Reviews/Giveaways – Page 7

My Family’s Netflix Streaming List – June Edition

June 2, 2015/3 Comments/in Reviews, Reviews/Giveaways, THE BLOG/by Chris Read

So this Netflix thing is growing on me. As odd as it sounds, I think I was using it incorrectly when we first signed up a year ago. I’d watch the odd movie here or there but never really dug in and explored everything it had to offer. In the last few months my family has been going through the list of titles and picking out things we’d like to watch at some point. Slowly but surely we trying out new shows and I wanted to share what each of us are enjoying right now. Besides, the family that Netflixes together, stays together. Right??

Dad (That’s Me!) – Daredevil

It should be noted that I am a full on superhero/comic nerd, so I wasn’t sure what to expect out of this new Netflix original version of Daredevil. Man, did it ever blow my mind! I rarely feel like a show is perfectly executed but this is the closest thing I have ever seen to that. Vincent D’Onofrio’s, Wilson Fisk character, will leave you with chills running down your spine!

Mom – Bloodline

This is one that I started without my wife and then felt guilty about it because it was so good. After we rewatched the first episode, she was hooked and we finished the whole season in less than two weeks. This show takes family disfunction to a new and exciting level! I have no idea how they are going to top what they did in Season 1 but I am really looking forward to it.

7 Year Old Son – Beyblade (All of them!)

My son doesn’t watch a lot of TV but he is addicted to these Beyblade shows on Netflix. If you have a young boy you will no doubt be feeling the Beyblade craze right now. I have no idea what happened as Beyblades had all but disappeared from existence, only to come back with a vengeance and take over our whole street! I’ve sat with him and watched the Beyblade shows and I have to admit that they are pretty cool.

5 Year Old Daughter – LEGO Friends

We started my daughter with Barbie’s Life in the Dreamhouse but as soon as she saw the LEGO Friends show, she was hooked. True to 5 year old fashion, we have watched the same episodes multiple times in a row and she never seems to tire of it. It’s almost like she thinks there is going to be a different outcome one of these times…

Bonus Show! – Full House

Last but not least, the original episodes of Full House have graced the Netfix platform and we have it slated to show the kids in the next week or so. I have no idea how it is going to hold up but the kids are starting to enjoy more than just cartoons, so I’m hopeful that we can share a bit of our youth with them!

That’s what we are streaming this month. How about you? Are you a Netflix subscriber? If so, what are you binging on at the moment?!

Why AIR MILES And American Express Are Simply #BetterTogether

June 1, 2015/0 Comments/in Reviews, Reviews/Giveaways, THE BLOG/by Chris Read

I’ve been racking my brain to find ways to demonstrate the benefits of doubling up on AIR MILES by pairing your Collector Card with an American Express AIR MILES Credit Card and I think I have finally found something that speaks our language as consumers. While it’s true that I consider myself an AIR MILES enthusiast, I can also state that I never spend money on products just so I can collect AIR MILES. My miles are accumulated through strategic selection of where I am going to shop as opposed to what I am going to purchase.

For example, if I need groceries, I will visit my local Sobeys instead of going to a grocery store that does not give AIR MILES. This is the same reason I get my gas at Shell, fulfill my pharmacy needs at Rexall and split my home and office essentials between Rona and Staples. There are enough AIR MILES Sponsor stores that I always feel like I am getting my money’s worth for my purchases and by using my Collector Card with something like the American Express AIR MILES Credit Card, I was able to accumulate over 9,800 AIR MILES last year!

What I’d like to do now, is demonstrate how far my 9,800 AIR MILES will go by taking you through a short exercise. My family currently has a pretty plain backyard and we’ve been looking for ways we can spice it up by cashing in our AIR MILES Reward Miles for Dream Rewards. Alright, let’s go!

Dream Reward #1 – Shinerich 35” Cast Stone Fire Pit – Wood Finish – 3300 AIR MILES

Long summer nights with the family can turn into a great evenings when roasting marshmallows and making s ’mores by the fire. Something like this would definitely spruce up our backyard!

