April 4th, 2012

Easter Basket Ideas

Some local Moms had fantastic ideas on the Metrowest Mamas Facebook page about what to do with Easter Baskets. Chocolate is the most popular item of course.

As a kid, I always loved getting a new Barbie and my brothers’ loved getting toy cars and trucks. One memory I have is our family backyard Easter Egg Hunts. My grandfather would hide some eggs that had pennies, dimes and quarters instead of chocolate. We would be so excited if we found one of those vs. ones with the jelly beans.

I’m looking forward to establishing Easter traditions like these with my children, but here are some other Easter ideas for inspiration. (And share some of your ideas and memories in the comment section below!)

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March 16th, 2012

St. Patrick’s Day Activities for Kids

Whether you are Irish or not, whether you can spell claddagh or you can’t, celebrating St. Patrick’s Day can be fun, as well as good cultural exposure for your children.

If you have younger kids, here are some fun ways to spice up the day. You can do some or all, or pretend a Leprechaun visits during the night. Here is a good backstory:

Explain there are Irish elves called Leprechauns who love (chocolate) gold coins so much that if they don’t find them in the house on St. Patrick’s Day, they will get mad and leave things a mess. So you need to capture one!


 
Have the kids make a Leprechaun Trap to see if they can trap a Leprechaun. Here are a couple of ideas, but anything they can think up and imagine is always a great thing too. Just find empty coffee containers, empty cereal boxes, empty oatmeal jars or empty shoe boxes, construction paper, tape or glue, scissors, markers or crayons, stickers, etc. Then use items like fake gold (chocolate gold coins are good), lucky charms cereal or anything that would ‘lure the Leprechaun’ to the trap.

Set up the traps before the kids go to bed and while they are sleeping, leave evidence behind like green confetti, maybe muss up the house a bit (or more so than usual!) Open some kitchen drawers, and leave green napkins hanging out. Turn over a chair. Maybe even leave Leprechaun footprints. Color the toilet water green pretending it must be Leprechaun pee-pee. (Kids love that!) Then hide chocolate gold coins around the house. When the kids wake up, they will see the empty trap, but the fun ‘destruction’ (and chocolate) the Leprechauns left behind in their hasty escape!

Here are some other ‘Lucky 7″ activities to do on or before St. Patricks Day.

1. Serve green eggs for breakfast.

2. Pack a baggy of Lucky Charms cereal for the lunch box or as a fun snack.

3. Wear green of course!

4. Make a Leprechaun Hat.

5. Make rainbows of colored paper or draw them with colored markers or crayons. Or make shamrocks.

6. Play Irish Music in the house.

7. Make Irish Soda Bread or Irish cookies (flavored with mint as an extra touch!)

An as an FYI, leprechauns are not the only Irish elves…they have lesser-known cousins called Clurichauns that drink too much and will ruin your liquor cabinet if you get on their bad side! (But that is a post for another day.)

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Many thanks to the awesome Metrowest Mamas’ and Charlene Chronicles’ fan Joy. Not only did Joy inspire this post, but she always takes the time to like my posts or leave comments on Facebook, which I so appreciate. Thanks Joy!

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March 14th, 2012

What is a Gender Reveal Party

Gender Reveal Party

With over 60% of pregnant women finding out the gender of their baby during the course of their pregnancies, Gender Reveal Parties and Gender Reveal Baby Showers are growing in popularity. It is especially popular for second time pregnant Moms looking for a unique way to celebrate the birth of other children. Since many second time Moms don’t get a baby shower for subsequent children (for obvious reasons), having a Gender Reveal party is way unique way to celebrate the joy of a new life.

Despite waiting to find out the gender of our first child, we wanted to know earlier with this baby and decided to have a Gender Reveal Party. Between space planning and other factors, including a health scare, we thought that it would be fun to find out in advance of the birth of this child. Yet, I wasn’t too excited with finding out in a doctor’s office, so this was a fun option I discovered.

