Puppy Prep Kit with Milk-Bone® Dog Treats #ILoveMyk9 #CBias

My puppy 7 years ago

Getting a Puppy for the Holidays or anytime of the year requires a bit of preparation. Somewhat like having a baby come home you need to have some supplies. Of course with a dog it is a lot easier and they require less but just like being prepared for a baby being prepared for a puppy can make having a new member of your household go much easier. With a puppy the key is to have the right items to be able to train your pup to be a well behaved dog.

Having great treats to train you puppy is the incentive they need to learn obedience like sit, stay, come and roll over. Treats were a great motivator for my lab puppy when we first got her. She loved her treats and they made her be a very well behaved puppy. One of her favorite treats that were great train with were Milk-Bone®. They are flavorful and are easily broken up for training. Plus when they are done with a training session they get to have a full size one. My dog loved this type of reward system. Another type of dog training we did was Bell Training were she learned to ring a bell that hung at the back door when she needed to go potty. For this training we used a beefier treat like the Pup-Peroni treats that were small bites packed full of flavor. With consistency on my part and her willingness with a great treat reward I had her bell trained in less than a week. Shes been awesome since and only had two accidents in 7 years! (mainly my fault for not letting her out!)

There are many great treats on the market to pick from but for my dog I still stick to Milk-Bone® for my dog. There are often new items on the market like Milo's Kitchen. I have considered trying to find brands of dog treats that are natural with no artificial flavors or colors. Since I am a couponer and love to buy new products when I find a coupon for one. I was delighted to see that Milk-Bone® offered on the box a peel off coupon for $2 off when I purchased Milk-Bone® along with Pup-Peroni or Milo's Kitchen. There will also be a coupon in the Sunday paper Dec. 11 for money saving coupons for Milk-Bone®.

This year we are buying a Puppy Prep Kit for a new puppy that we will donate. My son adores dogs. He would have a 101 of them all around him if he could. We just watched 101 Dalmatians and he went nuts over it. Knowing that we would be donating our Puppy Products we purchased at Walmart I wanted to be sure to include the items I thought would be great for a puppy.

When we went to out local Walmart we shopped for Milk-Bone®, Pup-Peroni and Milo's Kitchen. These will be great treats to train a new puppy with. With so much great stuff to pick from we decided on some good basics. I purchased a feeding bowl with bowls for water and food, puppy shampoo, collar, leash, rawhide, tennis ball and a rope toy. My son had a blast looking at all the dog items and pointed out to me all the dogs he spotted on the products. He loved all the stuffed animal type of dog toys too.

Another exciting thing happened when we were in Walmart! My son met Santa for the first time! At first he just waved since he had no clue who he was. After we did our puppy shopping he saw other children with Santa and wanted to go see him too. He climbed right up on Santas lap but as soon as Santa talked to him he wanted down. No worries there will be so many other chances to talk to Santa when he is ready. He gave Santa a few high fives before we left. It was really cute that Santa was there at Walmart.

We purchased a few other items we needed at Walmart then visited the Family Fun Center inside the store to play a few games than grabbed an item off the McDonalds dollar menu. We had a good shopping trip and I was happy that we were buying supplies to donate to a family that will be getting a new puppy.

My puppy all grown up into a big dog!

Celebrate Dogs and win great prizes at Twitter Party for #ILoveMyk9 December 8th Thursday at 12 noon CST for a morning/afternoon tweet-chat about dog treats and holiday traditions with your pets and fun gift ideas. You can read more and RSVP to win great prizes here.


You can see my entire shopping trip at Walmart for my Puppy Kit by reading my Google+ Story.

*This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. 

All opinions expressed in this shop are my own and your experience may vary. #Cbias #ILoveMyk9

Babar and Father Christmas DVD Giveaway Holiday Gift Guide

Babar is another great character when it comes to books and shows. My mom would read us Babar books and once we went to a local bookstore to meet Babar. My Mom has the cutest picture of my little brother sitting with Babar. If you do not know who he is, he is the Elephant King of Celesteville. He has a wife and children and they have many exciting adventures together.

When I had the chance to host a giveaway for a great Babar Christmas movie I was excited to be able to share Babar with everyone. Babar and Father Christmas is the story of when Father Christmas does not bring toys to the elephant children of Celesteville and King Babar sets out to find him.

