Category: holidays

non-candy easter basket ideas

Did you know that Lent is already halfway over? My spending freeze is going pretty well (only a few small infractions, mostly kid-related) and my new daily practice of reading the Bible every day has been wonderful, thanks to an app with a reading plan + devotional that I love.

Currently, I’m not sure how I’m going to handle Easter with my kiddos. I’m vacillating between staying strict on the spending freeze to include not making extra purchases for them, and another of my goals for this year which is to celebrate more holidays at home, especially relating to the church calendar.

Of course we do celebrate Easter already – we go to church and do an egg hunt there and with the cousins, as well as having an extended family meal – but I also like the idea of having a special breakfast at home with small baskets ready for them to discover a few well-chosen gifts inside. So while I don’t know yet if I’ll be making any extra purchases this year, I’ve put together some ideas for you of the kinds of things I’m thinking of for this spring celebration.

1 – The One Year Devotions for Preschoolers – My mom got this for Meredith for Christmas and it’s so perfect for her age. Each devotion has a cute picture, a short and sweet message, a Bible verse, and prayer. I highly recommend it, especially if you want to give a gift that has a spiritual focus.

2 – Wildly Co. clothing – A good excuse to buy a piece of ethically-made, classic clothing for spring!

3 – Rain boots – As we enter the rainy season it’s a good idea to get a new pair of these. Tip: stalk ThredUp for the best deal.

4 – Crayola Sidewalk Chalk – This stuff is the best, and Easter is a perfect time to refresh your stash.

5 – Mini Madre Beads – Meredith wants all of these, but especially the unicorn one. ;)

6 – Resurrection eggs – Are these a little cheesy? Yes. But they tell the story of Jesus and would be a fun activity for the kids to do as well as filling up their baskets.

7 – Potted plant – One idea is to help them plant it, or just let them take care of it. And I like the idea of doing an aloe vera plant, because it has healing properties (so you could tie it in to a mini-lesson about Jesus being our healer). They are also very hardy, so bonus!

8 – Stamps – My kids really don’t get tired of these cheap little stamps. And they are so cute.

I’d love to know what you’re planning on doing for your kids for Easter. Or how did you celebrate growing up? My parents didn’t buy us non-candy stuff every year, but I remember being so pleased whenever those extra treats did show up.

March 7, 2016
lent

I don’t come from a liturgical church background, but this year I am observing Lent along with other church holy days. As I get older and discover more about myself and my personality (ISFJ) I have realized that traditions, holidays, liturgy, and observances really inspire me. I’m leaning in to that and hoping to bring it into my home as well.

I thought and thought about how I should personally observe Lent. Some things I considered giving up were sweets, social media of some form, caffeine (that was just a passing thought), and TV. I also thought about adding in some things: exercise, family time/activities, Bible study.

This is what I settled on: I am going to do daily Bible readings from the Book of Common Prayer, and I am going on a personal spending freeze.

The thing I wanted to change most was to have daily Bible study time. I am currently doing one with my church, but it is too in-depth for me to find time for it every single day like I want to. But just because our sleeping situation is less than ideal and I’m not able to wake up before my kids, that doesn’t mean I can’t find time to read a short Scripture passage and say a prayer. Instead of choosing a daily devotional, I’ve chosen to follow the Book of Common Prayer because I want to feel connected to the Church.

I also wanted to make some sort of sacrifice and give something up. I decided to give up all personal money spending for a few reasons. For one thing, I’ve just spent too much lately. It hasn’t been frivolous; I have been buying some high quality clothing items that will be a great help to me, for example. But as I’ve been spending, it becomes easier and easier to spend, and I noticed my attitude trending toward the needing of certain things to feel adequate. So I’m cutting myself off!

A few exceptions: I’m allowed to use gift cards, or replace any empty toiletries or essential makeup items. But that’s it. I’m not going to be buying extra things for the kids either, but this is not a family spending freeze.

I’d love to hear about your relationship with Lent, if you observe it and how, if you’d like to share!

February 10, 2016
halloween costume plans & free portraits

This post is sponsored by Portrait Innovations because I think this event is really cool and want to share!

So, have you got your kids’ Halloween costumes figured out yet? I usually wait until the last minute just because Halloween is not a big deal to me. Sometimes it pays off (once I found an awesome costume for Meredith at Old Navy the day before for only a few bucks) but as with most things it’s much easier to plan ahead. (Especially when you’re like me and hate to pay real cash money for them.)

