Gift Ideas

Review - Looking For a Fun Way To Learn The 50 States? Try The Scrambled States of America Game

cammie@momsmaterial.com — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:16:11 GMT

This year, my daughter needed to learn all 50 states, including abbreviations and capitals. We love to have fun while we learn, so I was thrilled when we received The Scrambled States of America Game by Gamewright a few months ago. Our family is a big fan of Gamewright and I have posted several reviews on some of their games. Gamewright came across my reviews and sent a box full of games for our family to review. We have had fun trying out the games and I will continue to follow up with reviews.

The Scrambled States of America is actually based on the book, The Scrambled States of America by Laurie Keller. Gamewright came across this book and “fell head-over-heels” for this fun story and knew it would make a great game. They were right!

How fast can you match your Scramble card to a state card? Can you find a state with one “eye”? Can you “Go the distance” and find the state card that is closest to the Scramble card? If you are the fastest, you get to keep the card and the player with the most cards at the end of the game is the winner. So look closely at your cards and be ready to grab and win!

I love that this game is a fun way to learn not only the state names and capitals, but also the shape, location and nicknames. It also helps with language, vocabulary, visual discrimination and Geography. Before each of the kids states test, we pull out this game and play for fun. Also included in the game are two colorful maps of the USA and I love looking at these. I have been able to brush up on my state skills too!

MomsMaterial recommends this game for learning and fun! It makes a great birthday or holiday gift!

Awards

    * Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award
    * Creative Classroom Magazine Teacher Tested Tools & Toys
    * Parenting for High Potential Magazine Recommended
    * National Parenting Center Seal of Approval
    * National Parenting Publications (NAPPA) Honors
    * Parents' Choice Approved
    * Dr. Toy's 10 Best Socially Responsible Products
    * Dr. Toy's Top 100 Children's

Click below to find out more or to purchase

Looking for more recommended games?

Fun Family Card Game - Rat-A-Tat Cat

Review - Polar Derby by Gamewright, Should You Take Chance And Roll Again

Looking For A Great Game That Requires Silliness, Skill & Luck? Boochie Could Be Your Answer

Cammie Moise

Review - Polar Derby by Gamewright, Should You Take a Chance and Roll Again?

cammie@momsmaterial.com — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 07:14:10 GMT

Recently Gamewright saw the Rat A Tat Cat review on MomsMaterial’s website. They asked if we would be interested in reviewing some of their 2009 games. Since I have enjoyed all the Gamewright games I have been exposed to, I agreed. I was curious to try out their newest games and find out if our family would enjoy them.

Polar Derby is a fun game involving strategy, probability and the roll of the dice! We were not disappointed and would recommend this game to our MomsMaterial readers. We had so much fun taking chances on the roll of the dice and trying to decide when to take the chance and when to take what we had.

How To Play

Place the polar bears on the the ice skating rink “board” and decide who goes first (read the instructions to find out the qualifications – don’t want to spoil it here). The first player rolls the dice and follows instructions keeping in mind the player with the most points wins the game!

When you roll the dice, you have four possible outcomes…

Split Colors – Take polar bears from the middle. You can take one bear from each color, but you can only take one color per “turn”. You must take one or you lose your turn and have to place all bears during that turn back on the rink.

Double Colors – Take polar bears from opponents. If the dice show two of the same color, you may take up to two from your opponents possession. If no opponent has the matching color, you lose your turn.

Free Skate – Take Your Choice. You may take any color you wish.

Double Free Skate – Take another turn. All bears you have pulled during this turn, become safe and you may roll again.

After your roll, you can decide if you want to roll again or end your turn and keep all pulled polar bears. You take a chance if you decide to risk another roll. If you can’t collect at least one polar bear on your next roll, you may not take any polar bears into possession and must return them back to the skating rink.

This is where strategy and probability come into play. How many colors do you have, how many are left on the rink? What is the probability that you will roll what you need?

MomsMaterial recommends this game and we think it is a great game to give as a gift!

2-4 Players

Ages 8 and up (although my kids and I thought some 6 and 7 year olds could play this)

Playing Time: about 15 to 20 minutes

Suggested Retail Price: $14.99

Awards

National Parenting Center Seal of Approval

Dr. Toy’s Best Vacation Products

Cammie Moise

Click here to find out more or to purchase Polar Derby.

Look What I Received From Gamewright… 10 New Games To Review

cammie@momsmaterial.com — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 10:08:14 GMT

After my Rat-A-Tat Cat review, I sent out a tweet with a link to my post. Our family loved the game and I wanted to share it with my readers. I love to discover new games that encourage learning, strategy and family time.

