Santa is coming!

St Ives Shopping Village plays host to an exciting array of festive activities and fun for the whole family this Christmas!

The Village is set to impress this year with an exciting line up of family activities and festive fun at their annual community event to be held in the centre on Sunday November 27th from 11-3pm.

“Santa’s arrival is always at the heart of our annual Christmas celebration here at the Village,” says Marketing Manager Sue McKindlay.

“This year, for the first time, we are thrilled to announce Santa will be joined by some special guests including Nickolodeon characters Spongebob Squarepants and Dora the Explorer!” she adds.

St Ives Shopping Village’s much anticipated Christmas event will kick off at 11.00am with the arrival of Santa and special guests and a special white Christmas welcome show at 11.30am, followed by a marching band and colourful parade around the centre.

The day will continue with roving activities and entertainment including face painting, a baby animal nursery and reindeers, Christmas craft, the Great Circus Workshop and performances from Shayne Reynolds the Magician and the Barbershop Quartet.

Visitors to the Village can also look forward to a selection of charity stalls and the Pymble Scouts famous BBQ.

Mrs Claus

“We look forward to welcoming all those from the north shore community, to come help us celebrate the spirit of Christmas this year,” says McKindlay.

For more information on the event go to www.stivesvillage.com.au

About St Ives Shopping Village

St Ives Shopping Village is a privately owned and managed shopping centre located on Sydney’s upper North Shore. Opening its doors on 17th November 1960, the centre celebrated 50 years of trading in 2010. The centre has always espoused the values of family and community and always tries to provide community services as well as offering the local community a balanced centre that caters to all of their shopping needs in one place.

www.stivesvillage.com.au

Hunter Valley Gardens is hosting the 7th annual Festival of Flowers during the month of September.

There’s plenty to keep the kids entertained at the festival including the Giant’s Chair, which is over 3 meters high and 2m wide.

The talents of Empress Stilt Dancing will impress both young and old, as you see the magic of spring come to life. Weekend of 9th/10th & 24th/25th only at 10.30am, 12.00pm and 1.30pm.

There’s also special floral face painting, the Storybook Jumping Castle and an amazing Totem Treasure Hunt where visitors can win fantastic prizes. Weekends only.

From September 1 to 30 the Festival of Flowers celebrates the incredible 250,000 annuals planted throughout Hunter Valley Gardens along with fabulous entertainment, activities, demonstrations, talks, tours and workshops. The festival promises to take all who attend on a journey of the senses with incredible floral displays.

NSW Floral Art Association Demonstration

Every Monday to Friday except Wednesday at 11:15am, 11:45am, 1:30pm
Be inspired by all things floral with Floral Art works created by the talented artists at the NSW Floral Art Association. With more than fifteen displays on site daily, planning your own floral arrangements will be a breeze once you’ve seen this.

Cooking Demonstrations
Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 10:45am
Using only the best and fresh produce from Hunter Valley Gardens, local restaurateur Louise Jamieson will tantalise your taste buds with tempting recipes you too can cook at home.

Become a Picasso
Every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday at 11:15am, 11:45am, 1:30pm
Strolling through the stunning gardens with the array of beautiful flowers is sure to get your creative juices flowing. Learn to draw with the amazing Adrienne Crouch, who has been drawing for over 30 years. She will teach you how to start Botanical Drawings and reveal all the tools and tricks of the trade.

Haute Couture Mad Hatters Display
Relive the all time favourite, Alice in Wonderland with Snaz Creations, who will astound you with their   incredible Spring Hat collection.

Celebrate the beginning of Spring at Hunter Valley Gardens’ Festival of Flowers during the entire month of September.

Entry to the Gardens is $24.00 per adult, $20 for seniors, children aged 4 – 15 are $15, with children 3 years and under admitted free.  For further information please call 02 4998 4000 or visit www.hvg.com.au.

