This is a joint giveaway between Natural Parents Network and many other natural parenting sites. I'm cross-posting it here as well. You may enter for all of the giveaways at one site only. Please find the section marked "Win it!" for the mandatory entry and optional bonus entries.

Welcome to the Natural Parents Network Holiday Gift Guide!

Natural Parents Network, Hobo Mama, and 24 other natural parenting bloggers are giving away 89 items perfect for gifting for the holidays as part of the Natural Parents Network Holiday Gift Guide. The combined total value of all of the items is $2,550.

Have you finished your holiday shopping? The NPN Holiday Gift Guide is a great opportunity to complete your gift-giving purchases for family and friends, while supporting many naturally-minded small businesses. The companies who have provided items for giveaway are almost exclusively made up of small businesses or work-at-home families.

The Rafflecopter entry system is at the bottom of this post (and on every post participating in the Gift Guide). Please visit some of the other review posts listed below and read about the fabulous companies offering giveaways in the Natural Parents Network Holiday Gift Guide.

---

Please continue reading to learn more about Prima Princessa, which is offering our readers a giveaway of three copies of Prima Princessa Presents: The Nutcracker DVD, a value of $21 total.

Dance & learn with Prima Princessa!

Prima Princessa DVDs take ballet and make it understandable and fun for young children!

Prima Princessa Presents: The Nutcracker is a 60-minute Christmas special featuring England's Birmingham Royal Ballet performing excerpts from The Nutcracker on stage.

The cartoon fairy Prima Princessa narrates the live ballet performance so that preschoolers can understand the story and see what an actual ballet looks like. Between acts, Prima Princessa flits around and encourages children to get up and dance along with students from the School of American Ballet.

Kids will learn simple ballet steps and the proper French terminology — broken down and explained in easy terms that even a 3-year-old can grasp. For instance, a jump — jeté — might be accompanied by a video image of a frog jumping, and then a wind-up toy doing the same. The little ballet dancers onscreen show their exuberant jumps, and then the video shows the pre-professional students at the School of American Ballet repeating the techniques.

After the show, the fun continues with bonus features of Holiday Freeze Dancing, Holiday Party with Gingerbread House Decorating, and fun Christmas Crafts!

Ballet for the young

Mikko and I have adored Prima Princessa for years. I love how all the elements of the DVDs work together to bring ballet to life for young dancers and dance fans.

We've now enjoyed all three DVDs in the line-up:

• Prima Princessa Presents: The Nutcracker
• Prima Princessa Presents: Swan Lake
• Prima Princessa Presents: Sleeping Beauty

I recommend them all, though obviously The Nutcracker would be ideal for a holiday gift!

Other children's ballet DVDs I've seen have been a straight-on class format, which is hard for little viewers to follow and remain interested. What Prima Princessa offers is, in my experience, completely unique.

There are four types of scenes you'll see in each Prima Princessa DVD (enjoy my terrible screenshots — I swear, the production quality is much better than my photos of the television screen would suggest!):

1. Little kids (around 3-5 years old) dancing (twirling, jumping, running) in fluffy tutus. They're just boogying down. In the case of The Nutcracker DVD, there are boys with swords added to the free-for-all play.

2. Older children in ballet class at the School of American Ballet, demonstrating ballet techniques such as pirouettes and pas de chat. These students are still relatable but show top-notch form.

3. Assorted clips that suggest the movement, such as a spinning toy for pirouette turns and a leaping tiger for demonstrating jumps. I always think this is random, but little kids really like these parts!

4. An abridged performance of a professional ballet with Prima Princessa narrating. This is perfect for (a) introducing young viewers to the idea of what ballet is for (performance, telling a story) and (b) preparing children who are going to see a live performance themselves. For instance, both Mikko and our friend Moira are headed to see The Nutcracker by Pacific Northwest Ballet this Christmas season, so what better preparation?

