Coming Up: Art Sale from UESF and Sharon Art Studio

Looking for some new art for your home? The United Educators of San Francisco (UESF) and Sharon Studio’s is hosting its Retired Teacher's Sale. To me that sounds like they're selling retired teachers, but I won't go there. Oops, already did.

The retired teachers will be selling hand-made art and crafts in like jewelry, textiles, photography, glass and mixed media.

Plus, there's FREE ceramics hand-building in the ceramics studio open to all ages, from 11-3. Children under age 10 should be accompanied by a parent.

When: Sunday, March 19 from 10-5
Where: Sharon Art Studio, 300 Bowling Green Drive, SF

Coming Up: Fall Chocolate Salon - SF

You can start drooling now. The fall holiday chocolate salon is coming up - and that means lots of gourmet chocolate eating. Plus demonstrations, celebrity chef and author talks and more.

photo copyright Deborah Abrams Kaplan. No reprinting without permission

When: November 20, 2016 from 10-5
Where: Hotel Kabuki, Japantown SF
Tickets: $25/advanced purchase, $30/door. Children ages 6-12 are $10. Children 6 and under are free (maximum 2 kids per adult or they'll charge $10 for each additional child). Tickets include chocolate and wine tastings and demonstrations.

Holiday gifts: The Gift of an Experience

There's a huge focus this time of year on buying gifts. We wanted to include some ideas that are the gift of experience, not just things.

Unclutterer has a good list of experience gifts, including San Francisco city tours.

I'm a big fan of museum and attraction memberships as gifts. Then you have fun together while experiencing something new. Frisco Kids has a list of most Bay Area museums on the right side of the blog. Like going to amusement parks or the boardwalk? Either buy a season pass, get a gift certificate or just make your own, so you can go together.

Entertainment - get tickets to a show! We have a list of discounted tickets you can get for mostly holiday shows here. Goldstar has a lot of shows at good deals year-round. (affiliate link)

Don't want to do any gifts? You're not a grinch. Read my friend Heather Greenwood Davis' take on why they're not doing Christmas gifts for two years running.

As a gift for your spouse or better half, get a gift through Howaboutwe for couples. Unfortunately you do have to sign up to see the offerings, but you can choose experiences (shows, tours, massages, meals, etc.)


Don't forget the other posts in this series:
-Helping others this holiday season
-Frisco Kids guide to holiday entertainment

Frisco Kids Holiday Gift Guide 2013

We' ve been having fun-looking gift ideas for our Frisco Kids' Gift Guide this year.

KIDS
Personalized sheets - my son recently asked if a company made design-your-own sheets, because he wanted to put a certain song's lyrics on it. I said no company made these. Then I thought about it. What a brilliant idea for a product! Headed over to Google and not surprisingly, I had spoken too soon. You CAN design your own sheets. While I probably won't tell my son this (he has enough sheets already), if you think this is a good idea, here is one company that does it. Many other companies will put photos on sheets or let you design sheets using their patterns and colors.

You may have seen this great commercial from GoldieBlox that went viral online (and recently pulled the Beastie Boys song/lyrics from its ad). It's an awesome ad, and did a great job promoting its toys to encourage girls to be engineers. So here is the GoldieBlox toy, GoldieBlox and the Spinning Machine. It comes with a book and construction set. Read more about the background of GoldieBlox toys.


Unclutterer has a great list of kids' gifts that help them become better organized. And they're fun too. Like a t-shirt that helps kids learn how to fold by making great designs on the back as they do so. A chalkboard laptop, swoop bag for cleaning up toys, doodle tablecloth, and crayon ammo belt.

They Draw and Travel maps are adorable and a great way to teach your kids about different places. Their new book Maaaps has 19 hand-drawn maps by Aunyarat Watanab, including 18 international cities or countries and one of Mars. If you look through the website, you'll see maps from all kinds of places made by various artists. You can buy maps printed in various sizes and the artists get 50% of the sales price. Here are some maps of San Francisco by various artists. I love this one below of Big Sur by Nate Padavick. Obviously they are not just for kids!

 

PRESENTS FOR ADULTS OR KIDS, check out this awesome jewelry my daughter is making, with all proceeds going to Breaking the Chain through Education. The organization is freeing child slaves in Ghana. The kids are sold into slavery by parents who can't afford to educate them and feed them, and think the kids will be getting just that. Instead, the kids are worked really hard (and often in dangerous jobs), getting very little to eat and little to no education. The group has already rescued 30 child slaves, and sent them back to their families, with continued support with food and social work assistance.

