[Click here to translate this post into English with Google Translate.]

Qué rápido se ha pasado el año, ¿no? La Navidad está a la vuelta de la esquina. ¡Mi época favorita! Entre el 1º y el 24 de diciembre, le trato de dar pequeños regalos a mis hijas todos los días. ¡Pero sin gastar mucho dinero! Regalitos de amor.

• Todas las noches antes de dormir les leo un libro con un tema festivo.
• Hacemos, juntas, un adorno especial para el árbolito de Navidad.
• Horneamos galletas, las empaquetamos, y les regalamos a los vecinos una cajita.
• Les preparo chocolate caliente.
• Vemos una película Navideña.
• Hacemos casitas de jengibre… e invitamos a todos los niños del vecindario para que nos acompañen.

Estamos tratando de crear tradiciones familiares para hacer que la Navidad siempre sea nuestra época favorita. Es importante saber que no siempre hay que regalar algo caro… ¡a veces pequeñas muestras de cariño valen mucho más!

Participa y gana dinero o un regalito de amor con Univisión Tarjeta! “Juega Regalitos” es una aplicación en Facebook que te da la oportunidad de ganar tarjetas de regalo de $5, $25, $50 y $100 dólares, o un mensaje de amor que puedes compartir con tus amigos en Facebook. Para participar, sólo tienes que darle LIKE a la página de Univisión Tarjeta en Facebook, aceptar la aplicación, y seguir las instrucciones. Como es un juego tipo maquinita tragamonedas, sabrás de inmediato si has ganado o no.

Juega cada día para tener más oportunidades de ganar… no termina hasta el 22 de diciembre. Puedes jugar una vez al día, pero si compartes el juego con tus amistades en Facebook, ¡te dan otra oportunidad para ganar! Yo he participado tres días seguidos y no he ganado todavía, pero no pierdo la esperanza. Si he recibido varios mensajitos de estrellas como Don Francisco y el Gordo y la Flaca, Lili y Raúl.

Estoy participando en una campaña de GigCoin para lanzar el juego Regalitos de Univisión Tarjeta en Facebook. This post was written as part of a GigCoin campaign to launch the Univision Tarjeta Facebook Regalitos Game. Translate this post into English by clicking here.

The annual Ronald McDonald House Charities “Give-A-Hand” fundraiser is going on right now in participating U.S. restaurants! Through Sunday, November 20th, you can visit a participating McDonald’s to purchase a paper hand in $1, $3 or $5 denominations. All proceeds will benefit RMHC and support children and families in need in local communities across the country. Did you know that with every purchase of a McDonald’s Happy Meal or Mighty Kids Meal throughout the year, a donation is also made to RMHC?

Why not participate in the “Give A Hand” online sweepstakes, too? It’s easy. Just write a message of support for RMHC on your hand, take a picture, and submit it online via www.giveahandmcdonalds.com. Each day throughout the campaign, three winners will be announced via @McDonalds Twitter feed. Prizes: McDonald’s-branded prize pack, $250 cash, and a $500 donation to the winner’s local RMHC Chapter. How awesome is that?

Photo: Aileen G S on Flickr

To thank active military and veterans for their service, many companies are showing their appreciation with some amazing freebies this year!

Coupon Sherpa compiled a comprehensive list of 35 Veterans Day Freebies. From free meals, to amusement park admission and even a free night’s stay at a B&B, there is some really great stuff there. Remember to call ahead to make sure your location is participating, and have military identification available.

Share this with your friends! Maybe you can even “treat” them to a meal this weekend. These are a few of my favorite restaurant freebies that Coupon Sherpa found:

Denny’s

• Free Grand Slam breakfast – Nov. 11
• Applies to: Active military or veterans
• Available only at participating locations.

Chili’s

• Free meal – Nov. 11
• Applies to: Active duty and veterans
• Chili’s is offering a choice of one of six meals on a dine-in-only basis. Beverages and gratuity not included.

McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurants

• Free lunch or dinner entrée – Nov 13
• Applies to: Veterans
• This is the 13th Annual Veteran’s Appreciation Event at McCormick & Schmick’s.

