Search Results for: blog a few good christmas books for kids

A Very Frugal Christmas Part I

While I try really hard not to get too caught up in the commercialism of Christmas gifting, I absolutely love the magic of Christmas morning with stuffed stockings and a good number of beautifully wrapped presents under the Christmas tree.  In years past, I have purchased moderately expensive gifts for my family and thought nothing of it.  However, the current economic downturn combined with graduate student loans and a car payment, has changed my ability to buy whatever I deemed to be perfect gifts for my family.  This year we are doing something very different. Unlike previous years, we set … Continue reading →

Why Pets Aren’t Good Presents

This goes without saying, but you can never say it too often because it happens every year: don’t give pets as presents.  If you’re thinking about gifting a pet to someone you love this year, consider very carefully.  Pets are lifelong commitments and responsibilities, not fun presents. Now, I can think of one context in which it could be OK to give a pet for a present: if the person receiving asked for it, knew that’s what they were getting, and understood the responsibilities involved.  That means in most cases, it’s not appropriate to get pets as gifts for children: … Continue reading →

Christmas Shopping for Your Child’s Teacher

Now that Thanksgiving is over, the countdown to Christmas is on, and that means parents are under even more pressure to cram as much as humanly possible into a 24-hour period. For many moms and dads that means more Bah! Humbug! than fa-la-la-la-la, but such is the society-driven hoopla surrounding the birth of Christ. In addition to cooking, cleaning and coordinating school holiday concert schedules, parents must rack their brains to come up with meaningful gifts for grandparents, aunts, uncles, pizza delivery men and other major influences in their child’s life. What’s more, most of us also feel obligated to … Continue reading →

Think Pink This Christmas

There’s nothing like shopping for Halloween candy in Target while being stared down by Rudolph, Frosty and Santa in all their inflatable glory. Long live commercialism. Given that Christmas displays have been up in various stores since the beginning of the month, I didn’t see it inappropriate to blog about holiday gift ideas in the days before Halloween. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, right? Conformity seems to spreading this year. Believe it or not, we’re thinking pink around here this Christmas. Thanks to a delightfully charming treasure chest of Pinkalicious goodies, my true-blue, anti-frou frou daughter is looking … Continue reading →

Celebrity Do-Gooders: Pizza and Progress

Okay, he’s not exactly saving the world, or feeding starving children, but Drew Carey is still using his millions (okay, it only cost him a few hundred dollars) to make people happy. The actor turned game show host is celebrating Saturday’s season finale of “The Price as Right” by having his favorite pizzas shipped to Los Angeles from his hometown pizzeria in Ohio. Carey, who claims the best pizza in the world is made at Antonio’s restaurant near his boyhood home in Cleveland, wanted to do something special for the cast and crew of the popular game show he hosts … Continue reading →

Sharing your Childhood Passions with your Kids

To share a movie, a toy, or a book from your own childhood days with your kids today is a special bonding experience that every parent must get the chance to enjoy. Over the past several months we have exposed our daughter to several of my wife’s favorite characters and movies from the early to mid-eighties, when she was a little girl herself. We have all the original Strawberry Shortcake videos, not the glossy, hip ones that are produced today but the sweet, pastel classics from the 1980’s. Titles such as Big Apple City, Housewarming Surprise, and Pets on Parade … Continue reading →

2006 in Review: Homeschooling Blog at a Glance

As a new homeschooling blogger at Families.com, I wanted to know everything that has been discussed to date. In response to my own curiosity, and in an effort to make perusing our articles easier for you, our readers, I have compiled all of the blogs for the year 2006. Deciding to Homeschool Why homeschool Am I qualified for this? Reasons that Homeschooling Works! My Most Important Advice for Homeschoolers. The Cost of Homeschooling Instead of standing up for their own kids, why not stand up for all kids? Disclaimer: I am hardly an expert in education. Did You Know? ‘Empirical … Continue reading →

Creative Christmas Decorating

Do you ever get bored with your holiday decorations? We tend to collect items over the years and we hang on to them, using them over and over. That’s all well and good, but sometimes, they just start to feel tired and boring. We buy new stuff, but we still have all this other stuff around. One good way to use those items you still like but are beginning to tire of is to use them in different ways. A crystal sleigh that normally adorns your bookshelf or mantel filled with shiny ornaments might just make a great candy dish … Continue reading →

A Few Good Christmas Books For Kids

If you are still looking for holiday gifts for the kids on your list, may I suggest a few good books? I’m a writer and an avid reader so books are my life and every time I give one I feel like I’m somehow making the world a better place. I love the classic Christmas tales but why not introduce young readers to new writers and new tales. Here are few good books you should check out: (1) Christmas Tails, by Robert Leeds A lovely parable about Santa and a mongrel dog. (2) Merry Un-Christmas, by Mike Weiss and David … Continue reading →

Another Good Thing about Organizing before Christmas

Here’s another thing about organizing for Christmas that makes the holidays a bit simpler at my house. As you go through all the stuff, purging, donating, storing, you may find that there are some things you need to add to your Christmas list. Your kids might be growing out of a lot of their clothes and need a few new hip outfits. You might find that some new books would be good or you might want to replace some games or puzzles. This is a good way to dig around and find out what the kids need without coming out … Continue reading →