Free Holiday Ideas » Sponsored Post

Christmas Express Review

kthomas — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 22:58:41 +0000

Are you tired of running from store to store to create the perfect decorating scheme for your home? Are you hunting for Mr. and Mrs. Claus outfits? Christmas Express offers a very comprehensive shopping experience. As I looked through the front page of the site, I noticed Christmas decorations, cards, ornaments, lights and pre-lit trees. There definitely is a fantastic selection here for Christmas lovers.

A few things you will want to be sure you check out are:
* Special offers – I noticed a free shipping on orders of $75 or more offer when I was looking at the site.
* Anna’s blog – The blog adds a really nice personal touch to this online store.
* Christmas tree guides – There are several useful articles and guides on selecting the right tree.
Tom Smith’s Christmas crackers – I love these paper poppers with treats inside. They are such a neat old world tradition. I tried to make my own one year and I can assure you that pre-made crackers are a bargain! (And they look much prettier than my attempts.)

I was really pleased to see that links to a FAQ, return information and contact information were right at the top of the site and very easy for customers to find. For people who are uncertain about shopping online, the Better Business Bureau and Authorize.net icons at the bottom of the site should provide reassurance.

This review has been sponsored by Christmas Express

Be Safe With LED Christmas Lights

kthomas — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 14:31:44 +0000

If you are still using Grandma’s incandescent Christmas lights, it may be time for a change. There are several reasons that LED holiday lights are a better idea. LED Christmas lights:
* Last longer and use about 80% less energy. This means that you can feel less guilty about wasting power and harming the environment as you light up your house this year.
* Are much less likely to break. No more worries about a whole string of lights not working because you broke a bulb as you tacked the last few feet of a string of lights into place twenty feet off the ground.
* Don’t overheat and catch the house on fire, which is always a plus. In fact, LED Christmas tree lights only get to a degree higher than the room’s temperature.
* Let you connect strings to each other, which means you can create a string of lights that is an incredible half a mile long and only use one of your outdoor outlets!

Plan a Special Vacation With a Travel Blog

kthomas — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 23:16:27 +0000

When you are sick of vacation packages that give you a very sterile look at the place you are visiting, it is time to plan the vacation yourself. Of course, if you don’t use a package with a tour guide and you don’t know the area, it is hard to plan what to see and when to go. A travel blog that is written by real people who have actually been to the areas they are writing about can give you some great tips on planning a vacation that includes all the best local sights.
A travel blog can also be a great place to find good deals on hotels or airfare, as well as finding out exactly how nice the place you’re planning to book really is. You may just find out you were about to book a stay in a resort that is undergoing serious renovations or that it is too far from all the local events and tourist attractions.
RealTravel, a travel blog written by people who really visited the places the write about, also has another feature. You can make your own record of your travels using their free travel blog option. Then, you get to weigh in with your opinion on the places you visit and give some great tips to people who are hoping to travel there.

Photo source

Charleston, South Carolina Is on My To Do List

kthomas — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 14:34:16 +0000

Do you have one of those to do list for vacations? I do. Charleston, South Carolina is on it. (Along with everything from Connecticut up, everything on Route 66 I can still get to and Decatur, Illinois and Missoula, Montana to visit friends.) Somehow, I keep heading to the mountains and going hiking on my vacations lately. I think I will break out of my vacation rut with Charleston.
Charleston is a gorgeous old city and I drool over pictures of those historic homes with their lovely gardens filled with magnificent Magnolias and Camelias. The city is so filled with fascinating history and interesting places to visit.
I guess the best way to be sure you are seeing all the popular sites is to take guided tours for a few days and then go back and explore your favorite places on your own for a few days. I had a lot of fun doing that when I went to Gatlinburg the other year, because the guides took me to spots I never would have found on my own and I got to see these really neat salamanders and a wild orchid.
Anyway, back to Charleston Tours. I’d be doing the historic homes tour because I’d get to see inside all of those droolworthy houses and visit their gardens. However, I suspect that my brother would want to sign up for the pirates and buccaneers tour and I wouldn’t mind tagging along because I love history. If we got things together fast enough, I think going near the end of the month and taking a ghosts and legends of Charleston tour would be a ton of fun.
Next up? Perhaps a round of Boston Tours in the late spring. (A friend of mine was snowed in there for over a week when she visited during the winter!)
Photo of Historic Charleston home by David Oakes

DreamaScream Halloween Costumes Review

kthomas — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 23:35:30 +0000

As the Halloween season approaches, people are beginning to shop for Halloween costumes. While you can head to your local discount store to shop for costumes, you may discover that there is a poor selection or that the costumers are actually quite pricey. Shopping online gives you a wide selection of costumes at budget friendly prices.

DreamaScream has a really wide selection of kids costumes (and costumes for older people, too.) I saw everything from Harry Potter to a darling little bee costume for kids. According to the site, superheroes are the hot choice and my nieces and nephews seem to agree, since they all have requested superhero costumes. There is a fantastic selection here, from Spiderman to Wonder Woman.

I noticed that there is live help and a phone number for ordering right on the front page of the site. Having contact numbers and customer service help right on the front page is fantastic, since customers don’t have to waste 15 minutes searching through the site to find the answer to a question.

The fact that DreamaScream offers secure ordering is also very important. If you scroll down to the bottom of the page, you will see the all security logos and buttons.

