Virtual Gingerbread Decorating Party

Back in the Spring we put together a few Virtual Ice Cream Socials for some of our classmates and family members. It certainly helped to lift our spirits and gave everyone something to look forward to. Now that it’s December, the virus is raging again and parts of Illinois are essentially back in a shelter-in-place situation and we’re looking for new ways to make the season bright. Enter my newest TAKE on a virtual party…A Gingerbread Decorating Party!

It just so happens that my oldest has a birthday in December so we’re going to use a virtual Gingerbread Party as an excuse to celebrate her birthday. However, if I’m being honest I would have planned one anyway…anything to break up ALL the days at home and make some memories with friends. We’re opting to decorate Gingerbread houses but you could just as easily do Gingerbread people. As with the virtual ice cream social, we collected all the supplies and dropped them off at friends houses a day or two before the event. Sharing all the steps to create a virtual party of your own below.

1. Decide on the date/time and create an invite. I used this pdf from Art Bar Blog , customized and then printed and pasted on card stock. I also used scalloped pinking shears to make the invites a little bit more gingerbread-esque.

2. The biggest key to making this party easy for everyone involved is to buy pre-assembled Gingerbread houses or pre-made Gingerbread people. Whole Foods sells both and they are perfect for decorating…don’t wait too long though as they do sell out! If you don’t want to bake the Gingerbread people yourself, I bet you could call a local bakery and ask if they would sell you undecorated cookies - therefore, saving you time an supporting a local business.

3. The next step is to decide what kind of candy you’d like to include with your delivery kits. We opted for the following: Dots, Pretzel Snaps, Necco Wafers, M&M’s, Lifesavers and Mike & Ike’s. Nilla Wafers are also some of my favorite to use for roofing. What are some of your favorite candies to decorate with? Do you prefer bright or pastel colors? This site provided us some major decor inspiration.

4. Icing is a necessary evil in this party and again, I wanted to make this simple for myself and for the other families so I was thrilled when I found these pre filled pastry bags by Pillsbury. Wilton Cookie icing is also a great option and comes in multiple colors if you’d like something other than white.

5. Once all the supplies were collected we packed them into these bags, added tissue paper and tied the invite to the handle.

Finally, deliver your Gingerbread party goodies to friends and/or family (this is one of the best parts) and have fun during your virtual event. We’re hosting our Gingerbread Party this coming weekend and we’re going to play some holiday music and wear our new candy cane aprons…hopefully, they help to contain some mess! We’ll be sure to share our finished products…Happy Holidays!

***Affiliate links are included in this post.

Easter Baskets in Quarantine

There have been a lot of times are a lot of times during this pandemic when I would have preferred to deal with things by curling up with a blanket on the couch and hiding for a while. I kind of just want life to stand still so that when things start to normalize we will be starting back where we left off. I so wish we could do this but we can’t so while we are doing our best to stay home; birthdays, anniversaries and holidays are coming to pass. It will be strange and sad not to celebrate with family as so many of have planned but Easter has always been a big deal in our house so I’m trying to motivate myself to make it memorable and fun for the kids.

So since Easter isn’t going to be cancelled and it’s in less than 10 days, we’re going to keep our traditions pretty simple this year…dying eggs, matching pajamas, dressy Easter attire (even if it’s cold and we don’t have anywhere to go) an egg hunt and Easter baskets. Regardless, of our reality I still love building Easter baskets for my kids - it’s a form of escapism for me. This year I had some items pre shelter in place orders, ordered a couple of items online and then tried to shop from some local shops in Chicago that are offering delivery or curbside pick up. Read on for this year’s TAKE on Easter baskets.

If you’re still looking for some Easter basket ideas this is the majority of what I collected so far mostly before the Illinois shelter in place order. Since then I have been able to shop a bit from a neighborhood toy and book store and have ordered some Easter candy from a local spot. It may not be much but it feels helpful to assist in supporting small and local business right now.

