Danielle Rizzo

I am a Momma of four, an entrepreneur, a creative editor, and a believer of all things good.

Who doesn’t love a good movie night in? Snuggle up on the couch in your comfy sweats or pajamas and enjoy some sweat treats to snack on. My kids and I were recently given the opportunity to watch a private screening of DISNEY CHANNEL’S FIRST-EVER MYSTERY SERIES “SECRETS OF SULPHUR SPRINGS”- and needless to say, we loved it! It was the perfect movie night for the kids and it really grabbed our attention- not too spooky, but just enough intriguing. We can’t wait to see what happens next!

“Secrets of Sulphur Springs” is a time-travel mystery series for kids & families.
You can watch the 1 HOUR UNINTERRUPTED TV PROGRAMMING EVENT ON DISNEY CHANNEL THIS FRIDAY, JAN. 15, 2021!

Start planning your movie night now with some of our must have’s to make your home a theatre “like” experience.


1

Cuddly Blankets

$34.94

Comfort is key! Grab yourself an oversized blanket and snuggle up.

BUY NOW

2

Movie Night Care Package

$26.95

This package includes all of the sweet treats you need to accompany your popcorn!

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3

Movie Theater Popcorn Boxes

$12.97

These classic designs add to the fun of the movie theater theme adding as a festive table decoration.

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4

Air Popper

$25.76

Say goodbye to microwave popcorn! This air popper pops popcorn with hot air, not oil!

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5

Bean Bag Chair

$109.99 BUY NOW

Add extra seating to your movie night by adding an oversized bean bag chair. Perfect size for kids and adults.

You’re still elbow-deep in turkey and leftover stuffing, but the kiddos are clamoring for a Christmas tree (and all the presents that magically appear under it). If you’re looking for something different this year, Amazon has faux cactus trees—and they’re every bit as awesome as you’re imagining.

Instead of the traditional triangle, these trees have fake fir needles modeled into a distinctly cactus-like shape. The seven-foot tree sells for just under $110 on Amazon and comes with free shipping!

photo: Amazon

The Goplus Pre-Lit Artificial Cactus Christmas Tree comes with, as the name implies, plenty of bright and shiny LED lights. Along with 160 low-voltage LED lights, the cute cactus is pre-adorned with ball ornaments and sits on top of a metal stand.

If the seven-foot model is just too tall for your home, Amazon also has cacti a six-foot ($89) size.

—Erica Loop

 

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Start your holiday season off right with a visit to a nearby Christmas tree farm. These farms near Austin offer fragrant fresh trees, hot cocoa and even hayrides for happy families. Scroll through and plan your holiday adventure!

iStock

Evergreen Farms
Take a wagon ride out to the field where you can cut your own Texas-grown Christmas tree or pick a precut Noble fir or Fraser fir. Poles for measuring the tree and saws for cutting are all provided as well as the netting and rope for ease in transporting your tree. On the weekends, Evergreen Farms will have a campfire for roasting marshmallows and pine cone painting. Check out their COVID-19 precautions here

242 Monkey Road
Elgin, TX
Online: evergreen-farms.com

The Robinson Family Farm
This farm offers pre-cut Fraser Firs grown in the Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina. Fraser Fir are preferred for Christmas trees because they have the perfect shape, rich dark green color, clean pine scent and ability to hold its needles after being cut. Handmade, fresh wreaths are also available for purchase.

3780 White Owl Lane
Temple, TX
Online: therobinsonfamilyfarm.com

iStock

Elgin Christmas Tree Farm
This farm offers u-cut Virginia Pine and Leyland Cypress. A nice hayride will take you out to the cutting fields so you can begin your search. Someone will pick your tree up once you cut it, your tree will be shaken and baled and ready for its ride home. If you prefer Fraser Fir, those are imported from Wisconsin and available pre-cut. Military and first responders get 15% off. 

120 Natures Way
Elgin, TX
Online: elginchristmastreefarm.com

Brungot Farms
These trees arrive just days after being cut from a mountain side field in North Carolina. They travel to Texas in a refrigerated truck, are fresh cut them when they arrive, and stores in a 6,500 gallon water pit within hours of arriving. Beat the rush and pick out your tree in advance online with delivery.

