Halloween Fun with Goodie Gusher

Goodie Gusher – www.goodiegusher.com

Call it piñata 2.0 – easy to fill and refill, reusable (reusable!), children of all ages can play without assistance (without assistance!), and no chance of anyone getting bonked with a stick (no Urgent Care visits on Halloween!). Instead of smashing a cute creature to smithereens, the kids take turns pulling keys until someone finds the Magic Key. Once the Magic Key is pulled, the Goodie Gusher will release a wide shower of party treats. Refill Goodie Gusher with treats and prizes and play it again. Great for indoor or outdoor use. Available at Walmart for $20.

My Thoughts

Whether you're having a Halloween party or celebrating a birthday, piñatas are always a fun addition to the festivities. But have you ever tried using one with a room full of five-year-olds? I got a black eye once. No joke. Those little kids can get violent,  even if you don't use a blindfold. That's why I was really excited to try out the Goodie Gusher. It's all the fun of a pinata, but without the danger.

Using the Goodie Gusher is simple. It comes with a big bag of candy that you pour right into the cardboard container. The Goodie Gusher has about twenty tabs. Kids can take turns pulling them. One random tab will release the candy in a great big gush. There's no wild swinging, but you still  get the wild gush of candy that kids love to gather.  Plus, when you're all done, the Goodie Gusher can be recycled, so you aren't creating unnecessary waste.

I love the Goodie Gusher. It's great for parties at home or in the classroom. It will make any party way more exciting, but not so exciting that someone winds up in her ER! Choose from Pink or Blue designs, and get your party started.

Stationery Studio - Review & #Giveaway

The Stationery Studio is the online leader in personalized stationery and gifts and often featured in media outlets like the TODAY SHOW, Good Housekeeping, USA TODAY, People magazine and much more. They also have a large celebrity fan base including Kim Kardashian West, Elizabeth Banks, Bethenny Frankel and Julie Bowen. I was super excited to get a chance to try out one of their stampers for myself. 

Whenever I send out a letter, card, or even a little promo item for one of my books, I normally use professional return address labels. But they can get expensive when you're sending out a ton of query letters to agents and publishers every day.  Plus, I never found exactly what I was looking for. Then I came across Stationery Studio.  They create custom stamps for all kinds of things. They offer dozens of beautiful designs, so there is something for everyone, and their prices are definitely the lowest I've seen.

For my review,  Stationery Studio created a beautiful stamp just for me. I decided on the Love My State Self Inking Stamper. Everyone knows I'm a proud Jersey Girl, and I love to show off my pride in my home state.  This stamper includes an image of the state of your choice with a little heart next to it.  Stationery Studio  added my address in beautiful calligraphy handwriting.  The stamp is a little larger than average address labels, making the design really stand out on the envelope. I was worried it would blotch or smear easily, but with their fast drying ink, that doesn't happen at all. The best part is, this one stamp will last ten times longer than a whole sheet of stickers. Of course, this is only one examples of the awesome stationary, office supplies, and party supplies available from Stationery Studio. Here are a few more items I love.

If you'd like to learn more about Stationery Studio and all they have to offer, be sure to visit their website or follow them via their social media.

The Giveaway

One lucky winner is going to receive a Love My State Self Inking Stamper with the state of their choice.To enter just fill out the Giveaway Tools form below. Open to the US only. Giveaway will end 8/15/15. The winner will be notified via email and will have 48 hours to reply. Thanks again to the sponsor for offering this fantastic prize.

Entry-Form

#Sponsored - The New Age Mama Household is Showing Our #Disneyside @HomeCelebration

 ***I received free products in order to host a Disney Side @Home Celebration. The opinions expressed here are my own.***

My family loves to show our Disneyside, and we proved it by hosting our very own Disney themed party. Friends stopped by to play games, have a few snacks and talk about all things Disney, including our past and future visits the parks.

I've only been to Disney once, and I actually won the trip in a sweepstakes. I had just split up from my first husband, and it was a nice treat for my children. One of our favorite rides was the Buzz Lightyear amusement, and of course the traditional "Its a Small World" ride. This was so long ago, it was before I had a digital camera, but we definitely made some great memories. I'm hoping to take all my kids again soon, but in the meantime, we still show our Disneyside in lots of fun ways. We own every Disney movie on DVD or Blueray, and everyone in the family has at least one Mickey Mouse shirt, which of course we wore to our party.

We invited a few friends over to help spread the Disney cheer, and enjoy some cake and games.

 We did try to make a Micky Mouse cake.  I've never been good at baking. This was supposed to be a tie dye cake, so even before I broke it, it was a dismal failure...

 Luckily, I have able to find some cupcakes with one our favorite Disney movies on it! Frozen!

Everyone enjoyed some cake and milk, then we went on to play some activities. The Disney word searches were a big hit.

But I think our favorite game was pin the smile on Micky!  Everyone loved that one.

