HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!

Happy Easter to all my wonderful friends and followers! I hope you will all have a wonderful Easter with your family. I’ll be back tomorrow with winners, giveaways, swag, and more.


And if you're blog hopping today on my blog I will have everyone followed by tomorrow. It's Easter, let's all take a holiday!


Thanks for following EVERYONE!

Hop The Movie Game for Nintendo DS! Perfect Easter Basket Treat!

Hey All!

How many of you are still looking for great gifts to put inside your child's Easter baskets this year? Well I have just the perfect gift idea for you! Why not put in a video game or toy of their favorite movie this year to spice up their baskets? My family loved the movie Hop, so I was thrilled to get the opportunity to review the Nintendo DS game for this amazing film! I had to hand it over to my boy immediately to try on his DS as he is the video game addict in our home. His favorite place in the world is GameStop!

I'm happy to report he loved the game! He thought fighting the chicks from the movie was hilarious and had a blast playing it! Hop: The Movie Game is exclusively for Nintendo DS and is in stores everywhere now. I highly recommend you run out and get it! This amazing game is an action packed adventure game that brings many of the locations and characters from the movie to life in an interactive and entertaining setting that's perfect for gamers of all ages! It looks amazing and it's super fun to play.  Yes I said SUPER FUN!

As you play the game you play as the character Fred, who must save Easter from a scheming group of  chicks. You use weapons like chocolate super soakers, cotton candy cannons, and gumball shooters to defeat armies of chicks and the elite "pink berets." You can travel to multiple locales from the film, including the Easter Bunny's candy factory on Easter Island, Hollywood, and more!

You'll also participate in an assortment of mini-games, from bowling to egg hunts, as well as perform some rhythmic drumming in the game's separate music mode.

This game I'll say it again is a PERFECT basket-stuffer for anyone this Easter. It's about the Easter bunny, how could it not be?  It has dozens of missions, varied gameplay, and colorful graphics! This game will be a bigger hit with your kids than any chocolate bunny will EVER be I'll tell you that much.  It features the same great comedy as the film as well. And EB is sooooo adorable.

This game is truly perfect for anyone this Easter or for anyone you want to give a gift to! Why not make it a Hop the Movie themed Easter basket as they have some amazing Hop themed items at Walmart.

I also got this adorable hop themed bath set with the review game that is perfect for any Easter Basket too! They have this and a ton of other Hop themed items at Walmart! Make it a Hop-A-Licious Happy Easter! I guarantee your child will love any basket with this amazing game inside along with some amazing Hop the Movie themed treats!

Hop:  The Movie Game features include:

Wacky weapons, including chocolate super soakers, gumball shooters and cotton candy cannons.

Play through actual locations from the film, including Hollywood and Easter Island.

Tons of mini-games, including Whack-A-Bunny, Bowling for Candy, and the epic Easter egg hunt.

Hop: The Movie Game is rated “E” for everyone. For more information regarding Hop: The Movie Game for 505 Games, please visit www.505games.com.

***Disclosure: I was not compensated or paid in any way for this post. I only received a review copy of this game and the soap set. I am sharing this for the benefit of my readers. All opinions are my own.***

Pocoyo Easter Fun! AND GIVEAWAY!

Hey All!

You all know I think Pocoyo is Amazing! Well so is Pocoyoworld.com! IT’S A FUN, SIMPLE, AND FREE WAY TO CELEBRATE EASTER! VISIT POCOYOWORLD.COM for Easter ACTIVITIES Throughout April 2011!

Just visit www.pocoyoworld.com to register and play Pocoyo’s Easter Egg Hunt for FREE. Colorful Easter Eggs are hidden throughout the site. Locate them all and collect points to participate in a variety of games and activities on the site.

Also available online are additional FREE Easter activities, including Cut Out and Play Easter Eggs; and Pocoyo’s Easter Coloring Sheets located here: http://www.pocoyo.com/Pocoyo_Easter.html

Access to Pocoyo World is completely free of charge. After a simple registration process you will be able to enjoy lots of content in a safe environment. Just by registering you will have access to all Pocoyo World areas, games, activities, and shops, and you will also be able to exchange gifts with your friends.