The concept is that you have an ultrasound (usually standard procedure during the course of pre-natal care) and during that appointment the technician doing the procedure usually can tell the sex of the baby. However, instead of telling you, they write it on a piece of paper and seal it in an envelope. You bring the envelope to a bakery who then bakes a cake (cupcakes or even cake pops) with either pink or blue cake/frosting on the inside. You have a party, cut the cake and voila – you find out what you are having! Another idea is to give the envelope to a friend who buys either pink or blue helium-filled balloons and places them in a large box. Then you open the box and see what floats out!

We also thought it may be good opportunity to support a local charity. In lieu of gifts, we are encouraging our guests to bring a pack of diapers to donate to charity. Anyone who brings a pack, will enter to win a fabulous prize. We also suggested folks bring something pink or blue depending on what is their guess for the gender of this baby; if we find out the gender is a boy, we are going to donate all the pink items to charity or vice versa.

In reality though, as a Blogger, I live my life online. I talk about my pregnancy, my family and my dogs on this blog, on Facebook and on Twitter, to name a few social media spaces! So it seemed to be a natural flow to share this experience with my online family too. (That’s you!) So on the night of our own Gender Reveal Party, I’m also going to be sharing the festivities on Twitter, Facebook and this blog. The really cool thing is that anyone who follows the fun will be the ones to get all the presents! So click here if you would like to learn more! Trust me, you are not going to want to miss this!

For all of you who are pregnant – whether you are team green, blue or pink – may you all have happy, and healthy pregnancies!

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Image from Vintage Confections. Perfect place to order unique lollipops like those shown above for your gender reveal party!

Disclaimer: I received no compensation for this post.

 

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February 21st, 2012

Four At-Home Vacation Activities for Kids

While there are always scheduled school vacation events in your local community, sometimes the weather can thwart outdoor events. Or here in the Northeast, the standard winter break activities of ice skating or sledding are a no-go with our mild weather this season. Other considerations like budget, or even sick kids, can prevent you from taking even a local road trip to break up the daily boredom.

So here are four indoor, at-home, ideas to add some fun flair to any school vacation week.

1. Have an Indoor Campout. Lay out the blanket, sleeping bags and/or pitch a tent in the family room. Have hotdogs for dinner, and of course, no camp out is complete without smores. Hershey’s makes a great smores kit. Otherwise, use graham crackers, a chocolate bar (or even a chocolate spread like Nutella) and fluff. Turn out the lights, give everyone flashlights and take turns telling stories.

2. Have a Backwards Day. Let your kids wear their shirts backwards. Serve dinner for breakfast and breakfast for dinner. See what other backwards things they can come up with and try them out.

3. Create a Kid Oscar Party. Find old dresses in your closet or hit up a goodwill store for other garments and accessories. Set up a red carpet area with a video camera. Interview them and play it back on the TV or computer! Serve “Oscar” Mayer deli sandwiches. Then serve up some popcorn and pop in their favorite movie for a special screening.

4. Play Restaurant. Have them pick out the menu for dinner (or lunch). Go to the grocery store and let them find the ingredients. Back at home, give them crayons and paper to create the menus and receipts. Then have them pretend they are the head chef and cook the meal. Or have them be the waitstaff and serve Mom and Dad. (Remember to tip!)

What ideas do you have?

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February 2nd, 2012

Super Bowl Ideas

FootballThe Super Bowl can be a fun event to get the kids excited – even if your family members are not big sports fans.

Here are some fun crafts to make the big game, big fun.

1. Buy some plain T-shirts at a thrift store or at a local dollar store. Then take some fabric markers found at stores like Michaels or AC Moore (worth the investment) and have the kids draw footballs, cheerleaders, the name of their favorite team, the number of their favorite quarterback, all over the T-shirts. They can sport their custom designed gear on the day of the big game.