Dream Reward #2 – Suncast Wicker Pattern Coffee Table – 1900 AIR MILES

Sitting in the backyard and enjoying my morning coffee with my wife is missing one thing: a coffee table! This baby will let me put my feet up and still have room for a plate of delicious fruit for breakfast.

Dream Reward #3 – Suncast Resin Wicker Patio Cooler – 1900 AIR MILES

We love to have friends over in the summer and always like to have a cooler with drinks and snacks. Something like this will keep everything cold during the summer heat but also keep our backyard oasis looking stylish.

Dream Reward #4 – KidKraft Outdoor Table And Bench Set With Cushions & Umbrella – 2600 AIR MILES

My kids love to be outside just as much as I do, that’s why something like this is perfect! Letting us all beat the heat in the shade and have a spot to share our meals in the backyard.

As you can see, I was able to stretch out my AIR MILES in order to get some really great additions for my backyard oasis and I even had 100 miles left to spare! However, without some strategic shopping and the pairing of an American Express AIR MILES Credit Card, I would be forced to choose between keeping my drinks cool while in the backyard with a cooler and keeping me and my family toasty at night while roasting those marshmallows.

Finally, just a note about the American Express AIR MILES Credit Card. American Express offers different types of cards, which you can see here. As I mentioned in a previous post, I pay for a higher level of card because the value of the bonus AIR MILES greatly outweighs the yearly cost of the card. Some things are simply better together, as is the case with an AIR MILES Collector Card and an American Express AIR MILES Credit Card!

PS – Check out the #BetterTogether hashtag on twitter to see some really cool chalk art (as seen above) that gives a few examples of things that are definitely better together!

This post was sponsored by Amex Bank of Canada. The views and opinions expressed in this blog, however, are purely my own.

Canon’s PIXMA Printing Solutions Helps You Hold On To Precious Moments

May 26, 2015/0 Comments/in Reviews, Reviews/Giveaways, THE BLOG/by Chris Read

If you’re like me, you probably have about 700 photos on your iPhone at any given time. Going one step further, you most likely load the pictures onto a hard drive somewhere and then forget about them. What about the one in a hundred that are actually really great shots? What if I told you that you could snap the picture and then print it out at home from wherever you were at that moment?

With Canon’s PIXMA Printing Solutions you can do just that! Not only can you print your photos from wherever you are snapping them but you can also print off documents, concert tickets and whatever else you don’t want to forget about, and it can all be done from the comfort of your mobile device. You want to scan and print something using only your mobile device? PIXMA Printing Solutions can do that, too!

No more transferring all my photos to the computer and then sorting through all of them until I find the ones I like. From now on I will simply snap a photo, add filters if I’d like and hit print from my phone or camera and then pick up the photo from the printer when I get home. With a busy family, multiple hobbies and a career to juggle, cutting out one middle man is really important to me and the Canon PIXMA Printing Solutions does that for me. Check out the video below for more info on how the app works.

Disclosure: I was compensated for my participation in this program. That said, I really do have over 700 pictures on my phone and will be printing off the best ones remotely just to say that I did it!

Make Your Very Own Kinder Surprise Minion Crafts!

May 19, 2015/69 Comments/in Giveaways, Reviews/Giveaways, THE BLOG, The Daddy Files/by Chris Read

I know I promised you an amazing Minions themed Kinder Surprise giveaway but in honour of the 11 new Minions toys inside specially marked KINDER® SURPRISE® Classic eggs I wanted to show you a very cool and very easy craft you can do with your kids! Follow along with the pictures below to create your very own Kinder Minions!

Step #1 – Gather your supplies. In this case you will need an empty Kinder Surprise Egg, scissors, a sharpie, googly eyes, glue, a piece off some old jeans and glue.

Step #2 – Use the sharpie to draw a band across the top of your Kinder Surprise Egg.

Step #3 – Glue a googly eye in the middle of the band and draw a smile and hair on your minion.

Step #4 – Cut some pieces off the jeans and glue them to the bottom of your minion to make pants! (Parents beware, jeans are tough to cut! You may want to help here.)

