holiday gift guide: gifts for young girls

we are having a great time sharing our great holiday picks for this season. if you haven't seen our gift list for arts and crafts, you can see it here. these toys are not only fun for us to explore but fun for our kiddos as well. these are our favorite gift ideas for little girls. they also bring out the little girl in all of us. 

gifts for girls:

my little pony equestria girls twilight sparkle doll and pony set

photo credit: amazon.com

my little pony has been a favorite of girls everywhere. with the new introduction of the movie "the equestria girls," hasbro expanded the my little pony collection into something even greater. the equestria girls dolls add a whole new dimension to imaginative play with my little ponies. watch the movie with your little ones today and watch how excited they get about these new dolls.

my little pony camelio earbuds

photo credit: amazon.com

so cute, right? my daughter loves music. she requests an ipod every time i ask her to clean her room or do any sort of chore. music makes her day brighter. so do these head phones. if you are going to listen to music, it might as well be adorable.

rainbow loom

photo credit: amazon.com

this really could go for boys, girls, young, pre-teen, any age. the new rubber brand bracelet craze had hit and these looms are hot items, along with the rubber bands that go with them. while i don't love the rubber bands i find all over my house, i do love how occupied the kids are when they are working on their creations. plus, it is great to see how excited the kids are to make something for someone else. 

disney doc mcstuffins doctor's bag

photo credit: amazon.com

this is listed under gifts for girls but both boys and girls love the toy fixing of doc mcstuffins. she makes all toys for both girls and boys better and happier. both boys and girls will love this doctor's kit to work on toys of their own...or to pretend they are doctors taking care of each other. 

sofia the first talking magical amulet

photo credit: amazon.com

i love the introduction of sophia the first into the disney junior line up. little girls everywhere have fallen in love with her. this amulet lets girls everywhere dress up like the princess they adore. 

my little pony walkie talkie

photo credit: amazon.com

who says boys are the only ones who get walkie talkies? these adorable walkie talkies are so fun for little girls. i love watching my little ones hiding around the yard and searching for one another on walkie talkies. who knows that is going on in their minds but listening to their back and forth chatter, they are smiling and laughing through it all. 

holiday gift giving guide: arts and crafts for kids

this christmas we are starting our first "third boob holiday gift giving guide." our kids have asked for a long laundry list of items this year. between the seven of them, you can imagine the dreams are huge. some gifts they will receive. other gifts, like my daughter's wish for "$2000,00,000" will probably not make the cut. there are several items we *love* to purchase for our kids. we love when they use their creativity and spend their hours occupied with fun crafts. we love to see their creative juices flowing! these arts and crafts gift ideas are some of our favorites for this holiday season. 

arts and crafts:

Moose Toys Blingles Bling Studio

photo credit: amazon.com

my daughter loves bling. let's be honest. i don't know of many 6-10 year old girls who aren't excited about shiny, pretty things. this craft allows girls to create their own designs for sparkly accessories and then stick them onto whatever they desire. it's a craft/girl match made in heaven. my girl will be thrilled!

magic fun dough - pet shop

photo credit: rose art

we love rose art. we love their products. we love how affordable they are. we love that their products are quality products at less expensive prices than some competitors for our kids. we love that they are constantly coming up with fun, creative new activities for kids. this "magic fun dough" is just that. there are adorable pet transfers that you can put onto your dough and then use the creations to play in your pet shop. once the kids have finished playing, they can squish up their dough and the transfer will disappear...ready to be used again the next time. it non-stop creativity fun. 

airbrush studio

photo credit: rose art

my kids are over the moon about this product. they love coloring with markers. with this machine, they get to air brush paint with markers. it is so exciting for them. the motorized air pump uses rose art markers and turns them into a personal air brush studio complete with stencils. this is definitely not something my toddler will be doing unattended but it is great for my older three. they love doing crafts that feel "grown-up" and this machine is just the art idea to meet the needs of my 6, 8, and 10 year olds. done. note: this does require batteries and does not include craft paper. good quality craft paper is recommended.

gelarti coloring

photo credit: amazon.com

my kids love stickers. i find them everywhere. honestly, i have a love hate relationship with them after picking them off of every surface in my house. still, my kids can't get enough. i love the amount of time these stickers take in their creation. the kids can spend hours coloring in each and every little sticker surface and then placing their new creations on various surfaces. let's just hope they don't put them on the coffee table!

play dough ultimate rainbow pack

photo credit: amazon.com

play dough is a creative staple in both of our homes. no matter the age, the kids have a wonderful time using their imagination to make fabulous creations. our toy testers loved the variety of play dough color in the pack and us mamas loved the easy clean up and time spent creating. 

hallmark recordable artwork

photo credit: amazon.com

hallmark has taken the world by storm with their recordable books. we have had the grandparents record books for the kids to hear their voice reading a story, even if they can't be there in person. sadly, they lost their paternal grandma to cancer a few years ago, but now they get to hear her voice whenever she is missed thanks to these amazing books. i love this item in particular with the added option of a canvas cover to be painted and illustrated. this is a treasure to treasure for years to come for sure. 

what did we miss? any arts and crafts you are excited to give this year?

diy: christmas book advent calendar

i have a serious addiction to advent calendars. christmas is my very favorite holiday and my birthday is christmas eve, so it is a happy season for me. more than that, christmas is a time where everyone is happy and focused on all the good things in life. people seem nicer in general and appreciative of life and loving the people in it. 

this year, i decided to take 24 kids christmas-related books and create an advent calendar to remember. any time i can use to create special memories with the two little men in my life, i will take it! with this advent calendar, i anticipate lots of cuddling on the couch with the littles reading the christmas classics daily. sounds heavenly to me! 

join me in starting this tradition for your family as well!

all you need is:

•24 christmas/winter kids books (i took some classics that i had as a child and also included some i found at target with my kiddos favorite childhood characters (think dora, big bird and even mater). 

•wrapping paper (i used brown, kraft paper)

•tape

•glue stick

•large circle hole punch (you can find one at your local craft store)

•vinyl number stickers (you can find them in the scrapbook section of your local craft store).


directions:

•simply, wrap each book up. 

•then, cut a circle (using the hold punch) of another color of paper. 

•using the glue stick, attach each circle to the wrapped package.

•once dry, attached numbered, vinyl stickers to each book from 1-24.

that is it! 


this would be a fun tradition this would be to start with your own children or grandchildren, don't you think?

enjoy!

mmmmm, mondays: white chocolate peppermint bark

white chocolate peppermint bark
i grew up in a house where both my mother and sister were allergic to chocolate (worst allergy ever, in my opinion). apparently, white chocolate is not the same (it doesn't contain the actual cocoa, that is the culprit) so it was a free-for-all in our home. this white chocolate peppermint bark recipe i can't take credit for.....it is from the fabulous paula dean (as are most things of greatness). it would have been a huge hit in my childhood home. looking for something to do with all of those candy canes that have been collecting? this is it. try it. you will love it. enjoy!


ingredients
crushed candy canes, to yield 1 cup
2 pounds white chocolate
peppermint flavorings, optional


directions
place candy canes in a plastic bag and hammer into 1/4-inch chunks or smaller.

melt the chocolate in a double boiler. 


combine candy cane chunks with chocolate (add peppermint flavoring at this point if desired.)

pour mixture onto a cookie sheet layered with parchment or waxed paper and place in the refrigerator for 45 minutes or until firm. 


remove from cookie sheet and break into pieces (like peanut brittle.)