By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor

We have all heard about UNICEF, an acronym for the United Nations Children’s Fund (the I for International and the E for Emergency were dropped in 1953).UNICEF has been around since the 1940′s and was initially created to provide for children in countries that had been devastated by WWII. Today, UNICEF operates in more than 150 countries and provide humanitarian relief to focus on saving children’s lives with services such as maternal and child health, food security and nutrition, HIV/AIDS prevention, water and sanitation, education and child protection. UNICEF is funded by both, government and public donations. It is an organization that humbly helps those in need without making a lot of noise about it. The organization relies heavily on contributions from corporations, schools, young people and the general public.

It is simple to help and every penny makes a difference. Here are a few of their programs:

	Trick-or-Treat UNICEF Boxes – With Halloween just around the corner, this is a great way to get children to start thinking about helping others. This initiative was started in the 1950′s by a group of students from Philidelphia, PA to help the victims of WWII: the students colored boxes and went door to door and asked for money instead of candy. Since then, UNICEF has carried on the tradition by supplying little orange boxes to children at schools and other organizations (check your local Hallmark Store). When the children come to your door this Halloween, have your change purse handy to fill those UNICEF boxes.
	Shop Good Shirts – UNICEF teamed up with designers to create a line of t-shirts to raise funds for specific charities. Each t-shirt has a different graphic that represents the campaign for which the money is going towards. 100% of the purchase price goes to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. This is also a great Christmas gift idea that shows how it gives back. Visit Threadless for the entire line.
	School in a Box – This School in a Box package contains the basic school supplies for one teacher and 40 students. For $236.23 a temporary school can be set up in times of emergency, providing the chance for children to continue their education during the crisis. Think about the latest earthquakes and the devastation they have caused. UNICEF Inspired Gifts can make an immediate difference to those in need. Check out UNICEF Inspired Gifts for real items that can be bought and given exactly where and when they are most needed. A sum as low as $18.00 can bring positive change to a child’s life.

By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor

Little did I know that October is Women’s Small Business month until Dove Chocolate Discoveries offered to send me (through Mom Central Consulting) a starter kit to host a Chocolate tasting party for my gal pals.

Dove Chocolate Discoveries has taken the home-based business plan to a whole new level with one of the biggest (and healthiest, after red wine!) indulgences. The Chocolate Tasting kit comes with six boxes of Chef-Series Chocolate (three dark and three milk), four packages of Chocolate Mouse, a box of Chocolate Chai Tea, Chocolate Cover Nuts, Chocolate Martini Mix, Chocolate Fondue Set, DVD of hosting information including recipes and all the handouts and material to host at least four to five parties.With all the basics delivered right to your door, you can become an expert Chocolatier and wow your friends with delicious new treats with very little baking skills.

Start the party off with handing each guest a Chocolatini as they enter the door. Show how simple it is whip up a batch of Mousse, made in five minutes, and serve bite-size on spoons. Next, offer bite-size Brownies, Nuts and Chocolate Fondue. End the party with a warm cup of Chocolate Chai Tea,  a list of Dove Chocolate products and a recipe booklet for each guest.

Dove Chocolate Discoveries offers a great opportunity for the woman who wants to re-enter the work force by working from home and enabling her the flexibility to set her own schedule. In addition, it is also a unique way for women to fundraise for schools or charities.

Not sure if you have what it takes to become a Chocolatier? Dove Chocolate Discoveries has other chocolatiers that can work with you. All you need is a love for premium chocolate and the joy of making people happy. Who does not love chocolate, right?! Dove Chocolate Discoveries really does makes it easy for you to start your own independent business and have fun at the same time. Check them out on Facebook.

I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of DOVE Chocolate Discoveries and received a Starter Kit to facilitate my review.

By Tara Riceberg, Guest Contributor – Party Planning & Entertaining

Throwing a Halloween party doesn’t have to be spooky. With these tricks, your guests will be treated to a frightfully fun time!

1. Pre-shop the stores for inspiration and for budgeting your money. It only gets expensive when you don’t have a plan and buy things spontaneously or last minute.
2. Create a subtheme to really focus your party and planning. Imagine “Halloween Party” becoming “Antebellum Gothic” (what would have become of Scarlett had Rhett not returned?) – Replete with moss covered columns, dead roses, faux silver platters and tons of candlelight. Decorate with three main colors (black, white and silver) and add a fourth (red) for a punch.
3. Decorating starts at the driveway. Switch your regular light bulbs to red ones to create an eerie

   Read the full story »

By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor

My daughters love hot chocolate! But what kid doesn’t, right? Now that it is getting cooler in the mornings, the girls love having their hot chocolate (I usually use Olvaltine or Carnation Instant Breakfast on school days) before school.

