Mertado.com Plush Blanket Review & Giveaway

How quickly the holidays are approaching and now Christmas will be here before you know it. Now's the time for all of our last-minute shopping and I guess it's time to let you in on a little secret. In case you haven't heard of Mertado.com, this is the place to do your shopping for a fraction of retail prices.

About Mertado

Mertado.com is an online social shopping site that sells top of the line home & kitchen products at up to 70% off. Membership is free.

Built on the Facebook social media platform, the Mertado site allows shoppers to recommend purchases, see what their friends are buying, and interact with their network while shopping for their favorite brands at deeply discounted prices. Mertado has tapped Food Network TV veteran Curtis Aikens to tape exclusive segments for Mertado TV -- a unique series of videos on the site that highlight recipes, tips, and tricks for using goods purchased on Mertado.com.

 

My Thoughts
I was lucky enough to receive one of Mertado's best-selling plush blankets, the Coral Springs Home Plush Blanket. Worth over $35, these amazingly soft blanket will keep you warm for all of the upcoming winter months. As soon as I showed this blanket to my husband, he stole it from me and has yet to give it up! We received a brown blanket, which matches our furniture perfectly, so we have it on our couch for snuggling since it gets cold at night here.

The Coral Springs Home Plush Blanket makes for a perfect holiday gift! Anyone would love to receive this blanket and I'm positive they won't be able to wait until the get home to snuggle underneath it.

Want to win one for yourself or a loved one? Thanks to Mertado.com, one lucky CTM reader will win a Mertado Coral Springs Home Plush Blanket!! 

Holiday Gift Guide: Inkoos Review & Giveaway

I think all kids love stuffed animals. I, for one, had them all over my room as a child. Now, my two children have their own fair share of them. What else do children love? Art, of course! Kids love to color, so why not give them a stuffed animal on which kids can draw, design, and let their inner artist come out. With Inkoos, kids can do just this.

About Inkoos

From a funky little town called Inkwell, here come the Inkoos! Quirky characters with a taste for adventure, Inkoos are drawn to life with a little Inkspiration from a friend like you. With their amazing markers, you can draw, design and decorate them into anything you can imagine! When you're ready for something new, just send them home for a rinse and a spin and start all over again! Every inch of inkoos can be designed and decorated with their amazing washable markers! The included Inkspiration Wheel gives you tons of design ideas – like ballerina, pirate and rockstar to name a few. 

Each inkoos character includes the Inkspiration Wheel, plus 3 washable markers with a cool clip-on design so you can keep them handy for whenever Inkspiration strikes! If you can think it, you can ink it! Choose from 7 styles. Machine washable.

My Thoughts
We received the Blue Owl Inkoo and, although I tried to hide it for Christmas, the Inkoo caught my 4 year-old's attention immediately. "What is that thing, Mama?" Is it a monster? Is it a bear? No, it's an Inkoo! This cute little fellow is exactly what kids need. They can love on Inkoos, just like with other stuffed animals, but the really fun part is that they can draw on them... without getting in trouble. Even better, the three included markers are washable, so you can draw again and again on your Inkoo.

Isn't this adorable?!

Both of my boys absolutely love the Inkoo. We also received a smaller Inkoos White Mini Bear  with a blue marker and it stays in the car for long ride entertainment. Inkoos are so unique, they had to take their own to show off for Thanksgiving and all the other kids were captivated, too. Each child wanted their own chance to draw on it. I can't blame them. In fact, I took my own turn drawing on it, too.

For kids who love stuffed animals and/or art-time, this is the absolutely perfect holiday gift idea! Recommended for kids 4+, this is a present that won't be forgotten the day after Christmas. Inkoos will be around for a long time to come and something your kids will want to take to show-and-tell every time. Josiah couldn't wait to take his to school.

Inkoos retail for $19.99 and Mini Inkoos retail for $7.99!

Know a little artist who would love Inkoos? Thanks to The Bridge Direct, the creators of Inkoos, One Lucky CTM Reader Will Win One Inkoo & One Mini Inkoo!!!

This giveaway will end at 12:01AM on Monday, January 2nd!

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Good Luck!

GameStop Puts Some Jingle In You Pocket This Holiday Season $50 Gift Card Giveaway

I'm always posting about ways to save this holiday season and now GameStop has thought up an amazing way to help put some "Jingle in Your Pocket"! Their new program allows you to trade in your iPods, iPhones and iPads for some extra jingle (ahem, money) in your pocket. I know we all have extra electronics lying around that aren't used like they once were. I know I have an older iPod that could be traded. You can be paid up to $70 for an iPod trade. How great is that, especially during the holidays when cash is most needed?

• Bring in your old iPod, iPhone and iPad to GameStop and put some more jingle in your pocket this holiday!
• No packing, shipping or hassle - a store associate will tell you the value of your trade items and give you cash or store credit on the spot.

