Christmas
Merry Christmas from Us to You!
December 25, 2008
The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other. ~Burton Hillis Read more...
Traditions at the Table: Holiday Cookies
December 24, 2008
Ah, the night before Christmas. Presents are wrapped, stockings are stuffed, and the cookies baked for Santa are waiting by the fireplace for good old St. Nick. If your cookie supply has run a little short like ours has, or if you didn�??t have time to bake, why not engage in some post-Christmas baking. Here are my favorite resources that have resuscitated my list of Christmas cookies with Read more...
Tuesday List: Best Decorated Neighborhoods
December 23, 2008
Tis the season for lightsâ?¦Lots and lots of lights, lit reindeer, and inflatable Santas, snowglobes, and supersized characters adorning lawns and neighborhoods everywhere. I love the charming tasteful displays in our neighborhood with their white icicle lights lining the rooftops throughout our fair city but sometimes you need over the top Christmas kitsch. Here are my top three suggestions Read more...
Musical Holiday Traditions
December 19, 2008
We are a musical family. My husband is happiest with a guitar in his hands and I tend to sing all day long without even noticing that I am doing it. The children seem to be taking after us. They both love their father's guitars and the piano, my three year old daughter sings and dances from the moment she wakes up in the morning until she falls asleep at night, and even the baby is starting Read more...
Classic Christmas TV Shows
December 18, 2008
Ah, what is Christmas without the annual viewing of all those old animated Christmas shows? I plan to share a few of my favorites with my daughter this year. If you are looking for a little quiet evening entertainment, consider one of these: How the Grinch Stole Christmas - 1966: Based on the classic Dr. Seuss book, this show features the evil Grinch with his too-small heart, and the Read more...
Classes for Christmas
December 16, 2008
Shopping for the kid who has everything? Consider gifting them with an enrichment activity instead of a toy. Here are a few of the classes and activities I've done with my kids and really enjoyed. Little Gym: They offer Mommy and Me classes up to age 3 with dance and gymnastics classes continuing through grade school. This is my favorite of the gym-type classes since their facilities Read more...
Holiday Timeseaver: Give the Gift of See's Candy
December 15, 2008
A post on my local moms' listserv by a new mother needing holiday shopping tips with a newborn inspired me to think of a site that offers one stop shopping for everyone who may be on a family's holiday gift list. I immediately thought of See's Candies , the California based confectioner who has some of the most delicious chocolate at reasonable prices. Having grown up consuming an obscenely Read more...
Best Mall Santas in Northern Virginia
December 15, 2008
Last year I took my daughter to see Santa at Dulles Town Center after many recommendations from other moms who said the Santa there was the best in the area. And they were right, he was great, so we went back this year. Well, there's a new Santa at Dulles Town Center, and while my daughter was happy enough everyone who has seen the pictures has made a comment about how Santa looks a little Read more...
Cooking up some holiday memories in the kitchen
December 12, 2008
I come from a family that loves to cook. Holidays are an especially memorable time because of the favorite dishes that I've come to associate with each occasion and Christmas is all about cookies. Each year we made many different kinds of Christmas cookies that filled the house with the warmsmell of baking. Snickerdoodles rolled in red and green sugar, white powdered Russian tea cakes, brown Read more...
Favorite Christmas Books
December 11, 2008
I have to hide our Christmas books in the dark corners of a closet in order to avoid being forced by my daughter to read them to her daily all year long. Now that I have liberated them from their off-season exile, here are a few of the Christmas books that we have in heavy rotation. Olivia helps with Christmas by Ian Falconer. Olivia is always a hit and is a good role Read more...
Favorite Christmas Books, Toys, and Activities
December 11, 2008
Christmas is coming and that means we've taken the boxes of decorations out of our attic and unearthed some treasured friends- our favorite holiday books. We've used the cold weather as a great excuse to cuddle up under a blanket with a stack of books and dream in the magic of Christmas. What are we reading? Here's a list of our top 6 favorites: Eric Carle's Dream Snow is one of my favorites Read more...
Greening the Holidays
December 10, 2008
Regardless of what you are celebrating this year, make your holidays a little greener by being kind to the environment and teaching your children a lesson in conservation. The holidays always involves an amazing collection of trash due to wrapping paper and the packaging that gifts come in. Be green when you wrap by recycling materials that would otherwise go in your trash. I was flipping Read more...
Write a Letter to Santa for a Good Cause
December 05, 2008
With December here and the Christmas drawing closer with each passing day, children are dreaming up their wish lists for items that they hope Santa will bring for good behavior. But Christmas doesn't always have to be about consumption. It is also a time of good will and helping others. Inspired by the 1897 letter written by 8 year old Virginia O'Hanlon to the editor of The New York Sun Read more...
Teddy Bear Tea at the Ritz Carlton Pentagon City
December 04, 2008
Last week, I went with my three-year-old, my mom, my mother-in-law, my sister-in-law and my niece to tea at the Ritz Carlton in Pentagon City. And it was lovely. The kids got kid-friendly finger sandwiches and pots of hot chocolate, the adults could choose sandwiches and sweets or scones (I went with the scones, but the sandwiches and sweets tray looked yummy) and got their own pots of tea. Read more...
Five for Tuesday - Local Holiday Traditions
December 02, 2008
One of the fun things about having kids is the chance to start new traditions for your family. So far, most of our have been home-based because the kids are little and it is just easier, so we make gingerbread men on Thanksgiving morning and Christmas-themed sugar cookies on Christmas Eve. But I expect to be hauling the kids all over town before much longer, the same way my parents hauled Read more...
Tuesday List: Local Light Up Traditions
December 02, 2008
December has arrived and nothing says holidays like lights. Lots and lots of lights. If your neighbors are just starting to deck their halls, roofs, and yards with decorations and your family is in need of a light fix, here are some great places where you can go to see beautiful light displays beginning now. Festival of Lights at the Washington Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Read more...
More of Our Favorite Activities and Things to Do in Washington
Creatures & Critters:
Our Urban Jungle
Do, Re, Mi! Places to Hear, Sing & Play a Tune
Artistic Endeavors:
Our Favorite Art Venues
Room to Run:
Run, Jump & Wiggle Outdoors
Rainy & Quiet Days:
Cozy & Crazy Indoor Fun
A Sense of History:
Our City's Stories
Tot's Science Fair:
Science & Nature Sites
Splash, Spray, Play! Local Spots to Get Wet
The Most Fun in Life Is Free!
The Best of... Our Top Can't-Live-Without Spots
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Beth Hoffman, Leticia
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Favorite Washington Lists
- Trains and Other Modes of Transportation on Rails
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- Tuesday List Day: Best Places to See the Fish
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- The Local Lingo: ABCs of the DC Metro Area
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