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Review: Deck of Chores

I am currently trying to get my preschoolers more involved with doing chores. And anyone with children knows it’s all about making things fun- or else you “lose” them. When I was given the opportunity to try out Deck of Chores, I thought it sounded like a cute idea.

The packaging is simple. The cards are roughly 5”x3” and printed on heavy stock paper. There are 5 sets of each chore- washing the car, vacuuming, empty/load the dishwasher, etc. Each chore is illustrated with either the apparatus used ( e.g., a dishwasher) or a cute scenario, however, when a chore has a person in it, it’s an adult. I’m wondering how effectively that would be if you’re trying to get your kids to do the particular chore.

Supplied in the package is a card that suggests a few games that the deck can be used for. They were cute ideas, but a little too over my children’s head. I used 3-4 chores with their pair and played a memory game with my 4 year old. She really enjoyed getting a match, meanwhile being exposed to chores that are needed around the house.

Some of the chores (washing the car, vacuuming, dusting, etc.) are a bit much for young children. I’d really recommend this for kids age 7 or better- when they’re really able to grasp what they’re doing and how to do it effectively, let alone reach what they’re doing. There were a few chores that my children could handle, and ones I use daily- load/unload the laundry, emptying and loading the dishwasher, etc.

This is a really cute alternative to the standard chore chart posted on the fridge. Especially if your child(ren)’s learning style doesn’t particularly fit into the chart style.

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#93 – Barbara Leatham

Congratulations!  Thanks to everyone who entered for this wonderful prize from Kraft.

We draw 10 numbers in a contest like this to be sure that if the winning entries are disqualified for not following the rules, we have valid entries from runners up.  Below is the random number drawing, provided by Research Randomizer. 

The winner will be notified by email on Monday, July 6, 2009 (we’re currently closed for the holiday weekend).  If for any reason the winner does not respond within 3 days of notification, the next eligible runner-up will be declared the winner.

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#87 – Katrina V for an entry on Twitter

Congratulations, Katrina!  Thanks to everyone who entered this awesome giveaway for this cool portable Flip video camera.

We draw 10 numbers in a contest like this, to be sure that if the winning entry is disqualified for not following the rules, we have valid entries from runners up.  Below is the random number drawing, provided by Research Randomizer.  If for any reason the winner does not respond within 3 days of notification, the next eligible runner-up will be declared the winner.

Remember that 7/1/09 is your last day to enter for the 1 year supply of Kraft macaroni & cheese giveaway, which will be drawn tomorrow.  Go enter now!

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We’re happy to announce our giveaway of a Flip Video Camera, thanks to our wonderful sponsor, Lever 2000!  A winner will be randomly drawn from the comments on July 1, 2009.

By entering our Flip video camera giveaway, you’ll also be automatically qualified in Lever 2000’s contest to win a professional photo shoot for your family and to be featured in a Lever 2000 advertisement, plus a new family dining set!  There are lots of runner-up prizes too, so by entering our contest, you have a chance to win lots of goodies!

Read on to find out how to enter.

How Important is Touch in Families?

Lever 2000 just sponsored a survey to find out about how the current recession is affecting parents’ relationships with their children.  The results were surprising to me, and really pointed out the fact that frugal families tend to pull together and support each other when times get tough.

Here are some interesting findings from the “Make Every Touch Count” survey:

• Parents today show more affection to their children than their parents showed them. 
• The recession is causing families to feel more stress, but 81% of parents feeling more stress said it was making their family closer.
• 84% of dads surveyed give their kids more physical affection than their parents did.  
• “Parents report hugging and kissing their kids, on average, six times a day.” That’s a lot of love!

This study about how important touch is in families is what prompted Lever 2000 to start the photo contest.  Families  share photos of their family showing how they use the power of touch to create strong family bonds. There are some really wonderful photos there already (see them here) – about 1,400 photos as of the time of writing this post!

Prize may not be exact same color/model of Flip Video Camera shown in photo and will vary on availability.

