Travel and products reviews from a Wisconsin dad and sons.
Author: Matt Sweeny, CPE
VP/Creative Director at KidStuff Public Relations. Dad blogger at OurFamilyReviews.com ~ marketing consultant, WordPress.com collaborator and PR pro ~ recovering hop grower and contributor to numerous local guides ~ dad, living in southwest Wisconsin. I love having fun with my family, writing, traveling, shopping, consulting and sharing my honest opinions. Featured on Discover Wisconsin in 2013. I am PR friendly, contact me at matt@kidstuffpr.com or our.fam.reviews@gmail.com
When I was in elementary school, every Valentine’s Day my class would exchange greeting cards and now that I’m all grown up (sort of) I always love giving Valentine’s gifts to those I am close to like friends and family. With the simplicity of online shopping, Valentine’s Day gift giving has never been so easy and so I am happy to present you with my 10 best Valentine’s Day gifts that are perfect to give to a BFF, BAE or close friend. This list is not intended for men or women, him or her but for all! Below each product, you’ll see some manufacturer’s socials too.
This post contains affiliate links which I use to keep the office lights on (and coffee.) Read the Disclosure, Terms and Privacy fineprint here, learn about the giveaway rules and note, product samples were provided to our testing dept. for this review however, opinions are original, unique and our ideas solely.
This notebook is perfect for writing, taking down thoughts and come with a 70 sheets for your friend to jot down their ideas. Available for Amazon Prime members for $16.
That’s right. This journal leaves you with just enough space to make a one line entry for each day. There’s 365 daily entry spaces in this book x5 to make five years worth of one-liner entries. Pretty cool gift idea for a friend and available for Amazon Prime members for $11.
Prince was a one-of-a-kind artist and there will never be another like him. Vinyl is where it’s at from a music listening experience and if you know your friend has a record player, this amazing album is a must-have for any audiophiles collection! Available for $29 in Vinyl format from Amazon.
Everyone likes to grill out right? This amazing portable BBQ grill folds up tight for easy storage and can accommodate cooking for a party of two! It’s small and convenient and locks for easy transport! Available from Amazon for $67 and a perfect gift for the BFF or best buddy in your life!
This second generation Echo Dot by Amazon featuring Alexa is a must-have for the tech-savvy household. My 6-year-old’s favorite request for Alexa is to make her fart! But seriously, the Echo Dot is an entry point to using Alexa to control so many things for example Alexa will help you with: making a phone call, ordering items on Amazon, chat with you when you are lonely or want to look up information, plays music from Amazon Music or many other music streaming services (Pandora is my fav’) and so much more! Listed at $39on Amazon, this item is a perfect gift for a friend.
This rugged backpack doubles as a carry-on and has tons of storage for the on the go friend. Perfect for backpacking, work, traveling, hiking, camping, school or other on-the-go needs. Plus it just looks classy and somewhat old school and for $37on Amazon, it’s time to gear up!
Send this large candle to a friend who will love filling their home with the scent of balsam fir. This candle may ship from Amazon but it is made in Maine, USA and is high quality and will last a long time too. Available for Amazon Prime members for just $19.
I have this very diffuser and it’s such a joy to use. I can fill it and once it’s empty its auto-shutoff feature kicks in. Use this diffuser with or without the LED lights too, which we love. This is the perfect Valentine’s Day gift for the friend in your life and for $15on Amazon with fast shipping for Prime members, it’s quite the deal.
This self-contained miniature espresso maker is small and versatile and with no plugs needed, makes the pefect travel companion fort the espresso aficionado in your life! Grab this hand operated wonder as a Valentine’s day gift for a friend or loved one for just $49on Amazon.
Thank you for all your entries! I’m proud to announce the winner of this giveaway is Hesper Fry who has been notified of their win!
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My three boys, who are now 5; 9 and; 13, and I are often given opportunities to test family products and toys and games. Below are some last minute gift ideas that we’ve recently enjoyed which I think will be a hit with the kids or kidult in your life.
