If you are already an Amazon Video on Demand member or a Netflix member, the Roku Digital Video Player is a must have gadget you need this Christmas.  Available at Roku.com, the $99 Roku player gives you and your loved one instant access to the movies they love, hits they can’t wait to see and amazing TV and sports to keep them entertained.  It took us about 5 minutes to set this up once we got out of the box.  It’s that easy to use!  You use your existing subscriptions to enjoy a variety of great movies and free streaming content.  You log into your account and choose which movies that you want to watch.  You are able to instantly watch the streaming movies whenever you want.

I highly recommend this for the movie lover in your home!

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/2

Did you know that Sprout is the new exclusive U.S. television home to the most beloved family of entertainers in the world The Wiggles? (For those of you who don’t know, The Wiggles are the world’s #1 preschool entertainers, performing over 300 shows to more than 1.5 million fans since 2005 in the United States alone and are seen on TV in over 110 countries worldwide.) With moving over to a new network, they also have released a new DVD out called Sing A Song Of Wiggles. This DVD is full of nursery rhymes that we all know and love performed by The Wiggles. There is everything from Sing A Song of Sixpence to I’m a Little Teapot. It’s hard to stop yourself from singing along, but it’s a great way to introduce these nursery rhymes to your children.  If you are a Wiggles fan, this is a must have DVD.

This post was written as part of a program for Family Review Network and Sprout Television, who provided the DVD for review.

As I have mentioned before, my family and I take a lot of trips up to Green Bay, Wisconsin. Now, I live in Chicago, so that is about a four hour drive without hitting any traffic.  This can be a really long drive when you have a four year old and a one year old that you are trying to keep entertained.  There are just so many movies you can watch.  Plus, I like my kids to use their imaginiation, and these Tell Me A Story CDs do just that. Each CD has about 8 stories on it of varying lengths.  The Tell Me A Story CD is about seventy minutes long, and The Tell me A Story 2 CD is about sixty minutes.  I love that each story is told by a different narrator and has its own music.  Let me add, the music on the CDs is awesome.  Needless to say, I was surprised to see that Laura Hall is the composer (If you don’t remember who Laura Hall is, she was on Whose line is it anyway!).  These stories draw both you  and your in.  I often found myself sitting on the edge of my seat wanting to find out what was next.  We took these on our last to trip to Green Bay, and they passed the keep the kids busy test.  Madison (my four year old) actually wanted to listen to them more than once!

If you don’t want your kids sitting in from the of the television set all day and want them to use their imaginiation, you need to get these Tell Me A Story CDs.  They will keep your child both busy and happy!

One of the movies that Madison loves is 3-2-1 Penguins! Save The Planets! This movie follows the galactic adventures of two young kids and four space-traveling penguins. They respond to distress calls from across the galaxy. While helping others, they learn life lessons and values along the way. There are 3 stories on this DVD. However, my favorite has to be the first story about the green-eyed monster. As an adult, I knew exactly what they were talking about. However, Madison (my 4 year old) didn’t. It was great story and lesson about jealousy. My one year loved the music and danced the whole time.  He often laughed too, but I am not sure if he understood what was happening or if he just laughed because we were.  The green eyed monster is a topic that I encounter daily at my house.  I love that there was humor for both adults and kids in it too.  It makes it much more enjoyable for us adults who have to watch the movie over and over and over again.  I often found myself giggling when my kids did.  I didn’t realize this was a cartoon on TV (till my husband informed me).  However, I am so impressed with the lessons that it will be a cartoon that we will continue to watch.  Here is a sneak preview of what the movie is like and about (and you will laugh at the preview I promise).  3-2-1 Penguins! Save The Planets! is a movie that should be under your tree this Christmas.

One of the greatest kid’s franchises out there has to be Sesame Street and their book A Perfect Picnic does not disappoint. It is short, so it keeps even the littlest ones attention.  It is about a picnic that all the Sesame Street characters were trying to enjoy and all the things that go wrong!  However, even though lots of things happened that should have ruined their picnic, they are still happy and together in the end.  The illustrations in this book are awesome.  The story is also written in verse, so that 2nd and 4th lines on each page rhyme.  It’s just an overall good kids book.