January 28, 2013

What are some inexpensive Valentine gift ideas for her, for him, and for kids?

Have you ever been one of those girls that said you didn’t want a Valentine’s Day gift and your significant other actually listened to you!?! I never have because the simple fact is, I like gifts and I don’t think that’s a bad thing. Gifts are a really great way to express love and that is what Valentine’s Day is all about, right? I do like giving and receiving gifts, but I also don’t like feeling pressured to spend a fortune. Just because I want a gift on Valentine’s doesn’t mean I expect an expensive diamond necklace. In fact, one of my favorite Valentine’s Day gifts was the Disney movie, The Incredibles. My husband knew I really wanted that movie for our family so he took the opportunity of Valentine’s day to give it to me, and it was awesome!

So, how do you have an awesome gift-filled Valentine’s Day without spending a fortune? First, set a budget. I know that seems so un-romantic to give a cheap Valentine gift or to set a limit and I’m sure lots of people will disagree with it, but that is what my husband and I do every year. We are each allowed the same amount of money to spend on each other. I’m pretty sure we were only allowed $5 each for our first Valentine’s Day. We have increased that amount as we make more money, but we never set a budget that is more than we can afford. Even if you don’t have money to spend on Valentine’s Day you can always do a homemade gift which can often be much more memorable anyway.

The next best way to have a gift-filled V-day without breaking the bank is to have a long list of inexpensive Valentine’s gift ideas. Luckily for you, I have supplied just such a list below. The list has Valentine’s Day gifts for kids, handmade gift ideas, gifts for her, gifts for him, and even Valentine’s Day gifts for elementary school classes or just for your kids.

Valentine’s Gifts For Her:

• Felt Lip Balm Holder
• Lacy Votive Holder (homemade)
• Make homemade heart soap using this bathtub crayon recipe, a heart mold pan to pour the soap into, and some essential oil to make the soap scented.
• Buy rose petal soap in a heart shaped box
• Arrange rose petals in a heart shape on a table or bed
• Heart shaped bookmark
• Fancy gift bags filled with candy or other gifts
• Wooden roses
• “Remember I Love You” gift
• Nail Polish
• Nail art kit
• Bubble bath
• Necklace
• Bracelet
• Earrings
• Ring
• Canvas bag decorated with paint or sharpies
• Heart measuring cups or spoons
• Glass nail file
• Candle
• Lotion
• Perfume samples
• Scarf
• Heart keychain

Valentine’s Gifts For Him:

• Felt Tissue Pouch (homemade)
• Candy bouquet
• “We love you to pieces” handmade Valentine’s gift
• Buy a candy bar pizza or just make a homemade one using mini candy bars
• “Hooked on You” gift
• Small photo album filled with pictures of the two of you
• Personalized photo mug
• Cufflinks
• Cell phone charger for car
• Coasters that match his hobby or interests
• Pocket Squares
• Paperweight
• Game for his cell phone or another kind of app he might like
• Universal remote
• Bathrobe
• Pocket Knife
• Stud finder or other Measurement tool
• “52 Reasons I Love You”

Valentine’s Day Gifts For Kids and Elementary School Classes:

• “Love Bug” Valentine
• Crayon Heart paper (write a Valentine message with a sharpie on the top)
• “Burst my Bubble” Valentine
• Valentine Rolo Pencils
• Printable butterfly Valentine’s and a few other printable Valentine’s
• Sticky Note Clipboards, write “Valentine, I’m “stuck” on you!” on the top
• Valentine Treat Pockets
• “Pop Quiz” printable Valentine
• Secret Valentine messages
• Handmade Calla Lily Bouquet
• “Thanks for sticking by my side” printable Valentine

Valentine’s Day Gifts for Anyone:

• Altoids or some other type of mint
• A bar of Toblerone or another gourmet chocolate
• An extra special homemade dinner
• Movie tickets
• DVD, here’s a great selection of DVDs that are $5 or less
• iTunes gift card
• Cute mugs and hot chocolate

If you still haven’t found just the right thing you can take a look at the list we made for Christmas with gift ideas under $30. We would love to hear your ideas and add to the list! Feel free to leave comments and link to any ideas you have! Have a Happy Valentine’s Day!