 Current Trade Values:

Get store credit or cash for your old iPod, iPhone or iPad:

• iPod Nano – Up to $70
• iPod – Up to $150  
• iPhone – Up to $180  
• iPad – Up to $300

L'Occitane Beauty Products Make Perfect Holiday Gifts

I always try to find unique gifts for friends and family for the holidays, birthdays and special occasions. My Mom and Mother-In-Law are especially hard to buy for and I have to be creative with my gift ideas. That's why I decided to make a gift basket full of  L'Occitane french beauty products this year!

I love making gift baskets for special occasions, so I thought this would be a fun gift to make and give. With all of the wonderful beauty products, I know they will be pleased. These products are great for a Mother-To-Be, too, and yes, even men! L'Occitane's products are high quality and made from natural ingredients, both of organic and controlled origin from the lands of Provence and Mediterranean. Plus, my other favorite fact about this company is that they don't test their products on animals. I first found L'Occitane through a website listing animal-friendly companies and couldn't wait to try them out. Now I absolutely love them!

L'Occitane has some great deals on beauty products right now and even have gift sets for men and women that are perfect for the holidays! The Verbena Salt Scrub is something I use and I know anyone who receives it will be in for a treat, so I'm definitely including that. The hand cream bouquet makes a perfect gift, too. It can even be gift wrapped and is currently on sale for $50. It comes with six different varieties of mini Shea Butter hand creams that smell wonderful and will keep your hands soft and moisturized during the cold winter months.

In addition, the Kisses from Province lip duo keeps your lips soft, shimmering and smelling of flowers and candied fruits! The L'Occitane Set is the perfect gift set for that special man in your life! I think I'm going to purchase this for my husband because he secretly loves getting these types of gifts. The set comes with Shaving Gel, After Shave Balm and Shower Gel, all with masculine aromatic scents. Lastly, I will be including the Savons de Provence extra gentle soaps with shea butter. I love these soaps and they make great gifts because each are individually wrapped and smell delicious. Plus, they make great gifts for men and women.

As you can see, L'Occitane has many great products for everyone! They make great presents, can be included in gift baskets and would even be perfect stocking stuffers. What's your favorite L'Occitane product?

Find Holiday Savings For Your Favorite Stores At BradsDeals.com

It seems like really expensive bills always hit around the holidays. We are on a budget, a very small budget, which means I must save money whenever and where ever I possibly can. I love the holidays and I definitely don't want to scrimp when it comes to presents for my family. That's why I do most of my shopping online and find coupon codes to help us save money.

I have finished shopping for the kiddos, but have been looking for good deals on gifts for my husband and parents! They are definitely the hardest to shop for, but I think I finally found my husband something. I found several Zazzle Coupons, such as 10% off $20 and 25% off calendars. I love all of the stylish t-shirts they have and I always buy him a calendar for his office each year. Now I can buy two things I know he loves and save some major bucks!

My Mom, on the other hand, loves jewelry! She seriously cannot get enough, so why not indulge her a bit more. I found Red Envelope Coupons, too. Red Envelope is one of my very favorite online shops because they have some of the very best gifts, many of which can be personalized. She would love a brooch or necklace with all of her grandchildren's birthstones. With coupons that take up to 20% off of a purchase, you can save so much money! Plus, they have a clearance section with items up to 75% off.

My Dad is the hardest to buy for each year and somehow I always save his gift for last. This year he made it easier for us by saying he really wants a new computer. I am all for it considering their current one is a dinosaur! They've had it since 1998 and it runs at a snail's pace. There are some amazing Dell Coupons that can save us over $100 for a new desktop computer. I've already talked about it with my Mom and I think we are going to go in together and finally buy one. I'm so overly excited about this!

So, it looks like my holiday gift purchasing days are just about over! I love the holidays, but buying gifts can be very stressful. I'm so happy that I'm not only about finished, but that I was able to save a great deal of money this year. Now I can enjoy the holiday season without worrying about paying other bills!

How much shopping do you still need to do? Have you saved money with coupon codes?

Save Money With Amazing Coupon Codes This Holiday Season

When I was younger, I remember struggling to get each member of our family a present. As a student, I didn't have much money, but I also paid retail price for items. Now that I'm a bit older and wiser, I can let you in on a secret! You should never pay full price for any items! Why? Because you can find a variety of coupon codes on CouponCodes.ca. It's very easy to find codes and discounts you are looking for! Just search through the site's 2,844 active coupons and deals to find the right coupons for you.

Why pay retail when you can find amazing codes and even printable coupons to save so much money? This year will be a Christmas to remember for our family because we were able to purchase much more now that I know how to save money. I found some amazing coupons that I've never even seen anywhere else. Remember the dress I reviewed for eShakti? Well, I found a coupon code for $20 off any purchase on CouponCodes.ca!! Considering I've found dresses for $50 or less, that's a great deal, especially for a custom-made dress!

