Bringing the nativity story to life is has always been an important part of our Christmas celebration. Just last year Emma captivated us with her retelling of Jesus' birth. She used her Bible and her nativity set and moved the little characters around as she read each part of the story. Like last year's Jesse…
I love chocolate-walnut logs, and with their unique shape and chocolate drizzle, these are a fabulous addition to my Christmas recipe box! Chocolate-walnut logs would be great to make ahead and freeze. You can go ahead and bake them and then freeze them (but save the chocolate drizzle for after they thaw so that it…
Add a personal touch to treat bags and gifts this Christmas with these printable gift tags. Just print them on cardstock, cut them out, punch a hole in the end and tie with ribbon or twine! Click here to download or print the hanging tags. Be sure to check out these hanging "From the kitchen…
Our tree topper is actually a sweet cherub angel we've had since we got married that I won't let my husband replace (no matter how tiny she looks on top of our 9' Christmas tree!), but when I started making paper star ornaments back in September, I had a feeling that a big paper star…
My mom has this pretty ceramic plate that she threads with various ribbons for special occasions. It's a beautiful way to serve cookies and cakes, but it's obviously cost-prohibitive to be handing those out as gifts left and right. Even though cookie tins are significantly less expensive, the cost of those can add up as…
Play silks are a great open-ended toy for kids. They can become a fort, a baby blanket, a scarf, or a sari. I've been wanting to dye play silks for the girls for a long time, and I've even had the silk and Kool-Aid just waiting to be used, but for some reason, I kept…
I may have gone a bit overboard with trying Chex mix varieties this year, making original apple pie, caramel corn, and cranberry-orange mixes! I created so many different varieties (ahem, besides the fact that eating them makes my heart and my stomach happy!) that I had a vision for this fun DIY cookie tin divider. Filling…
The following post is from Myra of My Blessed Life: 101 Days of Christmas: Paper Chain Garland One of my earliest childhood memories of Christmas anticipation is making a paper chain with my mom. We always used red and green construction paper and we made the number of rings correspond with the number of days…
We made these marshmallow shooters for my younger step-brothers a few years ago, and they were a hit. Rather than just giving them the guns and some marshmallows (or pompoms for indoor play), we also include paint and foam brushes so that they could camouflage them as well. That year, as the rest of us…
The following post is from Kacey of Next Level Mama: Random Acts of Kindness Advent Calendar Does all the hustle and bustle of the holidays leave your family at a loss for what the spirit of Christmas really means? Or are you ever concerned your kids (and maybe even yourself) are way too focused on…