Merry Christmas Eve dear readers! I can’t help feeling giddy when I think about the crazy festival of happy giggling that explodes in my house every year on Christmas Day. I know that we are a fortunate family and that there will be others this evening and tomorrow morning that won’t experience the same explosion of magic that my children will. Thanks to an amazing donation from the makers of Zhu Zhu Pets my children and I know that there will be at least 104 smiles on the faces of children in need this Christmas Day.

I am grateful to Cepia, LLC for including me in their “Random Act of Zhu” holiday toy campaign. They sent me 104 Zhu Zhu Pets and Kung Zhu Hamsters to distribute to local children in need. You may remember my first “random act”, it was so rewarding that I’ve literally been floating from the experience and I intend to become more involved with Denver Safe House in the future.

100 bloggers X 100 Zhu Zhus = 10,000 smiles!

The site of my 2nd Random Act of Zhu has special meaning for me because when my children were younger we were part of a playgroup and every holiday we would donate gifts to the Ronald McDonald House Denver. I remember the first year that we donated we took all of the kids to pick out gifts and then when we delivered them a very kind woman in reception took us on a tour of the facility. Our kids were too young to truly understand what their gifts would mean to the families spending Christmas away from home but to this day I remember the tour and the conversations we all had.

The Ronald McDonald House’s main focus is providing comfortable, low-cost housing to out-of-town mothers and fathers needing to be near their hospitalized children. Many children from rural parts of Colorado come to Denver for treatment and the Ronald McDonald House makes it possible for these families to be near their children during what can be a frightening time in a child’s life. The Zhu Zhu Pets that we brought to the house this week will bring smiles to the children who receive them and joy to the hearts of the parents who are able to celebrate the holiday with their children.

The Ronald McDonald House Denver facility is a 35,000 square foot residence with 31 bedrooms with private baths, and includes 2 kitchens, a laundry, 5 TV lounges, dens, and indoor/outdoor play areas. When we visited yesterday the house was decorated for the holidays and favorite childhood characters lurked in every corner….

Merry Christmas Eve dear readers! I can’t help feeling giddy when I think about the crazy festival of happy giggling that explodes in my house every year on Christmas Day. I know that we are a fortunate family and that there will be others this evening and tomorrow morning that won’t experience the same explosion of magic that my children will. Thanks to an amazing donation from the makers of Zhu Zhu Pets my children and I know that there will be at least 104 smiles on the faces of children in need this Christmas Day.

I am grateful to Cepia, LLC for including me in their “Random Act of Zhu” holiday toy campaign. They sent me 104 Zhu Zhu Pets and Kung Zhu Hamsters to distribute to local children in need. You may remember my first “random act”, it was so rewarding that I’ve literally been floating from the experience and I intend to become more involved with Denver Safe House in the future.

100 bloggers X 100 Zhu Zhus = 10,000 smiles!

The site of my 2nd Random Act of Zhu has special meaning for me because when my children were younger we were part of a playgroup and every holiday we would donate gifts to the Ronald McDonald House Denver. I remember the first year that we donated we took all of the kids to pick out gifts and then when we delivered them a very kind woman in reception took us on a tour of the facility. Our kids were too young to truly understand what their gifts would mean to the families spending Christmas away from home but to this day I remember the tour and the conversations we all had.

The Ronald McDonald House’s main focus is providing comfortable, low-cost housing to out-of-town mothers and fathers needing to be near their hospitalized children. Many children from rural parts of Colorado come to Denver for treatment and the Ronald McDonald House makes it possible for these families to be near their children during what can be a frightening time in a child’s life. The Zhu Zhu Pets that we brought to the house this week will bring smiles to the children who receive them and joy to the hearts of the parents who are able to celebrate the holiday with their children.

The Ronald McDonald House Denver facility is a 35,000 square foot residence with 31 bedrooms with private baths, and includes 2 kitchens, a laundry, 5 TV lounges, dens, and indoor/outdoor play areas. When we visited yesterday the house was decorated for the holidays and favorite childhood characters lurked in every corner….

Tis’ the season and thanks to Cepia, LLC , the makers of Zhu Zhu Pets and Kung Zhu Hamsters I am having tons of fun spreading the cheer! Last holiday season “Random Acts of Zhu” was established as a way to provide toys to children in need. This year they are at it again, just imagine:

100 bloggers X 100 Zhu Zhus = 10,000 smiles!