Users who belong to Pocoyo World’s Premium Club will be able to access lots more content and areas, and get exclusive virtual objects (costumes, vehicles, interactive objects, etc.). In addition, they will receive a monthly report monitoring their activity on Pocoyo World and have the chance to take part in exclusive events and promotions.

Following the adventures of Pocoyo, the animated series brings children into the bright world of this inquisitive and fun-loving boy and his animal friends, Elly (the elephant), Pato (the duck) and Loula (the dog).   The multi-award winning series is about curiosity and imagination, tolerance and respect, love and laughter. Packed with color, music and vibrant visual images, the series is both educational and entertaining; Pocoyo is about learning through laughter. This international smash hit series has been broadcast in over 120 countries worldwide.

Watch Pocoyo in the U.S. every day on Nick Jr. at 4:25 pm Eastern; on Univision’s Planeta U on Saturday mornings at 8:30 am Eastern; and on PBS stations and Discovery Familia (check local listings).

Pocoyo toys are available at Toys”R”Us stores nationwide, and at www.toysrus.com and www.amazon.com. The toys, targeting preschool children ages 18 months through three years, capture the vibrant and exuberant world of Pocoyo and his animal friends, encouraging them to “learn through laughter.” Additionally, two DVD’s from NCircle Entertainment have been recently released.  “Super Pocoyo” on January 11, 2011 and “Meet Pocoyo” in 2010.

What is Pocoyo World?
An online environment where you can create your own virtual “me” and enjoy games and adventures alongside your favorite characters, forming part of a virtual community where you can make friends and share activities.

What can you do at Pocoyoworld?
Learn through laughing is our motto, and naturally we have applied this to our virtual world. Enjoyable and educational activities that help you familiarize yourself with the world and encourage creativity. Games that stimulate skills and reflexes and award virtual gifts. Episodes and melodies are always available to you to enjoy online.

A world tailored to you!
You will be able to design and dress your character as you please. Be yourself inside Pocoyo’s universe. In addition, you have a private area where you can let your imagination run wild, decorate it, discover new areas and get fabulous prizes by solving the most amusing mysteries. All by using a very basic controls system that any child can manage.

All of the characters of the series!
All of the characters from the series are there to help you on your visit. Play with Pato at the amusement park, visit Elly’s boutique or have fun coloring in with Pocoyo. In addition, you will be able to take care of your own virtual pet, buy it food and toys and make sure it is always happy by your side.

Unique experiences!
A safe environment in which parents and children can share the experience of immersing themselves in Pocoyo’s wonderful world, discover, learn and have fun together. Make friends and enjoy the introduction to online technology in a familiar and enjoyable setting.

Access to Pocoyo World is completely free of charge. After a simple registration process you will be able to enjoy lots of content in a safe environment. Just by registering you will have access to all Pocoyo World areas, games, activities, and shops, and you will also be able to exchange gifts with your friends.

Premium Club: Users who belong to Pocoyo World’s Premium Club will be able to access lots more content and areas, and get exclusive virtual objects (costumes, vehicles, interactive objects, etc.). In addition, they will receive a monthly report monitoring their activity on Pocoyo World and have the chance to take part in exclusive events and promotions.

With more than 400 million hits on YouTube® and more than 27.5 million content downloads from the official Pocoyo website, the series, licensed in over 120 territories worldwide, is recognized as a global hit property. In addition to the successful TV series, the virtual world Pocoyoworld.com has attracted more than 11 million unique visitors, enabling children and care-givers to share a host of fun and educational activities with their favorite characters.  Also, the ‘Pocoyize’ application has proved a huge hit, allowing users, either online or via iPhone®, to create their own Pocoyo-style avatar by choosing details such as hair style, clothes, skin color and eyes. Approximately 11 million people have been ‘Pocoyized’ to date, and the iPhone application has received an impressive 550,000 downloads in the United States alone, in addition to being a Top 5 seller in both Spain and Japan.
 
