These two lucky ducks won an American Girl™ doll on CSP!
Heather Durkee won the Saige™ doll!
Charlotte Smarty Pants
Charlotte Smarty Pants – Daily Scoop for Savvy Charlotte Moms
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December 11, 2013
Smarty Scoop on Weekend Events: December 13-15
Jami Masters School of Dance’s Happy Holidays is an original dance production that delights and captures the hearts of audiences of all ages. Set to your favorite holiday music and featuring classical ballet, tap, jazz, and modern dance, Happy Holidays offers an age appropriate alternative to holiday entertainment.
Come and be a part of Angel’s earthly journey as she is sent to find the true meaning of the holiday. Travel with her through the Winter Wonderland, a sweet bakeshop, and the magical toyshop, as she discovers the gifts of hope, love, peace, faith, forgiveness and joy.
For show details and tickets click here
FRIDAY, December 13
The Chuckles Quartet
Birkdale Village Center Court
Sam Furr Road & Birkdale Commons Pkwy, Huntersville, NC (704) 895-8744
December 13 – December 31, All ages, Starting at 9:00am – 10:00pm every hour, Free
Summary: Chuckles, Grizzly Gus, Blu and Honey Bear perform every day, every hour on the hour from 9am – 10pm for 35 minutes! *Please note: The Chuckles Quartet is unable to perform if it is raining.
Winter Wonderland Workshop
The Art Room
118 East Kingston Ave., Suite 11, Charlotte, NC (704) 651-8040
December 13, 3:00pm – 4:30pm, All ages, $30
Summary: Come join us in the studio to celebrate this season! This afternoon workshop will include making gifts, holiday cards, and all things snowy!!
Deck the Halls for Your Kids’ Rooms!
Tis’ the Season to blow the minds of the ones you love. My gift of choice? Creativity. I have two sweet girls (6 and 9) that deserve this gift.
I started this tradition 3 years ago. Inspired by the book Silverlicious, I decided to redecorate my kid’s rooms for Christmas. Channeling my inner Santa, my idea was to strip their rooms of posters, wall art, typical decor; and recreate the North Pole – one accessory at a time.
I started with the bedding, which I got from Ebay. Then hit the Dollar Store, Michael’s, Old Time Pottery (the mother load of Christmas decorations) and then spent the next few nights making paper chains with Christmas craft paper. I sketched out a blueprint, and as soon as they headed off to school I started my mission. I moved at a blazing speed. And within 4 hours, I completed both rooms.
When the girls came home from school, I quickly ushered them into their rooms. At first they were confused – their doors where closed and there were strange wreaths hanging on the outside. And from the inside, they could hear the faint, but unmistakable sound of Christmas music. Confusion quickly turned to anticipation. And the look on their faces when they throw open their doors? Well, let’s just say it’s one of the best moments of my year. I know one thing, I’m a shoe-in for Santa’s nice list.
In my fantasies, I envision my girls doing this for their own kids one day. If they don’t, I get it. It’s a little cray-cray. But in the Busby household, we wouldn’t have it any other way.
December 10, 2013
Smarty Alert: Bedside Manor Selling all Holiday Merch @ 30% off!
We just got news that Bedside Manor is putting ALL of their holiday merchandise on sale starting at 10am tomorrow (Wednesday)! This is awesome news since the most popular holiday entertaining starts this weekend! Get there early, Smarties, this stuff will sell F-A-S-T!
You can find Bedside Manor at:
Bedside Manor
Specialty Shops on Morrison, across from SouthPark Mall
6401 Morrison Boulevard Charlotte, North Carolina 28211
(704)442-4006
Email: bedsidemanorhome@gmail.com
facebook & twitter
Best Grandparents Gift Ever: Camp Under the Tree!
Our Grandparents Gift theme this year is all about C-A-M-P! Whether your child is a day camper, a dance camper, a soccer camper or an overnight camper, we have the perfect gift for you!
Our parents are often asking what the kids really want for Christmas. They want to give something special that the kids will enjoy. My number one reco is camp or a session of their favorite activity. Granpdarents will feel good about the experiences they are giving to their grandkids as well as feel good about helping you out. Because let’s face it. If you have more than two kids, camp can get pretty expensive.
Following are Smarty ideas for your little future campers!
