Malibu Country Mart’s Annual Winter Wonderland

December 1, 2014 by 27 Comments

malibu country mart christmas tree

Starting this Saturday, December 6, and running through December 20, the Malibu Country Mart will be transformed into a winter wonderland, SoCal style. There will be the usual suspects: Christmas tree, menorah, and twinkling lights. But on each of the December Saturdays before Christmas there will also be special activities.

Victorian carolers will stroll through the Mart, singing holiday favorites while children participate in holiday-themed activities such as stocking and dreidel decorating, face painting, and homemade cookie decorating.

malibu country mart holiday events

And for the older kids and parents, the stores in Malibu Country Mart will be running holiday specials. If you’ve never bothered to stop at the Mart on your way to somewhere else, trust me. It’s worth it. In fact, it’s a great destination in itself!

See their website for additional information.

Filed Under: Around Town, Holidays, Local Businesses Tagged With: , , , , ,

Try Giving Memories Instead of Things – Slideshows by Bari

November 28, 2014 by 13 Comments

A slideshow of memories makes a lasting, meaningful gift

christmas dinner in the 80's

Do the people in your life really need that box of cheap plastic crap that you can get on sale today for $4.99? Do you really want them to open a gift that they are going to forget the moment you walk out the door?

Think about the moments you remember – the time spent together, the milestones, the shared experiences. Even if you are far away you can make some smile, over and over again, with a thoughtfully designed photo slideshow.

Bari of Slideshows by Bari will take your photos (and even video clips) and compile them into an artful slideshow that you can show at events or send to loved ones across the miles. She made one for me so I could show it to you here: a set of memories for my grandmother (my “Nana”), who lives back in CT near most of the rest of my family. Nana has been a role model of a strong woman for me for my entire life. She had five kids and when they were old enough she started working in City Hall in my hometown and significantly influenced the culture and infrastructure of that city for decades. I remember sitting at her desk at City Hall when I was little (I don’t have a picture for that), and receiving gifts from her travels all over the world. I never knew that women were disadvantaged in any way. This is what I thought a woman was.

Nana is 93 now and doesn’t fly anymore so she hasn’t been out to visit us in several years. Our family does our best to FaceTime or Skype when we can’t be together especially over the holidays but it gets hard because my kids are such goofballs and won’t really allow a peaceful video chat call to happen.

Also, what do you get for the woman who has everything? Aside from flying to CT to be with her, which I wish I could do more often, I thought a slideshow of favorite memories would be a lovely gift. It has already been a lovely gift for me, from Slideshows by Bari:

kim from barif on Vimeo.

Bari’s turnaround time is amazing. This slideshow above has just over 50 photos in it – some that she scanned for me and some that I already had as digital files. She’ll also incorporate video clips if you have them. Her rate is usually $2 per photo, and I would say it’s totally worth it. Yes, your 9-year-old can probably make a slideshow with iPhoto, but it won’t get it done quickly (trust me) and with as much professionalism and skill as slideshows by Bari.

Slideshows By Bari
Agoura Hills

Filed Under: Around Town, Local Businesses Tagged With: , , , , ,

Kids Can Give Back With Charity Checks

November 26, 2014 by 15 Comments

donation box

I want to model giving back for my children. I have done this with my work for Help a Mother Out, a group that gets diapers to needy families. I do it with my volunteering at their school, and we do it together when we prepare donations of our gently used goods to local charities, and non-perishable food for the food bank.

But giving the children the power to choose what charity they want to help? I’ve never come across an opportunity as easy as Charity Checks.

With Charity Checks, you donate money, and you get blank checks that total the amount of your donation. Then you give the blank checks to people as gifts. In turn, they fill out the recipient – any registered 503(c) charitible organization in the US – and send it in.

That means if you donate $50 and ask for two $25 checks, you can give one to each child (if you have two children, like I do) and they can choose what charity gets the money. So if you have a child who loves to conserve and recycle, he can choose a environmental charity. If you have one who cares deeply about animals, he can choose a shelter. If one of your children cares about babies, she can pick Help a Mother Out!

People purchase Charity Checks as business gifts for employees or clients. Instead of the “A Donation to ____ Has Been Made in Your Name” message, why not send a Charity Check and have the recipient pick the group of their choice?

You can order Charity Checks online, and they take PayPal! If you buy Charity Checks on Giving Tuesday (December 2), you aren’t just getting your holiday shopping done- you’re part of a movement to give back.

 

Filed Under: Things Tagged With: , , , , ,