Almost perfect winter clothes ad…

If you haven’t seen the new SNL skit for Macy’s winter clothes, you need to!!!! Some of the scenes are so easy to relate to you laugh and cringe at the same time.

I never understood why snow boots are all zippered down the inside, otherwise it’s an hour struggle to get boots on yelling, “just push your foot in harder!”

That and the snaps for baby onesies. For the love of gosh, please tell me who thought buttoning a moving target who needs diaper changes hourly was a great idea?

And we can’t forget the itchy sweaters and clothes that you spent a fortune on because you thought they would look oh so adorable on your little one….

The jacket reference is funny; however, as we know, jackets should never be worn in a car seat, they get taken off before buckling up!

So if you haven’t enjoyed this ad yet, check it out!

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+Pomander Ball: A fun fine motor experience

A craft using fine motor skills, creativity, and your child’s senses is making a Christmas Pomander Ball!  There are several ways to make them and we will go through some examples!

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Pomander Balls were originally used to ward away illness with the strong scents of cloves and other spices.  Today, we make pomander balls with citrus fruits and cloves as a decoration, gift, centerpiece, or for scenting the room.

What you need:

Citrus fruit: clementine or oranges work best (make sure they are on the harder side)

Whole cloves (you can get a large bag that will last for years at the food store)
Ribbon for decoration

To make holes you can use a fork, pushpin, or toothpick (optional): my kids like to use a small fork to poke several holes at once

  1. Pour some whole cloves into a small bowl for the kids to chose fromimg_2440-1
  2. Next, have your child use a fork to poke holes
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  4. Take the whole cloves and poke them through the holes
  5. Make a design as you chose, and hang with ribbon
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  7. Dry out in a dark place, preferably in a brown bag for a week or two until dry then hang them or decorate with them!  If you chose not to dry them, then they usually last a week before they brown and get moldy. You can also place them in the fridge at night if you want them to last a little longer.
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  9. If you fill the whole fruit with cloves completely, it will dehydrate the fruit and you wont need to place it in a bag at all (my kids don’t usually have the patience for this yet)

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My kids wanted to law shapes on their clementines with the cloves!

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Enjoy and let me know how they turn out!!!

 

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DIY Felt Unicorn Ornament

My daughter saw the cutest ornament at Boscov’s the other day…a unicorn. It was made from felt and I thought, “I can make that!” If you know anyone who loves unicorns then this simple felt ornament can be made for Christmas, or enlarged as a stuffed animal!

Materials needed:

-Felt in various colors: I used leftover felt I had from other projects. Any colors will work. I used white, yellow, blue, and pink.

-scissors, needle, thread

-hot glue gun, felt marker, cotton for stuffing

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First I laid out a white piece of felt and drew the body. I didn’t use a printout or pattern, I just eyeballed it by looking at pictures. I cut it out, then laid it on top of another piece of white felt to trace and again cut out. This way I had both sides of the unicorn’s body.

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The second cut out of the unicorn body ended up a little larger, but I just cut and adjusted the size as I was sewing it. Next, I moved onto cutting out the hair for the mane and tail. I also cut out an ear and horn. I looked at pictures and drew it freehand on the colors of felt I desired. They ended up looking like little worms.

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I placed my tail pieces on the back to make sure they looked okay and hot glued them to the back piece of the body. I did not glue them to BOTH body pieces, just the front of the back piece of the body (see picture).

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Next,  I placed the hair and ear on the unicorn to make sure it looked correct. I didn’t glue it, but just placed it there to make sure it was to my liking. I drew on eyes, a mouth and nose with a felt marker.

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I hot glued the horn onto the front of the back piece of the body. I hot glued the mane and ear onto the front body piece. Next I sewed the unicorn together. As I was sewing, I stuffed it. Don’t wait until the end or your won’t be able to fill the smaller spaces like the legs.

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After sewing and stuffing the unicorn, I cut a piece of ribbon and hot glued it to the back of the unicorn.

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Next, I hung it on the tree. Wallah! DONE!

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Happy Ornament Making!!!!

 

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My Toddler’s Favorite Christmas Books

My toddler’s favorite holiday is approaching fast…Christmas! She’s the kid you see in line screaming, “SANTA!!!!” like Buddy the Elf. She LOVES Santa and LOVES books, so I thought I’d write about her favorite books in case anyone is looking for toddler books!

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“The Sweet Smell of Christmas”warms our hearts.

This is a scented book, or in my day they called them “scratch and sniff” books. Little Bear gets ready for Christmas with his family and the book centers around the smells of Christmas. He wakes up to smell something and asks his mom what the smell is. She responds by saying that the smell is Christmas. The family gets a tree, trims it, adds candy canes, hangs stockings, and enjoy Christmas day together.

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Yes, it looks like Madison is kissing the pie…maybe she’s actually trying to eat it since it smells so good! I love asking her, “Can you smell Christmas?” She looks at me with a smile and says, “YES! I smell Christmas!”

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A tried and true favorite is Little People’s “Christmastime Is Here.” 

I’ve had this since she was a baby and she’s loved it every single year. There are over 65 flaps for your child to lift. The adventure starts in the classroom and the characters travel to Santa’s workshop with the elves and then home for the holidays. The characters are the same throughout the little people books so your child will squeal in delight at seeing them again.

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An interactive book called“We Wish You a Merry Christmas” is based on the song.

It has push, pulls, and slides that have your child discovering snowmen, sending sleds down a hill, and uncovering Santa and his sleigh! It’s a wonderful family book and a great way to learn the lyrics. It even has a QR code to scan that plays the song along with the book.

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The last book is “Sesame Street, A Christmas Story.” I searched for this online, but it looks like it’s not made anymore. However, I did see it on ebay and at local libraries. My daughter loves this book because all of the characters from sesame street are there and there are many sounds!

There are many sesame street stories, including scratch and sniff ones (which I’m sure my daughter would love).

As you can tell she LOVES interactive books and I’m sure your child would love these too!

Look for more blog entries coming up with favorite preschool books and books to buy your child this Christmas. Happy Holidays!

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