You Told Us!
During October, readers logged on to www.piedmontparent.com and answered the following question:
Do you feel the holidays have become too commercial? A great majority of respondents— almost 79 percent — answered “yes.”
Here’s what some parents had to say:
Yes: “There is a tremendous amount of pressure to give your kids all those things that you longed for when you were a kid, thereby creating a ‘monster’ that needs to be fed ever-increasing amounts each holiday. The media and candy/toy industries are more than happy to oblige and generate more and more to choose from. We parents sometimes forget that a little longing in the heart of a child can be good — it creates a drive to accomplish more, a reason to behave and certainly good stories of ‘deprivation’ to tell your kids later on.”
No: “As a kid, there was something thrilling about seeing that first Christmas commercial on T.V. or that first department store Christmas tree, because it meant Christmas was really on its way. Even though that seems to happen earlier and earlier each year, I still feel a twinge of holiday excitement as I watch store clerks hard at work arranging Christmas ornaments on a display. I think if you really want to keep the holidays special and spiritual for your family, then it’s something you will purposefully do yourself, regardless of the media and the mall.”
Oh, What Fun It Is to DISH!
Make those holiday meal preparations easy. The first Let’s Dish! store has opened at 2130-K New Garden Road in Greensboro. Let’s Dish! takes care of menu planning, shopping, prep work and clean-up making it easy — not to mention fun —to find a dishing option that best fits your lifestyle. You can make a month’s worth of meals in less than two hours. Sessions are available six days of the week. Visit www.letsdish.com to make menu choices, sign up and pay online.
Adopt a Teacher Challenge
In response to the disastrous fire at Eastern Guilford High School, St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church in High Point has pledged to adopt a teacher and help him or her recover from the loss of personal property and classroom items. Contributions from the community can be sent to St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church, 303 Eastchester Dr., High Point, NC 27262. For more information, call Rev. Ken Kroohs at (336) 869-5311 or (336) 404-0750.
Taming the (Stuffed) Animals
If your home is overrun with stuffed animals — not to mention that more will probably arrive during the holidays — try taming the beasts with the Animal Bag ($59-$99). This oversized, plush bag covered with large, zippered windows is a fun and practical solution for rounding up all those soft critters and getting them to do double duty as a soft seat.
The Animal Bag is available at retailers nationwide. For a list of retailers, visit www.booninc.com.
Call Santa Direct
Looking for Santa’s direct line? Dial 1-877-TEL-SANTA, and your child can leave a message for Santa Claus himself. Then — like magic — parents get an e-mail with the child’s wish list.
It all starts with a visit to www.TelSanta.com. Sponsored by Panda Global Communication, the free service uses advanced voicemail to e-mail technology to capture messages and deliver them to anyone who signs up. Children call the number and listen to a message from Santa, who asks them to record their wish list. Moments after the child leaves his or her wish list, an e-mail arrives in Mom or Dad’s e-mail box with a .wav file of their child’s wish list, in their child’s voice.
More Great Gift Suggestions
For Family Togetherness . . .
• Capture life’s most precious moments with a hilarious new board game called Christmas Gamesake ($19.95). Played as a yearly tradition at Christmas, family members write their fondest family-related memories on provided “gift” cards. The cards then move players around the Christmas-themed board, and the first person to reach the North Pole wins. Each year, players add memories to the deck that become family lore shared by generations. Gamesakes are available online at www.gamesake.com.
• Inspired by the best-selling book, “DragonologyTM, The Complete Book of Dragons,” DragonologyTM, The Game ($34.99) invites children and parents alike to travel the world by air, land and sea, mastering dragons and engaging in duels in their pursuit to win. For more information, visit www.sababatoys.com.
To Pamper Moms . . .
