Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: 50 Years and Still Glowing #Rudolph50

This post is written by the Experimental Mommy and brought to you by Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group. All opinions remain 100% honest.

There really is no feeling in the World like the Christmas Spirit.  While it is important to us educate our girls about the true meaning of the holiday and lead by example, the traditions of the Season add to the excitement. Decorating, caroling and sitting my the fire with hot chocolate are a few of my family’s favorites.

But for every year as long as I can remember, we have gone to my Aunt’s home on Christmas Eve to celebrate surrounded by family and friends.  About half way through the party, we always hear a knock at the door and Santa arrives to hand out gifts for everyone young and old alike.  On the ride home, we would have to cross the Mississippi River and pass through downtown New Orleans.  My parents always told us to look in the sky and try to spot Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.  As you can imagine, driving through a City provided many opportunities for us to debate whether the flashing red light is a skyscraper or indeed Rudolph.

Now that I have kids of my own, we still attend my Aunt’s Christmas Eve party and I have passed down the tradition of trying to spot Rudolph on the ride home.  Can you believe that 2014 marks the 50th anniversary of the first broadcast of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” making it the longest-running and highest rated holiday TV special of all time?

To celebrate the anniversary, there will be a major tie-in with the U.S. Postal Service, tribute promos from CBS, a collector’s edition DVD with new bonus material, a new stage musical, theme park and in-mall entertainment and of course a social media campaign using #ShineBright which will celebrate uniqueness in association with PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center.

Throughout the holiday season, I substitute our usual bedtime stories with seasonal classics.  In honor of the 50th anniversary, I am excited to have 6 new Rudolph-themed books from Square Fish, an imprint of the Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group.  The new books encompass several different formats including a novel, a classic storybook, a picture book, a slide-and-find, a “My Reader” and our favorite, the lift-the-flap board books. There is something for every level of reader to enjoy including the following titles:

• Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Classic Story (Deluxe 50^th Anniversary Edition for ages 4-8)
• Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: Slide and Find (Board Book for ages 2-4)
• Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: Life-the-Flap (Board Book for ages 2-4)
• Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: Rudolph Saves the Day (Paperback picture book for ages 3-7)
• Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: My Reader (Level 2 Paperback Reader for ages 5-7)
• Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Island of Misfit Toys (Middle-Grade Graphic Novel for ages 7-12)

If you are ready to start a new tradition in your home, enter below for a chance to win all 6 of the Rudolph books mentioned above!

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