EDITOR’S LETTER
L
contents
et’s get ready for the holidays!
Shopping malls started preparing
right after Halloween (and you
may have started making your
gift-giving list at that time too),
but now it’s “go” time!
In our Dining section, Stacey
Antine of HealthBarn USA in
Ridgewood serves a delicious
recipe for pumpkin pie dip. It’s
a new twist on an appetizer you
can bring to your Thanksgiving
feast. Guests will gobble it up.
Love the recipe? Sign your kids
up for one of Antine’s culinary
education programs aimed for children of
all ages. For more details, turn to page 24.
In this issue, our Do-Gooder is 16-year-old
Upper Saddle River resident Gabriella Raia,
a volunteer who works with Table to Table.
Speaking of volunteering, help your children
understand the true meaning of the
giving season with the ideas listed on
our Lists page.
Fun Food writer Kate Morgan Jackson
offers two Christmas cookie recipes, and on
pages 20-22, we round up a few of the best
gifts to give this holiday season.
Finally, it’s time to start planning and
prepping for your holiday cards. Local
photographers share advice on how to get
the best shots out of your photo session.
Will your card be front and center at your
friends’ homes?
Happy holidays! ●
16
Features Departments
SPREAD THE JOY p.16
Tips on how to take
the best holiday
photos BULLETIN
BOARD p.4
A GUIDE TO
THE BEST GIFTS p.20
Spoil your children
with the perfect
presents this season
HEALTH &
WELLNESS p.10
New and
noteworthy Driving class for
parents
FUN FOOD p.6 SPECIAL
PARENT p.12
Christmas
cookies
DO-
GOODER p.8
Gabriella Raia of
Upper Saddle
River
Adaptive
clothing
PARTY
TIME p.14
LISTS p.15
How to give
back this season
DINING p.24
HealthBarn USA
in Ridgewood
MOM TO
MOM p.48
Holiday cards
Superhero
birthday
celebration
ON THE COVER: Newborn baby girl Grace photographed at 2 weeks old.
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF SHANIELEIGH PHOTOGRAPHY
2
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017 | (201) FAMILY
LAURA ADAMS STIANSEN
CONTRIBUTORS
Kate Morgan Jackson
“Christmas Cookies” p.6
Kate is a food writer, photographer
and publisher of the cooking website
Framed Cooks. Kate lives in Upper
Saddle River with her husband
Don and their perpetually hungry
rescue dog Dixie.
Leslie Perlmutter
“Creative Collaboration” p.12
Leslie is a freelance writer who
lives in northern New Jersey with
her husband, their three children
and their dog, Hank.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017
THE HOLIDAY ISSUE