Tis the Season (Getting Ready for the Holidays with Giveaways!)

I had planned to start the Cool Moms Rule! Holiday Gift Guide listings tomorrow, chock-full of fantastic gift ideas for your teens and 'tweens--over a hundred items I hand-picked as the best and the brightest gifts this holiday season, just for you--but the Guide, already chock-full, overflowed when some wonderful people, like the folks at Hallmark, sent me all their thoughtful ideas for those special products and services we Cool Moms need BEFORE the holidays--you know, the time when we are all gettting ready, counting down the days.

So naturally, I just had to do this special "pre-post" to let you know about them!

Now, I know that some of you are, like me, rejoicing in this magical time of year and looking forward to spending the holidays with family.

BUT I also know that some of you are dreading all the fuss and stress and bother that come along with the season, and I can already hear you grumbling about that.

So, for this pre-holiday post, I have officially split you all into two camps, and you can line up appropriately: The Scrooges to my left and the Christmas Spirit folks to my right, please! And don't you worry--I have giveaways for you BOTH!

Okay, so to get started:

What to do for those school gifts? You know, the ones for the coaches and teachers? The ones you have to get all the parents together for, and then collect money and all of that--Wait!

Why are more of you heading over to the Scrooge side now? Come back! It's okay!

I've got your back.

Or rather, Frumus.com does. Frumus.com is your one-stop, easy-peasy solution to those collection hassles. With frumus.com, you set up a page online and let all those parents come to you. All you need is a Paypal account if you are the one collecting the money, or a credit card if you want to donate to a group present someone else has started. They even provide gift ideas on the site. Best of all, the Frumus.com service is free!

Speaking of free services, you'll love freeshipping.org, the website that tells you all the ways to get free shipping offers at your favorite online shopping sites, like JC Penney's, Kohl's, etc. Freeshipping.org really makes shopping for those out-of-town relatives so much easier!

When you are shipping presents from home, don't neglect Hallmark's latest offering, one of those slap-your-forehead, "Why didn't I think of that?" true-genius obvious ideas: adhesive gift wrap! That's right, Hallmark now has gift-wrap that sticks to packages all on its own, so you don't have to fumble with the tape and the scissors and the paper all at the same time!

Hallmark also has new holiday cards that are just amazing--you may have seen the commercials for them. These cards are both musical AND recordable, so you can send, for instance, the grandparents a colorful card complete with a Christmas tune, all overlaid with the grandkids shouting out, "Merry Christmas!" to them. Very, very cool.

Once you get your shipping supplies underway, it's time to decorate the house. Akrongrove is a nice new little online shop with really sweet holiday soaps just perfect for gracing your guest bathroom. My personal favorites are the traditional Santa and the cute Chrismas Mouse, available in scents like Gingerbread, Sugared Spice and even "Nutcracker".

Light some of Bath and Body Works' new candles to spread holiday cheer throughout the home. Their silver penguin candle holders are adorable, and, in stores, the nifty blue zippo lighter, specially for the season, helps raise money for autism research! We'll have even more Bath and Body Works goodies later in our guide--I'm loving their shop this year, and have already been back to the store twice to shop for family presents.

Remember the giveaways I mentioned above, for the Scrooges AND the Christmas Spirits?

You are going to absolutely love them.

So, Scrooges, if you've been reading this post with a jaundiced eye, Christmas Sucks: What to do when fruitcake, family and finding the perfect gift make you miserable is THE perfect book for you! Christmas Sucks: What to Do When Fruitcake, Family, and Finding the Perfect Gift Make You Miserable is available now at Amazon.com, and it makes a great gift, too, by the way. It's full of practical and time-saving tips to save you from stress and frustration this holiday season. You might want to write, "Read the Cool Moms Rule! Holiday Gift Guide" right there in the cover of your copy. ; ) Pick it up at Amazon, or, to WIN this humorous take on the holidays, just leave a comment with, "I'm a Scrooge!" below this post.

For you Christmas Spirits out there, I have lovely collectible ornaments from our friends at Hallmark, and they are based on the hottest hits this season: Hannah Montana AND High School Musical 3! That's right, one lucky winner takes them both home for the holidays! Based on the hit Hannah Montana TV show and the High School Musical 3 movie, each one plays a tune when activated. Hannah Montana fans can sing along to, "Best of Both Worlds", while the HSM3 locker plays "We're All in this Together" when opened. Just leave a comment with, "I have the Christmas Spirit!" and I'll know you want to WIN these adorable collectible ornaments from Hallmark for your Christmas tree!

By the way, sometimes even I can be a bit of a Scrooge, even though I am usually up to my chin in the Spirit of the season, so I'll understand if you want BOTH of these giveaway choices. Hey, maybe reading this post put you right back into that holiday spirit again.

So, to enter BOTH the Scrooge AND the Christmas Spirit giveaways, just put, "I'm a Scrooge AND I have the Christmas Spirit!" and you'll be entered to win ALL of the prizes!

For additional entries, do any or all of the following and leave me an additional comment so I know what you've done:

• Subscribe to our feed,
• Put our badge on your sidebar
• Blog about this post, or
• Visit GiveRespect.org and credit Cool Moms Rule!

