Welcome to the first-ever Grandma's Briefs Holiday Guide! Here you'll find entertainment ideas, gift suggestions, and recipes to help you make the most of the season.
Come on in, take a look around -- and be sure not to miss the GIVEAWAYS sprinkled throughout the GIFT IDEAS section!
HOLIDAY ENTERTAINMENT
If you're looking for ways to while away the hours with your loved ones, here are a few festive ideas:
Holiday reading. Snuggle up with the family and share these picture-book stories. Click the cover photos for more information (not affiliate links):
Readers of all ages will enjoy It's Christmas, David and vividly recall trying to peek at hidden gift packages; writing scrolls of wish lists to Santa; and struggling to behave at formal Christmas dinner parties. Always in the background, we know Santa Claus is watching, soon to decide if David deserves a shiny new fire truck or a lump of coal under the tree. From playing with delicate ornaments to standing in an endlessly long line for Santa, here are common Christmas activities -- but with David's naughty trimmings. A surefire hit that is destined to be an annual classic! Ages 3+. $16.99. (See the Scholastic Giveaway in the Gift Ideas section below to enter to win a prize package that includes this book and five others from Scholastic.)
In The Thanksgiving Bowl by Virginia Kroll, when Grandma's Thanksgiving bowl falls tumbles from the table after outdoor Thanksgiving festivities, a variety of animals and humans devise creative uses for their find, eventually bringing it back full circle to where it began, just in time for another Thanksgiving, without Grandma or her guests ever knowing of the ways the bowl enriched the lives of others throughout the year. Ages 5-8. $15.95.
The Gigantic Sweet Potato by Dianne de Las Casas adapts the Russian folktale, The Giant Turnip, into a fun story of what happens when Ma Farmer plants a sweet potato for sweet potato pie, then needs to enlist Pa Farmer, Bessie Cow, Ralphie Dog and Kitty Cat to help her get the ginormous goodie out of the ground. Lily Mouse comes to the rescue just as the gang is about to give up. Includes a recipe for Sweet Potato Pie. Ages 4-8. $16.99.
The Last Ornament by Judith Vicary Swisher features Christmas tree ornaments in starring roles. Christopher and Noelle's family decks out the tree for the holidays. But once the holidays and the ornaments are put away, the ornaments realize, much to their dismay, that Little Blue Engine is missing ... and forgotten on the tree. The whimsical illustrations show just how Little Blue Engine makes his way back to the gang. Ages 4-8. $14.95.
The Jewish retelling of The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, The Kvetch Who Stole Hanukkah by Bill Berlin and Susan Isakoff Berlin creatively follows the mold and more of the classic holiday story. Key differences, though: The Kvetch replaces the Grinch, the town of Oyville replaces Whoville, and latkes and menorahs have starring roles. You don't have to be Jewish to appreciate the story -- and to wonder if the Kvetch will become a true believer by book's end. Ages 4-8. $16.99.
Holiday television specials. PBS offers up two new holiday specials, beginning Nov. 27 and airing through December. First up is Cirque Du Soleil: Flowers In The Desert. The ever-flexible and always mesmerizing performers present a family friendly "best of" package from their popular productions. Everyone in the family will ooh and aah over the trampoline maneuvers, amazing acrobatics and pool dancing and diving, while the youngest viewers will surely giggle at the overgrown -- and overly round -- baby in several scenes.
The second PBS holiday special is The Peter Yarrow Sing-Along Special, a family celebration of folk songs, featuring Yarrow, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Keb' Mo' and others. Everyone in the family is sure to sing along (especially on "Puff, The Magic Dragon" and "This Old Man") but I bet older grandparents and great-grandparents will most enjoy "The Cruel War" and "Blowin' in the Wind," previewed here:
Check local listings on PBS for air dates and times in your area.
