Haunting Halloween Must-Haves from Hallmark Canada! #Giveaway #LoveHallmarkCA

"Mommy, how many more days til Halloween?" "Mommy, Halloween is in fall. Did you know it's fall now?" "Mommy, can I try on my Elmo costume again?"

This year, my kid is ALL about Halloween. It may have started when a fabulous box arrived from Hallmark Canada with some of their latest must-haves to celebrate the day.

Brick-or-Treat at LEGOLAND® Discovery Centre

Halloween is almost here and the LEGOLAND® Discovery Centre at Vaughan Mills is celebrating the entire month of October with Brick-or-Treat!

Every Saturday and Sunday in October (and Halloween Day - Friday, October 31) little ghosts and mummies can come and enjoy the themed décor, spooktacular entertainment and costumes and much more. All included within the price of admission!

Spooky activities include:

• Make Your Monster Building Fun 
• Spooky Creative Challenge in our LEGO® Master Builder Academy 
• Monster Mash Scavenger Hunt 
• Spooktacular LEGO® Pumpkin Trail 
• Boo Crew Costume Contest

Have a Spooktacular Halloween with Rice Krispies #rkhalloween #kelloggers #recipe

I'm not the greatest cook or the greatest baker, but when a black cat cookie cutter arrived in the mail from Kellogg's Canada I got really excited. (Mostly because Booyah is a black cat.)

Looking for some delicious treats that older kids can help create? Check out all the awesome ideas on the Rice Krispies website (scroll to "Halloween").

I attempted to make the Spooktacular Butterscotch Pops (I write attempted because I did not make them pops). Would you like to make them? Here's the recipe.

A Spotted Halloween with Pottery Barn Kids

Hannah had a very successful second Halloween. Although she missed being a part of the daycare parade because she was sick, she was still able to trick or treat and look super adorable while doing so. (She also got quite the candy haul, has perfected saying the world "chocolate" and got to see some pretty impressive outdoor Halloween decorations.)

This year Hannah dressed as a Cheetah from Pottery Barn Kids. They offer a slew of classic costumes from animals to Dr. Seuss.

Five ways to maximize your AIR MILES rewards this Halloween

Halloween is definitely one of my favourite holidays. When I was little I thought it would be the best birthday to have – not only did you get birthday presents, but bonus Halloween candy too!

I’m a big fan of bonuses - which is why I love my American Express AIR MILES Card. I’ve been an avid collector of AIR MILES reward miles since before I was even approved for a credit card. I was so excited to get my hands on an Amex AIR MILES Card – AIR MILES reward miles AND Amex Front Of The Line? What an awesome combo! Just this summer alone I got exclusive access to the Jay Z and Justin Timberlake, NKOTB and Backstreet Boys concerts in Toronto – and let’s not forget Sesame Street Live this coming holiday season, which I’m more excited to see than all the aforementioned live events. I was able to purchase tickets to all these events before they went on sale to the public, and breathe easy that I’d be attending when everyone else was hitting “refresh” on their Internet browser.

I love racking up AIR MILES reward miles – and my Amex Card is easily the fastest way. I earn reward miles twice by using my Amex AIR MILES Card and my AIR MILES Collector Card at participating Sponsors. Some rewards I’ve redeemed for include magazine subscriptions and tickets to the Metro Toronto Zoo. My Mom has collected so many AIR MILES reward miles that she has redeemed for a digital camera and flights across Canada.

Here are five ways to maximize your reward miles this Halloween:

Halloween Pet Safety Tips from Iams #PGmom

Hannah adores a Halloween picture book simply titled "Spooky". I know she adores it because she kisses it. OK, full disclosure, she only kisses the "cat" photo - one that could pass as our cat Booyah when he was a kitten. 

Booyah is a black cat. You might think Halloween is his night - after all, millions of Halloween decorations showcase his likeness. With a reputation for bad luck, he and fellow black cats have become one of the many symbols for Halloween. (I would like to say here and now that I don't agree with said reputation.)

Regardless of black cat Halloween popularity, after holidays that involve fireworks, I can safely say October 31st is one of Booyah's least favourite nights. All the noise and all the people = no fun for Booyah.

Here are some helpful pet tips from Iams to keep your pets of every fur colour safe this Halloween:

Happy Halloween from Hannah Banana!

© 2012 YYZ Bambina. All Rights Reserved.

More Tricks than Treats

Happy Halloween!

Today Hannah and I were supposed to go to our weekly music class with Sonshine & Broccoli. I was so excited Halloween fell on a Wednesday this year, so that Hannah could be around other kids who were dressed up and show off her super cute Banana costume that her Auntie made for her.

Booyah is actually holding a tomato toy,
but let's pretend it is a pumpkin for Halloween.

