Decorate a Christmas Tree....

This cute little craft was found on Easy Toddler Crafts.com.

It's a little paper tree with ornaments that you can cut out and have

the kids decorate....I thought it would be a good way for little ones to practice

cutting with scissors, but as it turns out the little ornaments were tiny and even hard for me to do.

But still, if you want to cut out all the little pieces and let the little ones "decorate" their own tree, this is a super cute way to do it.

You can glue the finished product to a sheet of scrapbook paper.  You could also frame it for future use (makes a sweet little keepsake).  Another idea would be to laminate it and use as a

holiday place mat.  Or perhaps, mod podge it to a canvas....the possibilities are endless.

voices of christmas past....

Thanks to the timehop app for these fun reminders....

*****

heard from the other room...

"Oww, I'm telling Dad on you!"

"Sorry Nathan, it was an accident...you can shoot

me in the eye to make it even."

*****

"I would like to get all sappy since it's Christmas...

but it's not Christmas in this house unless someone is

fighting, screaming is going on, someone throws a tantrum or two

and someone takes another ones toy and breaks it.....

Merry Christmas everyone from our wild crazy bunch to yours!"

*****

"kids still hyped up on sugar, playing hide and seek in the dark

with their nerf guns....when Nathan says 'I can't find anyone,

so turn on the light so I can see.'

bwhahaha....kind of defeats the purpose of hiding in the dark, eh?"

*****

"Sounds like another Juliani Christmas....fighting over toys and games, bickering sisters,

too many cookies consumed.  Nerf darts and discs flying through the air, crying after stepping

on army guys and legos, half eaten pieces of chocolate laying here and there,

wrapping paper everywhere, toys scattered about waiting to be put together,

game pieces getting lost....I'm ready for nap!"

*****

"hmmm, can the kids go back to school now?"

*****

"Overheard this a minute ago - 

'Stop texting me so much....and anyway you spelled 'butthead' wrong."

*****

"Well, that sounds about right...

Nicholas: 'Mommmmmm, there's nothin' to do.....'"

Ready or Not....Santa is Coming to Pennsylvania!

Here comes Santa Claus....

Here comes Santa Claus....

Right down Santa Claus Lane.....

I saw this little book and thought it was super cute and just had to get it.

You can find them for all the states and even some specific towns and cities as well.

Such a cute idea for Christmas and a little reminder that Santa is on his way......

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!!!

Sharing a Few Cute Christmas Books

Georgie the Gingerbread Fairy

Written by Tim Bugbird and illustrated by Lara Ede

Georgie the Gingerbread Fairy is a sweet rhyming book with bright, colorful pictures.

The story is about a little fairy who bakes gingerbread and all the fairies love her shop.

But, then a new, sparkly, glittery store opens next door and takes all of the Georgie's business.

Georgie decides to close her store because "gingerbread was so last year and out of style"

Soon, the town started to smell.

The new store had a plastic, unappealing smell that wafted through the air.

This prompted Georgie to come up with a new plan...

a wonderful smelling aroma spray of what else?

Gingerbread.

Now both stores are able to coexist and all the fairy residents are happy at last,

with their sparkly, glitter goods and a fresh smelly gingerbread town.

What Santa Can't Do

Written by Douglas Wood and illustrated by Doug Cushman

New York Times bestselling team of the books

What Grandmas Can't Do, What Moms Can't Do, and What Dads Can't Do.

Sure, Santa can do a lot of things, but

What Santa Can't Do 

gives a new spin to all that Santa cannot do.

There are lots of things that Santa can do, like find every house in every country, 

but he can't find his own pipe or slippers.

He can remember everyone on his list,

but he can't remember the grocery store list that Mrs. Claus wrote for him.

He can't shave, because no one would know who he was.

He can't touch his toes.

He can't wear shorts and a t shirt or even sandals.

He can't snicker, or giggle, or even chuckle...he can only "ho ho ho!"

There are lots of things Santa can't do....but in a lot of ways

he's just like you and me.

He can't wait until Christmas!!

The Great Christmas Crisis

Written by Kim Norman and illustrated by Jannie Ho.

The Great Christmas Crisis 

is a wonderful reminder to make sure you save a little cheer for yourselves this year.

Sometimes, we get so busy spreading the cheer and good things to everyone that we tend to forget about ourselves.

This book serves as a reminder to save some cheer for you and take a little time to relax and enjoy the holiday season as well.

One Special Christmas - Book Review & Craft

One Special Christmas was written by M. Christina Butler and illustrated by Tina Macnaughton.

This sweet book is a touch and feel book.  The red hat and thread feel like velvet.

When Santa gets sick on Christmas Eve, little Hedgehog is asked to help deliver the presents.

Little Hedgehog dons his red toboggan and sets off to help...

along the way, the sled crashes and Hedgehog loses all the presents.

With the help of his friends, he uses his little red hat as a bag to help gather up all the presents.

Once the friends and bag of gifts are back in the sled, they set off on an adventure.

The hat catches on a branch and it starts to unravel.

As the hat unravels, the presents start to fall out of the bag.

Luckily, their good friend Badger gathers the gifts with the help of the red string.

All the presents get delivered just in time for Christmas.

Little Hedgehog was happy to help Santa, but also sad that his new hat was ruined.

But, his little furry friends weren't the only ones who got a special gift that night....

Hedgehog did too...

a brand new red toboggan from Santa.

For this little craft you will need:

a toboggan/hat template

construction paper

red yarn

glue

glue the template to a sheet of construction paper

Spread glue all over the template and glue the yarn to the hat 

easy and super cute craft to go along with the equally cute holiday book.

*Disclosure: I was given the book One Special Christmas for review purposes only.  The opinions and craft are my own and were not influenced by Tiger Tales.

