Rave and Review

P&G GIVE Health brandSAVER Gives Back {Prize Pack Giveaway}

Know what I love even more than saving money? I love giving back to organizations that really make a difference. Just this past year I started dabbling in couponing and found myself really liking the fun of tracking down coupons and loving saving huge percentages off my total grocery bills.

While some coupons I get are online or in boxes of products I buy, a big portion of the coupons I have used are right out of the P&G brandSAVER inserts so I always get excited when a new one is going to be released.

March 4th is one of those days but this insert is even more exciting than usual because it will support two causes I love. Next week’s P&G GIVE Health brandSAVER insert will be distributed in newspapers across the country and, as always, it will feature discounts for P&G brands. But, just by using those coupons as you normally do, a 2¢ donation from P&G will be split between the Feeding America National Produce Program and the Children’s Safe Drinking Water Fund.

What could be more important than safe water and food for the hungry? In this time of economic crisis, one in six Americans goes hungry, so now more than ever charities like Feeding America are vital to our nation’s health. I’ve talked before about P&G’s partnership with the Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program and how they work tirelessly to make dirty drinking water a thing of the past, so I was really happy to see that P&G would be supporting both of these great causes.

Don’t have a newspaper or not interested in couponing? From February 19th (today!) to March 5th, for every “Like” on Facebook, P&G will split a $1 donation between the two charities up to $10,000!

Two lucky Rave & Review readers will win an awesome P&G prize pack that contains the following:

•1 - 10 pack Tide Stain Release In-Wash Booster •1- Tide To-Go Instant Stain Remover •1 - 4 pack Duracell AA Batteries •1 - 50 pack Bounty Quilted Napkins •1 - 25.4 oz. Pantene 2in1 Shampoo & Conditioner •1 - 4 oz. Olay Complete All Day UV moisturizer •1 - 12 pack Puffs Tissues •1 - 1.22 oz. Crest Pro-Health Oral Rinse •1 - Reusable P&G Tote Bag Made from 100% Recycled Plastic Bottles

To Enter: Tell me what P&G product you always look for coupons for

And, as always, there are extra entries available! {Please leave a separate comment for each completed}

1 Extra Entry - Post on your Facebook wall about the giveaway {http://t.co/c2Jvu8ip} and tag P&G My GIVE and R&R on Facebook

1 Extra Entry - Like P&G My GIVE on Facebook {like before March 4th and they will donate $1!}

2 Extra Entries {per method} - Follow Rave & Review! Subscribe by RSS feed, Subscribe by email, become a fan of R&R on Facebook or add R&R to your blogroll or sidebar.

1 Extra Entry {daily} - Twitter. Simply tweet about the giveaway and the GIVE Health brandSAVER with the post URL {http://t.co/c2Jvu8ip} @pgMyGive and @raveandreview

2 Extra Entries - Blogger Bonus. Blog about this giveaway linking back to this post and leave an address where I can find your writeup

1 Extra Entry - Comment love. Enter any of my other Giveaways and/or comment on any non-giveaway post!

On March 21st at 11:59pm PST a winner will be drawn, announced here and notified via email. Winner will have 48 hours to contact me or a new winner will be chosen. US and Canadian addresses only.

A big thank you to P&G for this giveaway opportunity. This giveaway was provided for free from P&G and we are not being paid for this post. All opinions are 100% ours.

The Secret World of Arrietty In Theaters Today!

This past weekend we headed to Seattle for a much-needed family day.  The first stop was to go see a pre-screening of The Secret World of Arrietty, the new movie based off of one of my favorite childhood stories, The Borrowers.  If you aren’t familiar with the story, it’s about a family of “little people” who secretly live under the floor boards of an old garden home and only come out to “borrow” what they need to survive.

If you read here frequently, you know how much I love things that are the wrong size, so tiny people living in the floorboards and repurposing everyday items into usable miniatures is just about as cool as it gets.  I will admit I wasn’t super excited when I found out that the movie was drawn in Japanese style animation, but I loved The Borrowers story so much that I couldn’t resist seeing the movie. And, surprisingly, I found I really loved the movie and enjoyed the animation throughout the film. 