I was thrilled when they asked me to participate but when the doorbell rang and actually saw all of the boxes, I could barely contain my excitement!

My kids love Zhu Zhu’s and the thought of putting a smile on the face of a child who might not otherwise have much to smile about this holiday-well, it makes me giddy!

I chose SafeHouse Denver for my first Random Act of Zhu (RAZ). SafeHouse Denver operates the only shelter in the City and County of Denver that exclusively serves victims of domestic violence. SafeHouse also runs a non-residential Counseling & Advocacy Center where they provide non-emergency support services for women and children experiencing domestic violence.

SafeHouse Denver assists women, children, and youth in reclaiming their right to a life free from domestic violence.

I enjoy meeting the fantastic group of women that make things happen at SafeHouse Denver. They had never seen a Zhu Zhu pet before and they were giggling with delight because each child would wake up to one of these furry friends… and they’d be running all over the house!

Bloggers are well positioned to make an impact on the local level, and when companies like Cepia, LLC reach out to us big smiles happen. For safety and confidentiality reasons I won’t get to see the smiles on the faces of these particular children, but the smiles on the faces of the women I handed the little critters over to made feel great!

My next “RAZ” will shower Zhu Zhu’s on the Ronald McDonald House of Denver. I’m also trying to coordinate another RAZ for early next week with my kidlets in tow – I’m like a regular Blonde Santa Claus … stay tuned for pictures!

Fresh Ingredients + Child’s Creativity and Imagination = Ten Awesome Burgers!

This morning, I was honored to serve as a judge for the 5th Annual Red Robin Kids’ Cook-Off. The panel of judges included actress Anna Sophia Robb (17-year-old star of upcoming film “Soul Surfer” with Dennis Quaid and Helen Hunt), Tom Giesen (executive producer of the Food Network’s Unwrapped)  my new BFF the fabulously effervescent Nancy McBride (National Safety Director for National Center for Missing and Exploited Children), Eric Houseman, President and COO, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, and fun Frances Hill (THANK YOU for the tips on what water does to burger buns in your belly).

The finalists were chosen from thousands of entries around the country. Each contestant “built” and then presented their gourmet creations for judging. This was hard! We tasted every burger and had to judge on things like creativity, presentation, taste…. and they were all quite amazing!

The winning Burgermeister was the charming 12-year-old Donovan Duggins from Wichita, Kansas. His “Mt. Vesuvius Burger” will be sold in all U.S. Red Robin® restaurants in summer 2011. Donovan’s “Lava Sauce” (made from sweet BBQ sauce, hot sauce, garlic powder and paprika) was the perfect combination of “sweet, with a kick”. The sauce,crumbled blue cheese, bacon, and provolone cheese, topped a beef patty and was served on a sesame seed bun. This burger was tasty and creative, with a name (chosen because Donovan loves geography… hello, little lesson in a burger!) that will likely have had the marketing team jumping out of their seats ready to get the “Lava” flowing tomorrow. Oh, what I would do to be part of that!

Next summer, when you order the “Mt. Vesuvius Burger” at all Red Robin restaurants, 50 cents of your purchase will support the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s (NCMEC) child safety efforts. To date Red Robin has raised $400,000 in partnership with NCMEC , and 50% of that figure is attributed specifically to the the annual kid’s cook-off. I love that this competition gave kids an opportunity to be creative, to hone their presentations kills, and benefits an amazing organization at the same time.

The top 10 kid finalists were:

• Zack Caison, Amarillo, TX: “Jalapeno Blue Ranch Bacon Burger”
• Gavin Belliveau, Kingston, MA: “The Meatball Burger”
• Malia Grant, Fresno, CA: “Tropical Hawaiian Turkey Burger”
• Isabel Honzay, Chandler, AZ: “Southwest Cobb Burger”
• Megan Casteel, Mesa, AZ: “Gorgonzola Goodness Burger”
• Emily Whitaker, Tualatin, OR: “The Bacon Dill Delight Burger”
• Angela Feltz, Portland, OR: “The Bangin’ Spicy Chicken Artichoke Burger”
• Dominic Staiti, Citrus Heights, CA: “Jalapeno Cornbread Chili Burger”
• Jake Tucker, Chesterfield, MO: “Campfire Burger”
• Donovan Duggins, Wichita, KS: “The Mt. Vesuvius Burger”

I was really impressed by Red Robin’s embrace of social media in this event. I love that they engaged blogger/social media correspondents in each of the finalists’ cities and streamed a live webcast of the entire competition. The tweets, dm’s, messages, questions and comments that came my way this morning were fun and a very cool example of how powerful word of mouth is.

