The Curious Mom

Christmas is almost here! Not even the pandemic can take away the beloved tradition of Filipino families to celebrate this joyous season at SM. Let the wonderful, magical and truly merry Christmas at SM drive away from the blues! Sama sama tayo sa Pasko sa SM!

All throughout November and December, come and be dazzled by these exciting Holiday surprises that await you at SM:

Back when we were children, it was almost unheard of that we would play inside, and according to studies, children who grew up in the 70s and 80s spent at least two to three hours playing outside every single weekday. This kept them active, healthy, and social. Today, however, children would much rather stay in and watch TV or play on their computers than go outside and kick a ball around. 

Nature is good for our kids, encourages imagination, keeps away depression, and allows them to develop far better than from behind a tablet screen. Playing outside keeps health issues at bay, makes us all happier, and boosts immune systems. Here are a few tips to encourage your little people to get outside and play this summer.

Invite magic into the garden

Children love a little bit of magic and mystery, so try constructing a fairy house at the bottom of the garden and creating a story around it. You can leave clues outside it before they get up in the morning for them to find, and they can decide what the mischievous fairies were up to overnight!

Make the garden accessible

By making the garden child-friendly, you will automatically encourage them to play out there. You can do this in a number of ways - by sending them out with chalk to draw on the paving stones, or adding a slide or a paddling pool. If you are thinking about buying a trampoline for your garden, you can read Parenting Pod’s Skywalker trampoline reviews here. 

Make nature exciting

Having enthusiasm for nature will rub off on your children, and result in what is known as “parallel play”. So, if you show excitement for hiking, animals, or gardening, your kids will too. Often, children do as we do and not as we say, and you will find them creating their own version of your activity nearby.

Don't be afraid of dirt

By sending your kids outside in their old clothes, you are teaching them that it is okay to get dirty. If you have a little one who would rather wear their fancy clothes, then it could be a good idea to just accept that they will get a bit muddy - after all, the play is far more important than the physical objects! Remember, once dry, most mud is pretty easy to get off, so try not to be too uptight about jumping in puddles or digging.

Take indoors out

If your child loves playing with their building blocks, dolls, or Lego, set out some blankets outside and take their favorite toys with you. By changing the environment, you are changing the way they play, and showing them that life outside can be achievable too. There are guides for outdoor blankets that you might need.

Add water

It’s no secret that kids love playing with water! As a sensory activity, it helps brain development and lays a foundation for scientific and mathematical learning. So encourage splashing, pouring, sloshing, stirring, and anything else which gets them wet!

Remember, the earlier you instill a love of the outdoors in your child, the less likely they are to become indoor people when they grow up.

Do you ever look through the family photo album and struggle to recall the venue you’re at celebrating your last big birthday? Or reminisce about that restaurant you all loved that was the start of each of your anniversary photos? If you never cater or host your big family events at home, you might be missing out. Yes, it takes a little extra planning and organization, but it can make the whole celebration so much more personal and bespoke. Here are just a few of the best tips for making it easy to celebrate at home, whatever the occasion:

The Big Anniversary

You might be wondering how on earth you can keep this one a surprise. Why not collaborate with your partner to create the ultimate anniversary bash? And no, you don’t have to do all the work on this one. Hiring a caterer can make the whole party so much more relaxed for you both. Many private catering services can also provide waiting and bar staff. Then you can enjoy the party without having to worry about your guests having enough to eat or drink. 

When you choose a private catering service, look for someone local that can come to your house and make a full assessment. They may choose to use your kitchen for food preparation and will need to know what facilities you have. Alternatively, the food might arrive ready to serve, and you can just lay it out for guests to help themselves buffet-style. Choose the level of service that suits you both and your budget. Most importantly, make sure you sample the menu!

You might also be interested in hiring a party planner, or an event designer. These are the people that can convert your comfortable family home into the party event venue of the year. They’ll take care of the storage of your furniture, and manage all the decorating on your behalf. You simply need to pick a theme, and the rest is done for you. You might even engage some entertainers to wow your friends and family too. Hiring someone instead of managing this yourself should also cover any licenses you might need.

