The Best of the Rest: Holiday Gift Glossary

by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

In line with me doing things differently this holiday season, I’m excited to announce this year’s gift glossary.  Sure, most of you have completed your shopping list, but for those of you who haven’t, I’ve compiled the best of the rest.  Consider this my round up of NKT’s favorite things with an emphasis on my own charitable initiative, which I’ll share about soon.
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From Toy Fair earlier this year to all the holiday previews, we’ve tested and played with a lot of toys and goodies all year, I’m excited to share them with you in this gift glossary.  Be on the look out for a few giveaways, but much more holiday cheer for a very deserving family.

Free Shipping Day is Today

by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

Haven’t finished your Christmas shopping yet? Yeah, me neither.  If you need to round out that shopping list and were hoping to avoid the crowds and madness at the malls by shopping online, there’s still time.  And lucky us, today, December 17th, is the third annual Free Shipping Day.

Free Shipping Day is a one-day event when consumers can shop online from their favorite brands and receive free shipping with delivery by Christmas Eve.

Free Shipping Day features hundreds of retailers and popular brands, making it a perfect reason to wrap up your Christmas shopping without leaving the house.  If you’re like me, and just have those last few people on your list to cross off AND already know what to get, Free Shipping Day was created for busy people (and procrastinators) alike.

Big retailers like Macy*s, Toys ‘R’ Us, JC Penney and Barnes and Noble are participating in Free Shipping Day, and smaller specialty stores are included in the list, too.  In many cases, today, December 17, is the last day that retailers can ship to get products out in time for Christmas, but be sure to pay attention to the fine print, as some stores require a minimum purchase.

To finish my shopping list and take advantage of free shipping, I have my eye on the Discovery Store, Tilly’s and The Big Toy Book.

Happy Free Shipping Day!

Partying with Mattel’s Toy Story 3 Action Links

by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

We’ve been talking a lot about food over here on NKT, but what we haven’t been talking about enough are toys.  Well, that’s because I’m doing things differently this holiday season, which I’ll explain in an upcoming post.

In the meantime, we recently gathered some friends together to indulge in the very cool Toy Story 3 Action Links from Mattel.  As huge fans of Toy Story 3, when I was invited to apply to host an Action Links party via MomSelect’s Mommyparties, I jumped at the chance.

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Undoubtedly, Toy Story 3 has been the most talked about movie in our house this year, so naturally, this, too, would have been an exciting party to take on and share all about. So, when the giant box of toys arrived, you can imagine our excitement!

At our Toy Story Action Links party, we invited some of Jack’s fellow TS3 fans, all of whom are in the 3-4 age group.  We played off the TS3 theme and had hot dogs wrapped with Pillsbury Crescents on sticks, veggies, cupcakes and more.  Toy Story Action Links was a great reason to get friends and kids together for a fun afternoon.
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I first learned about Action Links at Toy Fair earlier this year.  But because the movie wasn’t out yet and because the toys recreate key scenes from the story, I could only talk so much about this interesting concept.

When we first opened the Action Links sets, my husband and I were reminded of the Rube Goldberg concepts, much like that game, Mousetrap. Remember that?

Action Links embodied that same Rube Goldberg concept, where each interlinking set created a chain reaction, complete with Toy Story 3 figures.
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You Say Tomato, I Say Yum

by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

With the cold weather settling in, dinners at our house are usually hearty and wholesome.  I’m talking meat and potatoes, and sometimes tomatoes and other veggies too.

I know I’ve probably admitted this before, but I’m not a fan of hiding veggies.  While the sneaky route may work for many families, over here, I’m a big believer in doing what you can to expose the good stuff and see where it gets you.  Kids will surprise you.

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Tomatoes are an ingredient I’ve found myself including in recipes lately, more often than not.  We all know there are healthy benefits to tomatoes, but specifically, they’re a great source of fiber, Vitamin C and the antioxidant lycopene, not to mention they’re said to be good for your heart.

And in the height of sick season, I’ll take all the vitamin C and antioxidants we can get.

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Sesame Street Rolls out Food for Thought: Eating Well on a Budget

by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

‘Tis the season for  joy, giving, graciousness…and eating well.  And by eating well, I mean making healthier choices, and helping others make healthier choices, too.

To further underscore the importance of healthier eating among families, Sesame Workshop announced that they’ve partnered with UnitedHealthcare and The Merck Company Foundation, to roll-out  a new outreach program, Food for Thought: Eating Well on a Budget.

