece floor puzzle is sure to become the center of attraction in any space. Featuring incredible graphics, high quality construction and impeccable detail, this Solarscape floor puzzle cannot be beat! The heavy-duty cardboard construction ensures that this puzzle will last, while the easy clean surface will keep this puzzle looking brand new. It′s hard to find good gifts for 7 year olds, but this toy is one of the best!

Features and Skills:

•What a great year the 7’s are. There a few milestones they may achieve and growing pains your typical 7-year-old may encounter.

•Hand-eye coordination is well developed, has good balance and can execute simple gymnastic movements, such as somersaults.

•Uses a vocabulary of several thousand words and is able to demonstrate a longer attention span.

•Uses serious, logical thinking, is thoughtful and reflective and is able to understand reasoning and make the right decisions.

•Begins to grasp that letters represent the sounds that form words.

•Takes direction well; needs punishment only rarely.

•Starts to feel guilt and shame.

•Initiate discussions about right vs. wrong.

My take: 'Tis the season for toy shopping, is it not? Well, at least it is for those with children on our list. And I'm not looking for just any toy for my kids. I want toys that are good for learning, education, and development and are durable, of high quality and age appropriate. Of course, my kids just want toys that are fun. That's where ebeanstalk comes in. This site is dedicated to selecting good, safe baby and kids toys. You can shop by BRAND, AGE, or CATEGORY. They even have a panel of experts to help you make your choices! Win - win: be sure to check out ebeanstalk yourself for all your holiday toy shopping this year - I know we will!

And as you can clearly see, my 7 year old absolutely loved the puzzle:

About ebeanstalk.com: As parents learn the benefits of educational toys, they naturally want to shop for new toys according to their child’s level of development. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to select toys with limited information available. The age level guides on boxes are much too broad to choose toys targeted to the specific age of your child.

It’s our mission to help parents select the best learning toys and baby gifts based on the age of the child. We offer a unique way to select the right learning toys for your child at every stage of development from birth to five years old. Toys are categorized to allow you to shop by age or further refine the search by category. Navigation is easy with the menu bar to the left of the page.

The baby toys and kids’ toys on our website have been selected by our team of specialists. The team includes experts in clinical psychology, speech-language pathology, physical therapy, pediatric occupational therapy and education, as well as over 700 mothers from across the country. They looked at over ten thousand toys to select the best development toys for babies and toddlers according to age.

Another problem parents often report is a lack of information about how to use toys with their children in order to provide the greatest benefit and have the most fun. Our team has developed instruction cards and graduated play ideas for each of our toys. Browse our website to find great developmental toys for your child. If you have any questions, please get in touch with us by phone, email or live chat.

This post was written for Ebeanstalk who provided the puzzle for review. I was not compensated in any way except for the complimentary puzzle.

K'Nex

From Wikipedia (what is K'Nex?): K'NEX is a brand name of a construction toy system invented by Joel Glickman, designed and produced by K'NEX Industries, Inc. of Hatfield, Pennsylvania, USA. Currently Michael Araten is the president of the organization. The name is, presumably, a phonetic variation of connects, and is pronounced the same way. The toys building system consists of interconnecting plastic rods and connectors, which can connect together to form all kinds of contraptions. K'NEX is a construction toy, and therefore in the same genre as LEGO, Fischertechnik and Meccano.

From Team Mom: It’s time to start building! K’NEX, the next generation of construction sets, is giving kids the chance to imagine, build and play! K’NEX inspires creativity, builds self-confidence and encourages interaction among children and parents. The possibilities are endless!

For ages 7 and above, K’NEX has created the 400 PCS Tub that comes with building ideas for 20 different models and a convenient storage tub. Kids can also use their imagination to build whatever they are inspired to create.

For ages 2-5, K’NEX has created the Sesame Street Neighborhood Collection Building Sets. These sets let children build and then play with their favorite Sesame Street friends, including Elmo, Cookie Monster and Ernie.

