Trick Out Party Cups For A Fun Halloween Treat Making Fanta & OREO Jack-O-Lantern Jigglers

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias and its advertiser.  All opinions are mine alone. #SpookySnacks #CollectiveBias

Boo-Ha-Ha-Ha!!! From A Geek Daddy's Spooky Snack Lab we have a great treat featuring Fanta and OREO cookies that any kid will be thrilled to enjoy at a Halloween celebration. Let guests at your Halloween event decorate and personalize their plastic party cups to make Jack-O-Lantern Jigglers!!!

Ingredients:

18 oz Plastic Cups
Fanta Orange Soda
Orange Sherbet
OREO cookies

Start off by providing each of your guests with a clear 18 oz plastic cup and a black Crayola marker.  Encourage them to trick out their cup by drawing a wacky pumpkin face on it.  Shout out kudos to your guests who do the nicest job personalizing the drawings on their party cup with the scariest and zaniest images.

Next in each cup add a few scoops of orange sherbet and pour in some Fanta Orange Soda to fill up the remainder of the glass.  Boil Boil Toil and Trouble you'll begin to see a witches brew froth of bubbles top off your drink. Finish off the drink by crushing up some OREO cookies and mixing them in with the witches froth to add a sweet delight to go with the creamy deliciousness of the Fanta and orange sherbet in the cup.

 

 

Voila you have yourself a Fanta & OREO Jack-O-Lantern Jiggler!!!

For some extra fun, in addition to OREO cookies set out a candy bar with an array of sweets like gummy worms and sweet-n-sour aliens that your party guests can add to their Jack-O-Lantern Jigglers.  We were able to pick up everything we needed to make our Fanta & OREO Jack-O-Lantern Jigglers so we could enjoy them during a Halloween themed family movie night watching Tim Burton's animated flick FRANKENWEENIE in one convenient trip to Walmart.

What was great about including OREO cookies in our Jack-O-Lantern Jiggler recipe was that we were able to pick them up in a 30 count box with the cookies 2 to a pack in these really great Glow-in-the-Dark wrappers.  So the OREO cookies that we have left over from our Halloween family movie night snack should be a great hit as they glow-in-the-dark as we pass them out to trick-or-treaters.

Looking for some more creative Halloween treat ideas?  Evette Rios, host of the CBS show Recipe Rehab has created some spooky fun recipes exclusively for Walmart that combine Fanta and OREO products.  Check out these great Halloween party treat ideas at the Walmart Spooky Snack Lab website.   What is your  favorite snack idea from SpookySnackLab.com?  Mine is the Orange Fanta Pound Cake - yum!!!

Happy Halloween everyone! Cheers!

MARVEL's The Avengers: Age of Ultron Twitter Party - Friday, May 1, 2015 ( 1 to 2pm EST )

Avengers Assemble! Join A GEEK DADDY BLOG on Friday, May 1, 2015 @ 1pm EST as we co-host with SoFab Chats a Twitter Party celebrating the theatrical release of MARVEL's The Avengers: Age of Ultron.  We'll be giving out $500+ in gift cards while talking about the new movie, discussing who our favorite Avengers are, and exploring Walmart's new Super Heroes Assemble augmented reality app.

To participate RSVP with SoFab Chats and use the hashtag #AvengersUniteSweeps on Twitter between 1 and 2 pm EST.  Please follow @Geekdad248, @KellysLuckyYou, @blm03, @MudpiesandTiara during the party on Twitter.  To be eligible for prizes you must RSVP and participate in the party replying to questions from the hosts using the hashtag #AvengersUnitedSweeps.  Join in on the fun, it should be a smashing good time!

I have been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser to serve as a co-host and promote the #AvengersUnitedSweeps Twitter Party.

Irish Spring Launches New Collection of Products Catering to Dads Who Work Hard & Play Hard in Life

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #MySignatureMove #CollectiveBias 

Ugh! While picking up my kids from school the other day the sight of its playground being one huge mucked up pit brought back memories of some of my messiest moments as a dad.  The first diaper I'd ever changed was also my son's first poop - no one warned me in advance of the sticky, thick, dark green goo of a mess that ended up all over me and the changing table welcoming me to fatherhood.  My son seems to like to get me dirty as one of the other really messy moments in my life involved me rescuing him from being stuck in the mud at the neighborhood park which resulted in both of us loosing our shoes in the process of getting him unstuck and coming home entirely caked in dirt.  Of course his twin sister not wanting to be left out of the action contributed to one of the most horrific moments of my life.  While at the movie theater, I thought she was leaning over to whisper something in my ear.  Nope, rather it was like a scene from the Exorcist with her throwing up all over me and my having to carry her out to the bathroom while I was soaked and covered in vomit from head to foot. Oh the memories!

