Summer Family Fun with Redbox, Phase 4 Films and the Rainy Day S-O-S Kit

As summer is halfway over already (what??), we can already look back at the fun that we've had — everything from outdoor playtime to lazy days in the yard to cookouts to sports games and more. But as much as we've enjoyed the fresh air and sunshine, there have also been days around here filled with rain as well as those with too-hot temperatures.

What's a mom to do? Instead of having to make indoor plans elsewhere or let the kids go stir crazy here at home, it's the perfect time to join Redbox and Phase 4 Films with the Summer Family Fun campaign to keep the entire family entertained!

The Summer Family Fun campaign combines the fun of eight family-friendly DVDs at Redbox locations nationwide, including I Heart Shakey, Rockstars, Space Dogs, Smitty, Kiara the Brave, My Friend Bernard, Freddy Frogface and Donkey X.

In addition, Redbox is offering a large number of fantastic sweepstakes inspired by the films, including one of three grand-prize family vacations valued at $10,000 - $15,000! By selecting one of the Family Fun movies at Redbox locations and entering an email address at checkout, you are automatically entered into the sweepstakes (you can also enter without renting a DVD by visiting RedboxSummerFamilyFun.com).

Amazing prizes include:

• A four day West Coast Princess Cruise for four with round trip airfare (open July 9 - July 29, 2012)
• A seven day vacation for four to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida (open July 30 - August 26, 2012)

Who doesn't want to take their family on a great vacation like either of those?

Although not quite as exciting as a cruise, our family was still happy to receive a Phase 4 Rainy Day S-O-S Kit to help keep us entertained no matter what the weather.

Including all eight Summer Family Fun movie releases from Phase 4 Films, snacks, a deck of cards, a fleece blanket, and a DIY entertainment tip sheet, we were ready for all sorts of rainy day activities and movie-watching to take place.

All rated G or PG, we have enjoyed the laughter and entertainment that these Phase 4 Films have provided. From a magical kingdom to canine cosmonauts to earthworms turned singing sensations, these movies are great options for the whole family to enjoy and can be found at Redbox rental locations, Target, Walmart or on Amazon.com.

Along with the relaxation of kicking back with a movie, we had a lot of fun with the bonus items in this kit. First, we created our own "Mad Libs" (remember those from back in the day?) by taking a few of our favorite short stories, removing various nouns, adjectives and verbs and having the kids come up with new ones. You can't beat the laughter of silly words!

Using the deck of cards, we then attempted to create a Card Castle — something that I've never tried to do. While we started with quite a few mishaps that I attributed to my 3- and 5-year-old building assistants...

...I quickly found out that building with cards is extremely difficult! How in the world do people manage to create stacks of them that are multiple levels high? After quite a few tries, all we could manage to construct was an very small a castle that received a few sympathy oohs and aahs.

A classic kids' activity, we didn't need too much direction on the "Create your own Indoor Tent" before we had the fleece blanket providing the perfect roof of a furniture fort. If there are kids out there that don't enjoy building their own tent out of furniture, cushions and a sheet or blanket, I haven't met them!

These two have been so thrilled with the idea of building their structures that I have to talk them out of trying to sleep in them at night — so I foresee quite a few more Indoor Tent days in our future!

Finally, although we haven't had a chance to try it yet, I'm looking forward to our next rainy day when we can create our own crafting dough. My girls already love playing with modeling clays and doughs, so I have no doubt that they're going to have a blast mixing up their own!

Create your own Crafting Dough

Ingredient ratios

2 cups flour
2 cups hot water
3/4 cup salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3/4 cup cream of tartar
Food coloring

• Mix flour, salt and cream of tartar in a bowl. Add oil and water and knead either with the dough hook of a standing mixer (5-6 minutes) or by hand (8-10 minutes) until the dough is soft and workable.

• Make a divot in the center of the dough, add a few drops of food coloring and fold dough working coloring through (you may want to divide dough into several balls for a variety of colors).

• When you're done playing, store your craft dough in an air-tight container (if it begins to dry out, you can knead a bit of water in again to soften the dough).

When it comes to keeping the family entertained, Redbox and Phase 4 Films are the team that know how it is done. For more information and to see the official rules for the Summer Family Fun sweepstakes, visit RedboxSummerFamilyFun.com, and be sure to check out Phase 4 Films for more on these great video titles.

(Other than the Rainy Day S-O-S Kit that I was sent in conjunction with my membership to Team Mom, I was not provided with anything or enticed to do this review in any way. This review is solely my opinion of these products.)