December 2007

Editor's Note

You might have noticed that our cover this month doesn’t include any headlines or teasers. We figured that you’d probably have too many people and things calling for your attention in the coming weeks, so we decided simply to give you the soothing illustration of a December night in Seattle, by local illustrator Sara Anderson. As always, our intention is to make Seattle’s Child useful, inspiring and a pleasure to behold.

In this issue we tell you about all the fabulous holiday opportunities for fun: concerts, theatre, parades, Santa breakfasts, outdoor ice skating rinks.

Our feature story explores how we can help our children strengthen their compassion muscle, plus lists places where families can volunteer or give money to neighbors in need. Instead of presenting a dizzying toy guide, we found a few cool games and toys that are fun, safe, clever, enriching and locally created. Our Full Plate section includes a recipe that first appeared in Seattle’s Child in 1981 and has all the right ingredients for kids: rolling pins, cookie cutters and frosting. Even the In Our Schools article is celebratory, with writer Linda Thomas heralding promising changes in the Seattle School Board (And by the way, Hark! A Miracle! Let’s toast the passage of the amendment to allow a simple-majority vote to pass school levies!) But my favorite article is Making Memories — simply families sharing their diverse holiday traditions. We hope that the spirit of celebration and caring is evident throughout these pages.

On my kitchen counter lies an essential piece of operating equipment for parents — the To Do list. This morning I looked it over as usual to get my marching orders for the day: buy dog food, milk, check cell phone insurance, tell mom about kids’ school concert, remind kids to take bus home, and so on. In the coming weeks, the length of the list will be exceeded only by the number of things I forget to put on it. Lying on the corner of the counter I saw another pad of paper where my husband had written his list:

To-Dos: Be thankful. Be happy. Be brave.

You and I are ship captains preparing to steer our families through the holiday season of 2007. We set our sights on meaningful celebration, but the sirens of materialism beckon. I don’t need to tell you how difficult it is to stay on course in waters that are filled with hidden obstacles, including too much trying to please everybody and too little sleep. I propose we toss my kind of To-Do list in a drawer until January and create a new list like my husband’s to guide us. That way, we’ll be more likely to find comfort and joy by staying focused on the celebration of our traditions with loved ones.

Ann Bergman, Editor/Publisher
abergman@seattleschild.com

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Seattle's Child, a publication of the Washington Post Company
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