From Old School NES To The Brand New Nintendo 2DS (Plus A Nintendo Giveaway!)

It was Christmas Day, many, many year ago, when my sister and I received our very first NES. (Thank you, Santa mom and dad!) Remember this? Of course you do! (And if you don't, clearly you're too young!)

The NES started my love affair with Nintendo, and that Christmas Day, I'm not sure my sister and I did anything other than play Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt. All. Day. Long. 

I'm admitting this to you here, because I'm honest—I never actually completed the original Super Mario Bros. all the way through, and 8-4 is still impossibly hard to finish. (Just don't tell my kids; I'll lose all my gaming credibility!) I spent many, many hours playing these two games, and then Gameboy came along and I got lost in a Tetris world.

Now? I've got two new Nintendo lovers in my house—my two boys, who are almost seven and nine years old. Yup, they have a love for Nintendo that's larger than life, and they love to play everything from Animal Crossing to Super Mario Bros., and Mario Kart on the Wii U.

My youngest son has been Mario for Halloween a few times, and his favourite character ever is Bowser. He's even invented a "Bowser" language when he plays with his Mario figures. Seriously, it's the cutest thing.

My boys love their 3DS, too, and I love it because when we're travelling (road trips or long plane rides) it keeps them busy and I know they're having fun.

I've got a great surprise for my boys, too... thanks to Nintendo of Canada, I've got a brand new Nintendo 2DS for them... and the new Super Smash Bros. game for the Nintendo 3DS! (Which also works in the 2DS.) They'll be testing this out soon and I'll let you know how much they love it.

The beauty of the Nintendo 2DS is that it's an "entry-level" handheld gaming system that's made for kids who are younger because it's kid-friendly and easier for little, cute hands to hold.

It's also much harder to break, so that's a total bonus, especially in my house, especially when my son is acting like he's actually Bowser!

Here's another great feature of the Nintendo 2DS: it plays both Nintendo DS and 3DS games in 2D, so there's no need to worry about young eyes being affected by the 3D, and it's backward compatible with games you already own. Pretty sweet!

Even sweeter, still? Thanks to my friends at Nintendo of Canada, I'm giving away a brand new Nintendo 2DS AND a copy of Super Smash Bros. 

Perfect gift for the kids with the holidays right around the corner, right?

Giveaway is open to Canadian residents, and the winner will be picked randomly and notified via email. Thank you, everyone!