Splitsville: a great place for a bowling birthday party with nothing to spare!

If you are looking for a fun place to have a kids birthday party then look no further than Splitsville at Patriot Place. They have two different packages available where you can rent two or three lanes depending on the size of the party, and the party package comes with pizza, chicken tenders, and all you can drink soft-drinks (soda, lemonade and iced tea). The nice part about the party package is that you just have to show up a little bit early, and hand off the cake to your server who will handle everything. Our server was a very nice woman named Emily who ensured that everything went off perfectly.

A lot of people were invited and we ended up having the larger party, so there were 8 kids per lane and we took up three lanes easily. It was easy to get the shoe rentals and they had the balls right at the lanes. We had to look around for the smaller sized balls for the younger kids, and Emily was a great help. We made sure to use the gutter blockers and they even had a special contraption for the youngest kids to roll the ball down a ramp so they didn’t have to throw it with momentum. If you’re looking to keep score, and even if you’re not, you need to set up the computer so that you can play. We found that you needed an adult should be present to enter it in and having multiple tech-savvy adults made it a lot easier. If you need assistance the staff is easily accessible and very helpful. Our waitress was great because she brought everything perfectly timed and even helped us round up all of the presents after the meal was over.

The tables with booths are set up right near the lanes so that you can eat while bowling and there are other round tables behind the lanes that adults can sit at to watch the kids bowl. What was nice was that you could start bowling and then have the food come out whenever you want. We chose to have it arrive half-way through the party. My wife ensured that the kids had many activities to keep them busy if some weren’t interested in bowling. The best activity enjoyed by all was a little game of birthday-kid-trivia which were some cute questions about the birthday kid’s favorite items that some classmates might know and some friends would know other answers. The one with the most answers won! We also brought some coloring sheets along just in case some kids didn’t want to bowl.

A few things to note, there is an additional gratuity fee ($20 per lane, or 21% of the food & beverage bill, whichever is greater, at the time of this post) since your server is dedicated to your lanes and party. They will help serve the food that is pre-ordered & included in your package or help you order more food from the lane-side menu-if need be! The server will also help serve drinks, for kids & parents. They have all the utensils for the cake and do not charge an additional cake cutting fee! They also have serving utensils, forks, knives, plates & napkins. There are balloon decorations, but you can bring in any other items or goodie bags if you'd like.  One last thing, you also have to sign a contract to save the party date/time and they ask to have a credit card on file that will be charged in full the day of the event.

We highly recommend Splitsville for your kid’s birthday party. A great time was had by all!

NOTE: We were provided with the party package in exchange for writing this review. All opinions, as always, are our own. No other compensation was provided.

What I'm Thankful For

As the holiday season rolls around, I'm mindful of how good my situation is: I have a wonderful, loving wife, two great kids, parents, in-laws, and an extended family that is just amazing. I have a job I enjoy and great colleagues to work with. Our town is a wonderfully diverse community that is full of some really great people. We have friends that are like family and family that are like friends. Through my 40 years of living, I've learned that life is like the tides of the ocean, it ebbs and flows, things go up and things go down. I need to remind myself that when things are going well for me, to enjoy and cherish those moments because they can change at any given point.

So, I wanted to take the time to thank everyone in my life, including you, my readers, because without you, I wouldn't be able to offer some fun opportunities and givewaays. I'm also thankful for the brands and various partners I have met through this journey - it has been quite a fun time!

Stay tuned for 2020,  I have some great things lined up and can't wait to share them with you all!

Best wishes for a happy and healthy holiday season.

Looking for a new electric razor? The Lawn Mower 3.0 by Manscaped is a great option!

Looking for a new electric razor for the holidays? The Lawn Mower 3.0 by Manscaped is a great new option that offers a great trim without any cuts as long as you're careful. This new version comes with an LED light embedded in the razor so you can see where you're trimming if the lighting isn't so great. They also have a ceramic blade that operates at 7,000 RPM so that it offers a close trim with the blades running at just the right speed so you minimize the risk of a nick or a cut. They also partner with the Testicular Cancer Society to educate and help spread the message about early detection and self-screening to protect against men’s health issues and cancer risk.

NOTE: I was provided with a razor to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own and no other compensation was provided.

RENT the musical 20th anniversary tour is in Boston through 11/10

RENT, the musical's 20th anniversary tour is in Boston through 11/10 at the Shubert Theater. This weekend, I had the chance to check it out and it was quite moving! One thing I learned is that the first national tour of RENT began in the same spot - Boston's Shubert Theater - back in 1996. One thing to note, it was quite loud (measuring over 100 decibels at the beginning of the show), so if you're sensitive to loud noises, you may want to just be prepared!

In case you're unfamiliar with the show, here's the summary according to the press release:

In 1996, an original rock musical by a little-known composer opened on Broadway… and forever changed the landscape of American theatre. Two decades later, Jonathan Larson’s RENT continues to speak loudly and defiantly to audiences across generations and all over the world. And now, this Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award®-winning masterpiece returns to the stage in a vibrant 20th anniversary touring production. A re-imagining of Puccini’s La Bohème, RENT follows an unforgettable year in the lives of seven artists struggling to follow their dreams without selling out. With its inspiring message of joy and hope in the face of fear, this timeless celebration of friendship and creativity reminds us to measure our lives with the only thing that truly matters—love.

