Some of my most memorable times as a child were with my aunt who was a teacher and spent time with me making holiday crafts. It got me thinking-this could be a great idea for a holiday party. Get everyone together to make hot chocolate, gingerbread cookies and fun, holiday crafts. Here are some other ideas for planning a holiday craft party this year.
Send out a holiday invitation asking guests to bring specific materials like glue, scissors, or whatever else you might need.
ACTIVITIES. Serve up some hot chocolate and make these sweet treats for kids to take home or to use as holiday gifts for friends and family. Gingerbread people from Martha Stewart. Hot chocolate cones make great gifts, recipe serves four and is from FamilyFun. Peppermint Bark, another holiday treat from Martha Stewart, are great for snacking and for giving away.
As the weather turns colder and the days become dramatically shorter, your kids are more likely to want to cuddle up indoors than to run around outside. If you’re afraid you may end up with a couple of cold-weather couch potatoes on your hands, check out these great links for some fun fall games to play both indoors and out:
Take a break from channel surfing to channel your children’s energy into charming fall crafts! Kaboose offers a wealth of Halloween, Thanksgiving and general fall craft ideas that are sure to entertain your brood for hours.
Beat cabin fever with Family Fun’s list of fun indoor games for the whole family.
Looking to stock up on board games for the long winter ahead? Family Education has a list of the Top 10 Board Games for Kids to help you plan your shopping spree.
Family Education also offers a wealth of indoor and outdoor ideas for entertaining the family all season long.
Longing to let your kids play in the gorgeous fall foliage like you did as a child? Read up on 15 Fun Fall and Harvest Outdoor Party Games for Kids for some great ideas, including a harvest dig and an autumn relay race.
Gone are the boring holiday cards of yesteryear. Today’s Christmas cards come in so many different colors, styles and designs that it is easy to find just the one you’re looking for. From traditional to modern and simple to ornate, Tiny Prints offers a variety of ways to say “Happy Holidays.” Here are a few to get you started on finding the perfect card to fit any style.
For the traditional family. If you love Santa Claus and Christmas trees, then these themed Christmas cards were made for you.
For modern simplicity. Bold graphics display traditional themes and winter scenes in a modern way.
A passion for floral design. Christmas cards are beautiful in reds and greens and Christmas trees, but are just as gorgeous in floral prints.
The holiday season is a great time to get creative with your culinary delights. Especially if you have kids in the house (or even just kids at heart!), creating cute little treats for parties, family dinners or just as afternoon snacks can be a great way to get everyone in the spirit of the holdiay. If you are looking for easy ways to add fun to your finger foods, check out these great food craft sites for some ideas and inspiration:
Disney’s FamilyFun.com has some of the best ideas on the web for cute crafts and fun food creations. I love their Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas ideas, but they even have some great everyday tips for creating an extra fun family meal.
The ever-stylish Martha Stewart also offers excellent food craft ideas, including some charming adult ideas better suited for cocktail parties than some of the more cutesy recipes found elsewhere online.
The Crafty Crow is a great craft site for kids that offers a wealth of ideas for parents looking to spend some quality time with their children in a creative setting. This ingenious site is responsible for the super creepy shrunken apple heads below! Yikes!
If your family loves M&Ms, Snickers and Milky Way bars, then Red and Yellow’s Bright Ideas is the site for you! Run by the Mars corporation, this site has adorable edible crafts for you and your family to create out of common candy items.
Another great creative resource for parents is FreeKidsCrafts.com. Not all of these crafts are edible, but they all have to do with food, fun and spending time together as a family!
These colorful and stylish wrist bands (psi bands) help new moms alleviate symptoms of morning sickness that sometimes comes with being pregnant. The best part? They are as fun to wear as they are practical.
A common complaint from pregnant moms is stretchmarks and itchy bellies that keep them up at night. Bella Mama sells belly butter with relaxing scents made with pure essential oils like lavender to help soothe and comfort.