We've found some fun people with great linky parties. You might just see this post linked up on one of these amazing sites! Link and Learn from No Time for Flashcards Sunday Showcase from Train Up a Child Share it Saturday from Teach Beside Me Tot School Gathering Place from 1+1+1=1 Montessori Monday from Living Montessori Now Tuesday Tots from In Lieu of Preschool Show and Tell from ABC & 123 For the Kids Fridays from Sun Scholars Finished Friday from All Our Days Weekly Kids Co-op from Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails Preschool & Kindergarten Corner from Homeschool Creations TGIF Linky Party from 123 Homeschool 4 Me

January 1, 2013

What kinds of New Year’s resolutions should my preschooler set?

My new year’s resolutions this year are to lose weight and save money. Just kidding. ;) Those are the classic new year’s resolutions that have turned resolutions in general into a joke. It seems like every year people say the same thing and every year, they do nothing about it. Truth be told, I’m happy about my weight and I’m already pretty good at saving money. I also have some new year’s resolutions, but they are not as general as losing weight and saving money.

My new year’s resolutions are much more attainable because they are specific and realistic. For example, here is one of my resolutions: Start tot school with Smiley Man and teach him all the shapes and colors by the end of the year. Here is another resolution of mine: Have a garden with at least 3 types of vegetables and harvest and least 2 of the vegetables. See the difference?

I think that New Year’s resolutions for kids, and goal setting in general, is very beneficial. I also think it is important to start teaching Little Bear how to set realistic, specific, and attainable goals. Put those three things together and what do you get? A New Year’s Resolution printable for kids, of course!

I made this printable so I could help Little Bear set some goals. I wanted to teach him to set specific goals so I targeted three areas of his life that he could set goals for. Life, Home, and Fun. I might even have him make a goal for church, too.

Even though I will help Little Bear make some new year’s resolutions, these resolutions will not be a joke. I want to teach Little Bear that goal setting doesn’t just include writing the goal down. I will talk with Little Bear about steps he can take to accomplish the goals that he has set. I might even write a few of the steps on the back of the paper so that he can remember them better. Last of all, I will have Little Bear choose a place to hang his New Year’s resolutions paper so that it is prominent. I want him to remember his goals throughout the year so that he remembers to keep working on them.

Making new year’s resolutions for kids or adults can be a joke or it can be very beneficial. If you are making new year’s resolutions with your child, don’t forget to print off this New Year’s Resolutions for Kids printable. Just remember to set realistic, specific, and attainable goals. :)

If you have any ideas for New Year’s resolutions for kids we would love to hear them! Feel free to leave a comment or email us.

We've found some fun people with great linky parties. You might just see this post linked up on one of these amazing sites! Link and Learn from No Time for Flashcards Sunday Showcase from Train Up a Child Share it Saturday from Teach Beside Me Tot School Gathering Place from 1+1+1=1 Montessori Monday from Living Montessori Now Tuesday Tots from In Lieu of Preschool Show and Tell from ABC & 123 For the Kids Fridays from Sun Scholars Finished Friday from All Our Days Weekly Kids Co-op from Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails Preschool & Kindergarten Corner from Homeschool Creations TGIF Linky Party from 123 Homeschool 4 Me

December 27, 2012

What are some fun New Year’s Eve Celebrations for Kids?

Woohoo 2013 is coming! We safely made it past the Mayan predicted end of the world! Be honest, I’m not the only who has been thinking about that, right? Well, 2013 is coming fast and I want to have mega New Years Eve Celebrations because who doesn’t love mega celebrations?

