Get out your white makeup, spiky metal shoulder pads and black vest and get yourself to KISS Night at the Anaheim Ducks game at the Honda Center tomorrow, Nov. 21. You’ll hear plenty of KISS music and find face painters giving fans the proper look. Then be sure to enter the “best dressed” contest, which will earn the winner two tickets to see KISS in concert on Nov. 24 at the Honda Center.

If you can’t make that one, KISS is scheduled to appear at Staples Center on Nov. 25 and is streaming the concert live on Facebook – just don’t let that stop you from dressing up.

And then there’s the finances… This time of year I feel as though I should just stand in front of my house and toss dollars into the breeze – teacher gifts, office gifts, hostess gifts, kids’ friends gifts. Not to mention a dog gift, since she’s making me feel guilty right now.

How do we manage it all and not pull out our hair – or, in my case, end up at the bottom of a bag of Cheetos? There’s no magic holiday bullet, unfortunately, but I found these tips from therapistfinder.com pretty helpful:

• Trim the tree, and your gift list. It’s time to downsize, especially in this economy. If you’re buying a gift for every sibling, aunt, uncle and in-law, talk to your family about drawing names and buying for just one person each, and set a price limit. Schedule a holiday potluck or dinner out with friends and forgo gifts, or get the group together for a festive volunteer activity, such as serving a meal at a local soup kitchen. Focus on enjoying one another’s time minus the stress of gift giving.
• Channel Santa’s workshop. Enlist the help of your partner and kids in holiday preparations. Give the kids gifts to wrap, get their help making holiday cookies, give your partner a list of gifts to buy on a lunch break, schedule a family decorating day – the stress relief, plus the time you save, will make you want to spread “Joy to the World!”
• Here we come a-scheduling. Coordinating holiday activities for everyone in the family can be overwhelming. Create a family holiday calendar that you post in a prominent place that includes color-coded activities for every family member. At a glance, you’ll be able to see what obligations are coming up, if you’re overbooked and what you need to prepare. Pencil in several shopping trips to ensure you’re not scrambling at the last minute.
• Make a list … and check it twice. It sounds simple, but making a list of who you need to shop for, how much you want to spend and gift ideas will eliminate a lot of stress and last-minute trips to the store.  Also, buy some generic gifts to have on hand, like candles or gift cards, that you can grab if you need a spur-of-the-moment gift.
• Say no. You don’t have to attend every holiday gathering you’re invited to, or participate in every white elephant gift exchange. Graciously decline, and you won’t be overwhelmed by obligations that aren’t a priority for you.

If I can manage to do just one of these, I might have clear skin just in time for the holiday photo I need to schedule.

I was among a group of  mom bloggers who came together on Friday to tour the Ronald McDonald House near Childrens Hospital Los Angeles on Sunset. For more than 30 years, the Ronald McDonald Houses throughout the U.S. and beyond have provided an affordable, comfortable and supportive place to stay for parents and siblings who are dealing with probably one of the most difficult times in their families’ lives.

With resolve and practiced composure, Toni continued to share the message of the Ronald McDonald House Charities, which have given her and her family  a home away from home while her 9-year-old son receives treatment. He recently suffered a relapse, and Toni’s husband is thousands of miles away at their home in Hong Kong.

“You just do what you have to do,” Toni later told me. “You just do it.”

As mothers, we can easily see ourselves in Toni’s shoes – and for a lot of us, the experience brought home the fact that we need to put our fears aside and step up, just like these moms have to. And we learned a lot about Ronald McDonald House Charities. For instance, did you know:

• The greater L.A. area has five houses? We toured a one-year-old addition to the Fountain Avenue building, which with the original 1980 building can house 75 families.
• The homes have stocked kitchens where families often gather. “Food is the universal language,” says Vincent Bryson, executive director of the Los Angeles Ronald McDonald House. The homes also have laundry facilities, workout rooms and libraries as well as computer rooms and video game areas for “healthy” siblings.
• Families are charged only $25 per night (or whatever they can afford).
• The charities are supported locally by donations through those ubiquitous boxes at cash registers as well as local restaurant owner-operators (and other corporate and private donors and supporters).
• The Ronald McDonald House Charities also support mobile health clinics, scholarships and Family Rooms inside the hospitals.

How can you get involved? McHappy Day on Nov. 20 is a major fundraising time for the RMHC. On that day (actually, today through Nov. 20) you can visit your local McDonalds and purchase a “Give A Hand” for $1. Other ways to help include:

• Download the “Give A Hand for Ronald McDonald House Charities” Facebook application and share Hands to support the charities.
• On Nov. 20 purchase something from select menu items and $1 will be donated to RMHC.
• Volunteer! The L.A. Ronald McDonald House is always looking for kitchen help, office assistance, fundraising help and general family support. You can also help decorate for the holidays, provide gifts for holidays and birthdays or sponsor an event.
  

  L.A. mom bloggers surround Access Hollywood's Billy Bush and former Miss Universe Dayanara Torres at an L.A. McDonald's, where we learned about Ronald McDonald House Charities.

How about some fangs to suck on?