• Monica & Andy Ruffle Striped Swimsuit

• Too Many Bunnies

• Junie B; First Grader: Dumb Bunny

• Happy Easter Llama Bunny Socks

• Peeps Marshmallow Scented Bubbles

• LEGO Star Wars Kylo Ren’s Shuttle Microflighter

• Crewcuts Spiral Hair Ties

• Furry Bunny Glasses

• Grow Alien

• LEGO Dots Bracelets

• Bunny Pajamas (The ones I ordered are no longer available but I always love some classic stripes!)

• Jellycat Blossom Bunny

• Meri Meri Bunny Bag

This year as activities to keep my kids engaged are even more valuable than ever I’ve bought into the hype and ordered the EggMazing Easter Egg Decorating Kit. I hope our eggs turn out half as well as advertised! This Easter will be a bit heavier than usual for most everyone around the world so no matter how you celebrate this year stay safe, stay healthy and try to make some new memories.

***Affiliate links are included in this post.

Will You Be My Valentine?

Valentine’s Day is a less than two weeks away and I can’t help but think it’s become much more commercial and heavily celebrated than it was even 10 years ago. Maybe I feel that way because I didn’t have kids 10 years ago and holidays and their traditions seem to intensify with children. I find this to be especially true when they’re in elementary school. Don’t get me wrong I love traditions and holidays but sometimes I struggle with making the celebration manageable yet manageable.

So, that brings up the question of how to celebrate Valentine’s Day. The options are endless..balloons, heart shaped pancakes , DIY school Valentine’s, parties, themed clothes, presents you name it. What I’ve found that works best for me and my family is to try and stick to a “rule of three.” This means that we focus our efforts on three manageable i.e. somewhat low effort yet high impact traditions.

This almost always involves some sort of fun themed breakfast and holiday themed children’s books that we read leading up to the day but has also involved flowers for our daughters’ first Valentine’s Day, personalized cards and even festive attire. Whatever you do, enjoy the holiday and just make it fun especially for the kids! If you’re looking for festive ways to celebrate please read on for my TAKE on Valentin’e Day celebrations.

Festive Attire

I have a hard time avoiding matching holiday pajamas for my brood and this year I fell hard for this rainbow heart version from Primary.com. My 20 month old loves them so much she even attempts to put them on herself! Aside from pajamas which I generally fall prey too at all holidays I don’t really get into Valentine themed clothes unless it leggings. Heart leggings I find are appropriate at all times! This year, I ordered these heart leggings from Gymboree and I genuinely love the print but perhaps I’m feeling a little bit sentimental as the brand is going out of business.

Holiday Themed Books

I love to collect children’s books and they always help to build excitement around the holiday. We have a couple of new favorites this year; LOVE and Mirabel’s Missing Valentines. LOVE is not so much Valentine specific but has a lovely message and incredible illustrations and Mirabel’s Missing Valentines is just darling and perfect for a shy child. Both of these have been often requested at bedtime in addition, to my list from last year.

Personalized Gifts

In general, I love a personalized gift, even if it’s just a card or a personalized note. It shows you put a little extra thought into something and people like to know you care. I don’t always think ahead but when I do I can always find something amazing. This year this amazing spoon for my cereal loving children caught my eye as well as these festive conversation heart balloons! If you’re into sending a personalized note to friends or family this personalized stationary set is adorned with the most classic red heart!

Holiday Book Obsessed

Earlier this month, against my better judgement I counted the number of holiday books in our collection. There are 62, to be exact. Not including Thanksgiving, Easter, Valentine’s Day and all the other holidays we celebrate. These are merely, our Christmas book collection. I’m not sure if I should be embarassed or proud of this number but I’ll go with the latter. Regardless, I think it’s clear I’m obsessed. I’ve been building this collection for the past 7 years and each year add more on St. Nicholas Day (Dec 6th) and Christmas Eve. With three children the holiday books easily grow exponentially each year. This year there are so many new-to-us and wonderful newly released holiday books that I felt they were worthy of a blog post. If you’re looking for a new holiday read to add to your collection or a gift idea check out my TAKE on these holiday children’s books.

