There is still time to order last minute gifts from Amazon.com! I just ordered a Kindle Fire for my daughter last week and it was delivered in less than 24 hours from purchasing! It was her birthday gift, and since this Holiday season I am very behind on gift shopping and everything else.. the first app what we downloaded on the Kindle Fire was the Amazon Santa app so kids could also give some more tips what they want for Christmas. The Amazon Santa app is available for Kindle Fire and iPad.

Amazon Santa App for Last Minute Gift Shopping for Kids

With Amazon Santa, children ages 3-11 can search and choose from some of the most popular Christmas gift ideas from a customized catalog of more than one million family-friendly items to create their own unique holiday wish list. The fun, new app is easy-to-use, providing an interactive shopping experience for children and their loved ones. Parents can review, edit and send their children’s completed wish list via email to anyone in their email list (in the tablet).

The Wish Lists created with the Amazon Santa App are private and can only be viewed by family and friends who receive the wish list link. Each wish list will contain details and links to products on Amazon.com, including immediate purchasing using 1-Click ordering and Amazon Prime. Last minute gifting really couldn’t be easier.

My girls gave the Santa App a test drive immediately. The app has six different gift categories: music, books, video games, toys & games and movies & TV and lastly simply everything. Once you click one the categories it shows you a large variety of products in that category and it’s easy to add gifts you want in a wish list. The problem of course is explaining kids NOT to add every single thing they want, but use moderation. My girls went to town with app until we set up some rules first – but it is easy to delete items from the wish list and you are even able to see all of them on the bottom of the screen so you can swap something that you more than an item you already have on the list. The Santa app also has a very fast search option and girls were able to find even some of the items they really wanted but weren’t in the most popular lists immediately.

As a parent I love that it has the book category separately, and that I can now easily purchase my daughter’s new Kindle Fire full of books she wants. After using a Nook Color, and we’ve been having difficulties finding children’s books, the Kindle Fire with this gifting app is truly an easy way to get the gift books for my daughter, and so far two thumbs up!

$50 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway

Give the Amazon Santa app a try and get a gift card to make a few Christmas wishes come true! Enter to win a $50 Amazon gift card, details below.
Amazon.com Gift Cards (“GCs”) may be used only to purchase eligible goods on Amazon.com or certain of its affiliated websites. GCs cannot be redeemed for purchases of gift cards. Except as required by law, GCs cannot be reloaded, resold, transferred for value, redeemed for cash, or applied to any other account. For complete GC terms and conditions, see www.amazon.com/gc-legal.

Enter the giveaway:
1. Comment here with your last minute gift wish from Amazon.com. Remember to leave your email address so we can contact you if you win.
2. OPTIONAL second entry: Tweet the following and come back and let us know you tweeted.
“Check out Amazon Santa App for last minute gift giving & enter to win $50 gift card http://ow.ly/84D5Y at @skimbaco”

DEADLINE: December 20th, midnight EST, 2011.

Disclosure: I received an Amazon gift card for this post, but all of my opinions are my own, and I bought the Kindle Fire because it IS one of the top gift ideas this Holiday season.

I have four free movie tickets to see Focus Features movie ONE DAY starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess. Two for me, and two for you courtesy of Kodak, the official film the movie was shot on! One Day is in theaters starting today, August 19th.

We don’t have any babysitters so I can’t take my hubby for a movie date, but I’m making it a girlfriend date instead and I’m going with my friend Lisa of New York Chica with me – and she in fact is giving away another two tickets to see the movie. One Day sounds like a perfect chick flick or a date movie and great way to end the summer! Check out the trailer and enter the giveaways for scoring free tickets for the movie. And if you already go see the movie this weekend tweet us @skimbaco and tell what did you think!

ONE DAY Movie

The movie ONE DAY follows the lives and loves of Emma (Academy Award nominee Anne Hathaway) and Dex (Jim Sturgess of Across the Universe) over 20 years, checking in on them on every July 15th – the anniversary of the day they met in 1988. One Day is based on the international best-selling novel by David Nichols.

Emma is a working-class girl of principle and ambition who dreams of making the world a better place. Dex is a wealthy charmer who dreams that the world will be his playground.

