Tales of Mommyhood 2014 Holiday Gift Guide #ToMHGG2014

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NERF N-STRIKE ELITE NERF CAM ECS-12 #holidaygiftguide

Like most little boys, Mr. J is very much into NERF guns. Whether it is having water fights in the summer, or dart guns year round, he is always wanting to try out different models.

Great Gift Ideas For Teachers

At this time of year, parents are racking their brains and searching the stores to try and find the perfect gifts. Gifts for their children, their parents, siblings and also for teachers, daycare providers and bus drivers.

Tune In To Pure With Jewel and Pure Via This Holiday Season

This is the time of year that my kitchen gets the most amount of use.  I bake all year long, but starting in mid-November that baking increases to almost daily (my regular bread, muffins and treats PLUS all my Christmas goodies.)

I like to keep an assortment of treats on hand for guests that may stop by, and also to take with me when I visit others.  I find that home made baked goods are a WONDERFUL hostess gift and I am always on the hunt for new recipes!

Jewel has teamed up with Pure Via and is offering Canadians a free holiday themed songbook/cookbook.  All you have to do is follow this link to download your copy!  Together they are urging Canadians to take pleasure in the simple things that make every day sweeter. Naturally.

The cookbook has Jewel sharing with us some of her holiday recipes like this lemon cranberry biscotti (it sounds delicious and would make an excellent home baked gift!) as well as her adaptation of 2 holiday songs.

For more information and to stay up to date, please connect with Pure Via on Twitter and Facebook

So tell me, what is your favourite holiday recipe?

This post is brought to you by Pure Via; all opinions belong to ToM. Your opinion/experience may vary.

Our Favourite Christmas Movies

Mid November, hubby and I start getting anxious for the Christmas season.  We aren't quite ready to decorate the house yet, but we definitely want to start getting festive.  The way we do this is to pull out the Christmas movies.

Somehow, it seems that we always kick off our holiday viewing with The Santa Claus.  Here is a list of our favourite Christmas movies (not in any particular order).

Family Friendly:

1. The Santa Claus (1, 2 and 3)
2. The Polar Express
3. Home Alone (the original)
4. Elf
5. Mickey's Christmas Carol
6. Arther Christmas
7. Rudolph
8. Frosty The Snowman (the first is the best, but there is also the Return of Frosty and The Legend of Frosty)
9. Muppet's Christmas
10. Charlie Brown Christmas

In addition to those, I also really enjoy Christmas with the Kranks, Four Christmases, A Christmas Carol, and National Lampoons Christmas Vacation.

Unlike most, I am not a fan of A Christmas Story.  I have tried to watch it many times, and I always seem to turn it off.

What is your favourite Christmas movie? 

Christmas Morning Fun With Play-Doh #giftguide

Play-Doh seems to be one of the classic toys that all kids love. Age and sex don't really come into play when there is Play-Doh around.

KidKraft Easel Desk - A great "big" gift for kids

If you are on the hunt for a "big" gift for your kids this Christmas, have a look at this awesome Easel/Desk from KidKraft at an incredible price!


Most kids really enjoy creative play, and if you have an artistic child then this is sure to be a hit!

Cardswap.ca

A place to buy gift cards and sell unwanted ones!

Boomerang Kids: Buy Resale For Christmas

Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.  Three words that were really popular when I was growing up.  What if you could find a way to incorporate that into your families Christmas?

Transformers Rescue Bots: Optimus Primal

Growing up I remember watching Transformers with my brother (I wasn't a huge fan, but it was something he liked) and when I had my own boys I was sure that Optimus Prime would be making an appearance in my home at some point.

It happened about 18 months ago.  We stumbled across Rescue Bots on Netflix and both the boys started talking Transformers.

Mr. K is still pretty obsessed with Rescue Bots.  He loves all things Transformers at the moment, and is really hoping that there are some new Rescue Bots themed toys under the tree on Christmas morning.

