Men's Christmas Gifts

Men can be so hard to buy for. I never know what to get the men in my family for Christmas.

My husband I can usually figured out. And he's pretty good about either picking things out or letting me know some things he could use or would like. Or when I'm not spending a lot I'll find things like T-shirts, underwear, socks, etc. that he can use.

The problem comes when I have to buy for my brothers-in-law. None of them ever have ideas for me. So in the last few years I have gotten them underwear (they all wear boxers or boxer briefs). I just look for something nice in the stores that I think they would use. I did well last year, so I might go that route again.

Did you know that you can get underwear (of all kinds) from Zappos.com? I knew they carried shoes, but otherwise I have no idea what they carried. But I did find that a nice men's Christmas gift could be the Diesel Underwear from Zappos.

What ideas do you have for men for Christmas?

This post was sponsored by your friends at Zappos.com.

Thomas DVD Winner

Here is the winner of the Thomas Holiday DVD-

#44 - Bridgette at The Groschen Goblins

Congrats! You will be receiving an e-mail from me. You have 48 hours to respond. I hope your kids enjoy it!

Black Friday

Will you be doing any Black Friday shopping? A Full Cup is showcasing Black Friday deals for you.

Winner- Holiday Collection DVDs

I have one of each set of the HIT Holiday Collection DVDs. The winners are...

#96 - Deb K at DebsHere

#130 - zachsgran

#3 - Kindra at Licking the Bear

Congrats to you all! I have an e-mail on the way to you.

Sports Guys Discount

A few months ago I did a review about Kaskey Kids Sports Guys. These would be a great Christmas gift idea for the little sports lovers in your family.

Kaskey would like to offer my readers a 20% discount for their holiday shopping. Between Nov. 1st and Jan. 1st, you can get a 20% discount at http://www.kaskeykids.com using the promo code "Holiday".

And if you already have your own Sports Guys, you can submit photos of your children with them for the Fan Photos portion of their website. And early next year, you can vote on the pictures there too.

What's Here and What's to Come

You still have time to sign up for these current giveaways:

*HIT Holiday Collection DVDs - Barney, Thomas & Bob the Builder (3 winners) - Closes Nov. 15th

*Thomas & Friends: Holiday Express DVD - Closes Nov. 17th

*Art House DVD - Closes Nov. 20th

*Pretty Please Children's Books (set of 4) - Closes Nov. 23rd

And here are some sneak peeks of reviews and giveaways to come here at PS Mom Reviews:

I'm very exciting about these upcoming reviews/giveaways. Plus there are others to come too! Stick around!

Frosty Friends DVD Winner

It's that time again. The HIT Favorites Frosty Friends DVD giveaway has ended. I have one copy, and the lucky winner is...

#143 - Andrea (Owen's Mom)

I sent an e-mail to you to get your contact information. You have 48 hours to reply.

Thanks everyone for signing up. There are more giveaways available. Check the list at the left top of the page.

Art House DVD Review & {Giveaway} (CLOSED)

A brand new children's DVD series teaching children to draw launches it's first title Art House Volume 1: Basic Shapes and Animals. This is a great DVD to get young children started with an interest in Art!

Art House sets out to teach children the fundamentals of drawing. From an Arts graduate and an elementary school teacher, this DVD is for children ages 3 and up to learn to draw using basic shapes to draw anything. "Developing artistic skills at an early age has proven to promote problem solving, communication, curiosity and perspective."

With easy to follow instructions, simple shapes, and fun pictures, your child can figure out how to draw fish, dogs, monkeys, birds, dinosaurs and more. The art class sessions are separated by animated musical scenes too.

I was surprised at how much my 3 year old son likes this DVD. He was quite interested in the instruction and always wants to try his hand at drawing some new things too. It's also sparked his interest in drawing and creating on his own.

Buy It: Art House Volume 1: Basic Shapes and Animals is available starting November 17th at www.InTheArtHouse.com and www.amazon.com.

Win It: I have one (1) copy of Art House Volume 1: Basic Shapes and Animals DVD to give to one of you lucky readers.

To Enter: Let me know who in your life would enjoy this DVD and why. Be sure to include your e-mail address, so I can contact you when you win. (If I can't find an e-mail or don't already have it, I will draw a new number for the winner.)

