A couple of savvy readers emailed us about the free Santa’s Wonderland 2009 at the Bass Pro Shop at the Savannah Mall

Now through Dec. 24, children can have a FREE photo with Santa, enjoy holiday decorations, a model train and remote-control cars, games, and, on weekends through Dec. 20, participate in free holiday crafts. Click here for more info. PLEASE NOTE: SANTA ISN’T THERE UNTIL 5 PM ON WEEKDAYS, but the free activities are still available – just no Santa photos until 5 PM weekdays.

Thanks to readers for the great suggestion and keep those tips coming.

For more children’s holiday activities, visit the SouthernMamas Ultimate Holiday Guide here.

Creating a sensible budget is one of the hardest parts of family financial planning. Trying to spend less is difficult for those already on a tight budget; learning to spend smarter takes some time and focus, but can save you money.

Financial advisor Marsha Woelber, a Partner at Independent Investment Services, LLC/Securities Offered through LPL Financial, Member FINRA/SIPC, shares an easy trick of smart spending: the use of Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs). Check out her guest article below. She can be reached @ marsha@iissav.com or 912-650-2852.

One easy trick of smart spending is the use of Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs). Check with your (or your spouse’s) employer to see if this benefit is available to you.

An FSA allows an employee to set aside a portion of earnings before taxes to pay for certain medical or child care expenses. Money in a FSA avoids income tax and the 7.65% Social Security tax. If you are in the 15% tax bracket, you could avoid paying over 22% in taxes on that money, easily adding extra cash to your budget (Not sure of your tax bracket? Google “tax bracket” and see where you fit). There are two types of FSAs: Medical Expense and Dependent Care.

Medical expense FSAs cover health expenses not paid for by insurance. Each program varies, but allowable expenses include medical copayments and items such as contact lenses, birth control pills, many OTC drugs, and even band aids. Your employer sets the maximum amount of money you may set aside. You choose to have this money taken out of your paycheck (tax-free) and then use it to pay your bills.

To read the rest of this article, click here.

Emily Moody!

Emily wins a page-a-day pre-k readiness skills calendar that focuses on the parent’s needs FIRST. The Ready To Learn Calendar was developed to equip the caregiver/parent with a way to impart needed skills to their child during normal household routine (laundry, household chores, fixing dinner, or going to the grocery store.)

Each calendar gives the parent 2 or 3 simple daily exercises (10-15 minute total) for pre-k readiness. readytolearncalendar@gmail.com”

To order, call 865-429-2627 or email  readytolearncalendar@gmail.com. The calendar is sold as a wholesale item at $5.00/calendar and there is a minimum order of 64. The shipping runs from $.50 to $1.00 per calendar. Orders can be taken to assure that calendars are presold. For more info, click here.

 My son’s 3rd birthday party at Bouncing Angels was a cinch. The Savannah indoor play place at Victory Drive and Skidaway Road made it so easy.

 Birthday packages include as much jump time as the kids can handle; pizza, juice boxes, paper plates, napkins and more. You bring the cake, cupcakes, etc.

The play & party entertainment center @ the Victory Drive Shopping Center, 2123 E. Victory Drive is undergoing a lot of improvements.

Birthdays will soon include thrones for the birthday boy or girl; as well as a personalized “Happy Birthday” banner with the child’s name.  Birthday guests receive unlimited jump time – so they can bounce off all that birthday cake.

Bouncing Angels hours:
10 AM-8 PM Mon-Thurs.  
10 AM- 9 PM Fri.- Sat.
noon-8 PM   Sun.

Check out their Web site here. For more info. call: 912.691.8797.

If you’re planning to host a birthday party there, ask about the free party deal: after 15 paid admissions of $16 each, you earn a free birthday party with up to 16 kids (a $259 value).

Can’t think of what to get your mom, sister, friend or co-worker for the holidays?

Give the gift that everyone loves: a giftcard to The Melting Pot, a sponsor of SouthernMamas.  The Melting Pot also has great stocking stuffers!  Ask about their bars of chocolate, salad dressing and garlic and wine seasoning.  Call ahead or stop by today to pick up these gifts.

If you are out shopping downtown the day after Thanksgiving,  The Melting Pot on Broughton Street will open at noon to sell these items. Call 912.349.5676

The opening of the Gingerbread Village @ Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa has been delayed until Nov. 26

The Gingerbread Village and toy train were supposed to open Fri. Nov. 20, but has been postponed. Call 912.201.2000 before making a trip to the Westin to check on the status of the display.

Thanks to reader Monica Patel for providing this information!

For more children’s holiday activities, visit the SouthernMamas Ultimate Holiday Guide here.

The Savannah Holiday tree arrives Thurs. Nov. 19 in downtown Savannah.

