The Perfect Holiday: Hanna Andersson Long John Pajamas

Give the gift of giving this holiday season when you buy Hanna Andersson 'Tis The Season Sleepwear! A portion of all profits from this collection will be given to organizations that support kids in need.

All long johns sleepwear are made from 100% organically grown cotton. Extraordinary care is taken in the creation of each garment, ensuring that you won’t feel anything but the softness of this beautiful combed cotton knit fabric. Not only do these pajamas feel great on, but they are also built to be extremely durable. Certified by Oeko-Tex Standard 100, which means that these are independently tested to be the safest products on the planet (in our words, not theirs)!

These pajamas hold up through multiple washes and only get softer with time. The fit is snug and stretchy, but fits true to size (no vanity sizing). The infant sleepers feature a full zip front with crossover snap tab to protect baby from the zipper at the top. Because they are footless, your child can wear these for longer during all those growth spurts of childhood! 

From our testing, we determined that their colors do not fade as much as compared to other brands and their stitches are stronger than any other pajama we've seen. And the best part? You can buy these in matching patterns for the entire family  - from newborn to toddler to child to adult - perfect for that cozy holiday photo by the fireplace! 

SHOP THE 'TIS THE SEASON FAMILY COLLECTION

Pengoloo by Blue Orange Games

Penguins are the new Easter bunnies of 2011!

Easter is right around the corner and if you're looking to truly go green for your child's basket this year, the options aren't as plentiful as parents would hope. Long gone are the days of plastic, single-use toys that are broken long before Easter dinner is even on the table. This year's goal is to focus on quality, not quantity...and our #1 recommendation for children is the Pengoloo game! (If you're shopping for children under age 3, we highly recommend this fair-trade carrot rattle instead for choking safety.)

Pengoloo is a game that is as much enjoyed by a 3 year old as it is by an adult! Each player takes a turn rolling colored dice and lifting up penguins to try to find which one is hiding a specific egg color. Playing helps to develop memory and teamwork skills, as well as learning colors and numbers. During testing, the kids (ages 3 and 5) were learning to add and subtract to see how many more penguins they needed to win the game and then work out probabilities by counting the remaining penguins on the game board. Needless to say, the educational value is high for this game on all accounts!

What makes Pengoloo even better is that it's wooden, built to last a long time. And the cherry on top of this is, every tree used in the manufacture of Blue Orange Games such as this, TWO trees are planted! Here is a statement off of their website:

"To that effect, we are the first game company, and the only one at that stage, that developed directly a plan to replant the trees we use to make our products. This dedication to quality, safety and the environment have earned us more than 50 industry awards in the past five years as well as the first ever given presitigious "Green Toy Company Award."

So this year, go ahead and trade in the bunny for the bird...because eco-friendlier penguins are the way to go! Currently, the best price for this game is available on Amazon at $18.29 with free prime shipping. Don't have a free prime membership? Sign up here for 3 months for free!

Visit Blue Orange Games Website

Home: Soy Aromatherapy Candles from Strega Moon Candle Co.

"Go ahead relax and pamper yourself with an exceptional aromatherapy candle. Unlike most aromatherapy candles, Strega Moon Candles are made with all-natural soy wax and pure, undiluted essential oils; creating a candle that's true to its name. Let one ensnare your senses as it soothes your spirit and touches your soul with the magic of candlelight and nature."

Available in a 5 oz Jar ($9.99) or 2 oz Candle Melt ($1.95).

As the days grow colder and the nights stretch longer, it only seems right to fill my home with the warm scents of the season; I absolutely adore balsam, nutmeg, and cloves! The right scent can put you in the mood for cuddling up by the fire, sipping hot apple cider, reading your favorite book. The right candle can leave you feeling warm and cozy, with no harmful side effects from inhaling phthalates-laden synthetics, air polluting zinc cores or petroleum based waxes. Strega Moon Candle Company offers an aromatherapy line with candles made from 100% soy wax, undyed, scented with only essential oil blends (aromatherapy line only).

