Happy New Year!

May your new year be filled with fun, laughter, slobbery kisses... and crazy hats.

Dancin' Kim!

One of my very favorite things in the world is watching preschoolers dance. They've got some supersilly moves, lemmie tell ya, and they can get really, truly serious about it. The next best thing to watching preschoolers do the robot?... watching Dancin' Kim do the robot. If you're a child of the 80s (or a robot), you'll find these moves, like, totally rad!

'80s Dances:How To Do The Robot

Happy Christmas!

Wishing you and your little ones the happiest of holidays :)

Paper Chain Shmaper Chain

Instead of making paper chain garlands this year, hand your older kids a gigantic bag of pompoms. String the pompoms the same way you would popcorn or cranberries. Pompoms make the most pretty, happy, colorful garlands... and they save much better than the other options :) Needle-shy littlish ones can get in the act by creating color patterns, and even itsy bitsy little ones can help out by color sorting, elf assembly line style. It's a fun family activity, especially on rainy, stuck-inside days :)

Heidi 4 Paws

PBS has a new special that both preschoolers and puppies will love-love-love. It's a retelling of the childhood classic Heidi... using dog actors. Strange?... Yes. Cheesy?... Yes. Wholesome, supercute, heartwarming, and funny?... Yes, yes, yes, and yes! PBS used to have a series called Wishbone, with a similar "dog involvement" concept... but this is one million times better: it's all dogs, 100% dogs; there are no pesky human cast members to speak of. It was wonderfully, oddly charming.

Heidi 4 Paws will be re-airing several times during the week of Christmas. I dare you to resist the lure of yodeling puppies and beagles with random jersey accents. Check your local listings :)

Tasty Trees and Things

The moms at littlenummies have come up with some really cute and easy-to-make Christmas snacks for picky-fingered kids (like the Healthy Snow Pea Trees, shown above...)

Not-so-healthy, but superyummy Frosting Candy Trees (made from sugar ice cream cones),

and Snowflake Cinnamon Crispas (sugar-cinnamon topped flour tortillas, baked in the oven... reminiscent of the old school Taco Bell treats from the 80s...taaaasty!)

As always, snacks can be a great starting-off point for learning: while eating, talk about colors, shapes, and make size comparisons. Further investigate trees and snowflakes with fun crafts, stories, and hands-on exploration!

Visit the littlenummies site for step-by-step instructions for the snacks shown here, and for even more fun, kidcentric holiday food ideas.

*Reminder for Pet Parents: Please remember that these (and most other) human foods are made for humans only, and should never be shared with our furry friends, most especially dogs.

Holiday Imposters!

Take a listen to these pets with silly cgi mouths as they lipsing to Rowlf (the muppet) and John Denver's version of "Merry Little Christmas."

WARNING: there is a creepy cat voice (talking about the importance of pet adoption) at the end of the song...

Holly Jolly Christmas

Congratulations to Holly, the beautiful pointer shown here, on winning the AKC Eukanuba National Championship Best in Show title. Watch Holly (and all the other gorgeous contestants) take the floor when Animal Planet airs the event Saturday, Jan. 31st, at 8pm. Even more fun, this year they'll also be showing highlights from the AKC Agility Invitational (Feb. 7th at 8pm.) More than just pretty faces, these dogs are superskilled and really fun to watch! Plan to set your TIVO.

Yay for Misers!

Many preschoolers seem to take a curious liking to movie villains (g-rated, of course!) I think it's the drama: movie villains often move bigger, talk bigger, look really strange, and get the biggest reactions! Kids who love Bumble won't want to miss ABC Family's new Christmas special: The Miser Brother's Christmas, airing tonight at 8pm. In the tradition of Christmas classics, there's singing, dancing, comedy... and a story with an emphasis on cooperation :) If you miss tonight's viewing, stop by the ABC Family site for a schedule of reairings.

Notable Quotable

"Never be afraid to do what's right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society's punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our own soul when we look the other way."

- Martin Luther King Jr.

Making a Special Holiday Appearance

A juvenile Bald Eagle was recently sighted hunting in the Nature Center's eucalyptus groves. After being on the verge of extinction (because of pesticide exposure and habitat loss), these incredible birds are now flourishing and venturing out into new terrain during their travels. This is in large part due to the Endangered Species Act. Did you know that polar bears are a threatened species? To find out more about the animals who could use your help, explore the WWF and US Fish and Wildlife Service websites.

Photos by Steave Shinn.