My Top 10 New Holiday Books

• Construction Site on Christmas Night

  • For our son who loves all things construction, this is a darling addition to Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site.

• The Lost Christmas

  • An addictive seek-and-find book that takes you on a journey to find missing ornaments

• A Loud Winter’s Nap

  • We have this in the board book version and it’s perfectly engaging for a 1.5 year old

• Last Stop On The Reindeer Express

  • This may be our eldest’s favorite book this season. With whimsical illustrations and a bit of magic it has captured her imagination.

• Dear Santa

  • Another board book this a lift-the-flap book along the lines of another favorite, Dear Zoo.

• All Aboard! The Christmas Train

  • If you have a train lover in your life this is a fun book, giving you a glimpse into Santa’s Christmas train.

• The Story Orchestra: The Nutcracker

  • My oldest loves ballet and my youngest two love music so this book is a crowd pleaser. It’s a different take on the classic Nutcracker story as you can listen to the music as you read along.

• Pick A Pine Tree

  • This book celebrates every step in selecting and decorating my very favorite Christmas decoration; a pine tree.

• Over The River And Through The Wood

  • While technically this book ends with a Thanksgiving feast…it gives off more of a Christmas vibe!

• The Little Snowplow

  • A classic tale about being slow and steadfast takes shape in this story. Again my son, loves all trucks and snowplows are no exception!

*Note that some of the books are newly released this year whereas, others are merely new to our collection. All are wonderful and appeal to a wide age range think 1 - 9 year olds!

Not only, do I collect books to read each night in December with our children but I love to select one book each year to gift to our nieces, godson and close family friends. This year, we’re gifting The Lost Christmas because a seek-and-find book is oh so fun!

Believe it or not, one book that we do not have in our collection is, Twas The Night Before Christmas. I’ve been searching for a fabulous edition for years. I’d love something with really lovely and elaborate illustrations so please share if you have any leads!

Happy Reading!

25 Books of Christmas

Christmas is one of my favorite holidays and I’ve always wanted to pair it with another favorite in my life; children’s books. So last year we tested out a new holiday tradition - A Christmas Book Advent Calendar! We ended up coining the tradition; 25 Books of Christmas. Trust me when I say that, homemade countdowns are incredibly easy to pull off but have a huge impact. So if you’re into holiday children’s books and looking for a new tradition to build excitement check out my TAKE on creating your own advent calendar.

Creating your own advent calendar just may be the simplest thing you do all year. With the help of my husband and mother-in-law we wrapped 25 of our hardcover Christmas children’s books in kraft paper. I then used red printable labels from Paper Source to showcase the number. Our printer wasn’t working at the time so I drew the numbers on with a Gold Sharpie marker. I then displayed the books on our fireplace mantle and we read one each night. It was so fun, the kids loved it and it made me so happy to repurpose books from our existing holiday collection. All of the books we read last year are listed below: Numbers 8, 13, 14, 17, 19, 23 and 25 are my absolute favorite.

This year I’m trying a new tradition but we’ve gotten all of our holidays books out and I plan to re-create 25 Books of Christmas another year. If you want to follow along and watch as this years’ tradition unfolds I’ll be posting to my Instagram stories every night from December 1st - 25th.