The giant community tree will be moved just off Ellis Square for the first time, after spending previous holidays on the waterfront and in Forsyth Park.

The tree is just one part of a Downtown Savannah holiday lineup. Broughton Street will decorated beginning 10 AM Sat. Nov. 21.

On Nov. 27 and 28, Broughton will be transformed into a winter wonderland for Savannah Holly Days, sponsored by the Savannah Convention and Visitors Bureau, which will include ice-skating, music, a wine-tasting and real snow.

Parking meters are FREE all day long every Thursday-Sunday from Thanksgiving through Christmas.

For more info on Savannah Holly Days, click here.

For more children’s holiday activities, visit the SouthernMamas Ultimate Holiday Guide here.

The Chatham County Health Department is now able to offer the 2009 H1N1 vaccine to all five target groups outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those groups are:

• 1. Pregnant women because they are at higher risk of complications and can potentially provide protection to infants who cannot be vaccinated;

2. Household contacts and caregivers for children younger than 6 months of age because younger infants are at higher risk of influenza-related complications and cannot be vaccinated. Vaccination of those in close contact with infants younger than 6 months old might help protect infants by “cocooning” them from the virus;

1. 3. Healthcare and emergency medical services personnel because infections among healthcare workers have been reported and this can be a potential source of infection for vulnerable patients. Also, increased absenteeism in this population could reduce healthcare system capacity;

4. All people from 6 months through 24 years of age
o Children from 6 months through 18 years of age because cases of 2009 H1N1 influenza have been seen in children who are in close contact with each other in school and day care settings, which increases the likelihood of disease spread, and
o Young adults 19 through 24 years of age because many cases of 2009 H1N1 influenza have been seen in these healthy young adults and they often live, work, and study in close proximity, and they are a frequently mobile population; and,

5. Persons aged 25 through 64 years who have health conditions associated with higher risk of medical complications from influenza.

The vaccine is given on a first come, first served basis, 8 AM- 5 PM, Mon.-Fri. The Chatham County Health Department has two locations: 1395 Eisenhower Drive and 1602 Drayton St.

The Children’s Ballet Theater of the Academy of Dance is performing The Nutcracker at the Trustees Theater at 6:30 PM Sat., Dec. 5 at and 3 PM Sun. Dec. 6.

The ticket prices are $28 for adults, $18 for children and $13 for groups of 10 or more all general admission.

You can buy tickets through the SCAD website or at the door on the day of the performance. (912) 525-5050.

For more children’s holiday activities, visit the SouthernMamas Ultimate Holiday Guide here.

Santa wants to check in with your child this holiday season via the phone.

The Island Recreation Association on Hilton Head Island has arranged for the big, busy man in red to be available to call your child from the North Pole between 5-8 pm Mon. Dec. 14 or Tues. Dec. 15. Santa can call anywhere in the area, including Savannah and beyond, for a $5 North Pole connection fee.

You must register by noon Mon. Dec. 7. Call 843.681.7273 or email info@islandreccenter.org. For more info., click here.

For more children’s holiday activities, visit the SouthernMamas Ultimate Holiday Guide here.

Today Georgia received an “F” for its premature birth rate.

The March of Dimes issued that grade Tuesday in its Premature Birth Report Card, which grades each state’s rate of preterm birth compared to the nation’s objective of a 7.6 percent or less preterm birth rate by 2010. Georgia’s preterm birth rate was 13.6 percent.

The March of Dimes report card assesses states’ progress toward improving access to health care coverage for women of childbearing age, helping women quit smoking during pregnancy, and to preventing medically unnecessary c-sections prior to 39 weeks of pregnancy – three criteria that can reduce preterm birth rates.

One in eight babies are born prematurely in the U.S. and in Georgia 400 babies are born too early each week. Babies who survive a premature birth face the risk of serious life-long health problems including learning disabilities, cerebral palsy, blindness, hearing loss, and other chronic conditions including asthma.

Read more here.

You want your child to be ready for pre-K.  But you aren’t sure what you should be teaching the tyke to prepare for pre-K.

Here’s help: a page-a-day pre-k readiness skills calendar that focuses on the parent’s needs FIRST. The Ready To Learn Calendar was developed to equip the caregiver/parent with a way to impart needed skills to their child during normal household routine (laundry, household chores, fixing dinner, or going to the grocery store.)

Each calendar gives the parent 2 or 3 simple daily exercises (10-15 minute total) for pre-k readiness.

This week, a SouthernMamas reader will win one calendar.

Check out the rules below to enter to win:

Each calendar gives the parent 2 or 3 simple daily exercises (10-15 minute total) for pre-k readiness. readytolearncalendar@gmail.com”

Can’t wait for the giveaway? To order, call 865-429-2627 or email  readytolearncalendar@gmail.com. The calendar is sold as a wholesale item at $5.00/calendar and there is a minimum order of 64. The shipping runs from $.50 to $1.00 per calendar. Orders can be taken to assure that calendars are presold. For more info, click here.

