Live Smart Helpful tips for your everyday life

LiveSmart
Helpful tips for your everyday life
Stocking stuffers
under $13!
Leafy Sea Dragon.
Being a life-long learner
enables you to stay in
the game, says
Marquetta Carmichael
of Hamilton, Ohio. In
addition to making you
interesting and giving
you confidence, “it
gives you freedom from
having to know all the
answers,” she
writes, “and it
builds your
friendships
and enhances your
relationships.”
What do you say?
Share your
common-sense tips
for everyday life.
Give us your
recommendations for
shopping, cleaning,
exercising, parenting,
dieting and other
areas of life.
For more information
on how to give and get
tips, visit LiveSmart at
usaweekend.com/LSS
USA WEEKEND magazine
usaweekend.com
Telephone: 800-487-2956
E-mail: usaw@usaweekend.com
© Copyright 2011 USA WEEKEND.
A Gannett publication.
Printed in the USA.
Since 1953, your Family Weekly.
The magazine that makes a difference.
4
USA WEEKEND · Dec. 2-4, 2011
Dinosaur Play World Quick
Sticker Kit. Package includes a
paper landscape scene, 22 dinosaur
stickers and three mini cardboard
dinosaurs. (Ages 4+, $4.99,
amazon.com)
Makedo Cup Critter. Cleverly
crafted and packaged, the kit has
materials to make two whimsical
critters.
(Ages
5+,
$4.95,
toysmith.com)
— Claire S. Green
quality media and toys for children.
How to hang your outdoor lights safely
ILLUMINATE your
Christmas nights
safely with these
helpful tips from
licensed contractor and electrician
James
Young,
host of DIY Network’s I Hate My
Kitchen:
Power up safely. Your
outdoor lights should be
plugged into a ground fault
circuit interrupter outlet,
which will shut the circuit
down if there’s an overcur-
rent. These outlets can be
installed permanently by
an electrician, or you can
buy a portable unit at a
home supply store for less
than $20.
Connect with caution.
Follow manufacturer instructions when connecting
lights. Tuck cords away,
and keep connections
above water and snow.
Install correctly. Before installing, plug lights
in to make sure they are
working properly. Use a
sturdy ladder, and attach
lights with insulated holders (never use tacks or
nails). Do not install lights
in trees that are in contact
with power lines.
Don’t leave them on.
Turn off your outdoor
lights when you leave the
house or go to bed. For
more holiday lighting tips,
visit DIYNetwork.com. 6
Visit us at usaweekend.com
MAN WITH BOOKS: DIMITRI VERVITSIOTIS, GETTY IMAGES; ANAMALZ ELEPHANT: DAVID MCARTHUR; CHRISTMAS LIGHTS: FRANK SITEMAN
Reader tip
of the week
Have a young one on your holiday
gift list? Check out these fun and
wallet-friendly stocking stuffers:
Anamalz. They’re charming,
eco-friendly and handmade. Everything from elephants to emus
means hours of fun-packed play.
(Ages 3+, $8.95, anamalzna.com)
The lithe, lovely creature
from the deep blue sea is just
one of many pocketbook-friendly finger
puppets. (Ages 6+,
$9.99, folkmanis.com)
Swish. It challenges you to be the
first to make matches,
or “Swishes,” by layering up
to 12 transparent cards so
Anamalz’s
elephant,
every ball displayed can be
one
of their
seen in a circle of the same
many little
color. (Ages 8+, $12.99,
creatures.
thinkfun.com/swish)
Balloon Hats. This clever kit
includes 24 modeling balloons, a
pump and instructions to create
eight different designs. (Ages 8+, Claire S. Green is president of Parents’
Choice Foundation, a non-profit guide to
$11.95, spoonsisters.com)