204 E Little Elm Trail
Cedar Park, TX
Online: brungotfarms.com

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Papa Noel Christmas Trees
You can find some of the best North Carolina mountain trees at Papa Noel this year. There have a number of locations in the Austin area where you can pick your own tree. Or, order online and have yours delivered. 

Online: papanoeltrees.com

—Kate Loweth

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Who says Christmas trees are always green? Even though there’s no replacing the fresh fab holiday scent of a real pine, this rainbow faux tree is everything you need to brighten your holiday and deck the halls!

If you’re tired of the same old holiday decor, the Color Burst Rainbow Christmas Tree is seven feet of pure awesomeness. The tree, which is available on Amazon right now, is made from 1,213 branch tips and comes with a five-year foliage warranty.

 

photo: Amazon

Not only will you get the tree (it retails on Amazon for $134.99), but it also comes with a white stand. The needles are obviously not the real deal. Instead, they’re made from colorful PVC—providing the tree with plenty of support and the just-right amount of fullness or fluff.

Do you have a few doubts about a rainbow Christmas tree? You’re not alone. One Amazon reviewer wrote, “I literally got told I ‘won’ Christmas with this tree.” So go ahead and brighten up your holiday decor with this colorful Christmas accent.

—Erica Loop

 

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Every Christmas, Molly Weasley knit a personalized sweater for each of her kids and Harry Potter too! Grab your enchanted knitting needles, if you happen to have a pair, and get ready to create a magical world. Harry Potter Knitting Magic  features 25 patterns inspired by the characters in the beloved series.

Harry Potter Knitting Magic

Now you can knit your own Hogwarts house scarf, Beauxbatons shawls, Delores Umbridge’s pink mink scarf and an adorable baby mobile featuring the house symbols and a sorting hat.  

Harry Potter Knitting Magic

Harry Potter Knitting Magic

Harry Potter Knitting Magic is available on Amazon for $17.89.

 

—Jennifer Swartvagher

All photos courtesy of Amazon

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The Tree That Got Away

It was about 10 feet tall and the morning sun was burning off the dew on its needles, making it glow. It was halfway down a hill of trees, but none of them was as full nor held as perfect a pyramidal shape as this one. It was perfect, and we would soon discover it would become the standard-bearer for every Christmas tree to come.

There was just one hitch. It was July, and we were two states and 5 months away from our home, and Christmas.

We were riding on the Virginia Creeper Trail, a rails-to-trails descent in Virginia that rolls through miles of farmland. Halfway down, nature and 20-ounces of blue Gatorade paid a visit to my 5-year old son, who raced for the privacy of a nearby grove of fraser firs.

I should note here that he did not drop trou on any of the trees. Realizing even in the heat of the moment that these beauties would end up in someone’s living room, I redirected his aim. So, while he found relief in the grass, I couldn’t help but notice what a delightful oasis we’d stumbled upon. The air smelled of Christmas morning, and trees grew along paths reminiscent of Scottish labyrinths. Our footsteps fell silently on needle-cushioned earth.

“We’re in the Candy Cane Forest!” exclaimed my niece, who had tracked us down, and who was also a big fan of Buddy the Elf. “Hey, look at this!” my oldest son shouted. We found him, awe-filled, in front of our perfect, glowing tree. It was pure magic.

After persuading them that we could not, in fact, take it home with us (no saw, hadn’t paid for it, nothing to strap it to except for Mom’s back, and besides, it was still swimsuit season), we hopped back on our bikes.

The morning after Thanksgiving, we were bundled up, still full from the previous day’s feast and sluggish from hours spent watching football on the couch. While making coffee, my husband suggested we take a ride to the hardware store to pick out a fresh Christmas tree.

“The hardware store?” my son balked. “No, Daddy. We already have our tree. We have to go back to The Creeper. I know exactly where it is.”

A 12-hour drive was not on my husband’s agenda, but neither was the hardware store on my children’s. They’d seen the promised land of treedom and would accept nothing less. We compromised. Just north of the city, we spent a lovely day in the fresh air, without a single electronic device nearby, walking off some of the thousands of calories that had been the gift of the day before.

We came home with a very fine fresh Christmas tree. It wasn’t THE tree, but we loved it anyways like you sometimes must. And so began our family tradition of trying to forever fill the tree stand of the “Tree That Got Away.”

