Pretend City: {December} Activities & Toy Drive

The Holidays are a blast at Pretend City!

We went to a lot of the celebrations last year and they were all so fun!

This year they have even more fun things to celebrate all the

holidays and special events from different cultures.

Don't miss out!

Last year at the holiday celebrations!

Sunday, December 9 – Saturday, December 15: Lil’ Me Mornings – Hooray for Hanukkah 

Time: Monday – Friday 11:00a.m.; Saturday & Sunday 10:30a.m.

Celebrate Hanukkah at Pretend City! These rich and diverse circle times will work to explain and teach your child about the Hanukkah miracle and the importance of many of the traditional symbols of the holiday. Games, finger play rhymes, art projects and activities will ensure that your child has fun in the process.  

Sunday, December 16 – Sunday, December 23: Engaging Afternoons – Las Posadas Fiesta! 

Time:  Tuesday – Friday 3:30p.m.; Saturday & Sunday 2:30p.m.

This week we partake in a Las Posadas Celebration! Every afternoon your child will engage in activities that will help them have an understanding of the cultures that celebrate Las Posadas and some of the regional traditions associated with the holiday. Activities include “Bunuelos” cookie art, piñata party, glitter poinsettia art and the traditional Mexican game of domino trains.

Sunday, December 16 – Sunday, December 23: Lil’ Me Mornings – Christmas Countdown

Time: Monday – Friday 11:00a.m.; Saturday & Sunday 10:30a.m.

The countdown to Christmas has begun! The week that leads up to Christmas is an exciting and magical time for young children. The wait for Christmas Day can seem endless! This week’s daily morning activities will help to channel your young child’s anticipation into simple activities that celebrate the holiday.

Wednesday, December 26 – Monday, December 31: Lil’ Me Mornings – Festival of Kwanzaa

Time: Monday – Friday 11:00a.m.; Saturday & Sunday 10:30a.m.

Kwanzaa is here, and there are so many fun things to do! Each day, children will have the opportunity to participate in lighting another candle on the Kinara. Then, we will celebrate the Kwanzaa principle of the day through a variety of activities, including: working at the family stand, making gifts for family and friends, playing African games, and even having a “feast”! These morning activities are a perfect way to begin teaching your children about the meaning and traditions of this joyous holiday.

Holiday Open/Close Schedule:

• Monday, December 17 – Pretend City Open Full Day
• Monday, December 24 – Pretend City Closed Full Day 
• Tuesday, December 25 – Pretend City Closed Full Day 

In addition to the above activities - Pretend City has a Toy Drive for CHOC going on right now.
Don't miss seeing Santa on his motorcycle - it's so cool!

Friday, December 14: CHOC Toy Drive Pick up by Orange Coast Harley Owners Group

Time: 12:00p.m

Join us for a special visit from hundreds of Harley Davidson riders as they come to Pretend City to pick up all of the toys we’ve collected for the children at CHOC Children’s Hospital. Watch your child’s eyes light up as Santa comes riding in on his motorcycle. The sound of hundreds of motorcycles cruising around the corner is one your child will surely remember! They’ll even have a chance to come out and look at the motorcycles up close. With parent supervision of course!

Christmas at the OC Zoo

Don't forget that the OC Parks have several great things going on this weekend.

First is Christmas at the Zoo - come see the animals get their gifts!

And there is also the Candlelight Walk at Heritage Hill Historical park.

Don't miss out!

December 8 – Christmas at the Zoo

10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Location: OC Zoo (inside Irvine Regional Park)

1 Irvine Park Road, Orange, CA 92869

Cost: $2 per child over age 3 (includes 1 adult) Parking: $5 per vehicle

Contact: (714) 973-6847

http://www.ocparks.com/oczoo/

December 8, 9 – Candlelight Walk

5:30 - 8:30 p.m.

Location: Heritage Hill Historical Park

25151 Serrano Road, Lake Forest, CA 92630

Product Review: I See Me! Personalized Coloring Books

I had the opportunity to check out the I See Me! personalized coloring books

and placemats. I have to say that they are so cool!!!

The "My Very Own Name" coloring book has animals bring

your child's name letter-by-letter in a darling rhyme.

This activity book was perfect for my JT because he LOVES animals! 

So I know that when he receives this for Christmas he is going to love

how the animals are coming especially to celebrate him.

 

He will also love that he can color the pictures - he loves to color!

I love the rhyming for my emerging reader because he can start

reading it independently and enjoying the story about his name

whenever he'd like to.

