Lights of the World at the AZ State Fair grounds!

Don't miss Lights of the World, the largest light and lantern show in North America! "5 over-the-top Christmas lights from across the U.S." - USA Today The largest lights and lantern festival in North America will be brightening Phoenix's skies from November 22, 2019 - January 12, 2020 at the Arizona State Fair. Lights of the World is back for a third year. Combining the age-old tradition of paper lanterns with cutting-edge technology, the Lights of the World lantern displays extend from 18 to 60 feet, amounting to over 10 million colorful lights, and showcase features of different cultures and civilizations around the globe.

With over 65 stunning displays, Lights of the World promises an unforgettable exploration of global cultures and cuisine. Lights of the World also possesses a litany of other entertainment features: as visitors walk through, they'll encounter a world of surprises, including friendly, life-like dinosaurs, daily free performances showcasing acrobatics, the Puppetone Rockers or a sea lion show. Artisans will also be on site, creating unique, handmade art to commemorate the celebration.

For more information visit www.lightsoftheworldus.com

**This is not a paid post, this is being posted for a shot at getting tickets to this event.**

Children's Christmas Books from CandleWick Press!

During the holidays I love reading and watching holiday themed stories with my children, so I am always on the look out for great new books and movies to add to our list. I was recently sent some great Christmas themed books from Candlewick Press to check out with my kids. I am going to be sharing three of the books with you today that are better suited for younger children and later this week I will be sharing a few books for older kids including one that is a good middle school read.

Peppa Pig and the Christmas Play (Retail $12.99)

This hardcover book includes a coloring poster which is located under the book jacket. Peppa Pig and her class room are going to be putting on a holiday play where they all get to select who they would like to be. All of the children are very excited and each has said they ran into Santa at the store or at the mall and told him about the play and that he said he would come. The teacher let's the kids know that Santa is very busy and might not make it, they are slightly bummed when they start and he isn't there. But Santa does end up showing up which makes the children quite happy. After the show Santa takes all the children for a ride in his sleigh. 

I thought this was a cute book and it is perfect for young girls and boys who love Peppa Pig!

Maisy's ChristmasParty by Lucy Cousins (Retail $14.99)

Maisy is throwing a Christmas party so she sends invites to each of her friends. Through out the book you see her friends get excited about the party and write responses back to her, the page after each one sends a reply features the letter which is sent to Maisy. You get to reach into each envelope and pull out the letter with each reply, some of the envelopes also include extra goodies like a joke book or a gingerbread man with a gingerbread recipe written on it (and yes it is a real recipe with instructions so you can make them if you choose to do so). 

This book seems like it is mainly aimed at younger children, but both of my kids who are ages six and ten really enjoyed this book as well and thought the envelopes with things in them was a really neat idea. The very last envelope she gives out after the party and it is a letter/gift for the person reading the book and has a spot where you can write your child's name. Many of the "gifts" inside of the book can actually be hung up which I think is an excellent idea and is sure to brighten the day of your child. 

    We're going on abear hunt; Chirstmas Activity book by Walker Productions LTD (Retail $9.99)

This activity book is based off of the book "We're going on a bear hunt" which is a cute book about the adventure a family goes on. This activity book has a lot to do inside of it from cross words to actual crafts and baking. This is meant to be a count down to Christmas book, and is has a tree in the back with a Christmas count down that you add stickers too, along with the stickers for this activity there are over 100 stickers in total! The very back of the book holds all of the stickers along with the page number of the activity they go with. This book seems like a lot of fun for children of all ages! Children can often get a little impatient waiting for Christmas to arrive once December hits, and this activity book is a great way to help keep them entertained leading up to the holiday. I really like that it isn't just activities that you color in the book, instead they also include crafts to do at home with your parents you just need the materials to complete the projects.

Want to pick up one of these three amazing books, or want to look for other great Christmas books? Visit Candlewick Press to see all of the great books they have to offer. Which of these three books catches your interest the most?

Disclaimer- The products mentioned above were provided by Candlewick Press for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Handmade leather goods by New Moon Technocraft!

Handmade gifts are always a fantastic option for Birthday and Christmas gifts, I recently came across a Etsy shop called New Moon Technocraft who sells a number of gorgeous handmade gifts. Shop owner Leslie creates leather bookmarks, single pocket wallets, dog hair clips and more. She has a lot of unique designs that include fun fandoms like Harry Potter, Zelda, Superheros and more so there is something for everyone.