Fatherhood – the greatest challenge a man can take on, and the most satisfying, rewarding, inspiring and, potentially, thankless! This year the multi-award-winning Emporium Hotel has created the perfect Father’s Day present…. three amazing “experience options”!

Titled the “Exquisite Father’s Day” the package is designed to make dad feel like a King, and includes overnight accommodation in the hotel’s famous luxury King Spa Suite plus one of the following experiences to enhance his stay…

• Exquisite Father’s Day Top Gun – a Scenic Flight Package from Flight Experience™. Dad can experience the thrill of taking the controls of a commercial airliner. It is 100% true to scale and has a fully functioning flight management computer, authentic auto-pilot system, auto throttles and 180 degree external visuals. A Flight Simulator Experience to bring out the Top Gun in every man!  $175 for 30 minutes – 7 days notice required for this package.

• Exquisite Father’s Day Decadence – a luxurious Emporium Hotel Bathrobe with dad’s initials custom-embroidered – $99 (Note this requires four days’ notice).

• Exquisite Father’s Day Tastes – For the gourmet dad this experience includes two Boutique Beers and an Australian Cheese Plate in the stunning Cocktail Bar – $30.

The package starts at $319 per night for the accommodation with the additional extras priced individually. Because it’s really Father’s Day every day, the package can be purchased as a gift voucher and will be valid for use up to the 30th December 2011, subject to availability. Bookings call 1300 883 611.

Emporium Hotel

The Emporium Hotel features the famous Pillow Menu starring eight different pillows including the classic ‘Feather Down’, the ‘Snore-No-More’ ensuring a deeper more restful sleep, the perfect pillow for an indulgent stay. The Hotel has dominated industry and travel awards since opening – it’s the perfect place to celebrate Father’s Day 2011!

http://www.emporiumhotel.com.au/

With a grin from pylon-to-pylon, Luna Park Sydney is thrilled to introduce even more great value offers for its guests this August, with five new deals available at the iconic Sydney attraction.

Stretch your dollar and your grin with these fun-filled offers:

Mini Money Mondays – Here’s a reason to smile on Monday! Mini Money Mondays now saves guests $10 on their Unlimited Rides Pass. It’s ideal for stay-at-home parents, students, tourists, shift workers and day-trippers and will add a bright spark to the first day of the week.

Luna Lunacy after 6pm – Create a date with a difference or catch up with friends and have a laugh after dark with Luna Lunacy. Available any evening Luna Park is open after 6pm, Luna Lunacy now boasts a fantastic Buy-One-Get-One-FREE offer on Unlimited Rides Passes.

Online Only Value Deal – For guests who think an action packed day at Luna Park will give them an appetite, this Value Deal is the solution. Priced between $29.95-$49.95, depending on your height, the Value Deal gets you an Unlimited Rides Pass, Lighthouse Combo Meal and two sideshow games of your choice. That’s a saving of up to $17.50!

VIP Games Pass – Think you’ve got what it takes to dominate Sideshow Alley? Make it official with Luna Park Sydney’s VIP Games Pass. The best part? For just $22.95 you get over $50 worth of value including a Luna Park cap and a turn at each of the Sideshow Games including The Crooners, Bush Buckets, Hi-Striker, Basketball, Shooting Gallery, Laughing Clowns, Buster and Fishing.

Annual Passes – For unbelievable value grab an Annual Pass for just $99.00! Having one of these will mean you can go on as many rides.

There’s always something new at Luna Park. A new Shooting Gallery sideshow game has just been introduced where guests can take aim and fire at clay ducks with a laser gun. Plus, the recently launched “My Experience” interactive entertainment system is also available at the Park so guests can find out how extreme they are and share their experiences with friends on Facebook in real-time, via a RFID wristband.

Visit www.lunaparksydney.com for more information.

*Mini Money Mondays are not available during peak periods or Public Holidays.

JoinUs Backpack Carrier

Congratulations to Michelle from Sydney who has won our JoinUs Carrier Competition. Thank you to everyone for entering!