25 Books of Christmas

1. Yes, Virginia: There is a Santa Claus

2. How the Grinch Stole Christmas

3. The Christmas Wish

4. The Animals’ Santa

5. A Night of Great Joy

6. Babar and Father Christmas

7. Angelina’s Christmas

8. Madeline’s Christmas

9. The Elf on the Shelf

10. Splendiferous Christmas (Fancy Nancy)

11. The Nutcracker

12. How to Catch Santa

13. Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree

14. The Sweet Smell of Christmas

15. Gingerbread Christmas

16. The Polar Express

17. The Christmas Cookie Sprinkle Snitcher

18. The Snowman

19. Olivia helps with Christmas

20. The Berenstain Bears’ Old-Fashioned Christmas

21. Little Blue Truck’s Christmas

22. Olive, the Other Reindeer

23. When Santa Was a Baby

24. The 12 Sleighs of Christmas

25. The Jolly Christmas Postman

10 Travel Tips for Family Road Trips

The Thanksgiving holidays are here and we’re off on another road trip adventure headed towards New Jersey and the Big Apple. We often travel over the Thanksgiving holiday as it’s always a guaranteed four day stretch of vacation; opposed to the randomness of the Christmas holiday. Besides, there is much less schlepping over Thanksgiving! This year our Thanksgiving travels are a little bit grander than usual but we’re excited to visit family in New Jersey and after our epic road trip to North Carolina we feel like this 12 hour drive should be a piece of cake.

Recently, I’ve been met with looks of horror when I tell people that we’re DRIVING to New Jersey for the holidays. “You’re driving, really?” “Have you done that with all three kids, before?” Why, yes actually we have! Sure, we may be a little bit like the Griswold’s out on a wacky adventure but right now, driving provides us with a little bit more flexibility and the opportunity to travel more frequently. Both huge wins in my book! We’re lucky that our kids are very decently behaved and comfortable in the car but the trips are not without their moments! I’m just hoping that the two youngest (as demonstrated in the photo above) can get along this trip.

I never got around to writing a round up about our summer road trip but I wanted to share my TAKE on what worked well for us in hopes that it’ll help your next road trip pass a little smoother.

Top 10 Tips for Traveling with Kids (Road Trips)

1. When driving split travel into multiple days (I find that we max out at 8.5 hours)

2. Attempt to stay in a hotel with a pool; always a draw for the kids and a nice treat at the end of a travel day

3. On your first day of travel make sure to pack sandwiches (or something substantial) for the road. This helps to ensure that kids especially are able to get something decent in their tummies. Helps for grown ups too!

4. Eating on the road can be tricky but if your schedule allows it make time for at least one sit down meal each day. So helpful for the little ones to have some time outside of their car seats.

5. Snacks. Bring loads of snacks. My best advice here is to load the front pouch of your child’s backpack with 4-5 snacks; i.e. applesauce, cashews, granola bar, pretzels etc… This way your child can grab snacks from their pack when they want them. Your arm and shoulder will thank you for this!

6. I wrote an entire post about how to entertain kids while on a road trip (here) but the best tip is to have a gift or surprise for every state that you drive through. Our kids love this and it helps keep them off their tablets. Playing a road trip “theme song” as you pass into each new state can also be really uplifting for the passengers and the driver.

7. So, it’s true some states are really long and for those states that you spend countless hours driving through I’d suggest packing a handful of other activities to pass the time. A map of the United States from (Mr. Printables) to color in as you spot the state liscense plates, Imagination Magnets and travel bingo are some of our favorites.

8. Packing and preparation takes a lot of time but is worth it. There’s an entire post about packing that I wrote (here) but let me just reiterate that packing cubes are where it’s at. They’re such a time saver when you get to your final destination.

9. If you plan stopping overnight while en route my best advice is to pack a separate “hotel bag” full of your tolietires, pajamas and a fresh change of clothes for the next day. This saves us so much time and it’s so nice to just grab the bag and go when we’re rolling into a hotel past bed time.

10. The most important thing is to have fun! The best part of driving is that you get to plan your own adventure and experience different parts of the country along the way. Don’t take yourselves too seriously and don’t have too high of expectations for the kids and I promise it will be fun. After all, the best part of life is the journey!