I was immediately drawn to the gorgeous bookmarks in her shop, in particular the Ravenclaw bookmark caught my eye. I have been a fan of the Harry Potter books and movies since I was younger, and my nickname is "Luna" so it received double brownie points in my book. Leslie was very kind and sent me a bookmark along with a cord holder to use and review.

The bookmark I received is perfect for what I look for in a bookmark. I generally try to avoid bookmarks that are so small, you almost can't find the page you were on and I don't like bookmarks that are so big they leave an indentation in the book. This bookmark is thin while still being sturdy enough to last, plus it is just the right size for marking your page in a book. I enjoy the texture of this bookmark, it is smooth but has enough of a grip that it won't slip around inside of your book. Each bookmark is customizable so you can add any name you'd like. 

You can purchase a bookmark for $12.60, with flat items of this size there is always a small worry that it might get bent in the mail on the way to your house. Both of these products were packaged so that they were protected during shipping and the arrived in perfect condition. This would make an excellent gift for the bookworm on your holiday shopping list.

Another product that caught my eye was the adorable Sloth cord wrap/holder shown above. I work in a small office by myself, I can hear all of the commotion going on outside of my office but it is usually pretty quite inside of my office. I keep a pair of headphones in my desk drawer so I can listen to music on my phone while I work during the day. Sometimes the headphones get tangled up, or they catch on other stuff I have in the drawer, so I wanted to see if this could be the solution I was looking for. 

In the photo above I wrapped the cords up a little looser than I wanted but it worked for the photo, I think in the future when I use this I will take a little more time to wrap up my headphones properly. I like how easy this is to unsnap and wrap around my headphones to keep them securely in place. It keeps everything in a tight little bundle that is perfect for tucking away into your desk drawer, pocket or even your purse without you having to worry about your headphones becoming damaged. I almost think this is too cute to leave in my drawer at work, I might start bringing my headphones with me in my purse since I no longer need to worry about them getting overly tangled.

I am pretty impressed with the amount of details, Leslie was able to get on the face of the sloth! You can clearly see it's eyes, cheeks and facial markings. I decided to go with the medium brown dyed leather because it looks the most sloth like to me, however if you prefer a different color she offers ten different colors! A cord holder can be purchased for $9.45 plus shipping. If you have an Instagram page, head over and check out New Moon Technocraft on Instagram, you can find photos of her products and lots of cute photos of her dog modeling hair clips!

Disclaimer- The products mentioned above were provided by New Moon Technocraft for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Gingerbread Houses at the CMOP!

The holidays are officially upon us, Thanksgiving is two weeks away and soon all of the Christmas fun will begin (that is if you haven't already started celebrating). One of my favorite holiday memories growing up was decorating cookies and making a gingerbread house at school. When I found out that the newest signature program for the holidays at the Children's Museum of Phoenix is going to be gingerbread cookie and gingerbread house decorating sessions I was very excited.

My kids and I were able to stop by the Children's Museum of Phoenix to attend an early session of the Gingerbread house program to see what it had to offer. If you and your children would like to stop by the museum and participate as well, this program officially opens up to the public on November 29th and will last until December 22nd. A Gingerbread House program cost $34.95 for members and $39.95 for non-members, it covers up to 4 people and you get one large house plus lots of candy. The Gingerbread people program is $5 per member or $6 for non-members, these programs are not included with admission to the museum so that will need to be purchased separately. The house itself is already pre-constructed so you won't need to worry about building the house itself.

When you enter into the room there will be a table set up with the main supplies you'll need along with a muffin tin. The first photo above showing the gingerbread house is everything you get in the main kit (white piping frosting, green frosting, red frosting, two gingerbread people, a door, a chimney and various candy).

What do you need a muffin tin for? They have a nice selection of different treats and candies you are able to grab to decorate your house with, the muffin tin is to hold all of your goodies. They had a pretty decent selection of treats the only thing my kids commented that they wished they were able to use was small candy canes.

The big white icing bag that is used for both decoration and getting candy to stick to the gingerbread house has two different bag tips. Before using the bag it recommends kneading the frosting for a few minutes before cutting open the tip and using the frosting, this helps warm the frosting up a bit to help is spread easier. I HIGHLY suggest following that step hahaha I did not knead it for enough time and while I was trying to help add "snow" to the roof of our gingerbread house the bag went squish and frosting started coming out the side of the bag. It made for a good laugh and we were still able to decorate the house, but having a solid bag makes your decorating job easier!

It was a lot of fun seeing the ideas the kids came up with for the gingerbread house, they each made their own idea of what a wreath looks like, my daughter made a "light rope" between to light poles and we decorated the roof with colorful Christmas lights. My kids enjoyed being able to sneak in a few pieces of candy before dinner, and over all had a great time decorating this together. When we were finished we were provided a box to take our creation home in, my daughter was pretty relieved that she didn't have to carefully hold the house the entire way home.