At the Capital Food Bank in Washington, DC, celebrity chef and author, Art Smith, joins Elmo in a healthy and affordable cooking demo during the unveiling of Food for Thought: Eating Well on a Budget. Photo credit: Gil Vaknin/Sesame Workshop

Food for Thought: Eating Well on a Budget, part of the company’s on-going Healthy Habits for Life initiative, is a free bi-lingual (English-Spanish) multimedia outreach program designed to help support families who have children between the ages of two and eight, cope with uncertain or limited access to affordable and nutritious food.

According to Sesame Workshop, Seventeen million American children—nearly one in four—are food insecure, meaning they do not receive food that meets basic nutritional needs due to financial instability.  Of these children, more than half (9.6 million) are under the age of six, which is all the more reason to help spread this message.
As the country’s economic status continues to take its toll, the number of young children confronting food insecurity continues to increase, as do the subsequent effects on children’s health, school performance, growth, and development, Sesame Workshop said.

As part of this outreach program, 400,000 Food for Thought resource kits will be distributed through UnitedHealthcare, The Merck Foundation and other key organizations including National WIC association, Feeding America, Head Start, Meals on Wheels and other key organizations. The initiative will also include two public service messages promoting trying new foods.

I hope to do my part by continuing to share healthier eating and snacking ideas for kids, including ways to eat well on a budget.

77kids Gives Back with Wish-4-Snow Charity Program

by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

IMG_2072The holidays are in full swing, and it’s certainly the time for giving.  NKT fave, 77kids, is once again in the spotlight for their charitable initiatives.  The retailer announced that they plan to keep their “Do Good” momentum flowing by giving back through a charitable initiative twice a year, once in the summer and once during the holiday season.

The Motherhood invited the kid and I, along with several of my NYC/NJ blogger friends, back to 77kid’s NYC design studios a few weeks ago to discuss their current holiday charity.  The execs from 77kids shared a lot of great details about their holiday line, plus gave us a sneak peek of upcoming lines.  But more importantly, we were on hand to learn about what matters most about the holiday season: giving back.  77kids has kicked off their holiday season with their Wish-4-Snow charity program that benefits children’s hospitals.

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Want to know why I love working with 77kids?  It’s not just because I genuinely adore their kid’s clothes and their “Do Good” mantra, but also because they enlist bloggers to spread their word.  As Betsy Schumacher, chief merchandising officer of 77kids mentioned, their grassroots approach to marketing involves moms and word of mouth.  And to me, that accounts for a lot; reaching out to the key demographic who makes the buying decisions and involving bloggers in their social media campaigns speaks volumes.  But better yet, this company continues to underscore the importance of charity, and  I like that even more.
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For 77kids’ Wish-4-Snow program, there’s a variety of easy ways you can get involved to make a big impact:

In stores

– Customers can donate 77 cents (or more) to benefit their local children’s hospital!

– Customers/kids will receive a snowflake to write their name and wish on, and then they can place the snowflake on the “blizzard wall” in the store for all to see!

– In addition to the snowflake, the customer will get a ‘you done good’ bumper sticker to take with them!

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Online

– Visit 77kids’ Wish-4-Snow microsite, featuring a fun “catch the snowflake” game and giving visitors the opportunity to design their own snowflake to help 77kids reach their children’s hospital donation goal!

– Help 77kids reach their goal to make a total of 100,000 snowflakes.

– If that goal is hit, 77kids will make an additional $25,000 donation to the children’s hospitals on top of the customer donations each store collects during the month!

– You can make as many snowflakes as you want – not just one! You’re asked to submit your contact information only after the first snowflake.

– Creating a snowflake makes you eligible to win a $77 gift card from 77kids (one gift card given away daily!) and enters you to win the ultimate grand prize: an awesome block party for you and 77 pals!!

Local benefiting hospitals include:

– Children’s Health and Wellness Center at Danbury Hospital

– Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota

– Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh

– Children’s Regional Hospital at Cooper

– University Hospital (Cherry Hill/Philadelphia)

– Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital (Syracuse)

– WakeMed Children’s Hospital (Raleigh)

– Connecticut Children’s Medical Center (Hartford)

– Children’s Memorial Hospital (Chicago)

So, log on and help 77kids give back by making a snowflake or three!

Giveaway

And because it’s the season for giving, 77kids would like to give one NKT reader a $50 giftcard!  All you have to do is, you guessed it, make a snowflake! Do you know of someone that needs a warm coat or a new outfit?  Nominate them for the giveaway! ‘Tis the season.  After you make your snowflake, just leave a comment below.

