Twitter Party Calendar This Week December 23 - 28 With RSVP Links & Prizes

Twitter Parties

Tweet

Ongoing Updates  - Sneak Peek at Coming Weeks Too!

Get all the details in this free constantly updated Twitter Party Master Calendar listing tons of family friendly parties including specifics on prizes you can win and links to RSVP and participate. Includes Twitter Parties in the U.S. and Canada. Be sure to check back often every week as new events are added on an ongoing basis -- often with new prize-winning opportunities added several times per day. You'll also get a sneak peek at Twitter parties coming up next week and in the month ahead. Now listing Facebook parties with prizes too.

Be the first to know when the latest Mommy Blog Expert Twitter Party schedule goes live by following MBE on Twitter Facebook and/or by subscribing to this blog right now.

THIS WEEK

Sunday, December 23

Twitter Party at 8 pm ET with @MomPoweredMedia. $100 in Paypal prizes. #ICaughtSanta RSVP

Monday, December 24

TBA

Tuesday, December 25

Christmas

Wednesday, December 26

It's the weekly @TheOnlineMom Twitter Party at 9 pm ET. Prizes: TBA. RSVP & participate in party with hashtag #TheOnlineMom.

Thursday, December 27

Next @CafeYak #MomInspirations Twitter Party at 9 pm ET talking about new beginnings. Prizes: TBA #Mominspirations

Friday, December 28

Weekly Verizon Wireless Twitter Party hosted by @theonlinemom at 3 pm ET. Prizes: TBA. To be eligible to win participate in chat, use hashtag #VZWBuzz and RSVP

NEXT WEEK

Sunday, December 30

Menage a Trois New Year's Eve Twitter Party with @menageatrois @CleverGirlsColl at 10 pm ET. Prizes TBA. You must be 21 to participate and prizes will be given to U.S. residents only (except for California, sorry). #menagewineNYE RSVP

Monday, December 31

TBA

Tuesday, January 1

New Year's Day

Wednesday, January 2

It's the weekly @theonlinemom Twitter Party at 9 pm ET. Prize: TBA. To be eligible to win a prize RSVP & participate in party with hashtag #TheOnlineMoms.

Thursday, January 3

TBA

Friday, January 4

Weekly Verizon Wireless Twitter Party hosted by @theonlinemom at 3 pm ET. Prizes: TBA. To be eligible to win participate in chat, use hashtag #VZWBuzz and RSVP

COMING SOON

Wednesday, January 9

GE Lighting School Project Energy Saving Twitter Party at 1 pm ET with @miscfinds4u @proverbswife. Prizes: FOUR (4) Walmart gift cards one in each of these denominations $15, $50, $75 and $100. #GELighting #cbias RSVP

More Twitter Parties constantly be added to this list as soon as they're scheduled so stay tuned by following this blog.  

About this Weekly Twitter Party List
Compiled by MommyBlogExpert.com Twitter Parties are listed free of charge in this weekly schedule. If you'd like to add an event to the Mommy Blog Expert Twitter Party Calendar email janis at janiselspas dot com with Twitter Party in the subject line including all the details and links in the body of your  message.

Also available, for a nominal fee, to host, co-host or serve as a panelist for your own brand Twitter party. To inquire, please email janis@janiselspas.com for information with Twitter Party Consulting Query in the subject line.

FTC Disclosure: MommyBlogExpert does attend some Twitter parties as a guest and also works as a host, co-host, and panelist on others. However, I did not receive any payment or other compensation associated with this post. See complete FTC Disclosure information that appears at the bottom of MommyBlogExpert's main page and at the bottom of every individual post on this blog, including this one.

15 Best Kids Brain Building Toys Games Guide

Toys

Fun Educational Games and Toys

Just about everyone who has kids or who is giving gifts to children is shopping for games and toys this Christmas season. After all, it's been a tradition for generations and there seems to be a nearly infinite supply of of both old and new games and toys that you can buy.

Bop It! Toy Series by Hasbro 

Toys aren't all fun and games, though. Some toys actually will help your child build cognitive skills too -- which is a good thing for both you and your child. So in this post I'd like to share with you the top brain-building toys under $15 chosen by Dr. Ken Gibson, founder of Learningrx, a national brain training center, and co-author of the book Unlock the Einstein Inside: Applying New Brain Science to Wake Up the Smart in Your Child. 

"Parenting is all about compromises," says Dr. Gibson. "and Christmas is no exception to that rule. Your kids want fun toys, but you don't want to blow your entire budget on junk that'll rot their brains. Luckily there are plenty of great toys that are fun and also help develop complex learning skills, like memory, logic and reasoning, processing speed, attention, and auditory and visual processing."

