Kids Off The Couch Ticket Giveaway: LA Phil at Hollywood Bowl Fourth Of July Fireworks Spectacular!

The Fourth of July means fireworks, plain and simple. When we were little, we danced the hokey pokey at a bandstand on Cape Cod and then stretched out with our siblings on blankets in the middle of a football field to watch thefireworks. The memory is plenty potent and we've been challenged, as parents, to create the same type of memories here in Southern California. We have watched from thebeach (fun but oh-so-crowded), stayed home to watch fireworks in TV after a backyard party (big mistake, they're best observed in person) and once spent an evening on the101, kids asleep in their car seats after an all-day beach party, watching high-school fireworks celebrations going offin succession across the valley.

One of the most relaxing ways to spend the Fourth in LA is to cap off a concert at the Hollywood Bowl with their spectacular fireworks. The explosions are timed to the 1812 Overture, and the kids can simply gaze upwards and watch a terrific display. This year, the LA Phil has invited Darryl Hall and John Oates to headline three shows with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. The pop-duo, who are members of members of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, will play their own hits as well as plenty of good-old fashioned American music.

What: LA Phil Presents July 4th Fireworks Spectacular (Saturday, Sunday & Monday, July 2-4, 7:30 PM) with special guests Daryl Hall & John Oates. Plenty of seats are still available. Click here for tickets and more information about the show.

Enter to Win: Kids Off the Couch has a Family Four-Pack to give away. Click here to be in the drawing - and please include your telephone number.

Hits from Hall and Oates Remember these classics: "Sara Smile", "Rich Girl", "Kiss on My List", "Private Eyes", "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)", "Maneater", and "Out of Touch".The duo had 34 singles chart hits make the Billboard Top 100.

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Greening The Holidays Contest!

Getting Eco-Friendly + Spending Less Money = Making The Holidays Meaningful

What does a Green Holiday mean to us? Trimming the budget and tree at the same time. Here are a few of our personal solutions -- which we hope will inspire you to share great ideas with our KOTC community and win a $100 Amazon Gift Card.

KOTC IDEAS: (1) Wish Trees -- Inspired by Yoko Ono's Wish Trees, we're asking everyone to write wishes on hang tags and tie them to our Christmas tree or pile them around the Menorah. (2) Recycled Gift Wrap: We're keeping old newspapers, pulling out all those half used paint sets, and going to town on personalized wrapping paper. Our kids are using twigs and berries from our yards to decorate their packages.

Diane's Idea: This year, I am trying new kind tradition - a gift of special time. Each member of our family is asking another for a regular date doing something together. I will ask my teenager for a cup of tea study break once a week, Grandma wants to play a Scrabble game once a month with her grandchildren, Dad (this is a tough one) will request 9 holes on the golf course every two weeks.

Sarah's Idea: The adults in my extended family pick Secret Santas to reduce the stress of shopping for 20-odd relatives at the holidays. It also reduces the amount of silly ties and bad sweaters in the closet. (In fact, one terrible tie does get shuttled around each holiday, showing up as a gag gift in a different stocking each holiday). This frees us up to buy one well researched and thought out gift for a sister, or brother in law and leaves time to play Santa for every adorable, deserving niece and nephew.

Please share your Greening The Holiday ideas with us and win a $100 Amazon.com Gift Card! If you're not already a member of Kids Off The Couch, please sign up here – it's free. Then leave your "Greening the Holidays" suggestions below in the comments section of this Blog posting and you will instantly become eligible to win a $100.00 Amazon.com Gift Card. (US Residents, 18 years and older only please.) Our winner will be chosen on December 19th, 2008. We will also be publishing some of our favorites on the Kids Off The Couch website and sending them out next week all over the country with your name as the Author.

Win Exclusive Kids Off The Couch LA Screening Tickets to “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa”

Kids Off The Couch Contest

Sign Up Today for your Free Kids Off The Couch Membership and become eligible to Win 4 Exclusive Kids Off The Couch Screening Tickets to “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa” in Los Angeles on Saturday, November 8th, 2008 at Noon. Eighty (80) winners will be chosen!

1. You must be a subscriber, to our newsletter to be eligible. Sign up here if you haven’t already done so.

2. To enter, please go to the Kids Off The Couch Archives and pick your favorite kid friendly adventure. Come back to the Blog and tell us about your selection or suggest a new adventure AND leave your email address in order to be contacted in the Blog Comments section. One entry and one comment per person. Please also specify how many people will be attending in the comments of the blog. (No more than 4 tickets will be allocated per person.)

3. You must supply us with a valid email address.

4. The contest starts NOW and entries must be date stamped by our server no later than Monday, November 3rd, 2008 at 11:59 AM Pacific Time to be eligible.

5. 80 winners will be selected during a random drawing and will be notified via email to receive the prize. If you haven’t heard from us, you haven’t won.

6. No prize substitutions.

7. You must be 18 years old or older to enter.

8. No purchase necessary.

9. Void where prohibited.

10. The full rules are located here.

Our kids loved this family-friendly sequel that follows the adventures of escaped New York City zoo animals Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Melman the Giraffe and Gloria the Hippo. When the group is marooned in the African plains, they band together to learn about family and friendship (DreamWorks, PG). Check out the film's website for more details. Good luck!!!