Valentine's Day Breakfast

Happy New Year everyone!  2014 is upon us.  Our next special holiday is Valentine's Day which will be here before we know it!  Ever since my kids were very little, I've always made Valentine's Day special for them.  I usually make them a special Valentine themed breakfast and include a little gift from the "Lovebug."  Each Valentine's Day, the "Lovebug" pays a visit to reward the girls for acting in loving ways throughout the year.  The girls really look forward to Valentine's Day.  Last year, I cut pancakes into heart shapes using a tiny heart cookie cutter.  I sprinkled them with some powdered sugar.  I also trimmed the tops of strawberries to look like hearts and placed those on a skewer and served it along side the heart pancakes.  I served pink yogurt in a pretty glass and of course a cold glass of pink milk finished off this special breakfast.  The "Lovebug" left the girls a fun gift bag with inexpensive treats inside.  How do you make your Valentine's Day special? I'd love some extra special ideas to implement this year. 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed your special Valentine's Day girls.  
Mommy loves you!

XOXO!

Ringing in the New Year

Are you ringing in the New Year with your kiddos this year? We have made it a New Year's Eve tradition to ring in the New Year with our kids and some family friends and their kids. I wanted to share what I did last year to make New Year's Eve fun and exciting for the kids. They enjoyed it so much and can't wait to see what is in store for them this year.

On New Year's Eve, we let the kids stay up until midnight or until they pass out from exhaustion (whichever comes first). We also like to spend time with our adult friends so I decided to keep the kids entertained each hour leading up to midnight by creating countdown bags full of fun activities to keep them occupied during the party. 

The kids were super excited to open a new bag each hour. 

Our schedule for the evening went something like this:
The guests arrived around 6:00 and we started the evening with kid and adult friendly foods and drinks. The kids became acquainted with one another and played together, but by 7:00 they were ready to do something. It was the perfect time to start the first bag of the evening.

7:00 PM The 7:00 bag contained all the items needed for a movie night- a new DVD, microwave popcorn, and popcorn boxes. The kids sat in the media room and watched the movie while enjoying popcorn. The adults got some adult time and everyone was H-A-P-P-Y!

8:00 PM Time for an intermission. The kids took a break from the movie to open the 8:00 bag which contained all the fixings for ice cream sundaes! We served the ice cream in fun old-fashioned ice cream glasses and the kids got to choose their own toppings. After ice cream they continued the movie which ended just in time to open the 9:00 bag.

9:00 PM Game time! This bag included games both the kids and adults could enjoy together, including one new game- Spot It! The kids and the adults played games together for the hour and had a blast!

10:00 PM Dance Party! The 10:00 bag included an iPod touch and speakers that was set and ready to blast kid friendly tunes. I also included festive necklaces and glow sticks to add to the fun. The kids and adults were ready to let loose at this point and danced the hour away.

11:00 PM At this point the kids were getting tired, so I was glad I planned a low-key activity. I printed some New Years Eve coloring sheets I found online and a New Year's Resolution sheet. The younger kids enjoyed coloring while the older ones concentrated on writing resolutions for the New Year. I also included some Christmas Crackers for the kids to pull.

11:45 PM Just before midnight we opened the final bag of the evening which included noise makers and 2013 glasses to wear to ring in the New Year.

The kids had such a blast. I can't wait to plan this year's party!

Here is a snapshot of the night in photos.

Movie Time!

Ice Cream Sundaes

Game Time!

Dance Party!

Coloring, Making Resolutions, and Christmas Crackers

Ringing in the New Year!

Thanks for following along. I hope you got some ideas to make New Year's Eve a blast for your kiddos. Wishing you all the best in 2014! Happy New Year!

Cheers!

