Kathy Landin

The Elf on the Shelf—whether you find him cute, annoying or somewhere in between, he's everywhere these days, making the holiday season even more complicated for parents. We did a little investigating on this elusive creature that has become a phenomenon, and discovered a few things we didn't expect.

By now everyone's seen at least one hilarious singing-and-dancing creation from the gang at JibJab. They’re the ones who make short, animated clips set to music onto which you can insert your own head, or the heads of your friends and loved ones, and then watch as your animated mouth opens and closes in time with the beat. It’s funny and disturbing at the same time. In this day and age, one of the

Christmas is a time for traditions, but it seems like every year the Christmas traditions become far less traditional and way more modern. A warm fire crackles on your HDTV. That fresh-cut Christmas tree is just an illusion created by LED lights...

The Christmas tree is a classic symbol of the holiday season and sometimes, maybe the best way to get in the holiday mood. You put an evergreen tree in the middle of your living room, decorate it with lights, ornaments and tinsel, and—boom—Christmas spirit...

The school buses are running again, and the kids are out of the house. Finally. With the end of the far-too-long summer break, this return to school days can leave you with a little extra time on your hands during the day, right? Well, maybe not too much, but your daily schedule should ease up a bit, so now what do you do? You get back on the Internet, that’s what.

When your kids go back to school, it’s almost like you go back to school, too. Teachers and childhood development professionals agree that when a child’s parents are involved in his education, he learns more and gets better grades. That means, you have just as big a responsibility in his schoolwork as he does.

Somehow another summer has flown by and the kiddos are headed back to school again. Sure, that means vacations are over, the house will be empty and days at the pool are numbered. But what it also means is that it’s time to shop for supplies.

It’s common knowledge that many states have towns called Springfield, based on the number of them who thought they were the inspiration for the hometown of TV’s ‘The Simpsons,’ only to find out they weren’t. But there are other city or town names you may not have heard of, and for good reason.

At last, summer vacation time is here. If you haven’t started planning, it’s not too late. There’s a lot of summer ahead of us, and you can still find time to get out of town with your family before school starts back up again. Just make sure you you don’t fall into a few common traps and you’ll have the best vacation ever.

Wake up. Sound the alarms. Father’s Day is on Sunday. It seems like we talk about Mother’s Day for a month before it actually happens, but Father’s Day just sneaks up on us every year. If this has happened to you and you aren’t prepared with a gift, it’s not too late.

This month marks the beginning of the six-month long hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean. Now that we’re about a week into it, there’s no better time to take a fresh look at the best ways to prepare for the event of a hurricane.

Even though you love your kids dearly and want to spend time with them, the months that kids are out of school can be the longest of the year for any parent. The key to a peaceful summer household is keeping the kids busy and entertained.