Welcome to this week's issue of 4MomsAtHome!

1. Featured Article - Pediatrician Offers Tips for Choosing the Best Toys for the Holidays
2. Special Offers
3. Contests and Sweepstakes
4. Featured Article - Create a Family Heirloom Cookbook
5. Featured Recipe - Gran's Banana Bran muffins
6. Featured Article - Santa??™s Bag Overflows with Woodworking Projects

(ARA) - As the holidays grow near and your little ones start making their wish lists, the pressure is on to select a gift that kids will continue to love after the decorations have come down. Toys that promote open-ended, unstructured play are always a good choice, according to experts.

???Unstructured play is a child??™s work,??? says Dr. Alan Greene, M.D., pediatrician and medical expert of the popular book, ???The Parent??™s Soup A-Z Guide to Your Toddler.???

???It??™s how kids learn and grow. So when it comes to picking out toys this holiday season, parents should look for items that can stimulate imagination, creativity and role-playing,??? says Dr. Greene. These particular toy attributes help children gain independence and self-esteem, encourage resourcefulness and can even help reduce stress.???

The Little Tikes Company surveyed more than 1,000 parents of children aged 18 months to 6 years to get their thoughts on play. The study revealed that two-thirds of moms and dads (67 percent) believe that it is very important to experience unstructured playtime each day, opposed to planned activities, such as sports practice, music lessons or dance class. And while most parents understand the benefits of imaginative play, many don??™t understand that unstructured playtime is critical for learning. Only 51 percent of parents cited ???helps with learning??? as a key benefit of imaginative play, versus 81 percent who identified it as the biggest benefit of structured play or planned activities.

How do you select a toy that will be both fun and beneficial for your child??™s development? Dr. Greene offers a few tips:

* Let Kids Express Themselves: Toys that promote open-ended play allow children to stretch their imaginations. Toy trucks, such as Little Tikes new Handle Haulers and Rugged Riggz lines, offer children the opportunity to express their imaginations as they explore different roles and scenarios.

* Make Sense-able Choices: Children should play with toys that stimulate their senses. Kids learn about their environments through tastes, textures, smells and sight with sensory activities. The Little Tikes Tunes & Tales Story Lantern stimulates the senses of young children through vibrant colors and lively recorded songs and stories.

* Promote Playing Together: Look for toys that build social skills and encourage interaction with family and friends. Kids will learn cooperation, respect for others and how to work as a team.

* Help Kids Get Physical: Toys that encourage physical play, such as crawling, hopping, pushing and running, help kids develop balance and strong muscles while keeping them active and healthy. With the number of overweight children on the rise, physical exercise is a critical part of any child??™s play routine. Toys such as the Little Tikes Goofy Giggles Remote Control or Wide Tracker Activity Walker get even the youngest kids moving.

* Aim for Age-Appropriateness: Pay attention to the age group recommended on the toy??™s package. Playing with toys best suited for a child??™s age and developmental levels helps eliminate boredom and frustration.

* Buy What??™s Built to Last: Select toys from well-known manufacturers with a reputation for quality products. Not only will you get your money??™s worth when a toy lasts for years, you also won??™t have to worry about safety hazards.

Little Tikes toys are available at major retailers across the United States. For a complete list of Little Tikes holiday toys and where you can find them, visit www.littletikes.com.

Courtesy of ARA Content

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Give the gift of your family??™s story through recipes

(ARA) - Almost every family has a treasured recipe, handed down through generations, that is not only beloved because it??™s delicious, but because it evokes memories of favorite family get-togethers, a holiday, or a treasured family member.

A perfect gift for family and friends, a family heirloom recipe book is a wonderful way to combine favorite dishes and family folklore. According to Cheryl Wolf, a performance artist and graphic design instructor at The New England Institute of Art, "Family recipes are a valuable resource for a family history. I have built an entire performance around my family's recipes and the stories they evoke! "Breaking bread" together is life-affirming. What better way to reach back and bring personal history to the present?"

Wolf adds, ???A family recipe is also a family history, and can be a wonderful work of folk art.??? For example, she says, take the opportunity to not only write down family recipes for generations to come, but include famous family stories (every family has them), photos and memorabilia as well.

But how to turn family culinary gems into actual recipes? Chef Peter Adams of the Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago has a few tips: ???Start with a family letter, asking everyone to send back one or more of their ???specialties??™ by a particular date. Ask those that can to reply by email so you can cut and paste recipes right into your final document.???

If you have a relative that never writes down recipes (it seems like all the best recipes are never written down), but rather cooks by "a dash of this, a little bit of that,??? consider having someone in your family be the ???helper,??? and prepare the dish along with them. Adams suggests the ???helper??? can measure, guesstimate, and generally keep track of how the dish is prepared, including cooking times and temperatures. The ???helper??? should also be sure to ask about consistency, color, texture and doneness. According to Adams, ???This last bit of information is always the most important part of passing along a recipe.??? Once you have a written recipe, prepare it again according to the directions, and adjust the recipe as necessary to get as close as possible to the original.

When you??™re asking for recipes, provide everyone with a similar format. For example, ask family members to list the ingredients to be used in order, together with the quantities. Lay out the steps that are needed in order to make the item, and always add little comments about what to look for as the dish is prepared, and when it is done. It can be a lot of work, especially with recipes that were never written down. But, says Adams, ultimately it??™s worth it because you??™ll be saving an important -- and delicious bit of your family??™s history.

Once you have the recipes, you??™ll want to create a look for your cookbook that reflects your family. A simple way to do this, says Meryl Epstein of The Art Institute of Phoenix, is include family mementos or old photos, along with the recipes. A simple way to share one-of-a-kind memorabilia is to take them to a local copy center and make color copies.