For the next two decades, key moments of their relationship are experienced over several July 15ths in their lives. Together and apart, we see Dex and Em through their friendship and fights, hopes and missed opportunities, laughter and tears. Somewhere along their journey, these two people realize that what they are searching and hoping for has been there for them all along. As the true meaning of that one day back in 1988 is revealed, they come to terms with the nature of love and life itself.

2 MOVIE TICKETS TO SEE ONE DAY GIVEAWAY

The giveaway is for two (2) movie tickets to see One Day gift for one (1) winner. The contest runs August 17- August 23th, 2011, 12 midnight EST. The winner is chosen randomly. The winner will be contacted on August 24th and given 24 hours to respond back with a shipping address. The giveaway is for everyone over 18 years old within the US and the tickets are valid only in the US in most movie theaters before October 31, 2011.

ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:
1. Has one day in your life changed it forever? Comment with your answer and leave your email address so we can contact you if you win.

EXTRA ENTRY:
2. Subscribe to Skimbaco Lifestyle Newsletter and leave a comment you do.

UPDATED: This giveaway is closed. The winner is Tracy and she has been emailed! Thanks for everyone for participating.

H&M Back to School Collection hit the stores today and I couldn’t be more excited! H&M’s Back to School collection is designed to be as fashionable as it is practical and H&M’s kids clothes are durable, safe, and comfortable and you will not believe the prices! Tees starting at $4.99, pants $9.99, jackets from $14.95 and with the money you save on clothes you can do something fun with your kid before the long school year starts. Or with the money you save on back to school clothes shopping for your kids, you can get something for you too!

20% OFF COUPON

For additional savings, print out the 20% off coupon and save 20% off of children’s clothing at H&M between August 4- August 14th.

SMART & STYLISH & SAFE

If you have been reading my blog before you know I have written about the safety measures H&M takes when manufacturing their clothing. Many of their children’s clothing in this fall 2011 collection have been made with organic cotton, which has been cultivated without chemical pesticides or artificial fertilizers. Their children’s clothing is also well tested to make sure none of the buttons, ribbons etc. will come loose. As a mom I can trust their clothing is made well and safe for my kids. You don’t even have to wash the clothes before use, since they have been made without chemicals.

See all of the pictures from the H&M Back to School Collection below and enter the $2,000 gift card giveaway! And check out the collection yourself at the H&M location close to you. The collection will be available in most H&M US stores. You can use the store locator to find a store close to you.

$2,000 H&M GIFT CARD GIVEAWAY

The giveaway is for $2,000 H&M gift for one (1) winner. The contest runs August 4- August 14th, 2011, 12 midnight EST. The winner is chose randomly. The winner will be contacted on August 15th and given 24 hours to respond back with a shipping address. The prize is mailed in four $500 gift cards one in every 3 months and the shipping is handled by H&M. The giveaway is for everyone over 18 years old within the US and the gift card is valid only in the US.

ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:
1. Check out the H&M kids collection photos here or visit H&M Back to School and let us know what you like about the collection the best. Leave a comment here with your email address so we can contact you if you win! Good luck!

EXTRA ENTRIES:
2. Subscribe to Skimbaco Lifestyle Newsletter and leave a comment you do.
3. Follow @skimbaco on Twitter and leave a comment you do.
4. Like Skimbaco on Facebook and leave a comment here you did.
5. Tweet:
Win $2,000 gift card from @hmusa for clothes for one year at @skimbaco http://ow.ly/5VvzK #HMkids
and leave a comment with a link to your tweet.

You can also connect with H&M on Facebook and Twitter @hmusa.

DOUBLE your changes to win and enter to a similar giveaway at Momma’s Gone City!

Are you overdue for a girls’ night? Summon your best girlfriends and join us for a REDBOOK Happy Hour Twitter Party as seen on Friday’s New York Times.

REDBOOK Happy Hour Girlfriend Parties

REDBOOK readers are hosting Happy Hour House Parties across the nation, and REDBOOK’s July issue is full of tips on how to turbo-strengthen your friendship with your girlfriends and how to host a girlfriend party at your home. For our Twiter Party, we also gathered the best experts on female friendships, hosting girlfriend parties at home and living life to the fullest. Join us for a fun REDBOOK Twitter Party and get inspired to host your own girlfriends’ party!

