Monthly Archive — December 2008

  • Video Games Get You Through The Airport With Sanity Intact

    Millions of people (I just made that figure up) will be traveling today and many of them will be stuck in airports for way too long. If you are one of those people and you’d like something to alleviate the travel tension that doesn’t require a prescription then give games a try. If you are [...]

  • It’s Here: Enjoying Christmas Presents

    I’ve been thinking a lot about the song, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” this week. Partially because, well, it’s the season, but also because I heard Liza sing it in her fantastic show at The Palace last week. But mostly, I’ve been thinking about it as I’ve been talking to people who are in [...]

  • The Mannered Mom on… Traveling With Kids

    I’m more frequently asked by people how they should deal with other people’s kids while traveling than I am asked for tips on how people should manage their own kids. This leads me to believe that other people’s kids are the real problem here, as seems to be the case with most things. I’m not an expert on other people’s kids but can provide my own “how to’s” for managing or avoiding the most common kid travel mistakes:

  • Bring Your Favorite Rock Band 2 Characters To Life

    Players of the popular video game, Rock Band 2, can now create real world merchandise based on their in-game characters. The Rock Band website allows you to turn your own personal band and individual character photos into t-shirts ($29), posters ($14), stickers ($5), bumper stickers ($4), buttons ($2) and keychains ($3). If money is no [...]

  • The Mannered Mom On… Being a Great Houseguest

    ‘Tis the season for entertaining and travel and so it’s a great time to refresh the fundamentals of being a good houseguest, nearly none of which apply if you’re crashing with family (Sorry, grandparents!). But for others who may be hosting you and, more importantly, your kids, there are some considerations to keep in mind. [...]

  • Xbox Live Deal of the Week

    In addition to amazing game-graphics, one of the major benefits of the current generation game systems–Xbox 360, PS3, Wii–is the ability to download new game content and features using the game console itself. Downloadable content (DLC) ranges from expanded levels to new songs for games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band, which increases the play [...]

  • Toys for Tots

    Times are tough for a lot of us this year but if you can, please donate a new toy to the Marine’s Toys For Tots foundation. If you live in the US and would like to help, head on over to Toys For Tots to find out where you can drop off your toy donations.

  • A Little Friday Fun: Real Life Mario Kart

    What could be better on a Friday than a little mindless entertainment courtesy of the reticulum of ridiculousness that is YouTube. This little gem is a riot, even if you have never heard of Nintendo’s crazy go-cart racing game, Mario Kart. Here we see a huge Mario fan living out the video game in real [...]

  • Nintendo Wants To Help You Shop This Holiday Season

    Nintendo has created two unique Websites to make sure everyone gets the Nintendo gear they really want this year. You can have Mario leave a voice mail or send a playable message in an E-mail to someone who might be shopping for you. Just visit the site here and set up your wish list by [...]

  • The Mannered Mom on… Hosting a Family of Guests

    With the holiday season upon us, many of us are gearing up for an exciting period of entertaining and hosting overnight guests. While we know in the back of our busy minds that our guests are there to see us – not the state of our kitchen floor – we still obsess over the details [...]