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Local Retailers Serve Up Holiday Treasures

by George Louvis

I hate shopping in malls. I have always preferred to shop in local “mom-and-pop” shops. I like walking into a store knowing that I’m dealing with the owner and checking out all the unique merchandise that you can only find in these quaint and sometimes quirky little stores.

When you shop locally, you drive less, use less gas and you can forget the crowds, traffic and craziness of the malls while enjoying the relative peace and convenience of shopping in your local town shopping center.

No matter where you live in NJ, there are great stores nearby.

Worried about the parking meters? Park on a side street and walk the extra block. It’s great exercise and is still a shorter distance than parking in a mall parking lot and walking to and through the mall.

To help you get started on your local shopping we’ve picked some great gift items that you’ll find in local stores. (To see the full size image, just click on the photo and a full-size image with text will appear.)

On My First Day of Christmas

By Christina Loccke

It is a brisk 42 degrees outside, and I am playing in the backyard with my two young daughters. We are here, despite the cold, because I prefer to clean my children than my house.

My ten-month old is strapped to my back, wearing an oversized pink fleece with little bunny ears sticking out the top and paws where her feet should be. Her cheeks had a certain fresh-air glow when we first came out here, but now they edging towards windburn. My toddler is immersed in a stereotype of domestic bliss, busying herself over the kitchen stove of her outdoor playhouse. A pink tutu with crepe tulips sticks out the bottom of her corduroy jacket.

Season's Greedings

By Patience Moore

Sparkly lights on trees and houses, snow angels and hot cocoa, cozy fires and…GREED! …’Tis the season.
I know Greed. It stays quiet during the fall, having had a small payday of candy, candy, candy, on Halloween. It slinks back under a rock over Thanksgiving waiting patiently, tolerating good tidings, gratitude lists, and warm fuzzy gatherings. Coiled with eyes half closed, it saves its energy for the moment when, just after the last turkey pan is cleaned and put away, it springs forward with a fierce, “HEY! WHAT AM I GOING TO GET FOR CHRISTMAS?!!” What am I going to GET?! What is anyone going to give ME?

What's Really Real?

By Jessica Wolf

I’ve discovered my son on the internet, poring over one pair after another, trying to determine if they are real or fake. Sometimes he’s alone, sometimes with his friends. I know this makes me sound naïve, but I was not expecting this. Is this what every thirteen-year-old boy is doing now?

Relax. It’s not what you think.

We've Got Great New Writers!

We're thrilled to announce the addition of three new writers. The "Mom Squad" of Christina Loccke, Patience Moore and Jessica Wolf . They are all now writing monthly for NJ Life & Leisure and you can read their columns here on LetsChatNJ.com every month.

Food Fussies

By Jessica Wolf

Let’s face it: the holidays are about food. And food makes me crazy.
When I was five years old, I was on a TV show called Romper Room. There was Miss Louise, the “star” of the show, and six of us 5-year-olds that were selected to do a two-week run with her. I only remember two things about the experience. One was that Miss Louise turned into a shrew during commercial breaks, her voice becoming shrill and punctuated by exasperated sighs. The other was the Doo Bee song.
First, the song established a Doo Bee as a high-minded do-gooder.

Thanks for Thanksgiving

By Patience Moore

Gus and I are wheeling our way through Costco on his “stay-at-home” day. He is going to be four years old in two days and sits in the cart facing me, round blue eyes with a fringe of straight blonde hair. I am thinking my usual Costco fox-hole prayer:
“God, please guide me to only the things on my list like ketchup and toilet paper. Oh, merciful Father, please don’t let me go home with a flat screen TV and a leather recliner.”

Brown Hawk Down

By Christina Loccke

At first, the hawk perched over my front door looked majestic—otherworldly.
We watched from the car. We bonded as I pulled my toddler from the backseat onto my lap. We sat in silence. We bored quickly. We said “bye-bye birdie” because I told the girls it would fly away once we opened the doors. It didn’t. I popped the trunk. My two-year old yelled “Hi Big Birdie!” Still nothing. The baby screamed from the infant carseat as her older sister showered her with sippy-cup milk singing, “Rain Rain Go Away.” Still, no movement from the hawk.