Step #5 – Let your minions dry and they are ready to go looking for a new master!

MINIONS THEMED KINDER SURPRISE GIVEAWAY!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good Luck and also, don’t forget to visit the Kinder Canada Facebook Page on Friday, May 22 for a chance to win four tickets to see the Minions movie in theatres when it comes out this July!

DISCLOSURE: I’m a #KinderMom/Maman/Dad who is part of the KINDER® Canada influencer team; as part of my affiliation with KINDER® Canada, I am provided with special perks and products.

Win A COOKINA Prize Pack! #WhatsOnYourGrill

May 14, 2015/1 Comment/in Giveaways, Reviews/Giveaways, THE BLOG/by Chris Read

You’ve heard me go on and on about the COOKINA Barbecue Reusable Grilling Sheet and now I’m giving you the chance to win some of your own! I wish there were a way for me to put into words how much the COOKINA grilling sheet has helped me on the barbecue but I think I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

A few weeks ago that steak would have looked like a charred mess and I probably wouldn’t even have attempted it. Ever since I started using the COOKINA Grilling Sheet my confidence on the BBQ has skyrocketed! I know this sounds like an infomercial but I am so excited about my new found confidence that I want everyone to know how great this product is! Because of the COOKINA “What’s On Your Grill” campaign, no longer will I scrape the leftover food from my grill and wonder what bacteria is left lurking!

WIN A COOKINA PRIZE PACK!

Now it’s your turn to be a star on the grill! I have an amazing COOKINA Prize Pack (Pictured Above) to giveaway to one lucky reader and entering is easy! Here’s what you need to do:

1. Take a photo showing me what’s cooking on your grill.

2. Share that photo on social media, with a description of what it is, in one of the following ways. You can tweet it to me @CanadianDadBlog with the hashtag #WhatsOnYourGrill, OR, share it on the Canadian Dad Facebook Page with the #WhatsOnYourGrill hashtag.

That’s it! The important thing to remember is the #WhatsOnYourGrill hashtag as that’s how I will sort the entries. I will draw a winner from all valid entries on May 24th. You must be a Canadian resident to enter. Happy Grilling!

Disclosure: I received compensation for my participation in the #WhatsOnYourGrill campaign, however the COOKINA grilling sheet really has changed the way I cook and I can’t say enough good things about it!

Show Me Your #PringlesDuckLip And Win A Huge Pringles Prize Pack!

May 13, 2015/1 Comment/in Giveaways, Reviews/Giveaways, THE BLOG/by Chris Read

I introduced you to the #PringlesDuckLip campaign last week with our Duckvengers trailer and now it’s your turn to join in for a chance to win! Your prize? See all those Pringles tins in the photo above? All yours!

For your chance to win the Pringles Prize Pack and possibly be featured in the #PringlesDuckLip documentary, all you have to do is follow these steps:

1. Take a #PringlesDuckLip photo or video and post it to Twitter, Instagram and/or Facebook. (Check out my ‘DuckDevil’ example below)

2. Remember to use the #PringlesDuckLip tag and also tag me @CanadianDadBlog on Twitter and/or Instagram in order to be entered to win. If you share on Facebook, you can simply post the picture on my Canadian Dad page and use the #PringlesDuckLip tag.

Everyone who posts a photo or video will be entered to win a Pringles Prize Pack valued at over $200! I will also be sharing a few of my favourites along the way so remember to get creative with your entries. Good Luck! I will be selecting a winner on May 24th.

You can follow along with all the #PringlesDuckLip fun by visiting the Pringles Canada Facebook Page or @PringlesCA on Twitter.

*Please note that any content/entries submitted by participants through their networks could potentially appear in #PringlesDuckLip video (airing on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube) and Pringles owns rights to use of any materials for use on Pringles social media sites, in media and marketing materials and/or on their respective websites*

Disclosure: I received compensation for my participation in this campaign

I Grilled The Perfect Steak With The Cookina Grilling Sheet, However…

May 1, 2015/1 Comment/in Reviews, Reviews/Giveaways, THE BLOG/by Chris Read

…I may have been so excited about the fact that I was cooking a steak at 2 o’clock in the afternoon that I forgot to document the experience for this blog post. You see, I have teamed up with Cookina on their new “#WhatsOnYourGrill” program and part of that program is trying out their Cookina Barbecue Reusable Grilling Sheet.

