Showing posts with label countdown. Show all posts
Showing posts with label countdown. Show all posts

Christmas Kindness ADVENT CALENDAR idea for kids & family - daily ideas - punch cup carnival game countdown - envelopes, balloons, jar, etc.

I know there are so many kindness ideas from donating toys, bringing food to homeless, sending cards to soldiers, but I wanted something that the boys could do that day without any planning. 

The idea is to remind them about daily kindness, patience, and appreciation.
Little things that might make a big difference in their day or for someone else. 

Here is our KINDNESS advent calendar shaped like a Christmas tree!


We are doing a Christmas advent countdown with punch cups. 
Same craft from the punch cup carnival game for the library event I made a few years ago. 

The idea is to "punch" open each cup and read the act of kindness for that day.
You could do envelopes, balloons, or jar of kindness.

I found some old holiday themed scrapbook paper. Really really old scrapbook paper from 1996. Again, this proves I'm a hoarder  pack rat super smart and thrifty to keep every single thing and never throw stuff out. :) 

What you need:
cups
hot glue
foam core cardboard
notes
tissue paper
rubber bands
candy (optional)


Purchased cups from Wal-Mart.

Remember the paper flowers table decorations? I used the leftover tissue paper from that craft.


I printed all the little notes on the back of the scrapbook paper and cut into strips.

IDEAS:

Compliment five people today
Write a note or text someone you haven't talked to in a long time
Help someone today without being asked
Smile! It's a contagious feeling and can benefit you and others around you.
Tell someone you appreciate them
Commit to a day of positvity. Find the bright side to everything that might not go your way.
Give your pet or friends pet extra attention today
Stay off your phone or social media - interact with someone around you
Let someone go ahead of you in line or go through the door first
Stay clear of words like "never" or "can't" in a negative context
Focus on patience. Don't let the little things bother you.
Just say thank you. Even for the small things. Show appreciation when you can.
Share your extra treat with a friend or two at lunch. (I have teens. This might not work with younger children with food allergies)
Take time to listen to someone. Ask how they are doing or what they are planning for the holidays.
Your choice!
Pick up litter you see throughout the day


And for December 25th - Keep the kindness and interactions going all year long!

You can make the notes more specific for your family. For example my boys forget to turn lights off on a regular basis. One day might have something about being extra energy efficient. EEE day! Or maybe something for the dogs. They love to go to the dog park and we don't take them enough or give them a really long brushing.


I decided to add some candy too and printed red and green numbers. 
(free downloads below)


Cut tissue paper into squares.


I didn't have brown tissue paper and couldn't find any at the store. I spray painted cream tissue paper brown. Lol! I really wanted brown tissue paper. 

1.5 lever punch to cut numbers.




Two Hershey's Kisses in each cup. The boys will take turns "punching" open each cup but included candy for both of them. The bag had 53 Kisses and I need 50. Whew! Worked out perfectly. 

I sorted all the acts of kindness based on if the boys were in school, on break, or if it was a weekend. I can't ask them to share a treat at lunch if it's Saturday.



Filled all the cups from the bottom up.


I tested my tissue paper color pattern. :)


Punch cup tutorial HERE

Wrapped tissue paper over the top of the cup and secured with a rubber band. 


Attached the numbers with double sided tape in the center of each cup.






Hot glue cups to foam core board.

If you don't want to do all 25 days you could do the 12 days of Christmas Kindness.



I made 25 cups to open the last one on Christmas Day. 

I went to my BFF's house to take pics and realized I didn't like the rectangle board. :/


I trimmed the sides and around the bottom.


Added red garland around the edges and used the gold star from the Red Carpet event.
It looks so much better!



Before and after.


FREE DOWNLOADS
Red & Green numbers 
4x6 size photo
Print at your local Walgreens, CVS, print lab or print at home.

(Click link below and right click and save)

1-8
9-16
17-24
25

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Valentine's Day for the KIDS! -Classroom treats, advent calendar, teacher gifts and so much more!

My husband and I don't really celebrate Valentine's day. Why? Mostly because it feels forced and everything is way over priced. If he wants to buy me flowers or make me feel special, he can do that any day. :) With that said, I do go a little overboard with the kids. Why? I really don't know. I guess because it's fun to go overboard and I'm known for going overboard. Just a tad. Starting to see a theme here?

To kick off February I always have an advent calendar counting down until Valentine's Day. Boys LOVE this!

Inside the hearts are these super cute mini envelopes and I would like to think they are excited solely for the notes but I also include a Hersey Hug.



They are made from a HEART!!! Each once says why they are special. Tutorial HERE.



Need Valentine's Day PHOTO IDEAS?


Special HEART SANDWICH for lunch





I made this three years ago and we are still using the same one. I put it away in the closet and pull it out each year. No last minute scrambling. GENIUS! 




The boys always love to bring something for the teachers and classmates. Here are some things we've done in the past.

The boys made these for all their classmates and teachers


Dipped Strawberries (store bought or make yourself) packaged for easy carrying.
The boys gave these for teacher appreciation week but they would be perfect for Valentine's Day.




Cake baked in a jar!!! These are always a hit. We made these for Christmas last year and teacher appreciation the year before. So easy. Could do red velvet cake or strawberry and vanilla. Ooooh. Might have to make these this year too. Tutorial HERE.



Remember THESE rubber band bracelets my son was obsessed making!? He made Vday ones last year for the teachers and girls he wanted to bring a gift to.....yes, GIRLS with a S!!!! Oh dear!



So easy, makes a bunch and super cute! Can't wait to give these out this year.


