We love the idea of having our kids make Christmas presents, but not everyone wants gifts covered in glue, glitter, and scribbles.

How about letting them design motifs and patterns on professionally-made notebooks, T-shirts and greeting cards? Vancouver company Kibooco has launched a holiday pop-up shop that allows just that (look for the full book creation site in the new year).

Choose your item, and then use the icons and mouse to decorate. The software is ridiculously easy to use - so easy that this parent couldn’t figure it out because she over thought everything. Of course the 3-year-old easily managed to design a pretty cool notebook covered in ice cream cones and excavators. Lots of excavators.

The best part? There’s no opportunity to spill glitter or eat glue. Just don’t let them wreck your computer. —Alexandra Suhner Isenberg

Order your artwork before December 10 and get delivery before Christmas. Notebooks start at $16, t-shirts start at $32, www.kibooco.com

A lot of us use emoticons in our communications these days, a crown, bishop, or skull is way more fun than a ☺. That’s why fashion editor Alexandra Suhner Isenberg is obsessed with CopyPasteCharacter.com: they’ve got all sorts of fun ic❄ns you can stick into your emails, although I don’t suggest sending them to your boss. Unless you are ♘☠✏☂ off!
www.copypastecharacter.com

Calgary editor Jaelyn Molyneux likes to peep into the closets of the rich and stylish and read the stories behind how they came to own such covetable items.
www.thecoveteur.com

I don’t know if people were actually cooler back in the day or if black-and-white photos just make them look that way, but I can’t get enough of the attitude on The Impossible Cool. theimpossiblecool.
tumblr.com says lifestyle editor Kelsey Dundon. While beauty editor Anya Georgijevic chimes in agreement, "this Tumblr has Françoise Hardy rubbing elbows with Mark Twain. I could scroll for hours."
www.theimpossiblecool.tumblr.com

Naomi has her $10,000, and Montreal Editor Christine won't get out of bed until she's had her smoothie, iced latte and WhoWhatWear newsletter.
www.whowhatwear.com

Toronto editor, Athena Tsavliris, can't resist the siren call of 1stdibs.com. From Galanos gowns to Bertoia bronzes, this is fervent fantasy shopping ground.
www.1stdibs.com

We started off obsessed with Sassy and then grew up into Jane. But when irreverent editor, Jane Pratt, put away her red pen and razor-sharp wit, we had to be content with magazines that taught us how to toe the femininity line.

XOJane is Pratt’s new web magazine “where women go when they are being selfish, and where their selfishness is applauded.” With great advice on how to Do this Don’t, much needed makeunders and terrific tips for us techy types, we know where to go when we’re feeling more clever than Cosmo.

Now that’s sassy stuff. —JN

www.xojane.com

We fully admit to being obsessed with YA fiction, having recently spent a full weekend ignoring our family, friends, and responsibilities to read through the Hunger Games trilogy. And we’re almost embarrassed to admit our almost encyclopaedic knowledge of the amazing adventures of the Sweet Valley High twins.

Lucky for us we found a website where no one is judging our teenaged taste in tomes. Forever Young Adult offers a celebration of crushes, gossip, and life lessons, with some added twists. We loved participating in the running voter’s choice read of Choose Your Own Adventure: Dyspocalypse Now (always vote D!), and the regular reviews of reads for the teen set often influences our Amazon account. But nothing makes adolescent angst better than alcohol, as we discovered whilst playing the Anne of Green Gables Drinking Game.

After taking a sip of our martini each time Marilla rolled her eyes, we accidentally re-enacted the scene where Diana enjoys a bit too much “Cherry Cordial.” —JN

www.foreveryoungadult.com

Does the thought of your daughter looking up to socialite panty flashers keep you up at night?

Creating an outlet for bright and funny females is web series Smart Girls at the Party. Hosted by Amy Poehler (of Saturday Night Live fame), the short webisodes are filmed with a wink towards Inside the Actors Studio, but instead of celebrities, you get intelligent females, like 7-year-old skateboarder and feminist Ruby.

This is Girl Power we can get behind.

Watch Smart Girls at the Party here.

Fed up with booking into the latest “it” hotel only to discover paper-thin walls and windows that overlook a grimy back alley? 

Our latest pre-travel go-to is Tripkick.com, a handy site with advice on which rooms to choose— and which to avoid—at hotels around the world. It offers great tips on getting free Wi-Fi (join the hotel’s loyalty club), finding a quiet room (corner ones are best), landing an upgrade (ask and ye shall receive!), and top ten lists featuring the finest views and best bathrooms.

Now that's putting the 'bon' back in 'Bon Voyage.'

www.tripkick.com

You're the family CEO, purchasing officer, travel agent and archivist.

Time to add another line to your CV: web designer.

With www.babyjellybeans.com, you can create a family website in less than five minutes, just by choosing colours and styles, with no need to speak geek.

Upload photos and videos, and voila, a little piece of legacy for only USD$8.99 per month.

Now you just have to get your real estate license.

Read more at www.babyjellybeans.com

View our website at www.bancroftbunch.com

We’ve spent plenty of time reading and sharing our favourite blogs. All in the name of research, of course.

Sarah Bancroft, Editor-in-chief
The tag line of this beautifully executed Paris street fashion blog is “a girl like me.” We wish!
www.garancedore.fr

B.C. model Coco Rocha reveals her new flaming red ‘do (courtesy of Vogue) and the contents of her bathroom counter on her brand new blog, Oh So Coco. Love the innocent narcissism of young models (Oh So Adorable!).
www.ohsococo.blogspot.com

Elsa, Montreal editor, French edition
For underground info on art, fashion, design and style, I head to www.coolhunting.com

Marianne, Montreal editor
When procrastinating, I get my jollies at British footwear site www.office.co.uk. I can kill hours scrolling through the gorgeous pumps and boots. It's so fab I call it shoe porn!

Tonya, Western Sales Manager
Rock star angst and oh-so-edgy musings are, like, so deep, ok? Reader beware, there is some cursing. Kids these days.
www.gnarlitude.com

Not only has the mother of two been traipsing around premiers in ultra minis and sky-high shoes, but Gwyneth Paltrow has also found time to launch her own website, GOOP.

Billed as a “collection of experiences,” Gwyneth spills on her favorite tuna sandwhich recipe, best jeans (Grey Ant), and London hot spots. From philosophy (Deepak Chopra) to Philosophy (beauty products) it's like walking a mile in Gwyneth's lace-up booties as she dishes tips on how to find a little black dress, or whip up a perfect batch of buckwheat pancakes.

But nowhere does it mention how to survive on sashimi or if she really is the one in the house who gets to clean up the goop….

www.goop.com

In times of stress and strain, sometimes all we need is a little bit of perspective.

When life gets fuzzy, we head straight to TED.

This fascinating website presents speeches by some of the worlds most intriguing “thinkers and doers” in the fields of Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED, get it?).

Featuring more than 200 talks (with new ones added each week), the site includes director/designer Julie Taymor’s reflections on theatre and the imagination, writer Malcolm Gladwell’s advice about things that can be learned from spaghetti sauce, and primatologist Jane Goodall’s views on what separates us from the apes.

It’s the most clarity you’ll get in 18 minutes, we promise.

www.ted.com