Garmin GPS and $10 in Save Rewards

Bonus Save: Garmin nüvi GPS navigator

Great Gift:$96 for a Garmin GPS navigator, shipping included — plus $10 in Save Rewards

Bonus Save: Screwballs Sports Bar and Grille

Today’s Save:$10 for $20 worth of food, drinks and games at Screwballs Sports Bar and Grille

Awesome Deals with Zoobooks! The Trip to the zoo that lasts all year long!

Zoobooks is offering many great deals for this holiday season. It’s too cold to go to the zoo, why not get a zoobook and take an adventure to the zoo from the coziness and warmth of your own home and still see all of the animals of the wild that the zoo has to offer. Here are just some of the deals Zoobooks has to offer:

Buy One Get One Free Subscriptions at ZooBooks. Kids love ZooBooks! Buy One for $29.95 and Get The Second One for Free!

Free Shipping on Anything in the ZooBooks Store ($25 or more). Use Coupon Code: Freeship99

Get 15% off Amazing Kids Gifts at ZooBooks! Use CODE: GIFT15

Save 10% on Toys, Books and Games…So much fun!

Shop Back To Basics Toys and Receive 10% Off Orders Over $99 + Free Shipping! Now Through 12/17/10 with Promo Code AFFDEC1!

Curious George, Thomas the Tank, The Cat in the Hat and many more classic books!

Back to Basic Toys has over 100 award winning unique products such as toys, books, games and puzzles for kids of all ages.

Peddler’s Village – Grand Illumination Celebration!

Light up your holidays at Peddler’s Village!

Friday, November 19th, the Peddler’s Village Grand Illumination Celebration will take place from 6 PM until 10 PM. This also coincides with the 30th Annual Gingerbread House Competition and Display in the Village Gazebo, which will debut that night as well!

It is truly a magical moment in the Village when at 6:15 PM that night, Santa Claus “switches on” the display of one million lights as the official start to the holiday season! Santa will then make his way to Giggleberry Fair to visit with all the children in attendance.

If you are looking for a way to kick of your own holiday season and are wanting to start a new tradition with your family and friends, you cannot go wrong with the Grand Illumination Celebration – enjoy festive music and complimentary refreshments throughout the evening. Hot cider, heated in an old fashioned kettle, will be served with marshmallows toasted over an open fire. Strolling musicians will perform holiday favorites throughout the evening.

Also, visitors are invited to preview the merchants’ distinctive choices for holiday gift giving to kick off the Merchants Open House weekend, November 19th through the 21st. Village shopkeepers will welcome visitors with refreshments and something for everyone on your guest list! The Village will have extended holiday shopping hours November 19th through December 30th – Monday through Saturday 10 AM until 9 PM, and Sundays from 11 Am until 6 PM.

Peddler’s Village is located at Routes 202 and Street Road in Lahaska, Bucks County. For further information or directions on how to reach Peddler’s Village, please visit www.peddlersvillage.com or you can call 215-794-4000.

My ProFlowers Experience

Whenever we arrive home to find a brown box on the porch my daughter is excited to find out what’s inside. The feeling is short lived. Almost all of the packages I receive fall into two categories: 1. Clothing or 2. Medical supplies.

So imagine her delight when this time the package was for her! Inside was an amazing birthday package from ProFlowers. It includes a plush bear with sewn on birthday hat and cupcake, a Happy Birthday balloon and a miniature yellow rose plant.

I think it was the perfect combination of items, especially for a child. The balloon was a fun touch and the bear is very soft. In my opinion the miniature flowers, while suitable for anyone, was just the perfect size for little ones to enjoy. I suppose if you are the gardening type, which I am not, you can transfer them to your garden. Since I have a notorious black thumb I like the fact that once I inevitably kill the flowers my daughter will still have the bear to remember her special delivery. It was a great way to start her 3rd birthday!

ProFlowers has items for every occasion. Not only do they have great flowers but they also have plants and a variety of gift baskets. My order was delivered quickly and packaged well. You can check out their large website here ProFlowers.

