Hi all — Thanks for joining me here these past two and a half (wow!) years. I’m taking a break from the blog during the holidays. Time for Scrabble by the fireplace, a glass of wine with my sweetie and Christmas fun with our son, who is growing up way too fast.

I wish you and your family love, peace and a wonderful 2010. See you back here on Jan. 4!

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Merry Christmas to my brother, Lee!

We shared many adventures together as kids growing up in Ohio and Arizona, but apparently going down steep hills on a sled wasn’t one of them.

I wonder how long it took us to go 20 feet?

It’s the crazy-making season. All of a sudden you find yourself with flour on your elbows, tinsel hanging from your butt (because you first sat in some chocolate left behind by a kid, then you backed into the Christmas tree when the dog ran by and almost tripped you).

And it’s ALL good — as long as it’s all good with you.

When does it become NOT so good? When you stop laughing at your glittery butt and start stressing about all that’s left to do, all the cards, and packages and shopping and budget decisions and cooking and cleaning and… where did all the fun go?

I don’t want to be that mom this year. So I’m cutting back on a few things in hopes of maintaining my sanity. I’m only making one batch of Christmas cookies and I’m letting Trader Joe take care of the rest. I’m leaving some of our many ornaments and decorations in the boxes. EVERYTHING doesn’t have to be on display EVERY year.

And I’m trying (really hard!) to get things done ahead of time so that the last week before Christmas, I can sit back a bit and relax with my family in front of the tree with some Christmas music playing in the background.

In truth? I’ll be lucky to have everything done by noon on the 24th. But just by making that a goal, there’s a chance that I’ll have a bit more breathing room this year.  Either way, I plan to pour a glass of wine, whip out my new Sugarland Christmas CD and put my feet up. Ahh.

Care to join me?

The children’s theater program at our church puts on a Christmas musical every year, and my son has been in these productions since he was 5 years old.

But my husband? He’d never set foot on a stage, and I would have bet the farm that he never would.

But when the choir director asked him if he’d play Santa (with a bunch of lines!) in “Babes in Toyland,” Randy — bless him — said yes. What a wonderful family memory.

Matt gets to play the bad guy, Barnaby, and Santa tells him off and saves the day at the end of the show, which makes it a real hoot.

Thanks, Randy, for being such a great dad and for giving Matt — and me — this wonderful Christmas memory. It’s better than anything we could find under the tree.

We’ve all received them — those holiday newsletters that brag about how Shane (the preschooler) is reading at the second-grade level, Billy got straight As (again), Ashlie got into Harvard and Sam made the law review.

But according to an article by Jeffrey Zaslow from The Wall Street Journal Online, there’s a risk you take when you send out such an annual family letter: Recipients might gather in small groups to read it aloud and laugh at you.

In a neighborhood in Hillsborough, N.J., exactly that happens every year, Zaslow reports. Each December, a family that used to live there send its holiday letter detailing the husband’s fabulous career, the kids’ unbelievable achievements, the wife’s terrific life. Their former neighbors find these annual reports so entertaining, they meet at a neighbor’s house for a theatrical reading of the pompous letters.

Yikes!

But don’t let this little tale scare you into just sending a card with “Happy Holidays” scribbled on it. Your family and friends really do want to hear about your family’s news — if you make your newsletter entertaining, says Elaine Floyd, author of Creating Family Newsletters: 123 Ideas for Sharing Memorable Moments With Family and Friends (EFG Inc.).

Try these tips for making this year’s newsletter a real keeper:

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Thinking about heading to Disneyland for a holiday treat for the family? I’ve got a great preview for you right here. Keep scrolling for lots of photos, videos and details. Our family was invited to a fun holiday event for parenting bloggers at Disneyland and California Adventure recently, and we had a blast! (The nice folks at Disneyland even invited our our son, Matt, bring a buddy, Max, since Matt doesn’t have siblings. When you’re 13, it’s always more fun with a friend.)

Disneyland will be celebrating the holidays through January 3, so you have a whole month to check out all the festivities.

