Cool Contest - Year's Worth of Diapers

I always enter free contests because I figure, someone's got to win. Remember when I won a local mall's online contest for a $250 gift card? It doesn't happen a lot but it does happen! Here's a great contest for a year's worth of free diapers from Costco. You don't have to be a Costco member to enter. Anyone who has a baby still in diapers will appreciate this!

Website Review: Family.com

Have you registered with Family.com yet? A Disney-sponsored site, Family.com has lots of great ideas for crafts and activities that you can do with your kids. The FamilyFun section has a cool tool where you can enter the type of activity you want to do, age range, and what your child likes and it will give you a list of activities. This would be awesome for foul-weather days. There are a ton of sections to explore and since the same company also publishes Wondertime magazine, there is also a Wondertime section.

Yes, they also have COUPONS! If you scroll to the bottom, there is a heading for coupons and you can choose what kind of coupon you want: grocery, health and beauty, online. I need coffee today, so I printed $1/1 Caribou Coffee coupons this morning.

Register today or if you've already registered, don't forget to enter these 2 fantastic contests:

The Great American Family Sweepstakes - win three years of vacations at Disney resorts!

The Pampered Mom Sweepstakes - win a trip to the Canyon Ranch Health Resort in Tuscon, AZ! What Mom doesn't deserve this?

You know my motto: Somebody's got to win!

Somebody's Got to Win!

People often ask me about the deals that I get using coupons and sending for rebates. They wonder, doesn't that take a lot of time? I respond that the money I save by planning ahead and doing the deals actually makes it feel like I spend less time shopping and less time shopping means less money spent.

My husband USED to think the same thing about online contests or sweepstakes - it takes too much time to enter these things for such a slim shot at winning. Well, I say he USED to think that way because now I have been redeemed!

I won a local mall's online contest that I honestly don't even remember entering. I know I went on their website in November to check their Santa schedule and that must have been when I entered it. I got a call the other day that I'd won a $250 gift card! That $250 is going to go a long way in helping us stretch our budget this year.

So was it worth the 1 minute that it probably took me to fill out the online form? ABSOLUTELY!!

Do Something For Others This Holiday Season

Not only has work been crazy this week, I've also been fighting a cold. I haven't stopped reading, however and that's how I discovered what I think could be one of the coolest holiday season giveaways.

The gals at 5 Minutes for Mom are hosting a ton of holiday giveaways and all you really have to do to enter is leave a comment on the giveaway that you want to be entered in. That's what I was doing when I discovered that not only are they giving a ton of stuff away, they are also accepting nominations for families in need to receive some of the same products from the companies providing the prizes. What a great opportunity to help a needy family have a memorable holiday! Well, what are you waiting for?

Winner!

is commenter #5 helen - congratulations!

Please email me your contact information within 48 hours so that I can get your 2-year subscription to Family Fun or Wondertime magazine to you.

Thanks to everyone who entered - I hope to have some more good giveaways soon~

Photo Contest

5 Minutes for Mom is sponsoring a Fun with Food photo contest that you can read about here.

This is one of my favorite photos of Michael, taken last year by one of our dear neighbors who had invited us over for an impromptu spaghetti feast.
Slurp slurp slurp! Yummm.

Grocery Contest

I came across grainpower.org while reading Supermarket News - we get it at my work. They are giving away a year's worth of free groceries ($5,000 gift card) when you enter your email address.

Click on the "Saving Dough" link and you can print a coupon for .55/1 Orowheat bread - certain states are excluded from this coupon. There is another coupon through the same link for .55/1 Mrs. baird's Whole Grain White Bread - again, only good in certain states. We can never have too many coupons, can we?!

They also have brown bag lunch ideas and recipes and a cool calculator that shows you how to save money and calories by brown bagging it - check it out!