Now through Christmas, share a photo of your family’s REAL Christmas tree memory-making experience for a chance to win $1,000!

photos: Shelley Massey

Shelley Massey is a writer and editor for family travel, fitness, and lifest‌yle publications. She enjoys exploring with her four kids ages 10 & under, running, good food, entertaining, and great stories. And though she and her family live happily in Atlanta, their hearts are in Tennessee. 

As a child in Northern California, I was lucky enough to live about 10 minutes away from a real Christmas tree farm. Since my mom worked as a nurse on the weekends, it usually fell to my dad to take my two younger sisters and me to look for “our tree” on a chilly Saturday or Sunday afternoon. I remember it vividly—hot chocolate and snacks, wandering through Christmas trees, that pine-fresh scent, looking for holes and bent branches or anything else that might keep a tree from being ours that season.

Once we’d found “our tree,” Dad would do all the sawing, transporting, paying and tying to the roof while I kept my younger siblings busy. We’d drive it home, drag it in, and get it set up. Sometimes there’d be an issue, like the time we got it set up in the stand and got half the ornaments on before we realized it was crooked. Or the time we had to cut the top off because we’d measured wrong. But no matter what, hunting for the most perfect Christmas tree was TRADITION. Getting a real tree, with slippery needles and a scent that no candle can truly replicate, and even the responsibility of watering it (yup there’s a story for the time we forgot to water for a week); all of these things meant the holiday season for my family.

My father died eight years ago. He’s not around to hear how his grandkids get the same thrill when they pick out their “perfect tree” the same way his daughter did, and I can’t tell him I now understand the parental joy of watching my kids make memories. What I can do is share memories of my father with my kids. I can share the sweet along with the silly, like the time he was so frustrated when he couldn’t get that (insert expletive here) tree tied to the car, or how he wouldn’t stop working until our tree was secured and the lights were draped, so we could decorate it without having to wait another day.

These memories I share with my kids (highlights from a recent Christmas below) keep my father’s memory alive and help my kids get to know him, even if he’s no longer with us. And each year, with each live tree, with every strand of lights and every ornament we unwrap, and even in every pine needle I find months after the fact, I take comfort in the fact that I can still see and feel a little bit of my dad, too.

Now through Christmas, share a photo of your family’s REAL Christmas tree memory-making experience for a chance to win $1,000!

 

 

all photos: Gabby Cullen

Gabby Cullen is a Northern California native transplanted in the Dallas, Texas area. The proud mama of a pixie princess (2009) and a lil' man (2013), she's also a reader, writer, thinker, dancer, and nature lover. On weekends, she can be found out and about, seeking the most awesome family adventures.

A favorite holiday movie is “Christmas Vacation.” And one of the most memorable (and hilarious) scenes is the squirrel flying out of the Christmas tree. While funny in the movies, the threat of Christmas tree mishaps can actually be quite serious.   

Unsecured Christmas trees can topple over and cause serious injury, especially to a young child, and according to reports, Christmas tree fires are the deadliest of household fires. On average, one in every 32 reported Christmas tree fires results in a death compared to an average of one death per 143 total reported home fires.

Here are a few simple tips to ensure a beautiful and safe holiday season. 

1. Select a fresh tree. The tree should be green with needles that bend, not break. For pines and spruces, branches should be tough to pull, and fir trees should have needles that snap when bent. Also, look for a trunk sticky with sap.

2. Secure the tree. This will prevent it from accidentally falling over. If possible, make sure the tree stand is not on thick carpeting. Screw some eye-hooks into the wall and thread fishing line through the tree and tie to the hooks.  

3. Keep ornaments high. This is true especially for families with young children. Place ornaments off the lower limbs and consider using a gate around the tree to prevent kids from getting too close. Ditch the glass ornaments for non-breakable. 

4. Go hi-tech. Safer Alarms Inc. just released a first of its kind Christmas tree fire detector that looks like an ornament. While it looks like traditional tree decor, the ornament wirelessly connects to an alarm placed elsewhere in the home like near where you sleep. If the ornament detects unsafe heat, the alarm will sound (and continue to sound even if the ornament catches fire).