A little background on my barbecue skills. They are not great. I usually blame the barbecue because everything I put on there seems to burn. When I chose the steak it was because I wanted to hit the Cookina Barbecue Reusable Grilling Sheet by surprise instead of lobbing it a softball and it exceeded my every expectation. I usually tend to opt for funny over an actual product review but my steak was grilled so perfectly that I can’t say enough good things about the Cookina Grilling Sheet.

I even had the confidence to invite my family over for a barbecue dinner tonight, which is something that I would normally never do, and the food turned out great! Sure it was only hamburgers with grilled onions but nothing burned because the Cookina Grilling Sheet kept all the juices, sauces and cheese from dripping down into the barbecue, reducing the flame up and more importantly, the clean up. Also, I was able to simply wipe the grilling sheet clean and store it away until my next barbecue adventure. I mean, look at these bad boys!

I’m not sure what else I can say about this grilling sheet. If it turns an amateur griller like myself into a wiz, imagine what it could do for the advanced grill master. I wish words could accurately convey how excited I am to finally have the confidence to take on bigger challenges with my barbecue. I think my mom summed it up best while I raced about the Cookina Barbecue Reusable Grilling Sheet when she asked, “Is there a hidden infomercial going on here?”. No, mom, just a grill master in the making!

I have seen the Cookina Reusable Sheets at places like Sobeys and Canadian Tire and highly encourage you to try them out. I have also included the video below because I got so excited watching it that I wanted you to see how I imagine myself in a few weeks with these Cookina grilling sheets… So, #WhatsOnYourGrill???

Disclosure: I received compensation for my participation in this program but my confidence level really is bordering on arrogance now that I have found these grilling sheets.

Watch The Epic Trailer For The Duckvengers & Win Stuff Too!

April 30, 2015/1 Comment/in Giveaways, Reviews/Giveaways, THE BLOG/by Chris Read

I receive a lot of pitches in my inbox every day and the first thing I think to myself as I read them is “Can I do something fun with this?”. The answer came quickly when Pringles asked me to be a part of their new #PringlesDuckLip campaign. Basically they wanted me to shove chips in my mouth and act goofy for a video. Anyone who reads this blog knows that this essentially describes who I am.

We worked together as a family to create a trailer for a new movie called, The Duckvengers, in honour of the release of the new Avengers movie this weekend. Scripts were written and re-written, costumes were fought over and mediocre movie editing skills prevailed to create the masterpiece you are about to watch below. Once you have finished the video you can scroll down to find out how you can win a Pringles prize pack! Enjoy!

I know. Kids, right? Ah well, we had fun goofing around with the costumes either way. Now, onto the good stuff!

For your chance to win a Pringles Prize Pack and possibly be featured in the #PringlesDuckLip documentary, all you have to do is follow these steps:

1. Take a #PringlesDuckLip photo or video and post it to Twitter and/or Facebook.

2. Remember to use the #PringlesDuckLip tag and also tag me @CanadianDadBlog on Twitter in order to be entered to win. If you share on Facebook, you can simply post the picture on my Canadian Dad page and use the #PringlesDuckLip tag.

Everyone who posts a photo or video will be entered to win a Pringles Prize Pack valued at over $200! I will also be sharing a few of my favourites along the way so remember to get creative with your entries. Good Luck!

You can follow along with all the #PringlesDuckLip fun by visiting the Pringles Canada Facebook Page or @PringlesCA on Twitter.

*Please note that any content/entries submitted by participants through their networks could potentially appear in #PringlesDuckLip video (airing on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube) and Pringles owns rights to use of any materials for use on Pringles social media sites, in media and marketing materials and/or on their respective websites*

Disclosure: I received compensation for my participation in this campaign and all chips were consumed in the making of the Duckvengers video.