Here are some photos I took of the beautiful Shubert Theater, a restored 1500+ seat theatre; and considered Boston Theater District's "Little Princess".

NOTE: We were provided with tickets to facilitate this review. No other compensation was provided and all opinions, as always, are our own!

Fun and playful Spongebob the Musical at the Boch Center Wang Theater

We had the opportunity to see Spongebob the Musical at the Boch Center Wang Theater in Boston. The kids enjoy watching the Spongebob show on Nickelodeon at home, so it was an easy task convincing them to go to a musical featuring one of their favorite characters.

I was impressed with how the TV show transferred to the theatrical stage somewhat easily. The costumes were vibrant and colorful and the songs were upbeat and lively. We enjoyed the original score and lyrics that were created for the musical by many popular bands and songwriters.

Some of the things that made us laugh were the rap with Sheldon and Spongebob, the line "As serious as a guacamole shortage at a taco party" and where Patrick gives advice to sardines that worshiped him that "life is weird" and he says "Finally someone understands the machinations of my mind are an enigma".

The costumes were as fun as the scenes on stage and it was nice to see technology infused on stage. I also had the chance to walk around during intermission and enjoyed seeing that the tech folks even got into the act by setting up some LED-neon lights around the light board.

Our two favorite songs were the bikini bottom song and the best friends forever song. If you're a fan of the show, we highly recommend that you make plans to see Spongebob the Musical while it's here in Boston through the end of the weekend!

  

 

 

NOTE: We were provided with tickets to see the show in order to facilitate this review, and also provided with tickets for a giveaway that we hosted earlier. No other compensation was provided and all opinions (as always) are our own.

Apple picking in Massachusetts at Stowe Farm

It was a beautiful weekend and we decided to pick apples at a local farm in Millbury, Massachusetts called Stowe Farm. Admittedly, we went quite late in the season and most varieties of apples (Gala, Honey Crisp, etc.) had already been picked through, so we checked out their "specialty" orchard which included a quick hay-ride trip and we picked some varieties we hadn't heard of - Candy Crisp, Ida Red and Jonagolds. They were quite delicious! We decided to check out some other attractions that they had in addition to picking apples like a petting zoo, "Moo-Choo Train" and a playground. All of the attractions required a $3 entry fee per person along with rides costing a variety of tokens. They were a lot of fun and everyone had a great time!

NOTE: We were provided with the experience in exchange for this review. No other compensation was provided and all opinions are our own.

Spongebob the Musical is coming to Boston and you can win a 4-pack of tickets!

Do you or your little ones enjoy watching Spongebob? If so, now there's a musical starring him and his friends! It's coming to the Boch Wang Theater this month and you can win a 4-pack of tickets by entering through the rafflecopter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
Here's more information from the press release:

About The SpongeBob Musical
A legendary roster of Grammy® Award winners. A visionary director and a Tony Award®-winning design team. One of the world's most beloved characters. Turn them loose on stage and what do you get? The bold, original musical The New York Times declares, "BRILLIANT!"
"Wonders pour from the stage in a ravishing stream of color and invention" (Time Out New York) as Broadway's best creative minds reimagine and bring to life the beloved Nickelodeon series with humor, heart and pure theatricality in a neon-sparkly "party for the eyes and ears" (Daily Beast). Be there when SpongeBob and all of Bikini Bottom face catastrophe—until a most unexpected hero rises to take center stage. This "creative explosion" (Broadway.com) is "nothing short of genius" says Theatermania, so bring the entire family to celebrate friendship and cooperation, and learn the power of unity and inclusion.

Get ready to enjoy the "Broadway Extravaganza" (The New Yorker) that New York Magazine calls "effervescent candy-for-the-spirit." Explore the depths of theatrical innovation in THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL, 2018 Best Musical winner of the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards, where the power of optimism really can save the world.

Credits
Lorenzo Pugliese as SpongeBob SquarePants, Beau Bradshaw as Patrick Star, and Daria Pilar Redus as Sandy Cheeks, with Christopher Cody Cooley as Squidward Q. Tentacles, Zach Kononov as Mr. Krabs, and Tristan McIntyre as Sheldon Plankton.
Rounding out the company are Joshua Bess, Morgan Blanchard, John Cardenas, Natalie L. Chapman, Richie Dupkin, Teddy Gales, Stephen C. Kallas, Méami Maszewski, Stefan Miller, Mary Nickson, Dorian O'Brien, Caitlin Ort, Elle-May Patterson, Helen Regula, Sydney Simone, Ayana Strutz, Miles Davis Tillman, and Rico Velazquez.

Directed and conceived by Tina Landau, the musical features a book by Kyle Jarrow and a score from orchestrator Tom Kitt and a variety of pop artists: Yolanda Adams, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Sara Bareilles, Jonathan Coulton, Alex Ebert of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, The Flaming Lips, Lady Antebellum, Cyndi Lauper and Rob Hyman, John Legend, Panic! At the Disco, Plain White T’s, They Might Be Giants, T.I., Domani and Lil’C, and songs by David Bowie and Brian Eno, and by Tom Kenny and Andy Paley.

NOTE: I was provided with tickets for the show as well as tickets to give away in this contest. No other compensation was provided.