Applebee’s

• Free meal – Nov. 11
• Applies to: Veterans and active-duty military personnel
• For the third year, Applebee’s offers a special dine-in-only menu for Veterans Day.

Golden Corral

• Free meal – 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., Nov. 14
• Applies to: Active military, veterans, National Guard or Reserves
• The 10th annual Golden Corral Military Appreciation dinner will be held at all Golden Corral Restaurants nationwide.

Spaghetti Warehouse

• 11-cents meal with coupon – Nov. 11
• Applies to: Everyone
• Like Spaghetti Warehouse on Facebook and get a serving of lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs, or any original recipe spaghetti entree for just 11 cents.

SUBWAY

• Free six-inch sub – Nov. 11
• Applies to: Veterans
• SUBWAY restaurants are franchises, so this offer may not be available everywhere.

Disclosure: I was provided with this information by CouponSherpa.com, one of four websites operating under the brand name The Frugals, dedicated to helping consumers save money and live more frugally.

It’s that time of year again! If you’re anything like me, you’re scrambling to get a great family photo that you can use for your holiday cards. Time is running out! Here are some tips that I follow.

• Coordinate clothing. Somewhat! I love bright colors (red!) for the holidays, and muted colors for more relaxed family photos throughout the year.
• If the background is important, pick a different location every year. A place that has meaning to you at that particular time in your life. If you want something more generic looking so that the subjects are the true focus (like at a photo studio), try hanging a bed sheet behind you. If you get a bit of a blur in your photos, you can’t even tell what it is.
• Time it right. I prefer taking photos in the morning when my girls still look decent (faces are clean and hair combed) and are full of energy. In a good way. Late afternoon is also a good time, when the sun is starting to set. The lighting is perfect. Speaking of…
• Check the lighting. Whether we’re inside or out, I always take a couple of test shots to see if the lighting works. I prefer taking photos outdoors because flash doesn’t seem very flattering to me.
• There’s nothing wrong with bribing. I admit I offer my kids a treat in exchange for a smile. It almost always works, what can I say!
• Let the kids have a say. They may come up with a really creative idea for a unique photo!
• Eye contact with the photographer isn’t necessary. Sometimes the sweetest photos are when the subjects are looking at each other!
• Don’t strive for perfection. If you can’t get one good family photo, why not try a collage? There are all kinds of neat collage templates these days. I’ve also taken separate photos of my daughters and put them together using Photoshop. If you have a plain background, it’s easier than it sounds!

An outtake from our holiday card photo shoot a couple of years ago...

This is just what comes to mind at the moment. I’m sure as my kids grow older and change their ways, my advice will as well. One thing I do do every year (do do. Haha!) is make photo books out of all the extra photos we take when attempting to capture that perfect shot for our holiday card. These “outtakes” are always awesome and make for some really great memories. YOUR TURN: Do you have any tips on taking a great family photo?

Family Photo Days

Shutterfly knows that one of the biggest barriers to creating personalized holiday cards is not having the right picture. Sometimes you end up going with a photo that you’re just not very happy with! This is why Shutterfly is hosting “Family Photo Days” throughout the month of November. The activities on these days might inspire you to take and create a family photo… hopefully early enough so you can get it into a beautiful online holiday card! Activities include a digital toolkit posted online, house parties, meetups, blogger involvement, Facebook fun, and photo contests. You get five free cards just for entering the photo contest, by the way! Visit www.shutterflyfamilyphotos.com for more info!

Disclosure: This post was written as part of a Global Influence campaign for Shutterfly. I’ll receive free holiday cards as a thank you for sharing my story!

With the holiday season upon us, I’m sure you’ve been thinking about what you’ll be buying those special people on your list. All without breaking the bank. Digital Folio is a FREE comparison-shopping tool that finds and tracks price savings for you while you shop online!

With Digital Folio, you can go to a website of your choice, find a product you might like to buy, and drag it over to a previously created “folio” in your browser’s sidebar. The app provides real-time pricing updates and comparisons on a wide variety of products, from computers to appliances, and more! New categories are always in the works. Installation was as simple as installing the add-on and restarting Firefox. It’s currently compatible with Internet Explorer or Firefox on PCs or Macs, but apps for smartphones will be released in the coming months.