Cover Girl BROOKE BURKE and Experts Answer Your Questions

July’s Cover Star Brooke Burke will be answering YOUR questions about girlfriend parties and friendships during our #REDBOOKhh Twitter party! Submit your questions now, and @REDBOOKmag will publish the answers from Brooke Burke during our Twitter party. Submit your questions for Brooke Burke on Twitter by Thursday June 16, 3PM EST by directing them to @REDBOOKmag and @BrookeBurke and use the hashtag #REDBOOKhh.

OUR EXPERTS ON TWITTER:
Join REDBOOK magazine and our experts on Twitter:

Dawn Sandomeno & Elizabeth Mascali, party planning experts and authors of Plan to Party, owners of Party Bluprints, a real girls’ resource for entertaining in style at home.
Debba Haupert, expert on female friendships, owner of Girlfriendology, a website of inspiration, appreciation and celebration of Girlfriends.
Katja Presnal, lifestyle expert and owner of Skimbaco blog network that inspires women to live life to the fullest.

Have Fun & Win Prizes!

During our Happy Hour Twitter party, we will be giving away fabulous prizes! Remember to follow @REDBOOKmag to win! REDBOOK will also be giving away magazine subscriptions for their Twitter followers on Tuesday, June 21, 2011.

Ray-Ban Sunglasses (value $145)
Beauty Basket (value $100, includes must-have products for hair, skin and nails)
Sephora Gift Card ($100)
Williams-Sonoma Gift Card ($100)
25 Magazine Subs

#REDBOOKhh Twitter Party Details & RSVP

WHAT: #REDBOOKhh Twitter Party – get inspired to host a girlfriends party
WHEN: Tuesday, June 21th, 8-9EST
WHERE: On Twitter on your computer! Follow and use the #REDBOOKhh hashtag during the party, you can also use the Tweetgrid we created for the party.
FUN: Your questions answered by Brooke Burke on @REDBOOKmag Twitter account! Tips how to be a better friend; home party tips from lifestyle & party planning experts and giveaways.
FOLLOW: Follow @REDBOOKmag, @partybluprints, @skimbaco, @DawnSandomeno, @KatjaPresnal and @Girlfriendology and RSVP below in the Linky tool so we can all follow each others.

NOTE: You will have to follow @REDBOOKmag to win prizes during the Twitter party.

Powered by Linky Tools

Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list…

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Redbook magazine.

Are you ready for Judy Moody? Megan McDonald’s beloved children’s books are coming to alive this Friday in a movie Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer Movie. The movie is about Judy Moody’s (Jordana Beatty) who is determined to have the best summer of her life with the help of her little brother Stink (Parris Mosteller) and fun-loving Aunt Opal (Heather Graham). The script, penned by Kathy Waugh (Peep and the Big Wide World) and Megan McDonald, is based on the characters in McDonald’s popular children’s book series, and I have to be honest – I haven’t read any of the nine books but I know my kids absolutely love them, and that’s enough for me making a movie date with my kiddos this weekend and seeing the movie.

If you have Judy Moody fans at home – scroll down to a cool giveaway your little Judy Moody fan will love! You might also want to check out the movie’s Facebook page to connect more with the movie & its fans. And let me know in the comments if you are planning on seeing this movie on the opening weekend.

Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer arrives in theaters nationwide on Friday, June 10, 2011.

I also want to share this music video by young artist Camryn. Her “Wait and See” music video incorporates clips from the movie featuring Heather Graham and Jaleel White. 11-year-old Camryn is already a powerhouse performer, releasing her debut album “Wait & See” this coming summer. Camryn is the exclusive artist in Heather Graham’s new feature film, “Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer”; featuring the tracks “Wait & See”, “So What Oh Well” and “Summer”. I love seeing young kids to succeed like Camryn is!