2. Buy some pre-made sugar cookie dough and make football cutouts. Bake and then have kids decorate with chocolate frosting and white piping, to make football cookies.

3. As an alternative to cookies, make a sheet cake and then mix green food coloring into white frosting. Have the kids frost the cake green. Take white piping and make lines like you would see on a football field. For goal posts, take popsicle sticks, or lollipop sticks, and glue or tape together. Place on each end of the cake.

To make game day lunch or dinner into a Super Bowl feast, here are some ideas to serve up.

1. Make a fun football dip to serve with veggies or whole grain chips.

  • 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
  • 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1 cup (4 ounces) provolone cheese, shredded
  • 1 cup crabmeat, drained, flaked and cartilage removed
  • 1 cup (8 ounces) 4% cottage cheese
  • 2 teaspoons seafood seasoning
  • 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon prepared mustard
  • In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add cheddar cheese, provolone cheese, crab, cottage cheese, seafood seasoning, Worcestershire sauce and mustard; mix well. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
  • Form mixture into a football shape. Arrange some pretzel sticks over the top for football-like ‘laces’. Serve with crackers and/or vegetables. 

2. Make chili or chowder (or buy the stuff premade!) Buy boule bread and hollow out. Serve the chowder or soup in these “super bowls”.

3. Take brown construction paper and wrap around a juice box. Use a white crayon to create football ‘laces’ for a fun way to serve juice.

Serve the cookies or cake you made, wear the t-shirts, and get ready to root for your favorite team! For fun coloring sheets to keep them entertained during the game, visit my post here.

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December 31st, 2011

Fun Kid Crafts and Activities for New Year’s

Happy New Year 2012!There are lots of fun things to do today – this last day of 2011. Here are some ideas, whether you live locally in Massachusetts, or live in California and want some at-home festive ideas.

If you live in Massachusetts, pick up a First Night Boston button and get free admission to the Boston Children’s Museum today. Then hop on the subway and check out the Family Festival at the Hynes Convention Center from 1-5pm. Then at 5pm, head outside to check out the Metro Boston Grand Procession down Boylston Street to Boston Common. First Night buttons are $18 each and kids under 4 are free. They can be purchased at the Boston Common Vistors Information Center or at these other locations. There is free on-street parking in Boston all day and free T rides after 8pm if you stay out that late. The entire First Night Boston schedule can be seen here.

If you want to head west, then check out First Night Worcester. Buttons are $12 available at these locations, or $15 at the door of an event. Kids under 7 are free and there is plenty for kids to see and do. Magic shows, petting zoos, synchronized swimming shows, kite making and other art projects. Then stay for the fireworks at 6pm.

If you don’t want to venture out, or don’t live in Massachusetts, then make some New Year’s fun at home with some craft projects for the kids. (And maybe check out these cocktails recipes for the grown-ups!)

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New Year’s Eve Hats:

To make a cone-shaped hat, cut a 14 inch diameter semicircle from a large piece of poster board. Roll it into a cone, adjust its size to fit, and seal the seam with double-sided foam tape. To make the chin strap, use a thumbtack to poke a hole through each side of the hat near the bottom, thread one end of an elastic or string through each hole, and knot a few times to secure it. To have the kids decorate the hats, wrap pipe cleaners around pom-poms to make antennae or coil them around a pen to make spirals. Attach pom-poms, add fun stickers, or decorate with markers and crayons.

Make Noise Makers:

Take a clean, dry (and empty) water bottle and take off the logo. Place a handful of beads, dried beans or coins inside. Run some glue around the mouth of the bottle and replace the cap. Then make a mixture of 1/2 white craft glue and 1/2 water to cover the bottle a few times over. Tear white tissue or colored tissue paper into large chunks. (Kids love this part.) Paint a small section of the outside of the water bottle with the glue mixture. (Kids can help!) Place a torn piece of white tissue paper onto the glue mixture and paint over it with the glue mixture. Repeat this process, covering the entire bottle. You can add layers if you wish. Allow to dry. Then you can add stickers or other fun things to the bottle. Take some ribbon and tie around the cap for a festive flair.

