A Great DIY Gift to Include the Kids On

I have been scouring the internet for gifts that would inspire both the kids, and the recipients, and I think I finally found it.  And it was amazingly simple to get ready, and almost free, so you really can't beat that!

I had been reading online about "Gratitude" and "Joy" jars.  All you needed was a jar of some sort, embellishments for said jar, and paper.  Well, I just happened to have all of those supplies on hand, so one day last week, we "worked" on our creativity and motor skills, while making presents for family.

Here is what we did:

I washed out some of our peanut butter jars and gave them to the kids.  I had envisioned beautifully decorated glass, but thought maybe plastic was a better idea for kids who like to see how things bounce...

Then I gave them the stickers that keep coming in the mail from the Disney movie club.  We still haven't signed up, but I won't say no to free stickers!

Each kid got their own jar to decorate, and a full sheet of stickers.

And started their own masterpiece!

Little Dude got an airplane that morning from Grandma and Grandpa, so he finished his project ASAP!

I cut 11 pieces of 12" x 12" scrapbook papers into 2" x 2" squares for each jar (22 pages all together).

After they were finished, I put instructions in for each family to write something at the end of the day, be it a great memory, or something they were thankful for.  Then next Christmas, they have a daily scrapbook of the last year.  And reasons to look for great moments!

I Did NOT Fall off the Planet

I've just been hibernating.  You would probably think with the miserable weather we've been having here (-30 last week), I would have nothing but time to do crafts and then post about it.  And you'd be half right.  We've been doing lots of stuff with the kids.  Even taking pictures.  Then spending my evenings cuddling on the couch with my Hubby rather than telling you all about it.

He's working tonight, so here's a little catch up...

I found this great double sided puzzle at a local second hand store.  The kids played with it for an entire afternoon.  I think Little Dude just loved at the different cars and buses on it, but either way, he still played with it.

It was $1.00 for an afternoon of fun.  Not bad!

This is what the puzzle was.  ^

  

Little Dude's birthday cake.  I swear he really did get to taste some of it, not just wear it all!

And Sweetie's matching smile!

And then we did these Q-tip painting activities this afternoon.

The idea was to use the Q-tip to stamp in the circles on the letters.

He was way more interested in what the paint felt like, and tasted like.  Maybe we'll call this one a science experiment instead... :)

Sweetie made sure to savour her cookie before working on her sheets!

And there you are.  We haven't done anything amazingly photo worthy the last week, just made sure to cherish the extra family time we were given.  Stay tuned for more!