We had the pleasure of testing all three of their holiday scents: first snow, cozy kitchen, and holiday spice. First snow is a light to mildly scented peppermint candle; this 5 oz jar burned clean, scented a large room, and lasted 40 hours. Cozy kitchen is a lightly scented blend of allspice, nutmeg, clove, and orange; this 2 oz candle melt/tart scented a large room for 6 hours. Holiday spice is a lightly mildly scented blend of orange, clove, and cinnamon; this 2 oz candle melt/tart scented a large room for 6 hours.

If you prefer to have a hint of scent rather than an overwhelming fragrance, check out the aromatherapy line from Strega Moon Candle Company.

Visit Strega Moon Candle Co.

Holidays: PossibiliTree Alternative Trees

Fresh cut pine. Plastic. Aluminum. The argue over which type of holiday tree to display in your home is ages old.

Fresh cut trees are a renewable resource, clean the air as they grow, and can be mulched after use. However, they require a lot of water (and usually chemical fertilizers) over the many years it takes the slow-growing evergreens to reach the ideal height to become the center of your holiday celebration.

Artificial trees made consisting mostly of plastic and metals such as aluminum, are produced in less than eco-friendly ways; polluting the air, water, and land they are mined and manufactured from. Green dyes and metals are often contaminated with lead, posing serious consequences to your health. They are not recyclable, meaning that after use, they simply become unusable waste that is often toxic if buried or burned.

Live potted trees are a great option, if they are available (and climate appropriate) in your area. Although they consume water, they continue to clean the air and give back long after the holiday season has passed. Plus, raising your own potted pine tree allows you to control which chemicals are (or are not) applied to it. However, this does require a long-term commitment (trust me, these things do NOT grow themselves) and you'll be waiting quite a long time if you'd like a taller tree (it seems they get stuck in the 3-4' height phase for quite a long time).

Up until now, those were all of the options we had. Just like the "paper or plastic" grocery store question which has now changed to include reusable bags, we now have another option for holiday trees. PossibiliTree creates timeless tree masterpieces that are both artistic and useful! When possible, they utilize fallen trees; otherwise, they use sustainably harvested domestic woods in their products.

For our review, we had the pleasure of displaying the 3' birch model in our home. Our children were SO excited about this tree, especially our 3 year old, who enjoyed rearranging the branches and ornaments daily. It comes in a tube, which serves as an easy storage solution when you'd like to pack it away. Rolled neatly in bundles separated by size, the tree is assembled in under 5 minutes from opening the package (yes, we timed it and no, we didn't rush)!

I cannot stress enough how much our little ones loved this tree. One solid recommendation I will make regarding this product is this: if you have a child who has allergies to live trees and yet you want to stay away from the toxicity of artificial trees, the PossibiliTree is your solution! They can play with the branches, redecorate it constantly, and it's the perfect size for their bedroom. It is well-built and should last many, many years and generations to come.

Bonus: To celebrate their new facebook page, PossibiliTree is giving away a free 3' tree when they acquire 200 friends and a 6' tree when they reach 1000 (currently they have 78). To enter to win, simply click "like" on their facebook page located here.

Visit PossibiliTree

Wooden Toys & Ornaments by Maple Landmark

Sustainably harvested wood. Locally sourced in the USA. High quality, reasonable prices...

From baby to toddler to child and beyond, there are so many wonderful wooden choices from Maple Landmark - truly something for everyone! They sent us a basket of goodies to review for your holiday gifting pleasure...here's what we loved:

C-Blox ($14 US) is a great toy for the creative mind, recommended for ages 2+, we think it's gre

at from baby to child. This simple concept of 4 wooden blocks in the shape of the letter "c" are a hit for the teething baby crowd, as they are unfinished maple wood (non-toxic) and great for helping those new pearly whites cut through the gums. They are also easy to grasp for babies, making them great toys to bang together and clutch! Fast forward to toddlers, where these same blocks become stackable to build houses and make believe with. And as they travel into the 4-6 year old child phase, it becomes a puzzle, tunnels for toy cars and trains, plus these can be painted or colored on by your imaginative child!

Made by Me Vehicle Craft Kits ($4.50 US) are perfect stocking stuffers for those "I can do it myself" phasers! Choose from a truck, train, tugboat, tractor, race car, or love bug car and give your child not only the gift of a very cool natural toy to play with, but the satisfaction and self-esteem that come from being able to make it themselves. And perhaps, in my opinion, the best bonus of all...the unfinished wood allows them to easily personalize it with paint, crayons, markers, or by other creative means!