Extra Entries: If you'd like to, you may earn extra entries for doing each of the following. Be sure to leave a separate comment for each. You must do the above (main) entry first, then you can do these others.

*Post about the giveaway on your blog and leave the link here. (2 entries)

*Post about the giveaway on Twitter and leave the link here. **You may do this once each day for unlimited entries until the contest ends.**

Cut & Paste: Enter to win Art House Volume 1: Basic Shapes and Animals DVD from @psmomreviews - http://tinyurl.com/yzmjvdc.

*Follow me on Twitter.

*Subscribe to this blog by a feed reader.

*Subscribe to this blog by e-mail.

*Become a follower (or you already are).

*Enter one of my other giveaways, then come back here and let me know which one you entered. You may do this for one extra entry.

This giveaway is open now through Thursday, November 20th. I will draw a winner on Friday, November 21st.

**Don't forget to sign up for these other giveaways:

HIT Favorites: Frosty Friends DVD - Closes Nov. 12th

HIT Holiday Collection DVDs (Thomas, Barney & Bob the Builder) - Closes Nov. 15th

Thomas & Friends: Holiday Express DVD - Closes Nov. 17th

Pretty Please Children's Books - Closes Nov. 23rd

*A product was received for the purpose of this review.*

Pretty Please Press Children's Books Review & {Giveaway}

Every child needs someone to ready to them. Every child needs some great books. I truly believe this. I am an educator and a lover of books. I especially love children's books.

I received four great books from Pretty Please Press recently. "Bella Basset Ballerina," "The Scritchy Little Twitchell Sisters," "Kick Block Punch," and "Pynx."

"Bella Basset Ballerina" is about a dog who doesn't know her place in life. She was not created to be a ballerina dog, but she's not about to let that stop her.

"The Scritchy Little Twitchell Sisters" can be summarized in about two words...sibling rivalry. Two sisters cannot get along no matter what their parents try, so when the chance to profit off their "show" of dis-affection things change.

For kids who are into Karate and other things, "Kick Block Punch" is perfect for them. A little boy wants to earn his black belt now, but he soon learns that good things come to those who practice and wait.

"Pynx" is a unique story about a strange creature that finds itself in a new world. It just can't fit in and the other creatures want to drive it away. The Pynx has yet to prove it's worth.

These books were all really fun to read. My favorite was "The Scritchy Little Twitchell Sisters". I can probably relate so well to this since I'm the oldest of three sisters myself. There were many times we didn't get along, but it was nothing compared to the Twitchell Sisters. They are serious trouble! And I'm glad for a company who cares about children and them learning. Reading to your kids is so very important!

From the company:

Pretty Please Press was created with the idea that reading to your children will help establish good communication between parents and children. Many education and parenting experts stress that reading to or with children is one of the most important things parents can do to make sure kids stay on the right track. Reading together during elementary school years helps parents and children bond as a family. Opening up lines of communication with kids early in life will encourage them to talk to you later, when big “character issues” arise. In addition, we provide free educational downloads including Vocabulary Building Cards, Concept Building Cards, and Character Building Lesson Plans.

Buy It: Pretty Please Books are available on their website at a 20% discount. They also have a buy 3 books, get 1 free offer available there. This offer will expire on Dec. 31, 2009.

Win It: I have one (1) copy of each book, "Bella Basset Ballerina," "The Scritchy Little Twitchell Sisters," "Kick Block Punch," and "Pynx", to give to one of you lucky readers.

To Enter: Go to Pretty Please Press and let me know which book you like best. Be sure to include your e-mail address, so I can contact you when you win. (If I can't find an e-mail or don't already have it, I will draw a new number for the winner.)

Extra Entries: If you'd like to, you may earn extra entries for doing each of the following. Be sure to leave a separate comment for each. You must do the above (main) entry first, then you can do these others.

*Post about the giveaway on your blog and leave the link here. (2 entries)

*Post about the giveaway on Twitter and leave the link here. **You may do this once each day for unlimited entries until the contest ends.**

Cut & Paste: Enter to win Pretty Please Press Children's Books from @psmomreviews - http://tinyurl.com/yzymavy.

*Follow me on Twitter.

*Subscribe to this blog by a feed reader.