If you are looking to do a gingerbread house they are hosting sessions for them only on the weekends except for Friday December 20th. Gingerbread people are during the week only with the exception of Sunday December 1st. Want to make your visit to the museum extra special? On Saturday December 14th they are hosting a snow day at the museum, they will have 40 TONS of snow that you and your child can play in, plus Santa will be visiting. The best part? "Snow Much Fun Day" is included with admission into the museum.  You can learn more about the Snow Much Fun Day Here.

Disclaimer- The products mentioned above were provided by Children's Museum of Phoenix for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others.My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

CandleWick Press trio of book reviews!

When I was younger I enjoyed getting my hands on a new book and reading when ever I could, which is why I've always encouraged my kids to read as much as possible as well. I always love seeing their faces light up when we get new books, especially when we get a new box from CandleWick Press! Books that not only my kids are interested in but books I want to read as well are a big bonus and I wanted to share a few of those with you here today.

Paper World: Planet Earth by Bomboland (Retail $24.99)

This book goes over a ton of details about the earth, from volcanos to storms and Tectonic plates which is perfect as my children are at the stages in school where they are either starting to learn about the earth or are continuing to learn more about it. Each page is rather unique in its design, the creators used paper layers to show the layers of the earth and show case different aspects of nature.

Each page is jam packed with information about the subject it is discussing, including several fun flaps with more information stored underneath. My children were pretty excited about this book, and looking through the pages made me want to read it as well just to absorb all of the information it has to offer. I think this book is a very educational book for a home collection or it would fit right into a classroom setting as a way to offer a fun way to learn about the Earth.

Life: The First Four Billion Years by Martin Jenkins (Retail $24.99)

Here is another fantastic book absolutely jam packed with educational information! This book covers various stages of life before there were humans, it goes over many of the different periods such as Jurassic, Cretaceous period and more. Not only does this book contain eighty pages of information there is more information on each page than in a regular book because of the books size, it measures a whooping 11" x 14" and features a fold out page in the start of the book.

We've only looked through this book so far but this is another that is a great addition to any home or school library for school ages children or anyone interested in knowing more about this subject. It includes a number of illustrations some in color and others in black and white.

Where's Waldo? Double Trouble by Martin Handford (Retail $18.99)

Growing up I was always a big fan of Where's Waldo books, my great grandmother kept several in her house and I remember looking through them over and over just to look at all the fun little scenes hidden in the book. This is a great take on the classic while also throwing in a "spot the difference" book.

You'll find two of the same photo each time you flip the page, not only will you need to find Waldo and his friends but you'll also have to spot all the differences between the two photos. My kids have had a blast with this book and we are quite happy to add it to our Where's Waldo collection! This book is great as a birthday or holiday gift for children who enjoy interactive books.

CandleWick Press offers these three amazing books along with dozens of others suited for all ages! You can buy them directly through their website, on Amazon or Barnes & Nobles.

Disclaimer- The products mentioned above were provided by Candlewick Press for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

November Gramma In A Box!

It is that time of the month again, time for the Gramma In A Box! I think that it drives my children a little crazy inside that we usually wait a day or two after it arrives before we start on the goodies in the box. What is a Gramma In A Box kit? This box was originally created by owner Terry, who has grandchildren who live out of state, this box gives her and her grandchildren a chance to work on decorating cookies together over Skype, over time it has turned into a full time business for other parents and grandparents who want to do the same with their children. As you can guess the November theme is 'Thanksgiving' and it comes with three fun treats to decorate with your children.

My favorite part of this subscription box is that it comes with everything you need to complete the projects! Any decorations, frosting, chocolate or other food item is included in your kit along with some wax paper to decorate over/store your projects on. The only other thing you will need is a bowl to melt the melting chocolates, and a fork (well and your microwave to melt the chocolate).

The first project we worked on together was the Turkey Buddies, this project requires: Ritz crackers, candy eyes, pumpkin seeds and candy corn. I suggest doing this project first as the remaining chocolate that isn't used for this project will be used for project number two. 

You'll need to melt the chocolate in the microwave and then place a small amount on each cracker, having your child spread it evenly over the cracker. Once that has been completed, you can add candy corn for feathers, a pumpkin seed for a nose and eyes. Your Turkey is now complete! 

Project number two is a fun Harvest Bark! We did this one a little differently than the card instructed us to do, I will go over what we did differently below. For this project you'll need the remaining chocolate from project one, cinnamon toast crunch cereal, candy corn, salted peanuts and a fall sprinkle mixture. 