???You can use the color copies you make as background, and print a recipe over the photo, or have the recipe on one page, and a photo on the facing page. You can also create a collage using items such as blue ribbons (won for a cooking), tickets stubs or airplane tickets from a favorite trip that produced a great recipe,??? says Epstein.

For text, use simple fonts like Times Roman or Arial so that they are easy to read for all ages. Save decorative fonts for recipe titles or chapter headings. Consider creating a box -- with shading and borders -- for the recipe itself so that there is enough contrast between the recipe and any background artwork you use.

Epstein suggests writing an introduction about the cookbook, its organization and how family responded to the project. Make sure to date the book and have a table of contents so family and friends can easily find a favorite recipe. Here are a few of her suggestions for organizing recipes:

* by category, for example, appetizers, soups, salads, entrees and desserts

* by family, for example, grandmother, aunt and uncle, or cousin recipes

* by holiday, for example, favorite dishes for the 4th of July, Thanksgiving or Labor Day

To keep recipes easy to read and clean, consider putting them in plastic sleeves (available in craft and office supply stores) and then in 3-ring binders. Says Epstein, ???This way, you can add a new recipe every year.???

Courtesy of ARA Content

Shopping Tips from the Industry??™s Leading Retailer of Top Quality Woodworking Supplies, Materials and Tools

(ARA) - Wondering what to place under the tree this year for family and friends? If you??™re like many people, the choice may be a woodworking project. Woodworking is an appealing hobby for people of all ages -- and for both individuals and families. ???As a result, many folks will see Santa??™s bag overflowing with kits, plans, books and tools all related to woodworking this year,??? predicts Santa??™s helper, Shawn Draper.

Sales of family-oriented woodworking gifts and supplies are highest every November and December at Woodcraft Supply Corporation retail store locations, through catalogs, and the Web site store.

???At this time of year we see people purchasing gift certificates and high-end tools for professional woodworkers just as much as we witness increased sales of starter project kits and educational videos,??? says Draper, who is vice president of marketing at Woodcraft.

GIFT GIVING TIPS

He says there are several ???jump with glee when it??™s under the tree??? woodworking gifts that consumers can purchase for family and friends. For the novice woodworker, Santa??™s wish list may include the following gifts priced under $25:

* Country Barn or Covered Bridge Bird House Kits -- Easy-to-assemble, these kits typically have about 100 pieces each for projects that can be put together in about four hours. A sharp craft knife, small hammer, glue and ruler are all that??™s needed to assemble the attractive bird houses. All pieces are precut and children of all ages can work with a parent to create the bird houses.

* First Projects for Woodcarvers Book -- This 64-page pictorial beginner book can launch people of all ages in a rewarding woodcarving hobby. Three beginning projects include a cowboy boot, dog, and three-piece stylized nativity.

* Santa Carving Kit -- An instructional book, tools and wood all in one kit! Three versions of Santa can be carved, and the kit comes in two formats -- a kit for the very beginning woodworker costs, and a more basic version with minimal tools.

For those on your shopping list with moderate woodworking skills, the sky is the limit for holiday gift-giving. Any hard-to-buy-for family member will appreciate these woodworking gifts available for under $50:

* Pen and Pencil Sets -- From exotic woods used to make the pen and pencil sets to kits of clips, clasps and caps, Woodcraft has a wide selection of everything needed to turn wood into a pen and pencil set. Start with the book ???Pens???, add in an assortment of 30 exotic wood blanks and a turning mandrel and you can launch anyone on the wonderful hobby of pen making.

* Old Time Whittling Kit -- Learn an old craft the easy way with this step-by-step beginners kit that includes an instruction book, carving knife, leather bench strap and compound (for keeping the knife sharp) and a piece of kiln-dried basswood.

* Shaker Oval Box Kit -- This kit includes everything a moderately-skilled woodworker needs to create a nest of three beautiful cherry boxes in the classic Shaker tradition.

Have a friend with a green thumb? Surprise the person with a book that shows them how to extend their love of the outdoors by creating a trellis, arbor, gazebo, deck or gate. Many avid gardeners are also woodworkers. Here are some soon-to-be-appreciated books to add to your shopping list for these special people:

* Classic Garden Structures.

* Outdoor Living: The Ultimate Project Guide.

* Whirligigs & Weathervanes.

* 2 x 4 Projects for Outdoor Living.

GOING ONCE, GOING TWICE, SOLD!

Still not sure what to purchase? Think about a one-of-a-kind handmade wooden vase, a hand-carved walking stick or an unusual birdhouse.

To find personal and unique wooden gifts, visit www.woodcraftauction.com, an Internet auction and classified listings site specializing in woodworking items along with antique and collectible tools. The easy-to-use website makes the hustle and bustle of approaching holidays less frantic while allowing you to select personalized gifts from the comfort of your home.

???This site is pure fun for anyone interested in buying fine works in wood or collectible tools,??? says Nancy Miller, director of Internet development at Woodcraft. ???The auction site has dozens of gift ideas -- at both live auctions going on continuously plus classified ads where people can buy woodworking services and pieces.

???The Woodcraft auction site is like going to an arts and crafts festival or a gift store -- except you get to shop at home. It??™s fun and easy. We include step-by-step instructions on the secure site, making it possible for even a first-time Internet visitor to make purchases quickly and easily. Best of all, you get to see and purchase one-of-a-kind original creations that friends and family will really appreciate.???

For more holiday gift ideas and information on Woodcraft, call (800) 535-4482 or visit www.woodcraft.com.

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The 4MomsAtHome Ezine is published by Karen Denning, Editor & Webmaster of 4momsathome.com.

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