Not all the jewelry shown here is available on the Dori Jewelry Etsy site currently, but it can be ordered with quick shipping by email (dorijewelry (at) gmail (dot) com). She's doing a holiday fair this week so some items haven't yet been added to the site in anticipation of the fair. She makes necklaces, earrings, beaded bracelets, chip bag bracelets, and eyeglass chains. She will do custom pieces at no additional charge. Shipping is $3.50 for up to three items.

ADULTS
I have a list of mostly quirky gifts that looked like fun. Like these Star Wars Darth Vader cuff links

And these Star Wars Storm Trooper cuff links.

They have a lot more Star Wars cuff links designs.

I recently bought this exact Nespresso machine and I LOVE it. I don't have the frother that you can buy with it (it's extra) but do use a $3 IKEA immersion frother I got a a few years ago. The espresso and espresso drinks I make with it are SO good and so easy too.

Williams Sonoma is offering a mushroom log where you can grow your own shitake mushrooms. It caught my eye.



For the person who has everything, or a foodie who loves Instagram, check out these Instagram photo marshmallows! Here's the Boomf company link.

Bed Bath and Beyond is selling awesome state-shaped cutting boards for $19.99. The California one is available at California stores, but you can other states online. I couldn't easily copy the California photo, so you're stuck with New Jersey at right. But here's the link to the California shaped bamboo cutting board from Bed Bath and Beyond.

Frisco Kids Holiday Book Gift Guide for 2013

We're big book lovers in our family, so we thought we'd share some favorites to consider for this year's gifts - not just for the kids too!

FOR THE KIDS
We recently reviewed Exploralab, which is created by the Exploratorium. This would be a great gift for those kids who like experimenting and have a sense of curiosity about the world. The book is aimed at kids and has things to pull out and use during the experiments. Read more of the Exploralab review here.

For the comic lovers, consider Justice Angel Comic, especially since its heroine is a Chinese girl.

LEGO Space Book - My kid loves LEGOs so much, he has (and built himself) the LEGO Death Star. So I was excited to get a copy of LEGO Space to review. This is not an official LEGO book, but authors Reid and Goddard make intricate custom LEGO models and use them to tell a story of exploration and intrigue. They go on a voyage form Sputnik to a future space-faring civilization.

In addition to the model pictures, it also includes building instructions so you can make some of them at home. LEGO is also going to produce (and sell) the Exo Suit which is featured in the book, in 2014. This is only the 6th fan-created model the company has created. The book came out in November. It's a beautiful, big colorful book.

LEGO Adventure Book - This one looks really good too.

If you're looking for puzzle books, check out the Rich Rollo Number Cross Puzzles. I reviewed it here, along with the Ballpark Mystery series by David Kelly. There's even one set in San Francisco. Read my son's reviews of the Ballpark Mysteries here. Ballpark Mysteries is good for the 9 and under crowd.

We've become big fans of Dan Gutman's Genius Files books. And while we read the first Templeton Twins book, Templeton Twins Have an Idea, we're eagerly anticipating the next one, The Templeton Twins Make a Scene. I see it came out in October! My 10 year old loved these books, and to be honest, I did too.

FOR THE ADULTS



I just got Allison Winn Scotch's latest novel The Theory of Opposites on my new Kindle. I've reviewed her books before (here's another review) and interviewed her here. Her latest was just optioned by Jennifer Garner's production company. It's getting great press and I can't wait to read it. It's a novel, if you haven't figured that out already.

My travel writing friend Mara Gorman recently published The Family Traveler's Handbook, with lots of stories from parents about how to successfully travel with kids, how to plan for your trip and making the most of road trips. She looks at camping, choosing hotels and resorts, the best ways to plan an itinerary, maintaining kids' routines on the road, eating out with the kids, safety issues, challenges for different stages kids are in and how to deal with them, and a huge resource section with tons of valuable tools for family travel.

Another family travel writer, Collen Lanin of Travel Mamas, also published a travel guide this year - The Travel Mamas' Guide: How to vacation with babies and children...and stay sane. We're quoted in there! It has lots of tips and helpful hints from real-world parents about airplane travel with kids, road trip activities for keeping kids engaged on the road, the types of toys to pack, and more.