*Subscribe to this blog by e-mail.

*Become a follower (or you already are).

*Enter one of my other giveaways, then come back here and let me know which one you entered. You may do this for one extra entry.

This giveaway is open now through Monday, November 23rd. I will draw a winner on Tuesday, November 24th.

**Don't forget to sign up for these other giveaways:

HIT Favorites: Frosty Friends DVD - Closes Nov. 12th

HIT Holiday Collection DVDs (Thomas, Barney & Bob the Builder) - Closes Nov. 15th

Thomas & Friends: Holiday Express DVD - Closes Nov. 17th

*A product was received for the purpose of this review.*

Thomas & Friends: Holiday Express DVD Review & {Giveaway} (CLOSED)

Newly released Thomas & Friends: Holiday Express is on DVD just in time for the holidays. It even comes with a Thomas the Tank Engine collectible train. Thomas lovers everywhere will enjoy Thomas in all the winter and holiday stories.

Snowmen, Christmas trees, train rides, and more fill these exciting holiday episodes: "Thomas and Percy's Christmas Adventure," "Snow Engine," "Henry's Lucky Day," "Don't Tell Thomas," "Thomas, Emily and the Snow Plough," and "Thomas' Frosty Friend." Also on the Thomas & Friends: Holiday Express DVD are two fun games "Sodor Sounds" and "Cargo Challenge."

Zachariah enjoyed all the Christmas, snowy excitement. He's all about the Christmas season coming soon. He's been begging to get the Christmas tree up already. But the Thomas DVD works out well. He can get in the holiday spirit a little early and look forward to the season. He also loves the little Thomas train that comes along with the DVD. Santa Thomas, as he calls it. And Zachariah has enjoyed the games on this DVD quite a bit too.

The Thomas & Friends: Holiday Express DVD is targeted at children ages 2-5. And it runs about 40 minutes long.

Buy It: Thomas & Friends: Holiday Express DVD is available in stores now or you can get it online (1/2 price at Amazon right now).

Win It: I have one (1) copy of Thomas & Friends: Holiday Express DVD to give to one of you lucky readers.

To Enter: Tell me a favorite Holiday gift that you (or your child) have received. Be sure to include your e-mail address, so I can contact you when you win. (If I can't find an e-mail or don't already have it, I will draw a new number for the winner.)

Extra Entries: If you'd like to, you may earn extra entries for doing each of the following. Be sure to leave a separate comment for each. You must do the above (main) entry first, then you can do these others.

*Post about the giveaway on your blog and leave the link here. (2 entries)

*Post about the giveaway on Twitter and leave the link here. **You may do this once each day for unlimited entries until the contest ends.**

Cut & Paste: Enter to win Thomas & Friends: Holiday Express DVD from @psmomreviews - http://tinyurl.com/yg9tgfu.

*Follow me on Twitter.

*Subscribe to this blog by a feed reader.

*Subscribe to this blog by e-mail.

*Become a follower (or you already are).

*Enter one of my other giveaways, then come back here and let me know which one you entered. You may do this for one extra entry.

This giveaway is open now through Tuesday, November 17th. I will draw a winner on Wednesday, November 18th.

**Don't forget to sign up for these other giveaways:

HIT Favorites: Frosty Friends DVD - Closes Nov. 12th

HIT Holiday Collection DVDs (Thomas, Barney & Bob the Builder) - Closes Nov. 15th

*A product was received for the purpose of this review.*

Printies Winners

It's that time again. Time to draw some winners. I have 3 Printies sets to give away. The winners are:

#3 - Amanda (disintegratingstarr@...)

#18 - Denise (denise_22315@...)

#7 - Noreen at A Silly Mommy of 2 Silly Girls

Congrats to all the winners. I will be sending you an e-mail very soon. You have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.

HIT Holiday Collection DVDs Review & {Giveaway} (CLOSED)

In plenty of time for the holidays, Lionsgate and HIT Entertainment are bringing your children's favorite characters to DVD in many Christmasy, snowy and fun-filled DVDs. Thomas & Friends: Sodor Friends Holiday Collection, Barney: Tee-riffic Holiday Collection, and Bob the Builder: Building Crew Holiday Collection are all available now.

