TODAY: GameStop Skylanders Day And PowerUp Pro 1 Year Subscription #Giveaway #ChiILHolidaze

ChiIL Mama's Holidaze 12 Days of Giveaways 

Got Skylanders fans? Get to GameStop TODAY December 6th for exclusive deals. 

ChiIL Mama is giving away a FREE year membership in POWERUP Rewards Pro. $14.99 value. ENTER HERE for your chance to win. 

Open nationwide. 

Disclosure: We're elated to partner up with GameStop for the 2nd year. They have given us product for our giveaway and review purposes. As always, all opinions are our own. 

  

Here's what you get:

PRO MEMBERSHIP

A Pro membership is a paid membership for only $14.99 annually where you can score even more points and get access to exclusive offers, news and events. As a Pro member, you'll also get special bonus privileges including a welcome coupon that can score you a free game upon completion of online activation. Plus, 10% discounts on all pre-owned game and accessories purchases, 1 year of Game Informer magazine, and everything you see below:

Yearly membership
Points toward rewards with every dollar you spend
Exclusive access to news, offers, and events
Epic Reward Giveaway entries per purchase or trade* *Limited to one transaction per day.
250-point Pro enrollment/upgrade/renewal bonus
Special Welcome Coupon: Buy 2 get 1 Free on pre-owned games
10% point bonus on all purchases
10% bonus trade-in credit
10% off pre-owned games and pre-owned accessories
10% off new strategy guides
One year of Game Informer magazine Smokin Holiday Deals TODAY:

Click HERE for our past GameStop Holiday Coverage & Deals.

Disclosure: Once again, we're elated to partner up with GameStop for the 2nd year. They have given us product for our giveaway and review purposes. As always, all opinions are our own. 

Check back with us and enter like we vote in Chi, IL... early and often. It's rewarding! ChiIL Mama's Holidaze 12 Days of Giveaways is on through December 17th, with loads of great daily giveaways, flash giveaways on Facebook/Twitter, gift guide ideas, and holiday happenings in Chi, IL and beyond. All giveaways are open nationwide. Here's the master link where ALL our 12 Days of Giveaways Are Added.

ChiIL Reviews: Skylanders Swap Force Review by Du-Jay & Sagezilla #Activision #ATVIFamGames #ChiILPicksList

Don't lose your heads, people... The next wave of Skylanders has hit the stores just in time for the holidays.   If your kids are like mine, they can't get enough of Skylanders and finished the Giants and the original journeys long ago.   We've been eagerly awaiting Swap Force since I got a sneak peek at the yet unreleased game at SweetSuite 2013 at BlogHer.  

Activision’s Skylanders Swap Force is the 4th Series released in the Skylanders Game Series and they're already kickin' booty and turning heads!   This one's the best yet.   

Skylanders make ChiIL Mama's ChiIL Picks List for Video Game Favorites.

My kids, Du-Jay (12) and Sagezilla (10) split the 29 Skylanders they've bought with their own allowance "helpful works money" into types and made a video to welcome the new Swap Force series.   Check it out here.



We're super stoked all the prior series characters can still be played in the new Swap Force adventures!    

Embark on an exciting new adventure with the Skylanders and the SWAP Force. For generations, the SWAP Force protected the volcano that replenishes Skylands’ magic. That is until an epic battle caught them in an eruption that blasted them apart, sent them to Earth and gave them the ability to swap powers. Only you can mix and match their tops and bottoms, put them on the new Portal of Power™ and save Skylands.

Skylander Swap Force is available at retailers near you.

Skylander Swap Force Starter kit available in Xbox, Wii, PS3, PS4

Target $74.99
Toys R US $74.99

Best Buy $74.99

and more

Extra figures sold separately and priced differently

Activision Family Game Summit TOMORROW #ATVIFamGames

We've been an AcTiVision Family for years.   With a 10 & 12 year old boy and girl who love video games, it's a no brainer.   AcTiVision makes high quality, fun games the whole family can enjoy.   Once AcTiVision sent us a few starter Skylanders years ago, my kids have been saving up their own allowance or "helpful works money" to buy more Skylanders!   

They just made a fun video on their own, with all 30 of their Skylander figures, to welcome the new Swap Force.  We'll be publishing their video right here at ChiIL Mama along with info on the new Swap Force Skylanders.   I got a sneak peek at the newbies at BlogHer13 SweetSuite, but my kids are chomping at the bit to play and review it!

Two years ago we had the great pleasure of attending AcTiVision's Games for Girls event in person and we left with a big bag of games to review and one for our readers!   Last year, we were active with the AcTiVision Family Game Summit in NYC on line.   Again, they sent us an awesome swag bag which we used for reviews and great giveaways for our readers.   This year the verdict is still out, but we have our fingers crossed that we can partner up once again.

The Activision Family Game Summit on line is free and open to the public as long as you register in advance.  Check it out!   Last year it was full of great info, funny anecdotes and more.   ChiIL Mama will be there... will YOU?!   We'll be Tweeting along.   Be there--noon Chicago time!

