hallmark - Stuff Parents Need

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Hallmark #valentinecards at Walmart 1

So I had an “interesting” encounter with a Walmart sales associate over the weekend. She and I had a disagreement about the total I owed for the Hallmark Valentine’s Day cards I was purchasing. I had her void the order and re-scan everything because I knew she was wrong and I was right. I even endured the scornful looks from the folks behind me in line. That’s how sure I was!

What was the problem? I was certain that she had missed at least 2, if not 3 of the cards while scanning them, because my total ($17.63) was too low. When I added it up in my head over in the card section, I was spending $21 plus tax. I’m not the world’s greatest mathematician, but I am pretty reliable when it comes to purchase price estimation.

And so, the sales associate humored me and rang everything up again. And she got the same total. So it turns out that some of the cards in my stash cost half of what I thought they cost. Hence the math error.

I was WRONG! And also embarrassed. But once that feeling subsided, I was totally pumped! I purchased 11 greeting cards (Hallmark! Not some off-brand!) for less than $18. That’s just crazy. Hallmark has a HUGE selection of beautiful Valentine’s Day cards at many different Walmart locations, and in addition to having a great selection of styles, they also have a great selection of price points. Gotta love that! I was able to get loaded up on great cards for family members, friends and even teachers.

When I got our assortment home, I explained a little bit more to Darah about Valentine’s Day and how it is a great opportunity to send some extra love to special people in our lives. And I told her that in this day and age, getting a card in the mail is a very special treat, indeed!

Then I asked her to start picking out cards for each family member. She needed to do a little bit of quality control before we really got started.

It was so much fun to hear her give the reasons why she selected each card for every person on our list. She was really quite thoughtful about who might like the particular illustrations on each one!

She even gave each card a hug before we put them in their envelopes to be addressed. What a sweet way she has of showing that she cares. I’m glad Hallmark got to be part of our Valentine’s Day celebrations this year, and that she got to experience the joy of sending letters filled with love in the mail.

Before I sealed up our Valentine’s Day card, I logged onto the Hallmark Card Rewards Program website. Did you know that you can earn rewards for the Hallmark cards you buy at Walmart? All it takes is 5 unique cards entered to earn a reward. I’ve already earned a reward and am on my way to the second. So awesome! Make sure you check out connectionsfromhallmark.com to sign up for Hallmark Rewards, and to see great content from other bloggers. Join in the #ValentineCards conversation on Twitter!

Are you sending any Valentine’s Day cards in the mail this year? Did you know that you can find Hallmark cards at many Walmart locations? Can you believe how many I got for under $18???

A few days ago, Tim and I were talking about how Darah’s imagination has started to really run wild, and how much fun we are all having with her as she engages in pretend play. She’s been playing mermaids for a long time now, but she’s finally expanding into more adventures, be it giving a tour of Rapunzel’s tower (her junior bunk bed), inviting carefully selected stuffed animals to rather elaborate tea parties in her room, or building fairy rings in the morning and coming back to check on them as soon as she comes home from school (the fairies drag fun stuff they want to play with inside the fairy ring and they also leave a little treat for the one who built it!).

So when I saw the Hallmark commercials for the Interactive Storybooks and Story Buddies, I knew that it was something that would give Darah a lot of joy. A stuffed dog that responds to you? That’s not unbelievable in the least to her. It’s the kind of thing that makes perfect sense to her, actually!

These books and plush toys are so much fun. If you haven’t seen the commercials, the basic idea is that the animal will respond by making various noises when you read the story about the animal (certain words and phrases spoken aloud will elicit a response). My child loves to be read to, and she also loves to play with stuffed animals (I’m too embarrassed to tell you how many she has, but I can tell you that they completely fill 3 enormous tubs in her room). The Hallmark Interactive Storybook and Story Buddies are perfect for her, as reading and pretend play join forces!

Bell is super soft. Her electronic elements inside of her do not make her any less fun to love on and play with. Also, she’s really beautiful! See?

I’m also really impressed that Jingle and Bell, the two adorable husky pups featured in the holiday Interactive Storybook line this year, not only respond to the book, but they also respond to an audio cd that comes with them and to some online and mobile games. So the fun keeps going long after your child has memorized the book! Hallmark also offers extra books for all of their Story Buddies so that you can add to the collection at a later time.

Bell and lots of other totally adorable Story Buddies are available at Hallmark online for $34.95. I believe that Hallmark has made a great effort to ensure that this toy a really good value. We are loving Bell so much and will definitely be purchasing another book!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is going to win an Interactive Storybook and Story Buddy (the Story Buddy received will be a surprise)!!!

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I received a complimentary product for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.