We are offering you a chance to WIN one of the amazing JoinUs Carriers (value $199.95), a sleek backpack carrier perfect for the urban parent which gives your child a superior view of the sights!

This backpack is amazing as it will enable you to stop lugging the pram around to places that are really not pram friendly, and because your child sits high on your back, it also gives your child a great view of where they are, rather than looking at legs and fences!

The JoinUs will enable you to explore the zoo, the beach, the parks, the city without the limitations of a pram. JoinUs has all the adjustments and safety features you would expect AND looks like a modern back pack – not a hiking device, which is perfect for us fashion conscious parents. It is a compact size to keep in the car so get out there.

To enter with a chance to win, describe a time this amazing backpack could have saved your day, when your pram or your child just would not go where you wanted them to!

Thank you to Danish by Design for kindly donating this fantastic prize!

JoinUs has amazing features

Terms and Conditions:

1. You must be an Australian resident over 18
2. To enter comment below this post and describe a time this amazing backpack could have saved your day
3. ‘Like’ our Facebook Page. Our fans get facebook only specials and are the first to hear about other great competitions we are running
4. Subscribe to the newsletter of Danish by Design – the very generous supplier of the JoinUs backpack who has kindly donated the backpack for this competition
5. The winner must provide a product review on their new JoinUs Backpack for us to use in the marketing of the product
6. The competition is being run on www.kidstravelblog.com.au by Haggus and Stookles Pty Ltd ABN 97 129 933 106
7. The Retail value of the prize is $199.95, a DadaNana JoinUs Backpack. The winner can choose a colour that is available at the time of the draw.
8. The competition runs from 11am Thursday 4th August and closes 11am Thursday 18th August 2011
9. The competition will be drawn at 1pm on Thursday 18th August 2011
10. The Prize winner will be notified by email and results will be published on our website

JoinUs Backpack Carrier

Win a $500 Shopping Spree!

Congratulations to Amy from the Gold Coast who has won our $500 Shopping Spree. Thank you to everyone who provided some amazing feedback on our products. Donna and Andrea

Enter our competition to WIN a $500 shopping spree from Haggus and Stookles!

We are looking for lots of product feedback to add to our website, www.haggusandstookles.com.au. As you know when you can’t touch or see a product it is harder to make an informed decision. But real feedback from people who use a product makes it that bit easier!

So as an incentive for you to take some time to give us your feedback, we are running a competition with the prize being $500 to spend online at Haggus and Stookles!
 
To enter:
 
1.       If you have one of the products we sell (either bought from us or elsewhere), provide us with your feedback about the product in your entry below -  1 entry. Make sure you include the name of the product with your comments!

2.       Go to the product on our website and click the facebook icon under it and share this page / link with your friends  -  1  entry

3.       A bonus entry will also be given to anyone entering who makes a purchase during this promotion – 1 entry. Enter code WIN in the coupon box in the shopping cart.

So you can earn up to 3 entries! You can enter this competition with all or only one of the above ways. But to enter you must enter your full name and tell us how you’ve entered in the comments below.
 
The competition is open until 5pm Sunday 31st July and will be drawn at 5pm Monday 1st August. The competition will be drawn by randomly drawing out one name from all entries.

Terms and Conditions:

1. You must be an Australian resident over 18
2. All product feedback is available to Haggus and Stookles to reprint on their website
3. The competition is being run on www.kidstravelblog.com.au by Haggus and Stookles Pty Ltd ABN 97 129 933 106.
4. The Retail value of the prize is $500.00 to be spent online at Haggus and Stookles. The prize can be used in 1 or several transactions over a 12 month period. (note postage to send prize out is a part of the total spend)
5. Competition closes at 5pm Sunday 31/07 /2011
6. Competition will be drawn at 5pm on Monday 01/08/2011
7. Prize winner will be notified by email and results will be published on our website