Birthday parties are supposed to be fun, but planning your kids’ parties can be stressful. We’re here to help! In our February issue (online and on the stands), you’ll find a wealth of resources for planning parties at home and away, from simple to extravagant. And if that’s not enough to ease your mind, we’re giving away complete birthday parties to 11 lucky readers!
You can enter online through the end of February, or send your name, address, phone number and email address to Metro Parent, PO Box 13660, Portland, Oregon, 97213. We’ll do our best to match party packages with the ages and interests of the winners’ children.
Here’s a run-down on the parties you can win:
Portland Parks & Recreation’s East Portland Community Center has donated a Pool Party More…
Category: Uncategorized // Posted on February 8, 2010 // 2 Comments
PLEASE NOTE: We just received an update about donating breastmilk for Haiti. Apparently the World Health Organization (WHO) has NOT requested breastmilk donations specifically for Haitian babies at this time. Here is a statement from Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA): “In order to support HMBANA to be prepared to provide donor milk if UNICEF, the Red Cross, WHO or other international organization involved on the front lines were to contact us please call your nearest HMBANA bank(found at www.HMBANA .org) and become a donor so that we will have the needed processed donor milk.”
The best thing to do at this point, it appears, is to donate money. We’ve pledged to match all donations up to $1,000 (for a total of $2,000) to Mercy Corps for Haiti Relief when you donate More…
Category: Uncategorized // Posted on January 20, 2010 // Leave a Comment
Our hearts go out to the people of Haiti as they struggle to survive the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that struck near the capital of Port-au-Prince Tuesday. The city reportedly has been destroyed by the quake, the most powerful to hit the country in more than two centuries.
Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere with an infrastructure incapable of adequately assisting its citizens and rebuilding the nation after such a catastrophe. The world needs to help.
You can help today by donating to relief efforts under way by Mercy Corps and the American Red Cross. Here’s how:
If you are trying to locate family members in Haiti, contact the State Department at 888-407-4747.
For updates on the situation in Haiti, visit Mercy Corps’ Web site.
Finally, this disaster is yet another reminder that we all need to be as prepared as possible to survive natural disasters. Visit the American Red Cross Preparedness Web site for information on how you can prepare your home, your family and your workplace.
Category: Uncategorized // Posted on January 13, 2010 // Leave a Comment
Last week my husband took our son to the coast for two nights. I stayed home because I had two big work projects to finish, but I still had my evenings free. (To be honest, I had my late afternoons free as well.) What to do?
This was a big event for me, only the second time in over nine years that I’ve been home alone for more than 24 hours. I considered various More…
Category: Uncategorized // Posted on January 6, 2010 // 3 Comments
Happy New Year! Our January 2010 issue is hitting the stands this week with loads of articles and information to help you start the year off right.
In it we explore how you and your kids can get the sleep you need and deserve, provide an overview of the area’s numerous enrichment opportunities, and introduce a new monthly feature, Family Fare, offering reviews of the area’s best family-friendly dining.
As always, you’ll find all our regular features, including More…
Category: Uncategorized // Posted on December 30, 2009 // Leave a Comment
Still suffering from Turkey Torpor? Time to get out and start celebrating the season! Here are some ideas to get you started. Per usual, we have many more in our online calendar (and many, MANY more to come when the December calendar gets posted on Tuesday).
Saturday
Puppetz vs. People. The zany improv artists from ComedySportz go head-to-(wooden)head with the whacky puppets from Tears of Joy. Hilarity ensues. Best for ages 10 and up. 8 pm Nov. 28. $16 adults, $14 youth. Winningstad Theatre, 1111 SW Broadway. 503-248-0557. www.tojt.com.
La Boutique Fantasque. More…
Category: Uncategorized // Posted on November 28, 2009 // Leave a Comment
Ignore the rain and get out to some of the great events happening this weekend in the area. As always, check our online calendar for many, many more ideas.
Saturday, Nov. 21
Tapestry of Tales Family Matinees. This is the Multnomah County Library’s family program day for its annual story telling festival featuring Will Hornyak, Anne Rutherford, Eth-Noh-Tec (pictured) and others. Ages 5 and up. Free; tickets given out 30 minutes before events. See Web site for times and locations. At 7 pm the final “Tellabration” occurs with three storytellers. Ages 8 and up. Free. First Unitarian Church, 11011 SW 12th Ave. www.multcolib.org/events/tales/events.html.
