A Family Valentine's Day (on a budget!)

Coming up rapidly is Valentine's Day! Now this is typically my least favorite holidays- all about mandatory affection and buying go chocolates and candy. Not my thing. And then I had kids! Hehe... but we celebrate as a family! There's so many ways to celebrate love- the love of family, the love of Christ, the love of close friends.

Today I'm teaming up with Personal Capital to bring you just a few ideas of how to celebrate Valentine's Day without breaking the bank! We are saving up for an upcoming family reunion trip as well as working towards becoming debt free, which leaves very little wiggle room in the budget! Personal Capital has great tools for helping with your financial planning, so be sure to check them out! Whether it's a goody bag for the kids or a family movie night, we keep Valentine's Day celebrations  small, fun, and on budget! Here's a few ideas to get the wheels turning...

(1) Create goody bags for your kiddos 
Use Target's Dollar Spot, the Dollar Tree, or consignment stores to keep costs low! Don't be afraid to include practical items too- our goody bag this year includes fruit snacks and a diaper cover for our young toddler, and a second-hand shirt and stickers with notepads (to be used also for homeschooling!) for our preschooler!  Last year I shared some ideas for a Toddler Goody Bag and joined with The Twinery to embellish the Canvas Valentine's Bag you see above!

(2) Crafting bonanza
A fun way to celebrate might just be have a full day of heart-themed crafting! Make a handmade card for your the wee one's grandparents, friends, and of course dad! Create heart garlands to string up around the room or mantle. Hang red and pink balloons from the ceiling, door frames, etc. String up red & white crepe paper. Create an art masterpiece with stickers (maybe even sneak in a little counting practice while you're at it... "this tree needs 3 hearts, 4 in this tree, 1 in this tree")

(3) Do a family Bible study
Focus on finding all the way God shows his love for us. Discuss "agape" love.

(4) Have a family game night
Just make sure it's a game all members of the family can play, of course! Chutes and Ladders, Go Fish, Candyland are just a few games that kids of nearly all ages can enjoy :) If you have really little ones, maybe make a fun obstacle course instead! Whether it's a true test of skills (maybe even working on motor skills!) or just creating some tunnels and tents with couch cushions and blankets, it's sure to be a hit with kids of every age!

(5) Have a family movie night
Disney movies are rather perfect for a family movie night- Lady & the Tramp, Snow White, Sleeping Beautfy, Frozen, Lilo & Stitch- all great love stories! From puppy love, to a true love's kiss, to the love of sisters, to remembering that Ohana means family. Check out some of our own Family Movie Nights here to get ideas- decorations, food themeing, and of course the cinematic feature! Or maybe you just have "Tea for Two" (whether it's you and your spouse or you and your wee one!) and watch Mary Poppins or Alice in Wonderland- make your favorite finger sandwiches, brew a cuppa, and snuggle on the couch. Another staple in our house is Charlie Brown- there's quite a few Valentine's/love themed episodes to choose from there!

I hope this gives you a few new ideas how to have fun on Valentine's Day while keeping it family-focused and easy on the budget. Don't forget to check out Personal Capital for great tools to help organize your own finances, too!

Easter Egg Fillers

Looking for some Easter egg fillers other than the typical candy? With two wee ones, I wanted more than just sweets to fill their eggs. So here's a few ideas to get the ball rolling- especially for your older toddler or preschooler! Check back over the next few days for more Easter ideas for the whole family!

Valentine's Day Toddler Gift Bag

Hi all!

Today I'm super excited to share with ya'll that I'm being featured over on The Twinery Blog! A sneak peek is shown above :) If you'd like, head on over there to check out the super cute Valentine's Day gift bag that I created for our toddler using The Twinery's fabulous twine! 

>> Check out The Twinery Blog here <<

While you're there, be sure to check out all of the fabulous other guest bloggers that have been featured there lately with other Valentine's Day inspiration! And definitely head over to The Twinery's Shop to grab some fantastic twine, and made in the USA!!

Need some ideas as to what to gift your little sweetie this Valentine's Day? Here's what I included in my bag for our toddler- a mix of fun Frozen gear and sweet heart items :)
(NOTE: please exercise caution/supervision when giving small children small items) 

notebook

stickers

playing cards

coloring book

puzzle

mini tin lunchbox

DIY hairband (instructions below!)

socks

more stickers

chocolates

"magic" expanding bath foam animal capsules

DIY magic wand 

(instructions how to make the wand over on The Twinery blog above!)

 DIY Hairband 

I made my girlie a quick hairband using items I picked up at Target. The hairband and clips can be found in the, well, hair product section, and I picked up the felt flower from the Dollar Spot you can find in most Targets, usually near the entrance. 