Amy Stinson Keaton, who left a wonderfully descriptive post on the SouthernMamas Facebook page.

Amy wins a Tasty Lunch Tote from BUILT NY, which also sells other reusable bags and unique kids’s lunchboxes. (BUILT’s Munchler’s Kids’ Lunchboxes are adorable.

BUILT’s products are made of neoprene (no vinyl or PVC used), are machine washable, affordable, fun and stylish.

It’s here! SouthernMamas Holidays 2009 Fun Guide: Children’s Christmas Activities in Savannah, Bluffton and beyond.

We’ve got it all: Santa visits, Christmas parades, holiday caroling, pet photos with Santa, the Polar Express. Find out when one of Savannah’s downtown squares will be filled with snow and when the holiday train rides start at Savannah Mall.  Click here and visit our guide frequently this holiday season for updates.

For your convenience, the link to the holiday guide will posted in the column to the right throughout the holiday season. Enjoy! Please share the link with all the local parents you know.

See Jane – a modern apothecary at 323 W Broughton St. in downtown Savannah – now has butter LONDON, an amazing line of nail care/lacquers.

One of butter LONDON’s new hot colors is Yummy Mummy, a favorite of expectant mom Heidi Klum.

The butter LONDON line is “Three Free” – meaning there’s no formaldehyde, DBP, or Toulene; therefore, perfect for expecting mummies who want products free of carcinogens.

butter LONDON's Yummy Mummy color

Shelley Smith, owner of See Jane, is so thrilled to have butter LONDON line, she’s offering all SouthernMamas readers A FREE MANICURE WITH THE PURCHASE OF A PEDICURE.

Just mention that you read about See Jane and butter LONDON on SouthernMamas to receive your free manicure.

See Jane is also Savannah’s hottest socializing space for group bookings such as bachelorettes, bridal showers, girls’ night out. For all bookings, the hostess gets a free pedicure.

For more info on See Jane, click here.

Tel. 912.234.1080. Email: info@seejaneshop.com

Host your child's birthday party at a playground/pavilion at Skidaway Island State Park

A plus of living in our area is you can host a children’s birthday party outdoors – even in fall. But the one challenge is finding a playground with access to bathrooms and a pavilion.

Here’s a fun suggestion for a playground children’s birthday party from SouthernMamas reader Katie Kelley: she’s having her child’s 3rd birthday party at Skidaway Island State Park.

The state park has a playground that’s suitable for smaller children; has several picnic tables available or you can rent one of the pavilions for $55 for the entire day. There are two pavilions right next to the playground with access to the bathrooms.

You can make the reservation online. Parking passes for cars is $5. You can add up the cars and then pay later so that our guests don’t have to pay, Katie emails. You also can bring your own food/snacks/cake/decorations/goodie bags, etc. For more info, click here.

Rain, rain go away.

Check out SouthernMamas’ rainy day children’s activities for Savannah, Richmond Hill, Pooler, Hilton Head Is., Bluffton and beyond.

Click here for the list of suggestions. Tell them SouthernMamas sent you!

Buggy maker Maclaren USA is recalling about 1 million strollers sold in the United States over the past decade after receiving a dozen reports of children’s fingers being amputated when caught in the stroller’s hinges.

Maclaren announced a voluntary recall with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission this week. The recall involves all Maclaren single and double umbrella strollers sold in the United States starting in 1999.

Maclaren is offering consumers a free hinge-cover kit that corrects the defect in the stroller. Models affected include Volo, Triumph, Quest Sport, Quest Mod, Techno XT, TechnoXLR, Twin Triumph, Twin Techno and Easy Traveller.

If you have one of these strollers, click here or call toll-free between 9 AM- 5 PM, 877-688-2326. Both the site and phone lines have been inundated with requests; keep trying if you can’t get an immediate response.

Savannah baby and child photographer Nicole Williams loves children.

Which is why her popular photography business – Memories for Keepsake Photography – is sponsoring a family in need. Nicole, who in addition to being a talented photographer is also a mother of seven, believes the joy of Christmas should be experienced by EVERY child. And the spirit of Christmas should be in every adult who has children of their own.

Memories for Keepsake will sponsor a family by purchasing items on the children’s lists, stockings, perhaps a Christmas dinner etc.

From Nov. 7 – Dec. 4, 10 percent of all proceeds on portraits, growing plans and giftcards will be put into a special fund for a family in need, or a family who has been hit by the recession.

Memories for Keepsake is taking nominations from now through December 4. The family will be notified by Dec. 6, so they will have time to collect Christmas lists from their children.

