15 Advent Calendars for Kids

When I was a kid, one of my favorite parts of the holidays was the little advent calendar my grandma always had for me. I only got to see her on weekends, so when I would get to her house, I would get to open several windows at once, for a few little treats!

Looking back on it, the calendar was as basic as it could get. The squares of chocolate were small. But, it was the fact that someone thought of me and picked up an advent that had a picture she knew I would love on it, and she kept it for me, on the odd days I came over.

Now I am a mom and I always have an advent for my kids. They love the little ceremony and surprise that awaits them. If you are like me, and maybe don't have the time to create an elaborate advent, check out these ideas from Amazon. This post contains affiliate links, so if you make a purchase, I will earn a small advertising fee.

Paw Patrol Advent
Hatchimals Holiday Advent
Barbie Careers Advent Calendar
Mega Bloks TMNT Advent
Playmobil Advent
Play Doh Christmas Advent
Grinch Advent Calendar
Hot Wheels Advent
Crayola Christmas Countdown
Disney Tsum Tsum Advent
Lego City Advent
VTech Smart Animals Advent
Thomas and Friends Advent Calendar 
Funko Harry Potter Advent
Olaf's Adventure Christmas Countdown Calendar 

If you find a great advent calendar on Amazon, I hope you will leave me a comment so I can add it to my list!

Design Your Own Play Doh Ornaments

Kids of all ages are sure to love this Design Your Own Play Doh Ornaments project. It is perfect for holiday crafting and turns out so cute everyone will love to display these!

I am crazy for all things play doh, so naturally I had to make something for Christmas from my favorite craft material. These ornaments are so easy! They will have you saying, who knew you could not only draw on play doh but you can bake it too?!

This post contains affiliate links. Making a purchase means I will earn a small advertising fee, at no cost to you.

These easy ornaments give kids a chance to design their own addition to the Christmas tree! Made with basic supplies this is the perfect project to do with the kids for minimal mess this holiday. 

You can make your own white play doh, like in my super soft play dough recipe, just leave the food color out, or to make this activity really easy during a generally already packed holiday season, just buy cans of white play doh.

To make these design your own play doh ornaments you will need
Supplies
white play doh
washable markers
cookie cutters
bakers twine
A pen or stick to poke a hole with

Directions

Roll the play doh out to be about 1/8" thick.

With your cookie cutter of choice cut shapes of doh.

Poke a hole in each ornament so that it can be hung after completion. I used an ink pen to make my holes.

Use washable markers to draw on the designs.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

Allow to cool.

Thread bakers twine through the hole and display on your tree.

Find all of my Christmas crafts here
Reader favorites include:
Button Tree Ornaments
Mickey Mouse Jingle Bell Ornaments

12 Cheesecake Recipes to Make for Christmas

Cheesecake is one of those things in life that should be savored and shared. I think it is always one of my favorite options at the dessert table. I found 12 Cheesecake Recipes to Make for Christmas that are perfect for sharing and celebrating this holiday season!

I have found 12 incredible cheesecake recipes to make this Christmas and I know you are going to find a few on this list that you can't wait to try! From Peppermint varieties to Pecan Pie Cheesecake, this list has something for everyone on it!

No Bake Peppermint Cheesecake

Eggnog Cheesecake

Candy Cane Cheesecake with a Sugar Cookie Crust

Peanut Butter Cheesecake Balls

Raspberry Cheesecake Shooters

Pecan Pie Cheesecake

No Bake Eggnog Cheesecake

Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake

Gingerbread Pumpkin Cheesecake

Santa Hat Peppermint Cheesecake Bars

Raspberry White Chocolate Cheesecake Bars

Easy Lemon Cheesecake Pie

Which of these sounds like the cheesecake of your dreams?

You can find more awesome recipes here

These Christmas tree inspired snacks are sure to be a hit with the kids!
My family is crazy for these fun Christmas treat ideas.

If you have a favorite cheesecake recipe, please do tell me all about it!

10 Projects to Make for Hanukkah

 The holidays are near and it is time to get crafting! I have 10 Projects to Make for Hanukkah that you aren't going to want to miss! These are so fun you are going to light up at the sight of them!

These 10 Projects to Make for Hanukkah are perfect for crafting with the kids and are a great way to add a little festive decor to your home without having to head to the shops to get it!

Hanukkah Party Poppers by Frugal Elegance

Personalized Hanukkah Gift Crate by The DIY Bungalow

Shimmering Star of David by Crafts by Amanda

Hanukkah Stained Glass Craft by Kid World Citizen

Modern Menorah by Delicate Construction

Handprint Menorah by Mom Endeavors

Elegant Menorah by Mod Podge Rocks

Hanukkah Gelt Tree by Yesterday on Tuesday

DIY Menorah by Sugar Bee Crafts

Hanukkah String Art by Delicate Construction

I can't wait to make the party poppers with the kids! They are going to LOVE these!