Here’s a blurb about the film: Arrietty (Bridgit Mendler), a tiny, but tenacious 14-year-old, lives with her parents (Will Arnett and Amy Poehler) in the recesses of a suburban garden home, unbeknownst to the homeowner and her housekeeper (Carol Burnett). Like all little people, Arrietty (AIR-ee-ett-ee) remains hidden from view, except during occasional covert ventures beyond the floorboards to “borrow” scrap supplies like sugar cubes from her human hosts. But when 12-year-old Shawn (David Henrie), a human boy who comes to stay in the home, discovers his mysterious housemate one evening, a secret friendship blossoms. If discovered, their relationship could drive Arrietty’s family from the home and straight into danger.

The movie starts out with Shaun, a 12-year-old human boy, arriving at his mother’s childhood home to stay before he undergoes heart surgery.  One night, Shaun meets Arrietty, the 14-year-old “borrower” who lives in the house, and over time the two form a secret friendship.  Even though Arrietty’s parents forbade them to see each other out of fear that the family’s hiding spot would be compromised and they would have to flee, Arrietty grows to trust Shaun.  I love the theme of the movie and showing kids that “different” doesn’t have to mean scary, and I think it’s a great message for kids of all ages.

As much as I loved the whole film, I particularly liked the scenes that showed the borrowers home as I intend to create our own version of one for our “fairy house” but my favorite part of the film centered around the most exquisite borrower house ever – a real working dollhouse.  Over dinner one night, Shaun’s aunt tells the story of her sister and dad {Shaun’s mother and grandfather} who always believed the “little people” were real and how they built a special home for the little people to live in together.  When Arrietty sees the dollhouse for the first time and then when Shaun is shown it by his aunt, you can’t help but hope they all end up living happily ever after – the little people in their borrower home and the humans watching over them.   

The movie as a whole was really entertaining and kept the entire audience glued to the screen the whole time.  For more information about the movie, the story, and the cast, check out their Facebook page.

The Secret World of Arrietty opens in theaters today, February 17th. 

This post was written for Walt Disney Studios who provided the Arrietty tickets in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions are 100% ours and no form of monetary compensation was received in exchange for this Rave Review.

Seattle Readers: Win a Photo Sitting with Alecia Smith Photography! {$325 Value}

I resolve to: Finally get a good family picture

No one ever says “I wish I didn’t have so many pictures of my family”.   Because, really, that would be just plain crazy.  Who out there doesn’t want beautiful images of their family showcasing their personalities and the love you have for each other?  So, why not make a change this year and finally schedule that family photo sitting you’ve been putting off? 

This past Fall we were lucky enough to win a family portrait session from Alecia Smith Photography at the Pacific Northwest Blogger Meetup organized by the lovely Mandy {Harper’s Happenings} and beautiful Chelsea {The Paper Mama} and I was incredibly excited to get some professional pictures taken of all of us.  As in, really, really excited.  

Admittedly, we have a lot of pictures around here since I’ve always got my camera at the ready, but we have very few pictures of the 4 of us.  Like 10 pictures, total, and in two of those I’m blinking.  While we’ve done the mall portrait studio in the past with its boring backgrounds and its 20 minute timeslot, doing something like hiring a professional photographer to shoot a family sitting was really exciting. 

We got to choose everything down to the location, the time {so we could account for naps, drive time, etc} and date and we could design our shoot any way we wanted.  Alecia was really easy going and seemed down for just about anything, so I googled an area and scoped it out the day of and in doing so we found this rustic log cabin tucked away in the center of Tukwila, WA.  Instead of going with a Christmas-y theme like I had originally planned, at the last minute I just chose some fun “fall themed” outfits that had enough color in them that they would look good on a Christmas card, but wouldn’t look funny hanging all year round and Alecia just ran with that theme from there. 

