SINGAPORE – Make family time all the more special with these ideas and activities.

Read: Santa Wants To Get Fat

Santa thinks he is too skinny and tries out various ways to look fatter, to hilarious effect.

And when Granny Santa wants to help him deliver presents, he tells her: “Santa is not a girl. You don’t have a white beard.”

Santa Wants To Get Fat is the fourth title in an annual Christmas picture book series published by the Singapore Centre for Chinese Language.

The series is written in Chinese by its dean of early childhood care and education Cheng Wan-Ni and illustrated by Patrick Yee.

The stories, which are also available in English, do not focus only on the festive season.

“By using Santa, a character that every child is familiar with, we hope to engage young readers and get them to discuss various topics, such as gender and occupational stereotypes,” says Dr Cheng.

The stories are also set in Singapore so that children can relate better to them.

Get the books for $7.50 (paperback) and $28.04 (hardcover) each at str.sg/wCFE

Read: Grandma’s Tiger

For several days in 1997, Singapore was gripped by news of a tiger on Pulau Ubin after a number of people said they had seen the big cat.

The story is now retold by author Alan John and illustrator Quek Hong Shin in their children’s book Grandma’s Tiger.

“Island residents were truly worried and they were told to stay indoors. But the big search party found nothing,” John recalls of the event, adding that some people laughed it off as a mistake months later.

“But when Hong Shin and I visited Pulau Ubin, we met a long-time resident who remembered the incident like it happened yesterday. He told us the tiger crossed the road right in front of his house. So, who knows?”

Grandma’s Tiger is their third book together, and it includes fun facts about tigers and Pulau Ubin.

Their previous book, Ubin Elephant, was also inspired by another real-life account on the island – the appearance of an elephant in 1991.

Grandma’s Tiger retails for $14.95 and is available at major bookshops and the Straits Times Press online store.

Shop: Toys and games at FairPrice

Still looking for the perfect gift for the young and young-at-heart? The next time you shop for groceries at FairPrice, do not overlook its wide range of toys and games.

The aisles at FairPrice Xtra stores are chock-full of fun playthings for babies, toddlers and school-going children.

Over at FairPrice Finest, you can find a selection of store exclusives, including A Game Of Cat & Mouth ($39.90). Recommended for kids from seven years old, players use cute magnetic paws to shoot balls and score points.

There is also a collectible desktop-size arcade machine Micro Player by My Arcade ($49.90), which features a colour screen and joystick.

Go to its stores islandwide or shop online at https://str.sg/wCtL

Celebrate: Disney-themed festive fun

Join a free Disney-themed storytelling session at Choa Chu Kang Public Library, located at Lot One Shoppers’ Mall, on Dec 21 at 5pm.

If you are a CapitaStar member, receive a $10 dining voucher when your child goes dressed as his or her favourite Disney character.

Your family can also hunt down iconic characters from Disney, Pixar, Star Wars and Marvel at 16 CapitaLand malls islandwide until Dec 31.

There are festive installations of Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse at Tampines Mall, Winnie the Pooh and Tigger at Bukit Panjang Plaza, as well as Iron Man at Funan, for instance.

Snap photos and post them on Instagram to stand a chance of winning a $50 shopping voucher. Find out more at str.sg/wCFy