What a great way for your child to start the Christmas season! And these collection sets are also wonderful Christmas ideas for any child on your list. Each collection contains 3 separate DVDs inside. Kids will be able to join in the familiar Christmas carols and have lots of winter-time fun with Barney: Tee-Riffic Holiday Collection. Bob the Builder is always the guy to turn to for action-packed winter adventures and how to get things done around the holidays in the Bob The Builder: Building Crew holiday Collection. And snowy, holiday adventures await Thomas in the Thomas & Friends: Sodor Friends Holiday Collection.

Gift set synopses:

>Barney: Tee-Riffic Holiday Collection - Bundle up with your best friend Barney for this special collection of wintertime favorites! Take a musical journey to the North Pole with Barney, BJ, and Baby Bop in "Night Before Christmas." Sing along to your favorites Barney tunes in the fun-filled game show, "Can You Sing That Song?" And join Barney, Bob the Builder, Thomas & Friends and more for the magic of "Winter Wonderland" in this tee-riffic holiday gift set!

>Bob the Builder: Building Crew Holiday Collection - Just in time for the holidays, discover why "the fun is in getting it done" in these action-packed, fun-filled adventures! Join Bob and the Can-Do Crew as they rescue their friend from a winter storm in "Bob's White Christmas." Then it's time to build a log cabin and smooth the ice rink for the Winter Games. Finally, come along as Bob and Scoop hunt for buried treasure -- and make some amazing discoveries -- in this one-of-a-kind collection thats' the perfect holiday treat for Bob the Builder fans.

>Thomas & Friends: Sodor Friends Holiday Collection - There's fun around every turn in these joyful wintertime adventures! Catch the holiday spirit as Thomas & Friends prepare for the grand opening of the Toy Workshop. Laugh and play along as Percy tries to fool his friends into believing he's Jack Frost. And hold on tight for some of Thomas' most thrilling races and rescues in this heartwarming holiday collection.

Zachariah has thoroughly enjoyed every one of these DVDs. A few he's watched many times since we got them. Several of them have games for the DVD player. And one of the Barney movies has games for the computer. He spent over an hour playing them one day. He was happy as a clam, and they were perfect for him to use. And we always enjoy having plenty of seasonal movies to watch each year.

These videos are targeted at children ages 1-5 years old. The total run-time for Barney: Tee-Riffic Holiday Collection Gift Set is 177 minutes, Bob the Builder: Building Crew Holiday Collection Gift Set is 127 minutes, and Thomas & Friends: Sodor Friends Holiday Collection Gift Set is 120 minutes.

Buy It: Barney: Tee-Riffic Holiday Collection Gift Set, Bob the Builder: Building Crew Holiday Collection Gift Set, and Thomas & Friends: Sodor Friends Holiday Collection Gift Set are available in stores now or you can them online.

Win It: I have one (1) copy of each Barney: Tee-Riffic Holiday Collection Gift Set, Bob the Builder: Building Crew Holiday Collection Gift Set, and Thomas & Friends: Sodor Friends Holiday Collection Gift Set to give to one of you lucky readers. There will be 3 total winners, each will receive one Holiday Gift Set.

To Enter: Tell me a favorite Holiday tradition that your family does each year. Be sure to include your e-mail address, so I can contact you when you win. (If I can't find an e-mail or don't already have it, I will draw a new number for the winner.)

Extra Entries: If you'd like to, you may earn extra entries for doing each of the following. Be sure to leave a separate comment for each. You must do the above (main) entry first, then you can do these others.

*Post about the giveaway on your blog and leave the link here. (2 entries)

*Post about the giveaway on Twitter and leave the link here. **You may do this once each day for unlimited entries until the contest ends.**

Cut & Paste: Enter to win HIT Holiday Collection DVDs (Barney, Bob the Builder & Thomas) from @psmomreviews - http://tinyurl.com/y85z6c2.

*Follow me on Twitter.

*Subscribe to this blog by a feed reader.

*Subscribe to this blog by e-mail.

*Become a follower (or you already are).

*Enter one of my other giveaways, then come back here and let me know which one you entered. You may do this for one extra entry.

This giveaway is open now through Sunday, November 15th. I will draw a winner on Monday, November 16th.

