Mall of America® will rock in the New Year with Rock the Universe: New Year’s Eve Celebration
WHAT: Guests are going to party like it’s 2013 at Mall of America® on New Year’s Eve with a family friendly party, Rock the Universe: New Year’s Eve Celebration in Nickelodeon Universe®.
Mall guests are invited to ring in the New Year with the School of Rock Road Crew for a family New Year’s Eve celebration complete with live music, dancing, party favors and a family ball drop at 10 p.m.
Other activities include:
Rockin’ Red Carpet with free photo, rock hair and airbrush tattoos, make your own music video and Nickelodeon character meet and greets.
A New Year’s Eve Unlimited Ride Wristband is $29.99.
Purchase any ride ticket after 6 p.m. and receive free 2013 glasses – perfect for rocking in the New Year.
How often do you read to your children? How often do your relatives read to your children? Do you ever wish you (or someone else) could read to them even when you are not around? You can with Hallmark's Recordable Storybooks!
I wish I would have recorded a book for my girls when I worked the evening shift. It would have been nice to "read them a bedtime story" even though I wasn't there to put them to bed. These books are perfect for those times when you can't be there in person!
This year Hallmark introduces two new Disney books to their awesome collection of recordable storybooks! Lindsi and I were given the opportunity to review them...
Jamie--I reviewed "The Wish My Heart Makes For You". I have to admit, I thought it was going to be the story of Cinderella because it had Cinderella's name and picture on the front of the book. I was surprised to see that it was a completely different story line with Cinderella's photos. My girls didn't seem to notice though. They just had fun listening to the book and looking at the photos. Here's their very first look at the book recorded by my Husband for them.
Though it was a bit annoying to listen to the directions every time you record a new page, we understand why they do it that way. My Husband got nervous recording the book (I don't know why) and had to do a few pages over again!
Overall, my entire family was impressed with the book and it will be a keepsake for years to come. Now to find some for the Grandparents to record for the girls...!
Lindsi reviewed "You're a Hero! All the Ways You Save the Day!". My boys thought this was a GREAT book. I am pretty sure we've listened to the story a few dozen times already. What I personally liked about this was that I was in control of how the story was read. I really got into it and added some sound effects while I recorded the story for them. I did a quick Google search for sounds related to Batman, Superman and Aquaman (and let me tell you that I didn't even know Aquaman existed). This made the book really fun for my boys and they really got a kick out of it. We've purchased a few Christmas books in the past from Hallmark and done the same thing. My favorite feature of this book was the "lock" button being safely guarded. I always feared that the kids might push the "record" button and mess up the whole thing, but the book comes with a little latch that hides the lock and unlock button behind it and it is secured with a little screw. SMART THINKING!!!
My boys really liked the story line of this book. They loved that they were encouraged to be hero's in their everyday life. What an encouraging and positive thing to share with them! I'd really encourage you to consider gifting one of these books this year. It's worth the time and effort to make a memory like this.
P.S. On a special note- we had my grandma record one of these books for each one of my children a few months before she passed away and it is something we truly treasure! The kids love being able to hear Grandma Glory's voice whenever they want.
One lucky Toys In The Dryer reader will win a Hallmark Recordable Storybook!
You choose between either "The Wish My Heart Makes for You" or "You're A Hero!"
A few weeks ago we had the fabulous opportunity to co-host a Macy's Holiday Makeover Event with Macy's Southdale and Stacie Sayz So. We had an awesome turn-out and fun was had by all! Unfortunately, Lindsi's son fell and hit his head right before the event so she spent the evening in the ER with him getting stitches. He was ok, but she was totally bummed (and so were Stacie and I) that she missed the event!
Attendees of the Macy's Holiday Makeover Event were treated to 5 minute makeovers where they learned quick ways to do their makeup during the busy Holiday season. In addition, Blvgari Fragrances provided a mini workshop on finding your perfect fragrance. Mine happened to be the Jasmin Noir (which my husband also liked when I got home).
Here I am getting my make up done at the Estee Lauder counter. It was so fun to be treated like a queen and to learn what I'm doing right (and wrong) with my make up.
While attendees waited for their makeovers, they snacked on mini deserts (those little pie things were YUMMY!), socialized, and listened to music provided by a DJ. It was perfect for a girls night out!
After their 5 minute makeovers, guests were given the opportunity to get a professional head shot. Above is me, Stacie, and the two winners of our walking model contest, Beth and Pam. Aren't they all beautiful?!
I must say, this event was just as much fun to host as it was to attend! I can't wait till we can host another one! Thanks so much to Hannah, the cosmetics manager at Macy's Southdale, for giving us the opportunity to co-host the Macy's Holiday Makeover Event!
On a related note, I wanted to do something a little extra special for the hosts and winners to make them stand out from the crowd. I sent out a tweet asking if any flower shops in the Cities would be willing to make 6 corsages in exchange for social media shout-outs. Sweet Peas Floral in Woodbury jumped at the opportunity as they are just starting to branch out into the social media world. They made these beautiful corsages for us to wear (see mine on my shirt and Hannah's on her wrist in the top photo). Thanks so much Sweet Peas!