Would you like extra entries?

Become a fan of 77kids on Facebook

Tweet about this giveaway and be sure to include @jenrab and @77kids

Become a fan of NKT

Please comment below for all entries.  This will giveaway will end at midnight on December 6, so enter away!  Winner will be chosen via random.org and will be notified via email, so be sure to include a valid email address.  Good luck and have fun!

Full disclosure:  I am being compensated for my participation in this campaign, but as always, all opinions on NKT are my own.

Tackling Oil Stains with Wisk

by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

Laundry is a never-ending task for all of us.  Since we’ve been undergoing the longest apartment to house transition ever with our renovations, this Wisk project has been quite timely.

For the last and final installment for my Wisk Beta Blogger project, I went head-to-head with oil stains.  Oil stains go beyond the usual food-based stains like salad dressing and peanut butter.  These sort of stains also include mom-induced stains, namely those that might involve lip gloss, something that I’m more than familiar with.

Check out my video to see how Wisk’s Stain Spectrum technology handled this oil stain.

A big thank you to Wisk for allowing me to be part of the Wisk Beta Blogger program.  As a family that typically sticks with gentler detergents for the kid with sensitive skin, Wisk has taught me that I can tackle those annoying stains on household items like tablecloths and rugs, and even get out greasy stains on a nice blouse.  And of course, thanks to you for following along!

Full disclosure:  I was compensated for my participation in the Wisk Beta Blogger Program.  As always, all opinions on NKT are my own.

Epic Mickey Launches Today

by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

The much-anticipated game, Epic Mickey from Disney Interactive officially debuted today, and the kid and I were onhand in Times Square for the launch event. We got up bright and early, before the sun was even up, and kid and I made our way to the Disney Store in Times Square for the festivities.

In addition to demos of the game with the creator and developers of Epic Mickey, in Disney fashion, there were celebrities onhand: Kyle Massey and Jennifer Grey, both of whom just finished up Dancing with the Stars.

I’ve been anticipating the release of this amazing video game, which is exclusively on the Wii platform. I had the chance to check it out at the Disney Media preview this summer, and I’ve been smitten ever since.

The incredible graphics, cool premise and overall family appeal of the game are reasons worth checking out Epic Mickey, and seriously, the only reason why I was up at 5am this morning…and randomly made a brief appearance in the audience as part of the Good Morning America’s coverage of the launch.

Since we haven’t had time to play the game to appropriately review this title, I’ll leave you with a quick vignette of Epic Mickey from my coverage this summer.

NKT Cyber Monday Top Picks

by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

I hope everyone had a very Happy Thanksgiving!  I took an unexpected, but much needed hiatus to focus on our family and home, but it’s always great to get back into the swing of things.

Now that the turkey and leftovers are a fond memory, it’s time to start wrapping all of those Black Friday finds.  What? You didn’t make it out on Black Friday? You, too, can score great deals today, just like many of us crazies did in the wee hours of Black Friday.  And in some cases, the deals are comparable or even better, considering you don’t have to wake up at 3am to deal with crowds.

There are tons and tons of deals all over the web all day today, toys included, but here are NKT’s top Cyber Monday Picks:

  • DisneyStore.com has a great sale for Cyber Monday.  You can save up to 25% Extra + Free Shipping, and if you buy more, you can save more.  Take an extra 25% off $125+ orders, 20% off $100+ orders, 15% off $75+ orders or 10% off $50+ orders on Cyber Monday. Plus get free shipping on all orders with coupon code CYBER. These cool Toy Story 3 bookends, which weren’t on sale on Black Friday, are currently on my list for the kid’s playroom.  Not really a toy, but a unique, but functional way to fulfill a want for Toy Story fans.
  • Macys.com has one of the best big department Cyber Monday deals. For today only, they’re offering free shipping for purchases over $75.  Use the code CYBER
    Only caveat? As with all major sales, you have to act quick. My pick for a great Macy’s pick, is this boy’s 4-n-1 Jacket System from Hawke & Co. for just $35. I bought a similar jacket for a bargain at Marshall’s, but this online steal is a great deal. As of 11am, this jacket was still available.