You can purchase Babar and Father Christmas on DVD online at Barnes and Noble.

GIVEAWAY

Win a Babar and Father Christmas DVD

To Enter This Giveaway:

Have you heard of Babar the King of Celesteville? If so do you have a favorite book or movie?

*Leave a comment answering the question and be sure to leave your email address if its not public in your Google account*

Extra Entries: Can be done after leaving a comment for mandatory entry. If the extra entry says 1 extra entry leave 1 comment and 2 extra entries leave me 2 comments and so on.

-Follow eOne Entertainment Home Video on Twitter +1

-Follow Frugal Family Tree on GFC ( right hand side) +1
-Like our new fan page on Facebook Frugal Family Tree +1
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Share this giveaway on Facebook ONLY, using the Share Button at the bottom on this post. +1 for each share you do. (can be done once a day)

-Copy and Paste This Tweet on Twitter and leave me the link (to find the link click on the time stamp under your tweet. Can be done once a day for the duration of the giveaway)

#Win Babar and Father Christmas DVD from @eOneHomeVideo at @FrugalFamTree #Giveaway ends 12/14

*Limited to US residents; 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts December 5, 2011 and ends on December 14 , 2011 at midnight PST. Winner will be emailed and has 48 hours to respond before another winner is selected. I was not paid for this giveaway or post. The opinions on this item are 100% mine and may vary from others. The sponsor is responsible for providing the prize.

The Original Christmas Classics Rankin/Bass 2 Disc DVD Set Review Holiday Gift Guide

I have been a huge fan of the Rankin/Bass Holiday Christmas classics since I was little. They are some of the greatest Holiday cartoons you can share with your family. They only come on TV once a year and often times we miss the airing of it. This year I will try to watch it when it comes on TV but I did not have to wait for that. We have the Original Christmas Classics on DVD. Its 7 of the Christmas movies on two DVDs. Some of my favorite ones on are there like Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the Rednose Reindeer. The Rankin/Bass shows to me have to be watched during the Holiday Season. Its one of the signals for me that Yes it is Christmas Time!! I loved sharing these with my son. Last year he fell asleep watching them since he was only 1, but this year he clapped and cheered as I did for these great Holiday DVDs.

The Original Christmas Classics  features 7 Holiday favorites: "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer," "Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town," "Frosty The Snowman," "Frosty Returns," "Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol," "The Little Drummer Boy" and "Cricket On The Hearth"  I am not a Magoo fan so I did not really care for the Magoo Christmas Carol and I think the original Frosty is much better than Frosty Returns. But I love all the other cartoons and was so happy to share them with my son. I know we will be watching these all month and for many years to come. You can find this DVD for sale at Walmart and Target.



*I was not paid or compensated for this post. The opinions in this post are 100% mine and may vary from other opinions. I was provided for free a copy for my review.

Aquarium of the Bay Review #SanFrancisco

Ever since I was little I have always loved sea life. My family always lived no more than an hour or so away from the Pacific Ocean. All over California and Washington we were always close to the beach. There is something about the Pacific Ocean that is magical in a way that invigorates you and makes you curious about what is beneath the waters surface. I have never been scuba diving but I have been as close to sea creatures as I could be without getting in the water!

A few weeks ago my family and I went to San Francisco to visit Pier 39 and the Aquarium of the Bay. I have been to this Aquarium several times over the last decade but this was the first time taking my son and mother in law. My son adores animals and I thought expose to sea animals would be great for him. When we first arrived we had the opportunity to donate some non perishable foods to a local food bank in San Francisco. We happily donated canned foods and toddler puffs.

After we went into the Aquarium the fist things we saw were amazing. The Jellyfish displays were soothing to watch. They looked like they were slow dancing to music. My sons first thought was just as the rest of us. He said "Oh Wow!" He said "Oh Wow" many many times during this tour.

Next we got onto an elevator to go down to 300 feet of crystal clear tunnels featuring over 20,000 marine animals from San Francisco Bay and nearby waters. It is always amazing to go through the tunnels. You get an underwater peek at what it would be like to go into the ocean waters. We saw many amazing creatures. There are many different types of fish Shovelnose Guitarfish, White Sturgeon, Sea Bass and lots of colorful Sea Stars. The second tunnel is filled with other sea life that is in deeper waters. As you walk through you realize there are sharks and bat rays gliding above you. Its a very amazing experience. My son was wide eyed and in awe as we slowly rode by on the people mover. It was a nice feature to the tunnel. It kept my son moving along without him wanting to run off.

