The World Famous Harlem Globetrotters are beginning their 84th season of fun-filled family entertainment. Their 2010 U.S. “Magical Memories” tour begins the day after Christmas, December 26th, and continues through May 2nd.

The tour will be stopping at 216 cities along the way. The Globetrotters will be taking on their Arch-rivals, the Washington Generals, at each stop along the way.

To celebrate we’re giving away a Harlem Globetrotters prize pack here at Play Library. The prize pack will include a Harlem Globetrotter mini-basketball, authentic Globetrotter wristbands, an autographed Harlem Globetrotter team photo and a 2010 game program.

We got to see the Globetrotters in action a couple years ago. My son loved it! He was amazed at the acrobatics and basketball tricks the players perform. The game definitely has non stop action and comedy to hold children’s attention.

After the game the players were very nice, talking with the kids and signing autographs.

We’re planning to attend a Globetrotters game again this year when they hit a town near us in January. I’ll be back to share more details and some photos from the game.

The Globetrotters are offering a special code that Play Library readers can use to get a $7 discount for each ticket purchased (Please Note: Not valid on VIP or courtside seats, discount is available online only. Valid until the day before the show.) Ticket prices do vary slightly at the various arenas, but they typically average $25 each. Just visit the Harlem Globetrotters website to find a game near you and purchase tickets using the promotional code: HGMOM to redeem the coupon.

I do want to note the Harlem Globetrotters are sending me some of their products, information and tickets through Coyne Public Relations.

Here are the contest details:

• To be entered to win hop over to the Harlem Globetrotter’s Website, then come back here and let us know if they’re playing in a city near you. You don’t have to tell us the city if you don’t want to. If you’ve attended a game you can also let us know your favorite moment in the show.
• You can get bonus entries by posting about the contest on your own blog, tweeting about the giveaway (tweet it to @Linetteg), but you need to leave an additional comment to let us know which bonus entries you did to get credit for them.
• The contest is open to US residents only.
• The contest will end at midnight EST on December 30th.
• The winner will be selected from a random draw at the end of the contest, and will be notified by email, they winner will also be posted here at Play Library after the contest ends.

Good luck!

Image: Harlem Globetrotters

Many kids will be out of school for the next couple weeks on their winter break. Some of that time will be filled with holiday celebrations, family and friends. There will also be some free days to fit in a little family fun time if you can take the time off work.

Here are 10 activities you can do with your children during their winter break:

Visit a local light display, many zoos and some parks and landmarks have light displays you can visit this time of year. Kid’s have a blast checking out all the twinkling and blinking lights and scenery.
Get …read more

Since many households will soon have more than their share of new toys this holiday season, it’s always good to remind ourselves of some of the dangers some of these toys can present. Most toys are safe if they’re used correctly, but with children they’re not always used the way they’re meant to be used.
Sometimes toys break, or can be a choking hazard if they lose small parts. Electric toys can also pose a risk if they’re not used properly, or with adult supervision. There are many more things you can do to keep your child safe through the holiday …read more

Many local zoos have beautiful light shows for the holiday season. We visited the Columbus Zoo here in Ohio a couple weeks ago to check out their Wildlights light show. We had a great time, it was fun for the kids and the whole family.

Our local zoo had a light show every half hour where the lights blinked to the music. It was fun to watch (even for this adult). It had the kids ooohing and ahhhing.

Some of the indoor animal exhibits were open, and we even saw a couple of Santa’s reindeer taking a break before their wild ride …read more

Today I have the winner of the Adorable Kinders Ragdoll. I want to thank everyone who participated in the contest. It was a fun contest I enjoyed reading who your favorite dolls were. Some of your reasons made me look at the dolls in a new light.

I want to say a huge thank you to Adorable Kinders for sponsoring the contest.
Now lets get to the winner! The winner was chosen by Random.org. Congratulations to Beth who says her favorite doll is Hope.
Thank you Beth for participating in the contest! I’ll be contacting you in the next day or so to …read more

Playmobil’s most popular playset this Christmas is the Pyramid set, but they have a few other playsets that debuted this holiday season. One of those sets is a wedding playset.
There are actually several different wedding sets children can choose from, or they can combine them all together to make one big set.

The Playmobil wedding playsets available include:

The Church (pictured here) – Kids can pretend to cheer on the newlyweds as they make their way out the Church. If they press the windows of the church tower they’ll hear church bells and organ music.The playset  also comes with three figures, …read more

I love hand print crafts, and there are several really cute ones out there for Christmas, so I thought I’d put together a list of them to share here. They’re wonderful projects for preschoolers and kindergartners with grown up help.

Here are just a few of my favorites:

Handprint Santa Claus here at Play Library
Handprint reindeer here at Play Library
Handprint reindeer treat jar from Amazing Moms
Handprint angel craft from Party Animal
Handprint Christmas tree from The Kids Birthday Fun Review

Handprint crafts make great gifts for grandparents, and excellent keepsake gifts, especially if you put the child’s age and the date on the back.
You …read more

It’s always fun to keep holiday snacks in the spirit of the season. Keeping them healthy at the same time is even better. Today I have some fun tips to share with you from Kim Kirchherr, Supervalu’s Corporate Dietitian.

I had a wonderful phone conversation with Kim, and she shared several great ideas for making holiday snacks fun, festive, and healthy all at the same time.
Kim says one fun thing you can do is break out the holiday cookie cutters. They’re not just for cookies. Here are a few healthy kid’s snacking ideas you can make more fun with a simple …read more

Betty Crocker sent me a couple cans of their new Cupcake Decorating Icing to try out the other day. They sent Ivy Green and Rose Red, which were perfect colors to create some Christmas wreath cupcakes. My son and I decided to use them to decorate some cupcakes this afternoon.
Each can comes with four tips, a star tip, a leaf tip, a round tip and a tip that’s flat on one side (for ribbons, flat lines, etc) with the other side  perfect for basket weave.

I used the green with the star tip to make the wreaths, then used the red …read more

Today I have the winner of the Barney Please and Thank You DVD. I want to thank everyone who participated in the contest. It was great fun reading what everyone had to say.
I want to say a huge thank you to HIT Entertainment for sponsoring the contest.
Now lets get to the winner! The winner was chosen by Random.org. Congratulations Adrienne to who says her favorite Barney episode is the one where a fireman came to visit.
Thank you Adrienne for participating in the contest! I’ll be contacting you in the next day or so to find out where to send the …read more