Things to Do - Land of Nod Holiday Party and 15% Discount Code

Last Thursday, I opened up my home for a a super fun "road show" party previewing Land of Nod's Christmas line. When LON first contacted me, I was elated because I love their stuff. But then I grew hesitant - I'm not exactly a party planner, my idea of a good time is pizza or bbq and a keg. So when LON started asking about my planned menu, I responded with "um, maybe Trader Joes? They sell a lot of appetizers, don't they?"

Luckily my friend Rebecca (also known as Not-So-SAHM) just started a new blog/business with her friend Suzanne called A Feteful Life, their motto is "always simple, never plain." After I saw their blog I almost screamed out "THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I NEED!!" Once they agreed to cohost, things became fun.



A Feteful Life planned our whole menu, coordinated decorations, and BUILT A CHALKBOARD FIREPLACE (seriously, isn't it the coolest thing ever?). They also styled the first floor of my house, turning the whole place into a winter wonderland. All I had to do was (1) unload boxes (lots and lots of boxes); (2) find an Xmas tree (we ended up cutting one down a tree from our backyard, as Dan has new landscaping plans for the spring); and (3) keep my kids from playing with the numerous toys that now occupied our home.

The third was NOT an easy task, eventually I caved and allowed for "gentle" play, especially from T and his friends (as adorable as John Murphy's plush-o-saurs are, they're even more adorable when engaged in dinosaur attacks). Of course, now that we've actually sampled many of Land of Nod's Christmas products, we're even more eager to purchase some for keeps.



Aren't the signs awesome? The best part about hosting this party was that at the end of the night we raffled off all of the toys (thousands of dollars worth) to our good friends (regarding the guest list, I couldn't decide who to invite, so I kept it simple - in order to receive an invitation you needed (1) small(ish) children (2) and to live within walking distance of my home).

For the raffle cards, Rebecca and Suzanne created these funny little quizzes next to the party's stuffed animals. The guests just had to fill them out and put their names in a kneatly knit storage bin (love these) - so much more fun than dropping names into a hat.



The fox sleeping bag is one of my all time favorite LON products, T sleeps in his every night (on top of his comforter).



I found it pretty challenging to keep my kids off the adorable rocking pig, but I wasn't sure the pig could carry the weight of an 8 year old.



When it came to the Where the Wild Things Are masks, I caved and let T and his friend become rabbits and tigers for awhile (they couldn't agree on who would be what, so they both became half tiger/half rabbit).



For the craft table (can you believe I had an adult party with a craft table? And people actually crafted at it. Crazy world we live in), Land of Nod sent us several crepe paper flower kits. Suzanne and Rebecca made an awesome chalkboard table runner (using craft paper) to write directions on, isn't it incredible? Click here to see how they made it (note - it's easier than you think).



Land of Nod sent all of the hosts Cottage dollhouse kits to personalize. (By the way, did I mention that several of these parties took place throughout the country last Thursday? Scroll to the bottom of this post to see the other awesome bloggers and how they decked out their digs.) Rebecca and Suzanne created a "chalkboard" house that made me want to shrink myself and move in for awhile.



As my kids are growing a little old for dollhouses (sniff, sniff, it goes so fast), I gave mine to an artist neighbor who made it look AMAZING. Then T added zoo animals because "every house needs some" (??). Anyways, just a quick shout out and thanks to Melissa! (while she builds dollhouses, her husband builds crazy beautiful real houses - check them out here).



And finally, a few pics from the party itself. The food was so yummy that we didn't have any leftovers (sadness) and everyone seemed to have a good time (so much fun watching the city folks and the Arlington folks (I still refuse to call us a "suburb", rather we're an "almost suburb") mingle). Thanks to everyone who came!!

I (of course) drank a little too much of the punch, but had a fabulous night.