To allow all families the opportunity to contribute to this family AND to purchase quality portraiture for themselves, family and friends, Memories for Keepsake is offering 30 percent off of ALL giftcard purchases made from now through November 21 to be redeemed Jan. 1-May 30 2010.

What a fabulous gift to give someone for the holidays AND help another family. So, if you purchase a $100 gift certificate from now through Nov. 21, you’ll pay $70 for $100 worth of portraiture and you’ll be donating $10 to the family Memories for Keepsake sponsors.

To book a session or nominate a family to sponsor, contact Nicole Williams 912.596.0832 or email info@memoriesforkeepsake.com. Click here to see more examples of Nicole’s extraordinary work.

Lunch always tastes better eaten outside.

Especially when it comes in my Nolita Stripe Tasty Lunch Tote – proof that good things do come in small packages. I love my Tasty Lunch Tote from BUILT NY, which also sells other reusable bags and unique kids’s lunchboxes. (BUILT’s Munchler’s Kids’ Lunchboxes are adorable.

The Tasty Tote keeps soup warm and carrot sticks cool. Even better, BUILT’s products are made of neoprene (no vinyl or PVC used), are machine washable, affordable, fun and stylish. The totes are so roomy and have such sturdy zip closures, I can stuff my son’s water bottle inside, with a few juice boxes and both our lunches with no trouble closing it.

This week, a SouthernMamas reader will win the Tasty Lunch tote in the color of her choice.

Check out the rules below to enter to win:

Island Child – a sponsor of SouthernMamas – wonderful selection of Corolle and Madame Alexander dolls and accessories in time for the holidays.

Check out the collection of dolls and accessories at the Island Child Web site here. You can order online or at the Island Child store in the Village at Wexford on Hilton Head Is. 1.888.705.5437 or 843.686.5437.

Island Child – owned by children’s clothing gurus Steve and Senny Powell, who have seven adopted children and have fostered seven children – has been dressing Lowcountry tykes for 25 years

Send Island Child a favorite photo of your Island Child and he or she could become ISLAND CHILD’S NEXT TOP MODEL.

Kelig Neal!

Congratulations. Kelig wins a free Kindermusik semester of classes for her baby.

Kindermusik  has three new parent-and-me music classes starting this month at three locations – Mondays in the Sandfly area, Tuesdays on Wilmington Island and Saturdays on the Southside. The classes run November through January 2010.  

To register for Kindermusik, visit the Coastal Empire Savannah Kindermusik Web site and click on the Kindermusik for Ages 0-7 button. Or call 912.728.KEYS (5397)

Click here more information.

Check out Kindermusik’s sister site 88 Keys, for piano tuning, piano service, sales/rentals, even piano moving. The family-owned business also buys, sells and RENTS pianos. You can rent a spinet piano for $1 per day. That’s right  -$30 a month for a piano. For more info, click here or call 912.728.KEYS.

Attention Savannah and Hilton Head Is. moms groups!  Here’s a fun idea for an event: have a Tippy Toes Pottery party.

Tippy Toes is an amazing concept developed by local mompreneur Amanda Reed, who uses your child’s footprints, hand prints and finger prints to create a whimsical painting on pottery.

Think large lobster serving platter, which the claws of the lobster are a child’s footprints or a magical garden with flowers made of a child’s handprints. The artwork includes the child’s name and year.

I was thrilled to attend a Tippy Toes open house today, where Amanda made prints of my two children’s hands and feet to create creative and sentimental presents for the grandparents!

Check out some of the gifts Tippy Toes can create for you here.

Tippy Toes Pottery travels around to events. Hosting a tippy toes event is a great way to get your friends together to make precious memories.

Hostesses receive 10 percent of all event sales toward the purchase of their pottery. Find out more here.

Become a fan of Tippy Toes Pottery on Facebook here.

Heated discussions about childhood vaccines are seen on national news channels and are being talked about more openly among parents.

To help sort through the confusion of safety, rights and choices, the following topics will be discussed during an upcoming vaccine seminar hosted by the Savannah Autism Support Group Meeting at the pediatrician office of Dr. Ramon Ramos, 313 Eisenhower Dr.:

• Vaccine laws, recommendations and exemptions
• Mercury/ thermarosal and other additives in vaccines
• Questions to ask your physician or pediatrician: informed consent
• Predisposition to vaccine reactions
• Strategies to increase immune function if you choose not to vaccinate

The meeting will be 6:30-8 PM Tues. Nov. 10. Attendees will go home with a packet of information of guidance and support materials to help you make an informed decision for your child. The presenter is chiropractor Steve Ranicki of Pooler.

For more info, call 912-748-1506 or email Jennifer@ranickichiropractic.com. RSVP requested: Jessica at SavannahGAandAutism@yahoo.com or call: 667-9060.