The sitting itself was also really laid back and fun, unlike many of those mall sittings we’ve done in the past that take bribery and tears before you get one image that you all don’t look goofy in.  Alecia didn’t try to force poses and she basically let our kids run wild as she chased after them with a camera, something I love because I really just want to capture who they are right now and document this stage fully.  I figure we will eventually have enough control over a family sitting that all of us are looking in the same direction at the – gasp – same time, so now’s the time when we should get the really fun ones of us laughing and enjoying ourselves, even if they aren’t your typical family shots.   

After the shoot with Alecia was over, I couldn’t wait for the picture reveal so we could pick some shots to frame and send out to family.  When the pictures arrived via her secure viewing site, I loved each and every one of them.  Honestly, the hardest part was narrowing it down to our favorites and then which images we wanted as part of our sitting package. 

It took us a while but finally we narrowed it down and found the images we couldn’t live without and then we marked them as favorites and sent them off to her.  We debated for a while about whether we wanted to add pictures to the sitting since we could have always purchased more for her reasonable rates, but in the end we decided that we want to do another sitting with her in the spring and we’d get some extra pictures then.  Because wouldn't a spring Seattle photo sitting be simply gorgeous?

If you are dreading family pictures or putting them off because they just seem so daunting, I would highly recommend just making an appointment with Alecia Smith Photography.  I was so happy I had finally scheduled a family sitting {even without waiting to lose all the baby weight, for my son’s stitches to fully heal, or for better coordinated outfits, etc} and will never look at the gorgeous pictures of this day and feel anything but happy that we made it happen.  I loved it so much that I’m going to try and do a 6 month sitting from now on... I just can’t think of a better way to document all the amazing milestones coming up!

Check out all of Alecia's amazing work at http://aleciasmith.com/ {you can even sneak peek our sitting right from her home page!]

Who wants to win a photography package from Alecia Smith Photography?  Perfect for Mother's Day, maternity, family shoot, you name it!

Here's what you get in your $325 Photo Package:

-1 hour on location session for up to 4 people {additional persons can be added $30 each}
-A private 30 day online viewing and ordering gallery
-Fifteen professionally enhanced digital image files
-Session location to be within 20 miles of zip code 98023 {wiling to travel, mileage fees apply}
-Session is to take place before May 31, 2012

To Enter: Visit AleciaSmith.com and let me know what kind of shoot you'd like to plan with her

And, as always, there are extra entries available!  {Please leave a separate comment for each completed}

1 Extra Entry - Like Alecia Smith Photographer on Facebook

1 Extra Entry - Post on your Facebook wall about the giveaway {http://t.co/atVlCHyb} and tag Alecia Smith Photographer and R&R on Facebook

2 Extra Entries {per method} - Follow Rave & Review! Subscribe by RSS feed, Subscribe by email, become a fan of R&R on Facebook or add R&R to your blogroll or sidebar.

1 Extra Entry {daily} - Twitter.  Simply tweet the following after following us both:

Seattle #Giveaway! Win a photo sitting for your family {$325 value}! Enter to win @RaveAndReview http://t.co/atVlCHyb

2 Extra Entries - Blogger Bonus.  Blog about this giveaway linking back to this post and leave an address where I can find your writeup

1 Extra Entry - Comment love.  Enter any of my other Giveaways and/or comment on any non-giveaway post!

On February 14th at 11:59pm PST a winner will be drawn, announced here and notified via email.  Winner will have 48 hours to contact me or a new winner will be chosen. Must be willing to travel to Seattle area - or to pay Alecia to travel to you.

All opinions remain 100% ours and no form of monetary compensation was received in exchange for this very Rave Review. 

 

It's Time to Dance! Live with Yo Gabba Gabba

As you may know, the Yo Gabba Gabba gang was in my town last weekend.  Having gone to the There's A Party In My City Yo Gabba Gabba show last year as well, I thought I knew kind of what to expect.  But, let me tell you, the show completely blew away my expectations, which admittedly were already pretty high.  It may be that my daughter is simply more of a concert age, or maybe it’s that she’s been a fan of Yo Gabba Gabba so long that they are more like friends than mere characters on the screen, but whatever the case, last Saturday was pretty much the best day she could ever imagine.