As a dad you need to be prepared to deal with the difficult and messy times whether its is in your professional career, as a parent cleaning up the messes your kids throw your way, or in your responsibilities of taking care of your home and yard.  I'm a person who works hard and plays harder so whether it is making a closing argument before a jury in a court room or playing some hoops on the basketball court, I'm always more confident and comfortable when I'm feeling refreshed and clean. #MySigntatureMove has always been to keep Irish Spring in the shower so I'm always fresh as a whistle when it comes to dealing with my professional and parenting responsibilities.

So I was excited to see when visiting Walmart that Irish Spring has expanded their product lineup with a collection of items called SIGNATURE FOR MEN.  New items include 3-IN-1 Body, Hair & Face Wash; Hydrating Body Wash; Hydration Deodorant Soap Bars; and Exfoliating Scrub Bars.  It is just as important for us guys to have healthy skin as it is for the ladies; so it was nice to see a product made for men from a brand I've been a long time customer with that provides some pampering without a guy feeling he's lost some masculinity by using it.

Purchase two of the new Irish Spring Signature products at Walmart and get $5 off a VUDU purchase! Take a picture of your receipt and then go to http://cbi.as/3boj to upload your receipt. Next step, enjoy watching!

I picked up the Irish Spring SIGNATURE FOR MEN products while I was shopping at Walmart to add to my shower routine.  I'm in court a lot in high pressure situations for my job as an attorney, hit the gym three times per week, play indoor soccer every Monday night plus chase and wrangle my kids everyday so there are plenty of opportunities for me to be a sweaty mess.  Irish Spring helps me feel that I'm always at my best.

Irish Spring's Hydrating Body Wash is crafted with authentic shea butter extract for men who are looking to soften up a little but have felt left out of having options to choose from because a bulk of the products are perfumed body washes and lotions catering to women.  This Hydrating Body Wash helps seal  in your skin's natural hydration through its moisturizing blend that leaves skin looking clean and healthy.

Irish Spring's 3-IN-1 body, hair and face wash is crafted with authentic mint extract and is designed for the man on the go who doesn't want to be using multiple grooming products at home or carting with him a travel kit full of bottles to the gym for cleaning up after a workout or to a hotel to stay fresh during a business trip or vacation.  Made for body, face, and hair this invigorating blend will leave a guy looking clean and revitalized.

Irish Spring's Exfoliating Scrub Body Bars are crafted with authentic milled oats for us guys who are a little bit rough around the edges.  Made to deep clean, this scrubbing blend will really clear off any grit and grime to have a man feeling clean and smooth.  It a big bar of soap too cut for a man's hand that won't go mush on you in the shower.

The Hydrating Soap Bar is also brick-cut so it is easy and sturdy to grasp.  I hate it when bars of soap quickly start getting squishy in the shower, but you won't have that problem with this brick.  Just like the hydrating body wash this bar of soap seals in the body's natural hydration through its moisturizing blend that leaves skin looking clean and healthy.

A video posted by @geekdad248 on Mar 22, 2015 at 10:42am PDT

You always want to make you are fresh, clean and confident whether you are on the job or dealing with the messes your kids make on the playground.  So I depend on Irish Spring to make sure I'm fresh as a whistle wherever I may be or situation arises.  I've shared a few of my true life dad stories about falling in the mud, getting covered in poop, and sprayed with vomit and how Irish Spring helped get me feeling clean and refreshed again.  So what has been your "messiest" moment in life? Do tell!

Rocking the Holidays with a Wireless JBL Charge 2 Speaker

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.

We always go all out at Christmas time to celebrate the holidays at our house - a huge blowup snowman in the front yard, the glow of our home shining from being covered in LED lights, a pleasant wreath on the front door, stockings hung above the fireplace with care, and of course a decorated tree with cookies and milk for Santa.  Something seemed to be lacking though; but I just couldn't put my finger on it.  It hit me the other day when I was driving home from work and realized they were playing Christmas songs on the radio...we hadn't been rocking our home with holiday music.  I was going to have to fix that by getting some Bluetooth compatible speakers for our house.

We haven't had a nice stereo receiver or speaker system in our house to make listening to music that worthwhile.  When my wife and I tend to listen to music it is on the radio in the car, at the gym with our mp3 player, or via the playlists we have stored on our iphones. Our children are at an age where they really don't listen to music much. So while our house was decked out for the season the musical component of the holidays had been lacking because we just didn't have an outlet for enjoying Christmas carols and tunes at home. Thanks to #CollectiveBias we were given a JBL Charge 2 Speaker because tis the season for #GiftingAudio and now it appears our family is going to be a lot merrier through the holidays being able to incorporate music into our festivities.

I have to say that this speaker has exceeded my expectations.  Its little body belts out the tunes with power, clarity and bass that rivals the bulky monstrous four foot high box speakers I used to take a lot of pride in from my bachelor pad days.  It was very easy to sync the JBL Charge 2 speaker to my iphone so that my children and I were very quickly listening to some holiday tunes via Pandora through this connection.  I was actually somewhat surprised just how exceptional the sound quality was especially with how I was playing music through a wireless connection with my phone.  We really had the jingle bells rocking as I cranked up the sound to enjoy the music of Mannheim Steamroller and Trans-Siberian Orchestra.  I kid you not the speakers delivered such a rich bass that it felt as if we could have been at a concert.  You can actually see the speaker working to provide a rich listening experience as you can see the twin passive radiators (the silver discs on either side of the speaker) pulsating to the beat of the music which is quite impressive to observe.

So what is on your Holiday Playlist this year?  Here are a few of the favorites from our family playlist:

Christmas Don't Be Late - Alvin and the Chipmunks
Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer - Elmo & Patsy
Santa Claus is Coming to Town - Bruce Springsteen
Little Drummer Boy - Bing Crosby & David Bowie Duet
Do They Know it is Christmas - Band Aid
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year -Andy Williams
Joy to the World - Mannheim Steamroller
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - The Bare Naked Ladies
Carol of the Bells - Trans Siberian Orchestra
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas -  Judy Garland
Frosty the Snowman by Jimmy Durante

There is such a focus on the visual elements of the holiday season through the lights and decorations, but the musical aspect is also an important part of celebrating the holidays and was something we had been neglecting the last few years.  Being able to pull out this convenient portable speaker and easily play holiday songs from our itunes playlists or Pandora is really going to enhance the Christmas spirit for our family. My kids were so excited when they heard the holiday tunes pouring through our house as they jumped around like reindeer singing the lyrics to Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman.  It was so convenient just being able to pull out my phone, hit play and have the music flow wireless between devices and through our home.

Speaking of convenient, it was really nice to have this great speaker delivered directly to my front door rather than drag myself out to the store to search for one.  If you are looking to get a JBL Charge 2 for yourself or maybe as a gift for someone keep in mind the convenience of shopping online.

It is so convenient to get one of these online now too because JBL is having a special holiday promotion on its website. If you purchase a Charge 2 from www.jbl.com, they will provide FREE ground shipping plus FREE extended returns.  I hate paying for shipping for online purchases so that is a real plus for me!  Another perk that I appreciated is JBL provides lifetime support for your purchase when you buy it online directly from their website!  The JBL Charge 2 is $149.95 and while my preference was black you can choose from five colors to personalize your selection: blue, purple, red, white or black.

While the JBL Charge 2 is going to make our holiday celebrating more enjoyable it is also going to be very useful throughout the rest of the year as well.  Often times when we call grandma and grandpa our kids are fighting to grab the phone to talk to their grandparents...now we can use the Charge 2 as a speaker phone routing the call through it so the kids can both hear the conversation at the same time and also talk through the speaker's built-in microphone.  That featured turned into an unexpected treat which we are going to be using a lot all year long.  Based on the sound quality that I've experienced so far I may also use this speaker phone application for some of my work conference calls too.

Another great feature that is really nice if you are taking the Charge 2 with you on a family road trip or on business travel is that you can actually use the speaker to charge your phone when you are on the go.  The Charge 2's 6000mAh Li-ion battery can play up to 12 hours of music or if it outlasts your phone or other portable devices you can recharge them through its USB port.  No more having to look for an electric outlet to plug into at a highway rest stop while you are traveling to recharge your phone or tablet when you have this speaker with you.  This speaker really is the gift that keeps on giving.

In the spirit of Gifting Audio, our friends at Collective Bias and JBL are giving away 30 speakers for the holidays.  Just complete the steps below for a chance to win.  Good luck everyone!


JBL.com #GiftingAudio Sweepstakes