P.S. The kids each have a travel backpack that they are responsible for on the road. It helps to contain their possessions and house snacks. Hopefully, it teaches them a little bit about responsibility and organization too! Backpacks (L to R) Lucy: Herschel Supply Co. Heritage Youth Backpack; George: Herschel Supply Co. Heritage Youth Backpack and Maggie: BlaBla Panda Backpack (I don’t believe BlaBla makes these anymore but I’ve been saving this one for years and did a quick search on Amazon and found one ladybug available.)

DIY Holiday Planters

One of my favorite things about staying home for Thanksgiving is that we have an extra couple of days to prepare for Christmas. My eldest has a December birthday so I need all of the extra time I can get to prepare for the month of December. One of the first things I like to tackle each year is our planters! 

We have one of the most wonderful Garden Centers close to our home called Gesthemane Garden Center. It is a glorious place and they have beautiful pre planted planters for purchase but a few years ago I wanted to see if I could accomplish a similar look on my own. I use a combination of real and fake elements and I think I've come up with a great option. In order to keep the cost down I reuse some components year after year i.e. birch logs, pinecones and faux berries and then buy a selection of fresh greens from Trader Joe's and Gesthemane Garden Center. Read on for my TAKE on a holiday planter!

Planter Components from Left to Right: 1 Decorative Holiday Bough (Trader Joe's), 2 Bunches Holiday Swag (Trader Joe's), 1 Bunch Boxwood (Gesthemane Garden Center), 3 Birch Logs (Gesthemane Garden Center), 3 Bunches Red Berries on Sticks (Gesthemane Garden Center), 5 Sprayed Pinecones on Sticks and in various sizes (Gesthemane Garden Center) 

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Planter Size

First things first, it's important to note that the planters I use are about 12 inches wide in diameter (at their widest point) and nine inches deep. They also had about 2-3 inches of soil in them that helps when placing the elements in the planters.

Step One

The first pieces to go into the planters are the 2 bunches of holiday swag from Trader Joe's. These are pre-wired as you would typically hang something like this and it really helps to give the planters a sturdy base and shape. Don't forget to remove the red bow and pinecones before placing the swag into the planter!

Step Two

Once the holiday swag is firmly placed in the soil I add the three birch logs to the arrangement. You can always play around with their placement once you have added everything to the planters.

Step Three

Next I separate the decorative bough from Trader Joe's and place each item separately. The boughs typically include some holly, evergreen and berries and I like to add them piece by piece to provide some color variation and texture.

Step Four

The last fresh greens to be added are the Variegated English Boxwood that I buy from our local Garden Center. This comes in a bough or bunch and I separate and place the stems individually. This also helps to to add more color to the planters and more stability.

Step Five

Next come the berries. I tend to prefer having a mostly fresh planter but this year opted for faux berries from Gesthemane as our neighborhood squirrel population tends to like to eat the fresh ones. I bought 3 sets of berries and placed them randomly in the planter breaking up the monotony of the green with the bright red.

Step Six

The final addition to the planters is the pine cones. I also place these randomly throughout the greens to break up the colors and texture as well as to fill in any gaps. 

et Voilà!

In about six steps the planter is complete and you are on your way to a festive home for the holidays! Truly, these planters will last throughout the holiday season with little to no up-keep. No watering is needed but if you receive a heavy snowfall I will reposition some of the planter elements as they tend to shift due to the weight of the snow. Happy Decorating!

A Tale of Two Thanksgiving Tables - Part 2

A Traditional Table

After sharing our fun Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade tablescape earlier this week I wanted to share another more formal option. More often than not if we're setting our dining room table for a holiday meal it takes on a traditional form. It typically always involves the standard: cloth napkins, a tablecloth or table runner, candles, flowers or foliage, good china, crystal glasses and sterling silver. Basically, every single holiday meal I've had since a child has followed suit. I certainly don't mean to knock tradition; I love tradition but I like to mix it up a bit too! Read on for my TAKE on a traditional Thanksgiving tablescape.

