Just in case you didn’t find exactly what you were looking for I thought I’d offer some general suggestions of toy categories for this age group.

• Building Toys-Boys and Girls love to build with blocks, LEGOs and K’nex. Just make sure the building kit you purchase is age appropriate for the child’s abilities.
• Books-Diary of a Wimpy Kid, American Girl, Little House on the Prairie and Captain Underpants are all popular book series for this age group.
• Board Games-classic games like Twister, Trouble and Connect Four are great for this age group.

I hope you found this post helpful. Happy shopping!

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Captain Tim is active on Twitter and Facebook so make sure you chat with him there and he is looking for other bloggers to review products for them so if you are interested send him a tweet and tell him @MomMaven sent you.

The post Holiday Guide-Caribbean Trading Company appeared first on The Mom Maven.

In 3 easy steps I had fresh bread baking in my oven.

The bread truly is as easy to make as the video shows. The bread was a bit heavier than what we are used to but we enjoyed it warm out of the oven with some butter on it. I also used it for making a sandwich.

Fleischmann’s Simply Homemade No Knead Bread Mix allows home bakers to prepare freshly-baked yeast bread in just three easy steps; stir, rise and bake ­and in less than an hour. Perfect for everyday meals, impromptu get-togethers and special occasions, this pantry-friendly mix only requires water and 15 minutes of prep-time. Perfect for busy parents who still want to serve their families something fresh and homemade!

Fleischmann’s Simply Homemade product details:

• Perfect for beginner and experienced bread bakers
• All ingredients are in the box ­- just add water
• Stir-in and recipe ideas for unique bread variations and dishes are on every box
• Each box makes one loaf and provides 6 -8 servings
• Available in Country White, Stoneground Wheat, Multi-Grain and Italian Herb varieties
• Find it in the baking aisle at retailers nationwide for a suggested retail price of $2.99

Especially during the busy holiday season, Fleischmann’s Simply Homemade is a time-saving solution that allows busy families to bake warm, delicious yeast bread, in less time than ever before.

I also received a package of the Italian Herb variety and I’ll be making that when we have lasagna for dinner next week. You can pick up Fleishmann’s Simply Homemade Bread mixes at your local grocery store and surprise your family with homemade bread for Christmas dinner!

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To help college students who are attempting to cook in a dorm…or their first apartment, Chef Nisa Burns has written Kitchenability 101 The College Student’s Guide to Easy, Healthy and Delicious Food.

A culinary graduate of the Art Institute of Virginia Beach, Nisa’s easy, healthy recipes have gained fans on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube nationwide. Her mission? To show college students how to become best friends with their kitchens in order to feed themselves for life, a process she calls becoming “Kitchen-able.” It’s about making cooking easy and natural, rather than intimidating and overwhelming.

To that end, Nisa shows students healthy, accessible alternatives to the cafeteria or drive-thru lane with her highly-anticipated cookbook, Kitchenability 101: The College Student’s Guide to Easy, Healthy, and Delicious Food (on sale October 2012; Paperback $17.95; eBook $7.99), which comes with QR codes linking to Nisa’s popular how-to videos.

“It’s not about having a big, fancy kitchen—you can have amazing Kitchenability in your dorm room or apartment,” says Nisa. “It’s about developing a partnership with your kitchen, knowing what you can do and how you can play in it.”

College readers will learn that it is just as easy (and tasty!) to make an Avocado Lettuce Wrap as it is to heat up a processed TV dinner—and usually cheaper, too. Kitchen newbies have Nisa as their guide in each of these recipes, which helps students cook quickly and healthfully on a college budget.

“As you cultivate confidence in the kitchen, you’ll feel motivated to create foods that fit your lifestyle, instead of just eating whatever is fast and available. Kitchenability is about making awesome foods that nourish and strengthen your mind and body so you can succeed in college and beyond.”

Kitchenability 101 offers shopping plans, supply lists, budgeting tips, skills and recipes for cooking in college spaces—including dorm rooms, apartments and houses. The QR codes link readers to Nisa’s online video demos for delicious dishes like Gnocchi with Pesto, Chicken Mole, Creamy Hummus Dip, and Dark Chocolate Cookies with Chocolate Mousse Filling.

Since my boys have been cooking for years I decided to try this book out with Summer, who came to our house only knowing how to make Ramen noodles at age 18! We started out easy but we will be trying several recipes in this book over the next few months. I explained to Summer that cooking is 85% following directions, and right there she got discouraged I assured her I would help her and hopefully by the time she heads off to college in the fall she will have some basic cooking skills. She made the “Fancy Mac & Cheese”. I have never been a fan of baked Mac & Cheese but I was willing to give it a try. This recipe calls for Gruyere cheese which is a bit pricey on a college student’s budget, but we made it anyway. The recipe was easy to make and tasted pretty good. As a family, we all decided next time we would double the cheese and cut the pepper in half and then it should be perfect for our tastes.

Fancy Mac & Cheese

We found the book to be well written and even labels recipes so you know which can be made in a dorm or apartment. Kitchenability 101 will make a great gift for any college student who needs to learn some great new recipes.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book for the purpose of this review. All opinions are 100% mine.

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Aaron wasn’t happy about having his picture taken but he LOVES his new Grunt Style shirt. The t-shirt material is very soft and comfortable and it fits him well. He wore his shirt when he went out with his friends and he said “The guys all commented about my shirt and that they liked how it looked.”

