Babies & Kids Blog

Pretty much every American is on a budget this year.  When you have a family, everything seems expensive!  If you are stumped as to what to get the special people in your life and you want to stay within a reasonable budget, you should check out the Smarter Holiday Shopping Guide.

You can find gift suggestion for babies like Elmo toys for under $25, and gift ideas for tweens like Playstation3 games for under $50.  Also, find gift suggestion for co-workers, grandparents, siblings, friends and significant others.

Check out the Smarter Holiday Shopping Guide here.

Thingamababy reviews An Awesome Book.

Work It Mom asks “How Bad is TV for Your Kids?”

The Busy Mommy gives us some self-care tips for the holidays.

This week on Smarter Babies & Kids:

We introduced you to another great company who sells organic candy - Pure Fun!

Check out another batch of great online coupon codes for baby and maternity stores that will expire soon!

We showed you some adorable and warm baby one pieces for this cold season.

Check out the great coupon code PetitBaby.com sent us to share with you all!

Check out this week’s recalls.

Next week two readers will win a Freebie Friday prize!  Answer this question for a chance to win a baby sleeping bag or a handmade child’s apron:  What are your favorite Christmas movies?

I have another great coupon code to share with you all.  If you love all the adorable giveaways we feature on Freebie Friday, but haven’t been lucky enough to win (yet), you can find most of those products and many others at PetitBaby.com.

Right now until 12/31/2008 you can get $10 off orders of $100 or more when you use coupon code SMART10 at check out.

Here are a couple of great items from their “Toys on Sale” section for under $25:

Haba Fidelia Rattle: $11.99 Now: $9.99

Kaloo 123 Small Red Rabbit: $21.99 Now: $18.70

Vilac Baby Pink Rosy the Cow Wooden Pull Toy: $25 Now: $21.99

We have TWO items featured today for Freebie Friday!

Giveaway #1:  Capebags is a wonderful collection of beautiful handmade items including children s wear, handbags and accessories.

You can win this beautiful handmade Purple Bouquet Child’s Apron.  Finished with sweet purple on one side, the apron is reversible to a solid purple. The apron is tied with an even sweeter purple ribbon (on the plain purple side) with delicate white dots, they even poke through when tied on the flower side - cute!

This apron is perfect for your little one when helping in the kitchen or arts and crafts activities.

Giveaway #2:

You would win this Kaloo 123 Small Sleeping Bag which is part of Petitbaby.com’s selection of sleep sacks that would actually make great baby shower gifts.

In order to be entered into the drawing, you simply need to answer the following question in the comments section:  What are you favorite Christmas movies?

There are a TON, so this question should not be hard to answer.  We will pick a winner for each product and they will be announced on Thursday, December 11, 2008.

Here are the rules: Please make sure to include your email address in the appropriate field so we can contact you if you are the winner. You must be able to provide a U.S. address for shipment.

Allison!

“I’m partial to Jingle Bell Rock and Oh, Hanukkah.”

Allison won a sample pack filled with products from Classy-Kid.com by answering Monday’s giveaway question: What are your favorite Christmas songs?”

Check back in a bit for a regularly scheduled Freebie Friday post that will give TWO people a change to win free baby and kids’ products!

Old Navy as some super comfy and super cute baby one pieces on sale right now. These always make me wants to buy those adult size one piece pajamas!  One pieces are great for newborns because they are sure to stay cozy and warm when you transport them from your car into grandma’s house.

Winter-Graphic 2-in-1 One-Pieces for Baby: $12.50 Now: $10

Find a little red Santa hat to go with this one piece for a cute holiday look and extra warmth for their little ears!

Hooded Micro Performance Fleece Sherpa-Lined Blanket Sleepers: $19.50 Now: $18.00

Teddy Bear One-Pieces for Baby: $19.50 Now: $15.99

Hooded Sweater-Knit One-Pieces for Baby: $19.50 Now: $18

Find at Smarter.com: Shop for baby hats and mittens.
Discounts on baby booties.

Meijer Inc. has recalled Toddler Girls’ Hat and Mittens Sets due to “choking hazard.”

“Consumers should immediately take these hat and mitten sets away from children and return to Meijer store for a refund.”

Click here to read the full press release.

Groovy Fashions Sassy Jamies Doll Clothing Sets have been recalled by Manhattan Group dude to “violation of lead paint standard.”

“Consumers should take the product away from young children immediately and return them to the store where purchased for a full refund or store credit.”

Click here to read the full press release.

OKK Trading has recalled their Toy Army Figures due to “violation of lead paint standard.”

“Consumers should immediately take the recalled toys away from children and contact OKK Trading for a full refund or replacement toy.”

Click here to read the full press release.

BabyGap.com: Save 10% off your order -
Use coupon code TUESDAYS (Exp: 12/31/0)

BabyAge.com: Free Shipping on bedding orders over $50 - Use coupon code BEDSHIP (Exp: 12/31/08)

Chadwicks.com: $20 off $60, $30 off $90 or $40 off $120 - Use coupon code CHoliday (Exp: 01/01/09)

OneStepAhead: Free shipping on purchases of $85+ - Use coupon code SNOWMAN (Exp: 12/14/08)

15% off orders of $100 or more -
Use coupon code BABY15P (Exp: 12/31/08)

BestStrollers.com: Free Shipping on:

All Bugaboo Strollers - Use coupon code FreeBug (Exp: 12/31/08)
All Stokke Xplory Strollers - Use coupon code FreeStokke (Exp: 12/31/08)
All Orbit Baby Strollers - Use coupon code FreeOrbit (Exp: 12/31/08)

Children’s Place: 15% off all orders - Use coupon code HAC8 (Exp: 12/08/08)

See more special offers and coupon codes for baby and maternity stores at CouponMountain.com. 

Reminds me of something Eric Cartman would do.

Image Source: delphenich.blogspot.com

I wrote about organic candy around Halloween, and was contacted by a great company who also sells organic candy….Pure Fun!  Their sologan is “Better for You Candy” because it is!  Their candy contains:

NO Gluten
NO GMO’s
NO FD&C Colors
NO Casein
NO Dairy
NO Artificial flavors
NO Dyes
NO Synthetics
NO Pesticides
NO Preservatives…

We are already paranoid about what we feed our kids, especially when it comes to candy, so it’s nice to know there is a company that makes “healthy” candy so they can indulge around the holidays!

They carry some yummy candy canes made with organic cane evaporated cane juice, brown rice syrup, fruit juice and natural peppermint oil.

I particularly like their  Citrus slices.  Honestly, they taste like you are eating fresh fruit!

Their Pure Pops are a great treat for those children who are behaving themselves.

These fruit pinwheels are great to keep in a candy dish for guests.

If you want to find out where you can purchase Pure Fun products, go here.  Besides the obvious reasons, they also list reasons to buy organic here, like “Protect Farm Workers Health” and “Prevents Soil Erosion.”  Very interesting.

Find at Smarter.com:  Shop for more organic candy.
                                        Discounts on holiday candy.