How to Enter to Win a Flip Video Camera:

You can enter once PER DAY per person, so bookmark this page and enter every day (yes, including extra entries)! One lucky person will win a Flip Video Camera, courtesy of Lever 2000. This contest is open to USA shipping addresses only. By entering this contest, you agree to our Giveaway Terms and Conditions.

To Enter: Go to Make Every Touch Count and upload a photo.  Then come back to this post and leave the link to your “Make Every Touch Count” photo page in a comment.  Enter anytime between today (6/11/09) and  at 6/30/09 midnight PST. Winner to be announced on July 1, 2009. (Be sure to leave a valid email address.) You must enter this way before qualifying for any extra entries.

How to To Get Extra Entries:

Each day you can do one or all of the following and leave another comment for each one:

1. Blog about this giveaway. Leave the link to your post here.

2. Subscribe to Homemaker Barbi’s free email updates  or RSS feed, then leave a comment.

3. Share this giveaway on Twitter, Facebook or any forum, including the name of the prize and a link to this post. Then leave the link to your post.

4. Put our badge on your site. Choose one of our badges and put it in your sidebar (leaving the badge up will allow you to put in an extra entry every day!). Leave the link to your site.

5. Email 3 people and tell them about this giveaway (with a link to it) and bcc the email to giveaways(at)homemakerbarbi.com.

6.  Bookmark this post in Delicious, Digg, StumbleUpon, Kirtsy, or your other favorite social bookmarking site, then leave another comment here with the info.

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• Giveaway: Win a 1 Year Supply of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese!

We’re excited to announce our giveaway for 1 year supply of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese!  To Share a Little Comfort, not only does the winner get 50 boxes of mac & cheese, but they also get another 50 boxes donated to Feeding America in their honor.  You can enter up to 7 times EVERY DAY, so bookmark this post and come back daily!

All you have to do is tell us how you doctor up mac & cheese in your family (plus loads of extra entries for helping us spread the word about this contest).  One lucky person will win a 1 year’s supply of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese dinners (50 boxes) PLUS a year’s supply donated to Feeding America in your honor!

We’re Helping Charity- You Can Help Too For Free!

Kraft is doing wonderful work with the charitable group Feeding America (formerly America’s Second Harvest) to donate up to 1 million boxes of Kraft macaroni & cheese plus $100,000 cash to help feed those in need. 

Homemaker Barbi is so excited to help in the Share a Little Comfort promotion by giving away a 1 year supply of Kraft mac & cheese to one of our readers.  We’re also using the hashtag #BlueBox on twitter.  Every time you put the #BlueBox hashtag in one of your tweets (about anything), Kraft will donate a box of Mac & Cheese to Feeding America.

Get Kraft Macaroni & Cheese and Velveeta Coupons Now

Visit Share a Little Comfort now and click the big blue button. It’s FREE, and Kraft will donate a box of mac & cheese to Feeding America for you!

While you’re there, you can get 2 coupons:

• Coupon for $1.50 off 2 boxes of Velveeta Shells & Cheese
• Coupon for buy 3 get 1 free of Kraft macaroni & Cheese

Enter to win a 1 Year Supply of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese!

You can enter once PER DAY per person, so bookmark this page and enter every day (yes, including extra entries)! This contest is open to USA shipping addresses only. By entering this contest, you agree to our Giveaway Terms and Conditions.

To Enter: Leave a comment on this post telling how you make your mac & cheese interesting.  Do you put in extra ingredients?  Serve it in an unusual or different way?  Whether you doctor up your macaroni & cheese or eat it straight, leave a comment on this post anytime between today (6/10/09) and 7/1/09 at midnight PST to be entered. Winner to be announced on July 2, 2009. (Be sure to leave a valid email address.)

To Get Extra Entries (each day), do one or all of the following and leave another comment for each one:

1. Blog about this giveaway. Leave the link to your post here.

2. Subscribe to Homemaker Barbi’s free email updates  or RSS feed, then leave another comment.

3. Share the following message on Twitter, Facebook or any forum. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your post.

