The OpMom Blog

OpMom Debuts on January 22nd

GREAT NEWS!
OpMom’s own Carrie Pacini will be hosting a globally-broadcast monthly show focusing on family, parenting and women’s issues starting on January 22nd. Viewers can tune in LIVE at opmomblog.com/live. Mark your calendars and tune in!

If you have any show ideas or just want to drop Carrie a line about this cool new project, visit the OPMOM LIVE WEBCAST MomCircle on OpMom.

10 Family Holiday Ideas

1. Take your children to see holiday lights!
   Taking the family to see holiday lights is easy, affordable fun! Grab some holiday music and set the mood in the car. I like Putumayo’s New Orleans Christmas. For an AWESOME holiday drink try our White Hot Chocolate Recipe. like to take this drink with us so everyone gets a thermos.
2. Adopt a child or a family for the holidays
   My husband and I do this and involve our children in the process: reviewing the family’s wish list, picking up their wished-for items, and delivering them to the charity. We usually try to add in a really special surprise gift for the family, which always excites the kids and ignites their giving spirit. You can also visit “My Two Front Teeth” online to do some Holiday giving (visit My Two Front Teeth)
3. Take some time in the kitchen with your family
   This is a great time to bring some of your cultural heritage into the fold! Every year we set aside an afternoon to bake Italian Christmas Cookies, and the kids really look forward to it! Try this Italian Cookie Recipe
4. Attend a Tree Lighting Ceremony!
   Nothing kicks off the season better and is a fun way to start or end an evening. Note: if you do this, expect daily countdowns and re-inactments at home with the family tree!
5. Order a family ornament
   This site has so many to chose from! The Ornament Shop
   What’s also great about this site is that you can browse and select the ornaments by the number of people in your family, then customize them with family members’ names.
6. Take the video camera out and start filming!
   There is no better time to record the moments of your family during the holidays. There are also tons of online tools that you can take advantage of to make your film debut! Have an older video camera? Let the kids have it and record the holiday experience and memories from their perspective - if the camera survives, the memories will be priceless!
7. Buy festive pajamas for the family to wear
   On Christmas Eve my brother’s family exchanges pajamas with each other, and then they all wear them that night to bed. It’s part special holiday memory, part comical, and 100% fun. Check out Pajama Gram
8. Create a Family Time Capsule
   Get your kids thinking about their goals for next year. Get a box and write down, collect pictures and otherwise catalog the things each person wants to accomplish during the coming year. Then put it away until the next year, when the opening ceremony will become its own new tradition.
9. Declare a “family day” during the holidays
   If you have older kids, try to find time to hang out - go see a movie, get some shopping done together, or grab a memorable weekday lunch! For families with the little ones, make a meal together and play some board games or the Nintendo Wii!
10. Read traditional holiday stories
    I love the Strega Nona Series - Merry Christmas Strega Nona
    This is such a great Italian Christmas legend about a “grandma witch” named Strega Nona. Strega Nona is also known in Italy as La Befana. I make a point to read it every year to the kids, and they make it a point to remind me!