If you have a fun craft or DIY for Hanukkah please leave a comment to share with us! If you make any of these ideas make sure you share a pic on facebook!

Find all of our holiday posts here

Easy Rudolph Ornaments

These easy Rudolph ornaments are fun to make and share this holiday season. These come together with the most basic supplies and are perfect for making with the kids.

I got everything for this project at Dollar Tree. So, you know it is going to be a cheap and easy project that is perfect for the kids!

Supplies

Gold Pipe Cleaner

Clear Bauble

Red Button

Craft Eyes

Brown Paper Bag

Scissors

Glue

Directions

Attach the gold pipe cleaner o the top of the ornament and form Rudolph's antlers.

Have the kids cut or tear the brown bag into bits.

Fill the ornament with bits of the brown bag

Glue the eyes and button nose on the ornament.  Allow it to dry overnight then hang on your tree or share with someone special.

You can find all of my ornament crafts here

Mickey Mouse Jingle Bell Ornaments 

Paper Fortune Cookies for New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve is just a few days away! To make the evening extra fun for the kids, I have been making these cute paper fortune cookies so they can open one on the hour and have fun reading their fortunes to each other!

This is such an easy craft idea!! It can be used for parties, holidays or even as place markers at a dinner party!




All you need is scrapbooking paper
Glue
Scissors
Paper and a Pen

To begin, cut several uniform circles from paper.

Gently fold the paper together, but only make a small crease in the center.

Unfold the circle, placing it so the crease runs from 9 o’clock to 3 o’clock.  Place a small dot of glue at 3 o’clock.

Fold the circle and press the paper onto the glue dot, making a taco shape.

Gently press the crease you made in step 2.  Place a glue dot along the folded side of the taco — alongside the crease.

Gently bring the two ends of the 'taco' together.  Pinch it together so that the glue dot holds the two halves together.

Add a strip of paper with your fortune inside.

You might also like these yummy pizza ideas for New Year's Eve.

Christmas Math Printable

Christmas is near and my kids are excited! 

Every day begins with the all important question of how many more days til Christmas?!

This year I am taking that excitement for the holiday and turning it into a fun way for Rolf to practice his addition skills and get a little coloring time in with this fun and free printable math worksheet!

This is ideal for first and second graders. it gives them a few problems to work on and a little art time too.  Print a few for your kids, or a stack to entertain them during a party or before the holiday meal is served!

 

                                                            Print the Math Worksheet here 

If you have a kiddo that will love this worksheet, let me know in a comment!


You might also like this easy christmas ornament idea.

Ribbon Tree Ornament Craft

I am so excited to decorate my trees this year! I have already been playing around with some cute handmade ornament ideas!

Today I have a really economical and adorable DIY ornament that I know you are going to want to make! It costs just about $2 to make a dozen of these! They come together so easily that making a dozen is no problem at all!

This post contains affiliate links or sponsored content.

These are cute for decorating a tree, or adding a little something to a wrapped gift!

To make these ribbon tree ornaments I used:

• A spool of ribbon I bought at Walmart for 97 cents
• Chunky Craft Sticks
• Glue
• Scissors
• Pencil

Directions:

• Begin by laying 4 craft sticks together, draw the outline of a tree on them.
• Cut the sticks to shape the tree.
• Cut the tiny top triangle from the scraps to avoid wasting a whole craft stick!
• Cut small bits of ribbon to cover the tree shapes. Glue them on and trim.

•  Now glue the ribbon covered craft sticks onto one more craft stick.

• After gluing all the sections on to the base craft stick, flip it over and add a small loop of ribbon so that you can hang it!

This is a fun project to do with the older kids, and these are really pretty lovely in their simplicity! I have a short video of the process to share with you. I would love it if you gave it a thumbs up!

I can't wait to hear what you have planned for holiday crafting!

You might also like these cute DIY Mickey Ornaments!

Melted Snowman Bark

Melted Snowman Bark is an incredibly easy and adorable treat to make and share this holiday season! Perfect for sharing with friends and family, it comes together in a flash. This is a snack that melts the hearts of all who see and taste it!

This is such an easy recipe, you guys! It takes easy to find ingredients and creates an unforgettable treat with less than 10 minutes of prep!

Ingredients:
This post contains affiliate links or sponsored content.

1 lb package of candy quick coating, in white chocolate or vanilla flavor.

