Tiggly Shapes: Tiggly Christmas is an iPad app for children 18 months to 4 years-old. It’s learning about shapes with a holiday twist.

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Recently we, at Windy Pinwheel, posted a review about Tiggly Shapes, a spacial learning tool for the Apple iPad designed to improve motor skills, creativity and language development of toddlers between the ages of 18 months to 4 years of age. We, at Windy Pinwheel, were invited by a representative at Tiggly Shapes to try out a set of these shapes for ourselves and as luck would have it, our children are just about in the correct age range for this product so we agreed to test out the product for ourselves; 5 year-old daughter, 3 year-old son and a newborn (born December 31, 2013). “Tiggly Shapes are the first interactive iPad toys designed for toddlers. We collaborate with educators and parents to design toys and games that are developmentally appropriate for children between 18 months and 4 years old.” – Tiggly.com The shapes sell in the range of $30 – $45 at places like Amazon.com, The Apple Store, The Grommett, Grand St., and Nordstrom.

Along with providing us with a set of Tiggly Shapes, Tiggly also provided us with a code for their most recent iPad app, Tiggly Christmas.

As you can tell from the information above, my wife and I welcomed a new addition into our family on December 31, 2013 and we were preparing for her arrival. As such, we are a bit late for the 2013 Christmas season to inform you about the app prior to the holiday. However, we hope to keep you updated about this app during the 2014 holiday season when shopping for new apps to take a look at by talking about it now. For the most part, if your little ones are anything like ours, Christmas is a holiday without end. Our children will play with this app whether or not it is in December and have a great time learning with it either way.

To briefly review, there are four apps that pair with the physical Tiggly Shapes, Safari, Stamp, Draw and most recent, Christmas. Each app has vibrant colors and as you can see in the video below, a child can interact by using a specific shape to find out what animal will be revealed after matching a given shape or used to create a picture of their own creation to either save and share with friends and family (with mom and dad’s help, of course to send/save the image) or just make picture after picture using each of the four shapes.

And now about Tiggly Christmas

Tiggly Christmas is a rather enticing app taking you through a festive house duing the holidays. You are first taken over by a tree in the room and given shapes to match with your Tiggly Shapes. Each shape makes an ornament that you can move anywhere you like on the tree. Once enough ornaments are placed on the tree, you then move to a location in the room where you build a train out of your shapes. It comes together before the child’s eyes. Finally, you are able to build a shape above the fireplace mantle that ultimately becomes a picture frame. The app then gives a limited amount of time to take a picture with the iPad’s camera of your child and inputs that into the picture frame.

Finally, when the kid has taken the picture, a digital post card is created to save to your iPad Camera Roll or to share with friends and family (*with mom and dad’s help).

My first completed post card, when using the app for the first time, is below. I know, I look pretty handsome, right?

The app is great for a child in the suggested age range for using Tiggly Shapes. However, the there are some tings that could be improved with the app. First, is the forced movement throughout the app. A child always has to start at the Christmas tree and then to the train and then to the picture frame, in that order. If the child were given free reign to choose where they wanted to go first, it may make for a more dynamic in-app game play experience.

Second, letting the little one choose when the picture is taken is also something worth noting. The app counts down when the picture will happen whether or not the little one is ready for it to happen. To be able to retake the picture, the kid will have to start the app again and get through the Christmas tree, train and picture frame before they have another chance at a picture. I can see why the app developers chose to handle the picture this way, however. It is becuase young children may not know how to work the camera right away and this is there to assist them in making sure the camera takes a photo.

Overall, this app is perfect for the young developing genius in assisting them with learning about shapes. It has the potential for repeat game play for anyone 18 months-old to 4 years-old. The colors are vibrant and even though this is a holiday-specific app, I can see kids ignoring that fact and being willing to play with their Tiggly Shapes all year-round.

Other Tiggly Apps Available in the iTunes App Store

The final thing I want to note, as I did not mention it on the Tiggly Shapes review earlier is that my kids have the tendency to switch apps quickly. As such, keeping the Tiggly Shapes out may only be for a short period at a time because with so many apps, if your kids are like mine, they will tend to move on to the next app very quickly. That is not to say that they won’t return to this one or the other Tiggly Shapes apps, but make sure that you are there to clean up and store the shapes once your toddler or little one decides to move on to the another app that might not be made to interact with Tiggly Shapes.

Here is a video review about Tiggly Shapes:

Where: iTunes App Store.

What: Tiggly Shapes: Tiggly Christmas App

Need to know: Tiggly Shapes is rated for toddlers 18 months-4 year-olds. Any older and the entertainment value is “limited”. This app moves from one part of the scene to the next in a specific order. There is minimal independent game play.