He won't be disappointed. Thanks to Hasbro, he will wake up to Optimus Primal waiting for him under the tree (and what is really funny, we were looking at toys online the other day and he saw it and said he wanted Santa to bring it for him!)

When it arrived, I took it out of the package to make sure that it worked (there should be demo batteries included, but you will want to change them to new batteries to make sure that they are working fully - the battery compartment is found on the back of one of the legs)

It's a super easy transform - you twist the body to get him into dino mode and press a button on the top shoulder to change back to bot mode.  In dino mode he can chomp, and in bot mode he speaks!

He is going to be so excited when he wakes up to find this under the tree!

**Thank you to Hasbro for supplying ToM with the above product to be featured in our Holiday Gift Guide; all opinions are honest and belong to ToM. Your opinion/experience may vary**

Gift Items For Children

My 7 yr old is really into Lego, and my 4 yr old has started to show an interest as well.  They enjoy putting sets together, but one of the activities they like the most is just taking an assortment of bricks and getting creative with them.
Lego Mini-Figures make a great stocking stuffer as well!


Elmo seems to be a big character with toddlers!

10 Stocking Stuffer Ideas For The Woman In Your Life

If you are stuck for stocking ideas for that special woman in our life, look no further!  I have put together a list of items that she will be sure to love.

10 Stocking Stuffer Ideas For The Man In Your Life

Finding items to add to your partners stocking can sometimes be tough or seem boring and impersonal.  I have put together a list of 10 items you can add to your shopping list!

Eco-Friendly Stocking Stuffers From Norwex

Christmas is coming and sometimes finding items for stocking stuffers can be tricky.  Here are a few eco-friendly ideas from Norwex to add to your list!

Stainless Steel Straws $16.99 and cleaning brush $4.99 - stop adding to the pile of straws in our landfills, and use these re-usable stainless steel ones!

Mesh produce bags $14.99 - breathable bags to hold your produce, instead of adding more plastic bags to the garbage.

Out to lunch snack bags or out to lunch sandwich wrappers for $9.99 each

Another option is to purchase the "Pitch the Plastic" set for the eco-friendly person in your life as a gift.

Disclosure: I am an Independent Norwex Consultant; should you make a purchase through any of these links, I will receive a commission

Sands Alive! A Great Addition Under Your Tree This Holiday Season

A few months ago I had the chance to review Sands Alive! with my boys, and it is still a go to activity for Mr. K!  Whenever we have friends over, all the kids head to our Sands Alive! tub to play and have fun.

Visit sandsalive.org to see the many kits to choose from; you are likely to find one that fits your price range.  Sands Alive! can be found at most stores where toys are sold and would make a great addition to any presents under your tree this Christmas for children 3+.  It would also be a wonderful gift to donate to any Christmas gift drives or your local Toy Mountain.

Mr. Peabody and Sherman {review}

October 14th marked the release of Mr. Peabody and Sherman on Blu ray.  I had the opportunity to take my boys to see it when it was in theaters (we saw it with my mom, my brother and 3 of his children)  It is the only movie we have seen at theaters that Mr. K hasn't moved.  Once the movie started, his eyes were glued to the screen.  To say I was surprised would be an understatement.  Generally when we go to a movie, he is up at least once to move around, or he tries to bug his brother.  With Mr. Peabody and Sherman he didn't even notice when he ran out of his popcorn.

The kids laughed, and laughed and loved that there was a talking dog; they also thought it was great that the dog was the dad.

From a parents view, it's a great movie for the family.  It is appropriate for all ages and has enough humour to keep adults interested as well.  You learn a little about history as they travel to different time periods (and get to see the period fashion as well).

Mr. Peabody and Sherman would be a great film to add to your family collection; it would be a great gift for Christmas too!  If you want to win a copy, check out the giveaway (ends October 22)

Tales of Mommyhood was provided with the above mentioned product in exchange for their thoughts. All opinions are honest and belong to ToM; your experience/opinion may vary.