Pretzel Sticks

M&Ms

Orange Food Coloring

Edible Eye Decorations

Mini Reese's cups, cut in half

                       

Directions:

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or foil.

Melt your candy coating in the microwave. Stir every 30 seconds until it is smooth.

Take about 2 spoonfuls of the melted white coating and place it in a baggie with one drop of food coloring. Make a tiny cut in the corner of the baggie and make tiny little carrots for the noses.

Spread the melted white candy coating on the lined cookie sheet.

Add Reese's halves to make hats, adding eyes below them, an orange 'carrot' nose, stick pretzel arms, and add M&M's for buttons.

Keep spacing in mind as you make these, as after it hardens, you will break them into chunks.

This should set in the refrigerator for an hour to harden, maybe longer depending on how thick you spread the white candy base.

You might also like this 10+ Tasty Sheet Pan Meal ideas post.

Green Button Tree Kid Made Ornaments

Making a handmade ornament with the kids can be a lot of fun for the holiday season! These button trees are so easy to make and adorable for gifting something handmade from the heart this Christmas. Everyone loves a kid made ornament to display on their tree! 

Last weekend I found a great deal on dyed craft sticks! 80 for $1. What a bargain! This inspired us to make a ton of fun craft stick ornaments to share this holiday season. I am going to be bringing them to you, so that you can make something cute with your kids to share with friends and family.

These kid made Christmas ornaments came together in just a few moments. We used hot glue for instant gratification, but you can use white or PVA glue if you have patience!

You will need:
4 craft sticks, I used green.
Buttons
4" of  thin ribbon
3" of thin ribbon
One small bell
Glue

 Make a triangle shape and glue it together.
With your remaining stick, cut it in half. This will be your tree base. Glue it on the bottom.

Glue buttons on to the tree in any pattern you prefer. We used blue and green for this ornament and loved the way it turned out!

Flip the tree over. Thread a small bell on the 4" section of thin ribbon. With the bell in the center, glue it on the tree so that it dangles to the middle section of the tree.

With the other 3" of thin ribbon make the loop for hanging from the tree!

Now your button tree ornament is finished. Hang it from your tree, attach it to a wrapped gift, or share with someone special!

This was a cute and fun project to make with Rolf. We love kid made ornaments and have several other variations of this to show you over the coming weeks. From my family to yours; Happy Holidays!

Berry Vanilla Parfaits {Easy Patriotic Parfaits}

This easy recipe requires no baking and is a perfect sweet treat with berries, sponge cake and ice cream. So easy to assemble anyone can make this scrumptious dessert that combines 5 simple ingredients.

Unless you spend time in my company on holidays, you wouldn't know this secret fact me. On a holiday, I take a nap! I feel drained after all of the preparations usually and my husband is home on every holiday known to mankind, {hooray!} so there is an able bodied adult to keep our little ones happy.

On Memorial Day, I really wanted to have a nap. I shooed the family out the door for a round of frisbee golf and the house was quiet. As I looked around, I realized it was now or never. I attacked the closets, the massive amount of blankets and the aftermath of a what feels like a constant toy tornado with a vengeance. I folded laundry, sorted out items we no longer need for donation and tidied up my office/studio.

As I smiled and surveyed my impromptu cleaning spree I realized I had not made dessert, and my family had let me know several times they wanted cake. Luckily I had 3 slices of sponge cake left over from a recipe I made a few days prior and a few other simple ingredients on hand.

Ingredients

1 pint of strawberries, cleaned, destemmed sliced

1 pint of blackberries, cleaned

1/4 cup of white sugar

Vanilla Bean ice cream

3 x 2" thick slices of sponge cake, cut into 1" cubes

1/4 cup of water

Directions

Add your strawberry slices and blackberries together in a bowl

Add 1/4 cup of sugar and 1/4 cup of water. Gently stir.

Layer 3 or 4 cake cubes into a pretty glass or parfait bowl

Add 2 small scoops of ice cream {I used a cookie dough scoop for the perfect size}

Spoon berries and a little of the sugar water/ juice mixture over the cake cubes and ice cream

Add 2 more cake cubes to the glass

Serve immediately as the cake will get saturated with the liquid for a delicious flavor infusion

Repeat until the ingredients are depleted.

This recipe will serve 6.

This was the perfect easy patriotic parfait to make for Memorial Day. I will definitely be serving this to guests on the 4th of July and Labor Day as well! Actually, strike that, this is going to be one of those easy recipes for the hot summer months that I add into my rotation without a doubt!

What is your favorite no bake dessert recipe to serve in the summer months?

You might also enjoy this Fruity Waffle Recipe made with Gerber Baby Food.