Laura Miller, owner of Imagination Village at 9 North Main St., sent us some tips on what to look for when you’re shopping for baby toys. Read and learn: Your baby’s first and most important teacher is you. The care and nurturing you provide can be enhanced by a few carefully chosen, developmental toys. Here are a few things to consider when selecting toys: - Think color! Babies developing senses crave bright colors with lots of contrast. Nanna might like pink and blue pastels, but newborns see black and red the best. - Think texture! Give them power over their new world with crinkle fabric,…

The Concord Chorale will hold an Open Sing on Tuesday, Jan. 13,from 7:15 to 9:30 p.m. at Wesley United Methodist Church, 79 Clinton St. The Open Sing is an opportunity to meet Chorale members and Music Director Ryan Turner, review this spring’s program, and learn about the audition process. The Chorale’s 40th Anniversary season continues in March with “A Celebration of Handel & Haydn” and concludes in May with “Broadway on Prince Street,“ a collaborative pops concert with the Granite State Symphony Orchestra. The Concord Chorale rehearses on Tuesday nights, and welcomes singers…

Dear Elders, How do you switch hairdressers tactfully within the same salon??? Signed, Shannon Bill Twibill Dear Wash and Dry, Stop giving the current stylist any tips, and very soon he/she will not even want you in the salon, but be sure to tell the new cutter your plan. If this does not work for you, begin to make comments like, "this is not what I wanted" or "Whew, I look terrible."…

You can't go wrong with a page full of baby pictures, or at least that's what Insider Cassie Pappathan said when we were planning upcoming issues. We all agreed, and put out the call for baby photos in December. Fourteen babies later, we have the most adorable spread we've ever seen. We wish we could take credit for the awesomeness of these photos, but we owe it all to these chubby-cheeked munchkins and their adoring…

The Children's Place and Parent Education Center, a family resource center located in Concord, received a grant from the Bishop's Charitable Assistance Fund to provide families in need with free respite childcare. The Bishop's Charitable Assistance Fund makes grants to tax-exempt organizations without regard to religious affiliation for projects that help people meet their basic needs. The fund is operated by volunteer laymen and women who serve as directors and who make recommendations to the bishop of Manchester for grants to any organization whose mission is consistent with the teachings of…

You can skate now So get out there! Each week, we bring you the finest in city news from The Honorable Thomas Aspell, city manager. This week is, like every week, no exception. Aspell brings us the urgent news that skating season has officially started at White Park. We think we can speak for all of us when we say, emphatically, woo hoo. Aspell continues: "The ice thickness has been tested and has been determined to be safe for skating (at least 6 inches thick)." But this isn't a free pass: "As conditions change daily, skaters are advised to check the sign at the main entrance of the park, prior…