The card instructs you to make one large bark and cut it into pieces after, I found that even though we used a small amount of chocolate in project one it didn't seem like we had as much left over chocolate to make the big bark it showed on the card. So instead of making one big Harvest bark we each decided to make a small bark pile so we could add what we wanted. You can also use candy corn in your bar or other small chocolates/candies you have in your home, we opted to not include the candy corn. 

The final project is always one of my personal favorites in this box! Plain sugar cookies in various shapes that you get to decorate as you please. The kids and I love working on these together, it is always a lot of fun talking with them about how they want to decorate their cookies. This time around my daughter decided to give one of the acorns a face and glasses! On the Turkey that I decorated I used a red sprinkle to add a wattle to the chin of my turkey. We also decided to use some of the sprinkles as "feathers", and also used the sugar glitter to add some sparkle to our cookies. These cookies are always so delicious! They are the perfect sugar cookie mixture so they are always soft and taste fresh (because they are).

Disclaimer- The products mentioned above were provided by Gramma In A Box for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Fun with the family at Circus Americana!

My family and I love going out to events and fun attractions together so when we heard that Circus Americana was coming to town we were all excited about getting to check it out. Going to the Circus is a great way to enjoy some wholesome entertainment together as a family, and for those of you who don't like animal acts, don't worry! This is a human only circus. They are currently in Tempe, Arizona until November 24th so if you'd like to see the show there are still thirteen days left for you to go see it. They are located in the Big Surf parking lot located at 1500 N McClintock Dr Tempe,AZ 85281

I like that they decided to host their event in the empty lot next to Big Surf because it allowed for plenty of parking that was easy to navigate and it was easy for handicapped visitors to reach the tent. Seeing as how it is in a parking lot there are no bathrooms only a row of port-a-potty so if you aren't a fan of them I suggest using the bathroom before leaving. Once you arrive to the tent you'll get your tickets taken care of then will be instructed to sit anywhere you please aside from the seating marked "Reserved". While the reserved seating is closer and you don't have to deal with as many poles in your field of vision I much preferred sitting in the bleachers with my kids because we had a higher view vantage point so we were able to see more. During the show I actually saw a family who was in the reserved area move up onto the bleachers.

Ticket prices are quite affordable, you can get bleacher seats for just $17.50 per person, reserved chairs for $23.25 or you can sit ring side in the VIP for $50. None of the seating is really that far from the state, it is a rather personal experience and you are able to see everything on stage quite well.

Hungry before the show? I brought a bit of cash with me as I knew the kids would want to get a popcorn for the show, generally events such as this have a high price tag on food and souvenir items so I was expecting to spend about $20 on a popcorn and a soda. I was happily surprised to see their concession prices were very affordable, $3 per popcorn bag, $3 sodas, $2 waters and $5 cotton candies. I ended up buying two popcorns and a water which meant I spend less than $10 on food for the three of us which is fantastic.

Sadly we didn't stay for the entire show, my son wasn't feeling too well because of a headache so we ended up leaving after about an hour. The hour we did see was a lot of fun and they made sure to pack a lot into it, we thought all of the acts did a wonderful job and we wished we could have stayed for the rest. My favorite of what we seen was the ballerina doing the tightrope walk, it was a lot of fun to see and I liked how she seemed like a real music box ballerina. I'll be sharing a short clip of part of her act over on my Instagram page (@Burningmoonprod) if you want to head over and check it out on my stories. Did you know that the Taylor Family who runs Circus Americana is from Arizona? All of the staff working that we dealt with directly during our visit from the ticket booth to the concession stand were all extremely helpful and friendly, if you needed anything or had any questions they were more than willing to assist. When my son no longer wanted to watch letting me know his head was hurting and he wanted to go to bed, they held open the tent for us and wished us a good night which was sweet.

Disclaimer- The products mentioned above were provided by Circus Americana for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Zoomtown Lights at ISM Raceway!

Zoomtown Lights, ISM Raceway's 1.6-mile drive-through holiday light show experience, returns to the West Valley this holiday season! Arizona's only light show that allows guests to drive throughout a professional motorsports facility, Zoomtown Lights features over 50 miles of strung lights and more than 3 million points of light! From the comfort of their own vehicles, guests will enjoy sparkling snowfall canopies, trees of light as well as special motorsports-inspired displays! Zoomtown Lights will be open to the public every day at 6 p.m. from November 29 through December 31. Admission prices start at $25 Sunday through Thursday and $30 Friday and Saturday. Admission will be $30 every day from December 20-31. Buses are also welcome for $50. Tickets are available at the gate, or in advance at ISMRaceway.com.

