Category: Reviews, promotions and giveaways

Congratulations to our four winners, and thanks to all who played along. Courtesy of the random number generator, the lucky winners for blog comments are:

Karen
Rebecca
Rachael

and our Twitter winner is
Shawna!

Winners, check your e-mail for details.

Thank you to everyone who left AMAZING ideas for enjoying our gorgeous city. Many things I have done, some I had forgotten about, and some I can’t wait to try! I’m going to be clicking back to the ideas on that post for years to come!!

Thanks as well to Calypso for providing the passes. 🙂 Stand by, I’ve got another great giveaway later this week!

Lucas and I happened to be on the porch when the delivery truck arrived, which in itself is a pretty exciting occasion for a three-year-old. When the delivery man rolled up the back of the truck, Lucas was spellbound and when he pulled out a box and grinned at Lucas and said, “I’m guessing this is for you” while holding a primary-coloured box with Thomas the Tank Engine on it, I’m pretty sure Lucas’s head nearly exploded.

My kind friends at Fisher-Price had sent us a Thomas & Friends Tough Trike for him to try out. Boys, bikes and trains — how can you go wrong with a combination like that? And so, of course, we had to drop everything and put it together.

That’s one of the things I’ve always liked about Fisher-Price toys: they’re fairly easy to assemble. This is actually one of the more complex ones I’ve put together, but it was a breeze even with my “helper”.

The trike itself is great. It’s solid and sturdy, and I don’t think you could tip it over while sitting on it if you tried (a problem we have with our traditional tricycle — it’s a little tippy.) The handle bars are set a bit forward from the pedals, so his knees won’t bump them as he grows. It’s light and easy to pedal, although I do find that the front wheel slips a bit in the gravel – I may add a strip of tape or something around the front wheel just to give it a wee bit more grip.

And one of Lucas’s favourite features is the fact that the seat lifts up to reveal a hidey-hole for storing treasure. Ours happens to be filled with quickly-wilting dandelions; your mileage may vary.

My only regret is that we didn’t have this fun trike two boys ago!

We’re not the only family who will be enjoying a new trike this summer courtesy of Fisher-Price — congratulations to “Windex”, winner of the Spring into Summer Barbie Trike giveaway! I’ll send you an e-mail — congratulations!

Thank you to Mom Central and Fisher-Price Canada, both for the Barbie Tough Trike to give away and the Thomas and Friends Tough Trike for Lucas. 🙂

Disclosure: I’m part of the Fisher-Price Play Panel and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are ALWAYS my own.

Late in the afternoon yesterday, after eight solid years days of rain and clouds, the sun came out, the temperatures shot up, and just like that, it felt like summer. Yay!

Summer is my favourite season. Bring on the heat, the humidity, the bugs — just let me get out and enjoy it. I get giddy in the seasonal sections of the hardware store, admiring the BBQs and the lawn furniture. I love to browse in the garden centre. And I am a sucker for outdoor toys.

Oh how I love outdoor toys. From swings to sidewalk chalk, bikes to bubbles, I love them all. My friends at FisherPrice.ca offered this perspective from Dr Kathleen Alfano, Ph.D, the Director of Child Research at Fisher-Price.

“Play is so important. It’s the way children learn about the world around them.” says Dr Alfano. “Playing actively outdoors also increases flexibility, fine and gross motor skills and is related to the development of a wide variety of physical skills, including those involved in sports. Toys that require balance and coordination, such as skates, scooters and bikes, teach children new skills, encourage the development of self-confidence and satisfy their interest in exploration.”

To celebrate our mutual love of outdoor toys, Fisher-Price and I are happy to offer a fun Spring into Summer giveaway: a Barbie Tough Trike, perfect for your favourite little girl aged 2 to 5 years old!

To enter this giveaway, simply leave a comment below telling me about your favourite outdoor toy. For a second chance to win, tweet this message: “Did you see @DaniGirl is giving away a Fisher-Price Barbie Tough Trike? http://tinyurl.com/3qoqkt6 #playpanel”

Here’s the fine print:

1. You must be a Canadian resident to enter.
2. To enter the draw, leave a comment on this post telling me your favourite outdoor toy or tweet the message above.
3. The giveaway ends Monday May 30, 2011 at noon EDT. One winner will be chosen from all entries using random.org.
4. One entry per person for a comment, and one entry per person for a tweet, to a maximum of two entries per person.
5. The winner will be announced on June 1.
6. You must be willing to provide your shipping address to a representative of Mom Central Canada if you win the prize.

Thanks to Fisher-Price and Mom Central Canada for a fun giveaway opportunity!