Diversity in ballet

My only quibbles with Prima Princessa are diversity-related: It's geared almost exclusively toward girls. Well, obviously, right? But I dance, and I would love for Mikko and Alrik to feel that dance is open to them, too. The language in the DVDs and in the promotional materials specifically mentions "girls" over just plain "kids" (or, as the promotional video puts it, "a budding ballerina princess") and encourages the viewers to put on a tutu; I wish it could be more inclusive. I appreciate that men are shown dancing in the professional performances (and how did those men become professional ballet dancers? By starting in childhood! See?) and that well-trained boys are shown in the student clips. If you have a boy who's interested in ballet (or to whom you want to gift one of these DVDs), I recommend The Nutcracker, because it has boys in the little-kid scenes (see the photo above), whereas the other two don't.

I appreciate that the little kids include girls of many ethnicities, as do the student dancers. Some of the ballet companies whose performances they got the rights to show are pretty…pretty…white. (Does anyone watch Curb Your Enthusiasm? Anyway…) It's not that I dislike the performance companies they worked with — I just fear that children of color might not see themselves and identify with the professional dancers in an all-white cast. Again, if that's a concern for you, too, I'd once again recommend The Nutcracker first since there's a little more variety among the professional dancers.

Our kids' reactions

That said, how do the kids I know like Prima Princessa? Very well indeed!

As I said, Mikko has loved it since he was three, and he never seems to notice the dearth of boys. I try to offhandedly point out the men in the production and the male students in the class, showing what they wear and what sorts of moves they do well.

I was babysitting the day our latest copy arrived (The Sleeping Beauty), so I brought it to show to Moira (4, and a dancer in her own right) and Mikko (now 5). Moira was enchanted and, when her parents got home, demanded that her mother buy her the complete set. I thought that was a good sign.

I love how it's an interactive DVD, urging kids to get up and dance! Plus, of course, it's educational, so what parent wouldn't love that?


What's in this envelope?
You'd think the sticker would have given it away, but he was still surprised!




Hooray!


Settling in to watch.


Mikko showing me his moves.


And then making up his own!


Moira's got tippy-toe work down from ballet class,
so she showed me how it's done!
Their younger brothers were in the room. Davis is under a year old and was, as expected, less than impressed. However, I was amused and surprised at Alrik's reception of the dancing. At 17 months, usually he ignores whatever's on TV (and rightly so), but he found Prima Princessa fascinating — and then was trying out the moves himself! Awesome! Baby ballerino.


Alrik can't get close enough to the screen.


Baby pliés!


I'm not even joking — he really was dancing along!

About Prima Princessa the company

Best friends Stephanie Troeller and Mary Kate Mellow are the dance wizzes behind Prima Princessa. I love that the DVDs were created by real-life mamas — it shows!

"We were inspired by our dance-loving daughters to create a ballet DVD series just for kids and came up with the idea during a play date for our girls," explains Mary Kate.

"Taking a young child to the ballet can be not only expensive, but it is difficult for toddlers to sit still for a 3-hour performance. Our shows are designed to expose 3-6-year-old children to classical ballet through a fun, interactive, animated, and educational experience, where they are encouraged to get up and dance along," says Stephanie.

The mamas have kept the DVDs at an affordable $6.99 each (I know!), and Prima Princessa specials also air on public television and are available at school and public libraries. I love that they're trying to get out the love of ballet to such a wide — and young — audience!

Be sure to connect with Prima Princessa:

• Visit their educational website PrimaPrincessa.com, which offers ballet information and links as well as games and coloring pages.
• Follow along and subscribe to the TutuZone Blog.
• Like Prima Princessa on Facebook.

 

BUY IT!

You can purchase your own Prima Princessa DVDs at Amazon:

• Prima Princessa Presents: The Nutcracker
• Prima Princessa Presents: Swan Lake
• Prima Princessa Presents: Sleeping Beauty

The DVDs are available for only $6.99 each, which I think is a total steal, and are eligible for Amazon's Free Super Saver Shipping deals. Order now for the perfect holiday gift or stocking stuffer!

You can also order the inspiring and informative book Prima Princessa's Ballet for Beginners: Featuring the School of American Ballet — regularly $14.95 and on sale right now for $11.45. Young dancers will get an up-close photographic tour of real dance classes, progressing in complexity as the book goes on.