Holiday music. Tired of your holiday music collection? Crank up the laptop and head on over to Slacker Personal Radio where the free seasonal playlists include Holiday Hits, Holiday Classics, Contemporary Holiday, Cowboy Holiday and more. Upgrade for $4.99 per month and get extra features, including unlimited skipping of songs so you can click right past yet another version of "Little Drummer Boy."
Traditional favorites. Hard to believe, but the Christmas favorite Santa Claus is Coming to Town celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. In recognition of that milestone, it's been included on a Blu-ray gift set called The Original Christmas Classics and features four of the all-time, most beloved holiday specials: the Rankin/Bass classics Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town and Frosty Returns. It's the first time these specials have been released on Blu-ray, and -- Blu-ray being Blu-ray -- they've never looked better. Which means there's never been a better time to share favorites from your kids' childhood -- maybe even your childhood -- with the newest members of your family. $44.99
Personalized Santa DVD. For $19.95, you can have a holiday DVD of Santa's Talent Show personalized to include your favorite elf, ages 2-8. Here's an example of a Santa DVD created for a youngster named Aaron:
Shimmy and shake to the sounds of KIDZ BOP Christmas Party. Put on this bopping bundle of fun and you and the kids will have nonstop fun dancing round the Christmas tree. Twelve beloved holiday favorites, sung by kids, make the season cheerful and bright. The disc features a "Sounds of Christmas" track that provides the perfect background music for baking, wrapping, decorating and setting the perfect scene for the festivities. $11.98 GIVEAWAY: Visit the Grandma's Briefs Facebook page for a chance to win a copy of KIDZ BOP Christmas Party for you and yours.
GIFT IDEAS (and giveaways)
Forget raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, THESE are a few of my favorite things ... at least my favorites from the oodles of goodies I've received for review the last few months. Here I share the review items I received that you might enjoy giving or getting this holiday season (click on the pictures for more information on each). Sprinkled throughout you'll find a few giveaways, too, so look for the big, bold GIVEAWAY text followed by details on how to enter to win. Check back here often, for I just might have more to add as the season progresses.
If I Could Keep You Little by Marianne Richmond ($15.99). Every parent has experienced the push me/pull me of having a child grow up. They -- and we -- want them to grow, learn, become all they can be. Yet we want them to stay little, continue to hold our hands, our hearts. Marianne Richmond captures the tug o' war like no other picture book writer. Her words and lovely illustrations will delight adults and children alike, making this hardcover treasure a wonderful gift for moms going through it as well as moms who have been there. Oh, and for kids, too, of course. Ages 3 and up.
Captain Blue Sky ($17.95). Give the gift of reading to your child this holiday season! Scholastic books make the perfect stocking stuffer for any child on your list. In Captain Blue Sky, Jack's best toy pal is Captain Sky Blue, a pilot. Sky speaks in Pilot Talk ("Roger! Wilco!"). After a thunderstorm separates Sky and his buddy ("Mayday!"), Sky is abducted by a whale, then left alone to wander a frigid ocean floor until he chances upon a very special place, a place where he's been before ("Now I'm spooled up!"). Captain Sky Blue thinks he has finally found an easy way home, but first he must face a desperate situation -- a challenge that puts his pilot skills to the test! Ages 3+. GIVEAWAY: Courtesy of Scholastic, I have a HUGE prize pack filled with popular children’s books for one lucky reader! Titles include CAPTAIN SKY BLUE, IT’S CHRISTMAS DAVID, OOK and GLUK as well as TONY BALONEY, ODIOUS OGRE and I SPY CHRISTMAS A CHRISTMAS TREE! ($89.95 value) To enter, e-mail me your name, e-mail address and the subject line SCHOLASTIC. One winner drawn and announced Dec. 5. (Open to US mailing addresses only.)