Christmas Elf Craft

nathan's christmas elf

made with scrapbook paper

you will need

several different sheets of christmas scrapbook paper

 one paper plate

pink or flesh colored paint

two wiggly eyes

one button

one pom pom

red yarn

scrap ribbon

glue

we used a square for the body

and painted a paper plate for the face

we cut the inner circle of the plate for the face

and used the edges of the plate to cut out pointy ears

then, we used a sheet of scrapbook paper to make a hat

and a fun elf collar

we also cut two long strips of each paper

for the arms and the legs

we folded the arms and legs in a zigzag pattern

we painted the plate pink

and glued on the ears, the eyes, a button for the nose,

and some yarn for the mouth

then we glued all the pieces together

we added a pompom and a cute festive ribbon to the hat

and another small rectangle to the square as a belt

it came out super cute!!!

see, i just knew hoarding all that old christmas and holiday

scrapbook paper would pay off eventually - hehehe!

Popsicle Christmas Tree Ornaments

easy peasy popsicle stick tree ornaments

we used various sizes of green craft sticks

and various odds and ends (beads, sequins, buttons, pom poms and ribbon

I think this is pretty much self explanatory - easy to make.

Painting Christmas Trees

We painted these Christmas trees with pompoms.

you will need:

Christmas tree cut outs

various paint colors

pompoms

clothes pins

(attach the pompoms to the clothespin)

this was super fun

I made one too.

Dip the clothespin/pompom into the paint and dab on the paper.

we also printed out some candy canes and stockings to paint.

we got the templates at firstpalette.com

We are off to a super fun start of a whole month of holiday crafty fun....

hope you'll continue to join us!

Holiday Traditions

25 Days - 25 Books

Tomorrow is December 1st, where did the time go? Honestly, it feels like we just celebrated Christmas a few months ago and here we are doing it again.

With the beginning of December on the horizon, I'm sharing one of my favorite holiday traditions.

We started doing this a few years ago and have been doing it ever since.

Gather all your children's Christmas or holiday related books

If you don't have very many, visit your local library and borrow some.  Every year, we have been buying new ones, so fortunately, we don't need to borrow as many.

Wrap them in some festive paper.

If you use a countdown to Christmas or an advent calendar, this makes a fun activity for your whole family. 

You can incorporate crafts or activities (such as light up night, or your town's Christmas parade, a family movie, baking cookies, etc.) and share some great story time with your children.

Each night have your children choose one book to open and read it together. 

Even though my children are old enough to read on their own, we still enjoy this little ritual.

Need some ideas for fun activities or crafts, check out the Kids Arts and Crafts page.

  

'tis the season!



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Ten Books to Celebrate Thanksgiving with Kids

Here are some super cute Thanksgiving day books to share with your children.

Thanks for Thanksgiving by Julie Markes.  

Everyone knows that Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks.  This book is such a perfect book to share with your children.  Children will learn to be thankful for turkey, hugs, and more, but most of all their family.  Thanksgiving is the perfect time to for children to express and share gratitude for the people and things in their lives. 

A Turkey for Thanksgiving by Eve Bunting

Mr. and Mrs. Moose invite all their animal friends for Thanksgiving dinner and the only one missing is Turkey. When they set out to find him, Turkey is quaking with fear because he doesn't realize that his hosts want him at their table, not on it. 

10 Fat Turkeys by Tony Johnston

"Looky!" says a silly turkey swinging from a vine.  Gobble gobble wibble wobble.  Whoops! Now there are nine."  Girls and boys will gobble up this hilarious counting story about ten goofy turkeys roller-skating on a fence, doing a noodle dance, and more.  A delightful counting book for children.

Thanksgiving is for Giving Thanks by Margaret Sutherland

In this colorful book, a child shares his list all the things for which he is thankful, especially at Thanksgiving.

The Night Before Thanksgiving by Natasha Wing.

Follow along as the feast is prepared, cousins are greeted, and everyone gathers around the table for the fabulous Thanksgiving dinner filled with yummy food and wonderful family time.

Balloons Over Broadway by Melissa Sweet.

This is a story about puppeteer, Tony Sarg, the inventor of the huge helium filled balloons that everyone loves to see at the Macy's Parade.   In brilliant collage illustrations, Caldecott Honor artist Melissa Sweet tells the story of Tony Sarg, capturing his genius, his dedication, his zest for play, and his long-lasting gift to America.

T is for Turkey by Tanya Lee Stone.

Join in as the elementary school puts on a play that tells the story of the first Thanksgiving from A - Z.  Kids will celebrate Thanksgiving from Harvest to Pilgrims to Turkey and enjoy the colorful pictures as they read along.

Cranberry Thanksgiving by Wende and Harry Devlin. 

Maggie and her grandmother each invite a guest to their Thanksgiving dinner.  The dinner includes Grandmother's own cranberry bread, made from a secret recipe. 

The book even includes Grandma's secret cranberry bread recipe...yummy!

I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie by Alison Jackson.

A fun Thanksgiving take on a classic tale (I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly).  The old lady swallows a pie, a squash, a turkey and more....she grows bigger and bigger with each thing she swallows.  Kids love the rhyming verse of the story as well as the bright, colorful illustrations.

One Little, Two Little, Three Little Pilgrims by B.G. Hennessy

A great counting book for children.  Ten little pilgrims and ten little Wampanoag children are getting ready for their first Thanksgiving feast.  The pilgrim children hunt for geese and ducks, while the Wampanoag children gather berries and nuts and dig for clams.  When dinner is ready, all the children enjoy turkey, pumpkin, cornbread and cranberry stuffing.  Before they eat, they give thanks.  This story has a wonderful rhythmic text and beautiful illustrations (by Lynne Cravath).  Perfect for young children learning about the history of Thanksgiving.