Last year’s costumes

Meredith is finally at the age where she has pretty strong opinions about what she wants to dress up as. First, she wanted to be Ariel. She stuck with that for a couple of weeks and I was begrudgingly going to order it. But then she found out her friends at school are going to be Elsa, and suddenly she wanted to be Elsa too. Only…she wanted to be Ariel AND Elsa. At the same time. I wasn’t sure how I was going to make that work.

THEN we visited her friend Jack who has a really cool firefighter costume that they played with, and I totally jumped all over that and I suggested she be a firefighter instead, and to my great pleasure she said yes! Even better, her cousin owns the costume already. We are still figuring out the finished products but here is the general idea:

This year I’m glad to have our costumes figured out early because there is a cool event going on offering free pictures from Portrait Innovations! I’m sure they could give us a better finished product than what I’ve gotten so far. ;) Check out their invitation:

You’re invited to our Halloween Party! No tricks here, just treats. Portrait Innovations invites you to attend our FREE PORTRAIT EVENT, at your nearest studio on Monday, October 26th from 4-6pm. Make sure to come dressed in costume to recieve a free 5×7 Print, 3 freeDigital Images, and of course FREE candy for kids in costume! There will be no sales or appointments during this event.

Of course, there will be candy! What Halloween event would be complete without? And, for a little extra motivation for YOU, submit those darling costume portraits from the event in the Portrait Innovations Boo-tiful Costume Contest for a chance to win a $5,000 cash prize. That’ll make for a fantastic Halloween!

Every Portrait Innovations Studio across the country is hosting the event. To find the studio closest to you, visit: http://www.portraitinnovations.com/Find-a-Studio

Can’t make it on the 26th? Don’t fret! Book a regular appointment, snap a few costume pics and you can still enter the contest.

Cool, right? Planning to go? If you’re a Houston local, there is a studio in Kingwood, Champions Village, Webster, and Sugar Land. What will your littles be dressed up as?

October 20, 2015
my finished handmade felt heirloom advent calendar

I finished this up last weekend after Thanksgiving, just in time! I may have an addiction to felt needlepoint. New favorite craft for sure. I call this an “heirloom” advent calendar because the materials are high quality and labored over by me with love so I am definitely forcing it on one of my kids when they grow up. :)

I want to give another shout out to my mother-in-law for getting this for me way back in the spring or summer (an early Christmas gift!) so that I actually had time to make it for this year. I love it so much. If you want one, you can find them here. It requires basic needlepoint, embroidery, and sewing skills. Advanced beginner, I’d say.

I wanted to show you the finished project with all the ornaments hung up, but they are actually stored in these cute little pockets like so.

Those numbers were embroidered using a chain stitch, which I had never done before but I love it.

If you are wondering how the ornaments are hung on the tree (I was) it’s with a stick pin. Then when they are being stored, you just tuck the pin inside (see right, below). I like this method because you can hang them anywhere and there is no ugly velcro to be seen.

I have been letting Meredith hang the ornaments (with supervision) and we try to do it in the morning if there is time. I call it the countdown to Christmas.

We also have a really cool advent book called The Story of Christmas. It has a bunch of little mini books that you read each day, but they are also ornaments so you can hang them on a tree (or somewhere else – we’ve been hanging them on a garland). Each little booklet tells part of the story of Christmas. We have been doing this one in the morning if there is time, or evening at dinner.

Finally, I have this advent calendar which was the first thing I ever sewed. My mom is using it for Meredith and she has tucked a small gift into each pocket.

Obviously I love advent calendars. How about you? Do you have one?

December 5, 2014
homemade gift ideas

I love the idea of homemade gifts, and even though I’ve pretty much given up on the idea for this year (I can’t do it all), I did do some research and brainstorming for some ideas. There is still time to make these happen if you’re up for it!

Candles – making your own candles is actually really easy! I’ve done it following this tutorial. It doesn’t take long either. Or you could do a simple drugstore candle makeover.

Dip dyed placemats – I’ve never done any of my own dyeing but I hear it’s pretty simple. These are so pretty!

Stained letterpress block – I’ve been meaning to do this one for awhile. A five-minute, personalized project, perfect to display.

Woven wall hanging – these can be super simple to make. Double up on the yarn and it’ll go faster.

Quilted coasters – These look pretty straightforward if you have a small amount of sewing skills.

Cloth napkins – Or, even more simple in the sewing arena, just get some pretty fabric and make it into napkins.

Cleaning supplies gift basket – How nice would it be to get some all-natural, good-smelling cleaning supplies with recipes? Great ideas and links here.

Well sorry family, you are probably not getting any of these lovely gifts this year. But if I start working on them now, maybe by next Christmas. :)

Have you ever done homemade gifts? Would you consider it?

All photos courtesy of the sources linked.

November 10, 2014