Month: October 2021

What Denver kids can do with their leftover Halloween candy

Hey, your kids worked (kinda) hard to accrue alll this great Halloween candy but there comes a time when all good things must come to an end. So, if you’re wondering what to do with all your leftover Halloween candy, here are some ideas about how to donate, bake, sell it and experiment with it!  1. Donate It. There are so many great programs out there to help your candy go to a great place. Donate it to Treats for Troops which allows you to send sweets to soldiers (kids can earn buyback prices as well).  First responders and deployed troops are grateful recipients if you donate to Operation Troops (last year, they had a record-breaking 533,891 pounds of candy). Ronald McDonald House Charity also grateful appreciates all donations because their sick kids can’t join in ...

What Every Parent Can Do Now To Form Better Connections With Their Teens

For my family, COVID-19 has been a mixed bag of blessings and trials with our teens. We were spared the physical fatigue that so many parents with young kids felt but our tradeoff was navigating mental health landmines and screen time battles. My teens are now in their sophomore and senior years of high school and I am grateful that we were able to spend a lot more quality time together during lockdown but I wish I had more resources for navigating this difficult time because it isn’t over yet. Enter: Forward Together, a Colorado-based campaign, with fantastic resources to help youth feel more connected – to their peers, their parents, and other trusted adults in their lives — and to help parents connect with teens.  I have always had a sweet, tender “mama’s boy” relationship with my ...

Huge savings on Elitch Gardens, Denver restaurant deals on Halloween!

Thinking about Black Friday. Have you already thought about what you might be looking for this Black Friday? Walmart had a “big leak” of their deals. This year it will be three weeks of great deals – like they did last year. Hot ticket items still remain electronics (TVs, computers, Apple air pods ad watches) and toys. I am hearing lots of buzz that people should plan to shop early this year because of supply chain issues. If your kids are already talking about something – get it at soon as you can.    Black Friday Sale on GetOutPass! NOW is the time to secure your GetOutPass so you can enjoy Denver’s best attractions like Elitch Gardens, Fat Cats, and Bandimere Speedway all year long for $85 off. The GetOutPass is a 12-month membership to Denver’s best attractions that...

This Denver accountant mom wrote the most darling children’s book on National Parks

How does an accountant for over 30 years decide to write a book?  Sometimes change can come more suddenly than you think… On an extended road trip in 2015, my family traveled to Glacier National Park.  We love to visit the Parks, and feel fortunate living in Denver that we are within a 20-hour drive of over half the National Parks in the US!  Stopping at the visitor center, I fell in love with a stuffed mountain goat – I had always been a sucker for stuffed animals.  My kids were 18 and 16 at the time, so I bought him for myself and called him Jemaine.  For the rest of our trip to Seattle, Vancouver, and back to Denver, Jemaine entertained us and kept us company. A few years later and the company I was working for was sold – it was a great time to leave Accounting ...

Tarantula Encounter: Enjoy Butterfly Pavilion’s free virtual class!

It’s the spookiest time of the year, and the Butterfly Pavilion is celebrating by learning about one of nature’s most daunting creatures — the tarantula! But does this incredible arachnid deserve its fearsome reputation? Butterfly Pavilion will help us find out as we explore different tarantula species and their fascinating adaptations in this hair-raising class on Wednesday, October 27 at 4 p.m. We’ll even meet a live tarantula! Fact Facts About Tarantulas Female tarantulas only mate once a year. Females can live up to 30 years, while males typically only live around 7 years. They also have four pairs of legs with seven segments each. There are some 900 species of tarantulas. Tarantulas range from the size of a fingernail to the size of a dinner plate. The Goliath bird-e...

Spooky neighborhoods: Where to find Denver’s best Halloween decorations

Move over Christmas, Denver’s Halloween decorations are making spooky waves this year! From creepy dolls to pumpkins to the Nightmare Before Christmas, these Denver neighborhoods know how to do Halloween right! The Denverite has some fun insider tips for checking out some of Denver’s coolest and scariest neighborhoods.  “I like to push the envelope and catch people off guard,” said Jessica Halpine, who lives with her boyfriend Jim Norris and their children. “Halloween is supposed to be terrifying,” she adds. “I don’t want to just do cute witches and pumpkins. I like to be startled and startle other people.” Every inch of Halpine and Norris’ S. Lincoln Street yard is covered with the strange and unusual. The walkway is lined with resuscitation baby dolls-turned scary decora...