Extra Extra: Tiggly has a great blog discussing a wide variety of topics related to children, the parent’s role in educating their children, and the intersection of technology and education.

Website/Contact Information: tiggly.com.

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Put a smile on a child’s face by driving to a local neighborhood to view the best places to see Christmas light displays in Reno, Nevada.

Update: How’s the year 2020 treating you? COVID-19 got you down this year? Yeah, me too. But don’t fret. Viewing lights is one of those events where you can keep the windows up, social distance and enjoy an annual festive time of the year in the safety and comfort of your vehicle.

This article was updated on December 5, 2020 to add new places we’ve found since we originally posted this some years ago and to remove some that are no longer with us.  Take a look below and you might find something new for your viewing of Christmas light displays in Reno, Nevada.  – Enjoy.

Holiday magic brings with it the opportunity to view neighborhood Christmas light displays with your children. Reno, Nevada is no different in offering many places where you can take your children to view Christmas lights. The twinkling of the reds and the blues, the yellows and the greens, the pinks and the purples, the snowmen, the stars, the snowflakes, and nativity scenes, all bring excitement and wonder to children peering through frosty and often fogged-up car windows.

Two locations in the Reno/ Sparks, Nevada area come to mind when thinking about taking our kids out to look at Christmas lights. Hidden Valley and the Lights of Tanea.

When I was a kid and through high school, I would make the annual trip out to Hidden Valley off of East McCarran Boulevard, past Rosewood Lakes Golf Course, to view the Hidden Valley Parade of Lights throughout the entire Hidden Valley neighborhood. In fact, when moving back to Reno, this memory came to mind as something that I could share with my kids and it put a smile on my face just knowing I could share a piece of my childhood with them. When we came home for Christmas last year, we took a trip out to Hidden Valley and shared with our kids many of the houses that put up Christmas light displays. However, during that visit last year, it seems as though many of the lights had disappeared from the front lawns and yards in that neighborhood. Even though there were many houses with lights, there were not as many as there once were when I was younger. In fact, the local fire department would park their truck at the entrance and hand out candy canes. No such luck last year. I can only hope that it once again becomes as big and beautiful as it once was for the sake of people like me who want to share this memory with their children. It’s a Reno tradition; at least by my standards.

A Bright Light in the Damonte Ranch Neighborhood

In the Damonte Ranch neighborhood there is a great house that spared no expense and quite honestly reminds me of the way Lights of Tanea lit up the street.  This is one house that you just can’t miss located at 10878 Pebble Hill in Reno, Nevada.

Vidette Lights

Located at 5146 Vidette Meadows Drive in Sparks Nevada Vidette Lights is a Christmas light display that is a 4 minute show that runs every 30 minutes beginning at 5:00 pm and ending at 9:30 pm. This first year features an introduction by the Griswold Family followed by Carol of the Bells (Dubstep) by Capital Kings which are played on 100.5 FM. This year the show will run from December 13th to December 31.

Annual Carson Valley Parade of Lights

Location: On Highway 395 from Eddy Street to Minden Park

Unfortunately, this event was cancelled for the year 2020 as well. Maybe we’ll get to see it once again next year in 2021.

Learn more about the annual Carson Valley Parade of Lights and view pictures from past years on their website.

Lights of Omni

Lights of Omni boasts 8 Christmas song synchronized to the illumination of 60,000 LED lights.  Listen while in your car via the radio at FM 89.9.  Located at 290 Omni Drive in Sparks, Nevada.

Lights of Tanea on YouTube

In the spirit of giving, The Lights of Tanea helps spread awareness about Multiple Sclerosis and helps the community by accepting donations from the public on their website and in person in addition to providing a unique entertainment experience.

The following charities benefit from public donations through the Lights of Tanea:

• Multiple Sclerosis Great Basin Sierra Chapter – via monetary donations
• Friends of M.S. – via clothing Items
• Evelyn Mount – via non-perishable food items

The Lights of Tanea, located in south Reno at 16180 Tanea Drive, Reno, Nevada 89511, is a light show that is synchronized to music, if you tune in on your radio to 97.7 FM. This Christmas light show boasts that it is “[t]he Biggest Little Light Show in Reno started in 2006” and “[t]he show has always added to its size… and brings new technology” to the show year after year.