 

WIN IT!

For your own chance to win one of THREE copies of Prima Princessa Presents: The Nutcracker, enter by leaving a comment and using our Rafflecopter system below. (Rafflecopter will be live November 1-25).

Three winners will each receive one copy of the DVD Prima Princessa Presents: The Nutcracker. Contest is open to the United States and Canada.


Our Rafflecopter entry system is now open.

MANDATORY ENTRY: In the box provided in the first Rafflecopter entry, tell us where you would have your prize shipped if you are one of the winners. You must enter your name and email address while leaving a comment in the Rafflecopter system for your entry to count.

Leave a valid email address so we can contact you if you win. Email addresses in Rafflecopter are not made publicly visible. Please leave the same valid email address in your mandatory comment so we can verify entries.

This is part of a larger giveaway hosted by Natural Parents Network. You may enter the whole giveaway at one site only, and we'll be recording IP addresses to ensure that there are no duplicate entries. That said, please do visit and enjoy all of the participating sites!

Please note that each entrant can win only one prize, and NPN will be randomly assigning prizes to the winners. One of the giveaway questions asks which are your top five prizes so we can try to match winners to their preferences.

BONUS ENTRIES:
See the Rafflecopter entry system for bonus entries to increase your chance of winning after completing the mandatory entry. All bonus entries are entered directly into Rafflecopter. Give it a try, and email sponsorship {at} naturalparentsnetwork.com or leave a comment if you have any questions!
a Rafflecopter giveaway


***
Thank you for your interest in the Natural Parents Network Gift Guide! We invite you to read the reviews of other participating bloggers and return to enter the giveaway between November 1 and 25. Many of the giveaway items are open worldwide!

Here are the participating sites and companies. (Reviews go live between October 25 and October 31, and all links will be live by November 1.) We’ve included any coupon codes the companies have offered so you can get your holiday shopping under way!

Publishing on Thursday, October 25, 2012

• From Ergobaby via A Little Bit of All of It — Win one of two Ergobaby Doll Carriers (ARV $25 x 2)
• From Poppy Soap Company via Fine and Fair — Win 1 of 3 a Mix & Match Organic Soap Sets (ARV $30)
  Shop now with coupon code delilah and get $10 off your purchase through November 25, 2012!
• From Wild Arbutus via Anktangle — Win a Handmade Baby Hat or Plush Crocheted Toy (ARV $25)
  Shop now with coupon code NPNGIFTS10 and get 10% off all orders through December 31, 2012!
• From Lucy Locket Creations via The Artful Mama — Win a Dragon or Dinosaur De-tachable Tail (ARV $20)
  Shop now with coupon code HANDMADE and get 15% off your purchase until November 30, 2012!
• From Job Description: Mommy via Code Name: Mama — Win 3 Pairs of Handmade Earrings (up to $45 ARV)
  Shop now with coupon code NPNJDM and get 15% off your purchase through December 15, 2012!
• From A Mother's Boutique via Hobo Mama — Win a $75 Gift Certificate for Nursing & Maternity Wear
  Shop now with coupon code HOBO10 and get 10% off virtually any item in the store (certain exclusions apply) through November 25, 2012!
• From Terramor via ourfeminist{play}school — Win a jewelery gift set (ARV $30)
  Shop now with coupon code npn10 and get 10% off your Etsy purchase through November 25, 2012!