The neat thing about Digital Folio is that your list is always with you as you shop across the Web, whether you’re doing so at home, on your phone, or in-store. Adding products to your list is as easy as drag ’n drop. Real-time price comparisons happen instantly, giving you price updates while you shop. Prices of your saved items automatically update, even when you’re offline. You can share your list, too! Group shopping with shared lists allows you to share your list or registry with friends and family so everyone can co-shop and compare in real time. In the future Digital Folio will deliver relevant promotions based on your shopping list or even the exact product you’re viewing. I’m looking forward to this feature, because we can all use this kind of advice sometimes!

Twitter party time!

There’s a #DigitalFolio Twitter Party with Resourceful Mommy on Tuesday, November 8 (tonight!), from 8-9pm EST. Follow @ResourcefulMom and @DigitalFolio and participate in the party to be eligible to win one of six (6) $25 Target gift cards or the one (1) Grand Prize $100 Target gift card!

Be sure to download Digital Folio (before the party and let me know what you think about it. All registered Digital Folio users will be eligible to win a $200 Target gift card that will be awarded by Digital Folio a week after the party on Wednesday, November 15! Happy shopping!

Disclosure: I’ll receive compensation for sharing this information with you.

Thank you to Fooz Kids for providing me with an All-In-One pack to review. The opinions I’ve expressed here are solely my own and represent my honest viewpoint.

Scroll down to see how to get a free year of Fooz Kids!

My daughters love their daily computer time! It’s an activity that all of us look forward to. The girls, obviously, get to do something fun, and I get a little break. Like most kids, mine look for websites that feature characters from their favorite TV shows – Disney Junior, PBS Kids, Nick Jr, etc. – but also have a lot of fun with educational sites like Starfall. While they usually take turns playing games, lately they’ve gotten into watching videos online together, since I’m limiting their TV time more and more.

I used to attempt to control what websites the girls visit by putting bookmarks to all their favorite sites at the top of the browser, hoping they wouldn’t wander. That isn’t always the case, of course. What usually happens is the girls click on an ad which pops open a new window, where they click on something else, which leads them to yet another window, and so on. They have at least half-a-dozen windows open in the browser before realizing that they’re lost and start screaming, “Mom, there’s a problemmmmm!” I run over and fix it, just to have it happen again 5 minutes later. Maya, almost 7 years old, is not yet at the age where she’s curious about what else is ‘out there’, but I know the time will come. Maura, 4 years old, just likes to copy everything her big sis does!

This is why I was excited to try out Fooz Kids, a downloadable application that claims to provide kids with a “secure and entertaining Internet environment” controlled by their parents. We’ve been playing with it for a while, and I’m really liking what I see. There are TONS of activities for the girls to do on the web that I didn’t even know about and this software puts everything in one (somewhat) secure place!

SETUP

Setting up a basic Fooz Kids account is free, but there’s a fee to add certain features. It took a few minutes to download and install the software because I had to update Adobe Air, one of the system requirements. The Fooz Kids application is neat in that it takes up your entire screen and won’t close unless a parent puts in a password. This means that kids can’t go exploring (and potentially messing things up) on their parent’s computer. If you don’t have a computer dedicated to your children’s use, this will give you some peace of mind.

Before I introduced the girls to the software, I first took some time to get to know my way around the Parental Dashboard. I created an account for both of them, then removed anything that wasn’t age-appropriate or that I didn’t think would interest the girls (Bakugan, Ironman, Batman, Star Wars, etc.) While this is time-consuming, the system makes it easy in that it allows you to sort programs by gender and age range. Then you just go through and uncheck those that you don’t want your kids to have access to. I added a few websites to Maya’s “My Channel” – Starfall and our Flickr album – and that was it! I just needed to give my daughters a quick tour of all the Fooz Kids features before they were looking through it on their own.

