Shop for Children
Christmas Presence: Jewelry, a Musical Powder Box, a Bike, See's Candy and Double Acrostics
Julia Sneden wrote: It's embarrassing to think back over the sheer volume of presents I've received over the years. A few stand out: a beautiful, winter-white skirt of soft wool embroidered with pale blue and silver snowflakes that I longed for but knew we couldn't afford, that turned up miraculously anyway ... an opal ring that my great aunt had promised me when I was sixteen ... from my husband, a pair of books by Carmen Bernos de Gasthold, the first Christmas we were married ... a present my eldest son selected all by himself for me when he was about eight, blue ornament earrings paid for from his allowance ... the Double Crostic books another son gives me yearly ... a copy of Babar the King brought me by my adult middle son ... photos of my grandchildren taken and compiled into a little book by my clever daughter-in-law. more »
Charles Dickens's Christmas Carol, Being a Short Story of Christmas, and a Viewing of The Man Who Invented Christmas
Compelled by personal financial difficulties, Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol in only six weeks, during a period of intense creativity in fall 1843. The original manuscript of A Christmas Carol reveals Dickens's method of composition, allowing us to see the author at work. The pace of writing and revision, apparently contiguous, is urgent, rapid, and boldly confident. And, if you want to make a full weekend of Dickens' story and have an Amazon Prime membership among others, view The Man Who Invented Christmas. Dickens is portrayed by Dan Stevens, of Downton Abbey fame. The program is also available for a minimum fee if you don't have one of the memberships. more »
My Mother’s Cookbook Frosted Cakes: Seven-Minute Frosting, 1234 Cake, Pound Cake Torte and Carrot Cake
Margaret Cullison writes: I suffered from cake envy after attending a friend’s birthday party when I was six or seven years old. She had an April birthday, and her cake that year looked like a lamb with white frosting and coconut curled fur. The cake completely enchanted me. I knew my friend’s mother hadn’t made the cake herself. We always had homemade birthday cakes at home, but that didn’t impress me nearly as much as the magic of Sandy’s lamb cake. more »
Rose Madeline Mula: Color Me Overwhelmed; Every Aspect of Life is Characterized by Multiple Choice, Even Kindergartners Must Choose Which Action Hero or Disney Princess Should Decorate Their Backpacks
Rose Madeline Mula writes: Every aspect of life today is characterized by multiple choice. The Bachelor and Bachelorette must decide which of twenty-five suitors would be the best mate. Kindergartners must choose which action hero or Disney princess should decorate their backpacks. Women have to determine which of dozens of costly wrinkle creams will live up to their hype. A far cry from the only skincare choice I had in my youth — Pond's Cold Cream at 25 cents a jar. Unfortunately, I’m a stress eater; so all of the decision-making I face in my day-to-day life inevitably leads me to ice cream — which only compounds the problem. Do you know how many flavors Baskin-Robbins offers these days?! more »