Publishing on Friday, October 26, 2012

• From Kid Culture via ourfeminist{play}school — Win a Superhero Cape for your Lil' Superhero! (ARV $20)
• From Soapie Skyes via Living Peacefully with Children — Win a bottle of All Natural Balancing Shampoo (ARV $20)
  Shop now with coupon code NATURALCHRISTMAS and get 25% off all orders through January 5, 2013!
• From The Babywearing Workout via MomeeeZen and True Confessions of a Real Mommy — Win 1 of 5 copies of Mama's "Little" Personal Trainer (ARV $10 x 5)
  Shop now with coupon code NPN2012 and get 15% off your purchase between November 5 and December 24, 2012!
• From Wooly Topic via Our Crazy Corner of the World — Win a set of 6 Wool Rock Pods (ARV $36)
  Shop now with coupon code celebration10 and get 10% off your purchase from October 26, 2012, until December 30, 2012!
• From Yellow Elm via Mothers of Change — Win a handmade felted flower headband (ARV $20)
  Shop now with coupon code HANDMADEHOLIDAY15 and get 15% off your purchase until December 31, 2012!
• From Intuition Physician via Mommying My Way — Win a Set of 2 Attachment Parenting-Related Children's Stories (ARV $34)
• From Cashmere Cuddles via Amy Willa: Me, Mothering, and Making it All Work — Win a Cuddles for Kids Doll Carrier (ARV $25)
• From Sacred Rose Tea via A Little Bit of All of It — Win 1 box of Holiday Blend Organic Tea and a Tea Infuser (ARV $27)
• From Rock Paper Tree via Vibrant Wanderings — Win a $50 gift certificate good toward handcrafted items made with precious metals, crystals, and gemstones
  Shop now with coupon code TEN10TEN and get 10% off your purchase through November 25, 2012!
• From Two Pink Hearts via Code Name: Mama — Win a $20 Gift Certificate for a fashion camera strap cover
  Shop now with coupon code holiday10 and get 10% off through December 31, 2012!
• From Kangaroo Care via Firmly Planted — Win a Nursing Necklace (ARV $25)!

Publishing on Saturday, October 27, 2012

• From The Enchanted Cupboard via Hybrid Rasta Mama — Win a $20 Gift Certificate to spend on wooden toys and dolls, custom wedding cake toppers, and more!
  Shop now with coupon code NPN and get 10% off your purchase through November 25, 2012!
• From Jupiter's Child, via Downside Up and Outside In — Win a beautiful hand dyed, hand spliced rainbow colored jump rope (ARV $25)
• From Born at Home Toys via That Mama Gretchen — Win a Fishing Set (ARV $20)
  Shop now with coupon code THATMAMA and get 10% off all orders through November 25, 2012!
• From Monkey Mama Necklaces via I Thought I Knew Mama — Win a twiddle buster or twiddle teether pendant nursing necklace, a safe and distracting necklace perfect for little nurslings (ARV $20)
  Shop now with coupon code ITIKM10 and get 10% off your purchase until November 30, 2012!
• From Averylee Kids via That Mama Gretchen — Win Baby Booties and an Owl Taggie (ARV $35)
  Shop now with coupon code FREEKIDS and get Free Shipping through November 25, 2012!
• From Knot Genie via Living Peacefully with Children — Win a Knot Genie Detangle Brush (ARV $20)
  Shop now with coupon code living and get $4 off all orders through November 25, 2012!
• From Raising Green Kids via very, very fine — Win a $25 gift certificate to purchase green and eco-friendly items from bathtime to home decor!
• From BirchLeaf Designs via Hobo Mama — Win 2 Hand-Dyed Playsilks (ARV $26)
  Shop now with coupon code NPN and get 10% off through November 25, 2012!
• From SoRad via ourfeminist{play}school — Win a Ninja Sleep Set (ARV $40)
• From The Sugar Cone Shoppe via A Little Bit of All of It — Win a Mei Tai Doll Carrier (ARV $32)
  Shop now with coupon code 2012NPN and get free domestic shipping through November 25, 2012!
• From LeoandLola via Firmly Planted — Win a $50 Gift Card to spend on custom onesies, t-shirts, dresses, and many upcycled items!
  Shop now with coupon code NPNFREE and get free domestic shipping through November 25, 2012!

