Showing posts with label fun activities. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fun activities. 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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KID FRIENDLY - 4th of July TREATS and WATER Fireworks!!!

4th of July is always the morning parade (super early to beat the heat,) home or friends to play and fireworks at night. The last few years we've had a burn ban so no fireworks and with 102 temps it's even too hot to swim mid- afternoon. UGH! So here are some fun things the kids like to do/make for 4th of July.


Fruit Kabobs!!! (Some all fruit and some with mini marshmallows for the "white")



Strawberries, bananas, and blueberries OR strawberries, mini marshmallows, and blue berries

Dipped strawberries and sprinkles

We made homemade ice cream and just to make it a little more fun we dipped the cones in chocolate and then in red, white and blue sprinkles
They used candy melts (chocolate and vanilla) and sprinkles

DIPPED



ROLLED

Such a cute display if you are having a 4th of July party


How does it work? The drink with the highest sugar content stays on the bottom. Red fruit punch on the bottom, blue Gatorade in the middle, and sprite or water on top


We just tried this the other day and the boys thought it was pretty cool

Water "FIREWORKS"

Fill a clear glass or vase with room-temp water (leave space at the top)

Pour 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil into a short glass and add 2 to 3 drops of food color total. You can use different colors but not too many drops. 


Gently stir with a fork to just barely break up the drops. The idea is to have small and large beads of food color. This way you have small and large "fireworks"

Slowly pour the mixture into the water and within 30 seconds you'll see the beads drop and explode. We poured the mixture too fast one time and it just colored the water and you couldn't see the drops. If you have this problem you can pour the oil directly into the water and then add the drops of food color. You'll have to mix fast and only in the oil level. Then the same process will happen. 


Video






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Special notes - Valentine's Day COUNTDOWN! {{advent}} FUN for the kids


Super cute advent calendar to countdown the days to Valentine's Day. I made this to go on the side of our fridge. Love how it turned out!


I found the plastic heart boxes at HEB (grocery store) for $1.25 and I just happen to have stickers that had a bunch of exclamation marks for all the ones :) Magnets were purchased at Michael's Craft Store.

hot glued magnets to the back


CANDY!!!

Caramel kisses....yummmmm!


BUT I thought it would be cute to add little notes that say what I love about them in each heart. So I made these adorable....A-DOR-A-BLE mini envelopes made from a heart!!! :)








I colored a little heart on the back of each one and on the front it says To: and one for each boy 





The boys are soooooo excited to open them!



Other Valentine's Day posts you might like:




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