I am a big believer in doing things according to season. I got a little twitchy yesterday when I saw Christmas decorations beckoning to me in a storefront. However, I’m committed to making this holiday season significantly less “shouty” than last year and that means that I’ve been mulling over holiday plans in my mind since, oh…May.

Number one goal: get those holiday cards done early.

That’s why we wanted to share a gift from our friends at Tiny Prints. They’ve put together a gift pack to get your ready for the holidays that includes a set of 8 “Blooming Bunch” Thank You cards, a set of 30 Holiday Thank You cards, complete with envelope seals and a $50 gift certificate good toward Holiday Stationery or Birth Announcements.

How’s that for planning ahead?

Simply enter below to win. We’ll announce a winner on Monday, September 6th.

Good Luck!

The contest is now closed. Winners have been selected (see below) and will be contacted shortly. Thank you for sharing your binder ideas!

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Back to School is looming, folks. Whether you look forward to the return of the school-time routine or wish for more lazy days at the pool, it’s about time to dust of those backpacks.

This year, we’ve partnered with Avery® to help you fill those backpacks with something extra special – a custom Zazzle binder. Load your own photos, text and designs to create your one-of-a-kind binder.

Are your creative ideas churning? Good. Now ponder how you might use your very own Zazzle binder? For recipes, holiday ideas, scrapbooking, work projects…the list could go on and on.

That’s why we’re giving away a Zazzle binder a day for the next four weeks! We’ll announce daily winners through August 15th and one lucky reader will win the grand prize – a $250 gift certificate from Avery.

It just wouldn’t be a TodaysMama giveaway if we didn’t invite some of our favorite bloggers to join us.  So we’ve invited a few creative bloggers to create their own Zazzle binder designs that you can download and use to create your Zazzle binder.

We’re kicking off with a design from Photographer, Tracey Clark. Tracey’s the creative soul behind Shutter Sisters, I Am Enough, and Picture Summer.  Visit Tracey’s blog to download this Zazzle binder artwork.

Cover

Back and Spine

Does cooking strike your fancy?  Want to keep all those wonderful dishes you find online in one hand spot?  How about with a recipe binder designed by Helene Dujardin of Tartelette – just visit our Zazzle page to create your own binder with this glorious artwork.

Cover and Spine

Back

To enter, just leave a comment below and tell us how you’ll use your Zazzle binder.

Good Luck!

Congratulations to our week one winners: kathysmith, chris, Francescompton, MarcyAnn, Ebonyplum, Tealyb, Jigins

Congratulations to our week TWO winners: melissa, Jmwhite57, Terkm63, Cristine_terry, Amy Guise, Justmejustcat, Amydrichmond

Congratulations to our week THREE winners: Furygirl3132, lstump, Cltoussa, mamamia, Turtletaylor, Rudefam, Yvonne

Congratulations to our week FOUR winners: EricaR, Shirley, Kimi, Christina Stevens, Katie, Donalyn370, T4tiggers

Congratulations to our GRAND PRIZE winner: Emcrocker1

Congratulations to our 1st Place winners: Andrea (LilKidThings), ljatwood, JenB, Flynhi, Crystal @travlersbarista, Gay Jensen, Mommalilone, Beth Anderson, and Aloughhmiller

You will be contacted via the email or twitter account you included with your comment. Thank you to everyone that commented!

Summertime is peak stroller season in my book. There are parks to visit, zoos to peruse, and farmers markets to shop. Not to mention the fact that few activities can beat a pre-bedtime stroll on a nice evening.

We want you to spend the rest of the summer strolling in style —with a Micralite FastFold Superlite. I got to see one of these little jewels in action at the Scandinavian Child suite at evo ’10 and was super impressed with how easily it folded (with one hand!), opened and maneuvered. Obviously it is ridiculously light…hence the name.

And because we like to do it up right around here, we’ve asked our friends at Bebe Bella Designs to share their oh-so-dreamy minky chenille blankees with you.

ONE grand prize winner will get the Micralite FastFold Superlite stroller and a Bebe Bella Designs blankee. NINE 1st place winners will each win a Bebe Bella Designs blankee of their very own.

Entering couldn’t be easier. Just leave a comment sharing your family’s favorite summer strolling spot.

The winner will be announced on Monday, July 19th. Good Luck!

EVO is right around the corner and the plans are coming together beautifully. We just can’t wait to share all of the good vibes with you and the rest of the EVO guests.

So to get the good vibes rolling, we thought we’d give away a FREE pass to Evo’10—a conference that blends workshops, networking, parties and the wind-in-your-hair relaxation that can only be found by spending summertime in the mountains.

Who: Bloggers, businesses, and social media junkies of all levels.

What: Participate in hands-on tutorials and workshops, thoughtful discussions and keynote panels.  Network and party with the friends and brands you love.

When: June 24-26, 2010

Where: The Canyons Resort in Park City, Utah

Why: Experts will take you, step-by-step, through their processes as you follow along on your own projects. Get ready to explore blogging, photography, PR, marketing, writing and more.

