Another holiday season is upon us, as our legendary Snow Queen cover illustrates, and we are here for it all. We even scored the biggest interview of the season in this issue, just for you. That’s right, we got to chat with Santa! Joan loved talking about all things Christmas with the big guy, and she also got to reminisce about her days of visiting Legendary Santa at Miller & Rhoads, before the program moved to the Children’s Museum of Richmond. You’ll love this peek inside Legendary Santa’s world, beginning on page 34.
As I read through this issue, I noticed a theme that I don’t think we necessarily intended on having throughout the articles, but there it was, as clear as day – connections. The holidays are all about making, renewing, and strengthening connections with friends, family, and our community, sharing traditions and making new ones. Our Real Mom article from Nikki Brown (page 18) really brought it home for me, and I’m not gonna lie, made me a little jealous. Her multicultural family embraces rich traditions from around the world, and she and her husband are teaching their kids the importance of family, faith, and honoring their cultural customs.
Connecting around a dinner table and a good meal is such a wonderful, shared experience, and we meet a family who knows more than a thing or two about this: the Lindsey family! Mike and Kim Love-Lindsey are the owners of thirteen restaurants across Richmond (soon to be fourteen), including Lillie Pearl, Buttermilk and Honey, and Farm + Oak. As they told Alaina Wong-Canissario (beginning on page 50), including the kids in the planning, preparation, and dinner discussions are keys to successful family meals.
I also really love Lucy Rimington’s Q&A in our Parental Guidance department (page 30), and I think it will resonate with many RFM readers. Parenting can be overwhelming, our reader wrote, (and don’t we all know that’s true), and she wondered if Lucy had any tips to make it easier. Lucy’s answer was, in a nutshell, connections. We weren’t meant to figure it all out on our own – we need to connect with other parents, with our kids in meaningful ways, and with professionals who can help guide us through the tough times. Thank you for the reminders, Lucy!
The RFM calendar, beginning on page 60, is packed with festive fun for all ages, and as you’ll see, we’ll have the RFM Street Team out at lots of holiday events all over town. Be sure to stop by our table and say hi, enter to win a fun prize, and let the kids make a craft with Miss Anne.
We’re also saying goodbye in this issue to the person who helped make many of these connections possible for the last fifteen years, our managing editor. Karen Schwartzkopf has been RFM’s editor since day one, way back in 2009. And we know for sure that we wouldn’t be going strong all these years later without her. Thank you for fifteen wonderful years, Karen, and keep in touch with us, your devoted fans!
Happy Holidays from our families to yours!
