Huru Humis will be one of the big gifts that everyone is going to want for Christmas this year. They are made for children ten and up. However, my 4 year old and 1 year old love them too. Each Huru Humi has its own name and distinct personality. Their interests range from sports to journalism. We have two of them, and I swear I have teenagers living in my house now. If I don’t check, Madison has been sneaking them into her bed with her at night too.

The reason I like these is that they interact with you. You are able to ask them questions, and they actually will respond to you. The other cool thing is that if you put two Huru Humis next to one another, they start talking to one another! They will have a whole conversation with or without you. These definitely teach your kids many social skills.  It shows them how to have a conversation, not to interrupt, and have differing opinions.  They are fairly easy to use, so kids of all ages will be able to use them.  If you quite talking to them, they even try to get your attention.  Another feature that my kids love is that their hair and outfits are interchangable too.

I have already seen commercials for these on, I think, Nick Jr or one of those kid stations, so you know this is going to be big. Each Huru Humi costs $29.99 and can be purchased at Walmart, Target, Kmart and Toys R Us. However, if you do not want to wait to get one of these, I was able to get not 1, not 2, but 3 of these to giveaway to my lucky readers.  Now, two will be given away randomly.  The third one will be randomly given away among the people who make a Huru Humi video.

Each one of these things will give you one entry:

1. Leave a comment on this post. I want to know why you want this.
2. Twitter about this contest. Please leave me your username so I can verify.
3. Stumble this post. If you don’t know what Stumble Upon is, please read Lori’s post at Blogging Cents. She explains it extremely well.
4. Add this post to other social media sites like Digg, Kirtsy, Blogging Zoom, Reddit, Propeller, Etc.

For 5 additional entries,

1. Blog about this on your blog. Please give me the URL, so I can verify.
2. Add this to any forums you belong too. Please give me the URL, so I can verify.
3. Subscribe to this blog using either my email or RSS feed
4. Add my badge to your sidebar:

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For ten more entries,

1.  Make a Huru Humi Cartoon here.  Publish your video and add it to your social profile and link to it in a comment.

Good luck! This contest will end Oct. 22, 2008 at 8:00 PM CST and is for both US and Canadian residents.

Do you recognize the two people to the left?  Look very close.  That is what Stephanie and Sportacus from LazyTown really look like!  Hard to believe, I know!  Lazytown is a show on Noggin and Nick Jr. that encourages your kids to get off their butts and be more active!  When asked about the inspiration for the show, Magnus (the shows creator and Sportacus) answered:

Really, when you get down to it, LazyTown is a state of mind. We’ve all been to LazyTown. When we decide to go “veg-out” on the couch, you could say you’re “in LazyTown.” Even me. It’s a place we all go.

In a funny way, LazyTown reflects characteristics that you see in yourself or in people around you. These characteristics are universal: It’s that dynamic of opposites.

For instance, in the show, Sportacus is a driving force. He’s fit, agile, and an amazing athlete who’s patient, kind, and understanding. He encourages kids through example. He doesn’t take the low road. Conversely, his adversary, Robbie Rotten, is all about easy solutions and pulling the group down to his level. Then there’s Stephanie, the lead kid character, a wide-eyed optimist who believes she can make a real difference; while Pixel, a boy character, can conquer every video game, but when the situations are real, he has a harder time.

Just like in real life, nobody’s perfect and LazyTowners are constantly trying to find ways to understand and improve themselves. I guess that you could say that LazyTown explores the opposing forces that we encounter in our own daily lives.

How is that for teaching your children? Most moms and kids that I have talked to like this show. Magnus knows what he is talking about too — he was the Icelandic Men’s Individual Champion in Aerobic Gymnastics in 1992. In 1993, he became the Scandinavian champion, and was the European champion twice in 1994 and 1995. He was voted Athlete of the Year by Iceland in 1994. Adding superhero to that resume just makes it twice as nice (and you know is his shape he doesn’t have to worry about getting term life insurance quotes).

Now, why should you and your children watch this?  It does get them off their butts.  I find Madison and Will dancing and singing with the show when its on.  It has taught my children that there is nothing wrong with going outside and playing.  On top of the activity lessons, there are moral lessons too.  Check your local schedule and see when you can watch it at your place.  You won’t be disappointed!

I never thought Braincandy would infiltrate my household like it has. My 4 year old and my 1 year old are absolutely in love with the Hear My World DVD from Braincandy. My daughter (the 4 year old) has begged me to buy the rest of the series. That is how much she enjoys this movie.

Now this DVD does not go by Hear My World in this house.  Instead, it is referred to as the ear movie (can you figure out why?).  The movie is all about the sounds you hear.  There is a lot of singing and they have short little skits.  My kids love it.  The skits are just long enough to hold their attention.  Every time the singing starts, Will (my 1 year old) starts dancing.  It is both cute and funny at the same time.

The great part of these movies is that they are both learning and not realizing it.  Braincandy has won 35 awards and industry endorsements, so they must be doing something right!  I know that Madison goes around singing their theme song “Braincandy” that plays at the beginning of the video.  I know Santa will be bringing some of these videos come Christmas time at my house.  If you need an awesome present, definitely look into getting some of these DVDs.