I just discovered the easiest way to make a hot chocolate drink that looks like it was made at a French bistro. That is the Froth & Pour Hot Chocolate Pot made exclusively for Williams-Sonoma.

Simply add milk and chocolate mix into the pot and put it in the microwave. Once heated, press the mixing button to whip the ingredients together and create a succulent froth on top. The insulated pot is perfect to bring to the table and keeps the remaining hot chocolate warm for second helpings. Or add some coffee liqueur to the hot chocolate and get cozy under a blanket in front of the fire with your significant other.  Now we are talking!

Buy, with recipe book at William Sonoma for $29.95.

Need a great hostess gift that will not only say “thank you for the invitation” but that is also something truly original (that your hostess most probably will never have seen before) AND is practical. AND is something that she will want to use immediately. AND that is fun for guests too?

We’re thinking that the Coasterica™ Coasters are perhaps the only hostess gift that can meet all those requirements and then some… Because the Coasterica all-in-one coasters not only protect furniture, they also serve as drink charms. Simply slip the silicone coasters onto the stemware and the coasters will travel wherever the glass does, catching drips and spills and protecting furniture along the way.

The Coasterica coasters’ non-slip base also adds stability which also, BTW, makes them ideal gifts for your friends who own boats or motor homes.

There are 12 different sets with 4 designs each, which makes the drink-identifying permutations endless. So, unless the guests enthusiastically over-indulge in the offered libations, they should be able to recognize and keep track of their glass over the course of the evening. And the hostess will keep her furniture and other surfaces protected from stains or damage. We say “she” but, bien sûr, these are perfectly suitable for the male host as well.

And, as if you needed even more incentive to purchase the Coastarica Coasters as a gift (or for yourself!), Joster International is offering our readers a 20% discount. Simply use coupon code SWIFE1011 at checkout.

While you are on the Joster International website, you will also want to check out this other great gift idea, the Fleur Daily™ Cupcake Vase that creates the perfect flower arrangement in an instant!

Follow Coasterica on Facebook for news on offers and product releases.

By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor

I will be the first to admit that Halloween is probably my least favorite festivity. But that does not mean I am a party pooper. Au contraire! With two young girls in the house, I have to keep my ghoulish spirits up during this time of year.

And although I can’t say either that I am a very crafty person, I do like to do fun projects with my girls who love being creative. So, this year I searched for a few simple things for us to do together and I came up with some great ideas.

	Glow Stick Lanterns – I got this idea from lil blue boo. They were easy to make and the girls loved the effect.
	Flying Bats -  This colony of bats is easy to make with black construction paper and a good pair of scissors. We all got into cutting them out (even the neighborhood kids) and taping them to the dining room wall. This idea and instructions came from Dana Made It.
	Rats and lots of them – Read the full story »

If you are a parent, this is probably the most important film you can watch with your family all year. Get together tonight (Oct 20), because there is a broadcast premiere of Miss Representation on Oprah’s OWN channel at 9:00pm EDT (local channel finder).

“Miss Representation” is a film AND a call-to-action campaign to empower girls and young women to fight the limiting labels and hypersexualized expectations that mainstream media has pushed onto us, having us believe that these disparaging images are the “normal” way to view women.

This is certain to be a very powerful film and young men and boys need to see it just as much, if not more so, than girls. Young people need to understand that the objectification of women is not ok and why. They need to be shown that the UNachievable depiction of ideal beauty that we see all through media is NOT… achievable and leads to a mountain of societal injustices and dysfunctions.

First there was Jean Kilbourne, who started her crusade a few years back to open our eyes on how advertising depicts women and objectifies them in advertising (as she established the connection between the objectification of women and violence), now Jennifer Siebel Newsom and her brilliant team are bringing us the tools to empower young women to realize their full potential and to create some much needed cultural and societal change.

This is all about giving us the educational tools to create that change. These tools are part of an arsenal media literacy: “Media literacy is a repertoire of competences that enable people to analyze, evaluate, and create messages in a wide variety of media modes, genres, and forms.” We now have the tools. Let’s use them! Among some of these tools, Miss Representation proposes a curriculum that may be purchased by schools, colleges, universities and libraries. Or you may join the campaign in a multitude of ways by hosting a house viewing party, becoming a Miss Rep and, of course, donating.

Watch it. Tape it. DVR it. Discuss it. Share it. This is too important.