PLAYING

The first thing the girls both did was take turns changing and dressing up their avatars. With so many different options, and more available at the Fooz Kids Mall, they could do this every day for a year and not design the same character twice. Switching from one user to another is as easy as just clicking on their avatars!

After they were happy with the way they looked, the girls browsed through all the content available in the website, video, and game folders. They weren’t too excited about the crafts, as almost everything we saw was a coloring page or printable, and I don’t have a printer set up with their computer. I have to do something about that!

The girls are particularly impressed with the Mail feature, as am I. A great introduction to email, Mail allows kids to safely send email to their parents and friends that are registered with Fooz Kids. Kids can add text, pictures, change the background, and even draw! They click on the avatar of the person they want to send it to, and it magically appears in the recipient’s inbox. I can see all these emails from my dashboard, but I also receive the ones addressed to me to my actual email account that I have connected with Fooz Kids. “When you’re gone on one of those trips, I’ll send you an email every day!” Maya said, referring to the blogger events and conferences I sometimes attend. I love it. I’m sure that emailing each other over and over will get old, though, so it would be nice if we had the ability to add friends and family that don’t have Fooz Kid accounts. Grandma, dad, Maya’s teacher. As long as a parent approves each and every email address, I don’t see why it can’t continue to be a secure component. Once we get a web cam, we’ll try sending each other Video Mail, too.

An message that Maya sent me… how sweet, right?

As for other features, Flix is something that I’m sure will be used often. Here you can find short video clips and longer movies, both educational and entertaining. The first video we watched was about Mexican dancing. My favorite, favorite feature, however is Fooz Kids University. Here the girls take math quizzes. Math happens to be Maya’s least favorite subject, so you know I was thrilled to see this! Not because I like to torture her, but because I know she needs the practice. University makes math fun and rewarding in that kids win trophies and awards for their achievements. She unlocks the next level once she gets a certain number of stars on the one she’s on, a la Angry Birds. The dashboard is where the good stuff is – a report card and analytics that actually recommend math lessons based on Maya’s trouble spots. How cool is that? There are 757 total lessons at the moment, from Pre-K to 5th grade, so this definitely an activity that we’ll be doing for a long time.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I know we’ll definitely be using Fooz Kids on a daily basis. I realize I still have to supervise what the girls do online, but while they’re within the Fooz Kids application, I don’t feel the need to hover over them. I mentioned above that Fooz Kids is “somewhat” secure. I say this because it is still a web browser. It won’t block your kids from going to websites that are linked to from the sites they’re allowed to visit. Take the screenshot below, for example. Maura was playing a Max & Ruby game, and somehow clicked over to the Norwegian cruise lines website, where a form popped up asking her to sign up for more information. Leaving this page was as simple as clicking the big Back arrow at the top of the page. I tried to click on the Nick Jr Facebook page, and thankfully was unable to open that page, however.

After using the software both on my daughter’s ancient PC and my (newer) MacBook, it’s fairly obvious that the more current your operating system is, the faster and more efficiently Fooz Kids will run. The video is a little choppy on the girls’ computer. It would give me a headache, but they don’t seem to mind. It runs smoothly otherwise, and is easy for the girls to navigate with its bright colors and clear instructions. If I could change anything, I’d love to add some kind of timer feature that shuts down or freezes the software. The computer telling Maya that computer time is over is much more convincing than me telling her! I do appreciate that I can log into the Parental Dashboard from any computer, just by logging into FoozKids.com, so I can keep an eye on the girls without touching their computer.

Our all-access membership lasts for a year, so I’m looking forward to seeing what Fooz Kids has in store, and how they’ll improve upon the website in the coming months. Coming soon – books, a ‘cloud’ where kids can store and share their favorite media, a pet section, and a treasure box that gives kids rewards such as Silly Bandz, gift certificates, and toys for completing activities.

Fooz Kids memberships range in price from $1.99 – $6.99 a month, depending on the options you’d like. An annual subscription is the best value. To sign up for a FREE Fooz Kids account, click HERE. Using that special link, you’ll get an entire year of the basic plan for free!