For new or expecting parents, this is a thought-provoking book about Read my review of The Business of Baby here. It's a thoroughly researched book that looks into vaccines, pregnancy diets, fetal monitoring, ultrasounds and other testing, C-sections, circumcision, potty training and many more issues important to a child's early life. I don't necessarily agree with all of Margulis's conclusions, but it made me think and question more than I have before, and that to me is a sign of a good book.
Read an interview with author Jennifer Margulis here.




If you're a fan of Chronicle Books, they're having an online friends and family sale (you're included) with 35% off and free shipping through December 5. Use code FRIENDS.

Whiskey Women - The Untold Story of How Women Saved Bourbon, Scotch and Irish Whiskey by Fred Minnick. Doesn't the title alone make you want to read this book, even if you're not a drinker? The book looks at specific women involved in the business, and is getting rave reviews from the likes of Esquire and American Way magazine, as well as those in the industry.

Father's Day Gift Ideas for the Bay Area

Looking for things to give your father (or for the kids to give Dad)? Whether it's a donation, a gift or time together, here are some ideas.

MAKE
Make him something. Kitchen Fun With My 3 Sons has lots of fun food items.

Bring the family to Laurel Street Arts in San Carlos to make something for Dad, or with Dad. Studio fee is $14 total for 2 adults and 2 kids (projects are extra).

Make him a necktie. This drop-in workshop is on Sunday, June 16 at the Children's Creativity Museum. The activity is from 10-noon, aimed at kids 6 and under.

BUY
Does Dad like sports or shows? Plum District has a deal on discounted tickets through Scorebig. Spend $9 and get $30 in credit to a sporting event or show. Tickets are generally 10-60% below box office price on the site, and include Major League Baseball, college sports, concerts like Bon Jovi and Justin Bieber (yeah, he'll want to see Justin for sure!), Cirque du Soleil, Disney, etc. Scorebig is kind of like Priceline - you name your price and see instantly if the offer is accepted. He can pick what he wants to see. If you're new to Plum District, use code PLUMMOM30 and get 30% off.

Plum District has some other great things like craft beer delivery service, an Urban Quest family scavenger hunt, and gourmet treats.


DONATE
My sister and I often make donations in my dad's honor as a gift, since he usually doesn't want anything. If you're in the same boat and want to do good in the world, make a microloan donation to Kiva in honor of your dad. By doing so, you'll help someone else - perhaps even another father - succeed and support a family. All repayments are funneled back into your account so you can lend them to someone else after. Look for the heart on the donation description before you check out so you can click it and dedicate your loan to your favorite Dad, including a special message about why you chose that loan.

Holiday Gift Ideas for the Kids

Everyone is doing round-ups of gift ideas right now, and of course I have throw in my 2 cents. These are TOTALLY random ideas. I have a solid list of tried-and-true board and card games here.

ZIPPER BAGS
My latest love are these zipper bags. I just bought two zipper monster pencil bags for my friend's kids. The fun thing, aside from how cute they are, is that you can unzip the entire bag into one giant zipper, and then zip it up again. These bags are $10 (I paid $15 at a street fair). They have all different size and color purses and other totes as well (though I admit I bought a purse for my daughter on eBay, though she really wants one of the backpacks).

BOOKS
I got my kids a set of math and science books recently that are actually fun. There are 2 kinds of books: 101 Things Everyone Should Know about Science (ages 8-12) and 101 Things Everyone Should Know about Math, (ages 11-15) and the other set: One Minute Mysteries: 65 Short Mysteries you Solve with Math (ages 11-15) and One Minute Mysteries: 65 Short Mysteries you Solve with Science (ages 8-12). These are great for a car or plane ride (or bathroom reading) because you can read a short chunk at at time and you can make it fun for the family to figure out together.

STUFFED ANIMALS
My kids have way too many stuffed animals. But ones with germs? Can't get enough of them. Especially since my husband is a scientist and my daughter plan to be a marine biologist. While others may think stuffed cancer cells are creepy (as are pimple, diarrhea, rotavirus, swine flu and dozens of others), they're good teaching tools and would even be a good gift for that special science teacher in your life! This cancer cell from Giant Microbes can be cured, by reversing it and swallowing them up. Get a holiday wreath, stocking box or tree box with tree ornament miniature germs like white blood cells, salmonella, penicillin and dust mites.

