Category Archives: Gifts

Best Buy Lunar New Year Gift Card

Best Buy Celebrates Lunar New Year With A Lunar New Year Inspired Gift Card

Best Buy GoPro camerasIn the spirit of diversity and company values, Best Buy supports events that are important to their employees, customers, and communities.  The upcoming Lunar New Year is one of those important celebrations.

For Asians all around the world, including Asian-Americans, Lunar New Year not only celebrates the beginning of the year but also the ending of winter and the anticipated arrival of spring.  It is one of the most important holidays celebrated in Asian countries.  

Best Buy Lunar New Year Gift CardTraditions of those who celebrate Lunar New Year often participate in include writing a wish for the new year on red paper, setting off firecrackers to send out the old year and welcome in the new, children receive gifts and families clean the home together, ahead of the big celebration.  I’d like to implement that tradition please! 🙂  The 14th day is spent getting ready for the Lantern Festival which takes place on the 15th night. On the fifteenth day, the Lantern Festival is held during which children carry lanterns in a nighttime parade.  How beautiful would that be to see?

This upcoming year, Lunar New Year, which is based on the phases of the moon, falls on February 19th, 2015 of our Gregorian calendar.  Best Buy is helping celebrate the event with Asian-inspired Giftcard and eGiftcard, available for purchase or gifting from BestBuy.com through February 22nd, 2015.

To have a gift card shipped to your or a friend’s address, follow this link.  To purchase an eGiftcard, one that can be sent via email and used at Best Buy and online, scroll to the right of the following link until you see the red giftcard with the two Koi fish: http:///www.bestbuy.com/egiftcard.

The physical Lunar New Year gift card and the eGiftcard will be available online at Best Buy from November 1, 2014 to February 22, 2015.

GoPro HERO at Best Buy

Capture Your Family’s Adventures With A New GoPro Camera Available Now At Best Buy!

Best Buy GoPro cameras

GoPro HERO at Best BuyMy son loves long boarding.  If you’re not familiar with what long boarding is, it’s like skateboarding but on a long board.  There aren’t many tricks involved with long boarding as with skateboarding but the speed a long board achieves is incredible and pretty scary, to me at least, sometimes.   Sebastian even made his own longboard that sports bright green wheels and a snazzy grip tape design.  When my Dad offered to let him use his new GoPro to film himself on his longboard during a visit to his house, his excitement was too much to contain!  He hooked the GoPro to the board and took off like a… pro!

Here’s the first video he shot on my Dad’s GoPro, the one that inspired him to add a GoPro to every wish list he’ll create until he gets one. 🙂

 

With the holidays coming up, a GoPro is on the top of the list for many teens and adults and Best Buy is the place to go to check them out and buy a GoPro.

Best Buy has three new GoPro’s for you to check out; the GoPro HERO4 Black, GoPro HERO4 Silver, and GoPro HERO.

The GoPro HERO4 Black is the most advanced GoPro ever. It features improved image quality and a 2x more powerful processor with 2x faster video frame rates1, HERO4 Black takes award‐winning GoPro performance to a whole new level.

GoPro HERO4 Silver is the first-ever GoPro to feature a built-in touch display. Controlling The camera, playing back footage and adjusting settings is ultra-convenient—just view, tap and swipe the screen. With 1080p60 and 720p120 video, and 12MP photos at a staggering 30 frames per second, HERO4 Silver combines powerful, pro-quality capture with the convenience of a touch display.

The GoPro HERO featuring high‐quality 1080p30 and 720p60 video, and 5MP photos up to 5 fps, HERO captures the same immersive footage that’s made GoPro one of the best-selling cameras in the world.

GoPro at Best Buy

Best Buy is the home of the latest cameras and camcorders, including the full line of new GoPro cameras, plus a broad assortment of accessories. GoPro cameras make perfect holiday gifts for everyone, from kids and teens, to gadget gurus. GoPro’s new line of cameras allow you to beautifully and authentically capture and share the experiences that bring purpose, adventure, and joy to your life.

Can you imagine how cute it would have been to capture a video of your toddler riding his or her first tricycle with a GoPro?  As you can see in the video below of my daughter riding her bike, the faces, emotions and angles the GoPro captures are one-of-a-kind! I crack up every time I watch this video and am so glad to add it to my library of funny videos of Madelyn’s childhood.

 

 

If these fabulous videos of my kids aren’t enough to convince you of how great the GoPro is, check out the GoPro videos featured on Best Buy!