Are you a burger lover? What are your favorite ingredients?

I am preparing my palette and elastic waist band pants for The 5th Annual Red Robin Kids’ Cook-Off Championship tomorrow, Thursday, December 9th. I’ll be joining other Red Robin judges and Colorado-based culinary experts on the judging panel for this year’s contest.  Yes, I, The Bantering Blonde, am a culinary expert of epic proportions… well, an expert in Burger consumption anyway!

10 kid chefs from across the country will compete in the fifth annual Red Robin Kids’ Cook-Off in hopes of having their burger creation named the next grand-prize winner. As part of the competition, all 10 kids will make their burgers for a panel of VIP judges and culinary experts. The winning gourmet burger will be sold in Red Robin® restaurants in summer 2011 to benefit the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children® (NCMEC) and featured in a free cookbook available online at www.redrobin.com.

To support the young chefs, Red Robin is featuring the 10 finalists on its website, www.redrobinkidscookoff.com, for fans to view, share with others and vote for their favorite kid-invented gourmet burger.  The kid chef with the most online votes will be named “Fan Favorite” at the Championship event.

By tuning in, you’ll have the opportunity to watch these 10 kid chefs prepare their gourmet burgers in an exciting ‘Iron Chef’-like competition, and see the grand-prize winner and Fan Favorite announced live!

About Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc. (NASDAQ: RRGB)

Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc. (www.redrobin.com), a casual dining restaurant chain founded in 1969 that operates through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Red Robin International, Inc., has been serving up wholesome, fun dining experiences in a family-friendly environment for more than 40 years.  Red Robin, the “Smiling Burger®” expert, is famous for serving more than two dozen high-quality, Honest to Goodness® gourmet burgers in a variety of recipes with Bottomless Steak Fries®, as well as salads, soups, appetizers, entrees and signature Bottomless Beverages™.  There are more than 430 Red Robin® restaurants located across the United States and Canada, including corporate-owned locations and those operating under franchise agreements. Red Robin… YUMMM™!

Minimum Requirements to listen to broadcast:

The Windows Media Player software, downloadable free from http://www.microsoft.com and at least a 56Kbps connection to the Internet.

If you experience problems listening to the webcast, send an E-mail to: webcast@multivu.com.

It was a lovely night on Main Street in Littleton, Colorado tonight – the tree lined streets have been transformed into a twinkly holiday wonderland!

We attended the Children’s Theatre performance of Seussical Jr. at the Town Hall Arts Center. This fun 60 minute production showcases the talents of several local children, teens and adults.  It’s the perfect length program for kids and the fast pace of events on stage kept my kids engaged and smiling throughout the whole performance.

Dr. Seuss fans will love following the adventures of Horton the Elephant as he searches for the lost “Who Clover” and protects/incubates an abandoned egg. Cast member Jona Alonza delivers the most animated and endearing performance of the evening in her role as the very silly, one-feather-tailed bird, Gertrude McFuzz.

The journey from the “Jungle of Nool” to “McEligott’s Pool” highlights Dr. Seuss character favorites such as The Cat in the Hat, Yertl the Turtle, and the imaginative boy Jojo. The colorful set and creatively adapted costume design was everything you would expect from a Seuss inspired production. This was a fun and kid-tastic outing that had us singing and quoting Dr. Seuss silliness all the way home. YOPP!

Thank you to the Town Hall Arts Center for inviting our family to review this performance, we truly enjoyed it!

Remaining Performances:

December 13, 20 & 21 – 7:00 p.m.

December 20, 21, & 22 – 10:00 a.m.

Location: Town Hall Arts Center, 2450 West Main Street, Littleton, CO 80120.

Cost: Adult: $15.00; Child: $10.00