Contests » Four Against Two

“_______ Is A Special Occasion.” A Hallmark Giveaway!

BlogHer11, Contests, Stuff 6 Responses »

Aug 232011

The Hallmark Room at BlogHer11

It is no secret that I adore Hallmark cards. My mom and I used to go into Hallmark when Meg was in her stroller, and just read cards. We would pick one out and laugh and then insist that the other one read it…right now! We would laugh until our sides hurt. I hope that someday that will become a regular occurrence again. Maybe once the kids are old enough not to trash Hallmark by pulling out all of the cards then putting them back in a totally different category. I’m talking about school-age kids here, but I digress.

At BlogHer11 Hallmark had a lovely little room with fluffy comfy couches to rest upon. They had a selection of awesome cards that we could select and mail out or give to another attendee. Purple is my favorite color and they were handing out purple shirts that said, “_______is a special occasion.” We filled in the blanks. I wrote in that “Good Morning Hugs are a special occasion.” I do love me some cuddling in the morning, stinky breath and all.

@OutnumberedMom

What I adore about this campaign is that it is so simple. We need to celebrate all of life’s little moments as well as the big ones. I am not an advocate for throwing an expensive party over a first lost tooth or having a pinata tournament for a first bicycle wreck, but a thought, a hug, an extra space of time to recognize how special life is: I am all for.

To win your own purple shirt and a selection of Hallmark cards:

Leave a comment on this post saying what your special everyday occasion is!
Like Hallmark on Facebook and tell me about you did it.
Follow Hallmark on Twitter and tell me about it and leave you Twitter handle so I can follow you to!

That is three chances to win! Yippee :) Giveaway runs from August 23rd to August 29th noon. Winner will be picked by Random.org.

Don’t forget to enter my TheraBreath Giveaway! Ends 8/25

(Disclosure: I received no compensation for this review of Hallmark or hosting a giveaway. I met the Hallmark people at BlogHer11 and got a purple t shirt and two free cards at that time. My feelings for Hallmark are mine and not sponsored!)

Mandy’s Game Corner Give Away

Contests, Education, Games, Reviews 1 Response »

Jul 102011

The folks at Pressman Toys have sent me a new game to review and to give away!

Way back in February, during Black History Month I posted on some books I gave to my girls’ classrooms. I also mentioned that like to make sure the class rooms have the Mancala game in them. This new game Path to the White House is a new one for the classrooms I am excited to give out. When searching for ways to put Black History in my kid’s class rooms I find books, but not a lot of interactive things that actually teach facts. I think this game will help me fill that gap in the older classrooms.

Path to the Presidency: From 1619 to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is for ages ten and up and 2-5 players can play at one time. There are four historic eras in this game: Slavery, Building Democracy, Civil Rights and the Modern Era. There are also Adversity and Overcoming cards that effect the game as you try to move your pawn to the White House.

The games cards are filled with history and trivia that is easy for kids to learn and remember. The Modern Era cards feature figures such as Serena Williams and Colin Powell while the Adversity cards tell of facts about things like Plessy V. Ferguson (1896 “Seperate but equal” is legal.”) From Jamestown to Motown the trivia and facts cover a lot of territory. The game board is covered with illistrations and pictures of Black History that are sure to get kids asking questions as well as identify with history they allready are familiar with. I think it is important that we teach our kids history, both black and white together. Unfortunately the black education is rather lacking in our school books and a game such as this could help with that gap.

I like that this game is easy to play and makes learning about history enjoyable for kids. My three older girls really enjoy playing. The age range is 10 and up, but I have found that if they team up the eight year old is holding her own as well. Playing with an adult helps to add some experience to the game as well. You can also use the cards as trivia cards and forget the board game if you kids just want to learn some fun and easy facts.

The one drawback to the game is that from the packaging it looks like a game about President Obama. While I am more than fine with learning about our current President, I fear that many will overlook the game simply because of the emphasis of Obama. Whatever your feelings are for our President, Black History is important for us to learn.

Path to the Presidency can be bought here.

Pressman Toys is letting me give four games away two games for two readers, one to keep at home and one to giveaway to a school or community center. You have two ways to enter: 1) Simply leave a comment on where you would donate your second game to. 2) Like Pressman Toys on Facebook and tell them FourAgainstTwo sent you and come back here to tell me you did this. Winners will be chosen by Random.com. Easy as pie! Make sure I have your correct email address. Giveaway is from July 10th through July 15th 5pm.

(Disclosure: Pressman Toys sent me two copies of the above game (one to play, one to donate to my daughters’ school) for an honest review of the game. They also are offering four copies to two winners on my blog, again one to keep at home and one to giveaway. I recieved no other compensation.)