I just entered @HomemakerBarbi’s giveaway for a 1 year supply of Kraft Macaroni&Cheese! Enter here: http://twurl.nl/im5nxo #BlueBox

4. Put our badge on your site. Choose one of our badges and put it in your sidebar (leaving the badge up will allow you to put in an extra entry every day!). Leave the link to your site.

5. Email 3 people and tell them about this giveaway (with a link to it) and bcc the email to giveaways(at)homemakerbarbi.com.

6.  Bookmark this post in Delicious, Digg, StumbleUpon, Kirtsy, or your other favorite social bookmarking site, then leave another comment here with the info.

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The giveaway has already started (5/20/09) and lasts until the hot dogs run out.  Go now to get your free Oscar Mayer hot dogs!

My family had a midnight barbeque a few days ago to test out the new Oscar Mayer Premium beef hotdogs, since we live in Fairbanks, Alaska, and it never gets dark here in all summer long! Check out 2 of our videos below.  (Subscribers will need to click through to this article to view the videos.) 

6 of our writers are also doing video reviews for these great Oscar Mayer hot dogs.  You can see videos from Phoebe, Tiffany, Teresa, Melissa, Nessa, and Renee here on the Oscar Mayer YouTube group. 

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Last week we had a giveaway running for a great Wet Ones prize pack for your child’s school.  The winner gets 2 canisters of Wet Ones antibacterial wipes for each classroom in their school! 

And the winner is…

#12 – Cybergwen! 

Congratulations, Gwen!  You have 3 days to contact us with your public or private school’s name, address, and contact information so they can receive the prize.

If for any reason the winner cannot receive the prize, the runner up is #29- Maruxa M.

Stay tuned for our next awesome giveaway – a HUGE prize of food for 1 year!  As always, you can sign up for the best blog contests and giveaways all in one place (and link your giveaways as well) each Saturday at Product Reviews for Mom.

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Wet Ones is giving away the same prize pack to a Homemaker Barbi reader for their child’s school as well!

also

Get $1 off Wet Ones Antibacterial Wipes coupons here.

That’s right, your school will receive 2 containers of antibacterial wipes for each classroom in the school.  Wet Ones’ reason for the giveaway is this:  “The CDC has advised that hand cleaning is the first line of defense against infection. Wet Ones, the antibacterial wipe shown to kill germs and clean hands, wants to help keep children healthy all year round – at school, during recess, sports games, lunchtime and bus rides.”

We’re big supporters of germ control (did you read our latest article about which household cleaning product kills the Swine Flu virus?).

Enter to Win a Wet Ones Prize Pack for Your School!

This contest is now closed. Stay tuned for the winner to be announced!

You can enter once PER DAY per person, so bookmark this page and enter every day (including extra entries). One lucky person will win a prize pack for their child’s school of 2 canisters of Wet Ones antibacterial wipes per classroom (any public or private school in the USA). This contest is open to USA entries only. By entering this contest, you agree to our Giveaway Terms and Conditions.

To Enter: Leave a comment on this post telling us what you think is great about your child’s school. (Be sure to leave a valid email address.)

Extra entry #1: Blog about this giveaway! Leave the link to your post in a separate comment for an extra entry.

Extra entry #2: Subscribe to Homemaker Barbi’s free email updates  or RSS feed, then leave another comment for an extra entry. (If you are already a subscriber, you always get this free entry!)

Extra entry #3: Share this giveaway on Twitter, Facebook or any forum, including the name of the prize and a link to this post. Then leave a comment here including the link to your post for an extra entry.

Extra entry #4: Put our badge on your site. Choose one of our badges and put it in your sidebar (leaving the badge up will allow you to put in an extra entry for every contest!). Then leave another comment on this post including the link to your site for an extra entry.

When: Leave a comment anytime between today and 5/16/09 at midnight PST. Winner to be announced on Sunday, May 17, 2009.

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