Are your kids home from school this holiday season? Do you have time off? In-laws, parents, siblings, or cousins in town? Whether you have family in from out of town or it’s just your little family at home, make sure you spend dedicated time together as a family and one-on-one.

Means not trying to get through it. Sometimes it means… Just riding the summer wave metaphorically because what unfolds naturally can be some of our best moments and treasured memories. Spontaneity at its best!

As the middle of the month starts to draw near, most of us will be reminded (through commercials and shop windows) of Valentine’s Day. But how much we participate on that day will be optional. Some of us will find it is a day to go all out, putting aside our typically busy schedules to plan time with our love ones. Others will see it as a day where it confirms what they do already in their everyday lives with those they love.

Just in time for the holidays, Jo answered 10 questions that all parents and caretakers (at one point or another) may struggle with during the holiday season. From treats and routines to believing in santa and even bundling up the baby, Jo has some of your most burning topics covered.

Dads come in all shapes and sizes whether you’re divorced, widowed, blended, adopted, foster, younger or more mature, and so on. Encouraging relationships with other father figures and role models if your own biological father isn’t present is very important, as the influence is equally effective to children as is mother’s.

Unfortunately, you cannot make money grow on trees. But quite frankly austerity presently makes us all reflect the true meaning of spirit and Christmas. So what exactly does that mean to you? To most adults it’s about being together with your family and having quality time. Maybe several gracious days off of work.

Halloween goes back to pageant festivals traditionally held at the end of October. People believed it was a time of year that spirits would come alive. They dressed in costumes and stayed inside to prevent being harmed by the spirits. Traditional games are played this time of year one known as bobbing for apples, which entails trying to catch an apple with your teeth.

Happy Father’s Day to all of you Dads, Granddads, Uncles, and male caretakers out there! You all deserve to be celebrated today.