Bonus: K’NEX is also holding a Make a K’NEXion contest (11/4 - 12/7/09). You could win over $1,000 worth of K’NEX Toys and be featured on the KNEX.com web site. How? Make a video and include select K’NEX products (email entry to knexvideocontest@knex.com) . The possibilities are endless! Construct your own story or showcase your child’s K’NEX building skills - use your imagination! The 10 best videos will be featured on KNEX.com and the winning video will receive $1,000 worth of K’NEX Toys. Click here for all the details!!

400 Piece Value Tub

Age: 7+ Item Number: 12077B Price: $21.99


Loaded with 400 parts, including bricks, for lots of open-ended fun and endless building and play opportunities! Includes instructions and ideas for 20 models or use your imagination to dream up your own creations. The convenient storage tub means there is always a place to put your parts or take the fun with you wherever you go! For ages 7+.

Packed with 400 parts, including bricks, rods and connectors, for lots of open-ended building fun

Includes ideas/instructions for 20+ models or use your own imagination

Handy storage tub means you can take the fun with you and clean-up is easy

For ages 7+

NEIGHBORHOOD COLLECTION POLICE STATION BUILDING SET

Age: 2-5 Item Number: 85373 Price: $20.99

Officer Ernie reporting for duty! Your child will enjoy hours of fun building the SESAME STREET Police Station - plus the NEW smaller scale buildable Elmo and police officer Ernie - and creating his own Sesame Street neighborhood! Includes "Play & Learn" activity sheet and additional building ideas. Loaded with 44 parts to build the police station, Elmo, Ernie, a stop sign and traffic light. Pairs perfectly with the Neighborhood Collection Police Car for lots of building fun and after building play.

Your child can build a SESAME STREET Police Station!

Loaded with 44 parts, including 2 smaller scale buildable Elmo and Ernie

"Play & Learn" activity sheet with additional building ideasPairs perfectly with Neighborhood Collection police car

Collect all 4 Neighborhood Collection sets and your child can build his own SESAME STREET Neighborhood!

My take: Legos, puzzles and K'Nex. "These are a few of my favorite things...." Well, they are my 7 year old future architect's favorite things. He loves to build and create and K'Nex tubs are perfect for his skills and imagination. I first introduced him to K'nex back when I did a review for them last year. This time we received the two products you see above. I gave the tub to him and the Sesame Street police station to his 5 year old Elmo loving sister. As expected, they both loved, loved, loved these toys. Our son immediately set out to build another of his monster trucks and our daughter put together the police station with her dad's help and started playing with Elmo and Ernie. I think poor Elmo was arrested by Ernie all afternoon!

What do I, as a mom, like about these toys? I like K'Nex because they work with all the myriad of Legos my son has already so it's like one big building system for him. I also love the big storage tubs for easy clean up - I had to buy storage tubs for the Legos. I also love that what my son can build is only limited by his imagination! I like the Sesame Street Neighborhood Collection Building Sets because the parts are big and chunky so easy for my 5 year old to handle (she's not quite ready for the smaller Lego and K'Nex). I also like the Play & Learn activity sheets that come with the set so she can have even more fun and learn too!

All and all, you can't go wrong with K'Nex. Be sure to check out their site to see all their many, many fun products - Santa would be well advised to shop here this year!

This post was written for K'Nex and Team Mom who provided the products for review. I was not compensated in any way except for the complimentary products.

I am proud to be a member of Team Mom, which sponsored this review.

Glade Candles Holiday Collection

"Make Fragrance Your Centerpiece"

My take: There is no mistaking the time of year it is - Christmas and Chanukkah decorations are popping up everywhere. And if you are like our house, your lights are up outside and you've brought down the decorations to adorn your home. Every year, I buy new holiday candles as well - there is nothing that says Christmas to me quite like the scents of Christmas, especially the scent of a fresh cut pine (and since we have an artificial tree, I use candles to get that scent in the house). This year, I'll be getting Glade Holiday candles - they sent me 2 Bayberry Spice tins to check out from their Holiday collection and I just loved it (the scent wasn't too strong for my sensitive nose and it didn't bother anyone's allergies either). I can't wait to try out the rest of the line - who wouldn't? Just take a look at these delicious scents:

Bayberry Spice: Spice up any holiday moment with the scent of fresh bayberries, a sprinkle of ginger and a hint of cinnamon. The inviting fragrance will instantly welcome all your guests.