5. Water, water, water. Make sure the tree holder always has enough water. Cut an inch off the bottom of the trunk; fresh wood can absorb more water, so the tree will stay fresher longer. 

6. Be mindful of placement. Always place your tree at least three feet away from heat sources like fireplaces, radiators, candles, heat vents or lights. Only use indoor lights indoors and look for the UL label. Do not use any lights that are broken and make sure sockets are in good condition, and that there are no frayed or bare wires. Keep light off lower branches that pets or babies could reach as they might chew on the wire. Be sure to turn the lights off whenever you leave the house. And if you have ornaments that light up with an off/on switch, be sure to turn off as well.

I'm a mom to 4 kids - my first died of SIDS and my second has Intellectual Disabilities. I'm the step-mom to another two. My husband has MS. I write about how to keep everyone in the family happy, safe and sane - especially women!

The Jones-Baldwin fam wasn’t always so big. When Keia Jones married her husband Richardo Baldwin in 2010, she had just one child: a 2-year-old daughter, Zariyah (now 15) from a previous relationship. The couple was eager to expand their family though and quickly began trying for another. Sadly, that journey would seemingly come to an end after several devastating miscarriages and failed rounds of IVF left them both emotionally drained.

Little did they know, though, that their family would eventually blossom several times over, as they added not one, not two, but three more children to the Jones-Baldwin clan, thanks to the gift of adoption.

First came Karleigh, in 2014. She and Zariyah became close friends at school, but due to some financial difficulties, Keia says Karleigh’s mother fell on hard times and was unable to properly care for her. A year later, when she was 11, the Jones-Baldwins became Karleigh’s legal guardians, and the experience helped plant a seed: “Through that, we thought that expanding our family through fostering would be great!” says Keia.

And so, they did.

They visited a local agency, known as Crossnore, to become licensed foster parents. That experience ultimately led the couple to meet an adorable 3-year-old named Ayden (now 8), whom they officially adopted him in 2017.

But as it turned out, their family wasn’t done expanding just yet. That same year, their fourth child swooped into their lives unexpectedly. “He was initially only supposed to be with us short term and be reunified with his birth family,” Keia recalls, “but it didn’t work out that way, and on August 29, 2019, we officially adopted him!” The infant, named Princeton, was born drug-addicted and required several weeks of intensive care in the NICU after his birth.

“They needed someone to do skin-to-skin with him,” says Keia, “and chose me for the task!” Needless to say, the loving mother was more than willing to take on the job.

“I’m so thankful they did! After two years, our bond is so close and we love him to the moon and back! He brings us so much joy! Our hearts are so full and so grateful.” There’s certainly no question about that one, especially now that photos of the family happily celebrating Princeton’s #AdoptionDay has gone viral. Keia shared them to her Facebook page on August 29, as well as her photography page, KJBaldwin Photography,—mostly because of the awesome #AdoptionDay T-shirts the family is wearing.

“No Bump. Still Pumped!” Keia’s T-shirt read. Richardo’s reads, “The Man Behind the Pumped!”

Of course, Princeton’s tee might have been the cutest of all, designed to look like the logo on N.W.A.’s 1988 album, Straight Outta Compton. Instead, it reads “Straight Outta Adoption.”

If you’d like to learn more about the Jones-Baldwins, follow their family Instagram account, @RaisingCultures and read the rest of the story on Mom.com.

 

 

 

This post originally appeared on Mom.com.

Mom.com is a place created by moms that offers tools to help parents raise the next generation of happy, kind and confident kids.

Get ready for another live-action Disney reboot. Walt Disney Studios recently released a sneak peek pic of Emma Stone as 101 Dalmatian’s Cruella de Vil in the classic flick’s prequel simply titled Cruella.

The younger, non-animated version of the infamous Disney villain will make her way to the big screen in 2021, courtesy of Stone. Like the original, Stone’s version sports two-toned black and white curls—and plenty of edginess.

So what should you expect of the film?  Stone teased, “It’s 1970s, set in London––can you get out of my eyeliner please?” The actress continues, “It’s punk rock. A great cast.”

If you’re totally on pins and needles waiting for this live-action film to hit theaters, you still have some time to go. As of now, Cruella’s debut date is set for May 28, 2021.

—Erica Loop

Featured photo: Walt Disney Studios via Instagram 

 

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