**Don't forget to sign up for these other giveaways:

Printies - make your own toys - Closes Nov. 9th

HIT Favorites: Frosty Friends DVD - Closes Nov. 12th

*A product was received for the purpose of this review.*

Five For Fighting "Slice" CD Review

John Ondrasik, under the band name Five for Fighting, has released a new album "Slice". Filled with his personal songs and songs that "invoke the human spirit and make an emotional connection", this is a great new album.

I really enjoyed his music, and I believe my favorite was the album title song "Slice". The slow, thoughtful songs have such a great message. The other songs on the album include: "Note to the Unknown Solider", "Tuesday", "Chances", "This Dance", Above the Timberline", "Transfer", "Hope", "Story of Your Life", "Love Can't Change the Weather", and "Augie Nieto".

Five for Fighting is well known for songs such as "Superman" and "100 Years". As a devoted husband and father, John's oldest child made a debut in one of his videos too.

Here are some places you can check out Five for Fighting:

TV Appearances:
CBS Saturday Morning 10/10
The View 10/14
The Today Show 10/16

Tour Dates:

John will be hitting the road in October with An Acoustic Evening with Five For Fighting. The songs are great on record, even better live! Definitely a show worth seeing! To find out about how to get tickets in a market near you, go to his site.

18-Oct Toronto, ON El Mocambo
20-Oct New York, NY City Winery
22-Oct Bay Shore, NY (Long Island) YMCA Boulton Center
23-Oct Uncasville, CT The Wolf Den
24-Oct Washington, DC Jammin Java
26-Oct Boston, MA The Paradise
27-Oct Philadelphia, PA World Café Live (downstairs)
29-Oct Nashville, TN The Belcourt
30-Oct Chicago, IL Lakeshore
3-Nov Salt Lake City, UT The State Room
5-Nov Seattle, WA Crocodile
6-Nov Portland, OR Aladdin Theater
10-Nov San Francisco, CA Swedish American Hall
11-Nov Los Angeles, CA Largo at the Coronet

The music is great, and I think that you'll enjoy it too. You can go see some of their videos here.

Buy It: The Five for Fighting CD "Slice" is available now from Amazon or in stores. It's also available on iTunes. See their website for details.

*A product was given to me for the purpose of this review.*

Sorry, I thought I could give a copy away, but not this time.

It's the Weekend

I hope that you all have a fantastic weekend! The weather here is warm (for the season) and sunny! We're working on some house projects. Well, the boys are working, the women will go shopping. ;) What are you up to this weekend?

GrowingTreeToys.com Review

I recently had the opportunity to check out a cool website for great educational toys!

All parents love educational toys for their kids. I know I'm always on the lookout for them. Enter Growing Tree Toys. They had a wide variety of toys that kids will enjoy.

I appreciate that on the site you can look for products in three categories: age group, department, and brands. It is very helpful to be able to find the product that I'm looking for easily and effectively. I'm all about efficiency. There is also a section for Gifts for Boys or Gifts for Girls.

You can find puzzles for all ages. (My son LOVES puzzles.) Or a wide selection of arts and crafts. I'm sure you won't have any problems finding something for the little one in your life. There are lots of great items for all the children on your Christmas list.

We got to choose an item to review. I picked a Melissa & Doug set. We have 3 Melissa & Doug food sets, and they've provided hours and hours of play for my son. We also have some wooden Melissa & Doug puzzles. (Those didn't last long for my son, no challenge after a short while.)

We received the Melissa & Doug Slice & Bake Cookie Set. My son has enjoyed making and decorating cookies for us, our family, and our friends. He thinks that cutting the cookies and baking them in the "oven" (usually a box) is so much fun! Plus it's something new, because I don't make cookies this way (I love baking from scratch). He probably doesn't completely understand why he's slicing the cookies, but I showed him how and he likes it. The interchangeable parts are fun for lots of different variety options.

I enjoy toys like these that encourage imaginative play. There are many different toys like this available from GrowingTreeToys. I'm sure that you'll find them nice and easy to work with as well.

Buy It: Go check out GrowingTreeToys.com and see all the great products they carry.

*A product was provided to me for the purpose of this review.*

HIT Favorites: Frosty Friends DVD Review + {Giveaway} (CLOSED)

HIT Favorites: Frosty Friends DVD is out in stores now. A fun wintertime accumulation of your kids' favorite characters. A great way to get your preschooler excited about winter and Christmas!