Judy Moody Giveaway

PRIZE:
Judy Moody Prize Pack containing:
* “The Everything Kids” Cookbook
* Pottery Barn “Playful Chef” Cooking Set
* Judy Moody Sunglasses
* Judy Moody Activity Books
* Jump Rope
* JM Not Bummer Summer Book
* Mini Movie Poster
* Mood Rings
* (2) T-Shirts (1 Adult & 1 Kid Size)
* (2) Zorbitz bracelets

MANDATORY ENTRY:
1. Comment why you/your kid likes Judy Moody and remember to leave your email so I can contact you if you win.

EXTRA ENTRY:
2. Subscribe to Skimbaco Lifestyle via email and comment that you did.

EXTRA ENTRY:
3. Follow @skimbaco on Twitter and tweet:
“Enter to win Judy Moody Prize pack http://ow.ly/5dzdC via @skimbaco”
Leave a comment with a link to your tweet.

DEADLINE: June 15, 2011, midnight EST.

Disclosure: This review was made possible by Mom Spark Media. Thoughts are my own.

Shop smart and shop for everything you need for summer on the go at Diapers.com! And one lucky reader will win a $100 Summer-on-the-Go Shopping Spree for your summer essentials!

MAMA MUST KNOW: Diapers.com has everything moms need to enjoy summer with family. This means everything from shipping supplies to ship things ahead to your travel destination, supplies for the family road trip, out-and-about summer gear, and of course, everything you need for the beach. Totes, sun screen, baby carriers – anything you will need for your active on-the-go summer with the kids!

Diapers.com – One Stop Family Shop

I was contacted by BabyCenter to check out Diapers.com shopping destination, and I have to be honest, my kids are older, and I wouldn’t have thought of the site for shopping for anything else but baby stuff, that frankly we don’t need anymore. But Diapers.com offer so much more! Did you know that they have clothing for babies and up to size 5 – or they stock up with all the nursery essentials from bedding to cribs? Yes, they are mom’s destination for everything baby; from maternity wear to baby formula to baby clothes, but they are also beyond baby years! Diapers.com also has a huge selection of party accessories to host those baby showers or birthday parties, and tons of gift ideas for any mom or a baby – and dad too for Father’s day.

But since it’s summertime, and I, like any other mom, am stocking up with everything needed for the upcoming summer vacation, I stocked up with sun screens. I was so pleasantly surprised that they had all of my favorite sun screen brands available, plus some I hadn’t tried before. I am pretty frantic about sun safety, and Diapers.com has one of the best selection of safe non-toxic options of sun screens.

Diapers.com $100 Summer-on-the-Go Shopping Spree Giveaway

Enter to win a $100 Summer-on-the-Go Shopping Spree at Diapers.com. Commenting on the post is mandatory, and the giveaway is open to US residents 18 years and older. Deadline: June 24, 2011, midnight EST.

1. Answer to this question: how do you live life to fullest and enjoy summer with the kids this summer? Leave your best tips for enjoying summer with kids in the comments and remember to leave your email in the comment box so we can contact you if you win.

2. Extra entry:
Subscribe to Skimbaco Lifestyle via email and comment that you did.

3. Extra entry:
Follow @skimbaco on Twitter and tweet:
“Enter to win Diapers.com Summer-on-the-Go Shopping Spree http://ow.ly/5cSp0 via @skimbaco”
Leave a comment with a link to your tweet.

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by BabyCenter in conjunction with the BabyCenter Blog Network.

use code:KATJ1837

New Customers Only. Restrictions apply.

I remember the first year I was old enough to legally purchase liquor – I bought my father a bottle of cognac for Father’s Day. In our family a good bottle of cognac, whiskey, or wine is always a great gift. And to me there was always something luxurious seeing my father sitting on a leather armchair, warming his cognac in the round glass and taking a casual sniff of the aromas coming from his glass, and just relaxing and having a drink after dinner.

If you are looking for a special Father’s Day gift for a dad in your life, whiskey and whiskey accessories provide a luxurious option for less. You know when you are giving dad his favorite whiskey and proper glass to drink it from, he is going to have a number of those nice and relaxing moments of enjoyment. Luxury dinner and glassware is a great gift item, and the best is that you can start collection a series and buy it little by little to extend it to the entire collection over the years. And when you choose from timeless and elegant designs – you have something to keep forever. One of my favorite manufacturers is Villeroy & Boch, a brand that my grandmother and aunt has collected for years, and I fell even deeper in love with when we lived in Germany. The Villeroy & Boch Fine Flavour Whisky American Bar Sets offer many different glass set options for Father’s Day gift. My personal favorite is the tall Canadian Whisky Tumbler as in the picture above.

