v 5 issue 19: Holiday/Winter Shopping guide

Our Winter Shopping Guide is here. Full of gifts, great designer clothing, fabulous boutiques and even a little something for Mom. Shop for your holiday gifts in our guide full of exclusive discounts!

Cover by Alexi Killmer








1 EM Tanner Designs is the place to shop when looking for personalized goods this holiday season. Create and customize cuteness with their me2atee products for every occasion. Check out their fun holiday tee collection as well as Dear Santa plates but hurry personalization turnaround is 10-14 days. Enter code: TOTTRENDS for 20% off your purchases.

2 OnTray2Go is a mom invented product that is perfect for snacks, coupons, crayons and many other small items you may want to have handy while shopping. On Tray snaps easily to any cart handle for a hands free, clean way to keep your little one occupied and happy while you’re on the go. Available in 4 colors.

3 At The Trendy Bebe you will find unprecedented quality and luxury gifts within their catalog. With brands like Three Marthas, Haute Baby and Misha Lulu this shop has everything to make present-giving an unforgettable and precious moment. Enter code: GIFT for 20% off your purchases.

4 Smilebox helps you create amazing seasonal greetings, slideshows & scrapbooks in an instant with hundreds of delightful designs to choose from. Your creations can be emailed, printed, posted to social media groups, and copied to DVD. Add videos, music, and personal messages...How fun!

Click here to shop our Holiday/Winter Shopping Guide


Shopping Guide Cover
Be sure to check out all our wonderful shops for gifts, great designer clothing, fabulous boutiques and even a little something for Mom. Click on covers to start shopping. Don't forget to use shop coupon codes for exclusive discounts.

Products above (clockwise): Erin Carlyle Photography, Name Your Design Personalized canvas wall art, Mia Carina Fall Fancy Fairy Tales Dress, Allura Marie Smokey Quartz Necklace.

Family Holiday Party Ideas
When you think of holiday parties, visions of fancy work parties might come to mind. While those kinds of parties can be entertaining, I think a family party during the holidays is even more fun. It's a special chance to spend quality time with your kids and other family members or good friends. Here are some ideas to try for your next family party:

Caroling
Invite your friends and their kids to meet at your house for some caroling fun around the neighborhood, followed by hot chocolate and cookies back home. Find song lyrics online, make copies, and pass them out at the beginning of the party. Make it informal - kids in front, parents in back - and belt out 2 songs at each house you stop at.

Progressive Dinner
Get your neighbors involved with this and cement friendships. Appetizers at one house, salad at another, main meal at a third, and dessert at the last works well. Several families can get together and host each stage, especially the main meal. Get your kids involved in decorating the table, planning the meal, and making what you will be serving.

White Elephant
I think all adults know what a white elephant exchange is, but most kids do not. Explain it to them and have them help pick out and wrap the white gift. They'll discover a new side to getting and giving gifts!

Ice Cream Feast
Although it might be cold out, ice cream is always a favorite treat. Turn up the heat in your home a bit during the ice cream party and everyone will be digging into the cold treats. You provide the ice cream, in several flavors, and ask everyone to bring a topping or two. It's amazing what kind of concoctions the kids will come up with. Take pictures of each person and their creation.

Soup Cook Off
Every family on your guest list brings a pot of soup to share, plus copies of the recipe for others. Provide plenty of disposable cups so all the soups can be tasted and rated. Prizes go to the winners, and warm bellies to everyone.

Sing-a-long
Nothing says the holidays more than an old fashioned sing-a-long. This works better if you have someone who can play the piano or a musical instrument and can lead the singers. You can even make it a karaoke night or fun with an old favorite, "Name that tune."

Potluck Breakfast
Who says parties have to be at night? Ask everyone to bring a breakfast item to share and a wrapped kids Christmas book to exchange. After eating, allow kids to take turns reading their newly unwrapped book present aloud to the group.

There you have it, an incomplete list of family party ideas. If none of these work for you, do a search online and see what you come up with. Make it informal and have everyone pitch in and you'll have an enjoyable and relaxing time bonding with your kids and close friends.