Here is more coverage about where to best view Christmas lights in Reno, Nevada:

• • ActiveRain.com: Lights are Shining in Reno
  • Reno Gazette-Journal (RGJ.com): Interactive map of Reno/Sparks, Nevada homes
  • About.com: Christmas Lights Displays in Reno
  • New To Reno coverage of the best Christmas light displays in Reno, Nevada
  • Nevada Moms:The Ultimate List of Christmas Light Hotspots in Reno, Sparks, & Carson City (UPDATED 2020)
  • This is Reno: Let Virginia City’s Christmas on the Comstock brighten your 2020 (sponsored)

These are only a few of the locations we want to share with our children this year. What are some other locations that are great for viewing Christmas lights in the Reno/Sparks, Incline Village, Lake Tahoe, Carson City, Fernley, Fallon, Nevada area? We’d love to hear your thoughts. Maybe, by this time next year we can be a resource for all things Northern Nevada when it comes to finding out about where to see the best Christmas light shows in the area. We need your help to cover this vast area. Where are the best Christmas light displays near you?

Finally, do you have lights up at your house? Please stop by our Facebook Fan Page and share a picture of with us. Nothing gets us in the mood more than seeing Christmas light displays and the spirit of us joining in a community of togetherness. Isn’t that what the season is all about?

Happy Holidays

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A Reno Christmas tree lot with great customer service and an abundance of holiday spirit.

It was the day after Thanksgiving and after a whirlwind of a trip to see family in California, it was time to start decorating for my favorite time of year, Christmas. Luckily, my mom bestowed upon me roughly five or six huge boxes of Christmas decorations she no longer needed, but after all of the decorations were up we were still short one very important piece of Christmas cheer; the tree.

Last year was the first year my husband and I had ever put up a real tree. We did it because our usual artificial tree was still stuck overseas (in fact, that same tree is still in storage overseas), and rather than buy another, we decided to go au naturale with decor and opted for the real thing. At the time, we were living in Arlington, VA, so we packed up my son and traveled to the Christmas tree farms on the outskirts of the Shenandoah Valley and hunted for a little tree to cut down and bring home. We found a relatively small 5’5″ tree and after some obligatory photos, went to work with a handsaw. That tiny trunk must has been infused with titanium as it took my husband, who is no slouch, at least 15 minutes to saw through it. I gave it a go and literally couldn’t budge the saw. After that fiasco, we decided precut was the way to go. Sorry Clark Griswold but you can have your wilderness adventure; we’re going to a Reno Christmas tree lot this year.

Reno offers a decent selection of pre-cut Christmas trees; the key is to know where to go. Of course, you have your usual fare of grocery and hardware stores (even Costco was offering some pretty attractive Noble firs), but buying here can sometimes be a bit of a gamble, mainly because you don’t know how long ago the tree was cut (and how quickly it can dry out and die). The dry Nevada climate can wreak havoc on the life of your tree. Armed with that knowledge, I wanted to find a tree lot that cut the trees themselves and knew more about them other than their place of origin. We saw a few lots and almost stopped at one, but the trees looked rather sad. So we serendipitously continued to the corner of Virginia Street and Kietzke Lane, were we found Noble Christmas Trees.

At first glance, the lot didn’t look too fancy. The guys were just unloading a new crop of trees as we came the first day they were open. However, with trees as beautiful as the ones at this location, a fancy store front was unnecessary. The trees were lush, full, and the needles were supple to the touch, a good sign for prospective buyers – never buy a tree that has needles that break in half in your hands!. Most importantly, for us, they had a huge variety of sizes. We have a large space for the tree with 25′ ceilings, so I needed one that wasn’t dwarfed in my living room. I found my beauty, a 10.5′ Noble Fir, that was trimmed during its life cycle to be as full and classically pine-shapped as possible. I also learned that all trees from Noble Christmas Trees are high altitude trees, grown in Oregon so they hold up and last longer in the dry Nevada climate. My tree, in particular, was roughly 12 years-old and cut about 1 ½ weeks ago. It was $100 and, if I liked, for an extra $20, they could deliver it directly to my house and assist with set up. Um, heck yeah!

My tree was delivered that night and true to their word, Noble Christmas Trees helped set it up in my stand, cutting away parts to make sure it stood straight.

They also fresh cut the tree. This means they cut about ¼ inch off the base. When the trees are cut down, they seal the base to help prevent water leakage. Also, it just rained the night before their crop was cut for harvest, so this one was loaded with water to ensure it’s holiday season survival.

Tip: You want to make sure you cut off this sealed section of trunk before you place your tree in the stand or else it will not soak water properly and will dry out.

My tree is now over a week old and looks amazing. I have vacuumed around it once to pick up the minuscule amount of needles on the ground. I am extraordinarily happy we went with Noble Christmas Trees here in Reno, Nevada. My husband and I were planning on buying a large artificial tree next year for the living room, but Noble Christmas Trees may have just turned us into real tree lifers. Fortunately, we can order in advance to get that 15′ tree my husband wants next year. I just hope the Noble Christmas Trees staff will be there to help set up when it happens!