Pocoyo has attracted a host of international accolades including a prestigious BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) for Best Animated Preschool Series, three Pucinella Prizes at Italy’s Cartoons on the Bay Festival and Best TV Series at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France.

About Zinkia Entertainment
The Spanish company Zinkia Entertainment, which specializes in the creation and management of entertainment brands for the international market, is primarily involved in the animation business, creating quality content for the audiovisual market as well as interactive content for multi-player console and online games.


GIVEAWAY:

To celebrate Easter, Pocoyo will provide a FREE 14-day trial code to one of my followers.

MANDATORY ENTRY:

- Become a “Google Friend Connect Friend” with The Queen of Swag! found on the (right side bar of the blog) and leave a comment telling me what's your favorite thing about Easter.

That's all you have to do to enter. But...

-For Additional Entries after the main entry is completed, do the following and PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT BELLOW FOR EACH ADDITIONAL ENTRY YOU DO!

- SUBSCRIBE TO MY BLOG BY EMAIL OR VIA READER! SCROLL DOWN THE RIGHT SIDE BAR OF MY BLOG WHERE IT SAYS "SUBSCRIBE TO ME"

- Follow the Pocoyo on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/pocoyo

- “Like” The Queen of Swag! on Facebook at Facebook.com/thequeenofswag (or click on the Facebook Like button found on the right side bar).

- Follow The Queen of Swag on Twitter @queenofswag4u or by clicking on the twitter buttons that say follow me on the right side bar.

- Follow the Pocoyo on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/pocoyo

-Tweet this Giveaway!

Feel free to make up a Tweet about this Giveaway with @Pocoyo @queenofswag4u and http://thequeenofswag.blogspot.com or this shortened link http://bit.ly/ahoOgH so I can see it or use the tweet I created below.

#Giveaway! WIN 14 day Access to PocoyoWorld.com FROM @queenofswag4u & @Pocoyo! http://bit.ly/ahoOgH ENDS-4/20/2011

-Leave a LINK to your Tweet in a Comment Bellow.

(This is limited to 4 tweets per day, spaced apart not one right after the other PLEASE. I don't want anyone to be called spammers or blocked by twitter.)

- Connect with me on NETWORKED BLOGS found also on the (right side bar of the blog)

- Blog about this LINK AND GIVEAWAY and leave a link to post.

- Add ANY OF MY BUTTONS TO YOUR BLOG. My regular Blog Button, Gift Guide, or Blog Hop Event Buttons and leave a link and tell me where it's located on your blog.

- Participate in either My Simple Sundays Blog Hop or Wednesday Hump Day Slup Day Blog Hop if you have a blog.

- Enter any of my other Current Giveaways.

GIVEAWAY WILL END April. 20th , 2011 at 11:59pm pacific time! Winners will be notified by email, twitter, or facebook and winners will be announced on this blog, on twitter, and on facebook.

This GIVEAWAY is open to USA ONLY! SORRY.

PRIZES WILL BE FULFILLED TO THE WINNERS BY POCOYO AND THREE SIXTY MARKETING!

**PLEASE SEE RULES AND DISCLAIMER FOR MORE PRIZE INFO. AGAIN WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN AT RANDOM USING RANDOM.ORG FROM ELIGIBLE ENTRIES.**

Good luck! HAPPY EARLY EASTER!  And THANK YOU so much for following my blog!

**Disclosure: I was given THE OPPORTUNITY TO Review this site and to hold this giveaway. I was not compensated for this post in any way. All opinions are my own. **

One Kings Lane! Cute Easter Decorations!

Hey all!

Have you heard of One Kings Lane? I AM IN LOVEEEEEEE with this deal site. They have Amazing discounts for luxury home essentials, gourmet food, gifts, and more. Double your value on discounts that are already up to 70% sometimes 80% off!

