Of the over six hundred articles published on SavvyAuntie.com this year, the top ten most read articles were filled with celebrities (including the stars of Toy Story 3), books for kids, and ways to help keep our nieces and nephews safe. More than anything, it showed the influence of an aunt in the life of a child....

Here's our list of Top Ten articles, with a brief 'behind-the-scenes' look at why they were published, by Savvy Auntie Founder and Editor in Chief, Melanie Notkin:


1.    Toy Story 3 Toys! Woody, Buzz, Mr. Potato Head, Lots-O'-Huggin'-Bear and More!

Last spring, I came back from a special press event introducing the new Toy Story movie, Toy Story 3, and was immediately enthralled by the new characters and the toys. I couldn't wait to share the news with you knowing that you would want to share your Toy Story savvy with your nieces and nephews.

2.    Elizabeth Gilbert and the “Auntie Brigade"

One of the defining moments of Savvy Auntie was my exclusive interview with Elizabeth Gilbert, the bestselling author of Eat, Pray, Love and more recently, Committed. In Committed, Elizabeth, who has decided to be child-free, talks about the value of aunts in a child's life. She calls this positive influence "The Auntie Brigade."

The hour we spent on the phone together while she was in LA on her book tour was one of the most wonderful sixty minutes of my career. Auntie Liz is a very special person and I'm so glad you enjoyed our interview.

3.    Secrets of the Real Jewish Aunties

Earlier this year, I met Jill Zarin, one of Bravo's Real Housewives of New York, as she was releasing her first book: Secrets of a Jewish Mother, co-authored with her mother Gloria Kamen and her sister, Lisa Wexler. I interviewed the women because of the influence the aunts in their family had on them as Jewish mothers. Most of the interview took place on video. It was very authentic and at times, incredibly touching. Jill and I have remained good friends.

4.    Savvy Guncles

When I interviewed Bill Horn and Scout Masterson, better known as "The Guncles," Tori Spelling's best friends in life and on her Oxygen show: Tori and Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood, and the gay uncles (hence Guncles) of her kids, they were still desperately trying to adopt a baby. I am happy to report that baby Simone celebrated her six month birthday this Christmas in the arms of her dads. Bill and Scout remain dedicated Guncles to Liam and Stella McDermott as well.

5.    When You Can’t Be There, Auntie 

Savvy Auntie is very proud of our sponsors and proud of how much they care about the Savvy Auntie community. The fifth most-read article of 2010 is actually an advertorial I did, along with a video, for Hallmark Recordable Storybooks. This article was such a success, I kept sending the Hallmark team comments from the Savvy Auntie Twitter and Facebook communities who were recalling the article long after the campaign was done.

6.    Give Them Classic Books Every Child Needs

Ironically, the next article was also an advertorial, this time for Gift of the Month Shop: Children's Classics Collection. Sponsors promoting books for kids is something I am proud of. It goes to show that quality content can come from anywhere. And of course, Savvy Auntie always discloses paid content and would never publish anything that we did not believe contributed to the positive influence an aunt can have on a child she loves.

7.    An Open Letter To Aunties: Pride Month

This fall, as we all kept hearing the terrible headline news about young gay men committing suicide because they were bullied for being gay, I received a message from Ezra Butler who wanted to share his story. Ezra's aunt has a great influence on his ability to get through the tough years as a young gay man. I am happy this article was read by so many and thank Ezra for his honesty. Hopefully other Savvy Aunties will be inspired by this story.

8.    Being 'Auntie' But Longing For 'Mommy' at the Holidays

Many Savvy Aunties are not childless by choice. Many desire to have children, but by biological infertility or by circumstance, they are unable. In her infinite wisdom and care, Stephanie Baffone, an expert on love and loss, wrote this eloquent piece touching on what so many feel but are not able always to express.

9.    How to Keep Your Nieces and Nephews’ Facebook Places Private

Geo-locator technology like Foursquare and Gowalla are all the rage. And earlier this year, Facebook announced its version in Facebook Places. Savvy Auntie does not think it's savvy for kids to share where they are with anyone at anytime unnecessarily so we shared how to disable Facebook Places for your nieces and nephews safety.

10.  The 2010 Name of the Year is....

Our friends at BabyNameWizard.com shared the name of the year with us in an exclusive interview... and I think it caught most people by surprise!

Special thanks to Melanie Linn Gutowski, SavvyAuntie.com's associate editor, for her contributions to the success of many of these articles.

Published: December 27,1010