EVEN IF YOU MISSED THE PARTY, YOU CAN STILL RECEIVE THE DISCOUNT - JUST GO TO LAND OF NOD AND ENTER PROMO CODE "MONSTER" TO RECEIVE 15% OFF FROM TODAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY (THE 27TH). SO WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? HURRY UP AND SHOP!!
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Other party hosts:

*Atlanta: Joni Lay of Lay Baby Lay
*Boise: Kirsten Grove of Simply Grove
*Charleston: Chassity Evans of Look Linger Love
*Kansas City: Carrie + Morgan of Ampersand Design Studios
*Los Angeles: Kelly Lanza of Studio DIY + The Honest Company
*Nashville: Raechel Meyers of Finding My Feet
*Salt Lake City/Provo: Kirsten Krason of 6th Street Design School + Small Fry Blog
*San Francisco: Cristin Bisbee Priest of Simplified Bee + Michaela Warner of Michaela Noelle Design + Mary Heffernin of The Makery

Things to Do - Land of Nod Makeover, Behind the Scenes

You know something unusual is taking place when the iron actually comes out of the closet (I wasn't even sure we still had one).
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I didn't take many behind the scenes pictures (though I wish I would have). The Land of Nod team spent two days here (one day for styling and one day for photos). At first it felt a little overwhelming to have a group of people redecorating my house for me. Are they guests or workers? I kept offering everyone beverages.

Luckily, the whole LON team (2 photographers, 3 stylists, and 1 assistant) consisted of wonderful people. They quickly won over the children, who spent two days stalking their every move ("look mom, they brought a whiteboard! and chalk! i get to keep my own chalk, isn't this exciting?") Yes, a whole new room, but somehow the free chalk really made their day. Anyways, we liked everyone so much that now the kids keep asking if we can have them over again. I try to explain that they live in Chicago and NYC, but that doesn't really make a difference when you're 3/6/7 years old ("can't they just fly here? we'd make them dinner. PLEASE!").

For me, one of the largest highlights (of which there were many) was meeting Melanie Acevedo and talking with her about her work. Somehow she managed to revive my interest in photography just by assuring that one really should shoot every day and trust their instincts/find their own style. I was a little in awe.

Regarding the photoshoot itself, since it took place in our relatively dark basement, the photographers needed to change the lighting for each area they photographed. So our family had a lot of down time. The kids loved dressing up and acting out scenes. And I am incredibly happy that we now have family pictures. Though it did make me think about what celebrities must go through (NOT that I am in any way a celebrity) - having other people dress them and pose them, forfeiting control and trusting that the professionals know how to make them look best. What an odd way to go through life.





Lots of excitement, though not necessarily lots for us to do.



And, of course, Coco managed to sleep through it all. Even during Ipad time.



Just a teeny tiny bit of blush. I know I sound like a cheesy mom, but doesn't she look beautiful?

Things to Make - Yarn Wrapped Sticks (As Seen In the Land of Nod Catalog)

This is possibly the easiest craft project I've ever posted (and I've posted LOTS of easy projects). Basically, look around the neighborhood for "good sticks" (not too frail, not too large), which is a fun way to occupy the kids during the "witching hours." Then use a glue stick to attach the yarn to the stick. I bought different colors of yarn, so that each stick would contain multiple hues.

Originally, I placed the sticks in a vase. But when Land of Nod came to makeover the basement, they decided to attach them to the ceiling. Pretty, huh? For an extra special effect, add garland, like this one from Paper Source (Paper Source no longer appears to sell the garland pictured above).

Things to Do - Land of Nod Basement Makeover

(all "after" photos courtesy of Land of Nod and the wonderful Melanie Acevedo)

As many of you may (or may not) know, I also post at Land of Nod's blog, Honest to Nod (tons of amazing stuff over there, check it out if you have a chance). They have always been a wonderful company to work with (lots of giveaways around Christmas time) and I feel so lucky to be part of their internet team.

And then everything became even better.

A few months ago, LON contacted me asking if I had any interest in improving a room in our house. Um, well, YES!!! But where to start? (we haven't lived in our current home for two years yet and several of the rooms need some love.) I came up with a list of suggestions including our basement, which looked so blah that I had no idea where to even begin. To which, LON replied, "well, would you like our help designing it?".

And then everything became better than better.

They quickly put me in touch with a LON designer - Sarah - who asked to see my pinterest files, in order to work within my style. So we collaborated (with Sarah doing most of the work) and within a few weeks, she had taken my boring, dull basement and divided it into "zones" - a study space with desks, an art corner, and a dress up wall. All while working around our desire for our tv (and couch) for family movies and wii. And did I mention her idea for a corkboard wall? Brilliant.