Dr. Gibson's Picks for the 15 Best Brain-Building Games

1. Rhyming Words Dominoes, Trend Enterprises, $2.99 Amazon 

2. Geometric-Shaped Magnet Set with Board, Trademark global, $5 Walmart

3. Simon Electronic Carabiner, Basic Fun, $10.24 Amazon

4. Shape and Color Sorter, Patch Products, $10.99 Walmart

5. 60-Second Jumbo Timer, Learning Resources, $12.40 Walmart

6. Minute Math Electronic Flash Card, Learning Resources, $13.16 Amazon

7. Rattled, Educational Insights, $8.49 Amazon

8. Spot it! by Blue Orange, $11.98 Amazon

9. Sport Stacking Game - Stacks Cups, Flying Cup, $12.50 Amazon

10. Travel Battleship Fun on the Run, Hasbro, $8.49 Amazon

11. LED Light Rubik's Cube, OEM, $12 Amazon

12. Sequence for Kids, Jax Ltd., $11.99 Target

13. 4 in a Row, Pressman Toy, $10.07 Amazon

14. Bop-It Bounce, Hasbro, $9.73 Amazon

15. Mancala for Kids, Pressman Toy, $9.49 Amazon

According to Dr. Gibson all these toys and games develop various types of cognitive skills which are the learning skills used to attend to and retain information, to process, analyze and store facts and feelings, and to create mental pictures, read words and understand concepts. When cognitive skills are strong, academic learning is fast, easy, efficient and even fun. Toys that work these skill are a step in the right direction toward creating strong learners.

Tip: Print this post before you shop in-store or online for the holidays, birthdays or any other occasion.  That way you'll have a ready-made shopping list to reference as you browse all the wonderful toys and games that can enhance your child's learning abilities.

FTC Disclosure: No payment or other compensation was received for post. See complete FTC Disclosure information that appears at the bottom of MommyBlogExpert's main page and at the bottom of every individual post on this blog, including this one.

Butterfinger Blondies Bar Cookie Recipe Fun to Make With Kids for Holidays & Christmas

Good Food

Tweet

It seems like only yesterday I created those scrumptious DIY Candy Bar Candy Apples for Halloween and other Fall holidays for this blog. For sure there's nothing like seasonal celebrations for inspiring me to get creative with the food I make to serve at parties and to give for gifts to teachers, family, friends and other special people in my life.

Mommy Blog Expert's Butterfinger Blondies

Presenting my latest creation: a treat that's easy to make using two of my personal favorite ingredients of peanut butter and Butterfinger candy. You're going to love this too, if you have an affinity for those things like I do. Yes, even if you are cooking/baking challenged, because the steps to make this are unbelievably simple. Come to think of it, if you have children at home that are old enough, consider inviting them into the kitchen to help you bake this. Remember the family that bakes and cooks together, stays together.

Butterfingers from Nestle are what make this recipe a real stand out

This sweet dessert recipe  -- taste tested by my own four teens for this review -- is so good year round. But it's a wonderful idea to whip up to give as a holiday gift or to bring to your host or hostess if you will be going to a Christmas party or dinner. If you ask me, this delicious treat will likely disappear quickly (as in eaten). No, these definitely won't be going to the same place where those infamous fruit cakes often end up this time of year, LOL!

Have fun making this, eating it or giving as a gift.

Butterfinger Blondies

Makes 24 delicious bar cookies

For Blondies:
2 cups flour
2 t. baking powder
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup smooth or crunchy peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
4 eggs
1 T. vanilla exutract

For Frosting:
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup milk or soy milk
8 miniature Butterfinger candies or 2 regular bars

The batter will look something like this when you spread it in the pan

Blondies:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Lightly grease a 13x9 baking pan
3. Mix dry ingredients together in large bowl and set aside
4. Cream together margarine, shortening, peanut butter eggs & vanilla in a smaller bowl
5. Add creamed mixer to dry ingredients and mix until well incorporated
6. Spoon mixer in pan, using a spatula to level surface
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes, watching it carefully last 5 minutes so it doesn't dry out
8. Cool completely before spreading frosting (see recipe below)
9. Coarsely chop Butterfingers and distribute evenly on top like you would sprinkles
10. Store at room temperature covered with plastic wrap until you're ready to Enjoy!

Frosting:
1. Beat all ingredients briskly, except for milk/soy milk
2. Slowly pour in the liquid and beat some more till frosting is creamy
3. Spread frosting over Butterfinger Blondies that have completely cooled and finish with steps 9 & 10 above

Christmas Tip:
To make this really Christmasy you might add Wonka Sweetarts Merry Mix or Wonka Frosty Nerds and then jazz it up further with red and green decorating sugar crystals.

The extensive line of Nestle brand candy and chocolates for the holidays and Christmas 2012 includes some of their classic sweets in special packaging as well as some new ones. Many of these seasonal offerings are pictured below.

FTC Disclosure: This is a sponsored post and I received the Nestle products pictured to facilitate this review. See complete FTC Disclosure information that appears at the bottom of MommyBlogExpert's main page and at the bottom of every individual post on this blog, including this one.