**Disclaimer: ProFlowers provided the Birthday Basket in order for me to review. I was not compensated in any way for this review other than receiving free product. All opinions stated are mine.

Chesco Dads: The Inside Scoop on Father’s Day!

We are SO EXCITED to introduce you to our new “Chesco Dad” and site contributor, Jeff Tincher. Shannon got to meet Jeff recently at a BestBuy VIP event in King of Prussia where we discussed the need for a Dad’s perspective to be represented here on Chesco Moms and a new partnership was born! In this post, Jeff shares the inside scoop on Father’s Day with us.

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Father’s Day, what’s that mean to me?

Well it sure doesn’t mean I get to lounge around all day in my boxers and old college t-shirts. My morning will most likely start at 6:30am when the kids wake up, want to go downstairs and have me turn on the TV for them to watch an early morning show. Mommy will just flip over in bed for another two hours, and that’s OK because I can then sit and watch cartoons with the kids. That’s my relaxing time of the day with them, they aren’t all sugared up, over-stimulated or beat to sheer exhaustion. They usually just cuddle up while we watch Phineas and Ferb and a few other shows. Then it’s time to brew the coffee and my two budding baristas love to help out. Sure, sometimes I’m still half asleep and them arguing over who gets to scoop the coffee is annoying, but when I look back and write a blog post I see ALL of the fun that is for them. They love it and that makes me love it too! See, Father’s Day to me isn’t about “doing nothing”, it’s about the small things I get to do with the kids – and that’s a good enough gift for me, right?? Um…..

What Do Dads REALLY Want Then?

Hmmmmm, that’s tricky. We could always use a brand new 3-D capable 65” HDTV, or coupons allowing us to go golfing every nice weekend in the summer, or maybe one of the impossible to get new iPhone 4.0’s! It really does depend on what type of Dad you have to buy for. I’m one of those guys that wants anything new and cool! I’d love a PowerMat to charge up my old, scratched-up iPhone 3Gs (hint hint honey, hope you read this!). I’d also like one of those extra battery cases for my phone since it’s always running out of juice when I’m running errands. See, I’m a “techy dad” and love gadgets, iTunes gift cards, and computer stuff. TigerDirect.com has just about anything I would want, far too many things to name!

But I’m also a DIY Dad and therefore could use some amazing new tools to help me with my “man cave” project. The basement is not going to finish itself! I’ve been checking out some laser levels and a new cordless drill and nail gun. OHHHH, and a power washer!! (Wife Note: I could even use it to quickly water the garden from 100’ away while grilling you dinner on the deck! Hint hint)

Just give me a gift card to Lowe’s and I’m a happy DIY Dad.

Oh and I can’t leave out, I’m (shhhh) also a pampered Dad. True, I do like to relax and have someone besides the door jam massage my sit-at-a-desk-all-slumped-over shoulders and back. I’ve probably had over a dozen massages over the past few years, so sign me up, I’ll take a dozen more each calendar year. Hey, great idea…massage of the month club!

What was my favorite Father’s Day Gift?

I’m going to be honest here folks, I don’t get really surprised about gifts. I’m not sure why, but have a feeling that I probably ruined all of my birthdays, Father’s Days, holidays because I used to sneak around and search out my Christmas gifts when I was a little boy. Santa Claus has stuck me on the “naughty list”. Also, I’m a pretty good guesser when it comes to shaking boxes or feeling the packaging, I’m correct about 80% of the time.

So anyway, one of the best and total surprise gifts (finally!!) was a telescope that my wife and son picked out for me either last year or two years ago. Time flies when you’re a Dad of two! I had loved my telescope when I was around 11 years old, I can remember sitting on our deck looking at Jupiter and Saturn and seeing the small dots, which I learned were moons. It wasn’t the best telescope when I was 11, and the one I received for Father’s Day isn’t one of those $500 models, but it’s great to sit on our deck on a summer night, sipping wine and trying to focus in on a tiny white blurry dot in the sky. I had mentioned to my wife that I always wanted another telescope and thought it would be a good way to spend time with my two kids and teach them something at the same time. But what was I thinking!!? All I got was some “NO! Let me look first!” and “DAD! He/She is not letting me look!” But after the novelty of the telescope, the kids chilled and I sipped more wine and then we got a great view of…..the MOON!! Yep, that was the tiny, blurry dot that I was trying to focus in on! We continued to hunt the night sky and figure out how to use the different lenses. I’m going to have to pull the telescope out this weekend and have my kids look at the night sky again!