PUZZLES
This 500 piece puzzle just came out from the US Postal Service. The stamps were released in October (you get a sheet of them inside the box) and they feature landscapes as seen from the sky. The puzzle is $17.95 and you can get it at your post office or online here.

Okay, this one is for adults, to make for kids. The book Knitting for Kids has 40 patterns for cute kid clothing like sweaters, hats, dresses, vests and more. I need to learn to knit!

Family-Friendly Board/Card Games for the Holidays

Our family is big into games. Board games, card games, you name it. So I'm bringing you some games to consider for the holidays. Whether you're giving them as gifts, or bringing them with you on a family trip, these are great.

Spot-it San Francisco
The Spot It deck has 55 cards with 8 pictures each. Any two card will have one image in common. While there are 5 ways you can play the game, basically they all involve matching one of the pictures on your card to one of the pictures on another card before another player finds a match from their card. Given our competitive family, the games are intense. Since there are 55 different images, it can be hard to remember the right description for every picture (we'd call out "boat" when really it was a houseboat, or "building" when it was really the Transamerica Pyramid). In some games it's easier for adults to win. In this one, the kids did equally well.
Made by a Bay Area game company (who sent the game to me for review), they make various versions like the San Francisco edition we got. I like that it's portable and small enough to play on an airplane.

You can play Spot It online and try it out.
Ages 7+. 2-8 players
Cost: $10-20 (different versions priced differently)
Portable: yes
Can play on an airplane? yes
Junior version? Yes

Reverse Charades
Instead of one person acting something out for a group, the group acts something out for one teammate. My kids loved this game (sent to us for review), where they got to act like dorks and watch us acting like dorks too, trying to act out as many words as possible within 60 seconds. My husband didn't love it - he's into more strategic games, but watching the kids laugh that much was worth it.

Ages/Players:  age 4+, 6 or more players
Cost: $17-24
Portable: yes (put everything in a gallon size Ziploc)
Can play on an airplane? No
Junior Version? Yes

Gobblet
This is my son's latest obsession. It's like a combination of Connect Four and Tic Tac Toe, only you can use your larger pieces to cover (or "gobble") up your opponent's pieces to prevent them from winning. It's a simple game to learn, but when you start playing, you realize that it's quite complicated and you need some strategy (hence my husband loves it too).

Ages/Players: ages 7+, 2 players
Cost: $20-32
Portable: yes
Can play on an airplane? maybe, but the box might take up too much room in your bag
Junior version? Yes

Settlers of Catan
This is my family's favorite game. Warning: it can be addictive, and learning it takes awhile. It's a strategy game and those who love it are cult-like in devotion. Games take about an hour each. It's for older kids. Mine (ages 9 and 11) are on the younger side but they've grown up watching us play and we are dedicated teachers. There are lots of spin-off games as well, none of which we found are as good as Settlers of Catan. Huzzah!

Ages/Players: 3-4 players (5-6 with expansion set), ages 10-14 +
Cost: $33-42
Portable: yes (we put everything in a gallon size Ziploc)
Can play on an airplane? No
Junior version? Yes

Set
A great card game where you spot patterns, yelling SET when you find a group of 3. This is a good game for kids and adults, once you understand what constitutes a set (the rules show examples). We play a lot in my family. It's kind of like a more complicated version of Blink.

Ages/Players: 2+ players
Cost: $11-25
Portable: yes
Can play on an airplane? yes, but not really easily because you need to lay 9 cards out at a time.
Junior version? No

Pentago
My sister just got us this game, and already I can't play it with my husband (because he always wins). It's like Connect Four, but with rotating sections. The goal is to get five discs in a row, but you are allowed to turn one of the nine boards 45 degrees after placing your disc. Your opponents can do the same. Therefore you need good spatial abilities to see where you (and your opponents) are going to connect when the boards are turned. I haven't tried it yet with four people, but that would be a very different game than with 2. You can also buy a 2 person game that looks a little different.

Ages/Players: ages 6-15; 2-4 players
Cost: $27-30
Portable: the smaller version is portable
Can you play on an airplane? yes, with the two-person or travel version, but I wouldn't want to lose the discs
Junior Version?

Family-Friendly Subscription Box Services

If you haven't noticed, subscription boxes are the latest gift trend. These boxes, which arrive once a month, contain whatever theme the company is built on. Subscriptions are usually around $20/month, with discounts for longer term commitments. Many companies offer deals on these through the daily deal companies.

