Here are 10 activities you can do with your children during their winter break:

1. Visit a local light display, many zoos and some parks and landmarks have light displays you can visit this time of year. Kid’s have a blast checking out all the twinkling and blinking lights and scenery.
2. Get outside and enjoy the season! Yes it’s a little cold outside, but if you wear the proper clothes you can get outside for some winter fun. Go sledding or build a snowman with the kids if you have snow on the ground. Take a winter hike, or play some outdoor games with your kids. The outside air will energize you. Then head in for a cup of hot chocolate, and warming up when you’re done.
3. Do some holiday baking with the kids, make a gingerbread house, or decorate some Christmas cookies to give to friends and family.
4. Invite some some friends over to make gift baskets and go caroling while you’re dropping off the baskets to people who are shut-in or less fortunate than you this holiday season. Spread some holiday cheer!
5. Help the kids make a new handmade ornament for a gift or for the Christmas tree.

Looking for something to do that doesn’t cost any money? Check out this list of Free Fun Winter Activities.

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Sometimes toys break, or can be a choking hazard if they lose small parts. Electric toys can also pose a risk if they’re not used properly, or with adult supervision. There are many more things you can do to keep your child safe through the holiday season, and the rest of the year.

To help you know what to look out for, today I have a list of 10 toy safety tips from the Seattle Children’s Hospital.

During the holiday season it is difficult to make sense of the millions of toys out there. Which ones are best for your child? Toys are supposed to be fun and are an important part of any child’s development. But each year, scores of kids are treated in hospital emergency departments for toy-related injuries. Choking is a particular risk for kids ages 3 or younger, because they tend to put objects in their mouths.

As parents are shopping for holiday gifts for their children, Dr. Tony Woodward, chief of emergency medicine at Seattle Children’s Hospital, would like to remind them of these 10 important tips on choosing safe and appropriate toys:

1. Check the labels to make sure the toy is age-appropriate and matches your child’s skill level.
2. Avoid toys with small pieces for children under age 3 – these can become choking hazards. A good rule of thumb: if it can fit in a toilet paper role, it is too small.
3. For toddlers and babies, avoid toys with metal parts, cords or strings.
4. Avoid letting young children play with toys that have magnets. Warn older children to never put magnets in their mouth.
5. For electric toys, only choose ones that say “UL Approved” – this means they have passed certain safety standards.
6. Dispose of plastic wrapping and other packaging right away.
7. Help your child understand the instructions.
8. Check toys often for damage – if a toy cannot be fixed, throw it away.
9. If you have older children, remember to keep their toys out of reach of your toddler or infant.
10. Sign up to receive recall notices on child products, including toys, from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission at www.cpsc.gov.

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Our local zoo had a light show every half hour where the lights blinked to the music. It was fun to watch (even for this adult). It had the kids ooohing and ahhhing.

Some of the indoor animal exhibits were open, and we even saw a couple of Santa’s reindeer taking a break before their wild ride on Christmas Eve.

If you’re looking for a fun holiday activity your kids will enjoy check with your local zoo to see if they have a Christmas, or winter light show. The Wildlight show at the Columbus Zoo continues through January 2nd.

Columbus Zoo Wildlights Images (c) L Gerlach

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I want to say a huge thank you to Adorable Kinders for sponsoring the contest.

Now lets get to the winner! The winner was chosen by Random.org. Congratulations to Beth who says her favorite doll is Hope.

Thank you Beth for participating in the contest! I’ll be contacting you in the next day or so to confirm Hope is the doll you’re choosing.

Thank you to everyone who participated! I know I have another giveaway coming up in the next couple days! We’re just hashing out the details. So stay tuned, and subscribe to the Play Library feed if you haven’t already!

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There are actually several different wedding sets children can choose from, or they can combine them all together to make one big set.

The Playmobil wedding playsets available include:

• The Church (pictured here) – Kids can pretend to cheer on the newlyweds as they make their way out the Church. If they press the windows of the church tower they’ll hear church bells and organ music.The playset  also comes with three figures, many accessories, and a pink jewel case with rings for the child.
• The Wedding Pavilion with Jewel Case– Your child can help celebrate the newlyweds’ marriage at the Wedding Pavilion. This set includes two figures, the bride with her veil and bouquet, table and chairs, champagne glasses, pink Wedding Pavilion, and many other accessories.It also comes with a pink jewel case to hold rings.
• Wedding Car – Kids can drive the happy newlyweds away in their yellow convertible. This set includes groom, bride with veil and bouquet, convertible with trunk space for luggage, and detachable flower decorations.

There are several other wedding sets including a wedding party tent, a wedding cake with the happy couple, and a photographer, flower girl and ring bearer. If you know a child who has a wedding coming up in the family this next year, this might be a fun set for them to use to role play and get used to the idea of a wedding.