Sarah's design plan was beyond helpful. And while she suggested several LON products, she also included accessories from other sources (click here to see the board). I thought this was a special service for me, but was surprised to learn - and want to make sure everyone knows - that LON offers this for most customers (depending on designer availability), so if you have a design dilemma or question, just ask.

And then better became amazing.

After Sarah finished her design plan, my husband and I talked about what we liked and what we didn't (our main changes related to color). And then things started moving pretty fast. Another wonderful LON designer helped us finalize everything (click here to see the final design plan). We assembled new furniture and unloaded poofs (LOVE their poofs), and within a few weeks, a team of designers and a professional photographer arrived to help us put everything together and to photograph the family for the catalog (our brief brush with fame).

The basement turned out even better than I could have hoped. The girls each have a leaning sloane desk, where they work on homework and keep their most treasured possessions. T basically lives in the dress up corner. And the art area has become a favorite playdate spot. But best of all, the basement still remains a space where we can gather as a family - watching movies, reading books, and "arting." I never thought such a relatively small space could meet so many needs, so thank you LON, thank you!! We couldn't have hoped for more.

IF YOU'D LIKE TO WIN YOUR OWN LAND OF NOD MAKEOVER, CLICK HERE TO ENTER THEIR CONTEST (WHICH CLOSES ON JUNE 17, 2013).





Amazing transformation. It also serves as our "tv room", but I've learned that catalogs really really don't like to show photos of TVs.



The dress up corner is one of my favorite parts, the kids come up with the most interesting combinations.

At first, I insisted the room was way too small for a coffee table, but I was wrong. We ended up LOVING the adjustable table with paper roll (the kids color on it constantly). Plus, I like that we have the option of converting it to a desk for T in the future.



Art table = awesomeness. Especially with the paper roll right next to it.



Our basement also has a corner "nook" (I don't have before pictures), where we set up a puppet show, using LON's new "What's That Stand For Stand", which may be one of their best products ever. FINALLY, as a parent you don't have to choose between the market stand and the puppet show and the post office, now there's an all-in-one version. I love it (and so do the kids).

Things to Do - LAND OF NOD ART BOX GIVEAWAY!!!

First of all, congratulations to Susan, winner of the $50 Land of Nod giftcard. For our final Monday giveaway, we chose the Land of Nod It's A Draw Art Box (valued at $79).

We spend a lot of time arting around here, so most of our supplies are in a sad state of disarray. My hope in ordering the art box was that if the kids had a beautiful container full of quality art supplies (markers, pencils, crayons, oil pastels, and paints) that they'd actually take care of them, instead of leaving random capless markers stranded on the kitchen floor. And, believe it or not, IT WORKED!!

Every morning, someone opens up the art box and throughout the day new creations emerge. I've grown so accustomed to its presence that last week, when we had friends for dinner, I forgot to take it off the table. "I didn't know arts and crafts were on the menu," a friend commented.

The Art Box is pretty fabulous and the kids seem to realize this, as they take care of it - four weeks in and we still haven't lost a single component. Not even a cap. Now that's holiday magic.

In order to enter you must either:

1) comment on this post, leaving in the comments sections your name and an email address or phone number where I can contact you. THE BODY OF YOUR MESSAGE MUST INCLUDE CONTACT INFORMATION or you cannot win (because I can't find you). Even if blogger makes you enter an email address before you comment, I still need you to renter the email address in the body of your message. Understand? (if not, email me at nomonstersinmybed@gmail.com)

OR

2) "Like" No Monsters In My Bed on Facebook and leave a message on my wall indicating that you'd love to win the art box. (for example: "I would love to win the art box" will suffice).

US addresses only. I will pick a random winner on Sunday, November 25 at 9 pm EST.

THIS GIVEAWAY IS OFFICIALLY CLOSED. CONGRATULATIONS TO CHRIS! AND THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO ENTERED!


RANDOM LINKS:

*1900-1977, a summary. These photos are incredible.

*A handmade Star Wars calendar. Awesomeness. Actually, the whole Etsy calendar roundup is pretty great.

*Washington Post's Best Books of 2012.

*wow, all of these are mesmerizing, but i especially can't take my eyes off the sophia coppola one.

*The belt story made me cry (though I could have done without the half-naked girls on the sidebar).

Things to Do - LAND OF NOD $50 GIFTCARD GIVEAWAY!