Please click here to learn more about Fooz Kids. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. All opinions are my own. #cleverfooz

Did you watch the royal wedding? I did. And loved every last minute of it! I let Maya watch the ceremony while we ate breakfast together before school on Friday morning… I didn’t think she’d be interested, but she was fascinated! Speaking of fascinating, weren’t those fascinators just beautiful? So many amazing headpieces. Not sure where or when I’d wear it, but I want one!

While the wedding coverage has come to an end, the royal fun can continue at home with these fun crafts that I found on the DisneyFamily.com website. Click on the titles to be taken directly to the instructions!

Kate paper doll Kate’s dress was amazing, yes… but how fun would it be to dress her in your favorite Disney princess’ gown? Print this on cardstock for best results.
Coat of Arms A great craft for boys and girls, creating a Coat of Arms definitely gives kids something to think about.
Fascinator These fancy headpieces aren’t all that hard to make. Use beads, feathers, scrap fabric and ribbons… and see what you can come up with!
Royal Wedding Fruitcake Cupcakes Fruitcake is the traditional English wedding cake. I’m not a fan, but this recipe, using boxed cake mix, is super simple and doesn’t sound too bad.
Kate’s Tiara This printable tiara, to the right, is inspired by the Strathmore Rose tiara that Kate was possibly going to wear, as it’s one of Queen Elizabeth’s favorite headpieces in the royal collection. I thought the tiara that Kate ended up borrowing was PERFECT! The Cartier “Halo” is so beautiful and has tons of history behind it.

Did you watch the royal wedding?

Can you imagine a world where everyone treats each other kindly? That’s the first question you’re asked when you start playing A Better World, a new Facebook app. Created by ToonUps, the purpose of this game, plain and simple, is to do good. As the year comes to a close and we’re all looking forward to a peaceful and prosperous 2011, this is just the kind of game you want to play.

After visiting A Better World on Facebook, you start off by creating (and customizing, if you wish) your own avatar. Clothes, makeup, hair, shoes… everything. You’re then shown around the world with mini-tutorials on where things are and how to go about earning points. Positive Points and Do-Good Gold. I also decorated my house, which only took about a minute as there aren’t very many choices at first. Once I get enough points, I’ll get to go shopping for some home decor. Yay!

How do you earn points, you ask? There are several ways, all involving doing good deeds and showing gratitude. At Gratitude Grotto you can write what you’re grateful for, for instance. At the Positive Post (think post office), you can send personal messages to friends and family. Something positive and uplifting that is sure to brighten their day.

My favorite part are the mini-games. Playing earns you points. There’s a recycling game which can be addicting. Like Bejeweled, but with garbage. Maya, my 6-year-old, absolutely loved this game. No, she’s not on Facebook. Come on! I just thought she’d enjoy it (and maybe learn a little something about recycling).

When not playing a game, you can explore your town and visit neighbors. Give them gifts, even! As you progress in the game, earning more and more points, you’ll see your house grows and you get more features. Better Bucks are the premium currency that buys you the really good stuff. There is an option to buy Better Bucks, but it’s not something that’s pushed on you. If you want, you can exchange your Do-Good Gold for Better Bucks and not spend any money at all.

I’m not one to play Facebook games often, but this is a cute one. Easy to navigate and fast-loading, too. Check out the game by visiting A Bet­ter World’s Face­book Page. Forward the link to a friend!

Disclosure: I will receive a gift card from Likeable Media as thanks for testing and writing about A Better World, but all opinions are my own.

I can’t be the only one that’s always browsing online stores, filling up my cart, just to move on to the next site! I rarely purchase anything unless I find a great sale. This is why I love deal sites so much. Gaggle of Chicks is the newest one I recently discovered, thanks to Mom Central.

Unlike other ‘social’ shopping sites, Gaggle of Chicks is geared towards moms, with a Mom Advisory Board that gives input on important decisions, as well as a group of moms called ‘Gaggle Ambassadors’ that recommend and approve deals. It’s almost guaranteed that I’ll see a deal that interests me.

