Toronto Teacher Mom: Easter

Hoppy Easter! Love, Hallmark

Easter

Friday, March 25, 2016
41 Comments

Unwrap the KINDER SURPRISE to Win!

#KINDERmom

Saturday, March 21, 2015
10 Comments

Hop Into Hallmark for These Easter Must-Haves

Easter

Sunday, March 15, 2015
27 Comments

Treehouse Ultimate Collection Gift Set and Other New Releases

DVD Review

This month, my goddaughter will be spending some time with a few of her favourite characters thanks to the NEW Treehouse Ultimate Collection Cube. Inside this boxed set is a collection of ten Treehouse favourites, each in its own DVD case. Included in the set are two DVDs each of the following shows: Toopy and Binoo, Max and Ruby, Octonauts and My Big, Big Friend. Also included are: one Franklin DVD and one The Berenstain Bears DVD. In total, she will be able to enjoy over 100 of the best Treehouse episodes over and over again! When I visited over the weekend to deliver this special gift, my goddaughter couldn't wait to open it. And when I started singing the theme songs for Max and Ruby and Toopy and Binoo, she looked at me like I was out of this world. In a "you're the coolest godmother ever" kind of way.

Treehouse Zack & Quack: Popping Hopping Easter DVD

With Easter right around the corner, I also brought over another new Treehouse release. Zack & Quack have arrived in Canada for the first time on DVD in Zack & Quack: Popping Hopping Easter (available March 10). This adorable show by Kaboom! Entertainment follows Zack and Quack as they take a trip to the circus. During their fantastic adventures inside a pop-up book, they find a cure for Belly-Up's hiccups and help the Easter Bunny get her special chocolate chickens back to the coop just in time to save Easter. It all takes place in a world full of surprises, where pulling pop-ups makes exciting and unexpected things happen. This DVD includes five fun episodes and include: Zack & Quack Pop-Up Circus, Popping Hopping Hiccups, The Pop-Up Easter Egg Hunt, The Poparang 3000, and The Pop Up Easter Egg Hunt.

Kaboom! Guess How Much I Love You - Someone Special

And remember Little Nutbrown Hare? He returns this year in the new release titled Guess How Much I Love You – The Adventures of Little Nutbrown Hare – Someone Special. Inspired by the best-selling books, this DVD follows the adventures of Little Nutbrown Hare and his father Big Nutbrown Hare through seven heartwarming episodes. Little Nutbrown Hare sets out on a hunt for treasure in a meadow, tries to touch the stars and learns to find his way home while spending time with someone special. It's the perfect reminder that there is no greater love than that shared between a parent and child. Episodes include: Moon Dance, Can You Touch The Stars, Field of Flowers, Treasure Hunt, Wind Whistle, Lucky Stick and Shadow Play.

Monday, March 09, 2015
64 Comments

Easter Gift Ideas from Hallmark

Easter

Friday, April 06, 2012
1 Comments

Playhouse Disney Brings You April Eggcitement #PlayhouseDisneyMom

Earth Day

When I was a kid, I fondly recall the anticipation of Easter, mainly because it meant a four-day weekend full of chocolate and turkey. It was one of the few times my father would actually go out and buy us a gift instead of my mother. It was often a chocolate Easter bunny for each of us and with the great big smiles that resulted, no wonder my dad would take on the dreaded chore of heading out to a busy store. Ahhh, chocolate!

As a family, we pretty much made it a point to sit in front of the t.v. with our parents to watch The Ten Commandments together. It was a long movie but that was kind of our little tradition. Now, with little kids, I find we are avoiding the chocolate as much as we can and trying not to get too wrapped up in the Easter bunny. But spring is all about animals, rebirth and a renewal in energy. I would much rather embrace the symbolism of renaissance that lies in nature during this time of year. And oddly enough, today happens to be Earth Day. I'd like to think of it as the Earth's ReBirthday. It's a time of year that serves as a reminder that the Earth sustains much throughout the year. Our gift should be to show thanks and give back to Mother Earth. We all know the importance of reducing, reusing and recycling. And we also put food waste and the like into our green bin, too. When we first bought our house, we replaced all of our major appliances with the latest High Efficiency models and also had our water tank replaced a couple of years ago with an HE model as well. I usually buy environmentally friendly detergent with the HE front-loading symbol on the front. Little did I know that I was putting too much detergent in it. We had a service guy come in check out a little problem we had with our washer only to discover that I was putting close to 3 times as much detergent than was needed! So, my Earth Day tip to you would be to check your washer's manual to find out exactly how much detergent it requires.

I also have another tip for you, too. This afternoon, at 4:00 p.m., tune into Playhouse Disney for a marathon of treasure-themed episodes AND included in the lineup is a sneak peak of the new Disney Junior series Jake and the Never Land Pirates at 6:00pm. The Playhouse Disney Day of Treasures is in celebration of an age-old game called Hide and Seek. Who knew it was invented by pirates?

And since you're already recording that on your calendar, you might want to jot down that on Easter Sunday, at 9:00 a.m., it's Mickey's Great Clubhouse Hunt. Mickey and the gang are preparing for an Easter party when Pete says the password incorrectly, blowing the clubhouse away. Now it's up to Mickey to travel far and wide to get it back. It will be hard for me to forget since I can't get the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme song out of my head. I have this Easter card to thank for that.

Disclosure: I’m part of the Playhouse Disney Mom program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Friday, April 22, 2011
3 Comments

Hallmark Easter Gift Ideas

Easter

This Easter, I am looking forward to spending some time with my family. I am hoping it will be sunny and warm enough for the kids to play outdoors. We usually do an Easter egg hunt but I don't really give them gifts during this time of the year. My kids get spoiled enough as it is. However, with all this miserable weather we've been having lately, I know they could use a little sunshine.

With Hallmark's Totally Ticklish Duck, they will be sure to have a smile on their face. This cute and cuddly plush duck is soft and sings a hippity-happity version of "If You're Happy and You Know It." But that's not all. You can tickle it under its wings and it will start laughing hysterically. And it's contagious. So on a gloomy, cold and wet spring day, it's the perfect toy to spread some happiness this Easter. As they say, laughter is the best medicine. It retails for $29.95 but if you buy three Hallmark greeting cards, you can save $15. Hallmark also has a book called Silly Jilly's Specquackular Day that would be the perfect complement to the Totally Ticklish Duck.

And if your kid likes music, Hallmark's Easter Web Cam Greeting Cards are quite unique in that you can watch them come to life on your computer. Simply take the card and visit www.hallmark.com/extra to find out more about the virtual experience. My kids really love their Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Easter card. Here's a little video I threw together.

And don't forget, there is only one week left to go until World Wish Day. Help spread the word and tell your friends that if they get 20,000 followers on Hallmark Canada's Facebook by April 29, Hallmark Canada will donate $10,000 to Make-A-Wish Canada, an organization that helps to grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions. And remember, today is as good a day as any to press pause and enjoy life's everyday moments.

Disclosure: I was sent product from Hallmark Canada as part of their Press Pause Panel and to help facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own and have not been influenced in any way.