Of course, taking care of the entire party yourself is still doable. Download a party planner’s template to give you a checklist of tasks you might need to do. Choose a menu with dishes that can be kept warm or chilled easily for a fun party buffet. Serving hot plates are ideal for this. You might choose to buy them, but if you ask around your friends and family, chances are someone will have one or two you can borrow. As for decorating? Pop to your favorite online party store and pick balloons, garlands, centerpieces and more. Enjoy!

Kids Birthday

Entertaining your child’s select friends at home will always cost less than hiring a restaurant or ordering a party pack at a play center. That doesn’t mean it has to be hard work or boring. There are lots of things you can do to make the occasion memorable and lots of fun for your son or daughter. Start by asking what they would like. It’s often best to sound out your kids’ ideas because it’s so easy to be off the mark. 

There are three things you need to ask them about. The first is the entertainment. Are they interested in it at all, or is music and disco ball adequate? The second is the activities. What kinds of activities would they like? Activities are often preferable to entertainers these days. Mini soccer, trampolining or jumping castles, or even a homemade treasure hunt could be ideal. Have a look at http://www.mykidsadventures.com/treasure-hunt-kids-guide/ for ideas about how to do this. The third thing to consider is the theme. Many under-tens are keen on movie or TV characters. Even fairy tales can be quite popular and trendy options.

When you know what their expectations are, you can begin to manage them! Explore their ideas but don’t go to extremes to make their dreams come true. It’s not usually practical to have pony rides in your backyard. The risks might simply be too high, especially when other people’s kids are invited. The next thing to do is to recruit your happy helpers. Grandparents and siblings are great for baking cakes, preparing the catering, and helping to decorate.

On the big day itself, why not present your child with a birthday boy or birthday girl top to wear? You can even personalize it with their name and age at stores like http://www.zoeyspersonalizedgifts.com/birthday-boy-shirts/. Kids are often keen for everything to be about them on their big day, so think about what else can be personalized. The cake, the banners, and even the party favors can bear your child’s name and the date of the party. These are great for keepsakes and those all-important photographs too.

New Baby

These events are often held at the home of the new Mom, but they are also one of the most tricky to manage. For a start, poor Mom is really tired and probably a little sore! The other problem is that there is no end to the guest list. Every member of the family and all the close friends want to be there to meet your little one. That can add up to a huge amount of socializing and handshaking. To make sure you have time for everyone, try these tips to help you set up the party to run smoothly from the start.

This is the one party that really does have to cater to every age group. There are likely to be other babies, children, adults and even very senior members of the family. Finger foods are not only easy to prepare and present, but they tend to suit better the wide range of dietary requirements that will be in your home. It can also be a good idea to label each plate or dish with the name of the main ingredients and any potential allergy warnings. This will spare you having to answer questions about the food when you’re trying to meet and greet so many of your guests.

Leaving all the drinks out for people to serve themselves isn’t a good idea, though. Alcohol should be supervised when there are children about. Instead, ask a member of the family to help you out by running a bar or serving drinks. Alternatively, have an alcohol-free party. You can still enjoy wine, beer, and punch without any alcohol in them. The nursing Mom might appreciate that too!

If you are hosting a Christening or Naming party, you might find that many of your guests bring gifts for you or the baby. With a large party, this can become a little problematic. Decide in advance where you would like the gifts to go. Alternatively, place yourself somewhere that you can open each one as guests come in to meet the baby. Make sure you can still nurse or pop out of the room as you need to.

The party essentials for this kind of event include:

extra packets of baby wipes, 

extra chairs to seat all the guests, and extra burp cloths so everyone can have a cuddle! 

Balloons aren’t really a good idea. Kids can get carried away with them, and if they pop, they may wake the baby. They can also be very hazardous if there are any crawlers or tots prone to putting things in their mouths. Keep decorations and small foods out of their reach.

Wedding Reception

Yes, you can host a major event like a wedding reception at home. This can make the celebration far more intimate and poignant. It will undoubtedly be a smaller affair than a hotel-hosted reception, so the guest list will be smaller. Most importantly it can reduce your spend, or help you allocate funds to things like the dress, the ceremony, or the honeymoon. Best of all, it means you can have complete control over the event from the decorations, to the catering.

