Tiny Oranges – Fresh, fun blog for OC moms

A few months back a friend asked me for a referral for an Orange County company with princess characters for her daughter’s 4th birthday party. I didn’t have one, so I reached out to my Tiny Oranges facebook friends, which is how we found Dream Come True Entertainment, a company which provides fairytale characters for children’s parties in OC and LA.

Both my girls went to this dress up princess party, and about a half hour into the festivities there was a knock at the door and RAPUNZEL was standing there sparkling. You should have seen the look on the girls’ faces! PURE magic!

Rapunzel was absolutely FABULOUS! Completely engaging, enchanting and kept the party moving from one fun princess activity to the next.  My girls had the greatest time ever.

I spoke with the owner, Princess Megan, for a long time after the party to learn more about her company to share in this post.

With a passion for creating a larger than life experience for the girls, all the high quality costumes are custom made for each princess to be as authentic as possible and she believes in strict attention to detail, right down to the make-up and wigs.

You can click here to see their list of characters, but if you don’t see one of your favorites, you can always call and ask Princess Megan if it would be a possibility.

I also learned that all the princesses at Dream Come True Entertainment have a background in performing and musical theater. This was certainly evident in the Rapunzel I saw, not only was she beautiful and believable, but then she opened her mouth to sing and she sounded like an angel.

Their princess party packages can be booked for 1, 1.5 or 2 hours and pricing starts at $175 for the one-hour party. I thought this was so reasonable for the entertainment they provide.

Being a mom herself, she knows the importance of keeping the party moving along, so the princesses are well-skilled at knowing when to change it up and move on to the next activity. Based on the ages, they will prioritize activities and know what works best, and their parties consist of a mix of:

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It’s the season, once again for Irvine Park Railroad’s annual Christmas Train! Take your family and friends and hop aboard for an enchanting night ride through historic Irvine Regional Park to meet Santa Claus.

The train will depart every 15 minutes from the brightly-lit train station and drop passengers off at the North Pole. It truly is a totally magical event for the kids. I have tickets to give away, make sure to enter below!

For those of you who haven’t been before, Christmas Train tickets may be purchased online to ride the train at a specific date and time. When you arrive you can then get in line and board the train any time during the hour for which you purchase tickets. You can also buy tickets in person.

While waiting to board the train, there are many activities for children to enjoy in Santa’s Village located next to the train station. Prices vary per activity. They open one hour prior to when the Christmas Train runs and include:

Story Time with Mrs. Claus * Christmas Cookie Decorating * Carnival Games * Santa Claus Moon Bounce
* Christmas Coloring Corner * Picture Stands

At the North Pole, visitors may purchase coffee, hot chocolate, freshly-popped popcorn and cookies from the Elf House Snack Bar.

Visitors may take their own pictures with Santa or you may purchase a picture taken by Irvine Park Railroad. Each 5” x 7” photo will be presented with an Irvine Park Railroad border and available for pickup shortly after being taken.

After visiting with Santa, hop back aboard the train and enjoy the colorful Christmas lights and decorations, as well as the magical “Tunnel of Lights”, on the ride back to the station.

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Growing up I was not much of a cartoon watcher, but the one cartoon I never missed on Saturday mornings was The Smurfs™. So when the Sony Pictures Animation film, The Smurfs™, came out this year it made me very nostalgic and happy my little ones could now enjoy these cute little blue creatures too!

Exciting news, The Smurfs™ is now available (starting today) on Blu-ray™ 3D, DVD, digital, and also a limited edition 3-Disc Holiday Gift Set which includes Blu-ray™ + DVD + a new mini-movie, The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol DVD just in time for the holidays. Such a great holiday gift idea.

As luck would have it, thanks to the super sweet folks over at Sony, I have one of these Holiday Gift Sets and a few other Smurf-alicious goodies to give away, so please make sure to enter below.

The film is about the Smurfs™ adventures when the evil wizard Gargamel chases the tiny blue Smurfs™ out of their village and into a whole new world (ours!) smack into the middle of Central Park.

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Looking for a gift idea this holiday season for a special mom in your life (perhaps yourself!?)

How about a gift certificate for a treatment at one of my favorite local OC spas, the fabulous  Pure Blu Spa at the Newport Beach Marriott? I can guarantee it would be a sure fire hit and would have the recipient singing fa la la la….SPA!

So I am thrilled to have a giveaway from Pure Blu Spa today of a gift certificate for a 50-minute treatment of their choice ! Be sure to enter below!

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I first was introduced to Tea Collection clothing a couple years ago when my girlfriend gave us a darling little wrap dress that was a hand-me-down from her daughter.

It quickly became one of our staple pieces and my daughter wore it ALL of the time. I was very impressed with how well it held up wear after wear which is definitely the sign of a quality clothing company. You know you have a high-quality piece when a hand-me-down still looks great after going through two kids!

So recently when a representative contacted me from Tea Collection about a review and giveaway I very enthusiastically accepted because:

#1. I already know and LOVE this brand
#2. I am thrilled to get to offer one of my readers a $100 gift certificate to shop!

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