Holiday Gift Guide Giveaway: Get Fresh Holiday Looks for Girls and Boys at RUUM American Kid's Wear ($25 GC)

Thank you to RUUM American Kid's Wear for inviting me to visit my local store and for providing a gift card for me and one reader to shop for Holiday kids fashions.  All opinions expressed are my own.

One of my favorite places to shop for my children is RUUM American Kid's Wear.  The clothes are always on-trend, cute but not cutesie, well-made, and reasonably priced.  With sizes spanning from newborn all the way up to a boys and girls 14, RUUM will have all your children looking stylish for the Holidays in no time!

Whether you are looking for something preppy or skater style for your boys, RUUM has you covered.  For girls, you will find everything from preppy to girly to edgy styles and everything in between.

Although RUUM had a few cute accessories for boys, like fedoras and sunglasses, the girls' accessories stole the show.  Our daughter was in love with the girl's infinity scarf I found for her.

Sparkle is the dominant trend for the girls this Holiday.  You'll see it in nearly everything, including dresses, skirts, scarves, handbags, headbands, footwear, and more.

Bracelets, hair accessories, and belts from RUUM make fun, but practical stocking stuffers

My favorite Holiday look for girls is pairing a sparkling tulle skirt with a denim shirt or moto jacket.  Then finish the look with sparkling flats or combat boots, depending on your little girl's personal style.

Layering is the theme for the Holidays when it comes to boys' fashion.  A crew neck tee under a button down woven topped with a sweater, corduroy, or dressy vest creates a finished look paired with jeans or khakis.

For a casual look, layer a vest with a long-sleeved knit or top it with a plaid woven instead.

Even though my children love the clothes at RUUM, they only agree to stick around while I browse because of the unique shopping experience RUUM offers.  There is actually a bar full of candy by the registers, but my children did not even notice it because they were too mesmerized by the interactive touchscreen displays in the middle of the store.

One of the displays takes your photograph and puts it on the screen.  Then your child can decorate it and have a copy printed out.  Just pick up the photo at the register when you checkout.

The other display allows you to scan any RUUM merchandise price tag to show the item styled into an outfit up on the screen.  Then, using the built-in camera, you can add your face to the outfit to see what the outfit would look like on you.

Both these displays are extremely entertaining and make a wonderful diversion for children (um . . . and spouses) while you shop.

Checkout my favorite RUUM items on our 2013 Holiday Fashion Gift Guide!  To shop online or to find a RUUM American Kid's Wear store near you, visit www.RUUM.com.  You can also find RUUM on Facebook, Twiter, Pinterest, and Instagram.

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Good luck in the drawing!

***Please Note: We cannot guarantee that the prize will be delivered by 12/24/13.*** This giveaway is open to U.S. entries only. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address and be age 18 years or older. A random drawing will be held shortly after the contest closing. The winner will be announced here and will be contacted via email. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new winner will be drawn.

Spring is in Full Swing with Brightly-Colored Fashions at Gymboree!

Thank you to Gymboree for providing a gift card for me to shop and share my experience with my readers and for providing an additional gift card for our contest prize. All opinions expressed are my own.

Spring has only just begun to show itself here in Massachusetts.  Our children are extremely excited about being able to wear short-sleeve tees (without a jacket), short pants, capris, skorts, and dresses.  They really could not wait to celebrate the warmer weather with new outfits from Gymboree, especially since I told them they could each choose their own outfits themselves.

Our 6 year old son loves wearing graphic tees and only ever objects to one thing . . . jeans.  He was the easiest to dress.  Once I showed him this cool looking Motorcycle Ringer Tee from the Summer Wheels Collection, he gave his full approval right away.  I then showed him how the ringer tee looked with the coordinating Dusty Blue Plaid Cargo Short.  Done!  He was off to sit in the children's waiting area in front of the TV, while I moved onto his slightly more difficult siblings.

I have to say that I love these Dusty Blue pieces accented with brown.  It's like a "big kid" version of the boutique baby blue and brown color combination.  Plus, I knew this outfit would look very smart with the brown canvas slip-on shoes he already owned.  A cool shirt and comfortable shorts was all that was needed to make this little guy happy.

Our 6 year old daughter takes after me . . . she just loves to shop!  I knew she would find lots of pieces that she liked and there would be some indecisiveness.  Overall, she seemed to be drawn to the corals and oranges, so that helped us narrow our search down to within the Surf Adventure Collection.  She really fell in love with the Embroidered Flower Chambray Capri Jeans.  I had to admit they were just adorable with the embroidered flowers down one leg and a little grosgrain bow at the waist.  I almost had to disappoint her because, when I held the capris up to her in her regular size, they looked huge at the waist.  Luckily for us, like many of Gymboree's pants, these came in "slim" and "plus size".  So we grabbed a pair in Size 6 Slim and began our search for a top.

Our daughter ended up choosing the Button Corsage Flower Ruffle Tank, which I was thrilled about because it was girly, but not too frilly.  She had also been eyeing the Sparkle Bead Ribbon Necklace and matching Sparkle Bead Bracelet.  I really did not feel that the outfit needed a necklace, but we did buy the bracelet plus the Ribbon Corsage Pony Holder.  This outfit fit our daughter's personality very well.  She wants to dress like a "big girl", but still likes to look girly and sweet.

While shopping with our 9 year old son, I learned something about him that I did not know . . . he is not crazy about plaid.  I found this out when I suggested several pairs of the plaid and madras shorts to him. He insisted that he wanted a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.  So I found a pair of Dark Wash Classic Jeans in Slim Fit for him.  He is currently in between sizes, so the jeans were a bit loose-fitting and longer than he is used to, but they still worked.  Besides, if he continues to grow at the same pace, we will be lucky if these jeans still fit him when fall arrives.