For Isabella I got the "My Very Own Fairy Tale" coloring book.
She is currently fairy tale obsessed - princesses, fairies, magic - she loves it!
This book has the same premise, but instead of animals, fairies
bring each letter of your child's name.

The books are fun, include great pages for coloring, and also have fun
learning activity pages at the end of the coloring book for your child
to complete and practice with her name.
I know that both of my kids will love finding them under the tree on Christmas Day.

I See Me! also makes beautiful personalized placemats.
They also have the fairy and animal themes, as well as many other
themes that are desirable to children.

I chose the My Very Own Name placemat for JT because of the animals.

For Isabella, I chose the My Very Own Fairy Tale placemat.
I especially liked that the alphabet is on the placemat, along with her name.

I was impressed with all aspects of the I See Me! personalized products.

They coloring books are well made and will make excellent gifts for my children.

Right now I See Me! has a really adorable personalized  

Very Merry Christmas Coloring and Activity Book.

Darling!!!

Along with the coloring books and placemats, I See Me! also has personalized

story books, gift sets, and puzzles.

I think any of the options would make fabulous gifts for that special child in your life.

One of the nice things about I See Me! is that the more coloring books
and placemats you buy at one time - the more you save!
There are coupon codes on the front page of each of those items - depending
on how many you plan on purchasing.

Disclosure: I received product for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Irvine Park Railroad Christmas Train 2012

Although we are big fans of the Irvine Park Railroad and have taken

the kids to the train since JT was little, we've never been on the Christmas Train.

This weekend we had the chance to experience the train for the first time

and I have to say that it was magical!

There is something special about twinkle lights, trees, and a train that takes you to Santa.

I felt like I was a kid riding on the Polar Express.

The kids loved it too!

It was exciting to begin a new Christmas tradition and share

the experience with the kids and see how excited they were to visit

with Santa and share their Christmas wishes.

Irvine Park Railroad Christmas Train

1 Irvine Park Drive

Orange, CA 92869

2012 dates

December 7th through 9th

5:00 pm – 8:00 pm. 

activities open at 4:00 pm.

December 14th

5:00 pm – 8:00 pm. 

activities open at 4:00 pm.

December 14th & 16th

2:00 pm – 8:00 pm. 

activities open at 1:00 pm.

December 17th through 21st

4:00 pm – 9:00 pm. 

activities open at 3:00 pm.

December 22nd & 23rd

4:00 pm – 9:00 pm. 

activities open at 1:00 pm.

Tickets for the Christmas Train 2012

$10.00 per person — Children younger than 24 months ride free.

Activity tickets — $4 or 15 tickets for $50

(Parking is $3 on weekdays, $5 on weekends, and free after 5:00 p.m.)

Purchase your tickets online NOW - the event is known to sell out.

 

Activities during the Christmas Train include:

Story Time with Mrs. Claus
Christmas Cookie Decorating
Carnival Games
Santa Claus Moon Bounce
Christmas Coloring Corner
Picture Stands

One of my favorite parts of the evening is the twinkle lights tunnel.

It is so cool! I could drive through it over and over again.

Remember to bring your camera to snap pictures and jackets to keep warm.

Disclosure: I was given tickets for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Giveaway: Discovery Science Center Private Holiday Event

I am so excited for this giveaway today!!!!

The Discovery Science Center is throwing a fabulous holiday party for bloggers and

local media on December 12th from 6-8pm and I get to give away a family four-pack of tickets

for one lucky family to be able to attend this exclusive event!

That night you'll be able to explore the Indiana Jones and the Adventure of Archeology exhibit

as well as see the over 100 entries in the annual gingerbread competition at the Science of Gingerbread exhibit.

There will also be the opportunity to decorate cookies and snap pictures with Santa.

This is an exclusive media event, but I'm excited to be able to offer 4 tickets to one lucky winner today.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Santa's Wonderland: Giveaway!!!

Over the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend we had the opportunity to visit
the magical Christmas experience that is Santa's Wonderland!
Nestled just off the freeway in Irvine - at 2719 White Road - is a place
where your childhood dreams of visiting the North Pole and seeing Santa's
workshop can become a reality.

Santa's elves greeted us at the door and led us to the main room where
we were introduced to this Christmas dreamland and told about all
the amazing things there were to experience.

The kids wanted to head upstairs to find the Snow Room,
but were enchanted by Gingy's Gingerbread House Making on the way.

So we stopped to fulfill candy dreams and sweet tooth wishes with the help
of a very kind elf.