Many families that choose to officially marry after having kids prefer a home wedding because the house is such a big part of their lives. Having your own living room or garden as a backdrop to your wedding photos will mean so much more to you over the years. It will also provide more meaning to those all-important family memories. It's wonderful if such an important family occasion took place there. 

If you are the bride, it’s important you enlist the help of friends and family on the big day. After all, you have a lot of bridal duties to perform as well as being the hostess for the day. You might hire some waiting staff to serve food and drinks, or you might prefer the reception to be quite informal. If you’re having a summer wedding, make the most of your garden and hire a beautiful gazebo for the setting.

When it comes to the first dance, any floor will do, but hiring a small dance floor needn’t be too big a drain on your budget. Use some fairy lights to soften the light and create the right mood and atmosphere. Definitely, don’t worry about clearing up until the morning. Congratulations!  

When you’re a parent, it can be hard to know exactly what to do to celebrate your child’s birthday. There are trends and fads going around preschools and schools that most of us will never be in on, no matter how hard we try; we will never fully understand the complexity of them and just what needs to be done to help incorporate it into a theme to be used for a party or other celebration. It’s also hard to keep to a budget when there are so many options available for them to pick from to choose their gift. More and more children are becoming increasingly aware of brands and what they mean to us in society; so do we stick to investing in this consumerism or stick to what we know and love and hope for the best? 

The truth is that a lot of parents often find it quite frightening when their teen child wants to host a party. This might especially be true when they want to host it in the parental home. For obvious reasons, you might be excused for worrying about such an occasion. However, it is in their interests if you are able to allow them the occasional party. Not only is it important for helping them to develop their social skills, but it also helps to encourage a healthier relationship between the two of you when you allow that kind of freedom from time to time. What’s more, it gives you a chance to get out of the house yourself - and we can all agree that that has its own benefits.

Everyone has an inner child. You might have to grow up as you get older and especially as you start a family, but that child is still in you somewhere. If you've lost touch with your childish side, it could do you good to find it again. It can be a great way to bond with your kids and to set a good example for them in some areas too. Being an adult and a parent doesn't always have to mean being serious and responsible. Sometimes, showing your kids that it's ok to dream, be impulsive or have fun is just as important. Try these ways to get in touch with your inner child and improve your relationship with your children.

When you have a daughter, it can be super fun for you both to be girly together from time to time. Not only will your little girl love spending time with you and having a lot of fun, Mommy and daughter time can also help to keep you young at heart too. Whether you’re planning activities for the summer break, or you’d just like a little inspiration for how you could spend time together, there’s a whole world of fun you could have together. From outside activities to go wild with to quiet one-on-one time, here are a few super girly ideas you could enjoy with your daughter.

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What are your plans this coming Holy Week? Do you include Easter Egg Hunting? Well, you should! It is so much fun to attend at least one event. Not only will the kids enjoy, so do you! There are many Free Easter Events in Metro Manila. If you are planning on throwing an advance Easter Egg Hunting for your kids, here is a simple checklist for what you need.

We had already finished them last week, and the kids are super excited! We hand painted some empty egg shells using food color, uses some bunny stuffed toys, and out them in baskets. The house look like Easter-ready!

Yes, lots of them and different sizes and colors!

Luckily, there are many Easter-themed chocolates on the supermarket and candies too! We also brought some cookies that can fit inside egg toys.

Yup, done with the menu! We will through some silly designs on our foods so that they will look like more of Easter theme.

Aside from Easter egg hunting, we prepared other fun activities too like bring me, put the bunny’s ear, piñata, etc.

Of course, we can’t forget about the prizes!

The only thing you need to think of is where to hide the eggs!Easter events in Tagaytay have their party outside, so outside seems like the best place to hide the eggs!

Competition amongst travel companies online is hotter than ever. As a result, they are paying close attention to how to sell more online, and how digital communications can help them to win, and retain, new customers. In this new digital environment the most successful retailers will be the ones who leverage their business intelligence to build long-lasting relationships with their customers.

When Mikael was one year old we started to dress him upan an  halloween costume and have trick or treat at the malls.When he was one year old we decided to dress him like a little genie,But unfornately the costume we bought was like Aladin and sort of genie.But it's ok because some people says he's a little genie.