Happy New Year’s Sign:

Have kids make a big banner to hang outside or inside the house. Take a large piece of poster board and have them go at it. If they are not old enough to write, write “2012″ and “Happy New Year” on it. Then let them decorate around the words.

Make a Time Capsule:

This is a project the whole family can get involved with. See what things your kids can think up. Whether they write a note, take a picture of themselves or collect objects found around the house, have fun! Then place in an empty shoe box covered in wrapping paper or construction paper that they can decorate. Or place in an old milk jug, old can with a lid (like a coffee jar) or other storage container.

Make a Countdown Clock:

This is great for elementary school kids. Take a paper plate and have them make numbers around the edges to make a clock. Add glitter and glue or just stick with basic markers. Then make the clock hands with pipe cleaners, heavy duty paper, etc., and secure with a fastener. Then as the day goes on, have them countdown the number of hours left until the new year!

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After making these items, set a time for your family’s New Year’s eve celebration. Whether it is at 6pm or 7pm. Serve fun drinks (like sparkling water mixed with orange juice and cranberry juice) and serve their favorite dinner! They can wear their hats, shake their noise makers and watch a YouTube clip of the ball dropping on the computer to yell Happy New Year (just try to ignore the fact that it is from last year).

Happy New Year Everyone!

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Image Credit: Creativity103 on Flickr Creative Commons

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December 31st, 2011

New Year’s Goals

Happy New Year 2012!

(Not Resolutions)

To be honest, I kinda loathe the whole ‘New Year’s Resolution’ thing. Maybe because the term is overused. Or maybe because many resolutions are way to lofty (and doomed for failure.) I also hate all of the weight loss pressures too. I’ve noticed the recent influx of weight loss commercials, the Living Social deal on lipo, and the huge sales on exercise equipment. (Really, people?)

So I wanted to chat about setting goals, not resolutions, and setting goals that have nothing to do with weight loss. So here are my top six 2012 goals to consider incorporating in your new year. Each goal mirrors the six categories I have in this blog: style, health, home, travel, technology, parenting. So here they are:

1. [Home] Start saving for college: Open a college specific banking account and put money in it every month that is only for education. $5, $50, $500, whatever. Anything adds up (unless it’s zero!) To make your cash go further, consider signing up for a program like UPromise. Whenever you do online shopping through UPromise, or eat out at a participating restaurant, you get a certain percentage back that goes into your college savings account. You can even earn money for grocery shopping or buying stuff like diapers or clothes. Seriously easy (and easy money as they say).

2. [Health] Go to a chiropractor or get a massage: I could link the heck out of all the articles that show the health benefits of chiropractic care and massage work, even for pregnant women. It’s real and proven, so add it to your healthy living goal for 2012. Just do your research and find a reputable chiropractor and massage therapist. Call your state board of registration to make sure they are registered, and there are no complaints against them. Ask friends and family for references and even look to see who local sports teams use. Then call your health insurance company to see if some of the care is covered or ask for a gift certificate for a birthday present.

3. [Travel] Have lunch with a friend you haven’t seen in a long time: Get in the car and go. Pick up the phone and call. Get a babysitter, tell your partner to watch the kids, or tell your regular friends you are busy, and go see someone you have wanted to see in person. It doesn’t matter if you chat with them on Facebook daily, go see them face to face. Even if it has been 15 years and if you weigh 15 pounds more; they will be so happy to see you.

4. [Style] Stop wearing sweatpants or workout clothes everywhere: Yes, I am guilty of this, but whether it is to the end of the driveway at the bus stop or the quick trips to the grocery store, try to make a conscious decision at least one day a week to not wear workout gear in public. While this is a more ‘stay-at-home’ parenting goal, the same challenge can be applied to working moms and dads who often wear sweats from 5pm Friday-7am Monday morning. By no means do I mean put on the stilettos or wear office attire, but wear a dark wash jean and a cute pair of flats, at least. (Ahem, note to self.)

