My kids are too old, but I really miss having little ones around when I come across sweeps like this one. It is only open to kids between the ages of 6 and 13 and they are giving away 10 trips for a winner and up to 10 guests to the winner’s choice of 3 destinations, Georgia Aquarium in GA, Kennedy Space Center in FL or San Diego Zoo in CA.

What a trip that would be and because it can only be entered by a very limited age group your chances of winning are much better than they would be with most on line sweepstakes and instant win games.  Anytime you see a sweepstakes or contest limited to a specific age group, gender, occupation or area of the country and you fit the qualifications to enter…go for it! Contests for kids are among the best ones you will find!

To find the Lunchables Instant Win Game on the SweepsU.com Sweepstakes and Contest list, do a Custom Search by typing lunch in the Contest Name field. To find other sweepstakes and contests for kids select “by Eligibility” and click on “Children” or “Teenagers” or “Young Adults”.

Take care and win BIG!

Gwen Beauchamp

My youngest daughter, Joy, has started sweeping! Hallelujah!!! It only took a lifetime of watching Mom & Dad consistently enter and win prizes to get her going. In her defense I will say that she has won more than her share of trips, experiences and luxury items without doing a thing. Let's face it, if you can win without entering...why not? Relatives of sweepers are the luckiest people you will ever meet. Unfortunately for the rest of us, if you want to win something you have got to get busy. But where do you start? Which sweeps will bring you the fastest payback?

LOCALS! I repeat...L-O-C-A-L-S! Any sweepstakes that is open to only a small geographic area ups your odds significantly. How do you find them? TV, radio, newspapers, open your eyes and ears, they are all around you just waiting to be entered. If you live in or near a large city you have tons of them. The best way to find the most is to join a sweepstakes club where the members keep each other informed. If there is not one in your area, try starting one. Two people searching doubles your chances of finding!

Be willing to learn new skills! The internet has changed the world of sweepstaking forever. There are more sweepstakes than we ever thought possible popping up daily on the world wide web. Years ago I told people that there were more than 400 sweeps to enter on any given day. That number is now closer to 4,000...probably more! Internet websites offer sweepstakes, contests and instant win games, but even those are becoming harder to win because there are so many people sweeping and these are fast and simple to enter. Look for the promotions that are more difficult to enter. Twitter is full of giveaways and it is still new enough that many people have not learned to use it. If you master it before the majority of the people, you have a big advantage. To learn to use Twitter, do a Google search (or other search engine) for "Twitter how to". You'll find dozens of articles to help you learn everything you need to know.

The internet now hosts thousands of Blogs on every subject imaginable. Almost all of them offer a prize or two now and then and many have giveaways on a regular basis. The prizes are usually smaller, but they get fewer entries than the big sweeps do and you have a much better chance of winning. I won a KitchenAid food processor last year from a cooking blog with one entry. It may not be a big prize, butit is one of my favorites!

Skill contests require fewer entries, but more time and thought. Most people want to do what's quick and easy. So go against the crowd and start looking at skill contests. You don't have to be a great writer, cook or photographer to have a good idea. Read the articles in the Contests Tips & Tricks section of SweepsUniversity on SweepsU.com to help you get started. Joy's first prize that she won herself was from the Qittle Live The Dream Contest. She submitted her one and only entry on a Wednesday and received a phone call on Friday. She has not yet done anything other than fill out an online entry form. But this promotion is awarding a weekly prize via a random drawing. 100 entries will be drawn at the end of the sweepstakes and those people will be asked to submit a video telling why they want to win. Because a video is involved and maybe the Grand Prize doesn't appeal to many (a year in Colorado) they will not receive many entries. Also, they did not say what the weekly prizes would be, just that they would be valued between $50-$500. Joy won a fabulous LoveSac by CitySac valued at $500.

A few other quick tips:

• enter sweeps offering a large number of prizes
• look for short running sweeps, the shorter it is the fewer entries
• get your entries in at the beginning for sweeps having daily or weekly drawings

As always, remember that sweepstaking comes with no guarantees, but  22 years of winning have taught me that you can tip the balance in your favor.

Gwen Beauchamp

Have you ever wished you could get in on one of those reality TV shows? They get to do some really cool stuff! Of course you have to sing exceptionally good…or bad, to get on American Idol, but what about the others. Survivor, Big Brother, Real Housewives of Atlanta and more are all signing up regular every day people like you and me. It’s pretty darn hard to get in on those competitions now that they are so popular, but what if you could have signed up before anyone else knew about them? What if you could compete in Season One of a new reality show? Think of all the "only in sweepstaking" experiences your family would have, not to mention the prizes you could win.

Well, here is your chance! Reveille Studios in California is looking for families with at least two teenagers between the ages of 13 and 18 to compete at some of our nation’s most beautiful national parks. If you think your family would be interested, read the details below and send your information in for a chance to be on the newest reality competition for families! If you are selected to compete, be sure to let your friends at SweepsU.com know when and where to tune in on TV so that we can enjoy your adventure as well!

NOW CASTING OUTGOING FAMILIES!

Looking for the ultimate family adventure? Eager to

ditch the typical family vacation and experience a

truly unique and exciting bonding experience? Wish

you could bring your family even closer together?

The producers of "The Amazing Race," "The Biggest

Loser," and "The Office" are currently searching for

America’s most outgoing families to compete in

exciting outdoor challenges in the nation's

most beautiful national parks.

To be considered, please submit the following to

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it :

1. Name and Ages of all family members

2. City/state where you live (please include this in

subject line)

3. Contact Information (including cell #)

4. Current Pictures

5. A brief description of your family dynamic

Families should have at least two children living

in the home between the ages of 13-18

Family Compensation: $5,000.00

It looks like Reality TV is here to stay, so SweepsU.com is going to start a new category of sweeps for you to enter. We have added Reality TV as a new type of Sweepstakes on the SMS list. If you come across any shows having casting calls whether new or old, local or national, please let us know so that we can keep you informed of any opportunities that you may be interested in.