Disclosure: I’m part of the Fisher-Price Play Panel and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

After three kids of experience, I must admit that I have become very discerning about the toys I pick for my kids. Not only am I getting pretty good at picking age- and personality-appropriate toys, I am realizing that there are certain types of toys and features of toys that I’m drawn to again and again. I like:

• toys that encourage creative play
• toys that encourage sustained play
• toys that encourage active play (for burning energy)
• toys that encourage quiet play (for mommy’s sanity)
• toys that are interchangeable with other toys

I’ve also become rather persnickety about toys I don’t like. I don’t like:

• toys that don’t have an off switch for their electronic noises
• toys that do all the work, leaving the child nothing to do but turn it on and watch it
• toys that require you to buy endless additional pieces and add-ons

Play is how kids make sense of the world, especially in the toddler and preschool age. Lucas is at such a fun age now, where I can see his awareness of the world around him being reflected in how he plays with his toys. Scenes from our day often get re-enacted as he makes dinner with a toy kitchen set, or convenes a daycare centre with his stuffed animals. And of course, there are photographs to be taken and phone calls to Granny to be made!

Speaking of play and Fisher-Price, how cool is this? To go with the launch of the new Fisher-Price Canada website, they’ve launched a new set of TV commercials, and the commercial features the group photograph of all the Fisher-Price blogger moms. Here’s the 20 second spot that’s currently running on Treehouse TV.

Fun eh? Lucas and I are kinda, sorta TV stars now!

And speaking of the new Fisher-Price website, have you checked it out yet? There’s a contest where you can register to win a $200 toy package and a $200 spa package.

So tell me, what features do you look for when you evaluate a toy? What do you love? What makes you crazy?

Disclosure: I’m part of the Fisher-Price Play Panel and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Remember last autumn when my new BFFs over at Mark’s offered me (and a bunch of my bloggy friends) a fun makeover to showcase their own brand makeover?

All winter long, this was my go-to, no-fail favourite outfit. I love the pants, I love the top and I love that leather jacket madly and deeply. And the boots? This is the first spring ever that I was regretful to think that I’d have to put a pair of boots away for the season.

Ahem, so anyway, this is not just me waxing nostalgic about some very excellent clothes. Mark’s is continuing its makeover theme this spring, and has just launched a fun new contest called Mark’s reStyle:

Last year, Mark’s smartened up many of its stores nationwide and to introduce the refreshed brand to consumers, we held Mark’s Over events in several cities nationwide.

To experience Mark’s as the place for innovative and fashionable men’s and women’s casual apparel and footwear, media and bloggers were treated to a total makeover – including hair, makeup, Mark’s styling and professional photography. The event demonstrated that the new stores better represent what Mark’s has become to Canadians – the place for innovative and fashionable men’s and women’s casual apparel and footwear.

For the Spring reStyle contest, we’re asking men and women from across the country to share their need for a fashion refresh or upgrade.

And check out the amazing prize packages! The two finalists will be able to choose from:

• the “night life” package: a $1000 Mark’s shopping spree, a $3000 all-expenses paid trip for two people to Montreal including tickets to one of the summer’s hottest concerts, $1000 in spending cash and a $500 iPad 2 to capture the experience.
• the “beach life” package: a $1000 Mark’s shopping spree, a seven day trip for two to a sun destination of your choice, and $1000 spending cash.
• the “home life” package: a $1000 Mark’s shopping spree, a $3000 Backyard upgrade package, a $1000 BBQ and $500 patio furniture.

So head on over to Mark’s reStyle facebook page to read more about the contest. But wait! Don’t go just yet, because I haven’t told you about MY giveaway yet.

One lucky person will win a $50 Mark’s gift card right here! If you’d like to win, here are the details:

1. You must be a Canadian resident to enter.
2. To enter the draw, visit Mark’s LookBook site and then leave a comment below telling me which of the 19 looks you like. Or, visit Mark’s site and leave a comment telling me which product caught your fancy.
3. The giveaway ends Friday May 6, 2011 at noon EDT. One winner will be chosen from all entries using random.org.
4. One entry per person.
5. The winner will be announced the afternoon of May 6.

Don’t forget to check out Mark’s reStyle contest facebook page, and pssst: Thursday May 5, 2011 is Ladies’ Night at Marks. Save 20% in store from 5 pm to close!

Fun, eh? Thanks to Mark’s for a fun giveaway!!

Edited to add: Yay!! Congratulations to Ann B of Create a Buzz! Looks like your disappearing comment turned out to be lucky after all! 😉

Thanks for playing, all!

Congratulations to Krista Gray-Donald, whose tweet was the winning entry in the HP PhotoSmart eStation Printer giveaway. Yay Krista!! I’ll send you an e-mail and we’ll work out the details.

I have to tell you, your captions have kept us entertained all weekend. If you didn’t get a chance to scan through the comments, you should. Here’s a few of our favourites:

“Its going to cost me how much for university for three kids?”

“Aaaagh! How do you exit the app that controls your facial muscles again?”

“Ooo this tablet is so compact I can finally get a smaller man-purse.This one has been killing my shoulders!!”

“ACK! I have a bad feeling this printer might be smarter than me.”

“We’ve printed HOW many pictures since the printer was hooked up?”