I want my kiddos to have a blast on New Year’s Eve also, but I definitely don’t want them staying up until midnight. So, I figure I will celebrate with them starting in the late afternoon and still make them go to bed at their regular bedtime. When 11:30 comes around, I will wake them up and let them ring in the new year.

Now, on to the celebrations. Here is what I will be doing with my kiddos on New Year’s Eve to celebrate 2013.

2013 Ceiling Decoration

Write 2013 on a note card sized piece of black construction paper. Have your child trace the numbers with glue.

Pour glitter over it and shake off extra glitter. I had Little Bear do the glittering over a file folder which made cleaning up the excess glitter really easy.

Make as many as you want (we will probably do about 8). Let papers dry completely, and then hang from the ceiling. Hang black, white, silver streamers if desired. We’ll be leaving these up for all of January.

Paper plate noise makers

Decorate the back side of a paper plate with paint, glitter, markers, crayons, stickers, etc. We wrote 2013 on one half.

Once decorated as desired, fold paper plate in half. Staple or tape the edges together until there are only 2-3 inches that are left open. Fill the paper plate with about ¼ Cup rice, beans, or anything that will make noise.

Tape the plate the rest of the way. Tell your child they get to shake it at midnight.

Handheld Streamers

Get a bunch of curling ribbon (hopefully you have some leftover from Christmas) and cut several 1-2 foot lengths. Curl the ribbon.

Have your child decorate a popsicle stick with paint, markers, glitter, crayons, stickers, etc. Have your child choose some ribbons to put on their popsicle stick and tape the ribbons to the popsicle stick.

Wave around like mad at midnight (and throughout the night just for fun).

New Year’s Countdown

Simply print off this New Year’s Countdown and color each time as it passes. My kids will be asleep for several boxes. I’ll just have them color those when they wake up around 11:30.

2013 Calendar Note Card

Our preschool calendar has a little note card for the year 2012. I will make another 2013 note card that is blank except for the year. My kiddos will get to decorate the 2013 note card any way that they want and it will go up on the preschool calendar right at midnight.

Grab Bag Countdown

Along with the paper countdown, we will have several Surprise Bags with times on them. (I will only make these for the times that my kids will be awake.) When we get to the time that is on the bag, we will open the bag and complete the activity that is inside. I’ll probably do the bags every half hour instead of every hour since we will only have a few hours before I put the kids in bed. Here are the activities that will be in our bags:

• Ceiling Decoration (see above)
• Paper Plate noise makers (see above)
• Handheld Streamers (see above)
• 2013 Calendar Note Card (see above)
• Play Candy Land
• Eat dinner
• Eat treats
• Dance Party (turn on your favorite music and dance away)

The best part of our New Years Eve Celebrations will be the awesome food and treats. Here is some of what our food for New Year’s Eve will be:

• Edible glitter truffles (make truffles and cover with silver edible glitter)
• Chex mix
• Shrimp cocktail
• Cotton Candy and Sprite Drink
• Meat and cheese tray
• Rice Krispie Treats
• Pretzel Hugs

If you missed it, be sure to check out some of Cassidy’s New Year’s Eve Traditions that she posted earlier this week!

We've found some fun people with great linky parties. You might just see this post linked up on one of these amazing sites! Link and Learn from No Time for Flashcards Sunday Showcase from Train Up a Child Share it Saturday from Teach Beside Me Tot School Gathering Place from 1+1+1=1 Montessori Monday from Living Montessori Now Tuesday Tots from In Lieu of Preschool Show and Tell from ABC & 123 For the Kids Fridays from Sun Scholars Finished Friday from All Our Days Weekly Kids Co-op from Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails Preschool & Kindergarten Corner from Homeschool Creations TGIF Linky Party from 123 Homeschool 4 Me

December 26, 2012

Where can I find ideas for New Year’s Eve Celebrations? What are some fun New Year’s Eve traditions?

On Friday we will share a post about New Years Eve Celebrations for kids. There will be several ideas for celebrating New Year’s with kids. If you are looking for even more New Year’s Eve ideas for kids or just New Year’s Eve ideas in general, check out these great links. Also, I’ll tell you a little about some of our New Year’s Eve traditions!

