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Remembering a Christmas When Love, and Neighbors, Came Through

We'd managed only a few things for our children that Christmas—until our neighbors gave us all much more. Read More...

Published Wed, Dec 12 2015 9:39 PM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, Christmas, Holidays, Highlights, Recession and Depression

For Christmas Eve, Stop Shopping, Start Celebrating

These last "shopping days" before Christmas are when the gremlin gifts beckon, even if you're on a budget. Stay home. Read More...

Published Wed, Dec 12 2015 12:22 PM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, Christmas, Highlights

Finding a Christmas Spirit Amid Deployment Blues

After a few tough weeks, I found myself sinking deeper and deeper into the cold, dark waters of deployment—not where the kids need me to be during the holidays. Read More...

Published Tue, Dec 12 2015 3:22 AM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, Christmas, Holidays, Highlights, United States Defense and Military Forces, Deployment Diary, Defense and Military Forces

Eight Gifts for Family Game Night

A game designer suggests favorite picks for the holidays. Read More...

Published Mon, Dec 12 2015 7:11 AM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, Christmas, Holidays and Special Occasions, Highlights, Games

An Overdose of Christmas Leads to a Bigger Hanukkah, and More

When we moved from Israel to Luxembourg, I knew it would change the ease of our Jewish-ness. But I didn't know my daughter would bring home a school library book called "Jesus’ Christmas Party." Read More...

Published Sun, Dec 12 2015 5:23 PM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, Christmas, Holidays, Jews and Judaism, Highlights

With Deployment Looming, How Do You Measure a Year?

I remember us, the day our daughter was born after my husband's return from Iraq, telling our families that he wouldn't deploy again "until 2015." Read More...

Published Tue, Dec 12 2014 7:29 AM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, Christmas, New Year, United States Defense and Military Forces, Deployment Diary

Blue-Haired Bingo in Footie Pajamas

There’s a common perception that with cancer in the house, the mood is all death and dying, gloom and doom. But there can be laughter and humor, too. Read More...

Published Thu, Dec 12 2014 2:27 AM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, Cancer, Christmas, Death and Dying, Highlights

Eleven, With Down Syndrome, and Still a Santa-Loving Little Girl. Maybe.

My daughter is still a little girl, with a stuffed Piglet and Velcro-fastened shoes. For years, she's dictated her letter to Santa to me. This year, things were different. Read More...

Published Wed, Dec 12 2014 5:32 AM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, Christmas, Santa Claus, Down syndrome, Highlights

Saving the Images of a Perfect Childhood and Deleting the Rest

For my daughter’s fifth birthday, I put together a book of photos that I thought captured her short life. And then I realized that every picture I had chosen made it all look perfect. Read More...

Published Tue, Dec 12 2014 9:22 AM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, Christmas, Photography, Cameras, Highlights

Dear Santa, Please Bring Daddy

This year, my husband will return from his predeployment work-ups to spend Christmas with us, and my daughter will get her wish. Next year, there will be nothing even Santa can do. Read More...

Published Tue, Dec 12 2014 6:59 AM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, Christmas, Highlights, United States Defense and Military Forces, Deployment Diary

Why We Don’t Do the Naughty List

I understand why the naughty list helps some parents. But for my anxious daughter, it's the opposite of Christmas magic. Bless the mall Santa who understood that. Read More...

Published Fri, Dec 12 2014 9:03 AM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, Christmas, Santa Claus, Highlights

Holiday Concerts and the Anatomy of Melancholy

Every year, I try to find a way to embrace the ephemeral, cherry-blossom nature of December, and the way it wallops you over the head with the passage of time. Read More...

Published Thu, Dec 12 2014 12:04 PM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, Christmas, Hanukkah, Emotions, Highlights

When a Classmate Takes On Santa

When a student decides to declare Santa a fraud, there's little a teacher or parent can do. Read More...

Published Thu, Dec 12 2014 5:43 AM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, Christmas, Santa Claus, Parent-Teacher Conference

Pausing for Hanukkah While Everything Else Keeps Going

Celebrating Hanukkah and Christmas has made me aware of how much easier the outside world makes it to protect one tradition over the other. Read More...

Published Tue, Dec 12 2014 2:05 PM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, Christmas, Hanukkah, Highlights

Quandary: Helping Younger Children Love to Give as Well as Get

Younger children can be more focused on the possibility of having all their Hanukkah or Christmas wishes granted than on choosing or making with others in mind. Read More...

Published Mon, Dec 12 2014 10:49 AM by Motherlode

Filed under: parenting, advice, Christmas, Hanukkah, gifts, Highlights

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