Bam!boo

I like wood.  But do you know what I like every more than wood?  Bamboo!

It has so many uses just like hardwood except since it’s a grass it grows back when you cut it down.  It also grows super fast!  So how about including gifts made of bamboo this holiday!  It has all the same warm tactile qualities of wood but is also renewable.  You can get a bamboo plant.  I have somehow manage to keep one alive since September.  Do you like handmade gifts?  How about decorating and stringing some bamboo beads.  Do you know they even make fabric out of bamboo?

Or choose from the follow Amazon finds and a zillion other cool things made of bamboo you can find online!   Continue reading

Christmas List

Poem Tree

House is clean
Evergreen
Shopping’s done
Time for fun!
Christmas morn
Savior born
Santa came!
Yule-log flame
Gifts galore
Still there’s more!
Garbage bag
Save the tag!
Package bow
Mistletoe
Decoration
Celebration
Turkey again
…our Lord, Amen
Canes of candy
Drinks with brandy
Jingle-bells
Story tells
Play with toys
Christmas joys!

 

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Christmas Carols Booklet

Caroler (felt-tip pen on marker paper)

I think it’s kind of funny when you start out strong singing a Christmas song then as you realize you only know the first couple lines, start mumbling to the tune and then follow it up with loud chorus singing.  Even with many of the classics I really only know the first and maybe second stanzas.

Christmas music gets me into the holiday spirit!  One of my favorite activities is to light a pine scented candle (a necessity with an artificial tree) and listen to Christmas music while arranging holiday decorations, wrapping gifts, or any other holiday prep activity. Continue reading

Gifts are Love

Printable gift-tags and bows in assorted colors

My 3 year old son has more than once said he loves Grandma, Mommy, & Daddy because we buy him things!  I don’t think he is spoiled.  I don’t think we BUY him too much.  I was mildly disgusted until I thought about it for a while.  Giving gifts has been around since the beginning of mankind.  People give gifts to show appreciation, generosity, and caring.  That is love isn’t it?  Continue reading

This Land is Your Land!

Made in America: Gift Guide

American Flag Gift

ABC World News had a series recently called Made in America which brought to life just how little of what we buy is American made anymore.  They took a typical family and removed everything from their home that was not made in America – basically the entire contents of their home!  Then they began the near impossible task of replacing everything with American made goods.  An example – it took them like 2 days to find an American made coffee-maker!  A big point to this exercise was that if we buy more American made products we can create more American jobs!

“If each of us spent just $64 on American made goods during our holiday shopping, the result would be 200,000 new jobs.” Continue reading

Appeasing Impatience

Abstract with foam blocks (complete with bite-marks)

How to appease your impatient mid December children  

If your children are like mine they are starting to get unbearably impatient for Christmas especially my 3 ½ year old son who keeps asking if it’s Christmas yet.  When I tell him not yet he cries real tears!

My solution?  I discovered this by accident and it’s brilliant!  The kids came down to the basement with me to get the holiday decorations and they discovered a bunch of old toys.  I know this will create more work later (when I have to pack them away again) but they are having a BLAST rediscovering those old things!  Even toys that they have grown out of are full of nostalgic fun for them.  You are probably thinking, that’s crazy I am trying to get RID of some toys to make room for all the new ones coming.  Well, do that too!  Pack up things they are not playing with (when they are not around of course) but by bringing toys from storage back into the mix you will help tide them over and maybe even (now this is lofty) be happy with a shorter list for Santa…

Hand-made Gifts for Kids

hand-made doll’s wardrobe

If you are low on cash and have some spare time and if your kids are young enough to not know the difference you can make a lot of their Christmas gifts.

I know, because I did it 2 Christmases ago when I met all three criteria!  It was a lot of work but also a lot of fun!  Consider it…  Use your imagination, the internet, and the materials you already have.  I made it a GOAL to buy a little as possible and use materials I already had from past projects, etc. Continue reading

Pretty-easy Holiday Prints!

holiday print (styrofoam, tempera, & craft-paper)

Styrofoam Printmaking

Save those to-go Styrofoam containers or well cleaned meat trays!  Here is a kid-friendly art project that you will enjoy too: A print-making method which is great for making holiday cards, gift-wrap, or customized gifts.  The great thing about prints is once you have a design you like, you can make multiples!  Everyone on your list this season will love getting a personalized gift with your artistic touch (or at least they will say they do)!

Ideas for personalized gifts…

Journal, tote-bag, keepsake box, ornaments, t-shirt, apron

Continue reading

LeapPad!

"Playing LeapPad" felt-tip pen on marker paper

My now 6 year old daughter watched the demo video for the LeapFrog LeapPad a few times this past summer and she promptly put it at the top of her birthday wish list.  My husband and I debated a bit about whether it was just an intro into video games which we wanted to avoid (and have avoided so far).  Leapfrog is familiar to us because my daughter has the Tag Reader and several books. Even after a full year she is still reading with them.  In fact my 3 year old son enjoys “reading” with the Tag Reader too.  He likes to point to different pictures and hear the sound effects.  My daughter is also a very early reader and we can’t say Tag didn’t contribute.  So the positive experiences with the Tag reader lead us to consider LeapPad. Continue reading