SUMMER SALE COUPON CODE:
Get 20% Off Villeroy & Boch with coupon code: VILLEROYSUMMER. Starts now until July 4th. Not valid on selected collections, check out the website for details.

Villeroy & Boch Fine Flavour Whisky American Bar Set Giveaway

I have one set of these beautiful Villeroy & Boch whisky sets for one lucky reader. You will have a chance to select your favorite set of two glasses from Villeroy & Boch Fine Flavour Whisky American Bar Sets. The giveaway is open to all US Citizens over 18 years old, and we ship prizes only within the US. You are required to send your address within 48 hours since noticing you that you won in order to receive the prize.

ENTER THE GIVEAWAY

1. Mandatory entry:
Go to Villeroy & Boch and pick your favorite Fine Flavour Whisky American Bar Set and come back and leave it in the comments which one you would like to win. Leave your email address in the comment form so I can contact you if you win.
2. Extra entry:
Subscribe to Skimbaco Lifestyle via email and comment that you did.

DEADLINE: Tuesday June 7th, 2011, midnight EST.

DOUBLE your chances to win! Enter the giveaway also at Party Bluprints Blog

Disclosure: I have received products from Villeroy & Boch, but I have loved the brand since a little girl, and all my opinions are my own.

Kmart Outdoor Living department is a budget friendly place to shop for everything for easy and great looking backyard. Several bloggers teamed up with Kmart to create some real life backyard makeovers with products from Kmart. You can see my entire backyard makeover and details how I turned my friend’s backyard into a Moroccan themed Relaxing Oasis in the Skimbaco Home Outdoor Living Special Feature. And if you want to host the ultimate backyard party this summer, check out Dawn & Elizabeth’s Party Bluprints Blog for their Kmart inspired Party Bluprint for entertaining at your backyard.

Join Dawn Sandomeno and Elizabeth Mascali of Party Bluprints and myself Katja Presnal to talk about outdoor living, entertaining on your backyard, and the ultimate BBQ parties and how to set up your yard in a way that throwing an impromptu party this summer is easy and enjoyable for you. We will share tips and tricks and raffle three (3) $50 gift cards and one (1) $100 gift card to Kmart during the party.

WHAT: #KmartOutdoor Twitter Party
WHEN: Thursday, May 12th, 9-10EST
FUN: Outdoor living & home party tips from lifestyle & party planning experts and Kmart gift card giveaways.
FOLLOW: Follow @partybluprints, @skimbaco, @DawnSandomeno, @KatjaPresnal and @KmartDealsnNews and RSVP below.

Powered by Linky Tools

Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list…

Full disclosure: I received compensation for posting this but all of my opinions are my own.

My main reason to be able to ski – I need to be able to keep up with this little guy!

Did you know that “skimbaco” loosely means “skiing in Colorado”? The word “skimba” means skis or downhill skiing in Finnish, and “CO” is for Colorado, where we lived when I founded Skimbaco. The brand really isn’t about skiing and it means that everyone should live life to the fullest and enjoy life where ever they are; when you are in Colorado, go skiing, when you are in New York, go to museums and see a Broadway show, enjoy what you have. But while Skimbaco blogs tell you about fashion, trends, interior design, food and travel, the origin of the name comes from passion to snow sports, and our family’s love of skiing.

There are many misconceptions about skiing, and one of them is saying “I have bad knees, they can’t ski”. But I know everything about bad knees, in fact, I’ve had two knee surgeries. While there has been ski trips that my knees look like French loaves because they are so swollen, I have different ways to cope with them. One of the best things you can do for your knees is to keep the muscles around them in good shape. I am not a doctor here and this is by no means medical advice, but the better shape my muscles are, the better my joints can take extreme sports like skiing. I can also rationalize that I need a hot tub in a ski lodge for medical reasons to relieve the pain in my joints and relax my muscles after a day of skiing.

