droolicious : free stuff

Babble Makes Your Holiday Dreams Come True

editors — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 17:31:00 GMT

One of the best things about this job is checking out all the new merchandise coming down the baby gear pike. As you can see, we have been busy this holiday season. But our perusing is your gain as we’re giving away a TON of baby, adult and kiddo products this month on Babble. How do you win?

There are so many ways! If you’re looking for the perfect gift and/or free goods including: handmade wonders from Etsy, personalized photo books, electronics and gifts for the grandparents go no further than our Holiday Gift Guide. We have over 30 amazing items for free – for you!

If a top of the line stroller and car seat are on your wish list, head over to The Babble Playground and join our Photo Contest. The winner goes home with a Quinny Buzz 4 with Dreami bassinet, Quinny box accessory and Maxi-Cosi Mico car seat. Nice!

Did you ask Santa for a camera/GPS/underwater camera set this year? You are in luck with our Sony Ultimate Giveaway. It’s got all these things.

Need a place to put the baby? The Jeep Trek Easy-Travel Playard holds everything in one place – and we’re giving one away for free!

Baby clothes, toys and maternity wear are also up for grabs. So check out all of our giveaways and have a holly jolly money-saving holiday. – April Peveteaux

Download a Free Vacation Planner from Time Too

Aaron Burgess — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 15:04:00 GMT

If you've ever tried to plan a summer vacation with kids, you know it can be a logistical nightmare that makes wedding coordination seem easy in comparison. No sooner are you 30,000 feet in the air, pumping Benadryl into the kids for some peace and quiet (did I just say that?) than you remember you forgot to water the plants, neglected to put a hold on your mail, didn't tell your next-door neighbor to keep an eye on the place while you were gone...

Well, it won't make any of the above any easier, but a new, free vacation planner from family-organization hot spot Time Too will at least help you to keep your head screwed on while you're getting ready. Available via PDF, this handy tick sheet gives you an easy way to get all your ducks in a row, and it also lets you assign duties to individual family members so you don't get stuck doing everything yourself. Plus, like we said, it's free.

Grab Time Too's free vacation checklist via the link below, and if you're wondering how you can show your gratitude, visit the company's online store for a number of other, more in-depth family- and baby-centric planners that actually require you to break out your credit card (2009 Family Trackers, here I come...).

[Free Tic Toc Checklist by Time Too - PDF download]

Grab Bag Winners – That Was Fast!

editors — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 18:33:00 GMT

Wow, what an amazing response to our super giveaway. As it turns out, we had enough DVDs, books, toys and bibs to give grab bags to twenty winners! And those lucky readers are:

Michelle R of Flushing, NY

Jennifer L of Chicago, IL

Carla M of Warwick, RI

Roni G of Grand Prairie, TX

Rebekah S of Reynoldsburg, OH

Ola M of Los Angeles, CA

Heather B of San Francisco, CA

Julie K of Long Beach, CA

Natalie S of Chicago, IL

Stephanie Z of Roscoe, IL

Catherine C of Brooklyn, NY

Angela G of Dayton, NV

Mary C of Ithaca, NY

Maria D of Fayetteville, NC

Jennifer H of Hilliard, OH

Sarah S of Richfield, MN

Meredith G of Roslyn, PA

Tina L of Scarsdale, NY

Carey S of Aurora, IL

Paula N of Murphy, TX

Now, if anyone has ‘tweens or teens out there, we have one more stack of books to give away to that particular demographic. So write us at babblecontest@gmail.com with the subject line ‘Tween Books! And we’ll send them to the first entrant.

Stay tuned to Droolicious for even more giveaways coming up later this week. - April Peveteaux

Babble’s Super Deluxe Grab Bag Giveaway!

editors — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:37:00 GMT

Books for Kids! Books for Expectant Mothers! DVDs! Random Toys!

This field of swag is so diverse we’re not even going to tell you what you’re getting. Maybe you’ll score a Handy Manny tool set or the latest from Nickelodeon on DVD. Or you could be the proud recipient of a random piece of material with the Bugaboo logo – perhaps you’ll know what to do with it.

No matter what your prize, we’ve got bags and bags of baby, kid and mom stuff to grab so send your entry now to babblecontest@gmail.com with the subject line – Free Stuff!!! and include your contact information so we can send you a super fun bag. Please specify if you have babies, toddlers, grade schoolers, ‘tweens or are expecting and we will try and match the prize with the age. Although, again, it’s a grab bag and we’re making no promises other than the first fifteen readers to enter will get stuff. Good luck!

Toys"R"Us Previewing Guitar Hero On Tour in Stores This Saturday

Aaron Burgess — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 15:04:00 GMT

We tipped you off to Guitar Hero On Tour, the upcoming portable Guitar Hero entry for Nintendo DS, a few months back, but if the kids are feeling restless this Saturday and you're looking for a way to kill some time, head to your local Toys"R"Us for a free, hands-on sneak preview of the game.

From noon to 4 p.m. local time on June 14, gamers will get to rock out with the new Guitar Hero On Tour a week in advance of the game's June 22 ship date. A refresher, for those who missed our earlier post: Unlike the console versions of the game, the fully portable, all-in-one On Tour features a unique grip controller that plugs into your DS to allow you to fret virtually, as well as a pick-style stylus for your strumming (because after all, outside of Sonic Youth, who strums a guitar with a pen?).