Easy Christmas Breakfast

We have a little tradition in our family that my kids look forward to each holiday. It has become known by my girls as a "special breakfast". With Christmas around the corner I wanted to share the breakfast they woke up to last Christmas morning. For this breakfast, I chose a turquoise and red color scheme and used paper plates for easy clean-up (and because I don't own red plates). I had some paper doilies on hand and used those as placemats. The breakfast itself is super easy to put together and super cute. All you need is a box of Entenmann's Pop'ems powdered donuts (any brand will do, but that is what I used). Using three powdered donuts, stack them on top of one another on a plate to make a snowman. Chocolate chips were used to make the eyes, a slice of the end of a baby carrot became the nose, and a small tube of black frosting was used to draw a smile. For snow, I used shredded coconut. I sprinkled the plate with some blue sugar crystals to add a little sparkle. I always like to serve fruit with breakfast, so I made a candy cane out of sliced strawberries and bananas. Recycled Starbucks Frappuccino bottles make great milk bottles. I topped mine with another donut which I bedazzled with blue sugar crystals and stuck a striped paper straw through the hole. The kids absolutely loved this breakfast! They've already asked if I can make it again this year. We shall see...whatever I come up with this year, I can't wait to see them smile on Christmas morning. Happy Holidays all!

Arts and Crafts Birthday Bash

This was the sign posted on our front door the day of Madison's 7th Birthday Party. I can't believe my little girl is seven years old. She's getting too big, too fast. I love that my children choose a theme for the birthday parties that reflects their personality at that particular time. This year Madison is really into all things ART. We can always find her with a crayon or pair of scissors in her hand. She's a very creative little girl. This year she chose an Arts and Crafts theme for her 7th birthday party.

I let Madison choose her guest list and she only wanted to have a small number of friends celebrate with her this year. We hand delivered these paint palette invitations to her friends' homes. The party details were on the inside cover.

We held the party in the late afternoon. The entire morning was filled with excitement as Madison anticipated her friends' arrival, asking every five minutes, "Is it time yet?" Finally 3:00 arrived and Madison was so excited for her party to start. She greeted all of her guests at the gate, welcomed them to her "Art Studio", and escorted them into the backyard.

Upon arrival, the girls found their art smock which I personalized with their first initial using glitter iron-on transfer paper. They then colored a caricature of the birthday girl while waiting for everyone to arrive.

Madison chose all the crafts that she and her friends would create. I set up four tables that the girls rotated through during the party. First up, was the paint station. This station included painting the first initial of each girls name. After painting their wooden initial, they got to paint their very own masterpiece on the mini-canvas displayed on miniature easels.

 

After the masterpieces were completed the girls washed up in some buckets of suds and moved on to the next station...

JEWELRY MAKING.
I put all the beading supplies out on the table and let them bead until their hearts content. They made some beautiful jewelry from bracelets and necklaces to rings and anklets. One creative guest made a tiny bracelet for her doll...so cute!

After beading for a bit, the girls found their place card at the party table and sat down for some refreshments. The place cards were made using two paint swatches stapled together to form a pocket. Inside the pocket was a napkin, fork, and paper straw.

 

I used scrapbook paper in each color of the rainbow as placemats and each place setting had a white charger, pretty water color paper plate and a personalized water bottle wrapped in rainbow duct tape. I stapled streamers to ribbon and hung them on the backs of the chairs as added color for the tablescape.

Carrie Budke of Angel Cakes made a framed canvas cookie with a blank canvas and I let the girls use edible markers to decorate them. This activity was a huge hit.

After creating the canvas cookies, it was time to sing happy birthday to the birthday girl.

Then the Starving Artists helped themselves to treats. We had "Creative Juice" which was 20 calorie Gatorade in every color of the rainbow, paint brush Rice Krispie treats, a rainbow of candy in clear paint cans. rainbow fruit cups, and cupcakes displayed on an artist's palette.

After dessert, the girls got their craft on again making Spin Art and Sand Art.

In addition to all of the crafts, smock, and treats, each guest went home with a little paint bucket of art goodies that included a rainbow notepad, shuttle pen, stackable crayon, and rainbow lollipop. They each also got a paint can puzzle.

This was one of the more enjoyable parties I've thrown. I loved seeing all the girls so into all the crafts and activities we planned for them. The small number of girls was manageable and allowed each of them to interact with one another. The party was a success and my little girl had a wonderful time crafting with her friends.

I hope you enjoyed your special day my little Picasso! Mommy loves you with all her heart. You'll always be my first love.

XOXO,

Mommy