I hope I can channel my holiday excitement right back at you through ParentSphere.  Let’s start with a huge holiday DVD gift set giveaway. Yes! Let’s!

This giveaway is being offered via Lionsgate and HIT Entertainment.  I have three holiday DVD gift sets up for grabs.  Each gift set includes three DVDs.  So, you’re getting a total of nine cheery DVDs to pass along to your kids or grandkids or nieces/nephews.  Yeah. That’ll make you pretty darn cool.

Here are the titles included in the giveaway:

Thomas & Friends Holiday Favorites

• Merry Winter Wish
• Ultimate Christmas
• Holiday Express

Barney Holiday Favorites

• Night Before Christmas
• Christmas Star
• Frosty Friends

Angelina Ballerina Holiday Gift Set

• The Nutcracker Sweet
• Love to Dance
• Ballet Dreams

Thomas & Friends Holiday Favorites

A new collection of adventurous, holiday-themed DVDs featuring Thomas and his engine friends.  Whether reveling at the Misty Island Christmas Party, sharing holiday cheer with the Sodor townsfolk or ringing in the holidays with smiles, laughter and song, Thomas & Friends continues to teach timeless life lessons such as discovery, friendship and cooperation, inviting children to enter a world of imagination through the tracks of a train and the words of a story.

Barney Holiday Favorites

Spend the night before Christmas at Santa’s Workshop, search for the perfect gold star to top the Christmas tree and welcome fellow preschool favorites Bob the Builder™, Kipper™, Thomas & Friends™ and Pingu™ for additional frosty, festive fun.

Angelina Ballerina Holiday Gift Set

Celebrate the season with Angelina and all her friends as they prepare for the holiday showcase and learn all forms of dance at Camembert Academy. With games and karaoke, it’s the perfect present for little ballerinas everywhere!

This giveaway is definitely big entertainment fun for the toddlers and preschoolers.

How to enter:

It’s pretty easy, actually.  Just leave your entry comment on this post.  In your comment, tell me something fun, like, who you’d give these gift sets to if you win them.

This giveaway is open to residents within the continental US.  Deadline to enter is Monday, December 12th at midnight, PST.  A winner will be chosen at random from the comment section of this post and notified via email (Be sure to double-check your email address when you leave your comment).

*Here is a free holiday coloring sheet for you!  Click on the image to open it full-size and save it for printing.

*While you’re shopping for the little ones, don’t forget to check out these other new holiday DVD titles offered from Lionsgate and HIT Entertainment (these titles are not part of the giveaway listed above):

Shaun the Sheep: We Wish Ewe A Merry Christmas
Barney™: A Very Merry Christmas – The Movie
Angelina Ballerina: Dancing on Ice
Thomas &Friends™: Merry Christmas, Thomas!

Alright, we’re super pumped to experience Gustafer Yellowgold‘s live show tomorrow at Schubas in Chicago.  If you’re in the area, there are two shows: 11 am and 4 pm.  Please go to at least one of them!  Kids two and under are admitted for free and the cost for anyone older than that is $12/ea.  From what I have heard, the show is well worth the money spent.  I’ll write up a full review with pics and vids next week.  So excited!

Ok, so maybe we’re a little “too” pumped.  Hey, I mean, what’s wrong with having an evening with your adult friends after the kids are in bed and putting on the Infinity Sock DVD and raving about it like it’s the coolest thing since sliced bread?  Or recruiting your other childless friends to come to the live show with you?  Look, I’m just saying this is going to be good music and a good time.  Who doesn’t like to have a good time!?

Tomorrow will be Teagan’s first live show at a real venue.  When Hailey was right around the same age as Teagan, her first show was at Schubas, too.  She saw The Terrible Twos.  What a treat that was for us all.  Tomorrow, Teagan will be wearing these Baby Banz Ear Muffs to protect her little toddler ears:

Watch for a review and giveaway soon!

Since I know many of you will not make it to the show tomorrow, we are giving away a copy of Gustafer Yellowgold’s newest DVD/CD – Infinity Sock.