Beloved: “How am I going to tell Dani that I left her new toy out for the dog to chew?!”
Dog: “*sigh* It wasn’t that tasty, anyway.”

“Stupid pigs. Can’t you just leave those birds alone?”

“Okay, how did these melted crayons get all over this??? Guess I better get the iron out.”

“I’ve Zeen the future…and it is BRILLIANT!!!”

“Dani, could you stop tweeting me from the KITCHEN???”

You guys are a clever and creative bunch! I wish I could have given one away to everyone! 😉

Thanks to Hill and Knowlton and to HP Canada for a most excellent giveaway!!

You know what I was doing earlier today? Surfing the Web, checking my e-mail and facebook, posting to twitter, checking the weather online.

I know, nothing too unusual about that, right? Except I was doing it from my new printer. How cool is that?

Thanks to the fine folks at Hill and Knowlton and HP Canada, I’m the happy owner of a new HP PhotoSmart eStation Printer. This ain’t no ordinary printer, though — it’s got a detachable 7-inch touchscreen control panel called a Zeen “wireless companion”. In addition to being the central control hub for your printer, the Zeen is for all intents and purposes a tablet computer on which you can browse and print the web, watch movies, read books and listen to music. On your printer! (Well, actually, since it’s removable, you’ll be on your couch or on your porch or snuggled down deep under your duvet!)

I’d’ve had a review up before now, but I haven’t been able to tear the Zeen out of Beloved’s hands. He’s downloaded all sorts of Android apps including some games and productivity tools and QuickOffice (the mobile version of Microsoft Office). His short and sweet review of this printer? “I’ve never seen anything like it. I’ve never imagined anything like it. It’s kind of revolutionary.”

Did I mention my deal with the devil (aka Beloved) that allowed me to upgrade my Nikon in exchange for him getting an iPad in the fall? He has been jonesing for one, but this may have satisfied his need for a tablet-style device at least in the short term. While I think the wireless companion is pretty cool, what really impressed me about the PhotoSmart eStation printer is that I can now print directly from my iPhone. Yay! No need to e-mail something to the desktop and then print — I can send photos directly to the printer via our household wireless connection. I seriously love this feature!

Another feature I love is that the printer has its own e-mail address, so if I happen to be elsewhere and need a print of something, I can actually send the print request directly to the printer over the Web, no matter where I am. You can also pull pictures directly out of facebook or snapfish.com and print them as you’re browsing with the Zeen. Very, very cool.

You know what else is very, very cool? That the fine folks at HP and H&K ponied up another fabulous HP PhotoSmart eStation Printer for you, my bloggy peeps! Want to win one for yourself? Stand in line! When I told my father about this printer on the weekend, he tried to convince me to give it to him rather than giving it away on the blog — first time in six years he’s been particularly interested in anything that goes on over here!!

So, if you’d like to beat my dad to the punch, here’s how to earn your chance to win.

1. Leave a comment on this post before 10 pm EDT on Tuesday April 19, 2011. If you are feeling particularly clever or creative, leave me a caption for the picture of Beloved hamming it up with the Zeen in your comment!

2. For an extra chance to win, tweet this: “Did you see @danigirl has a #HP #photosmart printer to give away? http://tinyurl.com/5rcsolt”

3. Sorry, but this giveaway is open to residents of Canada only.

4. Only one comment entry and one twitter entry per person.

5. One winner will be chosen at random the morning of Wednesday April 20.

6. You must be willing to provide to me your full name, mailing address and phone number, and I will forward it to Hill and Knowlton, who will ship the HP PhotoSmart eStation Printer to you.

Thank you to H&K and HP Canada for another awesome giveaway!

I‘m still waiting for details on exactly how the Fisher-Price blog program will work out, but I keep getting amazing packages in the mail from my new besties at Fisher-Price and Mom Central Canada.

First, it was this fun set of boxes full of a few of the toys that were used during the photo shoot in Toronto.

It’s a good day when three boxes full of toys arrive! (It just so happened to be the day Mimi and Pipi arrived — talk about a perfect day from a kid’s perspective!)

This is what I love about Fisher-Price: the toys are the same classics we loved as kids. Viewmaster, just as cool now as it was in the 1970s!

(If I weren’t so damn lazy, I’d at least clone the ketchup stains off his face…)

And all three boys enjoyed the toys, even if they are a bit outside the target age range of this promotional campaign.

And then, this week I got a CD full of pictures from the photo shoot in Toronto. Aren’t these fun?

I was trying to choose just one of the next set to show you, but I honestly couldn’t decide which one I loved the most.

And here’s another group shot. Yes, I am holding a tray of cookies — try not to guffaw too loudly at the artistic licence taken in the implication that I could possibly ever bake cookies for a playdate!

By the way, the other moms in this picture are Tammi, Nadia and mom-to-be Ilissa. 🙂

Thanks to Mom Central, Spider Marketing, photographer Rino Noto and of course, the fine folks at Fisher-Price. To steal a phrase that may have been used once or twice before, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship!