Advent adventures: Go to a Parade

The Sparkle Parade is one of our family traditions. Every December, no matter what the weather, we trudge to Main Street to watch a (thankfully) short and sweet parade full of twinkle lights.

The school's band wear antlers with sleigh bells, lighted hats and bracelets and march down the street playing festive holiday tunes. They are followed by boy scouts with candy canes and more lights.
The local unicycling group (yes we have one and they are pretty darn good) made up of elementary and middle school students light up their wheels and don Santa hats as they make their way down the street stopping every hundred feet or so to "perform."

There is a glowing Mickey Mouse and Pooh Bear too. The local McDonald's employees dress up as french fries. And, other local groups set up bands in beds of pick ups or

The boys' eyes glow when they see the lit up bulldozers, fire truck, giant LL Bean boot, and, last but not least, Santa traveling aboard a fishing boat. The smiles on the kids' faces make the cold and dark worth it every year. We have been there in snow, sleet, rain, warm(ish) temperatures, and freezing cold. It doesn't matter because it is a fun and festive parade that warms my heart.

Quick and Easy "Joy" Decoration

Here is my quick and easy home decor for the holidays. Seriously quick (less than 15 minutes) and seriously easy ( if I can do it anyone can).

The supplies:

Yes, the glass of wine is imperative when I am trying to throw something together at 10:00 at night...

If you notice, the glass balls I bought have different finishes. The matte balls were the easiest to work with. They clung to the glue much better. I would also recommend using the stronger hold glue sticks ( I used the lightest hold and I really had to slather it on).

I laid out the balls to form the letters making sure the hooks for the string were in the back except for the top, which I turned up so I could add ribbon to hang the letters. Then I just applied the glue where the balls met. 

When it was dry, I strung the ribbon through the loops at the top of the balls and hung them up. Make sure to string them through more than one bulb to help distribute the weight.

Easy peasy!

Advent Adventures - Buddy's Scavenger Hunt

Buddy is our elf. You know, of the Elf on the Shelf variety. As an aside, I am torn on our little Buddy. On one hand, whoever came up with the idea is a freaking genius. I mean Buddy works for behavior manipulation like a dream, BUT it is a little creepy if you think about it. Who wants to be "watched" every moment of every day?

Anyway, Buddy left a scavenger hunt for one of our advent adventures. I picked up these pails and chocolate gold coins at Target for $1 each. Then I wrapped the pails with a note from Buddy telling the boys about the hidden treasure.

The boys had to find all of the "treasure" that Buddy had hidden for them.

The boys LOVED it and it was a pretty cheap activity coming in at $4 in all. If you want to know more about our advent adventures, check out the post here.

Advent Adventures - Decorate a tree

 This one could have gone SO many ways.

Originally I was planning on bringing the boys to Target and letting them pick from the collection of 2' tinsel trees. They come in pink, blue, silver, and gold. They were also going to pick from the lights, mini ornaments, tree skirts, and toppers available for these mini trees. When they had decided what they wanted we were going to go home, decorate the trees, add our own original ornaments, and then put the trees in their rooms as decorations.

Obviously this little rendezvous could have gotten a little expensive and having a mini tree in my two year olds' room may have spelled disaster for his curious little hands. So I put that idea in my back pocket for when the boys get a little older.

I then decided that the kids could pick one of the evergreen trees in our yard and decorate the tree for the birds and animals. I envisioned popcorn and cranberries and bird seed ornaments (you know pine cones with peanut butter, birdseed mixed up into blocks and cut into shapes with cookie cutters, that type of thing).

This idea was nixed because stringing popcorn and cranberries requires a needle and patience which means that I will undoubtedly be doing most of the work. Also, I was afraid that there would be other animals, like deer, that would find their way into our yard and I didn't want to encourage these lovable creatures to eat our new trees.

My third idea was the winner for this year. Christmas trees made out of sugar cones, decorated similar to gingerbread houses. Genius, right? The kids could choose the candy they wanted to use and make their tree completely their own.

Of course, they chose the most expensive candy..oh well.

My 6 year old took these pictures. Please keep that in mind...

First, I put a ring of frosting on a plate to hold the cone in place.

Then I put the frosting around the cone as I rotated the plate.

And here is what it looked like when I was done. Looks like a tree, right? Easy!

Next it was up to the kids to add their touch. Of course, they had to taste test the product before adding it to their trees.

Here they are all finished. Unfortunately, I didn't prepare for the fact that my two year old would have a COMPLETE meltdown when I told him he would have to wait until after dinner to eat his tree. (Yes, I let them eat one tree...don't judge.)