One Kings Lane has some more fun sales today and one for Madison Vines has some adorable Easter flowers and decorations that start at only $12!

Like these flower windmill place card holders!

Or this Bunny and chick topiary. Too cute!

They have more than just home items for sale! They have toys, food, aprons, and more!

So JOIN ONE KINGS LANE NOW! I love them and you will too! They have AMAZING CUSTOMER SERVICE AS WELL! Just so you know! You can call and get help via email anytime promptly. They are amazing.

You can join One Kings Lane by CLICKING HERE!

Thanks so much for following everyone and I hope you find some great deals! Enjoy!

***Disclosure: I'm simply sharing this info for the benefit of my readers. I was not asked to post this or compensated in any way to post this. All opinions are my own.***

Too Cute! How to Create Disney Character Easter Eggs!

Hey All!

Make some adorable Easter eggs with Winnie the Pooh this Easter! Here's how:

WINNIE THE POOH is our beloved ‘hunny’-loving bear, so why not choose one of his favorite things - a honey jar – to create as an Easter egg? You want it to look like a real honey jar so use tape to cover the top of the egg where the lid will be and also a wide strip of tape around the middle for the ‘HUNNY’ label. Boil half a cup of water, mix in 30-40 drops of blue food dye, and one tablespoon of white vinegar. When it cools, gently lower the egg into the pot. The longer the egg remains in the pot, the darker the color gets! Once you are happy with the color, take it out with a spoon, dry it and remove the tape. Then stick the word ‘HUNNY’ in tape to the egg, and pop it back in the pot, just for a few seconds to make the ‘label’ pale blue. Finally, you can use acrylic paint for a blob of honey and leave the word ‘HUNNY’ in the egg’s natural color. If Pooh could see your Easter egg, he might think it looked so much like a honey jar that he would keep it in his personal collection!

TIGGER would be ecstatically happy about painting Easter eggs. You could have a go at painting an egg that looks like Tigger! First, use an orange watercolor crayon to paint the entire egg orange. While it dries, bounce around a bit – Tigger – style! Then draw in the tiger stripes with a steady hand and a black marker and fill them in with a black watercolor crayon. You can use a pink button for the nose and draw on eyebrows, eyes, mouth and whiskers with the black marker. Tigger-tastic!

EEYORE we all know would probably be less excited about painting Easter Eggs, so why not create one of his favorite food -- thistles, of course! All you need are some crayons, a little spinach and also purple and green acrylic paints. Draw the thistle with a crayon, to prevent the area from being dyed. Boil the spinach, letting it simmer for 45 minutes. Put the egg into the water to color it green. The crayon colored thistle won’t dye (due to the wax in the crayon), so you can use acrylic paints to finish your egg.  Even Eeyore would have to admit it looks pretty sweet.

PIGLET loves his friends, and his motto is “Even if you are rather small you can still have a very big heart.” Why not paint a Piglet style Easter egg, with huge hearts on it? First, draw seven hearts with a marker, and then use small pieces of sponge with different colors to paint the egg. You can paint the whole egg pale blue like the sky and then paint each of the hearts with one of the colors of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. Piglet would love this Easter egg because it’s small and cute, just like him!

To have more adventures with Pooh and friends go and see WINNIE THE POOH, the brand new film by Disney, in theatres July 15th!

ABOUT THE MOVIE!

Walt Disney Animation Studios returns to the Hundred Acre Wood with “Winnie the Pooh.” Featuring the timeless charm, wit and whimsy of the original featurettes, this all-new movie reunites audiences with the philosophical “bear of very little brain” and friends Tigger, Rabbit, Piglet, Owl, Kanga, Roo—and last, but certainly not least, Eeyore, who has lost his tail.  “Ever have one of those days where you just can’t win, Eeyore?” asks Pooh.  Owl sends the whole gang on a wild quest to save Christopher Robin from an imaginary culprit. It turns out to be a very busy day for a bear who simply set out to find some honey. Inspired by three stories from A.A. Milne’s books in Disney’s classic, hand-drawn art style, “Winnie the Pooh” hits theatres on July 15th! 