Sebastian has all sorts of plans for his future GoPro including ocean, lake, and river kayaking, roller coasters, more long boarding, lacrosse.. you name it, it’s GoPro-able!  My daughter is thinking more along the lines of strapping the GoPro to her head while she shoots a rainbow loom bracelet tutorial for YouTube. 🙂  I think it would be fun to capture video of her on the bars or mat at gymnastics though.. don’t you?

Learn more at www.bestbuy.com/GoPro or visit your local Best Buy to check out the latest cameras in person.

 

 

Personalized Holiday Gifts For Everyone On Your List

Personal Creations

We put our Christmas tree up over the weekend and despite the rocky start because we couldn’t get the lights to work and a couple of ornaments had broken during transit from the attic, the experience ended up being the best Christmas tree decorating time I’ve ever had.  There were a few things at play that made that the case.  The first was the Christmas music in the background.  When Jingle Bells started playing on Pandora, we all sang along.  Then there were the sausage balls I made.  We finally had to bring them into the living room to munch on or I wasn’t going to see my husband or kids while I decorated the tree alone.  Then the kids started going through the ornaments and found their favorites and ones that are special to them.  My daughter lined her ornaments up on the couch and asked my husband and I where each ornament came from, how old she was when we got it, and why we got it for her.  It was really nice to see her face light up as we talked about each ornament and the story behind it and remember those special times surrounding each ornament.

Once the tree was decorated, I headed to the den to finalize Christmas gift shopping.   I love getting my kids and husband personalized items.

One thing I’ve learned since having kids is that kids LOVE to see their name on things.   They like feeling like something was made for them.. it exists because of them.  I remember the first time my son saw his name on a billboard for a store. It was a coincidence, yes, but he acted like that was his store which brought a huge smile to his face! He was 6 years old at the time. Now he’s 14. He still loves to see his name on things which is why I love getting him personalized gifts.

This year, I chose a few items that are very fitting to his personality, to personalize. He’s getting older and keeps change and trinkets in his pockets. What happens to those things when he gets home from school? They end up strewn all over his desk. Personal Creations has a really nice large wooden catchall that will be monogrammed with his initials which I hope he will keep his loose change and trinkets.

Large Wood Catchall-Monogram

My daughter recently started playing soccer and gymnastics and will be thrilled to see a new ornament on the Christmas tree that looks just like her, playing soccer and my son will have a Lacrosse playing ornament.  Maybe there is hope that they will play together after-all, even if it is just the ornament versions of themselves.  🙂

I am excited about the Sock Monkey ornaments the kids will be getting for the tree soon.  Both of my kids love monkeys.  I’m not sure why but when I saw these adorable sock monkey ornaments at Personal Creations, I knew they’d be a perfect fit on our Christmas tree.

sock monkey personalized ornament

My daughter is really into playing with makeup now and what better way to get her to not use my makeup brushes than for her to have her own?  I am going to give her mine when I get this new set personalized with my name on it.  🙂  The makeup roll includes a 6 piece brush set with 2 large, full-coverage cheek and face brushes, 2 eye blending and smudge brushes, 1 angled liner brush, and 1 eyebrow groomer brush.

personalized makeup brush set

Ready to personalize your own Christmas creations?
Personal Creations is offering my readers 20% off of all of your purchases through the end of December.
Click here to start shopping and the 20% will be applied in your shopping cart.

If you need inspiration on coming up with great personalized gift ideas, this Pinterest board is a great place to start!


Get Bundled With Restaurant.com’s Holiday Gift Guide And Giveaway

Christmas is just a couple of weeks away.  Can you believe it? We are putting our Christmas tree up today then I will be hard at work figuring out who we need to get gifts for and what to get them. I am so glad I learned about Restaurant.com’s Gift Guide because they share some fabulous gift ideas that everyone on my list will appreciate.  Everyone loves food.  Not just the taste, but the experiences and the memories that come with it.  Why not give your friends and family the gift of those experiences and memories?

Restaurant.com, the nation’s largest dining deals site, loves surprising diners with fun ways to save.  This holiday season, they’ve handpicked delicious dining experiences and gift ideas for every budget and compiled them into an exclusive Restaurant.com Holiday Gift Guide.  Simply pair any Restaurant.com Gift Card with one of these gift bundle ideas below for the ultimate dining experience and holiday treat.