5. [Parenting] Do something as a family once a month: Life can get seriously busy. Weekends can be filled with games and practices, homework and errands. But once a month, do something as an entire family. It can be just making pizza and playing a board game, or taking a trip to a museum. It doesn’t have to be costly as there are many free family-friendly events (that I even post on my local site) of which to take advantage every month.

6. [Technology] Change at least one password on an online account: We have all heard about hacking and online security breaches. One way to avoid that is to change your passwords frequently and to have different passwords for different accounts. Easier said then done. So at a minimum, pick one account to change and make the password difficult for someone to guess. And check out this article on some tools to keep track of all those passwords.

All in all, enjoy each day. Remember to pause as your tuck your kids in at night, make sure to hug someone you love everyday, and remember that no matter how many people try to knock you down, you have the strength, and the friends to help, get back up. So go and rock the heck out of 2012, my friends.

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Image Credit: Creativity103 via Flickr Creative Commons

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December 18th, 2011

Online Cookie Recipe Swap 2011

I don’t know about you, but I have a lot of baking to do this week! (Which somehow seems to spill into the New Year as well.)

When I see the great goodies that other people make or bring to events or as gifts, I often think to myself, I really need to get some new cookie recipes. So I thought this might be a fun, quick, and easy way to share some cookie recipe ideas with each other.  Listed below is mine, but I would love if you would leave a comment with your favorite cookie recipe. Then come back and see what people have left! Maybe we can all pick up a new recipe this year, just in time to ring in 2012!

Linzer Cookies
Image of Linzer Cookies

What you Need:

  • 1/2 cup margarine
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 3/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • Red raspberry seedless preserves
  • Confectioners’ sugar

How to Make:
  1. In a large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed, cream together margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well.
  2. Sift together flour, baking power and salt. Add to wet mixture. beat until well blended.
  3. Divide dough into four equal portions. Wrap individually with plastic wrap. Refrigerate a least one hour or overnight.
  4. Preheat oven to 350F. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray. Place one portion of dough between two sheets of waxed paper; roll to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into a star, heart or other seasonally appropriate shape using a 2.5 inch cookie cutter. Place one inch apart on prepared cookie sheet. Cut out another similar shape in the center of half of the cookies using a one inch cookie cutter. Repeat with remaining dough.
  5. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or just until edges are lightly browned. Removed to wire racks. Cool completely.
  6. Sift confectioners’ sugar over the cookies with the shape cut out of the center. Assemble cookies by spreading 2 tsp of preserves on each solid shape cookie. Top with shaped cookie with the center cut out. Store in airtight container at room temperature.

 

P.S. If you don’t want to make the dough, buy Pillsbury Sugar Cookie Dough.

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December 7th, 2011

Happy Holidays HEXBUGS

As part of the 12 Days of Holiday Giveaways, my fifth giveaway is such that, if you are a Mom, it may seem a bit creepy. But your kids? They will love the “buzz”.

Okay, what am I talking about? Anything HEXBUG. (Which, if you don’t know what they are, you’ll be happy to know it does not mean pulling out the bug spray). HEXBUGs are a seriously awesome set of toy micro-robotic creatures. Think electric-y spiders, scarabs, inchworms, larvae, ants and crabs, with the Nano HEXBUGs having their own HEXBUG hives.

One of the reasons I fell in love with this toy is that it is one that keeps giving. You start off with a set, like this one. Maybe you give it to your 8 year old for Christmas. Then his birthday is in February so you can get him a kit to expand upon his original set. Then if he gets a good report card, you can buy a glow-in-the-dark bug. So on and so forth. It also encourages role play and creativity because you can create these mini-bug hives anyway you want. You can register your Nano, and play games and learn about science. The only negative to the product is that it requires those little watch-like batteries and you will probably need to stock up.