SALONPAS contacted me and asked if I wanted to test their product on my next skiing trip. SALONPAS® Pain Relief and SALONPAS® Arthritis Pain are the first and only over-the-counter pain-relieving patches approved by the FDA. I like how SALONPAS offers pain relief in a form of a patch and a cream, making it easier to attack the pain right in its source. SALONPAS is proven to work on mild to moderate pain and great for muscle and joint pain, back pain and sprains, strains and bruises and the thin and flexible patch makes them easy to wear especially when you want to remain active. I have not tried the product yet, but it will be packed and ready to go for my next skiing trip. If you want to give it a try, SALONPAS® products are available at most major drug stores including Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid and Duane Reade, and most Walmart stores.

SALONPAS® SPONSORED $200 AMEX GIFT CARD GIVEAWAY

 
SALONPAS® is sponsoring a giveaway of a $200 AmEx gift card.

To enter the giveaway, tweet the following, leaving a link to the original tweet in a comment on this post:
Send out a tweet, answering the question:
“What is your favorite winter activity and why?” along with the #Salonpas hashtag.
OR
Winter activities giving you muscle pain? Check out #Salonpas on Facebook for solutions: http://facebook.com/salonpas.

EXTRA ENTRIES:
Like SALONPAS on Facebook at http://facebook.com/salonpas and leave a comment here that you did.
Send a tweet “Enter to win $200 AmEx gift card at @skimbaco http://goo.gl/fb/ykRta #salonpas” and leave a comment here with a link.

DEADLINE: Monday, February 28, 2011, midnight, EST.

GOOD LUCK!

Looking for a holiday gift for a teenager who already has everything? For a mom who loves taking pictures of her kids? For a music lover who loves downloading music online? Seagate External Hard Drive is a great unexpected techy gift under 100 bucks for almost anyone in your list.

One of our clients at Collective Bias is Seagate – they are THE maker of external hard drives. I have to admit – I was embarrassed to admit to even my team at first that I didn’t own an external hard drive. And this even after two years ago our car was broken into and my laptop got stolen – and I lost memories worth two years and a book that I had written for 11 chapters. One the reasons why I hadn’t gotten the external hard drive before was that I always thought it was that techy stuff that I wouldn’t know how to use it. But I bought a Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Home Network Storage System from Walmart.com and love it! Truth to be told, my husband broke it out of the box and helped me to set it up, but it is so easy to use. It’s wireless and we can send files from all of our computers from the entire house to it (both PC and Mac!) and not just that but I can send and get files from it also when traveling. It’s so easy and the best of course: I don’t have to worry about losing my data anymore.

I think the Seagate External Hard Drive makes a great gift idea for many of those people in your list that are hard to buy for – or who already have everything. Parents like me tend to have a lot of video and picture files they storage in their computers and teens have movies and music files. You can learn more about different types of hard drives at Walmart.com. They sell them in stores as well, but I liked ordering mine online – it’s easy and super fast. The Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Ultra-Portable Hard Drive also comes in fun colors like red, blue and silver (black too) making it your techy holiday gift even cuter.

WIN IT! SEAGATE EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE GIVEAWAY

Enter to win a Seagate External Hard Drive!

Prize: Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex 500GB USB 2.0 Ultra-Portable Hard Drive ($89.82)
Seagate GoFlex ultra-portable drive easily stores and backs up all your files. As the world’s most versatile drive and the core of the GoFlex storage system, you can upgrade to a faster interface or access your drive on your TV, your network, or by simply pairing it with other GoFlex Storage System products.
Key Features:
Capacity: 500GB
Store up to 63 HD movies, 222 standard movies, 125,000 songs, and 250,000 photos
Interface: USB 2.0
Plug and play
Compact, portable design
Enter to win:
One entry per method, two different ways to way:
1. Comment with your data loss story and leave an email address so I can contact you if you win.
2. Tweet “Enter to win Seagate external hard drive at @skimbaco http://goo.gl/fb/wzqfD #GoFlexMemories” and comment with a link to your tweet. It would be great if you also follow @skimbaco at Twitter.

DEADLINE: December 20, 2010, midnight est.

Disclosure: Seagate is a client of the company I work for, but I bought my own hard drive and my opinions are my own.