11/7/14: Edaville USA Holiday Events Win 4 Tickets!

CONTEST CLOSED:  CONGRATULATIONS DAWN S!
Every year we love to go to Edaville USA at the holidays.  They have Christmas Festival of Lights which runs November 21st to January 1st and also The Polar Express Train which runs November 21st to December 30th.  

Here are the kids excited to go on The Polar Express train last year.

You must buy tickets in advance to ensure you will have a spot on The Polar Express train.  Tickets can be purchased at www.edaville.com.  The Polar Express is $38 per person, with children under 2 being free.  You can also enjoy the Festival of Lights train and rides.  Check out their website or Facebook page for times, prices and details.  It is a magical train ride to the North Pole on an authentic steam engine.  Evan was extremely excited to ride the steam train.  

You can also attend Festival of Lights which still includes all of the rides and attractions, train ride and fun.  You are able to ride on the train to see Santa Claus who comes on to the train.  

Kids can dress in  their pajamas, listen to this classic story, and get hot chocolate and cookies served by the famous singing chefs. 

It really brings the children’s book to life.  

The ride is 50 minutes and you will get a time when purchasing tickets.  When you board you are greeted by your cook/story teller that will be displaying the book for you.

You then journey to the North Pole.  This ride takes you on newer tracks that are not on the Festival of Lights route.  When at the North Pole you stop.

Here is a discount code for 10% off.

If Carver, MA is not a good location for you The Polar Express is also coming to Hopedale, MA.  Set to the sounds of the motion picture soundtrack, families are sure to enjoy their trip to the North Pole, complete with hot chocolate and cookies served on board the train. Passengers will then be entertained by a reading of The Polar Express™ . 

Upon arrival at the North Pole, Santa will greet the children and each child will receive their own sleigh bell, just like in the movie, to those who BELIEVE.  Experience the joy of caroling and holiday entertainment that will surely become an annual holiday tradition for the whole family. Families are encouraged to wear their pajamas for the ride and join in on the magic of Christmas. Reservations are required to ride the train. Tickets are between $36 - $56 are on sale now. You can purchase by calling 508-866-8190.

 Edaville USA is a must visit in at the holidays!

Win Tickets to Festival of Lights at Edaville USA by entering below!

Disclosure:  Tickets were provided to me for review purposes of The Polar Express.  No other compensation was received.

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11/6/14: Annie the Musical Opening Night

Last night we went to opening night of Annie The Musical at the Citi Performing Arts Center Wang Theatre in Boston.  The show was absolutely amazing!!!  We all loved it.  We also loved getting to attend the Red Carpet entry of Annie and Oliver Warbucks.

 My kids were so excited to get autographs from them and get to meet the stars of the show.  My son couldn't believe that the lead Issie Swickle is a 9 year old girl.  She is adorable, has a great voice and was absolutely perfect for the part!

 Annie and Oliver Warbucks arrived in a beautiful car for the red carpet entry.

 They both signed autographs for the kids.  They were both awesome in the show.  The love between them was so wonderful in the show.

 Evan and Lauren were very excited to meet them and get their autographs.

 Totally awesome!  Here you can see Gilgamesh Taggett who plays Oliver Warbucks.  He was perfect for the part.

My kids are 7 and 9 and loved the show.  I could see both of them giggling away and my daughter was singing Tomorrow on the way home.

The kids were loving taking a picture in front of the cool car.  What a lovely way to arrive for opening night. 

This show was one of my favorites out of the many shows I have seen recently.  I have many fond memories of taking my Cabbage Patch Kid when I first went to it when I was a child.  I was so happy to give those memories to my kids and have my daughter bring my Annie doll with her.

 The kids that played the orphans were all awesome.  They acted, danced and sang wonderfully.  Lillie Mae Stewart especially stood out as Molly.  She was so cute and wonderful in her acting. Lynn Andrews played Miss Hannigan was so fantastic.  She was the perfect funny character that you want to hate but can't because she is so funny.  Of course you can't forget Sandy.  What a well trained amazing dog.  The sighs every time she came on stage were great.

 The sets were amazing also.  The transitions between the Orphanage, NYC, the Warbucks household, and the President's office were seamless.  
This show is a must see.  The whole family will love it!

Even my doll from 1977 when I saw the show loved watching herself on stage. 

I also have a code for 20% of tickets for select performances!

Use this link:  http://www.citicenter.org/show/2463/

Type in Code: MOMS

The show plays until November 16th so get your tickets now!

Tickets are priced at $35.00 - $125.00; all prices include a $3.75 facility fee per ticket. Tickets are now on sale at the Citi Center box office, through www.citicenter.org or by calling 800-982-ARTS (2787), or through Ticketmaster.