They also had really neat aquariums that you could go under and put your head in a bubble as if you were sticking your head in there. It was so cool and a great photo opportunity. 

After leaving the tunnel area we went back up the elevator to another floor where we entered the Touch the Bay area where we began a very interactive and exciting experience. There are pools that have baby bat rays and leopard sharks, little ones of course! It was amazing to be able to touch the animals as they swam by. There was another pool with invertebrates. We were able to touch sea stars, sea cucumbers, anenomes and more. My son was very curious about touching all of them. He touched a sea star and told me "Ouch". After that he would not touch the other creatures. I told him they were soft and pet them like a kitty cat but he did not believe me. A very sweet Aquarium employee even brought over a sea cucumber for my son to touch be he told her "No". She laughed a bit with me and I was thankfully she tried. The area also had interactive coloring and learning area in  the room. 

We had a wonderful and memorable time at the Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco. I recommend taking your family there for a short road trip if you live in the Sacramento Valley and surrounding areas. In this area we are considered locals and get great discounts.

1. Visitors to PIER 39 can download a coupon good for a free PIER 39 Fun Pack by visiting pier39.com and clicking on the special offers page.  Inside the Fun Pack is not only a ton of money saving coupons to most of the shops, restaurants and attractions, but also a coupon valid for 2 hours free parking in the PIER 39 parking garage.  Fans of our Facebook page can also check-in to PIER 39 and receive the free Fun Pack coupon on their mobile as well.

2. Locals (anyone living between Sacramento all the way down to Monterey/Salinas) can sign up for special local discounts throughout the year at pier39.com.  Right now we're offering Holiday Half-Off offers, which will be released on Nov. 11.  We also do Kids Eat & Play FREE, as well as Buy One Get One FREE offers.  You should sign up so you receive the coupons in your inbox on Friday too!  

3. AAA members can show their card at the California Welcome Center for 20% off at participating restaurants, and other great discounts.

4. Groups can take advantage of our meal voucher program, for overall savings and added convenience http://www.pier39.com/GroupPrograms/mealvoucher.htm

For all Pier 39 special offers, visit the Special Offers page.

While at Pier 39 we also had to visit one of our favorite animals, the Sea Lions. They bark and play on the docks and in the water. We have visited them many many times in the past. They are always a joy to watch. Oddly this time it was the very first time we only spotted one Sea Lion. I told my son that one stayed here to help him celebrate his birthday. He then called it a dog. He makes me laugh!

*We were not paid for this review. We were provided passes to enjoy attractions on Pier 39. The opinions are 100% mine and may vary from others.

Gourmet Gift Baskets Christmas Gift Baskets Review Holiday Gift Guide

The Holiday Season is a great time to splurge and enjoy yourself. Gourmet Christmas Gift Baskets are a great way to treat your family and friends to sweet and savory treats that they might not normally get for them self. I have found some of my favorite treats this way. Gourmet Gift Baskets is a great company to purchase your basket from. They often donate gift baskets to the troops and communities in need.

For our Holiday Gift Guide we were sent a wonderful Christmas Gift Basket full of delicious treats. We were sent the Classic Christmas Basket  gourmet snacks including a chocolate covered cherries, dark chocolate bar, chocolate chip cookies, almond clustered popcorn, raspberry honey mustard pretzel dip along with pretzels and so much more.

I had a few favorites in the basket. I loved the Chocolate covered Cherries the most. My son loved the Chocolate Chip Cookies. The Cheese Biscuits were a bit strong in flavor to eat plain and even the box said they were great in a soup so I put them in a bowl of tomato soup and they were great. There was also an awesome Dark Chocolate bar that I used in a recipe for dipping treats in and for hot coco.

Gourmet Gift Baskets makes a great present to send or bring to a holiday party. You can often find coupon codes on the Facebook and Twitter pages of Gourmet Gift Baskets.

* I was not paid or compensated for this post. I was sent the Gift Basket pictured in this post for my review by the company. The opinions are 100% mine and may vary from others.