Dance Camp
We adore Miller Street Dance Academy with two locations on Providence and Baxter Village! And lucky for us, they JUST announced their camp schedule for 2014:
All summer camps run from Monday – Thursday from 9:00a.m.-12:30p.m., unless otherwise noted next to the camp date. Each camp has it’s very own theme and will include a variety of activities, such as tumbling, face painting, arts and crafts, puppet shows and much, much more!
MSDA Princess Camp:
Bippidi Boppidi Boo, it’s a fairy tale dream come true! Gowns, crowns and castles will do, nothing short of a royal camp week for you! We sure hope you will drop by and let your imagination fly! It’s a week full of prince and princesses that you sure can’t deny!
Providence Road Location
June 23rd – June 26th
July 14th – July 17th
Baxter Village Location
June 9th – June 12th
July 14th – July 17th ** (1:30p.m.-5:00p.m.)
MSDA Safari Camp:
Welcome to the jungle, the animals are all abuzz. They heard about safari camp and wondered what it was! So, grab your gear and your hat, MSDA is hitting every safari on the map!
Providence Road Location:
July 21st – July 24th
June 30th – July 3rd
Baxter Village Location:
July 7th – July 10th
August 11th – August 14th
MSDA Hula Camp:
Aloha! It’s luau time at the Miller Street Tiki Hut! Don’t forget your bright shirt, grass skirt and get ready to have fun the tropical way!
Providence Road Location:
July 7th – July 10th
July 28th –July 31st
Baxter Village Location:
June 23rd – June 26th
July 28th – July 31st ** (1:30-5:00)
MSDA Groovy Girl Camp:
Do you have the boogie fever? Shake your groove thing on over to MSDA’s Groovy Girl camp and show us what you’re made of!
Providence Road Location:
August 11th – August 14th
Baxter Village Location:
June 16th – June 19th
June 30th – July 3rd
MSDA is offering these camps for only $80 each. You will need to call or stop by the studio location you’d like to purchase: Providence or Baxter. MSDA will provide a gift certificate and will mail to you if purchased by phone. You can reach the Providence studio at (704) 889-8637 and the Baxter Village studio at (803) 396-5299.
For those of you with dancers in Center City/Myers Park area, Jami Masters School of Dance offers camps for ages 3-8 with adorable princess themes. Camps are typically Monday through Friday, 9a-1p from June to August.
Both studios offer technique classes in the summer as well and classes all year long. Read More →
Smarty Gift Guide 2013 – It’s all here!
Alrighty, Smarties. Here is your one-stop, need-nothing-else, ultimate source for all things gifts 2013. We have SO LOVED working with Toys & Co to come up with each and every age group. If there’s something we missed, please post in the comment below! Happy shopping, Smarties!
Smarty Gift Guide 2013
Karly’s picks for ages 0-2 – Karly’s picks are classics mixed in with some freshies. Love this list.
Krista’s picks for ages 2-4 – Active play with a little technology mixed in. Great ideas here.
Cheryl and Rachel’s picks for ages 5-9 – Creativity meets activity with these guys. They still love Crayola but wouldn’t mind some Nike Elites. Love this age!
Tween Blogger Clare Gibbons’ picks for all the teens and tweens. No doubt about it – name brands are in for this age. Think Lilly, Vineyard Vines, Lululemon, Uggs, Nike, and basically anything that we would probably want – maybe our kids will let us borrow some of their gifts? 
Grandparents Gift Guide – It’s all about C-A-M-P-S! This is the PERFECT gift for grandparents to give!
The 2013 Smarty Holiday Gift Guide is sponsored by our favorite local toy store, Toys & Co in Cotswold and Park Road Shopping Center. Find everything on your child’s wish list and then some at Toys & Co! And guess what? They will wrap every gift BEAUTIFULLY and oh-so-expertly – so you don’t have to pull an all-nighter on Christmas Eve!
December 9, 2013
A few Smarty Alerts from FlyBarre, JWV Artists, Soccer Shots, Sercie & CSP!
’tis the season for lots of reminders! We have news from some of our favorite Smarty partners. Read up on all of it!
12 Days of FlyBarre: #12DAYS
JWV Artists Hosting Holiday Event @ JSam’s!
Soccer Shots 6-Week Winter Parks Seasons Starts Today!