If you’ve watched any television in the past month, you’ve undoubtedly seen a slew of commercials from the Corn Refiners Association that attempt to salvage the damaged reputation of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). One features two brothers arguing over whether or not HFCS is bad for you in cereal, and another highlights two moms discussing the effects of the HFCS found in store-bought punch. There’s also a commercial where a couple lounges in a park eating popsicles laced with HFCS:
Some Tiny Talk readers might know that I’m allergic to corn. As a result, HFCS has been my enemy for years because (as this series of commercials demonstrates with a variety of foods) it hides in EVERYTHING! After a decade of scouring food labels, I can confidently tell you that a vast majority of foods on the shelves in your local grocery store are packed with it. But is it really bad for you?
The Corn Refiners offer their take–that HFCS is no different from sugar or honey–while certain medical sites offer another–that HFCS is directly linked to the development of diabetes. For a more balanced take on the topic, I think this article from Diabetes Self-Management does a great job of summarizing both sides.
What do you think? Knowing the prevalence of HFCS in the foods you and your family eat, are you concerned about the amount you consume, or the potential effects? Have these commercials changed your mind? You tell us!
I was giddy when I realized that today is the first day of autumn. While I love the warmth of the summer sun, I also love when the leaves all start to turn into beautiful orange tones. It is this season in particular that makes me think of my family. I think that is because we had a lot of fun on the weekends doing traditional fall activities.
So, to kick off the season, below are some of my favorite things to do in the fall:
Apple Picking - It’s always fun to spend the afternoon with your kids at local apple farm. Apple picking is a great all-weekend activity. When I was younger, my family would spend Saturdays picking apples and then we would get together on Sunday to make apple pies and candied apples, while we enjoyed some warm apple cider.
Visit a pumpkin patch - As Halloween approaches, it is always fun to get together to pick the perfect pumpkin(s) to decorate your home or front step. And, while you are there, make sure to take a hay ride throughout the field.
Have a pumpkin carving party - Once you have your pumpkins, get together with friends and family and have a pumpkin carving party. You can even make it a formal event with these cute Halloween invitations.
Check out my creation from last year, below:
Watch Football - If you are not a fan of the cooler weather or just feel like a relaxing afternoon at home, why not enjoy a game a football with your friends and family? Hold a potluck or make healthy tail-gating snacks for your guests while you cheer on your favorite team.
Bringing home your newborn baby for the first time is an exciting and challenging time for all parents, whether it’s your first or fifth child! Luckily, the Internet is bursting with tips to help the parents of newborns to cope with their new responsibilities and challenges. Here are a few of our favorite sites and articles to help you make the most of this magical time in your family!
You could literally spend hours watching all of the informative videos on NewBaby.com. If you have questions about your baby’s toys, food, health or just about anything else, this is a great place to start finding the answers you need.
Curious about the benefits of breastfeeding? Read this amazingly informative article from Keep Kids Healthy, and you will be thoroughly convinced that breastfeeding is the best choice for you AND your baby.
You’ve read the books, attended the classes and diligently listened to lectures from your mother-in-law, but are you still feeling uncertain about how to care for your newborn? Reassure yourself that you are doing everything right with this handy Guide for First-Time Parents from KidsHealth.org.
Find ways to incorporate a big brother or sister into your new baby’s life with some great tips, tricks and advice from BabyCenter.
Don’t give in to the guilt! MayoClinic.com has great advice for maintaining your role as a super parent once you return to work from your maternity or paternity leave.
Instead of the traditional guest sign-in, why not do something different and give out blank note cards to have guests fill in their favorite recipes? A great idea would be to ask other mothers for their homemade baby food recipes. Then, either send them the cards early for them to bring to the new mom’s big day or bring them to her shower. Each guest copies down the recipes with their name. That way mom can bring back something from the shower that will last a lifetime!
If your guests are clueless about cooking, give them a list of links to search for recipes. Check out Wholesomebabyfood.com for recipes like Sweet Potato and Pumpkin baby food! Or serve pear puree with recipes from Simplybabyfoodrecipes.com. We’re never disappointed by whatever Martha Stewart does. Check out her recipe for homemade baby food.
Almost every little girl has had fun with make believe tea parties. Why not celebrate her birthday this year with a real afternoon tea party? Look for ideas on this week’s tea themed inspiration board.
“My Very First Tea Party” by Michal Sparks is a fun picture book and makes a great gift to give to the birthday girl and her guests. The fabric tea set by Pottery Barn adds pretty decor to the party and the pink tea cup and dessert set can be used for all their sweet treats.