Learning, camaraderie, fresh mountain air…it’s like summer camp for bloggers.

Congratulations to our winner: Leadra Martin

Ah…summer has returned and with it, the desire to keep kids occupied and entertained (without a daily TV marathon thankyouverymuch) is front and center on the to-do list. But lest we fall into the kid-centric summertime schedule, it’s important that mom find an outlet for her creativity too.

With that in mind, we bring you The Cricut Ticket Scavenger Hunt!

We’ve asked four of our crafty friends, Kelsey from Vanilla Joy, Kim from Today’s Creative Blog, Cindy from Skip To My Lou, and Cassi of The Crafty Crow to check out the new Cricut cartridges and share their DIY projects with you!

Plus, we’re giving away a shiny new Cricut machine, along with the four just-released cartridges—Mini Monsters, Freshly Picked, Cindy Loo, and Wall Decor.  And you’ve got four chances to enter to win.

Each week a new blogger will share their Cricut project (week one is up at Vanilla Joy, week two is up at Today’s Creative Blog, week three is up at Skip to my Lou, and week four is up at The Crafty Crow)- simply visit their project and find the Cricket Ticket Scavenger Hunt Password and come back here and include it in your entry form below. This means you have four chances to enter! (You can also get an extra entry by hitting the handy “retweet” button at the top of this post.) This contest ends on July 1st and the winner will be announced here on Friday, July 2nd.  Good luck!

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Don’t forget! Buy one of the 4 new cartridges from a participating retailer before June 30th and you might find a winning Cricut Ticket! One grand prize winner will receive $100,000 and a 7-day Caribbean cruise for 2, Nineteen first prize winners will also receive a free cruise for 2, and 300 second prize winners will receive a free Cricut cartridge. Who says you have to staycation?  Visit the Cricut Ticket site for details.

Note: I will update this post with direct links to the blogger projects as they post. We’ll be featuring a new project each week in June.

WE HAVE A WINNER! Thank you to everyone that commented and tweeted!

Congratulations to Travelbarista (crystal) who commented:

“Wow that bucket is so huge I could haul an endless amount of things. A cooler with drinks and snacks would be great for a long ride with the kids. And some food for a picnik.”

Summer is just around the corner and you’ve probably imagined yourself enjoying all of those quintessential summer activities…days full of picnics, popsicles and trips to the pool.

Time to add one more item to your summer day dream list – pedaling to the park in one of these babies:

A bike that clearly had to have been built with a mom in mind. Plenty of room for hauling your goods home from the farmer’s market, your cooler to the neighborhood block party, your towels to the beach, or whatever moves you.

Notice I didn’t say you can haul the kids (although you could)? Do I think you’re going to leave them at home?

No, silly.

Because we’ve got a bike for them to boot!

You get a glorious Madsen bike and your kiddo gets to tool around on a Boot Scoot Zoomer bike. Just how in the heck could summer be any better?

To enter to win, just leave a comment on this post telling me what you’d haul in your Madsen bike bucket.

PLUS - for an extra chance to win, you can hit that handy “retweet” button at the top of this post to share this with your friends on Twitter.

I’ll announce a winner on Friday, June 4th. Good luck!

UPDATED 5/12/10: THE CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.

Congratulations to “Ang”! She is the winner of the DownEast Basics Poolisde Prep Giveaway.

Didn’t win the cruise of your dreams?  At least you can dress like you’re getting ready to enjoy a breezy tropical getaway, courtesy of DownEast Basics.

We’ve joined with our cruising compadres to give our readers a chance to win a closetful of summer clothes.

TodaysMama is giving away a DownEast Basics poolside package that includes: a swim suit of your choice, a tee of your choice (for when you need to toss on a cover up) and a tote bag (choose from the Romantic Rope tote, Big Button tote, the Seaside tote or the Paisley Hobo bag).

To enter, simply leave a comment with your swim suit choice below.

Visit TravelingMom.com for a chance to win a summer date night package (a choice of dress and accessories) and MomItForward.com for a chance to win a complete outfit (your choice of denim, a top and accessories.

(Please note: each website is running their respective contests separately and you’ll need to enter on each site to win the specific prize package.)

We’ll announce our winner, here, on May 12th. Good Luck!

Win a Royal Caribbean family cruise vacation for four onboard the most innovative, adventure filled ships at sea! Royal Caribbean is providing one lucky winner the chance to win a 7-night Caribbean cruise including accommodations, most meals, beverages and entertainment, from Broadway caliber production shows to rock wall-climbing, ice-skating and “hanging ten” on the FlowRider surf simulator.  (See Terms & Conditions below for complete information.)

Entry Requirements
Please do the following three things by Saturday, April 24,2010 to enter for a chance to win and leave a separate comment for each:

1. Visit the Oasis of the Seas website (http://www.oasisoftheseas.com), watch one of the videos on the homepage, and leave a comment on this post (below in our comments section), sharing one feature of the ship your family would love and an activity or event you would want to take advantage of.