Here are some great gift ideas from Restaurant.com

Restaurant.com Gift Guide

1. The Movie Buff:
For the movie-quoting, obsessed friend, surprise them with two tickets to a movie on their must-see “Oscar” list and a $25 Restaurant.com Gift Card.

2. The Workaholic:
To help someone on your list find much needed tranquility, pair a $50 Restaurant.com Gift Card with soothing bath salts, lavender mist, and a face mask to create an affordable, at-home spa treatment.

3. The Wine Fanatic:
Bring Napa Valley to every wine lover on your list! Pair their favorite wine with decadent cheeses, crackers, and of course chocolate. Then, cleanse their palate with some late night dessert and a $25 Restaurant.com Gift Card.

4. The Romantic:
Add some romance into your holiday with a $50 Restaurant.com Gift Card, bouquet of roses, some irresistible chocolate covered strawberries, and a candlelit dinner for two.

5. The Theatre Lover:
Add some dramatic flair to the holidays with two tickets to their must-see show and end the evening with our $100 Restaurant.com Gift Card – perfect for dinner and dessert.

Be sure to check out Specials by Restaurant.com for more shopping ideas!

Restaurant.com helps you discover the perfect dining experience and boasts nearly 50,000 dining deals available every day to use anytime hunger strikes, even on the weekends! And, the deals are easy to use – present your certificate to the server on your mobile phone, or bring a printed copy, and voilà – the savings will appear on your final bill.

Restaurant.com is having a giveaway on their Facebook page!  Five (5) lucky Facebook fans will have a chance to win one of the gifts featured in their gift guide every Wednesday until December 18, 2013. Head on over for your chance to win! Good luck!

Connect with Restaurant.com

Create Your Top Of The Mantel Holiday Card On Cardstore.com.. And See Mine!

cardstore holiday cards

I told my husband that I wanted to get a photo of the kids in front of our Christmas tree, which is gorgeous.. once it is actually up, for a Christmas card.  I’ve been sick for a couple of weeks and things just haven’t gone as planned so I didn’t get my dream photo.  I probably wouldn’t have anyway.  If I recall correctly, when I tried to get the ‘perfect’ photo of the kids last holiday season, I ended up almost crying I was so frustrated.

I was so happy with the first holiday card I made on Cardstore.com that I didn’t think I could possibly create a card I liked better.  Well, I did.  It took a little digging through photos on dropbox, facebok, and my computer, which cardstore.com makes easy, but I found several photos of the kids that sum up their year fabulously.

So here it is..

Our Cardstore.com Personalized Holiday Cards

The entire time I was designing this card, I had the song “My Favorite Things” playing over and over in my head.   I finally decided to include in this post since it was such a party of the design experience.

You should go here (a YouTube page in a new window) and start the orchestral music for “My Favorite Things” before reading my lyrics.  Hearing the music puts you in the right place. 🙂

Rainbows And Smiles On Warm Summer Days
Sebastian Playing Lacrosse And Madelyn Balancing On Beams
Soccer Balls Zooming Around In The Spring
These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

Trips To The Beach With My Husband And Kids
Watching Madelyn Read Books At A Fast Pace
Looking Forward To What The Future May Bring
These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

Decorating For Christmas With Music In The Background
Knowing Sebastian Will Be An Eagle Scout One Day
Getting Warm Hugs After School Everyday
These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

When The Guinea Pigs Squeal
Because They’re Hungry
Or When I Trip On Lacrosse Balls
I Simply Remember My Favorite Things
And Then I Don’t Feel So Bad

Feel free to share your version of “My Favorite Things” in the comments below.  So often we focus on the bad and annoying things in life.  I think it’s important to focus on the good and writing your own version of this song is a great way to do that!

Keep in mind that you need to order your customized holiday cards by December 16th in order for them to arrive at their destination by Christmas Eve. 

Like I mentioned in previous post about Cardstore.com, the process of creating a customized holiday card is quick and easy.   You can add photos from lots of photo sharing sites including Facebook, Instagram, Dropbox, Picasa, Flickr, and more.  There are dozens of holiday card designs to choose from which most being a postcard but several are folding cards.

Here is a Cardstore.com giveaway you can enter!

Mom Central and Cardstore are currently running a giveaway on the Mom Central Facebook page, with chances to win ten (10) $50 Amex Gift Cards and one (1) grand prize of a $300 Amex Gift Card! Here is the link: http://bit.ly/1gaAy4M

Create your own personalized holiday cards at http://po.st/PersonalizeYourCard today!