The felt flower had a clothespin attached to the back, so I carefully peeled that off. I whipped out my hot glue gun, chose a clip, and glued the flower to the two tips of the clip. I then clipped it on the hairband. Easy peasy! I love that by using the clip, the hairband decoration is interchangeable :)

(Last Minute!) Toddler Gift Ideas

Wow! How is it already the last weekend before Christmas? Is anyone else fixing to pick up some last minute gifts this weekend? Thankfully I've had mine done for a while (had to plan ahead since baby #2 will be here any day!) but I thought I'd share some ideas that might be perfect for the toddler in your life! My favorite places to score good deals are Target (especially the dollar bin section!), Marshalls, Homegoods, TJMaxx, eBay, Walmart, Etsy, local antique/thrift stores, and Zulily. Also, remember that if you have Amazon Prime, you still have time to order most of your gifts in time to get them under the tree! So here we go...
*please note that many of the below links are affiliate links- by purchasing through these links, I do receive a small payment to help support our family!*

5 Toddler Winter Sensory Activities

Hey all!

How have your holiday seasons been going? Sorry it's been so quiet around here. Trying to wrangle a toddler, puppy, and being 8.5 months pregnant has taken its toll on me, hehe. I thought I'd pop in and share with  ya'll some of the fun entertainment that I've been sharing with our little one! She has a short attention span (go figure, since she's 2.5 yrs old! hehe) so keeping her occupied all day is definitely sometimes an exercise in creativity! Anyhoo, let's get on with some of these ideas, shall we???

We have a love/hate relationship with sensory bins. The little one loves them! As parents, we have a tendency to loathe them due to the extensive clean up they often require, hehe. Since they tend to keep her attention really well, I do enjoy giving them to her anyways! :) It's always so interesting to see what she does with the contents... I'll be sharing more sensory bins throughout the coming weeks! Here's a look at this one and what I included...

"Winter Themed" Sensory Bin

• penguin foam shapes (dollar bin at Target!)
• snowmen foam shapes (dollar bin at Target!)
• snowflake foam shapes (dollar bin at Target!)
• cotton balls
• blue pebbles (the kind you see sold for fish tanks or as vase fillers, they're at the bottom of the bin)
• white/blue pom poms (not included, but could be!)
• white, blue, teal ribbon scraps
• cool-colored Easter eggs (I like to think of them as "igloos" hehe)
• empty containers for filling and pouring
• cool-colored pipe cleaners (not included, but could be!)

This is a no-brainer really... if your wee one is anything like mine, any crafting supplies are a big hit with them! Here's just a few supplies and themed-ideas for ya...

Supplies

• crayons
• washable markers
• stickers (dollar bin at Target is perfect, or the dollar store)
• more stickers...
• and just a few more stickers!
• foam shapes (again, dollar bin at Target!)
• glue sticks (for the older supervised toddler... I haven't been that brave yet, hehe)
• pom poms
• pipe cleaners
• ribbon, brads, & other old scrapbooking supplies

Activities

• color in coloring pages - printed out free from online
• decorate coloring pages with stickers
• decorate foam shapes with stickers/pom poms
• make jewelry from pipe cleaners (bracelets/necklaces are super easy!)
• make animals from pipe cleaners

These are the types of activities that kinda fall outside the realm of the above two and really get the fingers going! I'll share more ideas from this category in the next few weeks, but here's two ideas to get ya going right now!

Decorate the Tree- 

Tis the season for trimming the tree! I picked up a $10 mini-tree at our local thrift store and a $5 bag of ornaments and some garland. She LOVES this little tree! I'd recommend getting very sturdy ornaments (perhaps wood or hard plastic) if your wee one is as rough on toys as mine is... some of the cardboard-based ornaments have already bit the dust, but that's why I didn't spend too much money on them! If you see one, a mini nativity scene for the little one to set up under their tree would be a great addition! 

Playdough Decorating- 

This was a real stretch for me! I was not allowed to have playdough as a kid due to the copious amounts of carpet in our home, so I was very weary to allow the wee one to have it. DH told me not to fret. I gathered up some random trinkets from the craft room (mini pom poms, chipboard shapes, buttons, Easter egg halves, and plastic spoons), flattened out some playdough colors for her, and let her loose... the funny thing is that her favorite activity was having me roll pieces into balls for her! She'd squish them, and I'd roll, she's squish, I'd roll, etc. 

Linking up here...
Inspiration Gallery Link Party

Toddler Autumn Sensory Bin

Can you believe Thanksgiving is just around the corner? I swear it snuck up super quickly this year! So with the Autumn season rapidly wrapping up, I figured I'd better put together this sensory bin for the wee one before it becomes outdated! Hehe. It's pretty flexible too- omit a few items and it's perfect for Halloween, add a few items and it's perfect for apple-picking season! Let's take a look at what the little one is playing with at the moment...

Contents:

• popcorn kernels
• clear pumpkin vase fillers (these were $3 at Target!)
• foam pumpkins ($1 for 10 foam shapes at Target)
• foam turkeys ($1 for 10 foam shapes, again at Target)
• fabric scrapbooking leaves
• fall-colored tins for scooping
• fall-colored plastic eggs for scooping
• ice cube tray (on the side)

Additional content ideas:

• apple foam shapes
• fall-colored beans (instead of corn kernels, or in addition to!)
• more foam shapes (especially if you're using a bigger bin!)
• Halloween foam shapes (bats, ghosts, cats, etc.)
• real leaves (freshly fallen outside, too dried and they'll just crumple up when played with!)
• real mini pumpkins
• real mini Indian corn
• read apples
• acorns (real or faux vase fillers)
• fall-scented candles (to add another sensory to the sensory bin!)
• fall-colored pom poms
• fall-colored pipe cleaners
• other festive vase fillers

Later this week I hope to switch out some of the contents and add some of the ideas from the "additional content" list! I find that my little one gets bored easily and then tends to just fling sensory bin contents around willy-nilly. Hopefully changing up the contents will help keep her toddler attention engaged ;)

Blessings,
Shauna

31 Days: Our Toddler Christmas Book Basket (40+ books!)

(NOTE: this post contains affiliate links)

Good afternoon, friends! 

