Careful, kids… the Befana may fly overhead any moment and see what you’re up to!

Even a “coal” from the Befana can be a treat.

On the morning of the 6^th, it is a special day in which kids get excited and parents become children again. The little ones wake early and cagily run in the kitchen to check if the stockings they left close to the hood have been filled (in Rome fireplaces are not common!).

Tomie DePaola’s children’s book

“Befana” we now know as the name of the ugly old lady that, according to the legend, was asked by the Magi to show them the right way to get to the Infant Jesus. Since it was very cold, she refused to join them, but later, feeling remorse, she decided to go around taking a gift to every child, hoping to meet Jesus.

A broom from the market of Befana

Final note: 
Make a Clean Sweep for the New Year

The post La Befana and her trouble-shooting small broom: An Italian holiday tradition appeared first on Travels With Baby.

Kids in Copenhagen flock to Tivoli Gardens in its Christmas splendor..

One of my favorite holiday traditions in November-December is to go to Tivoli amusement park in Copenhagen.  The park is fully decorated in Christmas theme and it has a house with many Scandinavian Santa Clauses dolls that are moving.  

Afterwards, it is a must to eat “Æbleskiver,” which are kind of waffle “balls” which you dip in icing sugar and strawberry jam. The Danes can eat these Waffle balls nearly everywhere they go during Christmas season, at home, in every cafe, and of course everywhere in Tivoli, which offers many restaurants and cafes of its own.

All content of this blog (c) Shelly Rivoli 2007 – 2011

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Yes, my friends, that’s a kite.

Have you ever seen a 36-foot wide kite sail into the heavens? That’s what they’re doing en masse today on the next stop of our Travels with Baby Traditions: Sumpango, Guatemala. Here to share the fun details is our guest blogger reporting from lovely Central America, Marina K. Villatoro. 

What is one of the most unexpected festivals Guatemala?  November 1 – or better know as ‘Day of the Dead’. Sounds like a pretty morbid day – yet it’s been transformed into one of the most colorful and unique holidays in the world.

Instead of mourning the dead, a Guatemalan tradition was born over 500 years ago where the people started building kites that were over 36 feet (12 meters) in diameter. They would then fly these incredible artistic and intricate kites high in the sky to reach the spirits of their beloved from the cemeteries.

Today the tradition is as strong as ever and I would say one of the best times to visit Guatemala. 

Sumpango is where the main kite festival is held yearly with artists, women’s groups and school children from five years old and up designing kites of all shapes and sizes varying from political art to Maya Indian art to personal designs.   Then the contests begin. The kites are sent up soaring into to the sky as the people stand proud of their heritage while showing tribute to ancestors.

This is without a doubt a kid’s holiday come true. Where else will they have the chance to watch kites three times bigger than them take off, but also have a million of different kites to chose from that they can run wild with all over the stadium?

This holiday to me represents family bonding. Every time we head out my oldest son (now seven) runs through the grass with his dad trying not to get the string of his kite caught on someone’s head or a branch. And what I do is sing to my baby: “Let’s go fly a kite, up the highest height – Let’s go Fly a kite!” ( Mary Poppins).

Thanks so much to today’s guest blogger, Marina K. Villatoro, who has been living as an Expat in Central America for over ten years where she’s raising two trilingual-Global Citizens (a 7 year old and 1 year old baby) while traveling with her family non-stop in Latin America! You can read all about Central and Latin America on her site: http://travelexperta.com.


About this series: This post is part of the new Travels with Baby Traditions series, where we’ll be exploring the favorite activities, events and traditions of families in destinations around the world. If you would like to share a special tradition of families from your location, please email a short summary and bio to “contact” at Travels with Baby (dot) com for consideration. 

All content of this blog (c) Shelly Rivoli 2007 – 2011

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Chestnuts call as Rome’s “gite fuori porta” kick into full swing each October.

Have you hear of the “Gite fuori porta”? If you have the good fortune to visit Rome in October – with children OR without – you won’t want to miss out on this savory, local tradition. Explaining the finer points of these “Day Trips Out of the Roman Gate” known as the “Gite fuori porta” that are the highlight of every family living in Rome at this time of year, is Roman native since birth Valeria Spizzichino, who founded Baby Riders IT, the first Baby Gear Rental Agency in all of Italy.

Maybe it is not a well-known fact, but Rome is the greenest European capital. The several parks, gardens, and ville belong to the life of Romans. To have a ride in Villa Pamphili or watch a concert in Villa Borghese is like reading the newspaper in the Jardin de Luxembourg for the Parisians  or going to jogging in the Central Park for the New Yorkers. But in this period of October, the woods just outside the town steal the show to those inside. In fact in this period a lot of families use to spend their weekends in search of chestnuts in the autumnal woods close to Rome. 

Chestnuts at a Roman market.

After having chosen the location, the menu of the picnic has to be decided. Obviously there’s not a rule, but usually panini (sandwiches) and torte rustiche (savory pies) boss the show. There’s something to suit everybody’s fancy: sandwiches with frittata (potatoes, zucchini, artichokes) or with fresh cheese and prosciutto cotto (cooked ham) will be very appreciated by the youngest kids. For their parents, sandwiches with sausages and broccoli, green vegetables or the evergreen prosciutto crudo (row ham) and mozzarella cheese. For everybody crudités (small tomatoes, carrots, fennels), dried salami and biscuits.

So one can say that to going trekking was really worth it!

Homemade chestnut jam.

This post is part of the new Travels with Baby Traditions series, where we’ll be exploring the favorite activities, sights and traditions of families in destinations across worldwide. Thanks so much to Ms. Spizzichino, our guest blogger today, who contributed this post and the fun pictures found here. If you would like to contribute a guest post to this series, please email a short summary and bio to contact at Travels with Baby (dot) com for consideration. 

Giveaway in progress! Don’t miss your chance to enter to win the Safety 1st Go Hybrid travel car seat + booster ($199 value). Contest ends 10/27/11 – Click here for your chance to win

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