A few other things I loved about this site:
- A wish list option for people who aren’t quite ready to make a purchase.
- Great organization. The categories make browsing easy and there is a search box if you can’t find what you are looking for.
- Popular costumes are pictured on the front page for people who want to shop for the perfect costume in a hurry.

This post sponsored by DreamaScream

Premier Glow Review

kthomas — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 16:39:37 +0000

If your children trick or treat anytime after dusk, visibility can be a major safety concern. One great way to keep your kids safe and let them still feel that spooky atmosphere is to use glow sticks. Premier Glow has a great selection of glow sticks, glow necklaces and flashing products that are perfect for trick or treaters.

The first thing I noticed after looking at the eye catching colors of the website is the fact that the business phone number is right under the company name. I’ve shopped on so many sites that don’t have contact numbers or have them hidden three or four clicks from the main page. This is really a nice thing to do. If you have a question or comment and don’t want to make a phone call, the other forms of contact are under the Contact Us link on the left.

The whole site is really well organized and easy to use. A sale page link and links to different types of glow products are on the left, with links to FAQs, fundraising info, etc. below the product links. A search button is in the upper right corner. I could find what I was looking for in seconds.

The shopping cart has a wonderful feature – shipping info right on the first page. I don’t know how many sites make me go through several pages of the checkout process, only to find out that the shipping is too high or that they don’t offer my preferred shipping method.

Overall, Premier Glow has a really user friendly website and a wide selection of glow sticks, glow necklaces and other light up novelties. With their low prices, I’m thinking that glow necklaces would be a great thing to give to the kids that knock on the door this Halloween instead of candy.

Send Santa Claus Letters Review

kthomas — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 23:38:12 +0000

If you have children of a certain age, you are probably already gearing up for certain Christmas events. These traditional activities, such as hanging stockings on the chimney to putting out cookies and milk for Santa, add to the excitement of the season for many young children. The most important part of the celebration for most kids is to write a letter to Santa talking about how good he or she has been and what he or she wants for Christmas. Imagine how exciting it would be to get a personalized letter back from Santa. SentBySanta.com is a website that allows you to do just that.

As I looked through this Send Santa Claus Letters website, I noticed a few things I really liked:
- The site is really nicely organized and very appealing to look at.
- People who want to send letters to a group of children will love the buy three get a fourth free special that this site offers.
- Free personalization, which includes the child’s name, hometown and other details, makes the letter something the child will really treasure.
- To make the letter seem more authentic, it will be sent to the North Pole and mailed to your child from there to receive an official North Pole postmark.

Another feature I liked was the games and activities page, which offers free Christmas games. For people who have a question about the site or want to see some samples, there is a contact us link and a link to letter samples.

This post is sponsored by SentBySanta.com

Doncaster for English Racing Fans

kthomas — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 16:33:22 +0000

With the convenience of a modern airport right next to a historic racecourse, Doncaster is a town in the midst of a major renewal. This southern Yorkshire town of over 60,000 residents used to be known for coal mining, but the closure of the mines has really changed the area. Tourists who stay at one of the very nice Doncaster hotels in the area will be able to enjoy some serious shopping and plenty of sports events. The town’s women’s football league is said to be the best in the whole area.
Another reason that Doncaster airport hotels are such a popular destination with tourists is that they are a convenient hub for anyone who is interested in exploring local history. In Doncaster alone, there are four important historic buildings and quite a bit of information about excavations back to Roman times. A number of interesting museums and a gallery are also in or near the town.
Of course, for many people, the reason to visit Doncaster hotels is to spend a few days enjoying the races. The historic Doncaster Racecourse is world famous and is a major player in the horse racing industry.

Playa del Carmen is a Great Place to Play

kthomas — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 23:41:55 +0000

If you’ve never been to Mexico for a vacation, you may be picturing feral chickens and dusty areas. However, Mexico has quite a long stretch of coastline and amazingly lush areas. Playa del Carmen vacation rentals offer gorgeous views and all of the amenities of Carribean resorts and are often cheaper.
If you fall head over heels in love with this area of Mexico, Maya riviera real estate is available, but it may not last long. This area is currently still unspoiled and relatively underdeveloped compared to other popular areas. I saw condos in the $400,000 range and several very nice luxury homes for around a million that would have cost a great deal more in the states.
For people who want to enjoy peace and serenity for a few days, but still want to visit a bustling metropolis, there are several five star Hotels in Playa del Carmen that are quite close to the city of Tulum. (We took our last vacation right outside of Tulum and this whole region of Tulum and Playa del Carmen is seriously gorgeous.)

Photo by Sergio Peñaloza

Armchair Travel

kthomas — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 21:48:14 +0000

I love to travel, but I just can’t get everywhere. Instead, I use the modern armchair travel method – I read a travel blog when I have the urge to roam. As I browse through blogs, I find new places I want to visit and sometimes I cross places I was thinking about visiting off my list. I learn about must see attractions and the best local restaurants other travelers have discovered. If you are unable to travel as much as you want, I’d like to invite you to join me in virtual vacationing through a travel blog such as Real Travel.
Real Travel’s blog is a very active place for travelers. Besides the standard travel information articles that are so useful for people planning a vacation, this travel blog features real people and their real vacations. Another cool thing? You can make your own travel blog for free. You can keep track of every place you’ve visited, add photos, give tips about what you liked and didn’t like about the location…Really a neat idea.