Jeans go with almost anything, so we began to look for a top our son would like.  He wanted no part of the polos or the button down wovens, but he did really like the sport-themed ringer tees.  He ended up choosing Soccer Player Tee from the Gone Surfin' Collection.  He also started eyeing the boys' sunglasses, but, when I looked at them, I noticed that the largest size offered is 4 and Up.  We lucked out though!  These Swim Sunglasses have straight and flexible sides, so our son found them to be very comfortable.

All 3 of our children and I were thrilled with the items we chose.  One thing I love about Gymboree clothing is that they last forever.  We washed all these pieces before we put them on our children.  There were no signs of shrinking, pilling, or fading.  From my past experience, Gymboree clothing will still look new (if my children manage not to stain them) by the time they have been outgrown by my children.  Our younger son always inherits his big brother's clothes and it's a good feeling to know that his Gymboree clothes do not look like hand-me-downs at all.  They are always the pieces I feel very comfortable handing down to the younger children in my circle of family and friends.  I am always so happy when there is a sale going on at Gymboree because I know I am getting top quality clothing at a great price.

To view all the Gymboree collections for Spring and Summer 2013, visit www.Gymboree.com.  Be sure to enroll in Gymboree Rewards, if you haven't already.  Also, if you shop right now, you can earn $25 in Gymbucks for every $50 you spend in-store or online, where you can get Free Standard Shipping on orders over $75.  As always, if you shop, be sure to come back and tell me what you bought!

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Back To School 2010 Giveaway: Sassy Seedling Children's Boutique ($50 GC) [CLOSED]

Our little girl is turning into quite the diva (and not always in a good way). When I had a daughter, I never pictured her to turn out quite as girly as our preschooler has turned out to be. Despite spending most of her time with her two brothers, she loves to look pretty and loves making a fashion statement even more. She adores her new flower beanie from Sassy Seedling because it makes quite the dramatic statement.

There was a time that I found this style of girl's hats to be a little to frilly. With ruffles being so popular in fashion now, I am starting to look at these large dramatic flowers differently.

I have to point out that the beanie was presented very nicely wrapped in colored tissue and grosgrain ribbon with a Sassy Seedling tag. You could easily send a Sassy Seedling item directly to someone as a gift with such special touches included.

My daughter is 3-1/2 years old, so I requested the Toddler/Child size beanie, which is recommended for children ages 2 to 6. I think when my daughter gets a little older, this hat would be perfect for her. The crocheted beanie fits fine, but the flower is slightly too large for her. It is the same size as her face, so I think a slightly smaller flower would have worked better for her. Luckily the flower is actually a hair clip, so I can temporarily replace the flower with a smaller one until my daughter grows a little bit.

I have to say that I love the color combination of this Fleur Beanie. Sassy Seedling offers this hat in 8 colors, but the combinations seem to vary. I am so in love with the Milk Chocolate/Violet for fall!

The selection at Sassy Seedling is not limited to girl's hats and hair accessories. This children's boutique also offers clothing for boys and girls, as well as designer baby gear. You can even start an online gift registry, which is a wonderful feature. To learn more about this online boutique, visit SassySeedling.com and Sassy Seedling on Facebook.

Thank you to Sassy Seedling for sending us a sample hat free of charge to base this review upon and for providing a gift certificate for our contest prize.

What you can win:
One lucky reader will receive a $50 gift certificate to Sassy Seedling.

Limitations:

This giveaway is open to U.S. entries only. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address and be age 18 years or older. If you enter anonymously and do not include a valid email address in your comment entries, I will not be able to notify you should you win this random drawing.

How to Gain Entries:

Browse the selection of products offered by Sassy Seedling. Then leave a comment telling me how you would spend your gift certificate, if you won this contest. You MUST do this to be eligible to win this contest.

Extra Entries:

1) For 5 extra entries, leave a relevant comment on one of my non-giveaway posts. Then leave FIVE separate comments with the name of the post on which you commented. You will earn 5 extra entries for each different non-contest post you comment on.

2)

For 5 extra entries, enter one of my other contests. Leave FIVE separate comments here telling me which contest you entered. You will earn 5 extra entries for each contest you enter.

3) For 10 extra entries, blog about this contest linking back to this post AND SassySeedling.com . Then come back here and leave TEN separate comments with the link to your blog post.

4)

For 1 extra entry each, if you are a Friend of mine on Facebook and/or if you have "liked" the 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires Facebook page, then leave a separate comment here telling me so with the link to your Facebook profile.

5) For 1 extra entry, "Like" Sassy Seedling on Facebook. Then leave a separate comment for with the link to your Facebook profile.

6)

Follow me on Twitter. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Twitter profile.

7)

Tweet about this giveaway linking back to this post. Then come back here and leave the link to your tweet in a separate comment. You may do this once per day until the end of the contest.

8)

Subscribe to this blog's feed. Or you can follow me through Blogger or subscribe via email (widget is on sidebar). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

9)

Subscribe to A Blog of Goodies' feed (the sister site to 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

10)

Add my button or blog link to your blog's sidebar. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your blog.

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(All entries will be verified prior to awarding this prize.)


Random Drawing:

This contest will be closed on Monday, September 6th, 2010 at 11:59pm EST. A random number drawing will be held shortly after. The winner will be announced here and will be contact via email or through their blog. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new number will be drawn.

Good luck in the drawing!