Parental Guidance
Shopping at Stella+Jack
A simple, green and cheap website to shop for kids' clothes.
Ever since the economy tanked, savvy parents are looking into the most affordable way to keep kids’ wardrobes up to date: consignment shops. But visiting those stores can seem daunting when you have to drag the kids along, and many stores have strict policies, e.g., “You cannot return anything. Ever.” Two local moms, Queen Anne’s…
Kids Can Train for the Seattle Marathon
Consider signing up for this fun, go-at-your-own-pace training program.
November’s gloomy weather can bring out couch-potato tendencies in kids. Not yours, though, because you, smart parent, have signed your child up to run the Seattle Marathon. You don’t need $250 running shoes and a CamelBak; this is a marathon your kids do a little at a time, at a place near home. Print out…
Homemade Toys from Manzanita Kids
Check out these beautiful wooden toys crafted by two Seattle parents in their North Seattle workshop
Is your living room awash in a sea of plastic toys? It doesn’t have to be that way, thanks to this line of handmade wooden toys from MANZANITA KIDS (etsy.com/shop/manzanitakids), made by Seattle dad David Minnery and his wife, Adrienne, a teacher at Ballard’s Adams Elementary School. The duo uses locally sourced hardwoods (walnut, cherry…
How to Throw Cool Kids’ Birthday Parties
Help for planning a kid's party with less stress, plus two local gift ideas.
Birthdays for wee ones should not be associated with nervous breakdowns. Here’s a trifecta of local talent that can assist you with planning a great celebration. PlanningMake it simple by hiring a personal concierge service, such as Honey Do (honeydoseattle.com). Eastsiders Anne Brucker (Kirkland) and Jenna Davis (Bellevue) will create a plan and put on…
Cool Art for Kids and a Local Designer Gets Her Twirl On
Frye Art Museum’s ‘Smalll Frye’ program makes art easier for little ones to swallow; plus, a cool ne
ART CLASS Sometimes exposing kids to culture is akin to getting them to take yucky-tasting medicine: You have to hide it in something sweet to get it down. The folks at Frye Art Museum have figured this out. In an effort to promote community literacy and get little people (and their parents!) into the museum,…
Mad Men–style Family Portraits, Luxury Northwest Family Travel Ideas, Personalized Kids’ Stationery
THE MOD SQUAD – family portraitsFans of the hit show Mad Men have been feeling at a loss ever since the network powers-that-be announced the show’s fifth season won’t air until March 2012. May we suggest a way to get your Mad fix and also get ahead on the annual chore of taking a pic…
May Trends for the Stylish Seattle Child
Repurposed duds from Ricicli, volunteering made easy and statement making blanket.
Downsizing, UpcyclingWhen Christina Collins-Pezzner looks at a pile of discarded clothes, she sees beautiful bits of opportunity. Her Ballard-based design business Ricicli (pronounced ree-chee-clee; riciclikids.com), turns gently used adult apparel into stylish, one-of-a-kind duds for boys and girls. After many years on the local fashion scene, including working with Nordstrom’s buying team, Collins-Pezzner realized her…
Seattle’s Kids Book Club Boom
The latest trend to get kids reading comes from the adult playbook: Create a club-like atmosphere,
The latest trend to get kids reading comes from the adult playbook: Create a club-like atmosphere, serve up food and let the conversation flow. In the past year, bookstores such as Mockingbird Books in Green Lake and Secret Garden Books in Ballard have created book clubs for kids of all ages. “We knew it would…
Parental Guidance: January 2010
Seattle mag contributor Kavita Varma-White gives us the scoop on the hottest kids' trends in the cit
Give it a twirlIt used to be that kid-friendly cafés were places where you could get a latte while the kids rooted through a lone box of toys in the corner. But the newest player, Queen Anne’s Twirl CafE (2111 Queen Anne Ave N; 206.283.4552; twirlcafe.com), is a game changer. The contemporary, nearly 2,000-square-foot space…