Imagine my surprise when I received a tweet from Gamewright. They were glad I liked the games and thanked me for the positive review. I also mentioned the Boochie review that I had recently posted. I have always been a big fan of Gamewright, they provide games that are educational, fun and encourage family game nights. I have also noticed that they receive a lot of Parent Choice Awards.

Gamewright’s Marketing Coordinator, Emily, contacted me to ask if I would be interested in reviewing some of their 2009 games. Since I have been reviewing games that we own, that I pick out, I thought it would be a great opportunity to get exposure to a variety of games. So, this past Friday, we received a big box and this was inside…

Over the next few weeks I will post a review on each of these games. The games included are:

The Scrambled States of America

Can You See What I see?

Polar Derby

Ring-O-Flamingo

and Funny Business.

Although Gamewright did send these games for me to review, I am under no obligation to post or give a favorable review on MomsMaterial. I agreed to review these games because I am a fan of Gamewright and it gives me an opportunity to review a variety of games. I will post my honest opinion about each of these games.

Cammie Moise

Need Some Ideas For A Mother's Day Gift

cammie@momsmaterial.com — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 05:46:41 GMT

As Mother's Day approaches, I am always on the lookout for a great gift for my mom, my mother-in-law and myself. I like to find a few items I might like and email them to my hubby. This not only reminds him of the upcoming event, such as birthday, anniversary, mother's day, etc. but it ensures that he has some suggestions that he knows I will like. I like jewelry, plants, flowers, special or fun items, music, movies or books. This year I am hoping for something simple and inexpensive like sleeping late, homemade card, breakfast in bed, no cooking, hot bath and a good book.

Listed below are a few items that caught my eye and will make a great gift for moms.

I found these at RedEnvelope, enter promotion JCB22 for a discount of 15% to 20% off purchases of $75 to $150.

Gardenia Bonsai - $49.95

Sculpted Jewelry Catchall - $29.95

Family Genealogy Tree - $99.95

White Azalea in Blue Urn - $49.95

Family Table Topics Game - $29.95

I saw this at my sister's and I love the idea. It has some questions you can use at the table during dinner to get some more meaningful conversations. I thought you could use it anytime and would be fun when you have guests over.

Here are some other ideas that are linked to their website...

Charm Necklace from Nashelle

I have this necklace that I received about a year ago. Every time I wear it I get compliments and someone asks me where I got it. My necklace has 3 charms with the names of my hubby, and each of my kids. I call it "My 3 Most Precious Things" necklace.

Everyone Is Beautiful by Katherine Center

This is my new favorite book and I have recommended it to everyone. Every person that ended up reading it let me know how much they loved it. And it is a story about a mom!

What are you asking for for Mother's Day? What gifts are you giving your mother? From one mom to another, I wish you a very Happy Mother's Day!

Cammie Moise

Favorite Family Game - The Game of Life: Twists and Turns

cammie@momsmaterial.com — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 14:57:37 GMT

The Game of Life: Twists & Turns is one of our favorite family games. It is an updated version which offers more choices that everyone will enjoy. These days technology has taken over and the game includes a "LifePod" which electronically keeps track of and manages your life as you play the game. It calculates the results of certain decisions and you are either rewarded or penalized for your decisions. This game is based around real life events and life points can be more valuable than money.

At the beginning of the game, you choose a profession and receive a Visa credit card. Then you choose your path, which path and what order. Travel around the gameboard and experience your Life! I love the fact that you choose how many turns/years you want to play. This also plays into your strategy. Plus, if you want to play a quick game you can control the time. You are able to stop the game and have it calculate at the end of everyone's next turn or you can add turns/years if you have more time.

I like educational teaching moments this game presents. You have a chance to discuss life choices such as choosing a profession, realizing how education can limit some choices including promotions and salary level. Also, along these lines, your choice on order of events impacts your life. Choices such as when you decide to Love It (get married and have kids), Live It (adventure & fun), Learn It (knowledge and achievement) and Earn It (Investment and Money). Strategy really comes into play during these choices.

The only downside to this game is the limit of 4 players. It recommends ages 9+ but my 7 year old was able to play.

MomsMaterial recommends this fun family game, one of our favorites on game night!

To purchase, click here.

Cammie Moise

Looking For A Great Game That Requires Silliness, Skill and Luck? Boochie Could Be Your Answer

cammie@momsmaterial.com — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 19:57:21 GMT

I have to admit that I saw this game around the holidays and it looked like a lot of fun! I checked it out on the internet and it had great reviews. We put it on our Christmas list and sure enough, Santa was nice enough to drop it off while making his rounds Christmas Eve. I guess he didn't get the last minute email I sent him!

I checked it out and couldn't wait to play! But, we put it in the game closet and I finally got it out this morning (yes, that's 4 months later). I don't know what I was waiting for, I guess my memory (which is always a bad thing!).

