Posts Tagged ‘Holidays’
Looking to update your Halloween music selection for this year? I have just the thing for you!
And the best part: 10% of proceeds from sales in October will go to The Children’s Hospital to help children battling cancer. You can purchase Count Crowe’s Halloween Spooktacular on iTunes and Amazon.
If you’re looking for ideas for the perfect Halloween party, check out this post on armelle. She’s got everything from party invites to goody bags. She’s also got my creative juices flowing. I’ll be sharing some of our craft projects during the week.
Your creative juices are flowing now, too, huh? She’s compiled all the links to these great projects and more so check out her ideas for a Halloween party.
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Today marks 106 years since the birth of Theodor Seuss Geisel, a.k.a. Dr Seuss. Even if you haven’t fallen in love with Dr Seuss’s works themselves, you’ve probably loved classics that follow the style he made popular. That style is marked by imaginative characters and settings, bold colors, rhymes that trip the tongue and made-up words. In conjunction with Dr Seuss’s birthday, the National Education Association has developed an initiative to encourage reading called National Read Across America Day. {Last year, Aaron Nigel Smith joined in the celebrations to inspire young readers.} This year, to celebrate both, we are having a wild Dr. Seuss birthday party!
Sammi has been so excited to have a birthday party. We’ve read Dr Seuss books and she and Elli have been heard around the house belting out “Happy Birthday to You.” It has really helped her and Elli establish the pattern of birthday parties and their preparations. We were able to borrow a box of Dr Seuss themed decorations from the library as well as a few more books. Here’s a peak at what we’re preparing:
We’ve invited tons of friends to celebrate with us. Each family is bringing their favorite Dr Seuss book along with a treat/drink/craft that is inspired by their favorite book. I’m making meatballs inspired by the GUFF going by in Oh, the Thinks You can Think! I asked a dear friend to bring her Oobleck cupcakes that she debuted at her son’s birthday party (which inspired a lot of what I hoped to do for this party.) She graciously shared her yummy recipe, too, so you can whip up a batch of these little cupcakes today to celebrate!
Oobleck Cupcakes
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 egg whites from large eggs
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 cup 2% milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Green Food coloring
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.
- Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, shortening, milk and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Mix at low speed for 2 minutes. Scrape bowl. Add egg whites and mix at high speed until fluffy and smooth, approximately 2 minutes. add food coloring.
- Fill liners 1/2 to 2/3 full of batter. Do not overfill. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
- Cool 10 minutes in pans then remove from pan, and place on wire racks to cool completely.
- Frost
Vanilla Buttercream frosting
16 ounce(s) marshmallow cream
1 1/2 cup(s) butter softened
1 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract
1/2 cup(s) confectioners’ sugar (more if necessary)
Beat the marshmallow cream using an electric mixer set on low. Add the butter (in 1-inch pieces) and beat until smooth. Add the vanilla extract, and confectioners’ sugar, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally, and continue to beat on medium-high until smooth and fluffy. Add more sugar to adjust texture.
So, grab a Dr Seuss book, or any favorite, and sit down with your little one today and read, read, read!
What book has inspired you to read, either for yourself or with your little one?
We’ve been making Valentine’s Cards all week. We made one for a Valentine Day Card exchange (and I took ZERO pictures!) Then we made some for family members (14 in all) and then we made some for local friends that we saw yesterday at a Valentine’s Day Party. The last are my favorite and I wanted to share them with you.
The idea for the card came from Big Sounds by Bari Koral
To get yourself inspired, here’s a clip from Big Sounds:
Can I get a Roar?
You can download the card if you want. Just print one file, turn over the paper and print the other file. It should work to make two cards. Just make sure you cut it the right way or you’ll end up with a top flipping card instead of a side flipping card. (Uh, no, that didn’t happen to me.)
Dinosaur Valentine Card outside
Dinosaur Valentine Card inside
Have you posted pics of Valentine cards you’ve made? Please leave a link; I’d love to see them!
Click on an image to read more about that project!
Christmas-Themed Projects
Jesus Spelling Activity
Materials:
- cookie cutter letters: J, E, S, U
- 1 sheet of cardstock, red or green for a Christmas theme
- scratch paper, decorative or plain, enough for the 5 letters
- glue stick and scissors
My part: I used the cookie cutter letters needed to spell Jesus. Then I pressed them in an ink pad and “stamped’ them in order on a piece of cardstock. Then I stamped the letters again on pieces of scratch decorative paper I had. I cut out the letters from the scrap papers.
Sammi’s part: She used a glue stick to put glue on the back of each letter. Then she glued the letters to the cardstock matching each letter to it’s shape. I let her choose the letters in whichever order she wanted; she, of course, started with “S” since it’s her favorite.
Penguin
This penguin is one of the crafts found in my new eBook: Laptime Songs for Mommies. Sammi had fun putting this cute guy together then adding her own touches.
