I have been looking forward to December since August! At BlogHer in New York City I was invited to the Hallmark Suite and they had it all decorated for Christmas. I got to see a sneak peak at all their new Christmas books, cards, and keepsake ornaments. It was so much fun! Then, I gave them a wishlist – that was the hard part. I wanted it all (I know what to tell the family members!). I chose something all my kids could enjoy together without fighting – an interactive storybook called “be a part of the story.” And so far they have all loved sitting on my lap and enjoying storytime like never before!
Do you remember those books we read as a kid that were so cool – they had buttons you would push that made sounds at random points in the story? I remember just hitting those buttons randomly throughout the day, I’m sure it wasn’t fun for my parents! But I really did enjoy helping the story to come to life by hearing the sounds in the middle of the story.
Hallmark has a new line of interactive books that is even more fun and less annoying! Lizzie and I are reading “All Aboard” and we have a blast! It is a “Be a part of the story” book. You read the story and when you read the phrase in white letters, a sound bite plays. It is like magic – you read the story and it comes to life with you!
These books are affordably priced at only $24.95. They are worth every single dime because this is the first book they reach for every night now. The only problem is that David is 3 and has normal speech issues for his age. He tries to say the phrases and it doesn’t recognize it. But Lizzie is able to make it recognize her words and she has a ton of fun!
Another product I asked for was the Countdown to Jesus’ birthday keepsake ornament. You just set the current date and time and it starts the countdown, letting you watch and see in real time how many days and hours are left until Christmas! As you know, we are not doing Santa this year, so this ornament is perfect for us! You can also push the middle green button and it lights up and plays the Happy Birthday song!
There are so many other gifts at Hallmark my kids want. We visited the Hallmark store in our mall and the kids had so much fun! Lizzie was cracking up at the singing and dancing Santa hat. And David loved singing into the “Merry Okee” microphone and hearing his voice change to an elf. (That is a perfect “this stays at Grandma’s house gift”). And all three of my kids want their own Story buddy. Those are so cool! You read a phrase in the book and the buddy reacts!
Hallmark coupon code alert!!! You can save 30% off your personalized cards order – use code BLOG30! It is valid until 1/1/2013!
What are you loving from Hallmark this year?
Disclaimer: I received those two products for review purposes. My kids loved them and that this their honest opinion. No other compensation was received.
We have the Hallmark “On The Night You Were Born” storybook, and just love reading it, and following along!
Oh I have not seen that one! I bet it is sooooo special 🙂
Oh, that is adorable. What a nice keepsake!
It really is so much fun. Imagine all the memories they will have reading those books!
Thank you for the coupon code! I was just thinking this morning that I need to head over to Hallmark for a few of their specialized ornaments!
you are SO welcome! I know 30% will save you quite a bit, if you shop at Hallmark like I do LOL!
How fun. That is such a neat feature. I think my kids would adore this book. Landon loves trains so it could be a great stocking stuffer!
If Landon likes trains I know he’d just LOVE this book! The sounds and conductor are so much fun.
These books are so special. My parents just made one for my son for Christmas.
My uncle recorded “Twas the Night Before Christmas” a few years ago. It was awesome.
We were just checking these out at the store. They look like a ton of fun. I’ll have to stop and grab one.
And your kids will really love them! And you will too – I sure do enjoy how much fun it is to read to them anyways, but with the sounds that magically come to life it really amps up that fun factor.
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