Red Toolbox Tools and Carpentry Kits for Kids ($9.98 and up). Red Toolbox has designed a line of one-of-a-kind products that offer “quality time in a box” for kids and their parents or grandparents. The line includes a wide variety of ergonomically designed tools that fit a child’s grip and original carpentry kits that allow kids to spend time with special grownups, building and creating while developing and practicing skills. Tools include a 10-piece tool set, work bench and cordless drill as well as a variety of projects such as a picture pack, bird house and interactive mini-golf holes that children can use well after they have been built. Available exclusively at Lowe's. Ages 8+.
iWave Crystal Collection Silicon Case for iPhone 4G ($19.99 and up). Great for a teen, tween, hip mom or even hipper grandma, these cases are the epitome of charming ... because each is adorned with a Swarovski Crystal charm. These gifts will be available at department stores and other places iPhone accessories are sold after Dec. 1, but guess what? I have TWO to give away here! GIVEAWAY: E-mail me your name, e-mail address and subject line CRYSTAL to enter to win either a pink case with crystal-encrusted star charm or grey case with crystal-encrusted heart charm. Winners drawn and announced Dec. 5.
Sesame Street Video USB ($24.99). A flash-drive for toddlers? Yep! And because it's plug-and-play, it's simple for the little ones to use (with Mom or Dad nearby, of course). These waterproof USB drives feature adorable characters -- Elmo, Abby, Big Bird, Ernie, Cookie Monster and Grover -- and include a full-length movie specific to the character PLUS it links automatically to the Sesame Street website and has additional personal storage space (I put photos of the family on the Elmo version for Bubby).
GrandCamp Adventures Here We Go! Storybook and Music CD ($29.95). This unique company offers something I've never seen before: "adventures" for grandparents and grandchildren to share, centered around a storybook, music and activities to facilitate bonding between generations. Music starts things off, the story is read, and activities bring the story to life. The first storybook adventure available, Here We Go -- Around The World Family Adventure, features a pair of adventurous grandparents just back from traveling the world only to find they've lost some of their precious treasures along the way. They enlist their three grandchildren to help them find the lost goodies through the use of a magic compass the grandfather invented. This set is just the beginning, as GrandCamp Adventures plans to roll out additional games and more to further the family fun.
Bink & Gollie by Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee ($15.99). Best-selling authors DiCamillo and McGhee (with illustrations by Tony Fucile) introduce young readers to funny, unlikely friends: tiny and wild-haired Bink and tall, geeky Gollie. The two share three quirky adventures -- and witty repartee -- in this modern ode to friendship. Ages 6-8. GIVEAWAY: E-mail me your name, e-mail address and subject line BINK GOLLIE to enter to win a limited edition Bink and Gollie watch. Winners drawn and announced Dec. 5.
Max & Ruby: Bunny Party audio CD ($12.99). Max and Ruby are the wildly popular characters originally created by Rosemary Wells. This CD features original songs from the currently touring live theatrical production that follows Max and Ruby as they prepare for the bunny party of the year. Preschoolers who watch the beloved characters on television will surely be enchanted by the songs included here. Ages 2-5.
WikiReader ($99). Bearing a tagline of "Wikipedia In Your Pocket," this nifty little gadget is exactly that. The portable text-only reader allows curious folks to learn anytime, anywhere, with up to 3 million topics right there in your hand. It's perfect for turning to during trivia games, for entertainment on road trips (it requires no connectivity!), for settling bets, to answer quick questions during movies ("Is this a true story?" was the most recent one Jim and I encountered). It also makes the ideal gift for the Mr. Know It All in your life who wants to regularly prove he knows it all. Updates for staying current can be downloaded from the WikiReader website.
KIDZ BOP Dance Party! The Video Game ($39.95). This Wii game is rated E for Everyone and I was pretty sure Bubby would love it. But ya know who loved it most? Megan and Preston (Bubby's parents)! I actually had to remove myself from the area -- took Bubby off to give him a bath -- so bashful Preston could get a groove on without me seeing. This is a great gift for, like the rating says, everyone! Take a look:
Show Off: How to Do Absolutely Everything. One Step at a Time. by Sarah Hines Stephens and Bethany Mann ($18.99). Step-by-step directions for 150 fun, active, silly, amazing and everyday things kids -- and adults -- will clamor to try. Simple illustrations show exactly how to do this and that in the following categories: investigate, create, explore, cook, move, amaze. Ages 10-14 years. GIVEAWAY: E-mail me your name, e-mail address and subject line SHOWOFF to enter to win a copy. Winners drawn and announced Dec. 5.
Franklin and the Adventures of the Noble Knights audio CD ($12.98). Franklin the Turtle, the big-time star on Nick Jr. (and one of Bubby's faves) is another kiddie television character touring the country in live shows for the little ones. The CD features favorites from those live performances, including "It's Great to be a Knight." Ages 2-5.
Juliet by Anne Fortier ($25). One of my favorite reads of the past year, the only way to semi-adequately explain this book is that it's Romeo & Juliet crosses The DaVinci Code crosses Indiana Jones. It's got action, adventure, intrigue, romance (but not the mushy gushy romance-novel kind). My words don't do it justice, so just watch this:
Baby Baby Baby board book by Marilyn Janovitz ($7.99) The littlest storytime listeners will love hearing about this little fellow who, just like them, likes to clap, clap, clap, crawl, crawl, crawl and dance, dance, dance. Ages 0-3.
I Love You, Grandma recordable storybook from Hallmark ($29.99). Hallmark offers several holiday storybooks for grandmothers to give, but this version is the one for grandmothers to receive. The gift book, illustrated by Rie Egawa Zbryk, is a love letter, with a page dedicated to each of the letters in G-R-A-N-D-M-A. Recording instructions are simple -- most any child will be able to do it, once shown -- and it's easy to re-record until satisfied. The sound is crisp and clear, and it's possible to "lock" the recording to keep as a treasured memento of a little one's voice. GIVEAWAY: E-mail me your name, e-mail address and subject line HALLMARK to enter to win one of two recordable storybooks to be shipped from Hallmark in time for gift giving. Winners drawn and announced Dec. 5.
There's Going To Be A Baby by John Burningham and Helen Oxenbury ($16.99). Siblings-to-be will relate to the little boy in this story who's not all that thrilled with the prospect of a new baby joining the family. In response to Mom wondering aloud what the new baby will be when he/she grows up, the boy imagines his new sibling performing a variety of jobs -- as a baby! -- convincing him he doesn't want a sibling. Until, that is, the sibling arrives. Ages 2 and up.
Beyond the Family Tree: A 21st-century Guide to Exploring Your Roots and Creating Connections by Jennifer Worick ($15.95). This little book loaded with ideas, advice and, most of all, questions is the ultimate handbook for creating conversation to help forge better, stronger relationships across all generations. Categories for questions include Relationships, Faith, Leisure Pursuits, Family History, Holidays and more. The flexibind handbook also runs down the nuts and bolts of how to use what's learned to create a living history online. An excellent gift for budding as well as established family historians.
Moon Dreams by Ruth Martin ($15.99). Luna dreams about where the moon goes when the sun comes up each day. Her imagination takes her on wild night-time adventures in search of the answer to her question about the moon's daytime activities. Ages 4-7. GIVEAWAY: E-mail me your name, e-mail address and the subject line MOON to win a copy of this beautifully illustrated hardcover book. Winners drawn and announced Dec. 5.
Truth Be Told party game ($27.99). My test gang and I had loads of fun with this one. Tell the truth about yourself and see which of your friends and family guess you were telling the truth or who falls victim to the bluffers in the crowd. In addition to the quirky questions, the nifty paddles for revealing your answers are surprisingly fun for grown-ups to play with (the pomegranate margaritas served during game play had nothing to do with it, honest!). 3-8 players, ages 14+.