Go ahead, make the purchase that will help you bond with your little one through music, books and snuggling. Purchasing today, at the limited-time, introductory offer of $10, you’ll get a full-color, interactive version of Laptime Songs for Mommies, a black-and-white printable version and the 6 songs in MP3 form that you can burn onto a CD. This purchase will benefit you and your little one for years to come. —Laptime Songs for Mommies
Treasure Pouches
I made these for Sammi’s friends for Christmas gifts. Each one has the initial of the child it belongs to. I filled each pouch with a bag or two of fruit snacks. The idea is they can hold any little “treasures” your little one may be attached to and want to take everywhere.
Materials:
- felt sheets in different colors
- scissors, fabric glue, sewing maching
- ribbon
I folded a sheet of felt in half longways then cut off a third. This makes the pouch. Before sewing the sides up on the pouch, attach your letter and shapes using fabric glue and stitches. Some I stitched by hand and some I used the sewing machine. then sew up the sides, fold over the top edge and sew to make a hem for the ribbon. Cut a slit in the front middle of the hem then thread the ribbon through the hem. Voila, an easy, personalized gift for the little ones in your life.
Visiting Santa
I had to share this picture of the girls’ first encounter with Santa this year. Sammi was excited to see him and visit with him. She asked for toys and didn’t get any more specific than that. Elli was not the least bit interested in Santa. Poor thing. But she has enjoyed wearing a Santa hat and a bell on a necklace. The girls saw Santa at the Tree Lighting Ceremony on campus at Lincoln Memorial University. They had a great program that I thought was the perfect blend of the religious significance of Christmas and the holly, jolly side of the holiday. Afterward we were treated to a stellar performance by the Knoxville Symphony Chamber Orchestra. We had to leave early because the girls were desperate for their beds, but what we experienced of the orchestra was energetic and full of holiday spirit.
I love this time of year! It’s so fun to decorate for Christmas: putting up the tree with lights and ornaments, setting out nativity scenes, strategically placing snowmen and Santas throughout the house. We are having a blast! So far, our tree is lit but without ornaments. It may stay this way… I have several nativity sets that I love, but trying to keep little figurines away from little hands has proved difficult!
One activity that I enjoy but we haven’t done regularly is the make gingerbread houses. I posted back in October some Monster Houses that we made from Make and Takes eBook and mentioned a recipe I found that I liked for turning frosting into the glue that holds the house and its decorations together. Since I was thinking about it again, I thought I’d share my version of the recipe.
Frosting for Gingerbread Houses
In a bowl, beat until stiff peaks form
-3 egg whites
-2 teaspoons of cream of tartar
Add 1 pound powdered sugar a little at a time until all is mixed in smoothly
Add 1 teaspoon vanilla
You may need to add more powdered sugar so that the frosting is stiff. It should be able to hold gingerbread houses together fairly easily. Plus it’s amazing for sticking heavy pieces of candy to the sides of your house.
Happy decorating!
Don’t forget to enter the giveaway for a VTech Ride and Learn Giraffe Bike.
Bari Koral Family Rock Band Giveaway ends tomorrow night!
Thankful for Fall in Cumberland Gap
The holiday season is full of traditions for many families. As we approach Thanksgiving this week and then officially enter the Christmas season on Friday, I’ve been thinking a lot this weekend about what I want to do with the girls to help them celebrate the holidays. Then I got to wondering why I feel so motivated to start and follow through with our family traditions. Here’s what I think 
Family traditions work on two levels: the family level and the individual level. By doing the same activity every year, or even every week, as a family, we build strong family bonds. We come together as a group with our own unique identity. “We are a family that eats dinner together every night.” “We start the Christmas season by cutting down our own Christmas tree.” Whatever the tradition is, each member of the family can depend on it. This leads to how traditions work on an individual level, too.
Each person in the family knows the pattern and their part of the tradition. They develop a sense of self-identity as well as group-identity by participating in family traditions. One child may know, “I set the table for dinner and that’s important for the whole family to be able to eat.” Another may say, “I sweep the floor after dinner because no one else wants to.”
We do craft projects
This is especially true for our precious little ones who are eagerly trying to figure out who they are and how they fit inside the family dynamics. They value who they are and their place in the family when they know they have a special part in what the family does. Little ones from about one on up are learning about cause and effect relationships. Traditions, especially weekly or daily ones, strengthen this learning process.
Some of our family traditions include reading stories and singing songs at bedtime, eating dinner together daily, attending church together every Sunday, volunteering at the library, doing craft projects and making cookies together. Many of our traditions can easily take on a holiday theme to reinforce the purpose of the holiday and the many ways we celebrate. We have started singing Christmas carols with the girls at bedtime. It’s fun to see them listen intently to a new song, learning the melody and words so they can join in, too. I’m also looking forward to making Christmas themed cookies with the girls to share with our neighbors and friends.
What are your family traditions?
What are you looking forward to doing with your little ones this holiday season?
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