This adorable-yet-creepy pacifier from Stupid.com ($9.99, for ages 3 months and older) is a fun way to put some teeth into this Twilight madness. Just hide the garlic.

Parents, your “mock” covers are coming soon. And watch for these faces to appear on upcoming issues of L.A. Parent in 2010!

L.A. Parent’s Shooting Stars 2009 Winners

Baby category: Zoe, 7 months, Oak Park

Child category: Dylan, 3-1/2 years, Woodland Hills

Youth category: Livia, 7 years, Studio City

L.A. Parent’s Shooting Stars 2009 Runners Up

RU, baby: Gisele, 7 months, L.A.

RU, child: Joseph, 6-1/2 years, Westchester

RU, youth: Adolfo, 10 years, Panorama City

If you’ve got a holiday project you’re fond of, you might want to check out the “Handmade Holiday Contest” at that Mecca of all things handmade: Michaels. Through Dec. 20, the arts and crafts store is awarding two $100 gift cards each week to the top vote-getters: Just upload a picture of your creation, and visitors will rate their top picks.

The store is also selecting grand-prize winners for “Best Creative Project” and “Best Creative Project Under $20″ that will each earn a $250 gift card and a trip for two to New York City to see the queen of craftiness herself taping The Martha Stewart Show.

If you have no paper-and-glue skills whatsoever, you can attend the weekly (and free) in-store holiday workshops that cover everything from kid stuff to how to make your own awesome gift wrap (which might even turn out better than the gift itself). Or if you can build your skills at home by checking out the how-to webisodes.

Then you have no excuse not to drag out your box of sequins and pine cones and get crafting!

Santa Monica

I have to admit, that fact mainly piqued my interest since I’m “fresh” from a long road trip from L.A. to Albuquerque. We took I-40, which roughly parallels and sometimes runs right over the famous old strip of striped asphalt. Because Jack is 5 and requires at least 37 stops an hour for every human function and necessity you can think of, we got to know every weed, truck stop and tourist trap that populates these often desolate stretches.

But rather than rolling my eyes and sighing loudly with each “I’m hungry!” we indulged in some of those touristy stops. Admittedly, we were mostly relegated to less attractive stretch of the “Mother Road,” as John Steinbeck proclaimed it. Needles leaves a lot to be desired, but Barstow, with its signature railroad depot-themed McDonald’s, was bustling with tourists. We paused at the Petrified Forest but since we actually started making some time, didn’t get a chance to view the Meteor Crater (let’s save something for next time). Jack got a coon-skin cap (or “raccoon hat,” as he preferred to call it), and we all ate plenty of greasy food while admiring  Native American jewelry, moccasins and Route 66 collectibles.

Our ultimate destination was a friend’s wedding in Albuquerque, and the stretch of 66 in Old Town there doesn’t disappoint with its retro neon signs and old buildings and cafes that hark back to a time when seatbelts were just a gleam in the eyes of lawmakers.

The historic route rolls east all the way to Chicago, but there was no “official” western end … it just sort of trailed off into a maze of streets in Santa Monica before disappearing at the Pacific Ocean. But today, a motorcade of vintage cars parked at a replica of the long-lost “End of the Trail” sign on the pier, finally bringing “closure” to those die-hard fans of Route 66 – which, thanks to Jack, we all got to know a little better.

Of course, at Scarium we saw wildlife of a different sort (photos by Terresa Burgess and Carolyn Graham). From left: the L.A. Parent craft table stayed busy; Michele Weiss, account executive, poses with a pint-sized MJ impersonator; a sea jelly showed up; L.A. Parent account exec Helene Chemele played her cards right; Associate Editor Ronna Mandel with witchy Editor Carolyn Graham; a tiny chicken; Managing Editor Christina Elston met the resident otter.

So it’s October. That means that besides the ubiquitous pumpkins, costume shopping and breathless anticipation from my kids for the huge haul of candy they’ll be pulling in this week, there’s also the changeover. No, not the change of seasons: It’s post-season baseball and looking forward to pre-season football! It’s been kind of a nail-biter in the Rausch household because Dad is a transplanted New Yorker and my wife is a Dodgers fan now rooting for my beloved Yankees to lose. Yeah, there’s a bit of an East Coast/West Coast thing happening with us. My daughter Lily has joined her mother in rooting for the Brooklyn Quislings (as my dad still refers to the Dodgers), and my son David just wants to hit a ball with a bat and tackle anything that stands still long enough.

That led to me thinking about sports games for kids. One of the chief criticisms of video games is that they turn kids into couch potatoes. Believe me, in a country where obesity has reached epidemic proportions (to say nothing of me and my wife’s own struggles with our weight), I’m very conscious of the need to get the kids up and moving. The great thing is that the latest generation of video game controllers and systems such as the Wii motion controls and balance boards are proving to a generation of couch potatoes that not only is it healthier to get the whole body actively involved in gaming, it’s a lot more fun too! I remember getting a lump in my throat when I first played Wii Fit and EA Sports Active and realized that someone had finally made playing games not only good fun but good for my waist size as well.