First of all, congratulations to Claudia, the winner of Land of Nod's super-cool ride on excavator. As I mentioned last Monday, the girls CAN NOT stop fawning/fighting over the Land of Nod Christmas catalog, particularly the doll section, which is crazy impressive, both in quality and quantity.

Lucky for us, Land of Nod graciously let the girls pick a few dolls to review. F picked Kiki and Bertie, who have practically become family members. They go everywhere with us. And P chose Suzy Q and Oliver the Elephant, who alternate between acting as P's "best friends ever" and spending the day chilling out on her bed with the rest of her ever-growing stuffed animal family. Suzy Q and SpaceBear always seem to sit next to each other, could a romance be brewing?

Since there are SO MANY dolls to choose from (click here to see the selection), Land of Nod is giving away a $50 gift card so you can choose which doll works best for you (or, if you prefer, you can choose any of the other wonderful toys in their catalog instead). I will pick a random winner on Sunday, November 18 at 9 pm EST.

In order to enter you must either:

1) comment on this post, leaving in the comments sections your name and an email address or phone number where I can contact you. THE BODY OF YOUR MESSAGE MUST INCLUDE CONTACT INFORMATION or you cannot win (because I can't find you). Even if blogger makes you enter an email address before you comment, I still need you to renter the email address in the body of your message. Understand? (if not, email me at nomonstersinmybed@gmail.com)

OR

2) "Like" No Monsters In My Bed on Facebook and leave a message on my wall indicating that you'd love to win the giftcard. (for example: "I would love to win the giftcard" will suffice).

And, if you don't win (or if you do win), don't forget there will be one more Land of Nod Xmas Giveaway next Monday. So make sure to check back in.

THIS GIVEAWAY IS OFFICIALLY CLOSED, CONGRATULATIONS TO SUSAN ON WINNING THE GIFT CARD!



This is F's favorite place in the house. She can spend hours here reading
The Boxcar Children Bookshelf (The Boxcar Children Mysteries, Books 1-12) and ignoring the rest of us.

Things to Do - LAND OF NOD'S EXCAVATOR RIDE ON GIVEAWAY!!!

Do any of you remember the Sears Christmas Catalog (I'm really dating myself here)? It used to come in the fall and I would spend every day after school circling and debating over which toys I wanted from Santa. I loved that thing. Anyways, the other day I was reflecting on how, outside of Amazon and the American Girl brochure, nothing like this really exists for children today and then Land of Nod's Holiday Catalog arrived. The girls started circling stuff immediately. And list making. And sucking up to Santa.

Unlike the girls, T didn't debate different purchases. He flipped through the pages, he came across the ride on excavator and his mind was made up. No indecision. He knew what he wanted.

Luckily, I blog for Land of Nod (stop by sometime) and they asked if I wanted to hosts a few review/giveaways for the Christmas season. So T reviewed the digger calling it "awesome, really awesome." Actually, since it's arrival he's barely gotten off the thing. He spends all afternoon scooting across our kitchen floor, lost in his imagination.

So, throughout the first three weeks of November, every Monday I'll host a Land of Nod GIVEAWAY. So please check in and comment and (hopefully) win something.

This week, one lucky reader (US addresses only please) will receive a Land of Nod ride on excavator ride on (i.e. T's newest toy/obsession/love), retail valued at $119 (basically this is an amazing deal and a great Xmas present for any kid). I will pick a winner on Sunday, November 11 at 9 pm EST.

In order to enter you must either:

1) comment on this post, leaving in the comments sections your name and an email address or phone number where I can contact you. THE BODY OF YOUR MESSAGE MUST INCLUDE CONTACT INFORMATION or you cannot win (because I can't find you). Even if blogger makes you enter an email address before you comment, I still need you to renter the email address in the body of your message. Understand? (if not, email me at nomonstersinmybed@gmail.com)

OR

2) "Like" No Monsters In My Bed on facebook and leave a message on my wall indicating that you'd love to win the excavator. (for example: "I would love to win the excavator" will suffice).

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This giveaway has officially ended - congratulations to Claudia (aka #3, as picked by the Random Number Generator). And, in case your wondering, each facebook entry also received a number (as did the facebook emails) so all entries were accounted for. Thanks everyone for participating!!

Things to Make - Land of Nod's Rainy Day Art Kit and GIVEAWAY!!!