Homemade Gingerbread™: Few things are as welcoming as the fragrance of freshly baked holiday gingerbread. Create a joyful ambiance with the yummy scent of warm holiday goodies

Hollyberry Wreath: Walmart® exclusive - Winter's here! Brighten your home with the vibrant scent of fresh pine and red berries. Capture the spirit of the season with a fragrance that recalls the best of holidays past even while it becomes a memory for the holidays to come.

Peppermint Crush™: Exclusively at Target® - Invigorate your home with a candy cane-crisp scent of fresh holiday fun. It's a sweet way to celebrate a delicious season.

French Vanilla: Curl up and relax with the creamy richness of decadent French Vanilla. The subtle, spicy fragrance of the vanilla bean will make you feel warm inside, whether or not it's cold outside.

Apple Cinnamon : Feel right at home with the scent of fresh mulled cider and warm apple pie. Savor the essence of coming into a warm house after a day of winter wonderland fun. Discover more about the world of Apple Cinnamon

Bonus: Free Music Download with Purchase: Each Limited Edition fragrance purchase earns you one free holiday music download. Collect each Limited Edition fragrance for the best selection. View the terms & conditions.

About Scented Oil Candles: Glade® Scented Oil Candles contain a unique warming plate which melts the candle into a pool of scented oil wax, quickly releasing fragrance into the air to create a warm and relaxing atmosphere. When the oil is gone, the candle goes out, leaving no mess behind. Each candleholder is refillable with any Glade® Scented Oil Candles fragrance. Approximately 2–3 hours of burning time.

About the Tins: Glade® Scented Oil Candles Tins are an attractive way to quickly fill any room with fragrance. Each candle tin is portable and unbreakable, so you can now enjoy Scented Oil Candles in any place you choose, from your living room to your bathroom and kitchen. Each tin is refillable with any Glade® Scented Oil Candles fragrance.

This post was written for Glade who provided the item for review. I was not compensated in any way except for the complimentary product.

The review was sponsored by An Island Life;

I am proud to be part of Kailani's review team:

ProtectMyID.com by Experian

From the PR Firm: ProtectMyID.com is Experian’s newly-launched consumer-focused identity theft protection product. Identity theft criminals are becoming increasingly aggressive and sophisticated. In fact, reports of identity theft increased 22% from 2007 to 2008, affecting more than 10 million Americans last year! Everyone’s aware of the risks associated with identity theft, but not everyone is as informed on how to protect themselves, how to quickly identify fraudulent activities, or even know what to do if their information is in fact stolen.

To best protect its members, ProtectMyID.com provides daily monitoring of members’ credit reports, looks out for any change of address activities, and sweeps the Internet for any unsecured use of members’ credit/debit or Social Security numbers. Alerts are provided automatically, giving members an early warning system and more importantly, peace of mind.

My take: If you are reading this review, in all likelihood, you spend a lot of time online like I do. I recently took a vacation and was off line for a week - let me tell you, I felt like I was missing my right arm! And now that we are in the holiday season, I'll be doing more shopping online than usual. Does that make me nervous with regards to the safety of my credit card? You bet it does - we had our debit card number stolen by a waitress just a few months ago. But what can we, the average consumer do to protect ourselves and our credit that won't cost an arm and a leg? Well, let me tell you about ProtectMyID.com.