Netflix Is Filled With Lies

April 29, 2015/0 Comments/in Reviews, Reviews/Giveaways, THE BLOG/by Chris Read

Link bait is also a form of lying, isn’t it? Well, now that I have you here let me explain myself. I recently agreed to sign on with Netflix to be a part of their Stream Team, which means that every month I will be talking about the shows my family is watching and sharing some of Netflix’s suggestions with you.

My first month happened to be an eventful one as I had the chance to pre-screen a few episodes of Marvel’s Daredevil and then proceeded to watch the entire 13 episode season in under 4 days… If you have been on the fence about this show, it is seriously time to hop off and watch it. It is incredibly dark and violent, which was actually a plus when compared to some of the other comic book shows on cable right now.

My wife and I also just started watched a show called White Collar and definitely recommend it so far, especially if you enjoy watching something like Suits. And speaking of Suits, I want to say that my wife and I are patiently watching for Season 4 to arrive on Netflix but there is no patience in this house…other than with our kids, of course.

As far as lying goes, Netflix has you covered with classics like Liar, Liar and one of my personal favourites, Mean Girls. I’ve also been told that the next show on our watch list, Bloodline, centers around lies and we can’t wait to hit it up!

That’s it for this month but stay tuned as I will be sharing more of my family’s favourite Netflix titles in the months to come! Stream on!

3 Things The Dyson Cinetic DC77 Vacuum Doesn’t Do Well

April 13, 2015/12 Comments/in Reviews, Reviews/Giveaways, THE BLOG/by Chris Read

I have always wanted a fancy Dyson vacuum cleaner so when the opportunity to take one for a test drive came about, I jumped at the chance. In my head this was a device that could do no wrong but as I tried it out in different areas of my life, I learned that there were some things that it just could not do.

Here is my list of the Top 3 things that the Dyson Cinetic DC77 Multi Floor device could not handle.

1. Children’s Bedtime Stories

I mean, honestly, it’s not like I was asking the Dyson to shower the kids as well. All I needed it to do was to take care of the kids bedtime stories so that I could flip the laundry (a task it also failed at, by the way). When I heard my daughter crying, I entered her room to find the Dyson DC77 just lying in her bed pretending to sleep. Strike #1.

2. Designated Driver

Every now and then I like to go out for drinks with my friends and I figured the “multi” tag that the Dyson Cinetic DC77 carries meant that I had a full time designated driver. Wrong! I guess I should have clued in when Dyson just sat in the car the whole time I was hanging out with my friends. As the car sped through a pile of garbage cans and right into my garage door, I knew I had put the car in the wrong hands.

3. Road Hockey Goalie

Picture this. Tied at 9 in a next goal wins situation against my 6 year old and he is in on a breakaway. All the Dyson has to do is make one save but it doesn’t even move an inch as my son easily stickhandles around him and taps the ball in for the winning goal. Do you have any idea how embarrassing it is to lose to your 6 year old in a hockey game?! I used to be good at hockey!!!

Luckily for the Dyson Cinetic DC77 Multi Floor Vacuum it does do one thing better than any other vacuum I have ever owned. It makes me look like a superstar cleaner and it does so with ease. One of my favourite features is the self-adjusting cleaner head because it picks up the dirt that sneaks between the hardwood floor boards and with little ones in the house there is a lot of it… I also love that the hose stretches from my main floor all the way to the top step on the second level. Anyone who has lugged a vacuum step by step up the stairs knows how valuable that feature is!

I guess when I really think of it, the one thing the Dyson Cinetic does really well kind of outweighs the things I was picking on above. You get what you pay for, folks, and the Dyson Cinetic DC77 Multi Floor Vacuum delivers in every way. Check out the links above to see more details and information on where to pick yours up today.

Disclosure: I got to keep the Dyson Cinetic vacuum I received in order to facilitate this blog post. It really did stink at driving the car and I wouldn’t recommend trying it. Also, I got through this entire post without making a joke about how the vacuum sucks. D’oh!