Family Fun

This is the auto-reply letter I got from Family Fun:

Dear reader,

Sincerely,
The Editors

It seems so loving and innocent compared to the dominatrixy auto-replies from the Times. They love their readers and want to hear from them. What could be nicer?

I have subscribed to Family Fun magazine for a decade. I have a family. I want fun.

I’m a crafty gal; my art supply cabinet is fully stocked; we cook together and take trips together and have family traditions. (We ONLY allow homemade ornaments on our Christmas tree. So there.) But despite my best intentions of being uber-mom, I’d rather just sneak off to the laptop to read the latest dish about the American Idol contestants. (Wouldn’t you?) And the truth of the matter is that my art cabinet is so well-organized and well-stocked because it is barely used these days.

And so Family Fun makes me feel like a slacker. The entire magazine is chockablock full of spunk ingenuity and wholesome creativity. The April 2009 issue includes the following helpful ideas:

- Make errand day less tiresome for your kids by making them a passport that you’ll stamp after visiting each destination.

- Turn your outgrown sandbox into a vegetable garden.

- Plan a family trip to visit seven different zoos across the country.

- Make a holiday costume for your child’s stuffed animals. Some felt ears on a headband will transform a teddy bear into a bunny. A perfect surprise for Easter morning!

After reading that I either want to take a nap, eat a pint of Ben & Jerry’s, or both. Who are these perfect people who recycle their discarded cereal boxes into playhouse?

I’ll tell you who they are. They’re the folks writing letters to the editor of Family Fun. All five of the letters printed in the April 2009 issue were praise for a project suggested in the magazine, accompanied by a photo of one or more cute children beaming over said project. Hey, I have cute kids who I can cajole/guilt/bribe into making a project. Why not sell them out to get my name in the magazine.

The project we chose to complete was Faux Fish Sticks. This one was appealing to the kiddos because it involved sculpting with candy and cookies, and thus eating candy and cookies. (Did I mention the bribery thing?)

Here’s a photo of our creation. Pretty good, huh?

You’ll no doubt notice that the kiddos do not appear in the photos. The picture I sent to the magazine did have my kids in it, as well as the child of a friend who might not be so keen on having her kid appear in my blog without me asking first. (Gotta get on that ASAP.)

Here’s the letter that went with the photo:

Dear Family Fun:

Every year my daughters and their friends await your April issue to see what fun fake food they can make to serve their dads on April Fools Day. The kids had an especially great time making this year’s creation: faux fish sticks. They even came up with an addition to the plate — a dollop of whipped cream to simulate mashed potatoes. Boy was dad surprised! Thanks for another wonderful year.

In truth, Dad watched the whole project happening, so there was no surprise involved. And that whipped cream mashed potato thing was my idea. (French vanilla flavored Cool Whip. Ingenious, no?) But I think this version strikes the right note of child input and whole family involvement.

The April issue features letters from the December/January issue. So it will be a while before I find out how I did.