Publishing on Sunday, October 28, 2012

• From Anointment via MomeeeZen — Win Baby Balm, Baby Oil, Calendula Soap and a Soap Scrubbie (ARV $30)
  Shop now with coupon code npnreview and orders over $50 get free shipping to US/Canada and a free gift through December 31, 2012!
• From Dirty Diva Soaps via Hybrid Rasta Mama — Win a set of three soaps (ARV $20)
  Shop now with coupon code Hybridrastamama and get 10% off your purchase through November 25, 2012!
• From KR Dyeworks viaDownside Up And Outside In — Win a $25 gift certificate to purchase handpainted yarn, knitting patterns, or handknit shawls and scarves!
  Shop now with coupon code NPN20 and get 20% off your order November 1-30, 2012!
• From moksa organics via ourfeminist{play}school — Win a $30 gift certificate to purchase a wide variety of organic soaps and body care products!
  Shop now with coupon code naturalparenting and get 30% off your purchase through November 25, 2012!
• From Sophisticated Play Apparel via Living Peacefully with Children — Win a Matching Set of Toddler Wrist Warmers and Cowl (ARV $34)
  Shop now with coupon code livingpeacefully and get 15% off all orders through January 5, 2013!
• From Dominna via Code Name: Mama — Win a $30 Gift Certificate toward handmade Latvian toys
• From Easy Lunchboxes via Firmly Planted — Win a Set of Food Storage Containers and a Lunch Bag (ARV $22)!
• From Anktangle Creations via A Little Bit of All of It — Win a $20 gift certificate to spend on handmade gifts including baby leggings, wool dryer balls, wool diaper covers, ear warmers, and more!
• From Howells Natural Wood Products via Hybrid Rasta Mama — Win a set of solid, natural building blocks (ARV $33)
  Shop now with coupon code HRM10 and get 10% off your purchase through November 25, 2012!

Publishing on Monday, October 29, 2012

• From Bent River Bobbins via Firmly Planted — Win a $20 Gift Certificate to buy high quality, reusable bags and sandwich wraps, baby toys, and more!
• From Serious Puzzles via Momma Jorje — Win a Jumbo Numbers - 20pc Wooden Puzzle By Melissa & Doug (ARV $20)
• From Hybrid Rasta Mama via Diary of a First Child — Win one of three copies of the eBook 'Coconut Oil For Your Skin'(ARV $7 x 3)
• From Libre Tea via The Hippie Housewife — Win a Libre glass ’n poly Original Tea Glass (ARV $24)
• From Texture Clothing via very, very fine — Win a Comfy Skirt (ARV $72)
  Shop now with coupon code veryfineship and receive free shipping on all orders November 29, 2012!
• From Presence Parenting via Anktangle — Win a 60-Minute Nurturing Presence Session(ARV $50)!
  Shop now with coupon code NPN50 and receive 50% off your own Nurturing Presence Sessions through November 30, 2012!
• From Dionna Ford via I Thought I Knew Mama — Win 1 of 2 copies of For My Children: A Mother's Journal of Memories, Wishes and Wisdom, a beautiful way for a mother to pass along her memories (ARV $15 x 2)
• From Nushkie via Hybrid Rasta Mama — Win a 54 piece Jigsaw Puzzle of your choice (ARV $24)
• From Barefoot Books via Downside Up And Outside In — Win a book of your choosing from independent children's book publishers, Barefoot Books! (ARV $25)
• From Prima Princessa via Hobo Mama — Win one of 3 copies of Prima Princessa Presents: The Nutcracker kids ballet DVD (ARV $7 x 3)
• From Wise Daughters Craft Market via ourfeminist{play}school — Win a set of wooden play money! (ARV $20)
• From Wooly Moss Roots via Hybrid Rasta Mama — Win your all natural Tooth Powder, Magical Healing Salve, and a Smudging Bundle (ARV $34)
  Shop now with coupon code HYBRIDRASTAMAMA15 and get 15% off your purchase through November 25, 2012!
• From Glass Dharma via Living Peacefully with Children — Win a $25 Gift Certificate to purchase beautiful, reusable glass straws and straw sets.
• From Earthslings via Code Name: Mama — Win a $35 Gift Certificate toward pouch slings, dolls, dress-up costumes, and more
  Shop now with coupon code KIDS2012 and get 10% off through December 31, 2012!
• From Moby via A Little Bit of All of It — Win a Mini Moby Doll Carrier and Knot Hat (ARV $21)
  Shop now with coupon code blogger2012 and get 10% off one item through November 25, 2012!
  