In the past couple of weeks, I’ve seen deals for jewelry, holiday cards, baby products, playhouses, children’s books, and more. These deals generally only last 48 hours, so you have to act fast! When enough people purchase the deal, it “hatches” and everyone gets the discount, so be sure to share the deal with other ‘peeps’ you know! The more people buy, the more money you’ll save. Plus, you get a referral code when you sign up and for every person that makes a purchase from your link, a $10 credit goes into your account! No limit on how much you can earn. Nationwide deals are available everyday, but if you live in the New York area, you can also get great deals on local services. Other cities will be added soon.

So what did I buy? I just saved 40% on two very cute keepsake journals for my daughters. Because the deal had already “hatched,” I received the coupon code by email immediately after purchasing it, along with instructions on how to redeem it. From start to finish, the transaction only took a couple of minutes! Called “The I Like Book,” these journals are a unique product that I’m looking forward to using with the girls in the new year.

I’ll definitely keep Gaggling… it’s always a nice surprise to see a cool deal in my inbox. Not only that – I find the site to be well-rounded, with a blog, GaggleMama and discussion forums. So… visit www.gaggleofchicks.com to start saving with today’s deal! You can sign up to receive daily emails, or get updates on Facebook and Twitter. Have fun shopping!

I wrote this while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Gaggle of Chicks and received a $50 gift code for the website to facilitate my honest review.

I love a good discount. Who doesn’t? I also love learning about cool, lesser-known retailers that sell unique products. Combine these two concepts and you have jasmere.

Similar to groupon.com, jasmere launched in December of last year and focuses on bringing exclusive discounts to sophisticated ladies… like moi. What’s really neat and different about this discount site is that the more buyers there are, the lower the price gets. You aren’t charged until the sale ends, so it’s highly likely that you’ll end up paying less than you expected to!

At jasmere, you’ll find discounts on a variety of different products from upscale specialty retailers. There was so much great stuff featured throughout the month of November, for instance. Sterling silver jewelry, coffee, personalized apparel, organic truffles, greeting cards, and much, much more. The jasmere team tests every single product they feature so they only highlight the best of the best!

The featured deal begins and ends at noon each weekday, so you only have 24 hours to buy. Prices always start at 50% off or better, and the more you share the deal with others, the lower the price goes, resulting in up to 80% off the suggested retail price of the product. Very cool! They also have a nice referral program which will make you want to share the deal with as many people as possible that much more – because you’ll earn a $10 jasmere credit for each one that becomes a customer.

Everyday, around 1 o’clock or so, I get an email from jasmere telling me about that day’s feature. You can sign up for these notifications right at the top of jasmere.com. If emails aren’t your thing, for daily updates you can also follow @shopjasmere on Twitter and on Facebook at facebook.com/ShopJasmere (where they give away a prize daily!) or just remember to check the website everyday.

I was given a $25 credit to buy anything I wanted from jasmere (lucky me!) so I stalked the site for days, waiting for that perfect product to jump out at me. My intent was to buy a gift for someone else, being so close to Christmas and all, but I ended up rewarding myself with a voucher from dolma jewelry. Mama’s gettin’ some pearls!

WIN IT!

Jasmere is providing one of my readers with a $25 credit so you can buy yourself (or a special someone) something fab! To enter to win, please visit jasmere and read about today’s feature. Then leave a comment below telling me what kind of products you’d like to see featured in the future.

For extra entries:

• Subscribe to my feed by feed reader or email (or let me know if you already do). 1 entry
• Follow me, @ohMariana, on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway one time using the Tweet button below, or copy this: #Giveaway! Win a $25 Jasmere credit to help with your holiday shopping! http://thedomesticbuzz.com/?p=12529 - 1 entry
• Like The Domestic Buzz on Facebook. 1 entry
• Like jasmere on Facebook. 1 entry

Disclosure: Jasmere provided both a $25 credit for myself, to try out the site, and another for a giveaway prize. Links above are referral links. Contest ends December 22nd, 2010 at midnight EST. One entry per household. Leave a separate comment per entry and a valid email address. Winner, chosen at random, has 3 days to claim their prize.

Scroll down to the bottom of the page for a list of all my latest giveaways!