Click here to read our review of Infinity Sock.

Entering to win is easy, just leave a comment on this post.  Since Gustafer is all about using your imagination, we want you to use your imagination for your entry comment.  Gustafer has a pet eel named Slim.  If you could have any type of pet, what would it be?  You can ask your kids if you want.  Ours would be a horse.  I know, totally original!  Can’t wait to hear what you come up with!

We’ll give you a couple of chances to win.  If you would like to come back and leave a second entry comment, just tweet about this giveaway.  Your second entry comment on this post should include the link to your Tweet. (To get the link to your tweet, view your tweets and click the time stamp on that specific tweet.  Copy the URL and paste it in your entry comment.)

We will choose a winner at random.  The chance to enter will end at midnight PST on June 30th.  This giveaway is open to residents of the continental US.

*If you can go to either of the shows in Chicago tomorrow:  Buy tickets for the 11 am show | Buy tickets for the 4 pm show

*Congratulations to our winner, comment entry number 36, Sharon!

We’ve got a nice little collection of what we call, “baby movies”. The collection started back in 2005 with our first daughter and the quantity of said baby movies has grown in size since our second daughter’s arrival in 2009.

In late 2010, The Baby Einstein Company released Baby Einstein Discovery Kits.  The Discovery Kits (MSRP $19.99) include a DVD, CD and cards or a book.  I say, more bang for your buck and more entertainment/play options for your little ones.  It’s nice to have the accompanying music and/or book in the car, especially when you can’t get a certain someone to chill out in the backseat (egh-hem…I’m not naming any names).

We were sent a free copy of the World of Rhythm Discovery Kit (released this past February).  This is one of the newest releases, geared toward toddlers.  Currently, there are nine different Discovery Kits and each kit falls under one of three levels; Level 1: Experience, Level 2: Explore, and Level 3: Expression.  As you can guess, the levels coincide with your baby’s age, from infant to toddler.

Both of my girls love watching World of Rhythm and one of the many reasons why would be because of the galloping horses.  My kids are obsessed with horses.  This particular kit is very fitting for us, since we’re always singing and dancing around the house…and galloping.

The Baby Einstein DVDs have a familiar theme and the kids really enjoy them.  We have owned Baby Einstein infant products for many years and their quality and craftsmanship has never disappointed me.

On behalf of LBi and the Baby Einstein program, we’re happy to give away one of the new Baby Einstein Discovery Kits to one of our readers.

To enter, leave a comment on this post and let us know which of the following three new Discovery Kits you would choose if you win:

If you already “Like” Baby Einstein on Facebook, then you can consider “Liking” our ParentSphere Fan Page and/or Tweeting about this giveaway.

Deadline to enter is Monday, May 2nd.  A winner will be chosen at random and contacted via email.  Good luck!

*Congratulations to our winner, Jill!

Wow. We have some pretty sweet giveaways this week.  This one is one of my favorites. The Juno Company is back with their original orchestral music and stories and this time, geared toward the growing preschoolers.  Not that the toddlers wouldn’t like it; my toddler swoons over anything Juno.

New Juno Jr. DVD: One Bunny Band:

After Bunny’s “serenade stand” doesn’t live up to her expectations, Indie hires her to be his own, personal “One Bunny Band.” Indie gets more than he bargains for as Bunny misses the music mark time and time again. But in the end, Bunny and her friends learn how to put feeling into their music through concepts such as tempo, dynamics and articulation.

New Juno Jr. CD: Welcome to Harmonia Springs:

Sing along with Juno, Murphy, Bunny, Indie and Rai Rai to this collection of songs from the Juno Jr. series. Featuring all tracks from “One Bunny Band,” “The Day the Music Stopped” and “Friends Make a Symphony,” “Welcome to Harmonia Springs” features the original, orchestral music composed by Belinda Takahashi, Ph.D., as well as the fun, thoughtful vocals of Juno and her lovable friends.

