The holidays are upon us and the kids are just about to enjoy a fun winter break. That means that moms and dads everywhere will be even busier than ever. With all of the holiday shopping, baking, wrapping, gifting, traveling, and keeping up with the kids – it’s a crazy, busy, and even stressful time of year.

Thank goodness Massage Envy Spa has something to make the holidays relaxing and – well, awesome!

Relaxation is in season at Massage Envy and it’s the perfect place to pick up a gift card for a massage and/or facial. This is one gift that will be remembered and totally loved by anyone! Moms and dads both can enjoy relaxing in the comfort of one of several Massage Envy locations. Whether it’s a Relaxation Massage, Hot Stone Envy, Sugar Foot Scrub Therapy, or something else – it’s sure to relax someone special.

And if you’re pregnant – they have that covered too. Their Prenatal Massage is just what the doctor ordered!

I received a gift card from Massage Envy last Christmas myself. Thanks to my wonderful daughter who knew a Massage Envy gift card would be one way to ‘make me relax’. When I took advantage of this special gift, I can assure you it was worth every relaxing moment! There were lots of beautiful packages wrapped in bright ribbons under the tree last year – but this is one gift I vividly remember among all the others.

Ahhhh…..pure bliss after the holidays were over! Give the gift of relaxation to someone who needs some special care and relaxation this holiday season.

Last night, my husband and I bundled up a sleepy four year old and headed downtown to Richmond’s Centerstage Theater to see The Nutcracker. It had been on our calendar for weeks, and even though I’ve heard about it my entire life, I had never actually attended a performance.

We entered the theater and were greeted by the lovely Christmas sights of trees, lights, and tables of nutcrackers for purchase. My son’s eyes lit up at the one of the small nutcracker ornaments and we carried the nutcracker and our excitement to our seats.

Our attentions were immediately captured with the beautiful orchestra and we were in awe of the dancers, costumes, and set. My son was enthralled with the lights and there were scenes to capture members of the entire audience. I loved the snow forest and my son thought the mice were very silly. He really loved the dancing bear, who had the entire audience laughing.

The performance was absolutely stunning and the artistic abilities of the dancers is breathtaking.

The Nutcracker is a classic ballet piece that premiered in Russia in 1892, and this is The Richmond Ballet’s 30th year of performing this timeless piece. The story follows a young girl, Clara, who is inspired by a nutcracker gift on Christmas eve. As she falls asleep, she is taken to a dreamland and sees amazing sights such as a battle beneath the branches of an enchanted Christmas tree, the transformation of the nutcracker doll into the young Nutcracker Prince, and a journey from a snow-covered forest to the far-off land of the Kingdom of Sweets.

Heralded as “one of the country’s most perfect [Nutcracker productions]” by The New York Times, The Richmond Ballet’s performance of The Nutcracker is a must see treat. I loved being able to expose my son to classical dancing and music and enjoyed creating the first of many holiday traditions of seeing The Nutcracker.

There is a special energy to The Nutcracker this year, as The Richmond Ballet continues their 30th anniversary season and celebrates three decades of bringing the beautiful story to life in Richmond.

This year, you also have the chance to attend Clara’s Tea Party, a special event hosted by the Ballet featuring tea and sweets. Tea party participants will have the opportunity to meet the Sugar Plum Fairy, the Snow Queen, Clara, her Nutcracker Prince and other favorite characters. This is a separate ticketed event.

I was so honored to have the opportunity to make The Nutcracker part of my family’s holiday festivities this year. If you have not already seen it, there’s still time to make the magic of The Richmond Ballet’s The Nutcracker a part of your holiday season.

Tickets to The Nutcracker and to Clara’s Tea Party are available in person at the Richmond Ballet Box Office, by phone at 1.800.514.3849, or online at eTix.com.

The Nutcracker 2013 Performances:

Saturday, December 14, 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm

Sunday, December 15, 1:00 pm and 4:30 pm

Wednesday, December 18, 7:00 pm

Thursday, December 19, 7:00 pm

Friday, December 20, 7:00 pm

Saturday, December 21, 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm

Sunday, December 22, 1:00 pm and 4:30 pm

Monday, December 23, 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm

Clara’s Tea Party 2013:

Saturday, December 14, 4:00 pm

Saturday, December 21, 4:00 pm

Monday, December 23, 4:00 pm

In the year 2001, our twins were born—and SPARC celebrated their 20th anniversary.

Last week, our now 11-year-old twosome felt the SPARC magic first hand via their Spring Break Camp experience. For years, their friends (and their friends’ parents) had extolled the virtues of SPARC. “They’ll never forget it!” “Our kids discovered they LOVE to act/dance/sing!” “The teachers are fantastic.”

All of the commentary was taken under advisement; but with TWO kids, surely the vaunted training would be costly, if not out entirely of the question financially.