Just look at these faces… speechless.
In fact, she was so happy, so animated, and so enthusiastic in her love of the show that she was actually handpicked from the audience to go up on stage for a dance party with Biz Markie.  Yes, that happened.  Be still, my heart. 

At first when the guy from the dance party crew came by and talked to us, I was thrilled – my baby! onstage! – and then after he left and we had already agreed to have her go up the realization set in that my BABY was going to be onstage.  All the way up there.  Without me.  Gulp.

Intermission came and went and the excitement in our row was palpable as my daughter got more and more excited.  A few minutes into the second half of the show and off went my daughter as she was whisked away to the stage with the crew.  I stayed back in my seat for a fraction of a second before I made my way to the front of the stage just in case.  What can I say?  It was the mom in me.  Well, that and the fact that it was easier to get video.

Even without the dance party excitement, the show was pretty much amazing.  The energy, the excitement, everything.  Since the entire event is designed to be interactive, it makes the whole show an experience, not just a concert.  People were dancing, people were singing along, and you really couldn’t help be fully involved… and that goes for kids AND adults.  Basically, just being there felt like I was the best mom in the world, especially when I thought about all the stories she will be able to look back on throughout the years.  You know, when she reminisces about the time she danced with Biz Markie at the Paramount.  Best. Mom. Ever. 

Even if your child is just a casual fan of Yo Gabba Gabba {if there is such a thing}, I would highly recommend the live show.  It's an amazing experience that you truly will be talking about all year long, and it's hopefully going to be our family tradition for years.  You can find the rest of the Yo Gabba Gabba tour dates here, as well as more information about what to expect when they come to your town by visiting yogabbagabbalive.com! 

Also - Don't forget to enter to win our giveaway for an exclusive Yo Gabba Gabba DVD that was only sold at the show, as well as a copy of Music is Awesome 3, now thru November 30th!  You can enter to win here!

We received tickets to attend the YGG show here in Seattle so we could tell you all about how much fun we had.  However, all opinions are 100% ours and no monetary compensation was received in exchange for this Rave Review.

How to Host a Dinner Party, ActiFry Style

This weekend I’m hosting my first cooking party ever. 

I’ve hosted potlucks before, cocktail parties, and I’ve had dinner parties, but I’ve never done anything as crazy as let my guests cook. 

We’ll be cooking everything from appetizers to desserts in the PTPA Winning T-Fal ActiFry and would love to have you join us virtually as we see all that this little machine can do!  All Saturday evening you can follow our tweets at #actifryholidayparty to see what we’re up to!  {Bonus: anyone tweeting about the party using the hashtag over the weekend will get extra entries into the super secret giveaway we are hosting next week... woo hoo!}

Does anyone have any advice for me on ways to get it to run smoothly?  Any suggestions on recipes you would like to see someone try out in the ActiFry?

No compensation was received in exchange for this post.

Our Day Celebrating Neighborhood Toy Store Day 2011

I kind of feel like a celebrity when I’m visiting my local toy stores.  Not only do most of the clerks know my name, they also know my kids’ names, their birthdays, and what our favorite brands are.  They will let me know when they get something in they know I will love, and they raid my contact lists for recommendations of what to bring into their shops on a regular basis.  Admittedly, we spend a lot of time just hanging out at toy stores. 

And, why not?  There’s just something special about popping in to pick up a present for friends or letting the kids spend their birthday cash knowing that we are having fun and supporting our local shops that we love so much.  It’s in these shops that we’ve played with nearly every toy under the sun, from science to stuffed animals, and have figured out what toys really are worth bringing home.  And, some really cool toys come home with us this last weekend as we celebrated Neighborhood Toy Store Day in Seattle. 