2. Follow @oasisandallure on Twitter.

3. Post these messages on Twitter and leave comments here with a link to your tweets:

GIVEAWAY! Enter 2 win 7-nite Caribbean cruise 4 fam of 4 from #RoyalCaribbean http://bit.ly/bcg9aq PLS RT

Get fam cruise vacay tips & hot deals on http://facebook.com/royalcaribbean & @royalhotdeals http://bit.ly/tlyjg PLS RT

Winner will be announced by Friday, April 23, 2010.

Terms and Conditions
Royal Caribbean will provide one (1) cruise certificate, redeemable for one stateroom on a 7-night Eastern or Western Caribbean cruise for up to four (4)—at least one adult, at least 21 years of age is required. Cruise certificate includes: Accommodation for up to four (4) in one stateroom for 7 nights, including most meals, most beverages, and most entertainment.  Onboard goods and services offered at an additional cost are not included in the promotion prize; Those include but are not limited to: spa services, all gambling, shore excursions, alcoholic beverages, and specialty restaurants. Other terms and conditions may apply.

No purchase necessary to enter. This giveaway is being run on three sites: http://momitforward.com, http://todaysmama.com, and http://travelingmom.com. However, no more than one entry per person total in the giveaway via each of the methods listed in the Giveaway details. The odds of winning a Giveaway depend on the number of entries.  Winners will be selected randomly by Mom It Forward using http://random.org as a selection tool. All decisions of Mom It Forward are final.  Employees of Mom It Forward, Traveling Mom, and TodaysMama, and the Giveaway sponsor are not eligible to participate. All entries received after the Giveaway closing date and time will not be considered. Entries that do not follow all of the entry requirements will not be considered. Winners will be notified via email and will have 24 hours to confirm receipt of the e-mail. If the winner does not reply within 24 hours, another winner will be selected. Open to participants in the US and Canada who are 18 years and older. Void where prohibited. Taxes on Giveaways are solely the responsibility of the winner.  Winner agrees to permit Mom It Forward and the Giveaway Sponsor to use her or his name, voice, photo, or likeness for reasonable promotional and marketing purposes for up to 90 days after the end of the Giveaway.  Mom It Forward and Sponsor are not liable for late or misdirected entries, entry errors, or transmission problems. Mom It Forward reserves the right to terminate the Giveaway in the event of technical problems, or to correct typographical or technical errors, or to amend these rules.  All participants should review the Mom It Forward disclosure and privacy policies.  By entering, participants agree to release and hold harmless Mom It Forward, Sponsor, and their respective parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, directors, officers, employees, and agents from any and all liability or any injuries, loss, or damage of any kind arising from or in connection with a Giveaway.  Mom It Forward will provide the name of the winner for any Giveaway, upon request, for 90 days after that Giveaway’s entry period ends.  Unless otherwise provided by the Sponsor, no substitution, transfer, or assignment of prizes is permitted.  Non-winning entries from one Giveaway are not carried forward to future Giveaways.

UPDATED: CONTEST CLOSED
Winners have been contacted via email. Thank you to all who entered! (And check your inbox to see if you’re one of our lucky winners!)

Spring has finally arrived.

YAY to sunshine!

YAY to longer days!

YAY to kicking cabin fever to the curb!

BOO to trying to fit last year’s clothes on your your ever-growing kiddos.

Our friends at Axl’s Closet want to help – they’re giving 10 of our lucky readers a chance to win a $50 gift certificate to their online children’s clothing store.  Axl’s Closet features cool clothes for kids from brands like Patagonia, Columbia, Volcom, Billabong and many, oh so many, more.

To enter to win please leave a comment below. Contest closes on Sunday, April 4th at 5:00 P.M. MST. We’ll pick 10 random winners and post their names here on Monday, April 5th.

Good luck!

UPDATED: CONTEST CLOSED

Congratulations to lace who said “Wow. I haven’t had anything new in a long time. This would be so fun to win. I might even get a dress or a skirt! something I haven’t worn in a long time.”

Email us at info@todaysmama.com to claim your prize.

Ahh…SPRING.

Right now you’re probably knee deep in spring cleaning, planning all that wildly enriching yard maintenance and getting your Easter baskets in order. That’s all well and good, but let’s take a little “me time” to peruse the Spring Collection from DownEast Basics.

We’ll give you a moment to consider which three outfits AND swim combo you’d pick if you won our Spring Closet Spruce Up giveaway.

That’s right, one lucky winner will enjoy a mini spree from DownEast Basics. Spruce up your closet with a killer combo of shirts, skirts, denim and dresses plus, be ready for slip-n-slide duty with a new suit from their swim collection.

In honor of our new fancy-pants site and our new fancy-pants comment feature, please leave a comment below to enter to win. Contest closes on Friday, March 26th at 5:00 P.M. MST. We’ll pick one random winner and post the name here.

Good luck and happy shopping!