Other Cool Gifts, The Ones That Are Made

I’m sitting here typing this article late in the night and out of the corner of my eye, taped to the wall, is a two foot tall tie made out of paper. My son had made that for Father’s Day in 2007 when he was just 2-½ years old. It’s painted orange with swirled glue and glitter on it. Also some buttons are glued to it. It’s a keeper!! I’m wondering what the kids made me this year!

OK everyone, this was fun. I hope you enjoyed this post and can figure out what to get your Father/Husband for Father’s Day this year. I did just read tonight that people spend days searching for that perfect gift for Mother’s Day and only spend a few hours at best searching for Dad’s gift.

Hey that’s OK with me (just don’t mess with my birthday!)

About this Daddy

Jeff Tincher is a father of two children (boy, 5 ½ and girl, almost 4) and a husband to a great wife. Jeff lives with his family in Glenmoore, PA and is the Daddy behind Daddy’s Toolbox, a Dad Blog about his personal experiences raising his children and all of the bumps, bruises, meltdowns and fun times that go hand-in-hand. Jeff is also a social media fanatic and enjoys networking on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. You can follow Jeff (a.k.a. @DaddysToolbox on Twitter) or connect on LinkedIn.

Jeff also loves to entertain (probably why he’s so big on social media), cook great meals, enjoys spending time in his yard, starts and never completes his DIY projects, and uncorks a few great bottles of wine on the weekends.

Online Special at The Diaper Bag Wrangler!

K.C. from The Diaper Bag Wrangler generously donated a raffle prize at the open house of P.L.A.Y last night. Part of her prize was a beautiful Yoga bag. I think I might just have to get one for myself!

The Diaper Bag Wrangler features handmade items for baby, child and mom designed for style and function. And now is a great opportunity for you to purchase them at an amazing savings.

From today through May 17th, 2010 K.C is offering Chester County Mom’s readers 40% off your entire purchase!

Enter discount code: PLAY

Orders over $40 always ship for free!

www.diaperbagwrangler.com

I heart my ipod!

My ipod is one of my very favorite things in there whole entire world. I have it on a docking station in the kitchen and my kids and I rock out every morning before school to get the day started, I sing my little heart out while the kids are napping and I am working around the house or playing facey-book, and then every night at while I am making dinner…evening concert.

Music is such an important part of my life. I have playlists for just about everything and any mood. Ones that energize me, relax me, take me back to my childhood, teens, early 20’s (although that wasn’t too long ago, sing I am 29 and holding- wink, wink). I used to have hundreds of CD’s..hundreds! Pre- kids, I spent a lot of time in the car for work and music got me through the day. My CD’s were in CD binders, but somehow always ended up under my seats, in the glove box, side door pocket, they were everywhere. I always thought it was silly that I was carting around my entire music library in the car, but I was in sales and never knew what the day would bring, what kind of mood I would be in or when I would need a little pick me up or a little Dave Matthews to relax after a stressful meeting. I loved my CD’s. If I liked a song I would buy the CD. Doing that is how I fell in love with DMB. I liked “Crash”, bought the CD and 14 years and 10 concerts later. Dave Matthews is my all time favorite.

When I met my husband I had a teeny tiny cute little 2 seater. Throw in my work stuff, CD collection and other random stuff (shoes, shopping bags, camera bag) and there wasn’t much for him, or if I drove he had to hold a big old CD binder on his lap. Not so comfy.
The first present he ever bought me was my ipod. He had the majority of my CD’s downloaded and that began my love affair with my ipod…oh, and yeah, my husband.