Besides a jones for the new controller, gamers who try out Guitar Hero On Tour during the preview will walk away with some freebies (a Guitar Hero sticker, dog tag and temporary tattoo, while supplies last), while those who preorder the game during the event will also get a limited-edition Guitar Hero pick-stylus. If you can't make it out to Toys"R"Us, no need to worry: Just hit up the preorder link to secure your own (regular-edition-stylus) copy of the game.

Free LEGO Indiana Jones PC Game Demo Available Starting Today

Aaron Burgess — Tue, 13 May 2008 17:03:00 GMT

We'll forgive you if you didn't bookmark LucasArts' LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures website the other day like we suggested -- we parents do have 8 million or so more important things to worry about, after all. However, if you only make one trip to the site, today's the day, as LucasArts and Games for Windows have released a demo of the upcoming LEGO Indy-themed video game, which is hitting stores June 3. Head here for the demo, and mark your calendars: The movie opens May 22.

If you don't have a PC or don't care about game demos, grab your junior archaeologist and head to Cartoon Network's LEGO Indiana Jones site for a round of fun (and funny) LEGO Indy mini-movies. And don't forget your hat...

Friday Fun: Print Your Own Highly Disturbing Coloring Book

Aaron Burgess — Fri, 02 May 2008 16:03:00 GMT

The next time you and the kids are trapped inside on a rainy day, grab a ream of paper and a restraining order and head to Free Printable Coloring Pages. The site, which I'd swear was a parody if its categories and themes weren't so kid-oriented, packs over 2,100 free black-and-white images that you can download, print and color, and in combing through those images today, I was struck by how unintentionally twisted many of them are. Like, Silence of the Lambs/What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?-twisted.

Here, then, are 10 of the weirdest, captioned by me for your viewing pleasure. Got another favorite? Share it with the rest of us in the comments, you sick creep.

Good to see NAMBLA's loosening its restrictions on clipart.

"Wait a minute -- that ain't a tow rope..."

Who's got a fresh pint and likes melting in your mouth? This candy!

"Hey, where are all the girls going?"

Sometimes an ear of corn is just an ear of corn. Other times...

Nothing gets kids pumped for that next well-child visit like "True Stories in Head Trauma."

"It puts the bandage on its skin or else it gets the shears again."

Unleash the farking furry.

What's more disturbing: his leering or the idea that she's using crutches and can't run away?

"I see dead people."

LEGO Indiana Jones Game Site Launches; Demo Coming May 13

Aaron Burgess — Thu, 01 May 2008 16:09:00 GMT

Just as we were getting cozy with Cartoon Network's LEGO-themed spin on everyone's favorite Nazi-fighting, AARP-card-carrying archaeologist, LucasArts rolled out its own LEGO Indiana Jones website, this one based around the LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures video game that's hitting stores June 3.

Loaded with fun Flash content, the site is also packed with news, trailers and game details, as well as a treasure-hunt feature that lets you collect points toward stickers, wallpaper and other gimcracks promoting what, if past experiences with LEGO Star Wars are any indication, is looking to be the summer's most awesome kids' game. (Illicitly obtained copies of Grand Theft Auto IV excepted.)

As you and your kids are playing around the site today, be sure to bookmark it: LucasArts and Games for Windows have a PC demo of LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures slated for release on May 13, nine days before the latest Indy movie hits theaters. The final game, which is rated E 10+, will also ship for Xbox 360, Wii, PlayStation 2 and Nintendo DS.

7 Days of Getting Crafty: 1,001 Free Paper Airplanes

Aaron Burgess — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 15:03:00 GMT

Okay, that figure's a bit of a stretch, but if you can't spring for a book like Andrew Dewar's Simple Origami Airplanes ($11.66 from Amazon), there are tons of free online resources for practicing the art of paper-airplane-folding, Japanese or otherwise, with your junior aviators.

I've gotten many paper cuts thanks to the sites listed here, and obviously there are way more than 10 of 'em out there. Got a favorite paper-airplane destination? Drop it into the comments so we can nerd out together.

Alex's Paper Airplanes: Shows up first in a Google search, and for good reason: Divided into difficulty levels, Alex's planes are some of the most popular (1,000,000 flights to date and counting) on the Web. But for those of you who, like me, have trouble folding airplanes based on line drawings, the site's real treat is its collection of instructional videos.

Build Paper Airplanes with Christian: If Christian's designs and videos make Alex's site look light on content, then Christian's dad, who runs the site with him and provides confidence-building tips throughout, makes Mike Brady seem like Peter Griffin.

Fun Paper Airplanes: Download, print, fold and fly.

Best Paper Airplanes: Light on visuals and lighter on updates (no new content since 2006), this site still packs a lot of fun, easy-to-make and totally original airplane designs. Start with the Deltry and work your way up.

Build the Best Paper Airplane in the World: Hey, "best" is a relative term, but this plane is still worth the effort.

Sabretooth: Another single-plane design. Get ready to chase it, because this sucker can sail.

Origami Kids: From handling unique paper to mastering difficult folds, origami can be a daunting but rewarding art for little ones. This site helps to ease the learning curve with 3D instructional videos that complement its free airplane designs.

Joseph Palmer's Paper Airplanes: An intermediate-level destination for when you get past the basic dart -- as the site promises, these suckers have serious lift.

Paper Aeroplane World: Loads of unique designs, including the distance-record-setting Nemesis.

Paper Airplane Museum: Dive in here and you may not have time for any of the others: over 810 free designs as of Jan. 9. Maybe 1,001 wasn't such a high figure after all...