Thank you for stopping by!

New Year's Eve FUN for the kids! - Balloon Pop Countdown - family activities & games

Before I share what we did for our third annual NYE party with the kids, I wanted to thank everyone for all the love. So many features, mentions, links, posts, etc! Amazing! Thank you!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Okay, now for the fun!

This all started with our first 2012 AMAZINGLY fun New Year's Eve that it's now a tradition! 


2013 New Year's Eve was just as fun with different ideas and activities. Such a huge hit!

Set up the same

I purchased black balloons and print activities and clocks. Roll paper and place in the balloon. Easy.....then a little problem. 


Okay, time to blow them up......WTH? I was tired and couldn't comprehend what was happening. I just kept saying....why are they turning purple? Hello, you purchased purple balloons. Duh! Amethyst/ PURPLE written clearly on the back of the package. 
{{note: when telling my hubby he was all smug quickly saying they were purple weren't they? What? When do you buy balloons and how did you know this?}}

Well, then my tiredness and OCD/perfectionist battled but tiredness lost. I scramble for a plan B. 

I had a few gold, very few black, and a new package of glow in the dark star balloons. YES! I made a pattern and cut each PURPLE friggin' balloon open and put the rolled paper in the new balloons. I think at this point I was in zombie auto pilot. Finally done! 

I put up all the balloons the night before so it's always a surprise when they wake up.

15 BALLOONS! Yes, I'm crazy. 

Each year it gets bigger and better! I didn't think I could top 2013 but the kids said it happened!
I normally work until 5:00 NYE so activities don't start until 6:30pm but this year I was OFF!!!! YAY!

Activities ALL day long!!!

They were expecting balloons to start at 6:30pm....NOPE! 
Woke them up to pop the first balloon at 8:30am and it was total excitement!

"What? What? It's time for the first balloon???!!! No way!" 
Totally worth the lack of sleep...I think or maybe just dreaming.

I let them decide what to play. Don't laugh but I used the kids cards and my older son used the adult cards in Trivial Pursuit family edition. LOL. Hey, I was barely awake and didn't want to embarrass myself.

This collage makes me laugh....the balloon looks like his head.

Lunch activity for them :) They made mini pizzas with mini pepperonis on mini bagels. 

It was late when I printed this and I meant to put frozen yogurt so they were a little confused at first. A delayed "Yaaaay yogurt" Lol! Their response was much different when I explained. 
Fun little treat plus to get out of the house for a bit. I squeezed in a few errands too. 

We've done the cookie thing in the past but only chocolate covered oreos. This time I rolled the dough and they could do anything they wanted. I thought it was funny one went with sports. (Cowboys #finishthefight) Yes, he hash tagged his cookies. 
The other made them about the dogs. We just got two puppies. So sweet.  


And mine......SUPER holographic edible glitter NYE cookies! Oooooh I love how they turned out. The picture doesn't do them justice. They were so glittery!

Need an awesome royal icing recipe that's super easy? Check out this post HERE.


I came up with 11 questions and added "retro" pics of my husband and I. 

Winner was based off correct answer and speed of answering. My youngest son won the game on the very last question. They were surprised on some with lots of  WHAT??? and NO WAY!! but I was surprised on how many they knew. They HAVE been listening. :)

Since we just got two new puppies I picked up some DIY dog tags. Remember shrinky dinks? It's plastic that shrinks in the oven. 

They wrote puppies name and our info with a sharpie. Then 10 mins in the oven and they were super small. Came with a little sticker to protect the writing and metal ring to attach to the collar. I couldn't find two the same so I told them to flip a coin to choose. 

Blokus! They love this game. I didn't think much about the colorful little blocks but you definitely need strategy. Got my butt kicked the first time. Now it's game on. I felt bad because I had my hubby play {his fist time playing} and didn't give him any warning that they would probably destroy him. 

I went for a run and came back in and asked, "which boy won?" Not even thinking he had a chance of winning. Lol!


We had leftover confetti eggs from Easter and Halloween that we never used. I figured this would be a fun activity to get some energy out. BEWARE - they hurt! I learned this the hard way several years back. Colorful eggs, excitement, and then instant tears. 

My rule - you MUST crush the egg in your hand before hitting someone with it.
It was a great activity since the time between the next balloon pop was short and this was over within minutes. 

Now something to keep them busy for a bit. Last year we did mini masterpieces but this year I found even small canvases. Mini mini masterpieces. SO CUTE!

Ahhhh....this is their all time favorite. My boys love shrimp. This balloon pop is a request and definite must every New Year's Eve! Plus they are pricey so it's our fancy treat.

Every year they get to add something to the activities. First year they taught a craft, last year they put on a magic show for us and this year.......commercials. It's fun to see them come up with a skit/commercials. They each did one by themselves and one together. Turned out really cute. No pics because I videoed. 

I put sparklers because I didn't know if my hubby wanted to do all the fireworks so early or wait until after the new year. We ended doing everything. It was FREEEEEEEZING! I say freezing but it's Texas so not really literally freezing. I just keep saying it. 

Getting ready for a toast....almost Midnight!!!! We didn't need two bottle between the two of us, promise. {{hiccup}} A friend suggested one and the other was purchased a while back. Boys drank apple cider. You would think they never get juice. I couldn't even get a picture before they needed a refill.

Time to eat cookies and the big toast. 

We popped this one after the countdown on TV. It also had a Happy New Year note to each boy. What we expect for the New Year and how proud we are of them. Then lots of hugs and kisses.

I didn't add any other pics but we did a photobooth again this year. SO.MUCH.FUN!

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