Bunchland

Whether you celebrate Hanukkah or not, these books made for good holiday reading

The Latke Who Couldn’t Stop Screaming

Introducing a new feature here at Bunchland: the Bunchbrary. In this section, we get our favourite book and movie experts to share what’s on their shelves. Stuck for something to read to your kids during a long car ride? Not sure which flick to screen for your kids’ friends? Our curated must-read and must-rent lists will help. Our first Bunchbrary book list comes from New York City’s The Jewish Museum just in time for the start of Hanukkah, December 1st. Here’s their top-selling Hanukkah books for families.

Happy Hanukkah, Corduroy by Don Freeman. Corduroy the bear is one of the classic characters of children’s literature, and in this book he exposes kids to the joys of eating latkes, lighting a menorah and spinning the dreidel.

What we’re reading today

Flavorwire has 10 alternative holiday song suggestions for anyone desiring a Bing-free Christmas this year. Their list includes unconventional offerings by Sufjan Stevens, Neutral Milk Hotel’s Julian Koster and some vintage Ventures.

You’ve probably heard lots of opinions on the must-have albums for families. Now Ohdeedoh is putting in their two cents, declaring the one record that every family should own. Can you guess what it is?

Put away those packs of powdered mix and attempt the candy bar hot chocolate recipe we saw today on Sweetspot. It looks like something you’d buy in a malt shop in the ’50s.

We must grudgingly admit that birthday parties aren’t always fun for kids. And if you don’t believe us, we give you this shocking expose from the Globe and Mail.

Even though the first official day of winter isn’t until December 21, December 1 just feels more winter-y than November 30. Let’s send November off with the epitome of fall fun: leaf piles!

Today’s Postcard from Bunchland comes from April Barrett on Flickr.

Do you have a Postcard from Bunchland? Send family fun photos to your online editors amanda@bunchfamily.ca and meghan@bunchfamily.ca or join our group on Flickr.

Beth Blenz-Clucas blogs about kid tracks grownups will love and grown-up tracks kids will love

They’re dropping like flies. Only it’s not from the flies, it’s the flu. Already, two people I know have suffered through pneumonia, and we’re only just finishing off November.

Having kids means working your way through dozens of sick days. Just remember what our hippie pediatrician in California always told us: Don’t fear the fever! It means the immune system is working! Yeah, right. Tell that to your moaning child next time you’re cooling her down at 2 a.m.

What might help you through flu season is a little humor and a little singing. Trout Fishing in America, the zany duo who created such memorable kid songs as “My Hair Had a Party Last Night” and “Eighteen Wheels on a Big Rig,” also wrote a song that defines the moment when you realize that your immune response is truly working. It’s called, simply, “Alien in My Nose.”  Read more...

For the craftily inclined, here are some suggestions for Advent calendars to make

For those of us who celebrate Christmas and who also happen to be chocolate lovers, the drugstore treat-filled Advent calendars are a holiday staple. (Although we were never very good about the whole one chocolate per day thing. Who are we, Charlie Bucket?) But if you want to break out of the cardboard punch-window mold, we thought these five takes on the classic Advent calendar were pretty neat.

1. Simple, but chic: Blogger Anelle from Seven Swans arranged 25  numbered cards on the wall in the shape of a Christmas tree. On the back of each card, she and her husband wrote little notes or jokes to each other, one to read each day from December 1 until the 25th. She even provides a .pdf for the circus-y numbers she used.

Here’s what we’re reading today:

Want to give to the Salvation Army’s iconic Red Kettle but you had no cash on hand? There’s an app for that. Mashable, your source for all things social media, has rounded up five creative social good campaigns. The Choose Haiti bracelets look pretty neat.

The Hipster Mom feels the most at home in the action figure and model car department when she makes a trip to the Toys R Us. Yesterday she wrote about her first venture into the aisles of the baby dolls.

Jonathan Liu over at Geek Dad has shared some kid-friendly comics by artist James Kochalka. Kid-friendly or not, a comic wherein the artist’s cat stars as the hero Dragon Puncher and the artist himself the aforementioned dragon? Awesome.

Good bacteria: it’s not just for yogurt-lovers anymore. The CBC reports that probiotics may help with illnesses in children.  An otherwise healthy child with a viral infection could see the duration of his symptoms shorten.

We at Bunchland HQ experienced our city’s first snow of the year over the weekend. What about you guys?

Today’s Postcard from Bunchland comes from daveograve@ via Flickr.

Do you have a Postcard from Bunchland? Send family fun photos to your online editors amanda@bunchfamily.ca and meghan@bunchfamily.ca or join our Flickr group.