We read over the instructions and went outside to start playing. The game comes with a 12 sided boochi ball and each player (up to 4) gets a wrist tracker, a ball and a ring. You throw out the boochi ball first and the players take turns throwing the ring and ball close to the boochie ball. Then you check the boochie ball to see what it says and add up points. Points are earned for the two items closest to the boochie ball and the instructions on the boochie ball. Keep track of score on your wrist tracker which adds an extra challenge for each player. Each color has different challenges. For instance blue has a challenge that says "throw using only your pinky and thumb" and green has a challenge that says "throw with your head touching the ground". Here we are playing the game...

The challenges on the wrist tracker include tossing between your legs, eyes closed, touching knee to elbow, on your back, etc. The first player to score 11 or more wins the game! It was so fun and easy for the whole family to play together! My son and I played a second game and my daughter went inside to call a friend to come over and play Boochie. We loved the different challenges each member had to face. The game says 4 players, but if you had more you could team up and have one person throw the ring and another the ball. Also, it says ages 8+, but I think younger kids could play .

MomsMaterial recommends this fun family game.

Boochie has received these awards:

    * Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award
    * iParenting Media Award
    * National Parenting Center Seal of Approval
    * Major Fun Award
    * Parents' Choice Silver Honor
    * Dr. Toy's Best Product Award Winner
    * Creative Child Magazine Game of the Year
    * National Parenting Publications (NAPPA) Gold Award
    * Today's Parent Magazine Top Toy of the Year

Click here to watch Boochie in action.

Click here to purchase.

If you have played, let me know what you think.

Cammie Moise

Stop Feeling Guilty When They Ask "Paper of Plastic?"

cammie@momsmaterial.com — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 18:58:48 GMT

I don't know about you but every time I go to the grocery store and they ask me, "Paper of Plastic?", I start feeling guilty about all those plastic bags stashed away under my kitchen sink. I promise myself that I will buy some recyclable bags, but I haven't been motivated enough to buy one that makes me want it now!

I have finally found the motivation to purchase some bags, stash them in my car and use them at the grocery store. These bags will also come in handy for many other tasks that would typically cause me to look for a plastic bag under the kitchen sink. Now when they ask me, "paper or plastic?", I don't have to feel guilty. I just have to pull out my own "green" shopping bags... that is if I remember to bring them to the store!

These bags are not only adorable and come in many options, but they are made from used plastic water bottles. I think these will make great Christmas, hostess or birthday gifts.

Made of 95% recycled woven polypropylene. 15.75"w x 15.35"h x 5.9"d. In addition 1% of sales fund the programs of The Nature Conservancy worldwide. Cost $11.99. Check these out at BlueQ.com.

Here are a few samples

Let me know what you think.

Cammie Moise

Review - K'Nex Octopus Whirl Makes a Great Gift

cammie@momsmaterial.com — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 19:25:29 GMT

After receiving this for Christmas (2008), my 7 year old son put this together quickly and wanted more. The box has pictures of several other sets that go together. Since his birthday is in January, I told him we would add it to his list of things he would like. Then he went in his room and got his Lego's out. A few quiet hours later, he and his friend asked me to see their masterpiece. A Lego and K'nex amusement park filled with rides, shows and people. It was amazing! I decided to let him keep it out in the front room, since I knew on his birthday he would be adding the K'nex roller coaster that was hidden away. These building toys are great for the imagination and build skills like dexterity, planning, teamwork, patience and following instructions. I highly recommend the K'nex Octopus Whirl and also the Roller Coaster. ages 7+

Cammie Moise

Nashelle Personalized Necklace - Great Gift For Mom

cammie@momsmaterial.com — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 09:34:48 GMT

Are you looking for a great necklace that you can tell your husband to put on your "list" of gifts? Are you a husband looking for a great gift for your wife? Are you looking for a good Mother's Day or Valentine's Day gift? This could be your answer.

I received this necklace for Christmas 2008 from my husband. My necklace is an 18" gold chain with three disc charms with the names Taylor, Myles and David. We call it my "Three Most Precious Things" necklace. I receive compliments on it all the time. Just yesterday, over 5 people complimented my necklace and wanted to know where they could get one.

This necklace has been featured in several holiday fashion magazines. When I saw it, I had to have it. I found it online and emailed the picture to David to keep on his list of gifts for me.

It is hand stamped and slightly distressed. The necklace is available in 14k gold fill or sterling silver and the charms are about the size of a dime (5/8"). It retails for $65 for one personalized charm and $125 for three.

www.nashelle.com

Cammie Moise

Simply Sassy Paper announces new Valentine's Day Designs

cammie@momsmaterial.com — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 06:59:17 GMT

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