This film looks amazing and is so beautiful. I'm so happy to see an old school traditional animation Disney Move come back to life! I can't wait to see it!

***Disclosure: I was not compensated or paid in any way for this post. I am sharing this for the benefit of my readers. All opinions are my own.*** 

Cute for Easter! Winnie the Pooh Coloring Pages!

Hey All!

In honor of the soon to be released “Winnie the Pooh” in theaters July 15, 2011 I’m excited to offer you some free coloring pages for you and your child to enjoy.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD ALL THE CUTE PAGES SEEN ABOVE AND MORE. Click "BLUE" Button that says "DOWNLOAD NOW" to download.

 ***Disclosure: I was not compensated or paid in any way for this post. I am sharing this for the benefit of my readers. All opinions are my own.***

Easter Love! with Social Moms!

Hey All!

Today I was asked this question: What is your favorite thing about Easter? And when I think back about my experiences with celebrating Easter with my family when I was a kid, only happy thoughts come to mind.  I have always love Easter. I'm so happy I now have a family of my own to share my love of Easter with. It's always such a fun day to spend with your family. When I was a kid my favorite thing about Easter was the Easter baskets and egg hunts! I can't tell you how much I loved Easter baskets. I still love them too this day. I love now giving them to my family. I fill them with all kinds of treats and even video games.

YES I DO look forward to this time of year because I can get Marshmallow Peeps anywhere you go.  I LOVE PEEPS. I use them for my teens hot cocoa and to decorate with when I'm baking. I love that they make a variety for various holidays. But my favorites are the pink bunnies. Sometimes I put them as treats in the Easter egg hunt.

But I do look forward to sharing it all with my family. My teen loves Easter baskets just as much as I do, even though he won't admit it. And my non hubby LOVES ABOVE LOVES Cadbury Eggs.

He can eat a hundred if you let him. I usually wait until after Easter sales and stock up on these treats because you can't get them any other time of year. I also love holding an egg hunt for the kids in our neighborhood.

The Easter Bunny loves to hide Easter eggs around the neighborhood for all the kiddies to find.  He's pretty clever as to where he hides the eggs too if I don't say so myself. The parents aka the easter bunny of the neighbor are pretty clever.  You never know where you'll find some fun eggs in our neighborhood!

I also love to spend the day decorating the eggs the day before Easter for the egg hunt. I also love to do various Easter crafts as well like this paper Easter bunny. I decorate for Easter and I like to make the decorations for our home.

This year I'm looking forward to the movie Hop! It's about the Easter bunny and it looks adorable. My family and I can't wait to see it!

Here is a little about the movie:
 
"Blending state of the art animation with live action, Hop is a comedy about E.B. (voiced by Russell Brand), the teenage son of the Easter Bunny. On the eve of taking over the family business, E.B. leaves for Hollywood in pursuit of his dream of becoming a drummer.  Once there, he encounters Fred (James Marsden of the X-Men series, Enchanted), recently fired and determined to pull his life together.  Feigning injury, E.B. persuades Fred to take him in, and Fred finds himself living with the world’s worst houseguest.   Back on Easter Island, the Easter Bunny’s second in command, an oversized chick named Carlos, seizes E.B.’s disappearance as an opportunity to plot a coup.  Ultimately, Fred and E.B. are Easter’s only hope and they find themselves returning to Easter Island, locked in an epic battle to save the beloved holiday.  The film is helmed by Tim Hill, director of the blockbuster Alvin and the Chipmunks and produced by Chris Meledandri’s Illumination Entertainment (Despicable Me)."

Hop on over to these sites to learn more about Hop.

More info: www.iwantcandy.com

Universal Pictures on Facebook 

Follow @UniversalPics on Twitter

Thanks so much for allowing me to share my love of Easter with you. I hope you have a very fun Easter with your family. I know I will!

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Hop blogging program, for a gift card worth $25. For more information on how you can participate, click here.”