Of course, Ben wasn't sure how to actually eat his tree, so he decided the no hands method was the best option.

Next year, I will do this one with gingerbread houses (made out of graham crackers to make it easier) so that the decorating will last a little longer. 

I would also LOVE to try one of the other decorate a tree ideas. Maybe one year will make the difference in what the boys can handle on this one. Have you had any food decorating adventures in your house yet this year?

DIY Custom Bowl and Mugs for our Christmas Eve Tradition

The Dare to DIY link party is hosted by Kim at Newlywoodwards, Cassie at Primitive and Proper, Michelle at Decor and the Dog and Rachel at Maybe Matilda. Thanks Ladies!

The theme of today's "Dare to DIY" is entertain. For this project, I created some customized tableware for my family. Although they could be used as bowls and mugs for everyday life, these have actually been created for a special event in our home - the opening of our Christmas Eve Box.

On Christmas eve the boys open a box that includes everything we need to have a cozy Christmas Eve movie night, cuddled around the fire. Last year the box included pajamas and slippers, a new movie, hot chocolate, and popcorn. This year, there will be comfy pants, a new movie, a new popcorn bowl (pictured below) with popcorn, and hot cocoa mugs (I plan on using a fancy crock pot recipe for our Christmas Eve cocoa).

Okay, enough back story. Here is how I created the goods.

Actually, it was really easy. First I went to Target and found white bowls and mugs. I was extra psyched because there was an extra 10% off with Cartwheel for the white dinnerware. (Wahoo, bonus savings!)  Then I bought some Sharpie paint pens that are specifically for ceramics. (I have previously made the mistake of using the regular Sharpies and baking the mugs which Pinterest said would work. Pinterest lied!)

Fair warning: I am about as far from an artist as you can get so I typically rely on stick figures and bubble letters.

I started with the mugs. I wanted each of the boys to have their own, so I made sure to put their name on their mugs and then a little bit about the things they love and are great at. Here is what I came up with:

Obviously I free-handed it all. I did not really have much of a plan, I just added as I went and tried not to over do it. (I think I overdid it.)

Then I tackled the bowl. Again I relied on stick figures and bubble letters. For the holiday addition I searched for a clip art that I liked and then tried my best to recreate it. Yes, this is my best work. Sad! Or, perfectly imperfect? (Oh, and obviously the black mark is my attempt at privacy, added to the picture not to the bowl itself.)

So, there you have it. Customized mugs and popcorn bowl. The paint pens are really easy to use and went on pretty smoothly. The black was fine tip and the red and green were medium. I actually think the medium were easier to use, but the fine tip was better at details (obviously) so it might be a good idea to have a combination of both. 

Although tableware will be used for our Christmas Eve box, the same idea could be used to make mugs or plates for Christmas dinner. Your guests could take them home at the end of the dinner, maybe you could even fill them with leftovers? Or you could create a platter to use with whatever your contribution is to the dinner and leave it with the host/hostess as a thank you. So many options. What other ideas do you have?

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you all have a very happy Thanksgiving with your friends and families. Take time to enjoy the quiet moments to reflect on all that you are thankful for in your lives, and the loud crazy messy family moments that will create lasting memories in your heart. From our home to yours, Happy Thanksgiving!

Photo Via Maine Magazine: http://www.themainemag.com/eat/eat-maine.html

Looking for some Uncommon Gifts?

Well, as luck would have it, I received one of my favorite catalogues today and just wanted to share all of the awesome stuff that I saw. I call this "window" shopping because really I am just imagining that I can afford all these great gifts. When I get really delusional I even put them in my shopping cart. In reality I am pretty maxed out as far as Christmas gifts go. My goal was to get it all done before Thanksgiving and I think I have reached that goal and surpassed it. 

Anyway, here are some of my favs from Uncommon Goods:

For her:
1.Trinity Wood Cuff Bracelet
 
For Him
2. Personalized Whiskey Barrels with Rum OR Whiskey Making Kits

For The Math Geek, or a Host/Hostess Gift
3. PI Bottle Opener
For the Garden
4. Reclaimed Wood Duck Family 
 
For the Home
5. Bicycle Glass Set

For the Sports Fan
6. Ballpark Blueprint




For the Teenager
7. Cardboard Animal Set
 
8. Portable Ping Pong Set
 
For the Kids (or kids at heart)
9. Gummy Bear Lights
 

10. United States of America Block Set
And, finally...for Grandma/the whole family
11. Family Exponential Love Art

 Thanks for "window" shopping with me! And, sadly, no one asked me to do this. I just saw some cool stuff and thought I would share. You're welcome!