Potty board book by Leslie Patricelli ($6.99) Like her other books -- including Big, Little, Quiet, Loud, Yummy, Yucky and others -- Patricelli scores big again with the little ones. Toddlers learning to use the potty relate to not only the attempts to avoid the chair and the eventual "tinkle, tinkle, toot" but -- Bubby's favorite -- the illustrations of multiple underwear options for those in training. Ages 1-3.
Funny Bone Readers six-book set ($24.95). Red Chair Press offers a variety of books to help children not only learn how to read, but to develop character. The short, colorful books focus on six traits: fairness, trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, caring, citizenship. The six-book sets (there are two) include one book for each of the traits. These lovely nuggets o' goodness and fun are my go-to books for sharing with Bubby during our weekly Skype sessions. Suggested ages: 4-8.
ParkingTarget ($13.98). Long live the grandma gift! When the makers of this product originally approached me to try it out, I was hesitant but agreed. And I'm so glad I did! This surprisingly useful parking aid makes parking in the garage easier than ever. I hit the same spot every time, no longer needing to guess (or depend on tape applied to the wall) to know if I'm too far in, not far enough or just right. It's a mini speed bump for the garage floor, requires only one per car, and can be personalized ("Mom," "Dad" and more). Anyone who parks in a garage -- parent, teen, grandma, whomever -- will be pleased to receive this. I've now got one for BOTH of my cars. And I have one to pass along to you, too. GIVEAWAY: E-mail me your name, e-mail address and subject line PARKING to enter to win a ParkingTarget. Winners drawn and announced Dec. 5.
Switching On The Moon: A Very First Book of Bedtime Poems by Jane Yolen and Andrew Fusek Peters ($21.99). This charming collection of poems by varied poets -- including Betsy Franco, Jane Yolen, Sylvia Plath, Mother Goose and more -- is broken into chapters of silly, sweet, and sleepy categories, to fit whatever a little one's nighttime routine requires. Lovely illustrations by G. Brian Karas make this collection a keeper. Ages 0-5.
Grandmother Remembers Holidays: An Album of Memories and Photos for My Grandchild by Judith Levy ($19.95). If you have a grandma in your life, you need to get her this. Now. It's a lovely hardcover book with space for recording traditions, memories, and recipes, and there's spots for including photos, too. Of course, if you are a grandma, this would make a great gift for one of your grandkids, too. The only challenge will be choosing which of the grandkids to honor with this special keepsake! (There's also a general Grandmother Remembers version.)
Memories of a Farm Kitchen by Bob and Rob Artley ($22.95). This unusual book can be considered a memoir and a cookbook, but mostly it's a tribute to the way things used to be, when farm and family mattered most -- at least to the farm families. The author/artist grew up on an Iowa farm established by his grandfather in 1877, and this book pays homage to the traditional family and traditional values of that life. Illustrations and text remind older folks of (and introduce to younger ones) the wonders of cast iron stoves, washboards, homemade soap, ice boxes and family dinners around the table. Recipes at the back of the book preserve the dishes and delights of the Depression era. GIVEAWAY: E-mail me your name, e-mail address and subject line MEMORIES for a chance to win this interesting tome. Winners drawn and announced Dec. 5.
And there's more! Last but not least, here are more gift ideas courtesy of the 20th Annual National Parenting Publications Awards for best toys, books, music, DVDs and video games for children:
HOLIDAY RECIPES
Here are a few of the recipes that have become tradition in my family this time of year (plus a new one or two destined to reach "tradition" status soon):
Pomegranate-Balsamic Turkey Sauce
HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU AND YOURS!
Full disclosure: All products and services included in the Grandma's Briefs Holiday Guide sent to me free of charge, with no obligation or compensation for inclusion. Of the myriad items I receive for consideration, I've included here only those I think might be of most interest to my readers, only those that received an honest thumbs-up upon review by myself and/or my staff ... meaning my family and friends. In addition, there are no affiliate links in this guide; I make absolutely nothing from you viewing, clicking or purchasing.
Questions or comments? E-mail me.