 Tomorrow, Tomorrow, make sure you get tickets!  Ok, I had to, I love that song!

Disclosure:  I received 4 tickets to attend this performance of Annie.  No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

11/3/14: Elektrokidz from WowWee

Next up in my Holiday Gift Guide is a fun little gift from WowWee called Elektrokidz.  These are cute little characters that have cool hair that dances to the music.  I think they are adorable for kids or adults.

We turned on the music and the kids were amazed as his hair started dancing in time with the music.

 He is super cute with his little glasses on.  He has an on and off button.  But also will go in to a sleep mode if not interacted with.  Then you can press a little white button on his belly to get him started again.

Lauren liked fixing his hair.

 Lauren had to try on the little sun glasses.

They are super cute and very entertaining.  They came with 4 batteries already in it plus 4 replacement batteries.

Here is a short video of him in action.

Here are all of the Elektrokidz in the collection.

Here they are as packaged.  They retail for $14.99.

Find WowWee online here: http://www.wowwee.com/

Like WowWee on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/WowWee

Follow them on Twitter:  @WowWeedotcom

Pinterest:  http://www.pinterest.com/wowweeinc/

Disclosure:  I received and Elektrokidz for review purposes.  No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

11/2/14: Bling from Brush Buddies Giveaway

CONTEST CLOSED: CONGRATULATIONS TO CASSANDRA
I love toothbrushes that make your kids want to brush.  Brush Buddies has come out with a sparkly toothbrush worthy of your little princess.  Little girls love sparkles in their clothes, jewelry, accessories, so why not their toothbrush?  Read on and you can win one.  

There are 1057 gems per toothbrush.  Lauren loves the beautiful pink color and sparkles.

The beautiful gems lock securely into the brush handle, using a glue less patent-pending ultrasonic process. The gems in the brush provide a slip-resistant grip making brushing easy.  She liked the way it felt when holding it and of course loved how sparkly it is. 

The brush has soft bristles along with a tongue and check cleaner on the back. 

Enter to win one below!  This is a great stocking stuffer.

Brush Buddies Bling is available in multiple colors and retails for $14.95.

Disclosure:  I received Brush Buddies Bling for review purposes and one for giveaway.  No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

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11/1/14: Family Fun at Kings Bowl in Lynnfield MA

I have loved bowling since I was a kid.  My parents bowled and I spent many hours at the bowling alley.  Bowling alleys are certainly not what they used to be and I was very impressed with our family night out at Kings Bowl Lynnfield.

The kids had never played ten pin bowling but with all the sizes of balls they had no issue.  Here is Lauren with the smallest weight ball which is six pounds.

There are electronic displays that keep score for you as you bowl.

What I loved is that it automatically put up the bumpers for the kids and then put them down for the adults.  Usually we need to get two lanes at most bowling alleys, one with bumpers and one without.

 Both kids did really good.  

They also loved the atmosphere of the glowing.

There are 16 alleys.  They had closed the curtain for us so it was like having a private lane which was nice.

Lauren had jammed one of the pins when she hit it and the Assistant Manager came over with the pin and gave it to her.  It had cracked and was no longer playable.  The kids were so excited about this pin.

 I think Evan hugged the pin the rest of the night.  When we got home we added it to our pool table room at home.

The service was amazing while at the lane.  We had a server that came over to us and brought us drinks and appetizers.  They had quite a selection.

Here is the Sangria I had and the Vanilla Milkshake Lauren had.

The server suggested the Strawberry Pop Rocktini and it was really good.  It has all pop rocks around the rim.  I love the creativity of the drinks.

After we finished bowling two strings we went over to the Lounge and restaurant area to eat dinner.  I had the steak tips with garlic mashed potatoes and it was really good!  I usually put A1 all over steak but with the great tasting barbecue sauce it had it didn't need anything.

The whole atmosphere is really cool in Kings Bowl.  There is this wall case with pins signed by celebrities and athletes.

It is a newer facility and is 21,000-square-feet featuring: 16 Ten Pin Bowling Lanes, Two Full-Size billiards tables, Shuffleboard Table, indoor Bocce ball court, executive chef driven restaurant serving award-winning food, two premium bars serving inventive and fun cocktails.

Bowling is $7 per string with $4 shoe rentals.  Billiards and Shuffleboard are $15 per hour and Bocce is $8 per 15 minutes.

 Kings is a great place and lots of fun.  They also host private events and birthday parties for kids.

The kids had a blast there and so did my husband and I.  I highly recommend going there for some family fun or a date night.

Find them online:  http://kingsbowlamerica.com/lynnfield/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/KingsLynnfield

Twitter:  @KingsLynnfield

Instagram: http://instagram.com/kingslynnfield

Disclosure:  I was provided with bowling and dinner for my family and I for review purposes.  No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.