The secret to a successful children's party is to keep everyone busy. Take some inspiration for your child's next birthday from these clever party ideas.

Get Creative!

Cover your table with paper or plastic, set out a canvas or cardboard mat for each guest and lay out your supplies: paints, brushes, stencils and more. Then, let those little artists get to work. Guests will be excited to go home with their new masterpiece.

Golf Par-tee!

It seems that every child has a putt-putt golf party at least once in their life. We think this golf-inspired party decor is a hole-in-one. Create giant golf balls on tees using paper lanterns and soccer horns. Pick up some indoor/outdoor turf runner at your local building supply store for a golf-inspired table runner. For the cake, simply add a mini flag and candy ball to store-bought or homemade green cupcakes. Everyone will agree, it's a great par-tee!

Start Your Engines!

This Hot Wheels-inspired party will get your motor running. Set up a race course using plastic racetrack if you have it, or create your own course out of plywood. Then let the engines rev and "On your marks, get set, go!" Create different heats to let everyone have a chance at racing, then it's trophies for the winners.

Party concepts and photos courtesy of crafty mom and owner of The Craft House, Jenn Sheffler. For more information about Jenn's DIY craft workshops visit thecrafthouseor.com

Our February/March issue of MOM Magazine is here featuring Cover MOM Julie Nowacki, and including inspiration for kids birthday parties, recipes, and ideas for April Fool's Day. Grab a copy today!  (Click on the image below to view the magazine online)

Our February/March issue of MOM Magazine is here featuring Cover MOM Amanda Kuhn, and including inspiration for kids birthday parties, recipes, and ideas for April Fool's Day. Grab a copy today!  (Click on the image below to view the magazine online)

Car trouble is never fun, especially if your car if full of kids. So play it safe this winter by following these tips for safe driving in winter conditions.

Maintain Your Car: Check the battery, tire tread and windshield wipers. Keep your windows clear, put no-freeze fluid in the washer reservoir and check your antifreeze.

Have key items on hand: Keep a flashlight, jumper cables, abrasive material (sand, kitty litter, even floor mats), shovel, snow brush and ice scraper, warning devices (like flares) and

blankets. For long trips, add food and water, medication and cell phone.

Stopped or stalled? Stay in your car, put bright markers on antenna or windows and shine dome light. If you run your car, clear exhaust pipe and run it just enough to stay warm.

Plan Your route: Allow plenty of time. Check the forecast and adjust your departure to avoid serious weather, if possible. Be familiar with the directions and let others know your route and arrival time.

Practice safe snow driving:

• Practice. During the daylight, rehearse maneuvers slowly on ice or snow in an empty lot.
• Drive slowly; accelerate, decelerate and turn slowly.
• Steer into a skid.
• Know what your brakes will do: stomp on anti lock brakes, pump on non-anti lock brakes.
• Increase your stopping distances.
• Don't stop if you can avoid it.
• Especially don't stop going up a hill. Get some inertia on a flat road before you take on a hill and don't power up a hill. Applying extra gas will start your wheels spinning.
• Don't idle for a long time with the windows up or in an enclosed space.
• Stay home. If you really don't have to go out, don't.

Sources: OSHA and AAA

Thank you to this year's Community Impact Award winners for their work to improve the lives of women and children in our communities.

Look for more information in upcoming issues of MOM Magazine.

This year, I'm resolving not to make a New Year's resolution. What good can come from creating a list of my inadequacies then making unreasonable claims about changing?  "I will fit into those skinny jeans!" only sets me up for a mommy melt-down months later when those jeans taunt me from the closet and no amount of sucking in is going to get me into them. That's not to say that there isn't room for self improvement. Believe me, I have lots of areas to improve. But the key is to go easy on yourself. Moms certainly don't need more things to feel guilty about.

So, this year, set yourself up for success by making small, attainable goals rather than broad, ambitious resolutions. The chart below shows how you can translate a common New Year's resolution into an attainable goal.

Common Resolutions

1.Lose weight

2.Get out of debt

3.Save money

4.Improve grades

5.Get a better job

6.Get fit

7.Eat right

8.Get a better education

9.Drink less alcohol

10.Quit smoking

11.Reduce stress

12.Take a trip

13.Volunteer to help others

14.Be less grumpy

15.Be more independent

Attainable Goals

1.Lose two pounds per week

2.Pay off one credit card before taxes are due

3.Save $500 for a summer road trip

4.Get a B in a challenging class

5.Update and submit my resume

6.Work out 30 minutes daily

7.No more Big Macs

8.Apply for a class I'd like to take

9.No alcohol on weekdays

10.Start a smoking cessation program

11.Eliminate one thing that is stressful

12.Decide where to take a trip and call an agent

13.Volunteer every Tuesday for one hour

14.Add an activity that makes me happy

15.Sign up for a class that's just for me

~ Angela Hibbard, MOM Magazine Editor-in-Chief

Finding success

Research suggests that over half of Americans make New Year's resolutions, yet only 8% actually achieve them. Studies show that specific goal setting (lose a pound a week, instead of saying "lose weight"), making goals public, and getting support from friends increases one's chance of success.

The holidays are not all candy canes and mistletoe; they can be rough on us moms. So here's my guide to (mostly) keeping your sanity during the holidays.

Plan. This is equivalent to telling your kids to eat their veggies, or take their vitamins. It's boring advice, but it's the only way to survive the holidays. I always start shopping early. I don't mean Black Friday early, I mean October early. Shopping early leads to more thoughtful gifts, less stress and spending less money.