 

  • Barnes and Noble has quite a selection of DVDs for super cheap right now. These oldies but goodies would make perfect stocking stuffers. Horton Hears a Who and an older version of Green Lantern for under $5
  • Game Stop has a lineup of games on sale for Cyber Monday, but my pick is Just Dance.  Of course, you can’t forget the ubiquitous video games. A big, big trend for this holiday season are the awesome dance games, which are perfect for family gifts.  At just $30, this highly-rated dance game is sure to pick a hot gift for the entire dancing crew.
  • Think Geek is, hands down, one of our family’s favorite novelty shops. These guys have a penchant for curating the most interesting geeky gadgets and gift. Who wouldn’t appreciate plush bacon or wifi detecting hats?  They’re offering free shipping to contiguous 48 states w/ the code, CYBERMONDAY10 or -$10 on $30+ orders w/ CYBERMONDAY10.
  • Amazon is expected to be one of the powerhouse online retailers for Cyber Monday. They’re offering all kinds of great deals, but the Crayola Glow Explosion for $15.98 is my top pick.

Beyond toys and media, the kids need clothes, too, right?

  • JanieandJack.com is offering 20% off until midnight.  Sweater dresses and leggings for the girlies.  Need I say more?
  • With 50% off of everything in-store, I scored big time on Black Friday at the Gap for, ahem, myself.  But, for Cyber Monday Gap has 10% off  the code CYBER10 and free shipping for purchases over $50.  My top picks are this animal print coat and this sparkly scalloped dress for baby girls are both half off.  Add that 10% off and free shipping for over $50, you can’t go wrong at Baby Gap.
  • Those sweater dresses and leggings need boots, too!  Piperlime is also offering 20% off for Cyber Monday.  Check out thse adorable purple boots.  I need a pair for me!  For 20% off at Piperlime, be sure to enter Lucky20
  • 77Kids, as I’ve said before, is my new g0-to retailer for boys clothes.  I dress my guy in classic clothes with an edge, and 77Kids certainly fits that style.  77Kids and their sister stores, ae.com, aerie.com, are offering 20% off with Discount Code 45838295
    Quality, but affordable snowboots for the boy have been on my must-buy list for the kid, so I’m hoping to scoop these Sorel boots today to take advantage of the Cyber Monday deals at 77Kids.  Whether you live in the city or country and you get a good amount of snow, good snowboots are something I highly recommend in investing.  Cold, frozen feet + kids are a soggy mix.
    And while you’re there, be sure to design your own snowflake for childrens’ hospitals. 
  • The teens on my list are usually the hardest to shop for these days. Aside from video games, electronics and money, what else do they ask for? Tough one, right?
    The teens in our family have their specific likes and wants, but for the most part, they all love music. Maybe Hot Topic isn’t a store for everyone, but you can’t beat the deal they have on music tees. Get two music tees for just $50. For today only, they’re offering free shipping on orders $50 or more. I’m loving this Rush tee for girls and Willie is always timeless.  Discounts for music tees and free shipping are automatically applied to the shopping cart.

Happy Shopping, everyone!

 

Gabbing with Gabba

by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

Slowly but surely, I’m owning up to the freelance writer part of my bio—at least I’m trying.  Besides NKT, I’ve been writing, interviewing and pitching stories every chance I get.  If we’re friends on Facebook or Twitter, you may have seen my work appearing in a few places, with New York Family as a recent example.  I’m super excited about an upcoming article that’s slated to appear in a few weeks on a major parenting website.

Much of my work on NKT has provided for a myriad of cool opportunities, which includes interviewing kid-centric personalities and celebrities.  My latest interview was with Christian Jacobs, the co-creator of Yo Gabba Gabba and frontman of The Aquabats.  Jacobs dished about his favorite NYC spots and quelled my curiosity about Foofa’s inspiration.  (Do any of you guys remember The Barbapapas?)

As originally seen on NewYorkFamily.com:

Gabbing With Gabba

Christian Jacobs, co-creator of the wildly popular and music-centric kid’s show, Yo Gabba Gabba, is also one of the guys behind the masked rock band, The Aquabats. The Aquabats recently released the three-song digital EP, Radio Down! which features guest vocals from hip hop legend Biz Markie. Comprised of MC Bat Commander (vocals), Crash McLarson (bass), Jimmy The Robot (keyboards / saxophone), Ricky Fitness (drums), Eagle “Bones” Falconhawk (guitar), The Aquabats have been entertaining audiences—young and old—for 16 years with their witty and eclectic sets.

Christian Jacobs aka MC Bat Commander dishes about their costumes, “Pool Party,” and his favorite NYC spots to bring the kids.

Click after the jump for the complete Q&A.

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