The kids loved decorating their own gingerbread houses by choosing their own candies,
squeezing out the frosting and making them look just so.


Then it was off to the Snow Room - which was pure magic for these Southern Californian kids.
They made snow angels, played with arctic animals, and just generally
enjoyed the magical twinkling of the lights in the frosty synthetic snow.

We found Santa's stables and met the reindeer.
The kids even got to ride one of them!
 
 
We took a tour through Mischief Maze and wrote our letters to Santa
and checked out the elves putting the finishing touches on the Cityscape Light Show.
Then a friendly elf gave us a tour of the Control Room and challenged JT to a
toy packaging race to see who could get Santa's toys ready to go the quickest.
 

We hit up the Reindeer Games on the way to Elf Makeover Magic.
Here the kids checked out what it takes to look like an elf and then got
their faces painted by one of the elf beauty experts.

Isabella chose snowflakes and JT wanted to be a reindeer.


The Elf Academy leads participants through several challenges to earn the
right to be called an Honorary Elf.

And what would Santa's Wonderland be without Santa?
The kids first met with an elf to see if they were on the Naughty or Nice list,
and once they received their Nice seal of approval they were off to
see Santa and have their pictures taken with the special guy.

You can even check out Santa's office while you're there.


The experience was amazing and we all had a wonderful time.
We spent a full 2 hours - at least - discovering all the Santa's Wonderland had to offer.

Santa's Wonderland is located at 2719 White Road in Irvine.
You can purchase tickets HERE.

Use the code MOMS10OFF for $10 off
admission.
The code is good for tickets purchased for
M-F 10:00am-6:00pm December 3rd-December 31st.
The tickets must be purchased by November 30th.
 
GIVEAWAY TIME!!!!!
I'm so excited to be able to give away 2 tickets to Santa's Wonderland.
One lucky winner will win two tickets!!!!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: We were invited by Santa's Wonderland to attend and experience the magic. I attended because I was wanted to create fun memories with my family. I received admission for free. All thoughts & opinions are mine.

Holiday Stocking Stuffer Ideas: Colgate Holiday Packs

I can't believe that Thanksgiving is over and we're in the countdown for Christmas!

One of my favorite parts of Christmas gifts are the stockings that Santa leaves.

I love choosing fun things to fill the stockings with - and all of the items have to be wrapped!

I usually hunt year round for the perfect stocking stufffers, but this year I've been a little lax in my search.

One thing I always like to include in the stockings are new toothbrushes and toothpastes. 

Good oral hygiene is an important skill for kids to learn,

so I want them to feel like brushing their teeth is a fun and important part of each day.

 I am in luck this year, because while shopping at Walmart, I found these awesome

Colgate Holiday Packs for kids featuring Dora the Explorer and SpongeBob.

I know these favorite characters are sure to bring holiday smiles to my kids' faces!

I love that the toothbrush has the oscillating head and the kids will love

seeing their favorite characters while brushing each morning and night.

Colgate Holiday Packs make the perfect stocking stuffer and are sure

to bring smiles to your little one's face on Christmas morning.

So, next time you're at Walmart, check them out and give the gift of 

oral care to those that you love in a fun and inviting package!

My stockings are shaping up quite nicely - now I just need to find the actual stockings in that endless vortex that is the garage . . . But I still have time!

You can keep up with Colgate on Twitter and Facebook!

I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Colgate. #CBias #HolidaySmiles #SocialFabric”. All opinions are my own.

Celebrate Thanksgiving a Day Early at Pretend City!

We have the entire week off school - woohoo!!!

But that leaves me with a lot of time to keep my two littles engaged and out of trouble.

So, we're headed to Pretend City to celebrate Thanksgiving a day early!

You could join us!

Here's an outline of the day's festivities:

• Art Studio - Smart Art – Have a gobbling good time with this funny smart art activity. You and your child will learn a little bit about turkeys, while having a fun snood to smile with at Thanksgiving.
• Sensational Story Time - Gobble gobble up these books for a Thanksgiving treat! From hilarious turkeys to holiday history, your children will learn and engage.
• Good To Go Game - It wouldn’t seem like Thanksgiving time without post-feast football activities. Join us in fun, physical, activity games, like Free the Fowl and Turkey Trot, to develop gross motor skills and get ready for a full holiday belly!
• Listen & Learn – Join us to Do the Turkey Poke while learning about the farm in these fun listen and learn music and movement times.

 All the day's activities are included with paid admission for the day.

Hope to see you there!