Experian came up with this cool service to help online consumers just like you and me. They provided me with a free one year membership so I could check it out (be sure to check the FAQ section for a detailed list of any questions you might have). Signing up was super easy and protection started immediately. Now every time I log into my account, I see the results from the three sections of my membership (luckily, nothing sinister has happened to me yet but I feel so much more secure knowing I have this in place):

1) DETECTION
a. Three-Bureau Credit Monitoring. What does credit monitoring have to do with identity theft? It has everything to do with it. If someone tries to open new accounts or lines of credit in your name it will show up on one, if not all of your credit reports. And if it does, we’ll send you an alert.
b. Internet Scan. We’ll scan every inch of the web, including chat rooms, to make sure no one is using your Social Security number, credit and debit card numbers on the web without your knowledge. Lucky for us that unlike people, numbers don’t lie.
c. Change of Address Monitoring. We also offer Change of Address alerts obtained via the change of address file supplied by the United States Postal Service®** or your various creditors, so if someone tries to steal your identity by redirecting your mail to a new address, you’ll know about it right away.

2) PROTECTION
a. Protect Your Cards. Lost Wallet. You are also protected should your credit or debit cards get lost, stolen or misused without your authorization. With Lost Wallet, you can call ProtectMyID.com if your cards are lost or stolen and we’ll help you cancel them. If our product fails, you'll be reimbursed for any stolen funds that your bank or credit card company is not responsible for.
b. Look After Your Family. ChildSecureSM You can’t always be there to watch your children, but we can. ProtectMyID.com now offers complete identity protection for your children. For a small additional monthly fee, you can help protect all your children from the growing threat of child identity theft.

3) RESOLUTION
a. Get Peace of Mind. We're Here For You If You Need Us. With other companies, you're on your own if you become a victim of identity theft or credit fraud. Not with ProtectMyID.com. Should you ever need one, we’ll assign you a dedicated Fraud Resolution Agent to act as your advocate and work closely with you and creditors to resolve any fraud issues and reclaim your good name.
b. Rest Easy. With a $1 Million Product Guarantee.In addition to identity theft resolution assistance, ProtectMyID.com is backed by a $1 Million Product Guarantee. If you become a victim of identity theft while enrolled in and using ProtectMyID.com, if our product fails we will reimburse you for certain identity theft expenses such as lost wages, legal fees and stolen funds not reimbursed by your bank or credit cards. Read the full Guarantee.

Cost details:

• 30 Day Free Trial (You will receive a free 30-day trial when you join ProtectMyID.com today. If you don't cancel your membership within the 30-day trial period, you will be billed $9.95 for each month that you continue your membership.)
• Price: $9.95
• Payment Frequency: Monthly
• Payment Methods: Credit card or debit card.
• Payment Policy: You may cancel your membership at any time.
  

About ProtectMyID.com: ProtectMyID.com is a leading, full-service provider of identity theft detection, protection and fraud resolution. We are passionate about helping our customers defend against identity theft and shielding them from the hassles and financial loss that can accompany this crime. Our U.S.-based team, which includes experienced Identity Theft Resolution Professionals, is dedicated to providing easy-to-use and convenient products as well as personal service that our customers can rely on. ProtectMyID.com is part of a family of online sites belonging to ConsumerInfo.com, Inc., an Experian company. ConsumerInfo.com, Inc. was founded in 1995 to give consumers quick, easy, and inexpensive access to their credit histories. It is now the leading provider of online consumer identity theft protection, credit monitoring, credit scores and credit reports to millions of U.S. consumers.

About Experian: Experian is the leading global information services company, providing data and analytical tools to clients in more than 65 countries. The company helps businesses to manage credit risk, prevent fraud, target marketing offers and automate decision making. Experian also helps individuals to check their credit report and credit score and protect against identity theft. Experian plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN) and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. Total revenue for the year ended March 31, 2009, was $3.9 billion. Experian employs approximately 15,000 people in 40 countries and has its corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, with operational headquarters in Nottingham, UK; Costa Mesa, California; and São Paulo, Brazil. For more information, visit http://www.experianplc.com/.

This post was written for ProtectMyID.com by Experian who provided the item (a free one year membership) for review. I was not compensated in any way except for the complimentary product.

The review was sponsored by An Island Life;

I am proud to be part of Kailani's review team: