This Year Teens Want Cold Hard Cash for Christmas

I think the teens in my life (kids, nieces, nephews, my kids’ friends) have been feeling the negative effects of the economy. Their Christmas gift request of choice has been a bit of an indicator. Maybe it’s because we have been less free with money demanding more for the chore money and handing out less just because. Maybe it’s because there are things that they want that they don’t have the heart to ask us for. Perhaps it’s because they have learned to be thrifty shoppers themselves and know they can get alot more for the same money after Christmas. … Continue reading →

Grandparents Not Giving As Much This Christmas

Grandparent Grinches? Not in my family. A new survey says, due to the current state of the economy, grandparents won’t be buying as many gifts for their grandkids this year. This is heartbreaking news for families the world over who rely on grandparents to play Santa. Last year I asked: Who needs Santa when you’ve got generous grandparents? I wasn’t kidding. My daughter and my nephew are blessed beyond words that my parents spoil them rotten. I can’t speak for my brother’s family, but I know for a fact that my daughter’s Christmas would not be nearly as merry and … Continue reading →

Pervert Ruins My Daughter’s Christmas Tradition

My daughter has been writing letters to Santa since she was two years old. I’ve documented the sweet tradition on this site with parental pride and a touch of sadness knowing that her childhood belief in an oversized gift-bearing elf would not last forever. Little did I know that my daughter’s annual holiday letter writing tradition would come to a screeching halt before she learned the truth about Kris Kringle. Thanks to a pervert in Maryland, my sweet, innocent, Santa-loving five-year-old may not get a reply from Mr. Claus this year. The pervert responsible for ruining this joyous tradition is … Continue reading →

Santa and the Swine Flu

Santa has one wish this Christmas: He doesn’t want to get swine flu from your kid. S.O.S. Spare Our Santa! It’s the battle cry shared by mall owners around the world. If your kid is sneezing, coughing, has a sore throat or—-GASP!-—a fever, keep him far away from Jolly Ol’ St. Nick. Lest you think this warning is just a bunch of holiday bah humbug, think again. Mall owners are going all out to save Santa from ending up in the ER this Christmas. At malls in Pennsylvania and Minnesota, Santa’s elves have a new job this year: Prescreening children … Continue reading →

Santa and Science: What Happened to Just Plain Magic?

When your kids ask how Santa Claus is able to visit every house in the entire universe in a single night, how do you respond? My young daughter could careless how Santa is able to fly around the world courtesy of aerodynamic reindeer, sort gifts, slide down chimneys, snack on cookies and deposit coal in some kids’ stockings, and still get home before the sun rises. All she cares about is that Santa delivers. Period. However, when she does get savvy enough to start inquiring about how the big guy is able to cover 200 million square miles visiting hundreds … Continue reading →

Would You Buy Your Kid a Barack Obama Doll?

Remember the stampedes that ensued when the original Tickle Me Elmo hit the shelves back in 1996? Thousands of parents pushed, shoved and pummeled their way through toy stores to get their hands on the furry red monster. Back then Sesame Street’s most famous resident was the hottest toy around. Elmo was hands-down a mass marketers’ dream come true. But this is 2008 and Elmo (even the newest version) has been upstaged by a truly historic presence. According to reports, the new Barack Obama action figure is flying off store shelves. The 14-inch plastic version of Obama is dressed in … Continue reading →

Christmas Showdown: Parents vs. Toy Packaging

Some call it “wrap rage,” others call it a nuisance; I like to refer to it as a parent’s worst nightmare. Moms and dads with young children, you know the pain I am describing: The agony of liberating new toys from their plastic packaging. It used to be that on Christmas morning all a parent needed nearby was a camera, a pad and pen to jot down who gave what to whom, and maybe, maybe, a single pair of scissors to release a few stubborn pieces of tape. (Though, if someone in the family had sharp teeth you could skip … Continue reading →

Rich Parents Doing Away with Expensive Holiday Gifts

Did you hear the one about the billionaire parents who plan to give their family members homemade gifts only this holiday season? Actually, it’s no joke and you might have heard of the parents in question… their names are Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Despite Jolie just earning the title of highest-paid woman in Hollywood, and Pitt raking in $20 million for starring in his new flick “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” the parents of six little ones say they won’t be placing pricey presents under the Christmas tree this year. In a recent interview with Hello! Magazine, Pitt … Continue reading →

Parents and Christmas Firsts

Like it or not the holidays make people very nostalgic. It’s hard for some parents not to think of their son or daughter’s first Christmas when hanging stockings or trimming the tree. Then, there’s the tidal wave of memory triggers that come to us via the media. For example, if I see that TV commercial about the mom being “forced” to buy her daughter a new cellphone plan because “it’s the first Christmas that she won’t be home,” I’m going to hurl. Do you remember the first Christmas your child didn’t spend with you? I can’t imagine it’s a very … Continue reading →

What Do You Do With Pictures of Other People’s Kids?

It’s that time of year again… time for your mail carrier to put on the weightbelt as she lugs batches of holiday greetings from around the world and crams them into your mailbox. As I mentioned in a previous blog, I thoroughly enjoy getting Christmas correspondences (even the ubiquitous four-page family newsletters packed with pertinent personal details like the fact that Susie lost her front tooth in August, Sam was successfully potty-trained in May, and Rover dragged a skunk home on Halloween). What’s more, any of these holiday greetings include adorable pictures of family and friend’s darling children (some of … Continue reading →