With that in mind, I took a look at three “sports games” for kids. If you have visions of a super-complex sports game like Madden in your mind, relax. All three are merely sports-themed titles, two of which specialize in presenting “mini-games,” a sort of quick-hit simple activity that pack a lot of fun into a few minutes of play. The third is a cold weather blast for those of you who own the balance board you may have purchased with Wii Fit. That means that these games are simple enough for the young ones and their gaming-impaired parents. In fact, don’t be surprised if once you play them, you find yourself breaking them out with your significant other after the kids go to bed. Yeah, they’re that much fun. Try ‘em out, and we just might make a “gamer” out of a few more parents.

Baseball Blast

Publisher: 2K Sports
Platform: Wii
Rating: E
MSRP: $19.99

In between watching the Yankees’ inevitable march toward World Series glory, our family enjoys getting into the dugout with 2K Sports Baseball Blast! Baseball Blast is a simplified version of the great American pastime boiled down to themed mini-games based on team names. Our favorite is battling against the Pittsburgh Pirates where the batter has to hit back flaming baseballs launched by real pirate ships! We also enjoy “City Ball” where players have to throw a baseball through a maze trying to hit as many trophies as possible. The real gem of the collection though is “Play Ball” mode. In Play Ball players take turns swinging for the fences in regular play and then between innings you get to play a mini-game to win cards that can give your team extra power or put some bad mojo on the other player’s team. Its a lot of fun, surprisingly strategic and guaranteed to get your family laughing.

We Ski and Snowboard

Publisher: Namco
Platform: Wii
Rating E
MSRB: $39.99

The Wii Balance Board is one of the most enjoyable controllers we’ve ever used, especially for a game like We Ski and Snowboard. As the name would imply, you can use your personalized “Mii” avatar or one of the adorable provided ones to ski and snowboard around two mountain resorts doing races, slaloms or participating in contests where you rack up points for doing tricks. The game’s controls are fairly simple, although it’s not recommended for the youngest kids. For those older than 8 – or those parents who ever wanted to catch some “sick air” without the danger of ending up in traction – there’s nothing better than that moment when you cross the finish line first fully aware that you are an Icelandic ski god! Then you should go towel off because you’ll most likely build up a pretty good sweat there, Picabo Street.

Wii Sports Resort

Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: Wii
Rating E for Cartoon Violence
MSRP:$49.99

Don’t let the MSRP fool you. Wii Sports resort can actually run into a bit of coin if you want to outfit all four of your Wii controllers with the new “Wii Motion Control Plus” accessory that’s required for this title. But that shouldn’t stop you –  just a few minutes playing Wii Sports Resort will have you rushing out do so. Yes, it’s that good, and yes, you will want to be able to play with four players at once.

Wii Sports Resort is the sequel to Wii Sports (you may have seen Serena Williams play the tennis game against Conan O’Brien) and like that title offers you the chance to traipse around an island resort playing all kinds of beach-themed games. The star of the show is “Swordfighting” where padded warriors with rubber swords can whack away at one another – this is easily the favorite in our house. Be sure to use the wrist strap on the controller and be careful not to hit one another. This game can get a little frenzied.

We also enjoy a rousing game of Table Tennis, throwing a frisbee to an adorable computerized dog, and my daughter loves the 100-pin bowling game. When a product bills itself as “fun for the whole family,” Wii Sports Resort is what they’re thinking of.

Allen Rausch is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles. He’s the parent of Lily and David who, in his unbiased opinion, are the cutest children in the whole wide world. He regularly blogs about video games, culture, politics and parenting at The Angry Bear.

Museum officials just released information about the Fruitadens haagarorum, which they’re calling the smallest dinosaur ever discovered from North America. This little critter weighed less than two pounds and topped out at just 28 inches in length (think very odd-looking and oversized lizard, pictured above). The bones were discovered in Colorado in the late 1970s and were studied by an international team of scientists, including Luis Chiappe, Ph.D., Natural History Museum Dinosaur Institute Director. Their findings were released today in the British science journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

“Fruitadens is the smallest known dinosaur from North America; it’s one of the smallest dinosaurs, period,” Chiappe said in a press release today. “It tells you once again how dinosaurs range in size, from animals that were barely two pounds in weight to animals that were tens of tons in weight. That knowledge opens the door to further research about their feeding strategies and diets.”

The Fruitadens populated the planet about 150 million years ago during the Late Jurassic period and was a speedy little critter that darted beneath the legs of its bigger bretheren. It possessed an unusual combination of different shaped teeth, suggesting it may have eaten both plants and animals (unlike most dinosaurs, which typically ate one or the other exclusively). It was named for the area of Fruita in Colorado, where the fossils were first discovered, and the Latin word for tooth. The second part of the name honors Paul Haaga, a NHM donor and Board of Trustees president.

You and your little fossil followers can go see the little Fruitadens at the museum’s popular Dino Lab, where you can peer at the bones under a microscope and watch Dinosaur Institute sculptor and preparator Doyle Trankina reconstruct five Fruitadens. The reconstructed Fruitadens will be moved to a permanent home next to the 68-foot-long Mamenchisaurus inside the new dinosaur hall when it opens in July 2011.