And remember my contest to win a day at Disneyland as a guest of Parent Talk Today? Here I am with our winner, Sarah Auerswald, and her family…

My family loves Disneyland any time of the year, but at the holidays it really is something special. Check out this video for a sneak peek:

We also saw the new show, “Tiana’s Showboat Jubilee!” It’s a terrific show that even Randy, my husband, thought was worth the time spent away from the rides! (Randy is a tough sell on shows like this, but he loved it.) The parade through New Orleans Square on the way to the Showboat is a nice touch, too. Those costumes, seen up close, are amazing. (BTW, I didn’t have great luck with my video camera here, so I’m grateful to the person who posted this video on YouTube, from the first day of the show, and made it available for public sharing.)

We had an opportunity to “test drive” Disney’s new Mobile Magic phone app while we were there. It’s an app that helps you navigate the park, kind of like a personal tour guide. It’s available on select Verizon Wireless phones and it offers:

· Updated attraction wait times and FASTPASS return times for the park you are in.
· Locations of  your favorite attractions, characters and restaurants, with GPS-enabled maps
· Restaurants for breakfast, lunch, dinner or snacks
· Tips on what’s happening in the parks
· Trivia games to play against other parks guests

Mobile Magic is available for download and purchase for $9.99 for a 180-day subscription. We had fun playing with it. (It’s great for when you’re waiting in line and you need a diversion.) And the whole family thought the best feature was the ability to check ride wait times in real time. Cool! (OK, and I liked being able to use it to find the nearest restroom when I got temporarily turned around in California Adventure, too.)

Did I mention the HUGE Christmas tree on Main Street? Talk about getting in a holiday mood! Santa was visiting with the kids over at California Adventure, too.

But the BEST part of the day was seeing the holiday fireworks display over Sleeping Beauty’s Castle (totally decked out in gorgeous lighting), followed by “snow” falling and beautiful holiday music. You got to see a bit of the fireworks display in the video above, but check out this photo, too. This is true Disney magic at work. I saw parents wiping away a few happy tears as they watched the snow through the eyes of their children, who were mesmerized.

With everything you have to do this holiday season, make sure you make time to check out this wonderful transformation of Disneyland and California Adventure. We won’t soon forget our day there.

Ready to throw calorie caution to the wind and bake up a truly magical dessert with your kids?

My family and I were recently invited to Disneyland and California Adventure for a special event for parenting bloggers, and a wonderful Disney pastry chef taught us how to make this yummy dessert. What a fun demonstration! It takes some time, but it’s a great family project for a weekend afternoon during the holidays.

Silly me, I was so busy looking at the chef’s finished yule log that I forgot to take a picture of it to share with you! But this photo shows a similar finished log. There are lots of ways to decorate it and add your own touches.

This recipe makes one 15-inch yule log.

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We parents always hope for that picture-perfect shot of our little ones with Santa — but it doesn’t always work out that way… And you know, those funny photos often make the best memories.

The editors over at Lowcountry Parent magazine came up with a terrific idea: a photo gallery where parents can upload their favorite “scared-of-Santa” pics. This one is my favorite from the gallery so far. I’ll be stopping by often this holiday season to check out the latest photos.

Do you have a funny photo of your child on Santa’s lap? Submit it!

Tired of giving apple stationery, apple earrings and “#1 teacher” sweatshirts to your children’s teachers every holiday season? Imagine how the teachers feel! Here are some parent- and teacher-tested gift ideas that will really make the grade.

°    Think Outside The Classroom. “I like giving something that conveys that you know the teacher is human, too — not just a teacher,” says Lake Forest, California mom Joy Bat. Think sports memorabilia (if you know the teacher’s favorite team), an addition to a favorite collection of bears, dolls, snow globes… The list can be endless if you or your child just happen to listen up when the teacher mentions favorite hobbies and activities.

°    Consider a Gift For the Classroom. As school budgets are increasingly cut, teachers are often asked to supply certain classroom items. So when her child was in kindergarten, Dorothy Foltz-Gray of Knoxville, Tennessee asked what classroom game the kids needed. “The teacher responded as if I were a saint!” she says. Another time, she gave a monetary gift, again to be used for classroom supplies. Jennifer Vena of Manhattan Beach, California gives goody bags full of classroom supplies — dry-erase markers, paper clips, post-its, overhead markers, etc. With many teachers spending their own money on these items, this is a welcome gift. (more…)