Simple ABC Blocks ($23 US) are a classic must-have toy for any child! What makes these particular blocks better than all the rest? They are MADE IN THE USA, non-toxic (completely unfinished wood with no chemicals added), and unlike many others you will find on store shelves, the letters on these blocks are CARVED into the wood, not painted. This means the letters won't rub off in a couple of months and render them useless...nope, these blocks were made to be passed down through the generations as high-quality heirloom toys!

Maple Ornaments ($4-9 US) are thick cut, not flimsy like you will find in stores, plus they are US-made. The edges are stained to provide a beautiful contrast to the ornaments and they are available in an assortment of shapes, my favorite being the maple leaf. And the most important test (as any veteran decorator knows), they dis not split when dropped onto a hard floor!

VISIT MAPLE LANDMARK WEBSITE

Air Freshener: Simple Spritz Holiday Trio from Anuera

If you're craving cozy scents of the season to warm your home for the holidays, I've found the PERFECT set for you! Crafted of only the finest essential oils...absolutely NO synthetics or added chemicals!

Anuera welcomes in a new era of holiday air fresheners with their new Simple Spritz Holiday Trio ($10)!  No, that is not a typo...and for a limited time only, they also offer FREE SHIPPING...hurry, grab them while you can because these are honestly the best holiday scented air fresheners my nose has come across!!!

This holiday trio consists of:

• Winter Holiday - this is my personal favorite; it smells just like a fresh cut Christmas tree...I think it'll work out perfectly as a refresher spray around our tree throughout December! 2 oz
• Peppermint Forest  - if you were walking through the peppermint forest in Candyland, surrounded by candy canes, this is how it would smell...it is really refreshing and appetizing! 2 oz
• Orange Spice - perfectly spiced like fresh cloves poked into a ripe orange and hung from the tree (pomander)...if you like sweet 'n spicy, this is the scent you'll want to spritz all over your kitchen! 2 oz

At the time of posting, this special holiday gift set trio is currently unlisted on their website. However, if you wish to order it, please use the contact form on the Anuera website to request an invoice.

SHOP ANUERA

Handmade Gifts from My Zoo To You

15% of all sales from My Zoo To You benefit the National Wildlife Foundation!

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Looking for a card that says more than words?

From cows to owls, dolphins to kangaroos...My Zoo To You offers handmade boutique cards for every occasion! 


Design: The artist behind these colorful creations was inspired while planning to cheerfully decorate the walls of the orphaned kangaroo nursery at the zoo! 

"The kangaroos were all hand-drawn and hand-cut while working in the wee hours in between making bottles and feeding all the joeys around the clock."

Eco-friendly Attributes: Recycled/FSC paper supplies (cardstock & envelopes), solvent-free glue (non-toxic)m repurposed/recycled ribbons


Price:  $6 per set of 4 cards (prices vary by design/size)




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Nature-Inspired Jewelry with a Purpose

True Story. As a product reviewer, I receive so many products each and every day, that the first impression really can be very important! In that first moment when you open a package, it's like opening a gift, and you can be totally delighted or sadly disappointed.

When I received the package from My Zoo To You, I had expected to receive the cards (above) to review, but this owl bracelet below came as a total (and very welcome) surprise! It was like being Alice in Wonderland and receiving my very merry un-birthday gift! From the moment I laid my eyes on these precious little owls, I've been completely smitten! I immediately emailed for more information on the product composition, history, etc. From this I found out several things, all of which made me not only love this bracelet even more...but also My Zoo To You as a truly friendly, honest business with great integrity.


If you're into elephants, birds, or hippos, you should head on over to the My Zoo To You shop right now to check out their currently available gifts! Each one is truly one-of-a-kind, so if you're looking for a perfect gift for yourself or someone else, there is no better gift to give. Here's why:

* Comes wrapped and packaged beautifully as the perfect gift!
* Recycled and/or Repurposed materials
* Lead free
* Nickel free
* 15% of all sales benefit the National Wildlife Federation!


Price: $15 US

My Zoo To You Website