The festive season has evolved into a celebration of consumerism. Our household is trying to fight against the commercialisation of Christmas and downplay the tradition of gift-giving - but without being scrooges. One solution is to be more generous with our presence, rather than our presents. We've embraced traditions that help us connect instead of consume. My favourite festive season tradition is our creative countdown to Christmas... Read more →

We are growing sweet potato slips on our windowsill. My daughter added faces to sweet potato tubers and we’re watching their roots, shoots and character grow. It’s an activity that combines creativity, nature study and growing your own food. Win-win. Here's how to grow your own sweet potato heads... Read more →

The call to compromise on my environmental ideals comes more often now that Little Eco is older. She asks for packaged food in her lunch box and begs for the latest fad plastic toy. Marketers are trying to teach her that life is about buying, whereas I am trying to teach her that happiness can’t be bought: How she contributes and what she creates is more important than what she consumes. Here are some of the strategies I use to help her navigate the pervasive power of marketing. Read more →

One of my favorite ways to spend time as a family is to create something useful or learn a new skill. Our family projects often go unfinished and sometimes fail. For me, the creative process and time together is whats important, regardless of the outcome. Here's a list of ten creative weekend family project ideas. Read more →

There’s dozens of games for children that can be played with a standard 52-card deck. We’ve started playing cards as a family after dinner. Our favourite games so far include Go Fish, Old Maid, Memory and Snap. Read more →