It's not just your neighborhood mall where St. Nick can be spotted -- the world's most famous gift-giver is honored all over the world.
From Korea (to play the accordion) to Tokyo (where he swims with dolphins) to even Budapest (to show off a bikini), see how Santa spreads holiday cheer in many different languages.
Need a good laugh amidst all the holiday chaos? Be sure to check out this hilarious site that captures the awkward and bizarre St. Nicks painfully taking gift orders from children (a lot of these mall Santas look more like ex-convicts than representatives of the North Pole). Our personal favorites are the ones in which the Santa seems to take much joy in making little kids miserable.
Think saying no to that second cup of eggnog sounds impossible? TODAY’s diet and nutrition editor Joy Bauer answers questions about staying healthy during the holiday season.
A consumer group is questioning the safety of the Zhu Zhu Pet, the hottest toy of the holiday season, saying it may contain levels of metals that could be harmful to children. TODAY’s Natalie Morales reports.
Are you heading to a holiday party and have no idea what to bring the hostess? Alionthego.com's Alison Deyette shows Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb easy and beautiful items that are great to bring as hostess gifts.
One of the most important decisions my husband and I have made as parents came when I was pregnant and was agreed to quickly, with an amount of clarity and unity rarely seen since.
Ours would be a Barney-free household. No purple dinosaur, no treacly music, no cloying children would invade our lives and make us crazy.
Thankfully, our son has discovered the anti-Barney in Imagination Movers, a four-man children’s band plucked from New Orleans’ Jazz Fest with an Emmy Award-winning hit show on the Disney Channel that is all the rage among the preschool set – and just as importantly, their parents.
In its second season, Imagination Movers teaches young Gearheads, as fans are called, to solve “idea emergencies” creatively by brainstorming, all while grooving to original songs that encourage them to “reach high, think big, work hard, have fun.”
The show itself is reminiscent of The Monkees in both style and tone, a move that was intentional, said Scott Durbin, a.k.a. Mover Scott, who I caught up with while he was traveling through West Virginia by bus as part of a 40-date concert tour that runs through Dec. 13. Other influences were Laugh In and The Three Stooges, he said, but consultations with clinical psychologists and developmental experts ensure the content is appropriate for kids between 2 and 5.
Need your news quick and easy? Enjoy a roundup of interesting and odd parenting news:
How far can Trekkies go? One super-fan of a dad spoke only Klingon to his son for three years (Huffington Post)
Pamela Anderson breaks the news to her kids: "I just said, 'Look, Mommy and Daddy were massively in love, we videotaped everything, everything was videotaped, and you're probably going hear about something at school.'" (TV Guide)
Will helicopter parents become a thing of the past? The backlash against over-parenting (Time)
Are working moms losing custody of their kids? Some alarming statistics (Momlogic.com)
Can “Twilight” bring you and your daughter closer together? Or will being on opposing teams (Jacob vs. Edward) tear you apart? (ABC)
I love to go to the movies and so do my twin girls. But with the price of movies today, I'm pretty selective about what we go see. It has to be a super-adorable animation, and it has to appeal to me as well. Otherwise, we just don't go.
When I first saw the commercials for "Where The Wild Things Are,” I was excited to go see it. I have always been a fan of Maurice Sendak's books, this one too. When I was a little girl I had The Nutshell Library, a small collection of his stories all in this little tiny case. I loved it, and carried it everywhere. We are still big readers in my house, and the girls have read “Wild Things” many times.
When we went to watch "Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs" (which we all loved, and not just because Al was a voice in the movie), we happened to see a trailer for “Wild Things.” One of my girls immediately said, "I want to see that!" and the other, "I don't -- it looks to scary". Days later the commercial was on TV and again the same conversation: "I want to see that" and the other "I don't -- it looks to scary". Well, now I'm confused. The girls, both 8, usually have the same likes and dislikes, especially when it comes to entertainment. But not this time. I wanted to see the movie, but now don't think it'll be on our "to-do" list.
I asked a co-worker who had seen the film and his response sort of sealed the deal. "The movie doesn't know what it wants to be or who it should appeal to,” he said. “Not the young and not the older kids". To me, movies are a way to escape, to let your imagination go for an hour or two and to have fun. But is it fun when your daughter is afraid of the dark or scared to turn out the lights? Is it worth risking her getting nightmares and waking up in the middle of the night? What do you think? Is 8 too young to see “Where the Wild Things Are?” How can you tell when a movie is too scary to see, and when should kids be allowed to watch scary movies?
At the TODAYMoms.com launch event, we caught up with Pattie Bieber, mom of teen singing sensation Justin Bieber. She told us about the challenges of raising a famous child, the traits she's passed on to Justin and the night her son was brought home by police!
Filippa Hamilton first made headlines when an image photoshopped to make her look abnormally thin appeared in a Ralph Lauren ad....
Now the 23-year-old model says before the ad even came out, she was fired by Ralph Lauren for being too fat. Ralph Lauren says Hamilton was dropped for her "inability to meet the obligations of her contract."
Log In | Register
Fri Dec 18, 2009 2:03 PM EST{"contentId":"3649485","headline":"Where in the world is Santa Claus?","authorDomain":"community"}
Continue reading this entry ...{"contentId":"3600900","headline":"Don't ruin your diet over the holidays","authorDomain":"community"}
Need your news quick and easy? Enjoy a roundup of interesting and odd parenting news:
I love to go to the movies and so do my twin girls. But with the price of movies today, I'm pretty selective about what we go see. It has to be a super-adorable animation, and it has to appeal to me as well. Otherwise, we just don't go. 