The episodes on Frosty Friends DVD are Thomas & Friends - "Percy's New Whistle", Barney - "Gift of the Dinos", Bob the Builder - "Snowman Scoop", Pingu - "Pingu and the Horse", Kipper - "The Big Freeze", and a bonus episode of Fifi and the Flowertots - "Doctor Webby".

My son enjoys all the fun HIT characters. Having a collection in one video just saves me from showing him many DVDs over and over. Plus we love having themed things to learn about. The new seasons are a great time to teach my son about what's coming, like snow, the holidays, and more.

This DVD runs about 50 minutes. It is targeted at children ages 2-5 years old.

Buy It: HIT Favorites: Frosty Friends DVD is available in stores now or you can buy it online.

Win It: I have one (1) copy of HIT Favorites: Frosty Friends DVD to give to one of you lucky readers.

To Enter: Tell me what you/your child(ren)/grandchild(ren) are going looking forward to about winter. Be sure to include your e-mail address, so I can contact you when you win. (If I can't find an e-mail or don't already have it, I will draw a new number for the winner.)

Extra Entries: If you'd like to, you may earn extra entries for doing each of the following. Be sure to leave a separate comment for each. You must do the above (main) entry first, then you can do these others.

*Post about the giveaway on your blog and leave the link here. (2 entries)

*Post about the giveaway on Twitter and leave the link here. **You may do this once each day for unlimited entries until the contest ends.**

Cut & Paste: Enter to win HIT Favorites: Frosty Friends DVD from @psmomreviews - http://tinyurl.com/ycqx4oh.

*Follow me on Twitter.

*Subscribe to this blog by a feed reader.

*Subscribe to this blog by e-mail.

*Become a follower (or you already are).

*Enter one of my other giveaways, then come back here and let me know which one you entered. You may do this for one extra entry.

This giveaway is open now through Thursday, November 12th. I will draw a winner on Friday, November 13th.

**Don't forget to sign up for these other giveaways:

Printies - make your own toys - Closes Nov. 9th

Winners

For the Brandi Carlile CD -

# 2 - Natalie A. at The Ahotaeiloa Family

And the If the World Were a Village DVD -

#18 - Michelle at Michelle Chappell Photography

Thanks to everyone who signed up. The winners have been notified via e-mail. They will have 48 hours to respond, or I will draw a new winner.

You still have time to sign up for the Printies make your own toy giveaway. And I have some great reviews/giveaways coming soon!

Michael Buble

Babysitting SugarPaw Children's Book Review

Babysitting SugarPaw is a wonderful children's book written by VS Grenier. It's a great story about a little bear who tries to scare off his new babysitter by getting her into trouble.

Oh how I can relate to this story. I used to do a lot of babysitting in my days. And I was always a stickler for the rules. SugarPaw tries to change the rules to do what he wants to do. I one time was babysitting for two kids who were friends visiting a couple that I knew. They had asked me to come watch the kids, so they could go out for the evening. I was given instructions on when to put the kids to be, so that's what I did. They fussed and protested when they remembered one of their "favorite" shows was starting. Their mom always let them stay up later that one night to watch it. Well, I figured the mom would have remembered that, so I made them go to bed. I did let them stay up long enough to read a few books to them since I did feel a little bad about it. When the parents got home, I told them what happened. The mother said "Oh no, I completely forgot it was Friday and their show is on. They could have stayed up." Oops, I felt so bad. But I wanted to respect the instructions of when their bedtime was.

In Babysitting SugarPaw SugarPaw thought he wouldn't like his babysitter, but when he got to know her a little better he changed his mind. This is a great story for young children. There is a good lesson in the book too.

My son really enjoyed reading this book with me. In fact, we've already read it over and over a few times (or more) already. The illustrations are very cute too. I think they are quite animated and child-friendly.

The author, VS Grenier, is also the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Stories for Children Magazine. And she is working with First Books, who donates books to low-income families.

Buy It: When you purchase the Babysitting SugarPaw book at this link http://vsgrenier.com/BabysittingSugarPaw.aspx, 25% of your sales will go to First Book. You can also donate at that site too.

*A product was provided to me for the purpose of this review.*