Surprise, surprise! While perusing RichmondMom.com’s spring break camps and activities list, there was SPARC. No, it wasn’t “cheap,” but it was surprisingly far from outrageous…and on this side of it now, a bargain.

The camp ran five days, from 9am-5pm daily, with us sending packed lunches along.

As a part-time (9-3:30 daily) working-in-an-office mama, the timing seemed ideal. For the kids, the day felt long, and they complained—on Monday. By Tuesday, spirits and attitudes were improved. By the conclusion of Friday’s production of “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” no one wanted it to end. Our own Charlie (one of 6) and Snoopy (one of 5) were amongst the most vocal. When the leader asked the fledging performers “Who would like to be an actor when they grow up?” without looking to their classmates for approval or influence, EVERY SINGLE HAND SHOT UP. EVERY ONE.

Whether any or all of them fulfill that aspiration, each and every one filled an important role superlatively this spring break. As a result, confidence levels rose. Comfort acting, singing and dancing translates well to increased ease in presenting oral reports, speaking at assemblies, conveying the morning announcements.

Thank you, SPARC. We’ll be back…probably this summer!

Menchie

Do you love frozen yogurt? Well you just have to check out the latest craze in frozen yogurt at the locally owned Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt in Richmond.

The best part? Emma says it’s the frozen yogurt!

As the story goes, Menchie started mixing yogurt and delicious toppings when he was just a baby.  He made delicious treats for his sweet friends and as he grew up, he decided to “spread the yumm with smiles”! Enter a Menchie’s near you and you’ll discover a land of deliciousness just waiting!

The Menchie’s Test

A recent trip to the Short Pump Menchie’s with my grandchildren was quite the treat indeed. We had decided to give Menchie’s a test run to see what the fuss was all about.

When we walked into the brightly colored pink and green frozen yogurt shop, their eyes were all aglow (okay, and mine too). Frozen yogurt dispensers stood at the ready as the kids (okay, and me) grabbed their cups. Trying several flavors was so tempting that you couldn’t just choose one – so they chose many.

But the real fun came when we hit the ‘candy bar’ with dozens of items to choose from like gummy worms, crushed heath bar bits, chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, sprinkles, brownie bits, M&Ms, and much more.

A slight turn to the left and another eye-popping display of delicious toppings. Strawberries, bananas, blueberries, maraschino cherries, kiwi, pineapple, nuts, and other fruity delights in bite-sized servings were mouth-watering for sure. A dollop of whipped cream was also on the menu for these kids (and yes, me too).

A free craft just for stopping by!

But that wasn’t all!

Just around the corner from the fruit bar sits an array of dispensers with fresh, delicious syrups and other toppings. With chocolate, butterscotch, marshmallow, caramel, and many more flavorful syrups – why not try more than one? So they did!

Ahh….the fun was just beginning. At the check-out counter the kids received free stickers, tattoos, and even a craft to make their own little ice cream truck.

Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt has become one of their favorite spots to go for treats and the reasons are obvious. It’s a place where kids can have a delicious sweet treat – and adults can just be a kid again too!

All this for 3 kids ages 10, 8 and 3 for under $10! Now that’s a delicious deal!

Menchie’s even has a fun chalk board!

My Smileage and Fundraising

Menchie’s also offers a chance to earn ‘smileage’ to use later. When you register, you get smileage each time you make a purchase. You even get 25 smileage points just for registering. You can use your smileage to save on purchases later.

Every 50 smiles adds $5 in Menchie’s money to your account.

And get exclusive rewards and offers – along with a special treat on your birthday!

They also offer fund-raising programs. What a sweet way to raise money with up to 25% of your purchases going to your organization.

Two Locations

Menchie’s has locations in Short Pump at Westgate Shopping Center, and in Mechanicsville at Rutland Commons. Stop by and check them out – and be sure to tell them you heard about them on Richmondmom.com.

Yup, we can’t find our stuff!

My daughter Dahlia and I were pretty excited about having Erin Podbielniak from theNeatNiche organize our upstairs crap room – sorry, I mean Craft Room.

At least Erin’s written assessment had indicated that my home wasn’t beyond hope. The comments were: “clean and well-kept overall despite select areas of clutter. Main exits are not blocked, and there is no obvious concern regarding fire and/or chemical hazards.” (That last part really made me wonder what kind of people Erin was normally used to dealing with!)

Erin and Dahlia decided on seven basic categories for her things: film props (one of Dahlia’s hobbies is making videos), crafts supplies, Dahlia’s art, Barbies, Legos, dress-up and stuffed toys. These were the things that could stay in the room. Anything else had to go into one of two boxes: either “not here” (different room) or “gone” (trash or charity).

Decisions, decisions…

Then Erin told Dahlia that they were going to review every single item in the room. This is when I started to get a bit concerned. First of all, there had to be at least several thousand items in the room! Secondly, I was wondering how “ADD girl” was going to hold up during the process. I was dubious about getting it all done in the three hours that we had available…

It gets worse before it gets better!