Hide. While I'm an extroverted, social person, I have serious hermit-tendencies. So the frenetic pace of the holidays and constant needs of my family can take its toll. I just want to pee alone! So before I snap, and sometimes after I snap, I sneak in some alone time. Nothing fancy like a day at the spa, just lingering a little longer than necessary in the shower, or taking a detour through the coffee drive through during one of my countless trips to the store, or ordering my kids to play outside for an hour - I don't care how cold it is!

Say "No." I love a good party, and I'm often accused of over-scheduling our family's social calendar. But when I can resist accepting every invitation, the result is some unstructured family time for cookie making, games, holiday movies and more.

Forget. "Mommy brain" has its benefits. Most years, I usually forget where I put one or two storage bins of holiday decorations. I think it's my subconscious telling me to take it easy. Skipping a box or two means less time putting up and taking down decorations and when (if) we ever find those decorations next year, they'll seem like new.

But the best advice is to ignore the messy house, the dirty dishes and your annoying Uncle Fred and just take a snapshot in your mind of your kids enjoying the holidays this year. They will never be this age again. Savor it.

Why? Because I said so!

~ Angela Hibbard, Managing Director & Editor-in-Chief

MOM'S PIES
Great pie takes a lot of work, or at least it used to. Now with ready-to-cook Mom's Pies, you can end your holiday feast on a high note without spending hours slaving away in the kitchen. Pull it from the freezer, pop it in the oven, and an hour and a half later, you've got an amazing pie on the table. You can even tell them it's Mom's! Made in Eugene, each Mom's Pie contains just five ingredients: local berries or fruit, sugar, salt, vegetable shortening and flour.

SUGAR, SPICE & EVERYTHING NICE (IN BULK)
First Alternative's bulk section allows shoppers to buy as much or as little of a product as they need. This comes in handy over the holidays when rarely-used recipes call for uncommon ingredients. Cinnamon, sugar, cloves, star anise, bay leaves, cardamom, nutmeg, and more-we've got 'em. Don't use old spices you found collecting dust in the back of the cupboard, come to the Co-op and get them fresh, and in exactly the quantity
you need.

Succulent blueberries are one of the many delights of summer. If you've picked more blueberries than you can pop in your mouth, here are some cool recipes (no need to heat up the oven) for these hot summer days.

No Bake Blueberry Pie

Ingredients

• 10 graham cracker sheets
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 (14-oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups fresh blueberries
• 2 tablespoons water
• 4 teaspoons cornstarch

Instructions

1. Place graham crackers, butter, cinnamon and 1 tablespoon of the sugar in a food processor.
2. Pulse until mixture is ground to fine crumbs and combined. Press evenly onto bottom and sides of a 9-inch deep dish pie plate. Chill 10 minutes.
3. In a medium bowl beat cream cheese until smooth. Add condensed milk, lemon juice and vanilla; beat until smooth. Pour all but ¾ cup of the filling into crust. Chill, covered, for 1 hour. Chill remaining filling in a small container until ready to serve pie.
4. In a medium saucepan combine 2 cups of the blueberries, water, cornstarch and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil, thickens, and blueberries burst.
5. Remove from heat. Stir in 1 ½ cups of the remaining blueberries. Spread mixture over pie. Top with remaining ½ cup berries. Let chill 3 hours before serving.
6. To serve, cut pie into wedges and top with dollops of the remaining filling.

Blueberry Sorbet

Ingredients

4      cups fresh or thawed, frozen blueberries
1      can (6 ounces) frozen apple juice concentrate

Instructions

1. In the container of a food processor or blender, combine blueberries and apple juice concentrate
2. Whirl until liquefied
3. Pour into a 11 X 7-inch baking pan
4. Cover and freeze until firm around the edges, about 2 hours
5. With a heavy spoon, break frozen mixture into pieces
6. Place mixture in a processor or blender container
7. Whirl until smooth but not completely melted
8. Spoon into a 9 X 5-inch loaf pan
9. Cover and freeze until firm
10. Serve within a few days

For more blueberry recipes visit the Oregon Blueberry Commission.

It's 4:30pm and I'm late, as usual.  I rush into the studio amongst a gaggle of adolescent band members who are also whooshing in from volleyball practice, drama practice, or some other event that filled their afternoon.  As the kids hustle into their weekly band practice, the music director gets them focused on the task at hand.

While the kids are downstairs in studio rehearsing their various pieces of music, a team of parents gather to go over the endless details for our association's biggest event, the annual Christmas concert. This event features not only two-hours of music, but also a bake sale and a silent auction, for an audience of 1200 people.  It takes weeks of planning, coordinating, and practicing to pull off a gig of this size.  All ninety families who are a part of Tri-Cities Steel Band Association (TCSBA) work to support this event in some way, from helping with advertising and promotion, to creating gifts for the auction and baking for the bake sale.

For the last 22 years, TCSBA has produced a spectacular Christmas concert featuring four bands (two steel drum and two marimba) playing a mix of cover tunes and Christmas music for the community.  Founded by a group of parents hoping their kids could continue to play steel drums introduced to them by their school music teacher (Ben Leggett), TCSBA continues to be run by parents who are devoted to maintaining the same environment: one where kids can come together to experience the magic of music while creating friendships that last a lifetime.  Each band's fun-filled culture is inspired by amazing music directors, Ben Leggett and Walt Hampton, who have devoted their lives to fostering a love of music.  The children thrive in this environment, and their performances are far more than just great music.

So, if you're looking for something special to do this holiday season with your family, please join our family for an amazing evening of entertainment that celebrates the joy of music during the most wonderful time of the year!  Our concert is Saturday, December 16^th at Bethel Church, 600 Shockley Road, Richland.  Doors open at 5:30pm, show starts at 6:30pm. Tickets are $7.50 and can be purchased at www.TCSBA.org.  You can follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TCSBA/ -

Shannon Davis

Mother of Jakob and Meghan, and TCSBA family member since 2014.