The kid boxes are a great gift for grandparents or aunts/uncles to give grandkids - because kids love to get packages and inside is something new to do. Here are some of the many subscription services out there. With two or more kids in the house, often the companies will let you add on supplies for less than the cost of an extra box.

Some of the food boxes would make great gifts for the hard-to-shop-for adults. Many plans have additional point systems where you can earn points for reviewing products, and you can spend them on additional items.

CRAFTS
Wonder Box by Education.com - 3 projects per box, including all supplies
Theme: varies (nature, science, storytime)
Cost: $19.99/month (free shipping)
Age: 3-6

Kiwi Crate - based in the Bay Area, the company offers more than just subscription boxes. You can also buy one-off holiday crates, goody bag crates, and simple costumes as well.
Theme: varies (gardening, dinosaurs, colors).
Cost: $19.95/month (free shipping)
Age: 3-7

Kelly Kit Art - art kits and additional purchases like sensory gift packs and birthday party packs
Theme: various arts (painting, sculpting, drawing, printmaking or collage).
Cost: $9.95/month
Age: 2+

Green Kids Crafts - 3 projects per kit. Earth-friendly craft kits, plus special additional craft kits and party packages
Theme: various (nature, science)
Cost: $19.50/month (free shipping)
Age: 3-8


TRAVEL
Little Passports - kids follow adventures of Sam or Sofia as they travel the world or the USA. Each month kids get a map, stickers, online game access, souvenirs, letters, photos and activity sheets based on the destination.
Theme: travel - USA or world
Cost: $13.95/month for 3 month subscription ($10.95/month for 1 year subscription)
Age: 5-10 for world edition, 7-12 for USA edition


SCIENCE
Magic School Bus Science Club - science experiments your child can do at home (you can help)
Theme: science (kits might include lessons on chromatography paper, owl pellets, minerals, magnets, mirrors, thermometers, pH balance, brine shrimp)
Cost: $19.99/month, shipping included
Ages: 5-12


BOOKS
Sproutkin - Founded by a Bay Area mom, this subscription service offers 10 books and discussion cards every month. The only catch (if you can call it that) is that you return the books you're done with - or buy them at 10% off retail price. Kind of like a library.
Theme: books
Cost: $25/month (free shipping both ways)
Ages: 3-6


BABIES/TOTS
Citrus Lane - 4-5 various products tied to your child's age and development stage. They'll include toys, books, snacks, household items like sunscreen or lunchbags.
Theme: various (fun in the sun, art and music, bed and bath)
Cost: $25/month (free shipping)
Age: 0-3

Bluum.com - 4-5 monthyly items of baby stuff tailored to the baby's age and developmental stage.
Theme: includes items like creams, baby foods, wipes, toys and books, plus a mom treat every month
Cost: starting at $11/month (free shipping)
Age: baby


FOOD
NatureBox - receive 4-6 full size packages of all natural snacks.
Theme: healthful, all-natural snacks like pistachio power clusters, granola, roasted nuts, pineapple
Cost: $19.95/month (free shipping)
Age: any

GFreely - gluten-free
Theme: gluten-free snacks and recipes
Cost: $19/month plus $6/shipping
Age: any

Love With Food - Bay Area based company that donates a meal for every box purchased. 8+ gourmet samples per box. A very affordable gift option.
Theme: gourmet foods like artisan marshmallows, granola, tea, organic kettle corn, shortbread, flavored olive oil.
Cost: $10/month ($0-$2/shipping depending on subscription)
Age: any

Conscious Box - for those wanting to help the environment using vegan and sustainable products.
Theme: sustainable products, including beauty, food and soap
Cost: $12/month (plus $7/shipping); vegan box is $19.95/month including shipping
Age: any

FOR WOMEN
PV Body - for women who like to exercise in style, this company sends a designer top and bottom each month.
Theme: fashionable exercise clothes for women (one top, one bottom per month)
Cost: $40/month (free shipping) until December 1 ($49/month after that). To take advantage of the lower price use this link (Frisco Kids readers using this link until December 1 get it for $32/month).
Age: adult sizes


PETS
Bark Box - 4-6 goodies for your dog, based on dog size
Theme: dog items (bones, shampoos, treats, gadgets and more)
Cost: starting at $17/month (free shipping)
Age: any