This post contains affiliate links which I use to keep the office lights on (and coffee.) Read the Disclosure, Terms and Privacy fineprint here, learn about the giveaway rules and note, product samples were provided to our testing dept. for this review however, opinions are original, unique and our ideas solely.
I’ve been given a chance to document a fun new STREAM science kits where we assembled our own robots! (STREAM stands for science technology, robots, engineering, art and math.)
The Young Scientists Club has four new DIY robot kits called Funtastic Robots. Each of the four kits include a robot with light detection; a robot with infrared detection (like your TV clicker/remote); a robot that avoids obstacles and; a metal detecting robot kit. Read more and shop for their four DIY robot kits.
I loved working together to assemble these robot kits and found the green robot, Hurdle, to be the funnest in action. I secretly love that these DIY Robot kits required that I spend time with my boys and was a great lesson in using communication, teamwork and helping each other. Find these on Amazon or on The Young Scientists Club website for $29.99.
Who’s the Dude is a new party game for teens and kidults ages 16+ where you play charades with a blow up dude who looks like your harry uncle but much cooler with sunglasses, The Dude is Great! Available on Amazon for $24.99 and find The Dude game at retail stores nationwide including Target, Walmart and ToysRus locations. Check out Identity Games videos about Who’s the Dude on their new YouTube channel too!
I was provided a very nice men’s leather belt by the Tanzky brand in exchange for my opinion. The Tanzky dress belt is very unique and required some assembly too! I unpacked the contents of the belt box which shipped from Amazon and inside were instructions to cut the belt then I fixed the belt strap to the buckle using the supplied instruction steps.
Once I completed the easy assembly of the belt, I found it to be my favorite belt in my closet. The Tanzky men’s leather belt uses a unique ratchet instead of typical belt holes, when you put it on. It looks very stylish and at around $15, the Tansky belt makes a perfect gift for the Kidult in your life. Plus, it’s available in 29 styles!
Top Trumps Card Games
Top Trumps makes educational playing cards which we play with our kids often. Intended for players ages 6+, the Top Trumps card game decks are for 2-6 players and playing a round of this fun game takes about 15 minutes to complete. Have a look at the Top Trumps decks at https://www.toptrumps.us/All-Packs-s/120.htm Make sure to enter our giveaway for 2 Top Trump card games (and a DIY Robot kit) below.
For info on to play the game, look on the back of each Top Trumps deck set for instructions or if you look on the how to play section of the website it makes it pretty easy and I know you’ll see that this is the most simple card game which is one of the reasons we love playing it at home with the boys so much! Simple = FUN!
The Tracer Racers RC Infinity Loop Set by Skullduggery is an addictive, glow-in-the-dark racing set featuring two high speed R/C cars with undercarriage lights which produce tracing light streaks as these speeders fly around the looped tracks. The R/C cars have multiple speeds and are rechargeable too. Price is $119 is for ages 6+.
I’ve been shopping for quite some time now for the perfect travel backpack which is both functional with lots of storage while not being bulky; giving me ample compartments for tucking away and carrying my belongings. The Outlaw Sling backpack is my favorite as it also looks the most stylish too!
Enter our Giveaway
WIN 2 Top Trumps Card Games+Metali DIY Robot Kit
I’m so happy to host this giveaway where I will ship to one winner 3 prizes in all: a “Creatures of the Deep” Top Trumps card game, a Fish Top Trumps card game and a Metali DIY Robot kit by The Young Scientists Club.
To enter the Giveaway:
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Giveaway is active NOW and ENDS 1/17/2018 at 8:00 PM CST. ONE winner will drawn using random.org and announced the following week here on this post and an email to the winner. Entrants must be 13+ years or older living in the continental USA, lower 48 States and excludes residents of AK and HI.Â
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1. Hard Cover Journal
2. One Line A Day Memory Book
3. Prince – Purple Rain Record
7. Scented Candle
9. Mini-Espresso Maker
Our Family Reviews 