Leave the wintry weather outside and bring a burst of color to your front door with this gorgeous doormat by gardening gurus Smith & Hawken. The deep red coir rug is hand-woven and embellished with a filigree pattern reminiscent of wrought iron.

$19.99 at Target.

28We were at a gift store this weekend and my five year-old daughter spent about 20 minutes playing with this Buddha Board. You dip the brush in water, paint on the board, and in a few minutes it dries and you can start all over. Minimal mess, maximum fun.

$34.95 at PlanetHappyKids.com

Now through Valentine’s Day, surf on over to the Scholastic Store Online and you can save big; coupon code AFFVDAY will give you an additional 20% off and free shipping on your $25+ order.

Scholastic is best known for books, of course, but they also have educational kits, toys, DVDs, and more. And if you check out the Sale section there’s plenty of cheap ways to fill up your gift closet so you’ll never have to do a frantic shopping the night before a birthday party again.

And I don’t know about you, but I don’t need too much encouragement to buy books for my kids. Savings like this are just a little added bonus.

To make sure I drink enough water I keep a large water bottle at my desk all day and refill it after it gets empty. A friend brought in this KOR bottle and let me tell you, it looks and feels a lot more fun than my boring water bottle and as an added bonus is BPA-free.

$29.75 at Delight.com

School vacation or spring break will be here before you know it, but fun in the sun can be marred by waterlogged electronics. WaterSeals are 100-percent waterproof pouches that protect your iPod, camera, or other gadgets from splashes and rain; an adjustable strap lets you wear it around your neck or around your wrist. Once sealed, they even protect your gear while underwater — and you can even take pictures through the pouch!

$9.85 at Magellan’s.

The Pocket Referee seems like a product for kids, but really, it’s for moms, too, because it’s a real sanity saver. It takes the idea of flipping a coin to make a choice and brings it to the next level: Helping kids solve their own disputes. Flip the solid-metal coin to decide who gets to hold on to it first; when a conflict comes up (and they’re kids, so a conflict will come up), the person holding the coin gets to have his or her way and pass the coin to the other person, or keep the coin and let the other person have his or her way instead.

$12.95 at Amazon.com.

I bought several of these bowls recently (some in red, some in orange) and they’ve become one of the most used type of dishes in our kitchen. Sure, they are called Latte Bowls, but we use them for cereal, soup, salad, and yes, once for a huge latte I really needed to take the edge off an annoying day.

$5 each at Anthropologie.com

Cold and flu season is well upon us, and that means you’ll want to make sure you’re stocked up on vitamins and other supplements to ward off the germs. The best bang for your buck is going to be the vast selection over at Puritan’s Pride, where right now you can buy 1, get 1 free or buy 2 and get 3 free.

Their prices are very reasonable to begin with, and stocking up when they have one of these sales is the best way to make sure you never run out of supplies or cash!

My daughter loves to play board games. Games of any kind, really. It’s one of the ways that I find we can spend really awesome and focused and fun time together during the hectic days. Twenty minutes of games after dinner and I think we both feel awesome. (She does manage to win most of the time, but that’s a whole other story.)

Spanish Bingo is fun to play and has an added benefit of teaching kids a few words in Spanish. My daughter is totally into it. (She is five.)

$14.99 at Amazon.com

My parents and my in-laws have recently come to embrace Skype and the idea that, sometimes, the shortest route between them and their grandkids is via the Internet and free video conferencing. The Morcosoft LifeCam VX-3000 is a simple, easy-to-setup webcam that sets up in a flash, has its own built-in microphone, and a resolution high enough for Grammy to see the baby’s first teeth as she’s cutting it. Practically.

$39.99 at Best Buy.