Grunt Style, LLC was founded in 2009 by Drill Sergeant Alarik. Watch this brief video about how the company was started and their Beer Guarantee…

It is a little late to order Grunt Style for Christmas delivery but if you order now you can use the code gs1752 and receive 15% off your order. Just print the picture of the shirt you order and wrap it up and tell the recipient it is on the way. We do that all the time in our family!

When you’re in apparel business and in need of fast, accurate, screen printing gold ink services just check out a site like https://thrivescreenprinting.com/metallic-ink-printing/ for help.

Disclosure: We received a shirt of our choice for the purpose of this review. All opinions are 100% mine and my family’s.

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The crisp Iowa Pine, with a touch of clove and cedar smells like a fresh-cut Christmas tree, without the messy needles. The entire family loves it and I’ll be running out to Target to pick up more of these limited time candle tins!

The Orange Clove Holiday Candle give off a warm and spicy citrus scent, which is delicious this time of year. These candles are available at Target stores for $2.50! These will make great stocking stuffers, teacher gifts or add-ons to other gifts. If you want to take it a step further you can pick up a Mrs Meyers Seasons Cleanings Kit in either of these holiday scents and really get your house ready for Christmas!

Disclosure: I received 2 candles for the purpose of this review. All opinions are 100% mine.

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The Vacuum Stubble & Beard Trimmer Pro is the product for men sporting a signature facial hair style. Whether designer stubble or a simple ‘stache, this product makes upkeep simple and quick. And, the vacuum feature captures hair for mess-free trimming. My husband really likes the shaver, he has used it several times since he did the review. He likes that it is rechargeable and that it vacuums up the shavings so he can just dump them in the trash-and not have to clean out the sink! If you want more ways to elevate your look, sites such as www.groenerekenkamer.com got your back.

shave collage

If you are shopping for a shaver for your man, here are some great coupons from Phillips Norelco to help make your Christmas shopping a little easier!

Disclosure: I received a shaver for the purpose of this review. All opinions are 100% those of myself and my husband.

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Who doesn’t love getting personalized gifts? Everyone does, regardless of age. This is why PersonalCreations.com is a great place to do your Christmas shopping. They have almost anything you could ever want personalized for sale at reasonable prices. You can get Christmas ornaments and decorations, baby gifts, dolls, tote bags, kid’s furniture, photo frames, t-shirts all personalized!

I chose to get the personalized door mat in the picture for someone on my Christmas gift giving list. That person reads my blog so I chose the stock photo over the actual photo of the mat I received. I can tell you the mat is beautiful and will make a nice addition to the home it is going to.

A Personal Creations Exclusive! Pay homage to free spirited beach living with our sunny flip-flop items! Our doormats feature a polyester surface, non-slip backing, and are suitable for indoor or outdoor use. Clean with mild soap and a hose. We personalize the 17”L x 27”W doormat with up to 6 pairs of flip-flops (choose design) and any name, up to 10 characters each and add any message on 1 line, up to 24 characters.

If you have some shopping left to do, I recommend clicking over to PersonalCreations.com and ordering a personalized gift for everyone who is still on your shopping list.

Disclosure: I received a gift of my choice for the purpose of this review. All opinions are 100% mine.

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Take a new spin on old holiday traditions this winter season with creative ideas from Good Housekeeping, Redbook, and Country Living! You’ll find fun and merry ways to deck your halls with affordable gift basket arrangements or recipes to whip up the perfect batch of Christmas cookies. You’ll also find a special collection of super-easy, super-quick presents you can literally make in minutes, as well as an entire section dedicated to new ways to wrap your presents using surprising containers and materials.

I plan on making Hot Cocoa Dippers, Hot Cocoa Mix, Chocolate Dipped Pretzels, Bacon-Cheddar mini loaves, Jalepeno & Cheddar Skillet Cornbrad and maybe even some Honey Butter! Since the shelf life on fresh baked goods is short, I don’t plan on hitting the kitchen until the week before Christmas, but I wanted to let you know about this great resource in time for you to plan your holiday baking.

Holiday Food Gifts to Make! is available for $9.99 and can be purchased at your local supermarket, newsstand or bookstore. A digital edition is also available at Zinio.com or Nook.bn.com. For even more photos and inspiration, check out the Hearst Specials Facebook page at  and the Hearts Specials Pinterest page.

This is my week 3 entry into the Holiday Hop of Goodies! I hope you are enjoying all the great recipes and gift ideas that are linked up.

This party is a blog hop hosted by Susie QT Pies Scraps of Life. I am participating which means you will find other bloggers hosting this same hop. When you add your own goodies in the below linky it will show up on their linky, too! If you have a blog, feel free to grab the code at the bottom of the linky and add it to your own holiday post! The more the merrier! Link up anything holiday related! We want you to share your recipes, gift ideas, giveaways, holiday deals and more! Inappropriate links will be deleted.



Disclosure: I received a copy of the bookazine for the purpose of this post. All opinions are 100% mine.

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Shutterfly has a great selection of customizable photobook styles to choose from. They even often 2 ways to make your photobook-you can do everything yourself or you can upload your pictures and let their software design the book for you, then all you need to do is add the captions! How simple is that?

Check out this video:

I’m giving away 2 8×8 photobooks! The giveaway is open to US and Canada residents only. The giveaway ends at 12:01am on December 15, 2012. The winners will receive a coupon code via email. This code MUST be redeemed by December 31, 2012.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I am receiving a photobook in exchange for this post. All opinions are 100% mine.

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