As part of my action plan I will be babysitting for a family friend. It may not seem like much to take care of a three and five year old, but I know it will really help Lisa. She will be able to spend some time on Holiday shopping and discussing holiday arrangements for the boys with their father. While the boys are at my house we will be baking simple snacks that they can take home to their mom or give them as a present to their grandmother. Some of these projects I have already completed with my sister and her friends and they had a blast. It was simple for them to do so I know the boys will have a great time too.

Our first snack will be Marshmallow Reindeer. For this we will need:
*Large marshmallows
*Melting chocolate(like the one's used for chocolate dipped strawberries)
*Large chopsticks
*Gum drops or small tubes of frosting
*Pretzels

Next we made Donut Snowmen. Items needed are:
*White powdered donuts
*Gum drops or small tubes of frosting
*Large chopsticks

Finally we will be making something that is a little more difficult but easy enough for the kids: Ginger Bread men( a classic Holiday treat). I will be making the mix ahead of time but will allow the boys to cut out their own shapes and decorate their own cookies.

I hope some you too can take some of these ideas and incorporate them into some fun activities for you to do with your children. They are a great way to bond with them and talk about what makes the Holidays a special time of year.

Click hereOne of the most stressful things for a parent to face during the Holidays is separation or divorce. It can create tension between the two parents over who the child will spend time with and cause the child to bombard the parent with questions about their broken family.


I currently have a friend who is going through a divorce. She has two children: Juan, 5 years old and Ruben, 3 year old. It may not seem like the kids are old enough to start feeling the stress of their missing father; however, Juan has already begun to ask “When’s daddy coming home?” Although she has the support of her parents Lisa is very stressed about doing the Christmas shopping and trying to figure out how she will split the time the children will spend with her and their father. I have decided to help Lisa out. Too ease the stress of the Holiday shopping I have offered to take care of the children for a weekend. This will allow her time to speak to her ex-husband in a quite environment and discuss arrangements for the boys. This time to herself will also allow her to go shopping for Christmas presents and get some much needed “me time.”

I will be taking the boys with me for the weekend, teaching them how to decorate homemade ornaments for the Christmas tree, helping them bake cookies that they can give to their mom and taking them out to play at the park. I know children at this age can be very active, so I know it’s important to keep them entertained. I have used Pinterest to find age appropriate activities that I can do with the boys. For example, we will be using finger paints to create wreaths and Christmas trees with their palms. After they have they have created their “masterpieces” I will add a cute message about family and love. I will also help the kids make yummy snacks using marshmallows and graham crackers.

I highly encourage you to help out as well. We all know that one person who is going through a difficult time. Maybe it’s not a divorce, maybe it’s a death in the family. What ever it is, you can always make an important difference in their lives by helping out. Offer to take the kids out. Invite them over for dinner so they won’t have to cook. Anything that you do to help will make their life at least a little bit easier.

    Magazines. We all love them. We take them in the car on long trips, into the beauty salon, doctor’s offices and on occasion some people might even take them into the bathroom. Magazines are for those of us who like to read, but are not always able to sit down with a fifty chapter novel. They are short, to the point and have lots of colors and pictures that capture our attention. Magazines not only contain great articles about anything and everything,some even contain activities. Magazines aimed towards women might have quizzes about “Which Lipstick Color is for You?” for men: “What Type of Dad are You?”                                                                                                                  
     What about children? I mean we adults can’t be the only ones who get to skim through these magazines right? Well thankfully there is a magazine called Highlights. It’s a children’s magazine that was first published in 1946 by Garry Myers and Caroline Myers. They managed to create an informative yet fun magazine that would capture the attention of children of all ages.
    I remember the first time I was given a Highlights magazine. I was in the 2nd grade and our teacher was cleaning out her arts and crafts drawer when she found the magazine. We all wanted to see it so she made copies of a few of the actives pages and handed them to the class. On this particular page we had to find several small objects within a large picture. When I finally found all the objects I was so excited, I felt like I had just won some big competition. Since we all enjoyed the magazine so much she decided to give it away to the person with the highest grade on our next spelling test. Unfortunately I didn’t win, but I tried so hard on my next test that I won the following week. Until the end of the school year our teacher would always give away an old issue to the student with the highest grade on a different subject every week.
    Highlights is a great magazine full of activates that children can do at home by themselves or with the help of a parent. It includes arts and crafts, healthy snacks and even a section called "The Arizona Zone." In this section children would write to “Arizona,” a girl who, much like Abby, gives them advice on problems that they face with classmates or friends. She writes about responsibility, honesty and the importance of being a good person. "The Arizona Zone" is a great section that helps children learn new things and how to deal with difficult situations.

    Personally my favorite section of Highlights was "Hidden Pictures." In this section of the magazine the children are given a list of small object that they have to find within a larger picture. This section is usually a picture of a silly situation filled with children, animals and everyday items. The hidden pictures are usually items, like a paint brush, that blend in with a child's hair, or a bell that looks like a rabbits tail.
    I think the best part of Highlights is "The Recipe Box." In this section the child is given many different recipes they can try at home with their parents or older sibling. They contain healthy but yummy foods that parents will appreciate. These recipes are a great way to help children and their parents bond and work together on something they both like.
    Now, we all know that magazines cost money, and some magazines may be more expensive than others. Thankfully Highlights, and many other magazines, offers an online page that provides a few free activities. "Hidden Pictures," "Science Projects," "The Recipe Box" and many are included both in the magazines and online, so the parents and the child won’t miss out on any of the fun if they are unable to purchase the magazine.
    Don’t forget, magazines are a great way to get informed on news, gossip, and fashion, but they are also a great way to bond with your children. Family Matters Parenting Magazine can’t stress enough the importance of spending time with your children. Laura Pickford Ramirez, says that it is very important for the parent to organize their everyday schedule around their family life, so that they are able to spend individual and quality time with their children. She also goes on to mention that we all have time to bond, no matter what “chores” are pending, we should always try to incorporate our children to help out, like during cleaning the house. Even little moments like these can make a huge difference in your child’s relationship with you.