My traditional tablescape definitely includes classic items such as a table runner, candles, wedding china, crystal and my grandmother's sterling but I do like to mix it up a bit! For some fun and variety I combine two sets of china, two sets of crystal goblets and various crystal candle holders! Our children will be joining us at the table this year so I've added turkey cookies from our favorite Chicago bakery Sweet Mandy B's and festive party poppers from Meri Meri. They get excited to eat at the dining room table and take pride in the fact that they helped set the table by collecting the fall leaves but It's going to be a struggle for them (and myself) to wait until after the meal to eat those cookies! Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

A Tale of Two Thanksgiving Tables - Part 1

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

We're hosting Thanksgiving this year and I've been thinking about all aspects of planning for the holiday. Most nights we eat dinner at our kitchen island but on Thanksgiving we always sit down at the dining room table. Naturally, the table decor has been on my mind...enter the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade tablescape.  I can't take credit for this genius idea. I wish I could but I saw it on the Instagram feed of The House That Lars Built and was blown away. Of course, I had to try it. Immediately. Read below for my TAKE on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade tablescape.

Buildings

Before creating the tablescape I collected a handful of boxes from around the house and my husband wrapped all of the boxes in this wrapping paper. Trust me if I had wrapped these boxes they wouldn't look half as nice. He is an EXPERT when it comes to wrapping. I then tested out a couple of Sharpie colors on the back of the boxes but ended up using the Silver Metallic version. I then drew doors and windows in varying shapes and sizes on each box to create the buildings. I then lined them up along the edge of the table runner. The most challenging part of setting this table may just have been poking holes in the top of the boxes for the balloons. I used a sharp scissors and the firmer the box the easier it was.

Balloons

You can find a lot of small helium balloons with sticks online but I went to a Party City store and was able to select balloons from their inventory. I knew that I wanted a Turkey and a Santa (the parade always ends with Santa Claus) and I selected the others based on what I thought our kids would like. Unfortunately, they didn't have a Turkey in stock but I had them blow up an orange balloon (brown wasn't available) and I taped on a turkey art project my son had completed earlier in the week. To ensure the balloons looked like they were floating I positioned them at various heights in the buildings.

Street + Cars

For the street I used a table runner that I bought a few years ago at Crate & Barrel (a similar once can be found here) and added road markings by cutting down yellow construction paper and placing them in the center of the runner. Cars aren't necessary for this tablescape but I thought they would be a fun addition especially when you have littles at the table. I used this Melissa & Doug set that we had on hand but also found these amazing Hot Wheels taxi cab cars online.

All in all this was extremely easy to put together and the kids LOVE it! It just took a little planning in terms of the balloons and boxes but a short amount of time to execute once all the supplies were collected. I paired this tablescape with our everyday china and some miniature pumpkins as it would be perfect for a kids table! Stay tuned for another more traditional tablescape option coming later this week.

Halloween Happenings

There is something about having littles around the house that makes decorating for the holidays especially exciting. Halloween is no exception. I try not to go crazy with decorations as storing said decorations can prove challenging in our city home but I wanted to share some of my tips and favorite Halloween decor.

Kate's Tips

• I wait until October 1st to start decorating
• I select items for our front door/stoop area that can easily transition into November
• I include the kids in the task of decorating (I mean it's an activity, right?)
• I try to introduce one new decoration each year
• I love to have coordinating Halloween costumes for the kids but my eldest is quite opinionated so this year I've opted for two costumes:
  • One coordinating sibling costume (it's all about the photo-op)
  • One costume that each child will wear Trick-or-Treating

Halloween Decor from Left to Right:

1. Potted Yellow Mums 2. Pumpkin Door Hanger 3. Black Crows perched on Pumpkins 4. Novelty Pumpkins a la Trader Joe's 5.  Posable Black Bats 6. Black Spiders crawling down the fireplace          7. Trick or Treat Banner (similar styles found at Target) 8. My favorite Schleich Animals adorned with Meri Meri Witch Hats