Classic Books to Share with Your Children for Valentine's Day

From 'Charlotte's Web' to 'Where the Wild Things Are,' share these classic books with your children and encourage their love for reading.

“Where’s Pa Going with that Axe?” The Enduring Quality of Children’s Classics By Anita Silvey Courtesy of James Patterson's Read Kiddo Read Foundation The opening line of E. B. White’s Charlotte’s Web— “Where’s Pa going with that axe?”—has now been read by adults to eager young listeners for more than 60 years. Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time and Ezra Jack Keats’s The Snowy Day have been picked up with enthusiasm for more than 50 years. For 75 years, parents have shared The Hobbit, and this year Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are turns 50. These books and others like them (Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Virginia Lee Burton’s Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, and L. M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables) bring …

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Hembree Springs PTA sponsors Sweetheart Dance

Families collected coats, hats and gloves for North Fulton Community Charities.

Fun with family, a sense of community, and donating for a great cause were a few of the many themes found at the first annual Sweetheart Dance sponsored by Hembree Springs PTA. More than 400 staff, students and sweethearts celebrated upcoming Valentine’s Day by dressing up, dancing with mom, dad, grandparent or other special adult. To share the love, families collected gently used or new coats, hats, and gloves that will be given to North Fulton Community Charities to help those in need this winter. Attendees received a carnation and a professionally taken photo with their sweetheart as mementoes of the evening.  The dance was a “sweet” success! Hembree Springs would like to thank the Elkins Point Middle School Jr. Beta students who …

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10 Ways to Go Green in Roswell for Valentine’s Day This Year

Try these tips for Valentines that are creative and kind to the environment.

Valentine’s Day can be lovely for sweethearts—but with tons of candy to consume and generic, store-bought cards that will be tossed rather than treasured, it can be a holiday to dread for parents.  Here are 10 tips to make your child’s 2013 Valentine’s Day celebrations more memorable—and kinder to the environment. 1)    Consider ditching the candy and handing out something small, special and fun. This year, my son will be giving his classmates Ninja pencils and Fuzzy Wuzzy pencils, available from Amazon.com, instead of cheap candy. Other options include stickers, pens or fun erasers from the Office Depot in Roswell. 2)    Make chunky, recycled crayon hearts to give to classmates. Follow directions here, or you can buy them at Lil' Artist …

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Where's the Best Place to Celebrate Valentine's Day in Roswell?

Tell us some great spots to mark the day in our town!

Valentine's Day 2013 is fast approaching, and we want you to share where in Roswell you would like to celebrate the day. Is it Roswell Patch's Readers Choice winner for Most Romantic Restaurant, Rice Thai Cuisine? Do local favorites Ippolito's or Roux on Canton make your list? Do you have other suggestions or know of some great Valentine's Day specials in Roswell?

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Adopt a Roswell Senior for Valentine's Day

Help a local resident feel remembered and cherished.

Grocery Store Chocolate May Not Stack Up

More sugar and fat are likely to be found in the aisles, so follow these tips when buying chocolate.

How do the chocolates at the grocery stack up? According to dietitian Gloria Tsang, author of the new book Go UnDiet: 50 Small Actions for Lasting Weight Loss and founder of nutrition network HealthCastle.com, many products you might find in the chocolates section of your grocery store or gift shop have much more sugar and fat than real chocolate. "It's always a good idea to stick to real chocolate rather than candies and bars with chocolate flavoring," Tsang says. "But even when you're buying real chocolate, there are major nutritional differences between types that you may not be aware of." Here's how she says some common chocolate product stack up: She advises no matter which chocolate product you choose to give this Valentine's Day, …

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Share Your Love Story and Win Big from Harry's Farmers Market

The local Whole Foods store is giving customers the chance to win great prizes if they submit a love story.

Ask anyone to name the greatest love stories of all time and Romeo and Juliet, Anthony and Cleopatra, Harry and Sally might all be among the top answers, but what about your own story? Harry’s Farmers Market wants to hear about it! Does your love rival William and Kate's in romantic grandeur? Do you think you have the greatest love story of all time – or at least the greatest love story in North Fulton?  The best love story - or the one that makes contest organizers at Harry's cry the most - will win a Whole Foods Market lover’s prize package: a special dinner for two from our prepared foods department, a chocolate gift basket with all of our favorite gourmet chocolates, a dozen Whole Trade Roses and a $100 Whole Foods Market gift card (…

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Save Money As Valentine's Day Approaches

Here are five great deals to help you save money this week at local stores.

Each week, Patch comes up with five great deals for your family from big retailers in our area and five great deals from small businesses in our area. This week is no exception. Check out what we have found for you today.  Valentine's Day is just around the corner and Patch is ready to help you get deals on your shopping and your going out needs.  1.  Deal: Get a free makeup bag with your $25 beauty purchase with this coupon. Good Through: This deal ends on Valentine's Day.  2.  Deal: Use this coupon and get 15 percent off of your purchase at the store. Good Through: The coupon expires Feb. 29. 3.  Deal: Get $3.50 off of your $10 purchase at the store on gifts or beauty items with this coupon.  Good Through: The offer is valid through Feb…

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Valentine's Gift Guide #4: Reach Out and Touch Someone

Incorporate affectionate touch into your gifts will make Valentine's memorable for the person whose love language is physical touch.

Today we’ll talk about the last of Dr. Gary Chapman’s Five Love Languages—and just in time, because Valentine’s Day is only a couple of days away!  The last love language is one that will send some people’s minds running to the gutters:  physical touch.  Despite what you may be thinking, the “physical touch” person isn’t always thinking about getting down and dirty between the sheets.  The person whose love language is physical touch is generally very affectionate.  This is the person who will:  The physical touch person is the epitome of the “touchy-feely” person and that means they feel most cared for when they’re given plenty of physical affection.  Conversely, they can feel completely abandoned if you withhold (on purpose or by …

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V-Day Gift Guide #3: Gifts and Service

Presents that speak the love languages of gifts and acts of service.

With only five more shopping days left until Valentine’s Day, I thought I better double up so we can get through all of the love language gift ideas in time.  Today, we’ll cover Dr. Chapman’s third and fourth love languages: gifts and acts of service. If “gifts” is your spouse or significant other’s love language, I think you’re pretty lucky.  This love language is just what it says—the gifts person loves to receive and give gifts as a token of affection.  The caveat to this is that the gift won’t count for anything if you haven’t taken the time to really think of something they like.  Luckily, most people who speak the language of gifts will also give you clues to what they really want.  Make sure you’re paying attention! Gifts for the …

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