Family Day at Oregon History Museum. More…
Category: Uncategorized // Posted on November 20, 2009 // Leave a Comment
The US Department of Agriculture released findings this week that hunger is on the rise in America: 49 million people – 17 million of them children – were unable to consistently get enough food to eat in 2008. That’s 14.6 percent of all American households, a 3.5 point jump over 2007.
The study documented both “low food security,” which describes people unable to consistently get enough to eat (49 million) and “very low food security,” describing those unable to eat because there wasn’t enough money for food. In the latter category – very low food security – there are 12 million adults and 5.2 million kids. Nearly half a million are kids under age 6 – which represents a 300 percent increase.
In Oregon, the number of “very low food security” households went from 3.9 percent in the last report to 6.6 percent in the most recent. Oregon is now among the five states with the highest hunger rate, in the company of Mississippi, Maine, Oklahoma and Missouri. Only Mississippi, at 7.4 percent, had a higher percentage than Oregon of hunger.
You can read more details about hunger in Oregon at this link. To donate to the Oregon Food Bank, click here. To learn about other actions you can take to help hungry people, check out the Oregon Food Banks’ Advocacy Alert.
Category: Uncategorized // Posted on November 19, 2009 // Leave a Comment
It’s your last chance to enter to win a Sunriver Traditions Getaway for a family of four! Traditions at Sunriver Resort is a month-long celebration of the holidays that takes place from Nov. 26 through Jan 1 and features more than 150 family-friendly events.
Metro Parent and Sunriver Resort are giving away a Family Traditions Getaway that includes:
• Two nights lodging
• Breakfast with Santa for four
• Teddy Bear Tea for four
• Children’s Christmas stockings for two
• Two 50-minute “Riverside Relaxers” (massages) at Sage Springs Spa
Click here to enter to win! (For more information about Sunriver, click here.)
Category: Uncategorized // Posted on November 9, 2009 // Leave a Comment
In last week’s Metro Parent e-newsletter, we reported that Disney is offering refunds on Baby Einstein DVDs purchased in the last five years. Disney agreed to offer the refunds after the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood complained to the FTC, requesting that Disney stop claiming that Baby Einstein videos were educational for infants. Click here to learn more about how to claim your refund.
Here are some astonishing findings from the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood’s Web site: More…
Category: Uncategorized // Posted on October 26, 2009 // Leave a Comment
One day several years ago, my younger son and I were driving down Sandy Boulevard, when we saw a billboard that we took note of.
Now, normally, my “taking note of” a billboard with children in the car would consist of helping my kids “deconstruct” whatever it is the sign is trying to tell us – or, more likely, sell us. I’d ask my kids things like: Who is this ad aimed at? What methods does the ad use to convince you to buy the product? How does the ad make you feel? And other similar queries. (Click here for some great tips on helping your kids deconstruct media.)
On this day, however, the billboard we drove by had been spray painted with this message in large letters: “THINK FOR YOURSELF”
Wow. That day I walked a fine line between encouraging a discussion of what the graffiti “artist” was trying to convey and applauding vandalism. More…
Category: Uncategorized // Posted on October 20, 2009 // 2 Comments
Eclectic. That pretty much sums up the possibilities for family fun in the Portland area this weekend. Consider the following – or check our online calendar AND our listings of Halloween & Harvest Fun for dozens of additional options.
All Weekend
Apple Tasting at Portland Nursery. Music, storytelling, jugglers, crafts and more. Over 50 varieties of apples and pears to taste. All ages. 10 am to 5 pm. Oct. 16, 17 and 18. Free; goodies to buy. 5050 SE Stark. 503-231-5050. www.portlandnursery.com.
Portland Open Studios. See studios and chat with local artists. 10 am to 5 pm. West side studios Oct. 17 and 18. $15 guide good for 2 adults, kids through high school are free. Check Web site for ticket purchase locations and studio locations. More…
Category: Uncategorized // Posted on October 16, 2009 // Leave a Comment
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