$5 Off Zoomtown Lights - Available through 11/10 - Zoomtown Lights will be open to the public every day at 6 p.m. from November 29 through December 31. Admission prices start at $25 Sunday through Thursday and $30 Friday and Saturday. Admission will be $30 every day from December 20-31. Buses are also welcome for $50. Tickets are available at the gate, or in advance at ISMRaceway.com Guests that purchase their Zoomtown Lights tickets early between now and the Bluegreen Vacations 500 NASCAR Semi-Final Weekend, Nov 8-10 at ISM Raceway will receive $5 off their Zoomtown Lights admission.

Go here to redeem. You can print off a coupon Here - Don't forget to mention Phoenix Kids when you redeem this coupon

Disclaimer - I am receiving tickets to this event in exchange for a pre-visit and post-visit post. 

Playing With Fire - Spoiler Free Movie Review!

I am always up to go see a new family friendly comedy, so when we were invited to see an early showing of the movie "Playing With Fire" we couldn't refuse. The preview for this movie is pretty cute, and the cast has several people I recognize which made me want to see the film. The lead cast is John Cena, John Leguizamo and Keegan-Micheal Key plus it also features Judy Greer.

The premise of this movie is that a fire superintendent (John Cena) and is crew rescue three siblings from their burning home, dealing with fires is almost an everyday thing for them, but what they were not prepared for was babysitting! As you can imagine it leads to a bit of a crazy adventure.

My thoughts on this movie:

The film starts off with an action packed scene as you watch the crew work to stop a fire from spreading, which gives you a good look at what they do on a daily basis and how they work as a crew together. There is a laugh or two prior to the children being rescued, but the real laughs start once the children and crew are together at the depot.

I thought all three of the kids they cast did a fantastic job, and I didn't realize the entire time I was watching the film that the oldest girl plays an X-men in Deadpool! She looks so different. Both of the younger children do quite a few silly and hilarious things during the movie some of which give you that "Oh no!" laugh seeing someone stuck in a situation, that you know you wouldn't want to be stuck in. There was a scene or two that seemed a bit cheesy, but I think most movies have parts that are like that. A little romance and heart felt scenes are also thrown in along with the comedy which helped give the film a wholesome feel. I personally don't re-call seeing anything that stood out to me as being non-child friendly, or anything that made me upset, it is definitely a film we all want to watch again.

As you can see there is an adorable dog in the promo as well! The kids really loved seeing her on the screen, she stole the screen along with one of the other crew members (Axe) that the kids talked about all afternoon after seeing the movie. It is hard to pick a favorite character or scene in the movie because there are so many great scenes, you can't pick just one! This movie is great for families or even just to watch by yourself. You'll be laughing the entire time and you will feel connected with the characters by the end. My husband sadly didn't attend with us as he had a project to work on, but after I told him about the movie and the kids excitedly told him about the movie as well, we plan on buying it once it comes out.

Want to watch the movie preview?


The official release date is November 8th,2019.

Disclaimer- Tickets to see the movie mentioned above were provided by Allied Global Marketing for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others.My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before seeing the movie.

World of Illumination Arizona Promo!

This holiday season, experience World of Illumination - the largest animated light show in the world, fully synchronized to your favorite holiday music. Located at Tempe Diablo Stadium and Westgate Shopping Center in Glendale, this 25-minute drive-through event features close to 2 million lights. Special attractions range from a 36-foot tall animated snowman at the Glendale location to a 500-foot long super tunnel in Tempe. World of Illumination is open nightly from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM on weeknights and 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM on weekends beginning November 21, 2019 through January 5, 2020. Ticket prices start at $22.99 per car and can be purchased at www.worldofillumination.com. A portion of proceeds benefits the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
10% Off The World's Largest Animated Holiday Drive-Thru Light Show with Promo Code: WONDER - Get 10% Off The World's Largest Animated Holiday Drive-Thru Light Show!

Order tickets online at worldofillumination.com.

Offer valid Monday - Thursday, excluding holidays.


Presented Nightly 6:00pm -10:00pm M-F and 6:00pm -11:00pm Sa/Su.

Not valid with any other discount or promotions.

Valid for our 2019 season.

No cash value.
Please use your code of WONDER
https://www.usfamilycoupons.com/coupon.php?regionid=75&bid=13524&dealid=3439 .@usfg

**This is Not a sponsored post, this promo is being posted for a chance at being selected to receive tickets to this event.**