Here it is, the middle of winter. My cowriters in Minnesota and Colorado are bundling up and enjoying some ice skating and cross-country skiing, and here in Southern California I’ve actually had to put on a sweater. Once. Anyway, living in icy climes has its benefits that my children haven’t been able to appreciate; snow angles, snowball fights, and all that fun stuff are foreign winter experiences for this family. It’s great to know that Wii has a new game out — the Family Party 30: Great Games Winter Fun has been rated an A+ by five kids who tried it out for me. Thanks to Wii, I can give away FIVE of these Great Games. That’s right; there’ll be five different winners!

Wii Family Party 30: Great Games Winter Fun covers all types of winter sports, from skiing and snowboarding, to figure skating and even snowball fights. It really gets players jumping around, and thoroughly earns the “fun” in its name. It’s rated “E” for everyone, but there is a pretty challenging Battle Mode for serious competitors. To enter this contest giveaway, all you need to do is leave a comment below stating your own favorite winter sport. Anyone can enter (except relatives of The Vacation Gals), and five people get to win copies of this really fun Wii game. The contest is open until 6:00 PM PST, Tuesday February 16, 2010. The winners will be chosen randomly, and the winners will be announced on Wednesday, February 17. Downhill racing, snow tubing, and bobsledding, all in the warmth and comfort of your home. If that doesn’t shake away the winter blahs, I don’t know what will.

Living in a temperate zone is easy, but it doesn’t quite lend itself to a well-rounded lifestyle weather-wise. While my family doesn’t have to bundle up for winter, we have to travel to see snow — and we’re certainly not adept at skiing and other winter sports. Even Los Angeles can have rough winters, now and then (this must be the rainiest winter season in Southern California ever), but it doesn’t quite compare. Taking winter vacations in Hawaii sure won’t aid my kids in learning how to ski, or ice skate, or any other winter activities my cowriters’ families enjoy. And yes, if we really wanted to, we could take a trip to the mountains and have a snowy, cold vacation experience…or we could just continue to enjoy playing the new Wii game, Family Party 30: Great Games Winter Fun.

The Family Party franchise is a top seller among Wii games. Like the others (we also have Outdoor Fun), Winter Fun is an up-to-4 player collection for family together time – or for the children, and their friends. Also like other Wii games, players can choose from a plethora of characters to play – in this case, including a polar bear. My kids have each played it with their friends now, and they love it. Competitive games such as ski jumping, ice canoeing, bobsled racing, and a snowball fight all get the kids up on their feet, jumping around, screaming and laughing. Getting high scores is easy at first, of course, but the more we play, the harder those high scores are to achieve (harder to win medals, too). Family Party 30: Great Games Winter Fun is rated “E” for everyone, and it allows for all skill levels.

The snowboarding, snow tubing, and animal footprint games are the favorite of the younger children who have played Winter Fun in my house, whereas the tween girls really got into the ice races, figure skating, and skiing. Everybody worked up a sweat, and the competition was friendly throughout. Even I wanted to earn a gold medal!

Sure, nothing can replace to thrill of feeling biting cold air rush by your face as you ski down a black diamond trail - or so I hear, I don’t ski – but in the meantime, these Wii games let you play in your socks and t-shirt. For those of us who live in the land of sunshine, it’s a pretty good replacement.

Wii Family Party: 30 Great Games Winter Fun retails for around $20. Thanks go to Wii for supplying my family with a free game.

The Vacation Gals love collaboration nearly as much as we love exploring the world’s great travel destinations. We’re so excited to co-host a Los Angeles bloggers’ meet-up with Uptake and our friend Kim Tracy Prince. The Huntley, a lovely, sophisticated hotel a block from the ocean in Santa Monica, is opening its doors to bloggers, travel-oriented or not, on February 28, 2010. Any Los [...] Continue Reading…

I learned about a fun family winter activity during my short stay in Lake Tahoe last week for the SATW Western Chapter meeting: Borges Sleigh Rides, which has been owned and operated by the Borges family for 42 years. Sam Borges, the patriarch of the family, started giving sleigh rides to visitors in 1968, aboard a sleigh he built himself and is still in [...] Continue Reading…

I’m a late adopter of phones-that-can-do-more-than-just-make-phone-calls, but now I can’t imagine life without my Blackberry Tour. That said, I’m thoroughly intrigued by the new Android operating system from Google, and all the associated devices on the market that use this relatively new technology.

In fact, I’ve got in my hands a DROID ERIS by HTC, currently available to Verizon Wireless customers. It’s sleek, light and [...] Continue Reading…

One of the best ways to to ruin your vacation right off the bat is screw up your airplane carry-on packing list. And there are many reasons. For one, lost luggage does occur. Losing the bag with your flip-flops, toothbrush and sunscreen can be hugely disappointing but also forgiving since you can purchase these items at your destination. But some items are irreplaceable.

Here are [...] Continue Reading…

By now, people who know me have heard of the worse vacation I’ve ever taken. It was in Puerto Rico; we stayed in a rental condo that was…well, misleadingly advertised (the general crappiness must have been photoshopped out). It rained almost every day, the crib wasn’t safe for my baby, and my toddler ended up getting DRUNK at a restaurant. That trip couldn’t end [...] Continue Reading…

Colorado friends: Don’t be surprised if you see a brightly colored, 45-foot tour bus covered with images of tropical Hawaii making its way in and out of the state February 4 to 7. It’s just The Vacation Gals’ buddies from from Marriott Resorts Hawaii on their Spirit of Aloha Tour, spreading the good word about the Hawaiian Islands on a month-long road show throughout [...] Continue Reading…

None of The Vacation Gals have been to Australia, but it’s high on our bucket list. In fact, a week in Australia and a week in New Zealand is my current fantasy travel experience. It’s not going to happen, not anytime soon, anyway…but you know what they say (with apologies to Mick Jagger): We can’t always get what we want, but we can dream.

While [...] Continue Reading…

I live in the Colorado mountains, about 30 minutes from the Aspen-Pitkin County Airport (ASE) and an hour from the Vail-Eagle County Airport (EGE), but I’ll book a flight from Eagle over Aspen any day. Here’s why I believe EGE is the best airport in Western Colorado.

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