Bunny Plush Doll

Always the shining star, Bunny can’t be missed! Outfitted in a necklace and pompom accessories, Bunny adds a little color to your child’s plush collection. Adventurous and fearless, Bunny is always ready to explore.

Do you want this stuff?  Ok!

We’re giving this prize pack away.  It includes the new DVD and CD, along with the Bunny plush doll, limited edition canvas tote bag, 20% off coupon valid on the Juno Company website and Juno & Friends magnet.  The prize package has a retail value of around $50.

To enter, we ask that you please subscribe to the Juno newsletter so you are in the loop on the Juno happenings.

Click here to enter this giveaway AND subscribe to the Juno Company newsletter

(Psst: Please list “ParentSphere” for how you heard about this giveaway.)

A random winner will be chosen on April 1st – April Fools!  No, just kidding.  A winner will definitely be chosen that day.  You can enter up until 2:00 am CST on the 1st.

From our first viewing and listen of Gustafer Yellowgold’s upcoming DVD/CD release, “Infinity Sock”, we were so hooked.  My girls totally adore the yellow guy from the sun and his pet eel, Slim (egh-hem…and so do their parents).  Morgan Taylor’s music is hands-down some of our favorite stuff to listen to together.  His musical talent falls into that catchy-but-not-cheesy family genre.  It’s indie, poppy and and dare I say a little bit “atmospheric”.  Just an FYI, it’s very easy to dig and you will probably even shake a shoulder or tap a toe when you hear it.

The Infinity Sock DVD is packed with colorful, animated illustrations and in my opinion, the nine songs are timeless.  The story begins with Gustafer folding socks while “Slim gets in ‘em”.  The two friends spot a sock near the windowsill and discover that it stretches on and on and on, as far as they can see.  We are then taken on a strange and lovely journey with the endearing little yellow sun-dweller, as he follows the sock and bumps into all sorts of interesting characters along the way.

Gustafer Yellowgold’s adventure is fun and quirky and you won’t be able to get the Infinity Sock tunes out of your head.  You’ll probably catch yourself dancing while humming them to yourself.  Not that I know anything about that, of course.  Here is a sneak peek of the DVD.

The DVD/CD combo pack will be released on March 1st, 2011 and is now available for pre-order.  We love it.  We say, get it!

Are you as excited about this as we are? We’re pretty flippin’ excited.

In less than two hours, we’re heading to our local Blockbuster to celebrate the release of Toy Story 3 and vote for our favorite Toy Story character.  What else would we be doing on election day?!

If you are in the Chicago/Naperville suburban area, you’re welcome to join in on the fun.  Just RSVP here.  It’s not too late!

We’ll share our pictures and video of the party, as well as who ends up winning the election.  The Toy Story election, that is.

Edit: We’re home from the Toy Story 3 party at Blockbuster! Here are some pictures from the event:

I have a busy, busy, busy…ok, forget it…I have a high maintenance toddler.  She’s 14 months old and she’s like the little monkey that clings to his mama that you see at the zoo.

We received a copy of the Juno Baby DVD, “Way to go, Juno!” for review and have recently been watching it quite often. It is THE. ONLY. SHOW. that keeps her occupied for any amount of time. So, I’m not lying when I tell you that I LOVE this DVD. Thank you, creators of Juno Baby for keeping me sane and my baby entertained for at least 15 minutes at a time.

The production quality is not “great” and maybe that’s because I have an HD TV and want to see the sweat dripping out of the basketball players pores…ok, gross. Try to forget i said that. Remember what we grew up with? That high quality stuff didn’t matter to us as kids. If it’s animated and there are goofy voices and catchy little tunes, the kid is hooked. I’m not picky about that.

Yeah, we walk around our house singing, “Broccoli, it’s not for me! It probably tastes awfully.” Can’t help it. The Juno Baby tunes are cute and catchy. Perfect for the toddlers.  Check it out on YouTube:  Bunny Loves Broccoli!