I also love that you can go straight to the more popular coupons by clicking Top 50 Deals! For those of us on a budget this holiday season, these deals really come in handy. I found a coupon for 1/2 off baby products at Toys R Us, which is something we will definitely use considering how many new nieces and nephews I have. I never knew how easy it could be to save money, but with the gifts already piling up beneath our Christmas tree this year, I can safely say we have 3 times more presents for the same amount of money we spent last year.

How much will you save this holiday season? What's your favorite coupon code on CouponCodes.ca?

Hickory Farms Brings Delicious & Memorable Holiday Traditions Again This Year

I remember getting so excited every holiday season when we'd receive gift boxes and baskets from friends and relatives. My very favorite gifts we'd get were from Hickory Farms. I just loved trying all the different cheeses, crackers and sausages! At a very early age, I discovered my love of the Hickory Farms Smoked Gouda. It's so delicious. Every year, without fail, we would have Hickory Farms around the house during the holidays and it's something I looked forward to. This is why I was so excited to work with Mom Central and Hickory Farms this year to review one of their Gift Boxes.

I received the Party Planner Gift Box to review and couldn't wait until Thanksgiving to try it all out. In fact, we didn't. I had to try some of the Summer Sausage and Smoked Gouda. It just melts in your mouth. Here's a list of all the products included in the Hickory Farms Party Planner Gift Box:

• Our Signature Beef Summer Sausage 7 oz.
• Italian Style Beef Summer Sausage 5 oz.
• Turkey Summer Sausage 5 oz.
• Smoked Gouda 6 oz.
• Farmhouse Cheddar 4 oz.
• Smoked Cheddar Blend 4 oz.
• Mission Jack Blend 4 oz.
• Creamy Swiss Blend 4 oz. 
• Sesame, Caraway & Sea Salt Crackers 1.5 oz.
• Sweet Hot Mustard 2.25 oz.
• Cranberry Mustard 2.5 oz.

It's true, this box is all you need to start your party right with delicious appetizers and Hors D'Oeurvres! I arranged all of these treats on two platters around the room and let the guests dig in as the rest of dinner was finished and ready to be served. Needless to say, most of these goodies were eaten up by the time the dinner party concluded. What was left has now been devoured by all the boys who just loved all of the sausages. My husband especially liked the Turkey Summer Sausage.

You can purchase the Hickory Farms Party Planner Gift Box for only $45! Plus, check out their $3 - 3 Day Shipping! What a great deal. You can even get the gift box wrapped to make it an extra special surprise. Also, for ever gift box sold from now until 1/31/2011, Hickory Farms will donate $5 to the No Kid Hungry Campaign!

 

 I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Hickory Farms and received a product sample to facilitate my review.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Great Holiday Gift Idea & $10 OFF Code

Have you ever seen the Build-A-Bear Workshop at the mall? It is usually packed full of people and very frustrating. Why not just purchase online? It's so much easier and now you can save $10 on your purchase of $50 or more.  Just use Code: 96685 at checkout! They have a variety of cute gifts for boys and girls. Click HERE to shop.

Make Money & Save Money on Gift Cards At Cardpool.com This Holiday Season

With the holiday season fast approaching, it's time to start finding great deals on presents for friends and family. I've been searching like crazy for good deals, but this year they seem few and far between. It's so frustrating because I want to purchase something they will like, but I also don't want to break the bank. After looking around endlessly, I remembered there is one thing people always love receiving- gift cards! This is when I found Cardpool.

Cardpool.com offers a huge variety of gift cards at up to 35% off retail price. You can get gifts everyone will like and save money! In addition to purchasing discount gift cards, they also offer gift card exchange for cash. That's right, you can actually make money at Cardpool, too. When selling your gift cards, you receive up to 92% of your cash back. Plus, you make money quickly because they will send out your money within 24 hours of receiving the gift card(s)!

Purchasing and selling through Cardpool is safe, easy and fast. Now you have two methods of selling your gift cards. You can mail in the gift card and receive a check once it is received OR you can submit the gift card code electronically. The latter is fast even faster and requires no mailing at all. Several gift cards found on Cardpool can be submitted electronically, including Target, Gap and many more.

Who are you shopping for this holiday season? What kind of gift card would they love to receive?

Eversave $5 Code & Extra $3 Credit For New Members & 2 Personalized Disney Books For Only $13

Sign up here today to grab a free $3 Credit for new members.  Plus use coupon code SPOOKY for $5 OFF the fabulous deals!

 

Deal Idea

You can score two personalized 10.9 x 8 storybooks (Disney Princess-themed or Disney/Pixar’s Cars-themed) for ONLY $21 (regularly $42). USE promo code SPOOKY to score an additional $5 off – bringing your final cost down to just $16 for 2 personalized books! AND FREE shipping is included in this offer! …And if you are new to Eversave, you’ll get another $3 off – making your final cost ONLY $13! This will be perfect for the upcoming holidays as presents! I know my kids would love to see this under the Christmas tree!!