Do you have a whole family you have to buy for? What if you got them all of the stuff they would need to go on an eco-conscious picnic together? They could have lots of fun together and help the environment. A bunch of different companies that like to help the environment sent us some things to test out and we thought it would be a good idea to put them all together to be an eco-conscious picnic set! Here are some things that we tested out and we like to use on a picnic:

• A blanket! Ours is an eco-friendly charcoal heather blanket from Zip N Go that folds up into its own carrying case. And it keeps our butt warm and dry when the ground is wet and cold.
• Cloth napkins! We used Happikins napkins with a handy pouch, and a Fabkins napkin. Both brands have really cute styles to choose from, and using cloth napkins doesn’t waste paper.
• Stainless steel water bottles! Our friends at Baying Hound gave us a Kleen Kanteen to try out and we liked it! It has a wide mouth so we could pour stuff in it better. We also got a cool one from Tappenings. Now we don’t have to use plastic bottles!
• A bag for stuff! Tappenings also sent us a bag made from recycled water bottles and yogurt containers. We stuffed our rollerblades and helmets in it.
• A game! We like Girl Mogul’s Conversations to Go game. It gives us lots of interesting things to talk about while we’re saving the environment.
• Nature books! Give some books about nature so the whole family can learn about the environment while they’re on their picnic. We like Take a Winter Nature Walk by Jane Kirkland. She also wrote all kinds of other Take a Walk books.

Families would love to get this kind of stuff for Christmas!

Lena

These DVDs are Aesop Bops! and The Frog Bride. David Gonzalez is a storyteller and we saw him do The Frog Bride at the Wexner center! It was funny! And you should see him in person too! The Aesop Bops! DVD has the Aesop’s Fables, The Lion and the Mouse, The Fisherman and His Wife, and The Turtle’s Shell. David Gonzalez and the musicians make them so funny! The musicans on Aesop Bops! are Daniel Kelly (keyboard), Dave Hertzberg (bass), and Chris Michael (drums). On The Frog Bride, the musicians are Christian Howes (violin and electric violin) and Daniel Kelly (piano, keyboard, electronics). And we have some copies of both DVDs to give to you! Also, if you click this link, and then click “shows” there are interesting things about each show like study guides and answers to interesting questions and things. These DVDs are great and they’re different than any DVDs you’ll ever see. We love them. Storytelling is awesome!

We’ve been watching regular DVDs, too, like Shrek the Halls and the Kung Fu Panda two-disc set. They’re so funny and the DVD extras on the Kung Fu Panda are awesome! Except for the games. They’re not very good. But the second disc is another show called Secrets of the Furious Five. And you could win that too! We also have copies of Tropic Thunder to give away, but we didn’t watch that movie. Our dad did and he said it’s not for kids and it’s only for adults. And even some adults might not like it. But some people will think it’s funny. You should look here to decide if you will like it or not.

Also, on November 25th, Paramount Home Entertainment will release “wrapped and ready” DVDs, which means they’re already wrapped up for Christmas! And we’re giving some to you. We have wrapped and ready versions of Iron Man, Kung Fu Panda, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

And, because it’s Thanksgiving week, we’re having a huge giveaway. There will be five winners:

First place: The Frog Bride, Aesop Bops!, Shrek the Halls, Tropic Thunder, Kung Fu Panda Two-Pack (Kung Fu Panda & The Secrets of the Furious Five), Enzoology: Enzo’s Radical Reptiles, Enzoology Season One. And our friends at Brighter Minds are giving away Top Chef the computer game and a coupon for $10 off any $15 purchase.

Second place: The Frog Bride, Aesop Bops!, Shrek the Halls,Tropic Thunder, Kung Fu Panda Two-Pack, Enzoology Season One, a sample of Top Chef, and a $10 coupon from Brighter Minds.

Third place: Enzoology Season One, wrapped-and-ready copies of Kung Fu Panda, Iron Man, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, a sample of Top Chef, and a $10 Brighter Minds coupon.

Fourth place: Enzoology Season One, High School Musical DVD game, a sample of Top Chef, and a $10 Brighter Minds coupon.

Fifth place: Enzoology Season One and a $10 Brighter Minds coupon.

Here are the new and improved rules: Anybody can enter by leaving a comment. But if you link to us on your blog, facebook, myspace, twitter, or other forum, you are automatically entered twice (you can still only win once, though). We want everybody to be able to enter our contests even if you don’t have a place to link to us. But we also want links because that helps us get more free stuff to give to you! You have until Sunday, November 30th at 4:00pm to enter. Good luck!

Lena

Kids who LOVE High School Musical and Hannah Montana should get the Hannah Montana DVD Game and the High School Musical DVD game! They’re coming out on November 18th and they are really fun! My favorite is the charades game. On the Hannah Montana one it’s called “Hellooo Drama!” and on the HSM game it’s called “Drama Class”! You can sing and play the drums and other stuff on it! There’s even a trivia quiz! On the High School Musical my favorite one is the Career Finder Quiz! It asks you questions and at the end it will tell you what your job should be! It’s really cool! I should be a lifeguard.

Don’t forget, we’re giving away 2 books: Totally Vegetarian and Smelly Locker. Just click here to go to the giveaway post and answer the easy-peasy question. You have until 4:00 Sunday!

And keep checking back because you won’t even believe what else we’re giving away between now and Christmas.

Liberty

Ruthie was so entertained by eebee’s Peek-a-Boo Adventures, she couldn’t wait to try out eebee’s Have a Ball! Adventures, but her twin brother Warren was reading it. The soft books are cute and cuddly and Ruthie and Warren both liked them. If you have a baby, they might like them too.

Lena

PS GIVEAWAY!

Zingo by ThinkFun is a fun game for big kids, but mostly it’s fun for little kids because Zingo teaches little kids how to read! Even though it teaches you stuff, it’s still fun. But don’t give it to kids who cry when they lose. But still, it’s a fun game.

And we have a brand-new giveaway! We’re giving away something for grown-ups and something for kids: A book called Totally Vegetarian: Easy, Fast, Comforting Cooking for Every Kind of Vegetarian by Toni Fiore, and a book called Smelly Locker: Silly Dilly School Songs by Alan Katz! So whoever wins gets 2 things! Just enter by answering this question: What’s your favorite movie? If you are a grown-up, what was your favorite movie as a kid? Right now my favorite movie is Naruto and the Legend of the Stone Gelel.

Liberty

This contest closes November 16 at 4:00pm EST