Cassidy’s New Year’s Eve Traditions for Children and Adults

For several years my extended family (who all live within 30 minutes of each other, except for one family) would get together and party on New Year’s Eve. To make the night a little more exciting, and less stressful, we would do a rotating party. At each aunt or uncle’s house we would have a small treat or appetizer as well as do an activity. The night started around 8:00 and we usually went to 3 or 4 houses. We generally ended up at my parents house to watch the ball drop.

One of our favorite activities is to play dodge ball. Our church has a large open court that we are able to use. We line all of the balls (very soft and kid friendly, but still fun for adults too) along the middle, someone yells go and then we run for the balls. It is fun because the adults and kids can play together. We also mix it up and do adults vs kids, boys vs girls, even birthday months vs odd birthday months, Alpine and Cedar Hills vs Lindon, and anything else we can think of to have a good mix of people for the teams.

Some of our other activities have included:

• Card Games
• Trivia Games
• Musical Chairs
• Cake Walk (or something similar)
• Pool Tournaments
• Around the World Ping Pong
• Foosball Tournaments
• Air Hockey Tournaments
• Karaoke
• Dance Offs and a Dance Party
• Minute to Win It (or similar games)

I think you probably get the idea. It’s nice to rotate between houses so that one person doesn’t feel like they have to entertain everyone the whole night and they only have to do a small amount of food. Also, we can start the party early because there are so many fun things to do!

One of the highlights of New Year’s Eve though is my dad’s obsession with balloons. We haven’t done this every year, but we have done it a lot. My dad will blow up hundreds of balloons (with a pump…) and fill our “big room” with them. Usually we just have a bunch of balloons on the floor. Last year though he even did helium balloons so the floor and ceiling were covered. He and my sister also made some balloon animals as well to make things more interesting. The kids (and adults) really love it! Then when the clock strikes midnight (as we watch the ball drop) everyone starts popping the balloons. It’s loud and fun! I think this is among my favorite New Year’s Eve traditions and I know all the kids really like it too!

If you are still wanting more New Year’s Eve ideas we’ve compiled a nice list of ideas for you! Feel free to share any of your New Year’s Eve party ideas with us too!

More New Years Eve Celebrations for Kids:

• Kids New year’s party
• Confetti eggs and decoration ideas
• New Year’s eve party ideas for kids
• Celebrating New Year’s Eve with your Kids
• 2 New Year’s Eve Crafts
• Celebrating New Year’s with Children

New Years Eve Party Ideas:

• Gold Mason Jars for Decorating
• DIY According Clocks plus lots of other party ideas
• Gold Rush decor Ideas
• New Year’s Eve Countdown of Clock party Ideas
• New Year’s Eve Noisemakers and Favors
• Decorations for New Year’s Eve

Food for New Years Eve:

• “Champagne Bottle” Cookie Dough Treats
• Kentucky Hot Brown Bites plus 5 other appetizers
• New Year’s Eve Cupcakes
• Mini Crescent Dogs
• Pretzel Hugs
• Bacon Pops
• BLT Bites plus 14 other party foods
• 8 Easy Party Foods
• Bacon-Wrapped Cocktail Sausages and 23 more appetizers

We've found some fun people with great linky parties. You might just see this post linked up on one of these amazing sites! Link and Learn from No Time for Flashcards Sunday Showcase from Train Up a Child Share it Saturday from Teach Beside Me Tot School Gathering Place from 1+1+1=1 Montessori Monday from Living Montessori Now Tuesday Tots from In Lieu of Preschool Show and Tell from ABC & 123 For the Kids Fridays from Sun Scholars Finished Friday from All Our Days Weekly Kids Co-op from Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails Preschool & Kindergarten Corner from Homeschool Creations TGIF Linky Party from 123 Homeschool 4 Me