The Playmobil sets are available at most major retailers, or online at Amazon.com.

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Here are just a few of my favorites:

• Handprint Santa Claus here at Play Library
• Handprint reindeer here at Play Library
• Handprint reindeer treat jar from Amazing Moms
• Handprint angel craft from Party Animal
• Handprint Christmas tree from The Kids Birthday Fun Review

Handprint crafts make great gifts for grandparents, and excellent keepsake gifts, especially if you put the child’s age and the date on the back.

You can also photograph the craft and have it made into a mug, t-shirt or bag for grandparents. Then it’s something useful, created by their child or grandchild.

Do you have a favorite handprint craft that your child or grandchild made for you?

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I had a wonderful phone conversation with Kim, and she shared several great ideas for making holiday snacks fun, festive, and healthy all at the same time.

Kim says one fun thing you can do is break out the holiday cookie cutters. They’re not just for cookies. Here are a few healthy kid’s snacking ideas you can make more fun with a simple cookie cutter or two.

• Use them to cut your sandwiches into shapes.
• Cut shapes from whole grain tortillas, brush them with olive oil then bake them in the oven at 350` for 5-7 minutes, or until they turn crispy to make your own healthier homemade tortilla chips.
• You can also use cookie cutters to cut shapes out of low fat cheese, lean cold cuts, or even melons that have been sliced thin.

Kim says cookie cutters can make anything into a fun and festive snack for kids. She also added that you should always involve your children in planning and preparing their meals and snacks. It will help them learn about preparing and eating healthy meals at a young age. Here are a few tips Kim shared to get your children involved in meal preparation:

• Have them wash the produce.
• Let them use the cookie cutters
• Kids love to measure and mix
• Setting the table is a wonderful job for children.
• Let your children help you shop, let them choose some of the fruits and vegetables, or pick a low fat salad dressing.

I want to thank Kim for taking the time to share some of these great tips with Play Library readers.

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Each can comes with four tips, a star tip, a leaf tip, a round tip and a tip that’s flat on one side (for ribbons, flat lines, etc) with the other side  perfect for basket weave.

I used the green with the star tip to make the wreaths, then used the red with the round tip to make the red ornaments on the wreaths. After the icing dried for about an hour I used my finger to pat down the peaks on the ornaments and to give them a round appearance.

The cans do take a little time to get used to, deciding on the right amount of pressure can be a little tricky at first.

Overall the icing was fun and easy (definitely convenient), it’s great for easy decorating projects, and for decorating cupcakes with kids. If you’re doing more complex projects, I would still suggest making your own icing. If you make your own you can control the consistency for flowers and other complex cupcake decorating.

My son had a blast using the round tip to make string monsters. These decorator icings would be fun for a kids cupcake decorating party, or even letting the kids loose to decorate some cupcakes on a Saturday afternoon.

There are six varieties of Betty Crocker Decorating Cupcake Icing available, Sky Blue, Meadow Green, Sunset Orange, Petal Pink, Cloud White, and Buttercup Yellow. The Ivy Green and Rose Red are available through the holiday season at Walmart, the other colors are available at major retailers nationwide for about $4 each.

Each cupcake Betty Crocker Decorating Cupcake Icing will decorate about 1 dozen cupcakes. Since the icing doesn’t have to be refrigerated it might be worth keeping a can on hand for last minute decorating  jobs.

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Now lets get to the winner! The winner was chosen by Random.org. Congratulations Adrienne to who says her favorite Barney episode is the one where a fireman came to visit.

Thank you Adrienne for participating in the contest! I’ll be contacting you in the next day or so to find out where to send the Barney Please and Thank You DVD.

Thank you to everyone who participated! I’m sure I’ll have more giveaways coming up in the next couple weeks! So stay tuned, and subscribe to the Play Library feed if you haven’t already!

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All you need is some construction paper, some paint, and some little hands and feet to trace around.You can also use glitter for the nose, but you can also just use black or dark brown paint, or cut a circle out of construction paper.

Trace around your child’s foot on some brown construction paper, then trace around both hands on a darker shade of brown construction paper. Have your child cut out the traced hands and feet, then glue them onto a large sheet of green construction paper (or whatever color you’d like the background to be). Glue them like the photo above with the hands coming out of the top of the footprint like antlers.

You can use black construction paper to cut out two eyes, or use black paint and have your child use their thumb to make thumbprint eyes by dipping them into the paint and printing them onto the reindeer where the eyes should be.

You can glue red glitter on the end of the footprint for the nose, or use black or red construction paper or paint.

You can also frame your work by cutting long strips of a different color of construction paper to put around the outside of the deer.

Have fun, and make one for grandma and grandpa while you’re at it.

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