Of course our guests also got to go home with some parting gifts. There were pencils, tattoos, stickers and nail polish for the girls.

Some of the kids also got to take home adorable princess pets toys. 

For the grown ups, there were planning guide to help them start to plan their next Disney vacation and cool sample packs courtesy of HP, so they can print their pictures of their trip to make lasting memories.

Overall, our party was a huge hit and one more magical Disney moment added to our family memories. It's not hard to show your Disneyside when you love Disney as much we do!

It's Time to Party with Frozen & Birthday Express!

My daughter just turned give and like most little girls her age, she loves Frozen. I wanted to give her a party she would never forget, so I knew I had to find a way to incorporate her favorite princesses. Birthday Express always helps to make every party a success, and it it was no different when it came to our Frozen Birthday party. The kids can pick any theme they like, and you can get all you need from balloons to candles. Each piece is coordinated and simple to set up so it's less work for you and more fun for the kids. Thanks to Birthday Express and their amazing selection of party supplies my whole family enjoyed a magical adventure with Elsa, Anna, Olaf, and all their friends.

 For our review, we received the Frozen Party Pack and it allowed us to  pimp out our whole house Frozen style.  The set came with dishes, spoons, tablecloth, steamers, balloons, and more, all with images of their favorite characters from Frozen. You can also opt to purchase a personalized banner with your child's name on it.  It even came with invitations and thank you cards.

When the big day arrived, my daughter woke up to an icy adventure that kept going all day long.  It was definitely the best day ever.

The full set is only $25.49 and includes:

• Dinner & Dessert Plates
•  Cups, Forks & Spoons 
• Lunch Napkins
•  Tablecover
• Balloons
• Curling Ribbon Rolls
• Cake Candles
• Invitations & Thank you cards

If you need a few extra pieces you can always buy them individually but for our small family party, this was more than enough for us to get by.  Here are just a few pictures from our party, which was a use success and fun for everyone who came!

The Frozen decorations are only one example of  hundreds of different themes you can find at Birthday Express. Their items are available at everyday low prices that any budget can afford. Right now you can even get 15% off and  free shipping on all orders over $75 (see website for details). To keep up with future sales and promotions, be sure to follow them on face book and pinterest.  If you know someone with a special day coming up, head on over to Birthday Express for all your party supplies!

Holidays Made Brighter with #MoreLumia

Hosting holiday parties can be a lot of work, but the Lumia 1520 smartphone can help things move along a little smoother. From checking the weather forecasts to keeping in touch family, with the Lumia, you can have it all at the tips of your fingers.  I recently hosted a fun family gathering and Lumia helped make it a day to remember.With tons of music, recipe, and photo apps, the Lumia 1520 smartphone is the complete package for holiday hosting.  Before anyone even arrived, I used the Evernote feature to keep track of my to-do list and help me stay organized. You can type in notes and set reminders so you don't forgot all those important little details.

I always say I'm going to plan ahead, but with four kids and a million responsibilities, I often find myself scampering to get things done at the last minute. This week when I had my holiday party, I had the decor, but nothing else was planned. Thanks to my Lumia 1520, that wasn't an issue. You won't even need to use a keyboard. Just ask Cortana, your personal digital assistant, and she will steer you in the right direction every time. Cortana can help with your party prep by reminding you to pick up dinner ingredients when you’re near the store, track flights to let you know when family has arrived to town, and so much more more.   I started early that morning by searching for some recipes.

Because I have Wifi  on my Lumia 1520, I was able to get right online without having to load up my laptop. Within seconds, I found hundreds of simple recipes while I was waiting in line to drop my daughter off at school. Then I just ran over to the grocery store to pick up the ingredients without any hassle.  You can search Big Oven for over 300,000 recipes right on your windows phone.

Next I needed to find something to keep the kids busy so the adults could actually get some quiet time. With a little help from Cortana, I found tons of holiday themed party games that I could make with every day items I already had lying around the house.  Just tell her what you're looking for and she brings up a list of options.

The Lumia 1520 makes setting the mood easy. Holiday tunes are plentiful on MixRadio. This steaming service is free and gives you personalized music with no advertising. The MD-12 wireless portable speaker makes it easy to listen to your favorite holiday tunes any time and any place without the hassle of wires. As an added bonus, you can set up the fireplace app to add a little ambiance to any party.

Once your party has ended, Cortana and your Lumia 1520 can still help make it a day to remember. The Movie Creator Beta is a video app that optimizes your editing experience right from your windows smartphone.  You can also edit your favorite holiday pictures using the Afterlight app. This easy to use editing tool will give you the look you want in seconds.

As you can see, the Lumia 1520 Smartphone has everything you need to make your holiday preparations a breeze, but it also makes a great holiday gift.  My teen daughter is already trying to steal mine every chance she gets, so I'm thinking I'll have to grab another one.  Visit the Microsoft website to learn more and to check out all the available models.