Good luck!

Cool Moms Rule! Holiday Gift Guide, beginning Wednesday!

You may have seen other sites and other blogs with their own 'gift guides' this holiday season, but when it comes to your kids, you'll want to check out the Cool Moms Rule! Holiday Gift Guide first. And, most likely, last as well!

Why?

Because I've personally gone through hundreds of gift ideas from all your favorite companies (and some designer and boutique shops you may never even have heard of before), and hand-picked only the best and brightest gifts for your 'tweens and teens--which as we all know are the hardest-to-shop-for age groups out there!

No one is paying for a listing in our guide. This is not just some big advertising section. Rather, I've put the Cool Moms Rule! Holiday Gift Guide all together in alphabetically-ordered, easy-to-navigate categories to help you get a jump-start on your holiday shopping this year. With some tips thrown in to make your life easier as you go about your busy, hectic and demanding schedule, and some money-saving ideas for shipping out those gifts to the relatives, or putting together the dreaded teacher and coach gifts, this is the ONE guide you'll need this Season.

I've even included bonus sections listing the best gift ideas for the Grandparents, Cool Dads, Cool Moms (and Hot Mamas!) out there, so you can make sure they all know what to get you, too.

But that's still not enough for you, my loyal readers and followers. So that's why I'll also be putting up a downloadable pdf format of the Cool Moms Rule! Holiday Gift Guide, to take with you on your shopping trips or print up for the grandparents, whether you want to print up the whole guide or just a page or two here and there.

And, oh yes, did I mention the giveaways?

That's right, I'll also be featuring giveaways throughout the Cool Moms Rule! Holiday Gift Guide postings, and I'm starting out Wednesday with a special "Getting Ready for the Holidays" section, including a giveaway you won't want to miss--unless names like "Hannah Montana" and "HSM3" mean nothing to you, that is (hint hint, wink wink).

And, again, remember, I hand-picked these items, tested them out personally wherever possible, and no one has paid to have their product listed in the Cool Moms Rule! Holiday Gift Guide, so you can be sure that these are the unbiased best choices for your teens and 'tweens!

So, join us this coming Wednesday, November 19th, for the fantastic pre-season giveaway kicking off the Cool Moms Rule! Holiday Gift Guide.

Woohoo! I'm so excited, you guys! ; )

See you then!

~Viv

P.S. We've even spruced up the blog for the holidays. Like the blog's new banner? Let me know!

Announcing the Winner of the AMC GIft Card!

Wow, I almost let the day slip away before I posted the winner to our contest for the AMC Giftcard Featuring High School Musical 3! How could I do that with something THIS important?! I mean, we had 110 entrants!

Wow, 110 comments, that's a new record!

So, since I know you are all holding your breath, here is the comment that was picked by the Random Integer Generator:

Here are your random numbers:

96

Timestamp: 2008-11-06 03:56:47 UTC

And comment #96 was Deb, who said...

My kids love the one with Zac Efron on it.

Thanks for hosting this great giveaway.
October 31, 2008 2:58 PM

Congratulations, Deb!

Please send me your shipping info ASAP so I can let the AMC Entertainment guys know, and they'll have your AMC Giftcard out to you!

Thanks again, everyone, for making this giveaway so successful! We have more on the way, and don't forget to enter our latest contest for a chance to win a hilarious LTDChix tee! Just check out Monday's post for info.

Win One of AMC's new High School Musical 3 Giftcards!

AMC Entertainment, Inc., which you'll all recognize from their movie theaters, just came out with a fantastic way to celebrate last weekend's opening of High School Musical 3. One of the world's leading exhibition and out-of-home entertainment companies, AMC is breaking new ground by becoming the first in the industry to introduce personalized gift cards, featuring the stars of the movie--and you!


The innovative gift card design lets you upload your photo on AMC's web site, putting your face alongside those of the celebrity cast members. The personalized cards make great gifts for seniors, new grads, or anyone in your family that loves the High School Musical franchise.


In addition to the personalized version, there are also 11 non-customizable cards, each featuring an exciting scene from the High School Musical 3 movie to choose from.

And, thanks to the folks at AMC, you can WIN one of their new AMC Gift Cards Featuring High School Musical 3, with a $25 value, just for reading Cool Moms Rule!

All you have to do to enter is visit the AMC site, pick which gift card is your favorite, and then leave me a comment below this post! If your comment is chosen, you'll win your favorite AMC Gift Card Featuring High School Musical 3!

We want to hear from ALL those High School Musical fans, so tell a friend about our giveaway. Anyone you refer (just have them mention your first name or email) gets you an extra entry in the giveaway!

Digg this post, or Tweet about it on Twitter for another additional entry.

Subscribe to my feed and comment for yet another entry.

Finally, if you have a blog, write a blog post about our giveaway and include the link in your comment, or add my button to your blog (or both!).

Please leave a new comment for each additional entry method you choose.

All together, you could have as many as 6 entries into the giveaway! Wow!

Good luck, and thanks again to our friends at AMC for sponsoring this AMC Gift Card Featuring High School Musical 3 giveaway!

Hey, this giveaway is featured on Bloggy Giveaways!