Santa Paws Super Picks: Busy Brain Toys!*

This time of the year us humans can get a little preoccupied with our holiday plans, so it's important to remember that we make sure our dogs don't get bored, lonely, and... destructive. These are some of my favorite two-paws-up-rated Busy Brain Toys which I recommend for clients who need a little peace & quiet. They'll help keep your dog's "eyes on the prize" (and away from mischief-inducing lures like your ornaments, wrapping paper, fruit cake...)

Most toys are built with strong puppy mouths in mind, but, as always, you'll want to supervise your dog's first interaction with a new toy, just in case. Also, be sure to throw away old toys as they begin to wear, so that your dog won't accidentally ingest or choke on any loose parts :)

Puzzle Toys:
Kongs
Twist N Treat by Premier Pet Products
Buster Cubes
Tricky Treats Ball Toy by Omega Paw
Teaser Ball by Jolly Pets
Muttropolis Leo Canine Genius Treat Releaser
Muttropolis Plush Leo
IQube Puzzle Plush by Plush Puppies
Intellibone (a soft squeaky puzzle that develops eye-paw coordination, also by Plush Puppies)

Chewing:
Booda Bones (get one in a color that matches your pup's fur to avoid slobber streaks)
Nylabone Puppy Teething Key Ring
Pet Stages Cool Teething Stick
Fill N' Freeze Bone (instead of water, fill with diluted apple juice or broth for yumminess)
Booda Bone Rope Toy (try freezing for extra-soothing power)

Comfort:
Dog on TV DVD
Harp Music to Soothe the Savage Beast CD, by Alianna Boone
Comfort Zone Plug-in Pheromone Diffuser
A Cozy Blanket or Sweatshirt to snuggle up with that's well-worn (& smells like you)

Sniff out these products (minus the blanket or sweatshirt that smells like you, of course...) at major pet supply retailers such as: Petco , PetSmart , Muttropolis , and Dogtoys.com

*FYI: this is an encore posting from 12/07 :)

Music for Humbugs

I looooove Christmas music. So much so, that I listen to it pretty much all year round. Kind of like how some preschoolers will insist on wearing the same purple shirt over and over and OVER. When I like something, my enthusiasm can be a little nutty... and I like me my Christmas tunes!

Sadly, some people just don't like Christmas music. OR SO THEY THINK! In honor of those with Christmasmusicphobia, I give you my "Cheer Shmeer" playlist, full of strangely beautiful, sad, angry, and morose holiday songs guaranteed to win over humbugs at heart. OK, it's not guaranteed, but it's still worth a shot... and regardless, it's fun offbeatsy listening... Enjoy the sample (or embrace your inner Grinch and turn it off...neeheehee...!)

25th December, Everything But the Girl

That was the Worst Christmas Ever!, Sufjan Stevens

Hallelujah , Jeff Buckley

I believe In You, Sinead O'Connor

Under The Mistletoe, Kyle Andrews

The Christmas Song, The Raveonettes

Merry Christmas, Not X-Mas, Arrah and the Ferns

Bittersweet Eve, Belasana

Christmas Is The Saddest Day Of The Year, Jill Sobule

Christmas Dirge, Nellie McKay

Little Jack Frost, Bing Crosby

All I Ever Get For Christmas Is Blue, Over The Rhine

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Martha Wainwright

River, Travis/ Joni Mitchell

Lonely Xmas Eve, Ben folds

Mistletoe, Colbie Caillat

Merry Christmas (I Don't Wanna Fight Tonight), The Ramones

Please Come Home for Xmas, Fiona Apple

2000 Miles, Coldplay/ Pretenders

Fairytale of NY, Pilate

Christmas Intentions, Scissors for Lefty

Xmas Curtain, My Morning Jacket

Do They Know it's Christmas, Band Aid

Just For Now, Imogen Heap

Christmas, Baby Please Come Home, U2/ Death Cab for Cutie

Song for a Winter's Night, Sarah McLachlan

Christmas Day, Dido

Rudy, The Be Good Tanyas

The Cat Carol, Meryan Cadell

Cracking, Suzanne Vega

Winter Song, Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson

A note for moms and dads: these particular songs aren't brimming over with cheer and jolly jingle stuff... so if you have wee ones, you'll want to use your own best judgement with regards to little ear exposure. Happy listening :)

Train Your Dog to Christmas Carol

Make your very own silly Christmas ecard at Petcentric. You can even personalize it by uploading a photo of your puppy or kitten. Using computer magic, you'll be able to dress him up in snazzy holiday clothing, and watch him sing a classic Christmas carol of your choosing. Yay for virtual training!