Activision has game versions of so many of our favorites including Moshi Monsters and Trash Packs.   We've done loads of past Activision features--click here to check out a few.   We've also done lots of Skylanders, Moshi and Trash Pack coverage.   We even met the main Moshi Monsters designers and creative team at ChiTAG last year and that's where we were first introduced to Trash Packs as well.

We'll have loads of great info when we recap The Activision Family Game Summit, but tune in if you're free tomorrow at noon and hear it all for yourself!

Fingers and toes crossed that we can again bring our readers some rockin' reviews and giveaways from our friends at Activision!!

Family Fun at Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo

Check out our original photos from C2E2 2012 Saturday above


 
R2D2?    No....C2E2!!!

Yeah, OK... maybe both.   R2D2 @ C2E2

 



Du-Jay & Sagezilla dug C2E2 and can't wait for 2013

 



It's bigger on the inside....



This year's Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2) will be their biggest by far. Tickets are selling earlier and faster than ever.  As of the final week of February, VIP tickets are sold out; 1-Day ticket sales are up 65%; and 3-Day ticket sales are up 78%. This is an overall increase of 64% compared to last year! 



**Meanwhile, their exhibit space is also growing...at this point, they are 25% larger than last year.** 



This is great news as it means that the Midwest - and Chicago, in particular - is becoming a center for pop culture enthusiasts similar in scale to New York and San Diego. 



Have you gotten your tickets yet?   Don't miss out.   Click here and order your tickets as soon as possible.   ChiIL Mama will be there...will YOU?!   We'll have photo filled recaps, individual features, hot new releases, reviews, and free downloads for you.   So check back with ChiIL Mama/ ChiIL Live Shows like we vote in Chi, IL...early and often!!

C2E2 2013, April 26-28, 2013 at the West Building at McCormick Place.

Check out their main site here for special guests and more.
  
Our ultra favorite thing about C2E2 isn't one show or genre even...it's mash ups and context!   We swung by Micky D's on the way out and it was beyond amusing to see the comic book world superimposed on reality. It's all about context.  As realtors are fond of saying...location, location, location.



"Welcome to McDonalds, may I take your order?"
 


  

We also love to see the colorful mash ups that organically happen in the crowd as everyone's story lines intermingle.   

Steampunk was a growing presence at C2E2 12, and we bought a fabulous corset & a wooden mustache monocle.

 

We also bought a unique ocarina necklace & a "teacarina" musical, pottery tea cup/instrument among other finds.  






Sagezilla and Du-Jay enjoyed the show, and it's fairly family friendly.   There were a ton of kids of all ages there, and there was plenty for kids to see and do, particularly for tweens and teens.    


Kick Ass fam friendly fun at C2E2

Sure, there's a plethora of the usual comic book boobs n gore...so skip it with the littles if they're very young and easily freaked out, or if you're uber conservative.  Otherwise, dress up and come on down!



Of course we're suckers for any excuse to play dress up, and enjoy seeing adults who are reeeeeally into what they're into, and we dig comics, anime, Dr. Who and games.   That means C2E2 is right up our alley.








First time we ever quoted Mr. T around Sagezilla, she thought we said "I'm Winnie the Pooh", and used to repeat it in a booming Mr. T impression.  To this day I still can't hear "I pity the fool" without laughing.

 

We saw many fun freaks, and even derby zombies from The Outfit!

 

 There were loads of graphic artists, actors & writers about.

Promises...promises

We're a little bummed.   These Romanian artist guys took a steam punk photo of Sagezilla & Du-Jay and said they'd anime the kids and send us the sketch via e-mail after the show, and it never happened.    Was that supposed to read get your sketch a year from today?!

We're coming back to find you for C2E2 2013, so start sketching... long haired boy and tiny but mighty grrrrrl, or they'll kick you in the kneecaps!

You can even get inked up permanently, with some new scars, if you're brave & of age.   I do have 4 tattoos, but not from C2E2.   We just stuck with the kind of ink you turn the pages on!



We also saw another of our big favorites--Threadless--and stocked up on more, cool, artist designed t's!   They give back to the community and work with kids for free, at Girls Rock Chicago camps, 826Chi Writing Workshops and more.

Sage spent her "helpful works" cash on a bunch of seriously rockin' handmade fimo necklaces another kid had made.  They were one of a kind and one of the coolest thing we saw at the whole show because they were so creative.   She also bought a Shawnimal Ninja necklace.   



Du-Jay bought Activision Skylanders, one of his Wii favorites.

 

We also ran into one of our favorite author/artist duos... Kim & Dino, of Traegonia fame.  

We gave away a set of their excellent books to one of our lucky readers in December, as part of our huge Holidaze Giveaways.  





 The Traegonia books are a middle grade, eco-friendly fantasy series our family really digs!!  Highly recommended.   Check out their main site right here.



 

 

Come on out and play.   C2E2's a must see for geeks, gamers, pop culture enthusiasts, families and YOU!