• From Yarns and Storys via Our Crazy Corner of the World — Win a store credit worth $30, for an item of your choice at Yarns and Storys, including hand spun and hand-dyed fibers, hats, scarves and other clothing items.
  Shop now with coupon code NPN10 and get 10% off your purchase until November 25, 2012!

Publishing on Tuesday, October 30, 2012

• From Desert Dye Works via Hybrid Rasta Mama — Win a $30 Gift Certificate to spend on playsilks in all sizes and colors, silk dress-up items, or prayer flags!
• From Playful Planet via Presence Parenting — Win a Storyland Yoga DVD (ARV $15)
  Shop now with coupon code NPN20 and get 20% off of your purchase through November 25, 2012!
• From Stubby Pencil Studio via Vibrant Wanderings — Win $60 worth of Eco Friendly Art Materials. (ARV $60)
  Shop now with coupon code SAVE15 and get 15% off of your purchase through November 30, 2012!
• From Earthfaeries Homebrewed Soap via Firmly Planted — Win a $20 Gift Card to buy home-brewed soaps and perfumes as well as other handmade goods!
• From Dysfunction Designs via The Hippie Housewife — Win a $20 Gift Certificate to buy handmade necklaces and bracelets for women and men.
  Shop now with coupon code NATGIFTS and get 5% off all orders through December 31, 2012!
• From MonCherPug via The Artful Mama — Win a Organic Miniature Pug (ARV $45)
• From doTERRA via MomeeeZen — Win a $20 gift card to spend on essential oils & a free phone consultation with Patti Tinholt to help you learn which Essential Oils are right for you!
  Shop now and for any purchases over $100, receive $50 towards your next purchase.
• From Snapdragon Fortress via Anktangle — Win a Knit Wool Kitten (ARV $20)!
• From Pip & Bean via Hobo Mama — Win a Superhero Kit: Reversible Cape, Mask, and Arm Bands (ARV $25)
• From The Tea Spot via A Little Bit of All of It — Win a Steeping Cup and an Organic Tea Sampler (ARV $44)
  Shop now with coupon code naturalparents and get 15% off their order from November 1-25, 2012!
• From Kid Culture via ourfeminist{play}school — Win a family set of Play Me Mama Crafts' organic hankies! (ARV $24)
• From Z-Man Games via Living Peacefully with Children — 2 Winners will receive a copy of the board game Mondo (ARV $40 x 2)
• From Mama May I via Code Name: Mama — Win a Story Starters Game (ARV $25)
  Shop now with coupon code NPNHOLIDAY and get 10% off through December 31, 2012!
• From Maggie’s Naturals via Hybrid Rasta Mama — Win a 6-pack Variety Food Coloring Package (ARV $60)

Publishing on Wednesday, October 31, 2012

• From Olive Shoot Institute via Firmly Planted — Win Extreme 18X Soap Nut Liquid Concentrate and a Guinea Pig Doll (ARV $40)!
• From Flying Bird Botanicals via very, very fine — Win a $25 gift certificate to purchase artisan tea blends, rich drinking chocolates, or organic body and baby care products!
• From Lauren Wayne via ourfeminist{play}school, win 1 of 2 copies of Poetry of a Hobo Mama: The First Three Years (ARV $10 x 2)
  Shop now with coupon code SAP84AYJ and get 20% off all orders of the trade paperback at the author's store through December 31, 2012!
• From Elemental Handcrafts via Hybrid Rasta Mama — Win a personalized wooden ball/spoon set with a magnet (ARV $33)
• From Worts and Cunning Apothecary via Living Peacefully with Children — Win a Happy Homestead Remedy Kit (ARV $20)
  Shop now with coupon code NATURALWORT and get 10% off all orders through November 25, 2012!
• From Destany Fenton Fine Art via Code Name: Mama — Win an original 12x16 portrait (ARV $220)
• From RainbowSouffle via A Little Bit of All of It — Win a $20 Gift Certificate to spend on a doll ring sling, handmade toys, costume items, and more!
  Shop now with coupon code FREESHIP and get free shipping on any item through November 25, 2012!