Candy Cane Reindeer

You’ll need:

• wiggle eyes
• Small red pom poms
• Brown pipe cleaners
• Candy canes
• Hot glue gun

Hot glue the wiggle eyes on the candy cane.

Then hot glue the red pom pom to the tip of the curve of the candy cane.

Wrap a pipe cleaner around the top of the candy cane making sure the ends are even.

Wrap the pipe cleaner around your finger or a pencil to create an antler shape.

Finally, take the ribbon and tie a bow.

Snow Globe Christmas Ornaments

These adorable snow globe cup ornaments are the perfect thing to make for Christmas gifts!

Supplies Needed:

• Disposable Plastic  cups
• Photos
• Construction paper
• Fake snow
• Hot glue
• Pipe cleaner

Directions:

Print the Childs picture and cut it out around the child's silhouette.

Fold the bottom of the photo and glue the folded part of the photo to the construction paper. This is used for the bottom to keep the fake snow in the cup.

Grab your Disposable Plastic cup and use a pipe cleaner for the top to use to hang on the tree. Poke it through the top and twist the ends together.

Add the fake snow and glitter into the cup.

Hot glue the construction paper to the bottom of the cup

And now you have a completed snow globe :)

Healthy Snack Ideas: Winter Edition

Banana Snow Men – Start by chopping up a banana into slices. Each snowman will need 3 slices. Lay these flat on the plate in a snowman stack. For the buttons, grab a couple blueberries and placed them down the body of the snowman. You can use peanut butter or nutella to help make them stick. Don’t like blueberries? Try using a dark chocolate chip instead. For the arms, stick on two pretzel sticks to each side of the middle banana slice. The nose is just a sliver of carrot and the eyes are a each a dot of dark chocolate. 

Banana Penguin – Start by cutting a banana in half and dipping the top half in melted dark chocolate. You will want to hold it at a bit of a tilt to give the white stomach effect that penguins have. Next, cut 2 orange M&Ms in half. Place one half on the top middle of the banana, where the chocolate is, as the beak. Take the other 2 halves and place them at the bottom of the banana as feet.
You can eat the last half of the 2nd M& M.

Lastly, grab some white icing and add two dots for the eyes. To complete the look, grab your dark chocolate one last time and add on the pupil to each eye for a more realistic look.



Snowman Cheese Stick – Take your favorite color ribbon and cut it into small strips. Tie the strips around each cheese stick to create a scarf. Next, with a black sharpie, draw on buttons, eyes, and a mouth using small dots. With an orange sharpie, draw on the carrot nose. Lastly cut out the black hats out of construction paper and glue or tape them onto the snowman’s head.
 


Apple Penguin – Take your favorite apple and cut a heart shape into the side of it to create the face of your penguin. Using two strips of where you cut out the heart, take a bit of peanut butter and stick them on as wings. For the beak and feet, you can cut the shapes out of carrots or cheese. Using the peanut butter again, stick those into place.   Lastly, take two raisins and stick them on for the eyes.

Meet us back here for more crafts, snacks and fun!

10 Indoor Winter Activities

Wondering how you will keep your little ones occupied while they are stuck inside this winter season? We are here to help you with just that!
Here are 10 of our favorite indoor winter activities:
1. Puzzles – These are perfect for all ages because they come in so many varieties. Get one that is perfect for your child’s age or get one that’s a bit more challenging that you can work on together.

2. Movie Marathon – Make some popcorn, grab a blanket and watch some of your favorite movies. Our movie suggestion for the winter time is Frozen, of course!
3. Build A Fort – Grab some blankets, chairs or anything else you may need to build a fort! If you have any spare cardboard boxes around, these are perfect for building indoor forts. You can even have a contest and see who can make the best one.

4. Grab a Book – Snuggle up with a book or two by the fire! This is the perfect time to catch up on your reading, practice reading with little ones, and even reading a story to the family for a bit of family time.

Need a good book selection? Check out our 2nd Look Book Box here!

5. Arts & Crafts – Get crafty! Your little ones will stay occupied for hours when given some craft supplies to work with. You can have them create something specific by looking up templates online or checking out a few craft ideas from our blog, or you can turn them loose for some creative thinking.
6. Get Cooking – Let your little ones help you out with baking a few cookies. Once cooled, let them decorate the cookies as they please. This one is both fun and delicious!

7. Dance Party – Needing to get the wiggles out? Turn on the music and let the dancing begin. This will allow everyone to get in some exercise and release that pent up energy from being stuck indoors.
8. Game Time – Pull out the board games and cards for a family game night! There is nothing better for warming up a cold, winter night than time spent with family.

9. Family Talent Show – Put on a talent show for your family and have each member contribute by sharing their own special talent.
10. Scavenger Hunt – Create a scavenger hunt around the house for the kiddos to complete. You can make this as hard or easy as you would like.

Outdoor Activites for Cold Weather

Hot Chocolate Stand – It’s the winter version of a lemonade stand! Have the kids help set up the stand and prepare the hot chocolate. This is a great way to teach children about money and other aspects of business. Then you can pick a charity of your choice to give the proceeds to!



Smores – A must have for winter weather, smores are the perfect treat for all ages! Set up a smores station and allow the kids to help make their own. If having an actual fire is too much of a hassle, try using a marshmallow fluff or putting the smores in the microwave. No matter which option you choose, these are guaranteed to be a delicious treat!



Bubbles – Most people think of bubbles for summer time fun, but they are actually perfect for cold weather too! When the weather drops down to below freezing, have your little ones bundle up and take them out with a set of bubbles. The bubbles will freeze in the cold air!
 




For more cold weather fun. meet us back here! We have lots of fun ideas to share with you in the new year!