Happy Sunday! Here on the blog, we're spending the month preparing a Holiday Planner to help organize everything for the fall & winter holidays. If you are new to this 31 day series, check out my beginning post...

Creating A Holiday Planner in 31 Days!

So are you ready to wrap up these book lists? I hope they've given you some new books to explore and perhaps add to your current and future holiday lists! Today I wanted to share some of our family's favorite Christmas-themed books! Our Christmas Book Basket contains a variety of book topics- from secular Christmas to Advent & Epiphany to Christmastide (aka. the 12 days of Christmas).

We have a 2.5 yro toddler in the house who, thankfully, loves to read! So most nights before bed, we all snuggle in and read a small pile of books. This Christmas season we'll be unwrapping one book per night- it will be a mix of old and new books for our little one since we're still building our stash! I have to confess that I'm a stickler for beautiful illustrations, even in children's books, or perhaps especially in children's books! However, some of these books I did pick out with purely my toddler's favorite things in mind. So! Without further ado, let me share my list with you! In no particular order...

31 Days: Our Winter Toddler Book Basket (20+ books to explore!)

(NOTE: this post contains affiliate links)

Good morning, friends! 

Welcome! Here on the blog, we're spending the month preparing a Holiday Planner to help organize everything for the fall & winter holidays. If you are new to this 31 day series, check out my beginning post...

Creating A Holiday Planner in 31 Days!

So today we are finally delving into the, I'm sure, long awaited for Christmas section of our holiday planners! I thought we might start out with me sharing some of our family's favorite Winter-themed books! Our Winter/Christmas/Advent Book Basket will be super full this year. We're starting a new tradition of opening one book per day of Advent & Christmastide (the 12 days of Christmas that lead up to the Epiphany) and doing a corresponding movie, craft, and/or baking adventure with each book! Should be fun :)

We have a 2.5 yro toddler in the house who, thankfully, loves to read! So most nights before bed, we all snuggle in and read a small pile of books. I have to confess that I'm a stickler for beautiful illustrations, even in children's books, or perhaps especially in children's books! However, some of these books I did pick out with purely my toddler's favorite things in mind. So! Without further ado, let me share my list with you! In no particular order...

31 Days: Our Thanksgiving Toddler Book Basket (10+ books to explore!)

(NOTE: this post contains affiliate links)

Good evening, friends! 

Welcome! Here on the blog, we're spending the month preparing a Holiday Planner to help organize everything for the fall & winter holidays. If you are new to this 31 day series, check out my beginning post...

Creating A Holiday Planner in 31 Days!

So did anyone find some great Autumn books to read after yesterday's post? Today I wanted to help fill out your Thanksgiving To-Do lists with some of our family's favorite Thanksgiving-themed books! Our Thanksgiving Book Basket is getting ready in the wings, coming out next month for turkey day month ;)

We have a 2.5 yro toddler in the house who, thankfully, loves to read! I have to confess that I'm a stickler for beautiful illustrations, even in children's books, or perhaps especially in children's books! However, some of these books I did pick out with purely my toddler's favorite things in mind.  We were moving at Thanksgiving last year, so we don't have a huge stockpile yet, but I plan to rectify that next month ;) So! Without further ado, let me share my list with you! In no particular order...

31 Days: Our Autumn Toddler Book Basket (30+ books!)

(NOTE: this post contains affiliate links)

Good evening, friends! 

Welcome! Here on the blog, we're spending the month preparing a Holiday Planner to help organize everything for the fall & winter holidays. If you are new to this 31 day series, check out my beginning post...

Creating A Holiday Planner in 31 Days!

So how are everyone's Autumn and Thanksgiving lists coming? Today I wanted to help fill out your lists with some of our family's favorite Autumn-themed books! Our Autumn Book Basket is really a figurative basket at the moment, as currently it's a messy pile on our nightstand, hehe. When I get a spare minute, I plan on picking up an actual lovely basket that can successfully hold our ever growing pile of Autumn books!

We have a 2.5 yro toddler in the house who, thankfully, loves to read! So most nights before bed, we all snuggle in and read a small pile of books. Some nights her attention span is greater than others, but I enjoy a lot of the books as well. So even on the nights where it feels like I'm just reading to myself, that's fine by me :) I have to confess that I'm a stickler for beautiful illustrations, even in children's books, or perhaps especially in children's books! However, some of these books I did pick out with purely my toddler's favorite things in mind. So! Without further ado, let me share my list with you! In no particular order...