Welcome to “On the Horizon”

Issue 126:  Help for the Holiday Hmm’s

On the Horizon is an award winning weekly ezine for parents of children with developmental disabilities who want simple, effective strategies to reduce stress, support their child’s development, and improve quality of life for the whole family.

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Holiday Fun

A Note from Nicole:   Season Goodies

Idea of the Week:  Hot Chocolate Fun

Feature Article: Help for the Holiday Hmm’s

The Horizons Team Recommends: Holiday Sale!

Allergen-Free Recipe of the Week: GFCF Hot Cocoa

Upcoming Events:
Horizons Events & Workshops

Hi Everyone,

Can you believe December is already here?  I hope those of you in the US enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday with friends and family.  Our family enjoyed spending the long weekend together; eating yummy food and taking a break from the usual work and school activities.

This week I’m excited to announce that our annual holiday sale is here!  I know from your emails that some of you have been waiting for this sale to make purchases for holiday gifts and for yourselves.  Here’s how the sale works:  when you purchase any of our products between December 1 and December 17 you will receive 25% off your total order when you use the coupon cold HOLIDAY10.  You can order as many items as you’d like and you will automatically receive 25% off your purchase price when you use the code.  Please remember that if you live outside the US you need to email or call our office for shipping rates.  Happy ordering!

The feature article this week is a great one for those of you who need to do some holiday shopping for the kids on your list.  Michelle shares some of her favorite toys, games, and other items for holiday gift giving, all updated for 2010.  I hope you get some good ideas!

Enjoy your week!

Looking to the horizon,

Hot Chocolate Fun

Cold days are a great time to enjoy a nice warm cup of hot chocolate.  You can even add some fun to your hot chocolate to spice it up a bit.  Here are some ideas of things you can add to your simple hot chocolate:

• Marshmallows or whipped cream on top
• Spoonful of peanut butter or caramel stirred in
• ¼ tsp. of spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, or vanilla extract are tasty
• Use a candy cane to stir

Help for the Holiday Hmm’s

By: Michelle VanderHeide, BSW

If your life is anything like mine near the holidays, it’ll probably sound a little like this: “Mom, can I get that for Christmas?” “I’ll put it on your wish list honey.” As the next commercial comes on, “Mom can I get that for Christmas?” “That does look like fun. I’ll put it on your wish list.” The television, newspapers, and billboards are inundated with advertisements for all the hot toys and gadgets for this year. As parents, aunts or uncles, and grandparents, it can be very overwhelming to know what gifts to buy that will be both fun and “educational.”  Knowing what gifts will be best for our children – that they’ll enjoy – leave many of us going “hmmm.”

Here are a few things to keep in mind when shopping for all children:

1. Television, movies, and video games can be nice for some relaxing times, but should be limited. I read in a recent study that the average child watches 50-60 hours of television a week! As a result, children are being negatively impacted, including increased aggression and decreased attention; plus other negative side affects such as robbing the mind of important things like reading, writing, creative play and story telling, friendship development and so much more.

Read more …

GFCF Hot Cocoa

Whether you have just started a special diet with your child or you have been following one for years, it can be difficult to come up with what to serve. We decided to try to make that just a bit easier by providing you with a new allergen free recipe each week.

While it is impossible to meet every person’s unique food sensitivity needs, we hope you will find these recipes helpful and delicious. Please feel free to adapt the recipes to meet your needs and taste buds; we do it all the time.  Enjoy!

GFCF Hot Cocoa

GFCF Hot Chocolate is rich and creamy – the ultimate hot chocolate for those on gluten-free / dairy free diets!

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 cups lite coconut milk

Get the recipe…

Please join us!

• Horizons Family Holiday Party
  (for Horizons client families only) Call the office to RSVP
  December 4th from 2:00-5:00 PM
  bring the whole family to enjoy holiday foods, crafts, activities, and photos with Santa