Help Mom take care of those dry, cracked, prickly heels with a Farm Fresh Foot Scrub trio pack ($49.95) containing Early Apple, Sweet Cream and Whipped Honey scents. The nostalgic gift set is formulated around rice bran oil, which has exceptionally high amounts of vitamin E and other antioxidants. The set comes packaged in vintage-inspired covered jelly jars with a wooden spoon for scooping and is available online at www.summersoles.com.
To Stuff the Stocking . . .
• PlumpStocking.com offers an assortment of specialty stocking stuffers for men, women, kids and pets. Start with a pre-set assortment or customize to create your own perfect bundle ($25-$75).
• Spread some good cheer this Christmas by including a Stuck on You Personalized Notepad ($15.50) in the kids’ stockings. Choose from 10 brilliant and colorful designs including fairies, pirates, surfing or butterflies. Each 30-page notepad comes with 30 envelope stickers. Or, for an early gift, try the Countdown Calendar ($14.95) to mark off the big day up to 14 days in advance with fun, colorful icon stickers. Visit www.stuckonyou.biz.
• Encourage your child’s artistic side with Penciltips ($19.95 for a set), a series of four activity books that describe a quirky scene and provide a blank canvas for kids to draw what’s described. (Example: It’s raining cats and dogs.) Pictures fit in a standard 5-by-7-inch frame. The four themed books can be purchased separately or as a set that includes colored pencils and a soft-sided plastic carrying case. To order, visit www.thoughtrockets.com.
• Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment gives Tom and Jerry fans the chance to get in the chase themselves with Tom and Jerry Tales for the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS. Tom and Jerry Tales are available at retailers nationwide.
For Under the Tree . . .
• Hey you guuuuuuuuuys! Relive your childhood with “The Best of The Electric Company: Volume Two” ($39.98). The four-DVD set contains 20 of the show’s best-loved episodes from this wildly popular, 1970s-era Emmy award-winning children’s television series. “The Electric Company” was geared toward ages 6-10 and taught children basic reading and grammar skills with an emphasis on fun — and an ensemble cast including Bill Cosby, Morgan Freeman, Gene Wilder and Joan Rivers.
• In the “Me, Eloise and Little Miss Christmas” DVD, Eloise celebrates her sixth birthday and is determined to make it a special party. She and all her hotel friends put on a holiday show like no other. Incorporating traditions from the different religions and cultures of her friends, they learn the true spirit of the season is having the people you love all together and happy.
• With a Learning SenseTM Bank ($21.99), children can be taught to manage their cash flow by saving, spending and giving to charity. The three-compartment bank comes in two models: one names the compartments “save,” “spend” and “give.” Another version translates the word give to the Hebrew word “tzedakah,” meaning charity. The bank includes a dry-eraser pen for keeping track of money on the three dry-erase lids, as well as alphabet stickers to customize the bank. For more information and helpful parenting tips on allowances and monetary gifts, visit www.learningcents.com.
• For the first time in Power Rangers history, four varieties of 5-inch action figures are available, including Mystic Sound figures that speak multiple phrases and Mystic Morph figures with three rotating faces. The 5-inch MorphMax Battlized figures are the first interchangeable figures in the line-up with eight separate connector joints for mixing and matching various accessories. Power Rangers Mystic Force products can be found at major retailers nationwide. For more information, visit Bandai America’s online destination of the toy line at www.GetPowerized.com or www.Bandai.com.
• Kids who are fascinated by science will love two new Adventure Science Kits ($15 each) from The Young Scientists Club that will teach them about volcanoes and how crystals are made. Visit www.kidssciencekits.com.
• The Bumper Buggie ($99.99) is a mini electric bumper car that can go up to 2 miles per hour and has hand controls for pin-point turning, as well as forward and reverse bumping fun. It’s available at major retailers.
• Your kid will have the coolest skateboard on the block with the RipStick ($129.99), a next-generation skateboard that consists of two plastic end platforms connected by a metal torsion beam. With spiked traction pads for improved footing, the RipStick is great for tricks and even easier to ride than a regular skateboard. It’s available in a variety of colors at retail stores.
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