Oh, another reason we like Juno Baby…there is a cat named “Indie”.  Anyone who knows us, knows why that is special to us.

You can find Juno Baby products at all buybuy BABY® locations across the country.

Follow them on Twitter and Facebook

Even before my eldest daughter was just a twinkle in my eye, I liked these dorky vegetables with eyes, noses and mouths that can talk and sing.  I find them really quite funny and adorable.  I mean, have you seen Lord of the Beans?!  How about Lessons from the Sock Drawer?!  They’re pretty funny and educational and good, people.  Each episode of VeggieTales contains a great moral message for the littles and that’s cool with me.

Sweetpea Beauty is VeggieTales take on the ever-so-popular princess classics, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White.  Sweetpea is a fair maiden…er…rhubarb…er…maiden that can truly see the beauty in everything and everyone.  Queen Blueberry is quite vain.  Per the mirror’s advice (can’t have talking veggies without talking mirrors!), she banishes Sweetpea from the kingdom because she’s worried about Sweetpea’s “physical” beauty getting in the way of her ruling the land.  Sweetpea knows better and is on a mission to save the insecure queen from the evil mirror!  Here’s a sneak peek:

Sweetpea Beauty: A Girl after God’s Own Heart is really a delightful tale. Hats off to Big Idea for this one. Something every little girl (and boy, eh, why not?) should see.

We have 5 copies of this brand new DVD to give away.

To enter, leave your entry comment on this post.  Tell us your favorite veggie (the kind that don’t talk or the kind that do!)

Second entry chance: Go “Like” VeggieTales and/or ParentSphere on Facebook.  Come back and leave another comment on this post letting us know you like them or us…or both of us.  :)

Third entry chance: Tweet this giveaway.  Here is the link to this post that you should include in your Tweet: http://bit.ly/amsVSy

Tweet what you want, just make sure it’s nice (because we like nice).  Come back and leave another comment on this post including the direct link to your Tweet.

This giveaway is open to residents of the continental US and chances to enter will end on Thursday, August 5th at midnight PST.  5 winners will be randomly drawn from the comment section of this post and notified via email, Twitter and our Facebook Fan Page.  Good luck and enjoy!

LeapFrog’s Math Adventure to the Moon DVD (MSRP $14.98) was released recently and we were given a copy of it to watch and talk about here on ParentSphere.

Well, my 4-1/2 year old completely digs this thirty-eight minute long DVD.  She loves the story and she’s so proud of herself for her ability to count along with Tad and Lily, the beloved LeapFrog frogs.  Tad and Lily take a mathematical adventure to the moon where they count, sort and add.  Edison, the firefly, gets the viewer (your kids) involved in the math fun.  Throughout this educational adventure, we learn that math is everywhere.   The target age range for this DVD is 3-6 years.

Our daughter will be 5 in October.  She sings along with the counting songs and plays the interactive games using our TVs remote control.  Here is a video of Hailey playing The Sorting Game, one of the three games on the DVD:

And here is Hailey proudly counting by 10′s, which she learned from this DVD:

Hailey follows along with LeapFrog’s: Math Adventure to the Moon and learns to count by 10s

*Please note, this DVD may or may not have the same effect on your child.  Mine just happens to be very, very bouncy.

In addition to Math Adventure to the Moon, there are three other LeapFrog DVD titles to choose from; Let’s Go to School (3-6 years), Letter Factory (24 mos to 5 yrs) and Talking Words Factory (3-6 yrs).  All priced under $15.00 from leapfrogdvds.com

We’re big ‘ol LeapFrog fans in this house and have very good reason to be, they have the best educational products for kids.  Trust us.  We have a ton of LeapFrog products and make very good use out of all of them.  You will too.

She sits and watches the ballet DVD in awe of the beautiful ballerinas and then practices her ballet steps along with the students from the NYC Ballet’s School of American Ballet.

You can purchase Prima Princessa Presents The Nutcracker from Amazon for around $10 or so.

A perfect holiday gift for your little princess.  :)