Anyway… long story short, the reason that I started this whole ode to my ipod post….. my husband would like his own ipod for Valentine’s Day. He and I have WAY different taste in music. While I am crunchy 90’s Rock, Old School Hip- Hop with a punch of modern pop. He is 80’s pop with a touch of modern pop & hip hop.

He has a playlist on my ipod, but he rarely gets a chance to listen to it. He borrows my ipod when he goes to the gym, but I am always nervous he is going to lose it or break it. ( he has a track record for losing & breaking stuff) The minute he walks in the door, I ask for it right away and make sure it is okay. Silly, I know, but that is how much I love my ipod.. can you imagine the freak I must be about my kids? um, yeah!

So.. I am thinking it is time for hubs to get his own ipod… it will be a “come full circle gift”. He bought me my first ipod, I bought him his.

I was searching ipod prices today and looked on Amazon today and found a pretty Awesome Ipod Deal and wanted to share it with you. I scored an ipod Nano for $139. I saved $43!!!!

So.. hopefully my husband won’t read this post before Valentine’s Day and know what I got him, but just incase he does… Happy Valentine’s Day! Enjoy your ipod…and DON’T LOSE IT!

Frugal Friday Finds: DIY…Holiday Gift Idea

Do you enjoy making your own gifts to share at Christmas? Ever try woodworking? With a little patience, skill and the right tools, you can make keepsake gifts to share with the whole family. Get the kids in on the fun by letting them sand and paint and pound a nail or two.

In recent years, we enjoyed giving the fruits of my husband’s growing woodworking hobby as his skills (and collection of tools) increased with each holiday season. Inspiration for wood projects have come from a variety of sources. One year, my sister needed a new piano bench for a piano they found for free in the classified ads. For that project, Brian went to a piano store and measured professionally made piano benches before making one himself. Another year, Brian created his own measurements for a dollhouse shelf just like the one in the Pottery Barn catalog. Other years, Brian combined leftover wood with new purchases to create smaller projects like a chess board, various cutting boards, keepsake boxes and even toy helicopters.

For more of this article on DIY Woodworking for holiday gifts, click over to DIY Frugal where Sarah is gathering lots of money saving tips just for you!

Frugal Finds Friday: Creative Gift Wrap

“Good things come in small packages” or so the old saying goes. I would venture to change it to “the best things come in homemade gift wrap.”

When you wrap a gift with creativity and ingenuity, you can save money while adding your own personal touch to the gift. I tapped my Twitter microblogging network to bring you ideas for creating your own wrapping. Combining their ideas with my own, here’s what we came up with:

• Tin Foil — Emboss flowers and words in your tin foil wrap with a ball point pen.
• Tissue Paper — You can stamp, draw on, fold, fluff and crinkle to make many fun wrappings with tissue paper, white or colored. With a little clever folding and tying in the middle, you can add colorful tissue flowers to the top.
• Brown Paper Bags — Same as tissue, just brown. Color, stamp, or draw on. Tie with raffia, straw, or twine for a fun organic look. Brown paper bags also look nice painted with stripes or dots.
• Pool/Tote Bag — Use part of the gift as the wrap itself.
• Basket — Group items and tie with a ribbon. This method works well with food gifts.
• Kitchen Towel — Wrap towel around kitchen tools and tie with ribbon or string. The revival of the flour towel provides the perfect weight for dual use as gift wrap.
• Receiving Blanket — Tie a thin blanket around baby items for a cozy baby gift.
• Garage Sale Wrapping Paper — Pick up fun papers at garage sales. People are always clearing out their old stock. Head to the stationery aisles of stores going out of business. Cards and gift wrap always seem to be plentiful on the sale racks.
• Cloth — Wrap present in pretty printed cloth and tie with ribbon. Even a new pillowcase might make a fun covering for a larger gift.
• Comics/Newspaper — And, then there is the old standby: newspaper or comics with a colorful bow.

To read the rest of this article, head over HERE to DIY Frugal where Sarah is gathering lots of money saving resources just for you!