Formal holiday dinners are a wonderful family tradition, a chance to break out Mom’s fine china and crystal, carve a glistening bird, and toast the clan. But these sit-down affairs can be a fidget fest for little ones. Family-friendly restaurants long ago figured this out, and now you can calm young guests at your table with activity place mats from Pier 1 ($9.95). Each pack comes with 16 place mats in four designs that incorporate mazes, word games, jokes and coloring tasks — crayons not included! — Christie Wilson

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When I’m feeling out of sorts, Natural Aloha’s Homegrown marigold-yellow ‘Olena Body Scrub sloughs the aches and blues away. Handmade by Dina Kaniho, an Oahu nurse, with olena (turmeric) root from her yard, Hawaiian sea salt, organic coconut oil and citrus-verbena essential oils, it comforts the body and clears the head. Freshening sprays — blending water with green tea, witch hazel, ylang-ylang, bergamot, lavender, geranium and other plant extracts — work more healing magic. The Fix stops itches and soothes burns and scrapes, while Calm & Clarity banishes stress. Glorious.

Natural Aloha products are sold for $12 to $18 at naturalalohahi.com, Down to Earth, Vim ‘N Vigor and Noelani Studios. — Mindy Pennybacker

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I always thought there couldn’t be anything healthier for you than milk, until someone pointed out that even the fat-free milk I was drinking had about 12 grams per cup of lactose, the sugar that naturally occurs in milk. So I was pleasantly surprised to discover Fairlife milk, an ultrafiltered milk produced in Fair Oaks, Ind., at the Kapahulu Safeway. Fairlife dairy farmers adhere to trendy practices like grass-to-glass traceability and sustainable farming, but what’s important to me is their milk has 50 percent less sugar than regular milk, 50 percent more protein and 30 percent more calcium. It’s pricey at $4.99 for a 1.5-liter bottle and the flavor took a little getting used to because of the decreased sugar, but it’s well worth the health benefits. Fairlife also has a chocolate-flavored milk for those who want some sweetness, as well as fat-free and low-fat varieties. — Steven Mark

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As part of a trunk show spotlighting stylish gifts by local designers, Paula Rath’s handmade note cards were a standout. Each is one-of-a-kind, affixed with miniature watercolors, hand-dyed silks, vintage and unique fabrics, and embroidered holiday greetings. “Sometimes I’m just turned on by the fabric,” says Rath, a fashion writer, longtime designer and artist.

Rath’s cards will be on display from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today at Indige Design, 3449 Waialae Ave. in Kaimuki. Cards will also be available during the holiday season at Louis Pohl Gallery in Chinatown. They are $6 (four for $20) and $8 (four for $30). Call Indige at 734-3377. — Elizabeth Kieszkowski

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Author Richard Beard’s superbly visualized alternative-history thriller, “The Apostle Killer” (Melville House, $25.99), is set in the Roman Empire during the technologically advanced 21st century. The crucifixion of Jesus took place only a few years earlier and his apostles are spreading the news of his resurrection. Roman officials enlist a disgraced counterinsurgency investigator named Gallio, who witnessed the crucifixion, to find the apostles and force them them to admit the resurrection was a hoax. The only problem is that someone is killing them before Gallio can get to them.

Beard maintains control of his unlikely premise throughout — from the search for Christ’s body on that first Easter Sunday to the final events years later. His knowledge of early Christian history is evident, and so is his sense of irony: One of the apostles is killed with a bow and arrow in a “gun-free” zone. — John Berger