Instead, Grandma is at the mall with Hannah (not dressed as a fruit) and I am at home in my PJs on the couch eating many freeze pops because my lymph nodes decided to get all swollen.

After waiting an hour to see the doctor, I got told to drink lots of liquids and not kiss baby. I am contagious. :(

I'm obviously more disappointed by today's events than Hannah because she has no idea. In some respects I guess I should be happy she's not old enough to realize she might be missing out on anything. When Daddy gets home Hannah will parade her costume around for us, we will take lots of photos and then maybe watch "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown." (We live in a building, so will have no Trick-or-Treaters coming to our door.)

I will spend the rest of the night cuddling my black cat Booyah. Not because he deserves extra love today (being a black cat on Halloween can be tough), but because I can't pass the on virus to him.

I hope everyone has a Happy Halloween and stays safe, and hopefully dry.

What are your kids dressing up as for Halloween?

© 2012 YYZ Bambina. All Rights Reserved.

A Healthy Halloween

This year, for her first Halloween, Hannah is dressing as a banana. Her Aunt is a fashion designer and making her costume. We will be making an (early) appearance at her Aunt's Halloween party, we have a music class to attend on Halloween, and we may drive to her grandparents houses to collect candy, so hopefully her super cute costume will get some mileage.

But because she'll only be 9 months old, I don't need to worry about any candy she might collect. Because Chris and I will fight over it, and then gorge on it ourselves (not that I expect she'll be collecting much).

How do you make sure your child(ren) doesn't go overboard with all the treats Halloween can entail?

Image:http://picture-book.com/content/friendly-witch

Baby Gourmet Founder & President Jennifer Carlson Broe has a favorite healthy Halloween tip that both parents and children will love. The Halloween Witch is a household tradition for Jen's children Eamon and Findlay. Trick-or-treating is an experience that children love and Jen knew it would be very difficult (and disappointing for the kids!) to convince them not to participate - yet she was concerned about them eating big bags of candy. So...she told them about the Halloween Witch.

Eamon and Findlay have fun picking out their 10-15 favourite treats to keep and then they leave the rest of their candy next to the fireplace. The Halloween Witch visits their home each year and takes away the candy in exchange for a new present. Jen's children enjoy the whole of experience of Halloween without the lingering damage to their nutritional plan.

Fifteen pieces of candy and a new present sound pretty good to me. When I was younger, my brother and I would stay out for hours trying to get as much candy as our bags could possibly hold. Then, when my Mom was making us clean our rooms as part of spring cleaning, we usually found the dusty bags hiding under our beds - still 75 per cent full and having to be thrown out due to grossness.

Near the end of my trick-or-treating days, people had started to give out stickers, pencils and plain popcorn (slightly healthier than other goodies).

This year, Jen is going to take Halloween to an even healthier level. She will be handing out her brand new Squoosh™ product - the first healthy snack line-up to be launched under Kids Gourmet™, a brand devoted to healthy options for school age children. The Squoosh™ snack product line has four products specifically designed to appeal to children's sense of fun: Orangobango, Squabbleberry, Beetberry, and Banango. The packaging is fun and filled with serious nutrition. These snacks are made from 100 per cent fruit and vegetables, have no added sugar or salt, are kosher, nut-free and gluten-free, and provide a full serving of fruit & veg in every pouch.

Image from: http://www.babygourmet.com/our-food

Hannah LOVES Baby Gourmet, so I can only assume when she gets older she'll love Squoosh™ too. With flavours like Harvest Pear, Pumpkin and Banana, Orchard Apple, Carrot & Prune, and Juicy Pear and Garden Greens, Baby Gourmet is baby food I don't mind tasting to ensure it's the right temperature. It's also a Parent Tested, Parent Approved Award Winning Product. All Baby Gourmet products have 100 per cent organic ingredients, no thickeners or fillers, no added sugar or salt and BPA free re-sealable packaging.

How will you keep your kid(s) healthy this Halloween?

© 2012 YYZ Bambina. All Rights Reserved.

Mabel's Labels Halloween Offer

Happy Halloween! Don't let this fabulous offer from Mabel's Labels scare you! 

From now until 10/19, or while supplies last, Mabel's Labels is offering a $3 off coupon for Allergy Alert labels, with all Halloween Loot Bag Combo purchases. The Loot Bag Combo was inspired by celebrities who love to include the Mabel's Labels waterproof Sticky Labels and Bag Tags in their children's birthday party loot bags. These sweet combos make great party favours and add a personalized touch to gifts! Best of all, you save $3 off Allergy Alert labels. Perfect for keeping your child safe this Halloween. Don't miss your chance to shop this great offer! 

Disclosure: I am a Mabel's Labels affiliate. 

© 2012 YYZ Bambina. All Rights Reserved.