Other than that? Love. Granted, I don’t love the slug-looking HEXBUG, but I am squeemish that way. But kids? Bring it on.

The products are recommended for kids 8 and up, but I have a friend who has a 5 and 6 year old who love it. Even my two year old loves the original HEXBUG Nano (he walked around with it buzzing in his hand for a day until the battery ran out and was really mad when it stopped moving), but it is a choking hazard potential, which is why it is not officially recommended. The prices range from $8 for a bug to over a $100 for the big sets.

Congratulations to Annie for winning the HEXBUG Spider and starter HEXBUG kit. Valued at over $40! Woot!

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Disclosure: I received no compensation or product for this post.

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December 6th, 2011

Ten Stocking Stuffer Ideas

English: Saint Nicholas & Sinterklaas Deutsch:...

Today, many people across Europe are celebrating St. Nicholas Day.

Saint Nicholas was a real 4th Century Greek Saint (originally spelled Nikolaus – which looks and sounds like Santa Claus!) who was renowned for secretly giving gifts and placing coins in the shoes of the needy. The tradition of Saint Nicholas Day is still observed all across Europe, from France to Bulgaria. Even some cities in the United States that have large populations of German descent celebrate the day. The primary tradition today is that children receive gifts in their shoes, like coins and apples, which is very similar to what many of us do in a Christmas stocking!

Which reminded me of the fact that not only do I need to finish my holiday shopping, but I need to start getting things for stocking stuffers. This is the first year we will be doing it as a family since my son is old enough now and it seems worth the effort. I just bought some stockings from PotteryBarn (on sale, free shipping and free monograming!) Yes, I even got one for the dogs. Now for the stuff.

My favorite place to go is the Dollar Store, Christmas Tree Shops or its equivalent. There are some great things like tissue, body lotion, toothbrushes, and other little trinkets that you stumble upon. My other favorite place is CVS (Walgreens and Rite Aid are great too!) Check out their respective circulars and coupons. You can get some great deals.

But if you are looking for fun, fabulous and fresh – here are some top ideas for stocking stuffers with links to some products you may want to scoop up:

  • Pretty Polish – There are so many gorgeous shades. Be bold and pick up a fun color like this set from Sephora.
  • Note Cards or Journal – Find an elegant print to inspire the written word, like these note cards from PoshPeacock.
  • Festive Earrings – Think handmade, recycled glass, like these from Etsy.
  • Fun Socks – Like the ones from Little Missmatched.
  • Bath Salts – Pampering products are always in style. Make it yourself for a homemade touch.
  • Magazines – Fashion, fitness, food – you name it. Just fit the style of the recipient.
  • ‘App’ Gift Card – Small dollar amounts work since many smartphone apps are less than a buck.
  • Fun Bracelet – Like this one made from guitar strings.
  • A Lump of Coal – Just make sure it is a playful take, like this gum.
  • A Portable Game – For impromptu fun, like these little word teasers.
  • Luxuriously Functional Lotion – You want them to use it! Like the eco-friendly packaging, cruelty-free, healing creams from the Carmex brand! Hands down my favorite practical lotion for dry skin.

Hopefully these ideas inspire you! But as part of the Charlene Chronicles 12 Days of Holiday Giveaways, I want to help you get started on your stocking stuffing. I’m giving away a bag full of stocking-stuffer-goodies. It is a grab bag of stuff that you can dig through to keep or use to stuff those stockings. No promises on what is in there (though I can guarantee you’ll get a Carmex gift set cause it rocks, and a pair of Little Missmatched socks), but mums the word on the other goody fabulousness! It’s fun to have the anticipation to see what it is in it, right? But the bag contains at least $50 worth of retail items. Just leave a comment to enter – how fun!

Congrats to Jen for winning the Giveaway!

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Disclosure: I received no compensation for this post.

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