This was our second year celebrating and we were really excited about it for weeks before the event, especially as we began to research all the stores that would be celebrating near us.  We mapped out our plan ahead of time and figured out the best way to hit the stores we really wanted to make it to, and we were positively giddy as we waited for November 12th to roll around.  Finally it did and the whole family was so excited to go that we got an early start and headed out for breakfast. 

We started out our Neighborhood Toy Store Day events by meeting up with some friends from out of town at Top Ten Toys in Greenwood and spent hours going around to their booths they had set up for the event.  The kids got their faces painted, adopted balloon dogs, made “snow”, decorated puppets, and made flowers to bring home, and at each station they collected prizes for their goody bags that they could take home.  Of course, I snuck away for a moment and got a little present for the holidays so I was really glad they also had gift wrap so I could disguise it once purchased.

Next we went to Planet Happy where we heard all about their green and sustainable products recommended by ASTRA, drew pictures together, and even made a button and a magnet the girls could take home.  The kids liked their live birds and their adorable hedgehog pet that are all kept in the store, and I loved that the shop’s smaller retail area was well utilized and allowed for some good browsing while we still watched the kiddos.  We also bought a few small things for stocking stuffers at the store, but will definitely come back to get the other item we have our eye on that couldn’t be covertly purchased in front of the kids. 

I was thrilled to see so many happy faces out celebrating Neighborhood Toy Store Day last weekend with us at both of the stores we visited.  There’s nothing like a fun event to help kick off the holiday season right and get you in the mood for all the upcoming festivities.  After participating for two years now and seeing how well our toy stores party, I would love to see this become a family tradition that officially starts off the holiday season for us. 

You can find more information about ASTRA and Neighborhood Toy Store Day at neighborhoodtoystoreday.com. 

No compensation was received in exchange for this post, I just thought you would want to see what fun we had!

Come Out and Play on Neighborhood Toy Store Day – Saturday, November 12th

Remember the magic of your local toy store growing up - where kids were encouraged to play and picking out the perfect toy was as special as the toy itself?  The folks at American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA) do and they are inviting you to relive the magic on November 12, 2011 as toy stores nation-wide celebrate Neighborhood Toy Store Day.  With free crafts, giveaways, face painting and more planned, it’s a great way to kick off the holiday season with your neighbors and help support the local businesses that make our communities great.

And, what isn’t great about a place where you are surrounded by virtually every toy imaginable and you can watch what your child gravitates to?  By doing this I have absolutely solidified that the “pink aisle” of Corolle dolls and accessories is where we must budget at least 60% of our time, but after that a dolly will inevitably be wheeled in a stroller over to the train table and miniature village, over to the stuffed animals, and finally end up in the play kitchen where they will fix the baby a snack together.  

I find it funny that even though we have most of the stuff they gravitate to at home to play with, the magic of the toy store never loses its luster for our kids.  For this reason, I know that even if we had an entire playroom stuffed with toys we would still be back to our local stores regularly.  There’s just so much changing that kids do in such a short amount of time, I can’t imagine not introducing them to everything I could and really encouraging them to try it all in a community setting. 

Neighborhood Toy Store Day is designed to celebrate all the benefits of shopping local {expert advice, specialty toys not found at larger chain stores, special events, local toys and gifts, all the wonderful memories you create, and being able to play with different ages of toys to see what is best for your child… need I go on?} as well as spotlighting the fact that these toy stores are a dying breed.  Since I love all my local stores and want my kids to grow up with their own amazing memories of toy store Family Day, the idea of losing our local stores makes me incredibly sad, which is why we support them whenever possible.

So of course we are very excited that this will be our second year celebrating Neighborhood Toy Store Day in the Seattle, hopping from store to store and making a day of it.  Just like last year, we’ll be gathering the kids and bundling them up for a fall day full of fun, each of them bringing along a beloved friend for the fun {Corolle Bebe Amour for her, Steiff Dragon for him}.  Only this year we have friends from out of town joining us as well, which just might take the excitement levels and spin them out of control.  Doesn’t that sound like a ton of fun? 