Denver Film Festival: See the full line-up

The Denver Film Festival is back and though it may look a bit different with a hybrid approach (including both screenings and in-person events at the Sie FilmCenter), the show must go on! Over 230 titles, including 140 feature-length films, shorts, music videos and episodic content will screen at local venues or through the festival’s virtual platform. Fifty of those titles will be available to virtual audiences throughout the festival’s run from November 3-14. The 44th edition of the Denver Film Festival will also mark the reopening of the newly remodeled Sie FilmCenter. Denver Film will require all festival attendees to show proof of full vaccination when attending in-person events and screenings. Some of the categories for the Denver Film Festival include:  Animation Feature Women ...

Denver’s Christmas gifts shows, Hasbro games on sale and great deals for Halloween!

I love the craft shows that pop up this time of year. As kids, we would attend the shows for my mom to get ideas of what to make and what to copy. This year, my college-age daughter was lamenting that she wouldn’t have money to get people Christmas gifts – I suggested she make some things – and said we would go to the shows (and she bought something there).  There are a few more left this year including the big Colorado Country Christmas Gift Show (Nov 5-7); Holiday Food & Gift Festival (Nov 19) and Applewood Arts Festivals (multiple dates and locations).  Jack O’Lantern Visit Hudson Gardens. Ever wonder what 5,000 magical magnificent hand-carved pumpkins look like? (or what it would be like to light all those)? Hudson’s Garden is the place to check out a nautical s...

Denver’s best haunted houses, creepy mazes and hair-raising theme parks

Are you in the mood for a good scare? Here are Denver’s most scary haunted houses, hair-raising theme parks and creepy mazes. If you dare, check out these Halloween attractions for lots of terrifying thrills. 13th Floor Haunted House Scare-lovers can get into the spirit of the season with three new attractions inside this popular haunt. Begin with Frostbite in a Cryogenics lab that is reanimating the dead, then stroll through the abandoned house of a deceased Doll Maker whose collection of Victorian dolls still fill every inch of every room. Finish with Bad Blood where the ancient feud between Vampires and Werewolves rages within the shadows of today’s city streets. This year haunt-goers can check out new Thirteenth Floor Entertainment attractions on-site including Blitz Bowl, an out...

Increase Your Child’s Confidence – With Music Lessons in Denver!

These days, it seems harder and harder for parents to find ways to increase their children’s confidence.  Kids nowadays tend to come across many more challenges to growing up confident and secure than they find reasons to grow in confidence. But confidence is one of the most important attributes we parents can help our kids develop. The successful leaders in our society are people who developed self-assurance, and/or found ways to overcome obstacles and beat their early lack of confidence. What doesn’t seem to work is the recent trend toward “praise for participation.”  Don’t get me wrong: Praising your kids is always important.  But for the praise to build your child’s confidence, it needs to come on the heels of achievement, not just participation. More and more parents ar...

Fall festival discounts, spooky movie nights, and more Denver fun

I’m really excited to get to go see the Magic of Jack O’Lanterns at Hudson Gardens this week. The thought of over 5,000 carved pumpkins lighting up the ground of the Gardens on a crisp October night makes me so happy! I have a hard enough time carving the old-school triangles for eyes and nose on my own pumpkins – so it really feels a bit like an art show too.  Jack O’Lantern Visit Hudson Gardens. Ever wonder what 5,000 magical magnificent hand-carved pumpkins look like? (or what it would be like to light all those)? Hudson’s Garden is the place to check out a nautical sea-scape, dinosaurs, dragons or nearly any other theme-carved pumpkin. It is fun for the whole family open October 1-31. Tickets are $14.99/adult; $10,99/child.    Fall Fun in Denver. Don’t mis...

Gretchen’s October Grabs: The best pumpkin treats, tea, books and more

Do you already have your pumpkins on the front porch? Have your Halloween costume been picked out? Already have eaten half of the candy bag you bought thinking you’d be prepared this year? There is more to October than Halloween – it includes all things fall! As we tumble down into fall for real and even snow, we’re ready to bring on all the coziness. Celestial Seasonings Tea. I full-on admit that I love tea on a crispy fall evening. My most recent fall find love is Celestial Seasoning’s Vermont Maple Ginger tea! It is the perfect mix between sweet and spice featuring, of course, Ginger and Maple syrup. I like to sweeten mine a bit with an extra dash of maple syrup and a dash of creamer. And…in case you were unaware, Celestial Seasonings is a Colorado company, based in Boulder. So, I...

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