The popular Winter Park Programs start today and go through January 27th. If you haven’t signed up, do it NOW!
Soccer Shots is the national leader in youth soccer development for children ages 2 – 8 years old, and was started right here in Charlotte, NC by two former Charlotte Eagles soccer players nearly 17 years ago. The concept was franchised in 2004 and now there are over 130 successful Soccer Shots franchises across the country, impacting tens of thousands of children.
Their program has been created under the guidance of childhood education specialists, current and former MLS and USL professional soccer players, and experienced and licensed soccer coaches. The innovative lesson plans are developmentally appropriate and tailored specifically to the three distinct age groups we teach: MINI(2s), CLASSIC(3-5s) and PREMIER(K-3rd). Each Soccer Shots session incorporates the following: individual skill development; exclusive Soccer Shots games; group and team play concepts; creative, imaginative play; fun fitness activities and exercises; coordination, balance, and agility development; character formation through our character building words of the week.
Soccer Shots: Stronger Youth. Beyond the Game. Click here to register! Read More →
Smarty Alert: Music Together Winter 2014 Registration Now Open!
Smarty Alert! This is a reminder for you to register for the oh-so-popular Music Together of Charlotte Winter 2014 Session! This is the SWEETEST music class in town for babies and toddlers! The Winter Session runs January 6 – March 8.
For those of you not familiar with Music Together, read up on our recent Smarty Mompreneurs, Phyllis Fulton and Carrie Banwell. These ladies are the creative minds that brought this incredible class to our town 12 years ago. It’s the go-to music class for new moms to enjoy with their new babies and toddlers. I am honored to tell you that I was in the very first Music Together class in Charlotte and I am known to randomly belt out this jingle to my kids on any given day: “Hello, everybody, so glad to see you. Hello, to Ansley, so glad to see you too!” I found some of my closest mommy friends in our early Music Together classes – these ladies are near and dear to my heart!
Anyone else need a little Turtle Power this month?
I’m pouring over my December calendar, trying to gulp down another cup of coffee because, really, that’s the only thing that’s going to get me through all those ink marks that fill up all 31 squares in December. My three-year-old son is begging me to help him get into his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle costume again. For like the 100th time since Halloween. (Serious TMNT #obsession.)
And that’s when I start to think he’s really on to something.
I’m thinking I might just need to borrow that costume to get me through the next two weeks. Yes, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle is exactly what I need to be – forget the Superman and Batman costumes. I’ll pick the red guy. Raphael. Get it? Red and green? Close enough to Santa I think.
I love the fact that the TMNTs have the athletic legs and camoflauging turtle shell. That shell is REALLY gonna come in handy this month with all the eatin’ and drinkin’ I’ll be doing. It’ll hide the Chardonnay/Tostito Scoop belly and replace it with a mighty-fine-looking turtle six-pack-abdominal-wall. Read More →
December 8, 2013
Meet our new Smarty Teen Blogger: Clare Gibbons!
Smarties, we’re thrilled to add a teen voice to the pink & green team! Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a teen in this digital age? Where do they go? What do they do? And what do they really think? Meet Teen Smarty Clare Gibbons! She represents everything we wanted for our teen board – she’s smart(y), driven, successful, talented and wants to be a writer. Clare was wrapped up perfectly in a pink & green bow!
Let’s get cozy with Clare!
Clare’s Smarty Stats:
Fam: I have a younger brother Mike (14) who is a freshman, and a sister Ellie (13) who is a 7th grader! I have the best and most supportive parents anyone could ask for, and I love our two beautiful Portuguese Water Dogs Dory (5), and Dixie (3)!
Grade? I am currently surviving the infamous Junior Year in high school!
Sports? I’ve done competitive soccer, swimming, and lacrosse over the years, but in the past year I’ve realized that my favorite sport is tennis! It’s a sport I will be able to play throughout my whole life, and I’ve been really focused on trying to improve many aspects of my game!
Honors? I am currently taking 3 AP courses and 3 Honors courses at my high school. Needless to say it has been a long, hard year so far! My grades are first and foremost after my family, faith, and friends!
Interests? I enjoy tennis, piano, reading, swimming, and of course spending time with my family and friends. I love playing with my dogs, running, hiking, biking, fishing, and going on vacations (especially to Hilton Head Island)! Read More →