After about an hour and a half, the room was starting to look like a demilitarized zone! Seeing all that stuff spread out all over the place made me wonder if we qualified as hoarders or not. I had to remind myself that this was all part of the process. Also, Dahlia seemed to be enjoying herself, periodically exclaiming, “Oh hey! I was looking for that! Yay!”

Miraculously, after three hours it finally all came together. The room was neat and organized, and things were put away in labeled containers. (Erin even let Dahlia use her label-maker.) I must say, we were all very pleased with the end results.

And I’m happy that Dahlia can now find her stuff without my help!

Props, art, Barbies, Legos and crafts all organized!

Look at the tidy closet!

Is your life getting messy? Contact Erin at theNeatNiche to help cut through the mess and make your life easier!

 Member of NAPO, Faithful Organizers and SWAM

theNeatNiche is an advertiser on Richmondmom.com

Emma and Connor with some of their art projects.

Do you remember the fantastic Holiday Arts Mash Up for kids during the holidays? It was a threesome of art, food, and fun for the kids:

1. The first stop  was at Sweet Spot Candy where kids decorated a gingerbread house.
2. Then they headed over to All Fired Up to paint a ceramic snowman.
3. They finished at Spirited Art Richmond to paint holiday ornaments.

My 10 year old granddaughter Emma and 8 year old grandson Connor were so excited to go to the event. And Emma was still so excited after the event, she asked if she could write a review on Richmondmom.com.

So without further ado, Emma’s Real Richmond Review of the Holiday Arts Mash Up (in her own words!).

Fun at the Holiday Art Camp

by: Emma Hennesey (10 years old)

You know how there was a camp sort of event with Sweet Spot, Spirited Art, and All Fired Up. Well, there was — and all of the activities were so fun!

We did a lot of things and even had a yummy lunch of pizza from Ledo’s.

First, we went to Sweet Spot where we made gingerbread houses and we even got to keep our extra candy and icing! We had a little bag of candy to take home with us. We had lots of fun and laughed and played while we were decorating with candy and icing. When we finished, we moved down the street to All Fired Up.

At All Fired Up we painted little snowmen figurines with cute little hats. My brother and I made one for our little sister because she was too young to go with us this year.

And next was the time for my favorite part because I love to paint and draw. We headed off to Spirited Art where we painted our beautiful masterpieces. Guess what we made? We painted two small hanging ornaments with fingerprint snowmen on them. One was red and one was blue. My mom loved them for our Christmas tree.

The  Holiday Arts Mash Up  was one of my top favorite holiday events and favorite sort of winter camps. I hope we can do it again next year.

As you can see, the Holiday Arts Mash Up was a hit with the children – and the two hours allowed their parents to get some holiday shopping done too! Thanks Sweet Spot, Spirited Art, and All Fired Up! We hope we can do it again next year too!

Becky Bolhuis, Short Pump Manager, shows Yousef how to use the glass cutting tools

My family has been doing a lot of fun activities at All Fired Up this summer, and we’re planning on going back during the school year too. It’s a great place to unwind and get in touch with your “inner artist”.

My nine-year old daughter enjoyed two of their summer camps – Peace, Love & Pottery and Extreme Makeover – Room Edition. She was exposed to a wide variety of techniques, including clay, ceramics, mosaic, glass fusing, drawing, wheel-throwing, tie-dye and painting.

“The teachers are really nice,” Dahlia said, “and I’m really proud of all the cool things I made!”

Some of Dahlia’s creations from “Peace and Love”

Some of Dahlia’s creations from “Extreme Make-over”

Also, my teenage son and I enjoyed some wonderful mother-son time there. He really enjoys glass working, so he decided to do a fused glass project.

I decided to take on an easier project, and did some ceramic-painting. I chose a large coffee cup and saucer, which I am sure I will find good use for. (Bonus: They told me that once it is fired, it is dishwasher and microwave safe! Love it!)

“That was a really nice way to spend the morning,” Yousef said. “I can’t wait to see how my stuff turns out!”

Yousef’s glass work project

Mine Craft clay soldier mod battle motif

I asked owner Amy Tally what other programs they offer, and the list is quite extensive: in-shop classes for all ages, after-school classes at area public schools, field trips, birthday parties, ladies night out, bridal and baby showers, corporate team building, scout troop activities, kids fun night, to-go kits… you name it!

All Fired Up is open seven days a week, and has three locations: Short Pump, Carytown and Midlothian. Contact your local store for hours, specials and the monthly activity calendar.

Also, if your child wears their camp tie-dye shirt to the store, they get 10% off cost of their next project.

All Fired Up is definitely one of our favorite family places, and I highly recommend it.

Like Angry Birds? They have that too!

All Fired Up is an advertiser on Richmondmom.com