If you want to get involved in Neighborhood Toy Store Day this weekend, you can find out participating stores near you and see what they have in store or you can call your local store directly.  You can find more information about ASTRA and Neighborhood Toy Store Day at neighborhoodtoystoreday.com.  Just remember, bringing kids is optional.
 
If you're in the Seattle area, check out my article at Red Tricycle Seattle that details all the days events!

No compensation was received in exchange for this post, this is just something we believe in and want to share with you!

Have you gotten your Cheerios SendCheer Packages yet? #sendcheer #CBias

With Veterans Day just around the corner, we're all thinking of the men and women serving our country.  But, something you don't often think about is that each and every one of those men and women have loved ones who are also sacrificing for their country - by sharing a father, a mother, a spouse, a child. 

We've talked before about the new sendCheer campaign from Cheerios that allows you to thank a military family in your own special way by utilizing their "Cheer" postcards on specially marked boxes, but with the upcoming holiday looming, I thought it would be a good reminder for families out shopping this week.  These special sendCheer campaign packages {available at Walmart and other select retailers} are now on shelves and ready to spread all sorts of Cheer.  While they look a little different from the outside with their dotted lines around the "Cheer" in Cheerios, they still contain the Cheerios your family already loves, which means they're probably already on the shopping list. 

And, spreading the Cheer is easy!  Once finished with your breakfast {or lunch, or snack, or dinner}, you simply cut the pre-addressed Cheer postcard out of the box and write a simple message of thanks and pop it in the mail.  The cards are then forwarded on to a millitary family who will surely appreciate that you took the time to thank them for all that they, and their loved one, are doing for our country. 

While a postcard of thanks is great, but what's truly awesome is that for every card received, Cheerios will donate $1 to the USO to help support programs for military families.  Want to know something else cool?  Cheerios has already donated $150,000 and will donate up to $100,000 more based on the number of postcards received by November 30th, 2012, which equates to a whole lot of much-needed cheer.

About the USO
"The USO is a nonprofit organization that helps lift the spirits of America's troops and their families.  For over 70 years, the USO has provided a touch of home to our troops and their families through centers at airports and military bases, top quality entertainment and innovative programs and services.  When a loved one is away serving, the USO steps in to be a second family for our military families, providing support and tools."

Want more ways to give back, give thanks, and support our military and their families?  Check out the Cheerios sendCheer Campaign page at cheerios.com.  For more information about USO, including all the awesome programs they have in place to support our troops, visit USO.org.  You can also keep up with the campaign on the Cheerios Facebook page as well as Walmart’s.

This post has been compensated as part of a sponsored charitable opportunity for Collective Bias.  All opinions are 100% ours, we’re excited about this campaign and thought we’d share it with all of you!

Yo Gabba Gabba! Live! It's Time to Dance! {Giveaway}

Did you read our last year's post about YO GABBA GABBA! THERE’S A PARTY IN MY CITY!?  If you did, you probably remember what a great time we had, how my daughter was absolutely in heaven simply being in the same room as the YGG! gang, and how it was even worth the drive south to Tacoma, WA.  So, I'm sure you can imagine we were even more excited to find that the gang was going to be coming even closer to home this year, stopping at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle, WA., which just so happens to be one of our favorite concert venues.

The new YO GABBA GABBA! LIVE! IT'S TIME TO DANCE! tour is underway now and you can check out the schedule at yogabbagabbalive.com.  The tour is presented by Kia Motors and is traveling to more than 50 cities with an all-new show! Come see all your favorites like DJ Lance Rock, Brobee, Foofa, Muno, Plex, and Toodee, with special guests Hip Hop Legend Biz Markie and Razzle Dazzle Superstar Leslie Hall. Sounds awesome, right?

If you remember, I was raving about Music is Awesome! last year, which I must confess is the one and only children’s album I have ever listened to after the kiddos fell asleep in the car.  I can’t help it, it’s got The Shins, The Roots, and a whole bunch of other really great tunes, even if they were sung for preschoolers… seriously. Well, now you can win a copy of the newest release right here, right now, along with a YGG! EXCLUSIVE DVD.  Even more awesome-er, right?