I was pretty psyched when Land of Nod sent us their Rainy Day Art Kit to review, as it includes SO MANY projects - two "felt friends" to sew, two tissue paper art projects, a needlepoint kit, and animal molds with play clay. F insisted we wait until an actual rainy day to open the box (she's very literal). When the first rainy day finally arrived we had the girls' cousin, C, over for a playdate; this made me a little nervous as all the projects come in packs of two, but I figured that the box included enough projects that we could make it work. F and C quickly gravitated to the tissue paper art, which was wonderful - lots of fun with little adult supervision. But P decided she wanted to try the needlepoint kit. Um, I can't sew. At all. Zip. Zilch. Nada. So we tried to learn together and it was a mess. F tried too. No success. Luckily, the "felt friends" project saved the day. On the downside, I had to help P sew her dog, as she struggled with finding the holes and keeping the stitching consistent. On the upside, this was P's favorite art project ever. She carries her new "homemade" doll ("pinkie pie") with her everywhere, explaining to everyone that she made it herself.

Finally, all three kids decided to spend thirty minutes or so sculpting animals with the play clay and cut out shapes. When I looked at the clock a whole hour and a half had gone by since we opened the box. A great morning. Even if we couldn't master the sewing.

All in all I think this is a really wonderful project box, with 1-2 kids it could last a whole day. If you want to win one for your family please either (1) like me on facebook and leave a message on my facebook wall saying hi OR (2) leave a message in the comments section listing your favorite winter activity with kids, MAKE SURE TO include your email address in parentheses at the end of the message (so I can contact you). The contest ends at 8 pm eastern time on Monday December 12. Winners will be chosen on December 13th via random drawing (T picks names out of a bowl).

Things to Make - Land of Nod's "I'm Not Bored Anymore" Art Jar GIVEAWAY!!!!!

When Land of Nod contacted me about the possibility of hosting a review and giveaway at first I was elated (yay! free stuff, we love free stuff!). But then I became somewhat hesitant. I don't want to become one of those blogs that is always hawking other people's stuff and saying things along the lines of - "today we drank yummy Minute Maid juice with our breakfast (so nutritious, I wouldn't drink any other kind) then we packed up our safe, wonderful Odyssey mini-van so we could stay for free at the Ramada, which was seriously the best hotel ever." On the other hand, I work hard at blog and if companies want to give me free stuff (especially stuff that appeals to my readers) I'm okay with that. All of this is just to say that I promised myself that when it came to reviewing the "I'm Not Bored Anymore" jar I would be honest. If we hated it, well, then we hated it.

Luckily, the jar was a HUGE HIT. F actually called it "the coolest thing I've ever done" (seriously? even better than Disney? why do I even try?). The jar's magic apparently stems from the fact that it lets kids create on their own terms. Nobody is telling them what to do, yet at the same time they're being provided with all the "tools" that kids love - a whole jar full of confetti, googly eyes, glitter, pipe cleaners, pom poms, funky scissors, wood knobs, beads, foam shapes, felt letters, brightly-colored paper plates (these were a huge hit), etc. Even T had a blast "I like it mommy, I like it" (the jar is recommended for kids 6 and over but T scoffs as such age restrictions).

We now take out the jar every few days, as it has become our solution to those after-school BLAHs. And I really enjoy seeing the -sometimes odd - stuff my kids come up with - F decided to make her own "I spy" letter picture (I hate to be a downer, but the letters were pretty easy to spy), P created all these beautiful drawings with glitter details, and T lined up balls and pom poms in little rows. On the downside, the jar comes with glue and glitter-glue but we quickly ran out, so I'd make sure to have some extra around (extra scissors and scotch tape also proved helpful).

Anyways, if you'd like to buy one, they're available here for $29 (Land of Nod also sells a "junior" version for $24.95). Or if you'd like to WIN one, please either (1) "like" me on facebook then leave a message on my wall saying whatever you want to say (maybe write "i want to win!"?) OR (2) post a comment to this post stating your favorite rainy day activity. The giveaway ends one week from today on November 22nd. All entries must have a United States address for shipping.

HAVE A GREAT TUESDAY EVERYONE!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW OFFICIALLY CLOSED! CONGRATULATIONS TO CATHI FOR WINNING THE JAR!!!