If you’d like to get in on the party, you should check out the Yo Gabba Gabba Live website and see all of the remaining tour dates and pick up tickets today.  Don't forget to brush up on your YGG at yogabbagabba.com

Want to win a CD {Music is Awesome 3} and DVD {KIA MOTORS PRESENTS Yo Gabba Gabba! Live! - Live From Nokia Theatre L.A.} Combo pack? It's Awesome! It's exclusive!

To enter, simply visit yogabbagabbalive.com and tell me the closest Yo Gabba Gabba stop from your home

 And, as always, there are extra entries available!  Please leave a separate comment for each completed.

2 Extra Entries {per follow method} - Follow Rave & Review!  Subscribe by RSS feed, Subscribe by email, become a fan of R&R on Facebook or add R&R to your blogroll.

1 Extra Entry {daily} - Twitter.  Simply tweet the following after following us both:

Does @YoGabbaGabba rock your play room? Enter to #win a great DVD/CD combo #giveaway with @RaveAndReview! http://t.co/m1vvJl2y

2 Extra Entries - Share on Facebook. Simply share this giveaway with a link to the post and tag Rave & Review

3 Extra Entries - Button Love. Place my button in your sidebar on your blog or website with an active link to R&R

3 Extra Entries - Blogger Bonus.  Blog about this giveaway linking back to this post and leave an address where I can find your writeup

1 Extra Entry - Comment love.  Enter any of my other Giveaways and/or comment on any non-giveaway post!

On November 30th at 11:59pm PST a winner will be drawn, announced here and notified via email.  Winner will have 48 hours to contact me or a new winner will be chosen.  Giveaway open to US and Canadian Addresses.

A big thank you to Yo Gabba Gabba Live for providing the information and giveaway for one lucky giveaway winner.  All opinions are 100% ours and no monetary compensation was received in exchange for this Rave Review.

Cheerios Send "Cheer" to Military Families and Support a Great Cause #sendcheer #CBias

The men and women who make up our armed forces aren’t thanked nearly enough.  Even though what they do makes a difference in all of our lives, oftentimes people don’t know how to go about reaching out to them and their families to thank them for all that they do.  This fall, Cheerios and the USO are partnering to change that and make sending “Cheer” to military families as easy as enjoying a delicious breakfast.

On specially marked boxes of Cheerios {available at Walmart and other select retailers}, you will find “Cheer” postcards that can be cut out and mailed to military families.  Cheerios is inviting you to show your appreciation by sending a simple message of thanks using their “Cheer” postcards during their sendCheer campaign.  Even better is that for every card received, Cheerios will donate $1 to the USO to help support programs for military families.  Want to know something else cool?  Cheerios has already donated $150,000 and will donate up to $100,000 more based on the number of postcards received by November 30th, 2012!

As someone who comes from a long history of relatives serving in the armed forces on all sides of my family {with two relatives still active today}, I think this is such a cool campaign and I’d love to see it have a huge response nationally.  I love that I can reach out to people who I’ve never met and share my story of thanks with them personally… and that it is so easy that I can do it while I’m enjoying breakfast.  I actually plan on picking up a few of the “Cheer” boxes so we can all participate and write our own messages – wouldn’t that be a fun project for a rainy fall afternoon and a great way to teach kids about what an amazing sacrifice these families make for our freedom?

If your family eats Cheerios like mine does {seriously, I have some in my purse at all times}, why not load up on Cheerios in the next few weeks and give back to military families at the same time?  Remember that these boxes will only be around for a short time so be sure and snag them before they are gone!

For more information on the Cheerios sendCheer Campaign, visit cheerios.com and for information about USO, including all the awesome programs they have in place to support our troops, visit USO.org.  You can also keep up with the campaign on the Cheerios Facebook page as well as Walmart’s.

This post has been compensated as part of a sponsored charitable opportunity for Collective Bias.  All opinions are 100% ours, we’re excited about this campaign and thought we’d share it with all of you!