I love hand print crafts, and there are several really cute ones out there for Christmas, so I thought I’d put together a list of them to share here. They’re wonderful projects for preschoolers and kindergartners with grown up help. Here are just a few of my favorites: Handprint Santa Claus here at Play Library Handprint reindeer here at Play Library Handprint reindeer treat jar from Amazing Moms Handprint angel craft from Party Animal Handprint Christmas tree from The Kids Birthday Fun Review Handprint crafts make great gifts for grandparents, and excellent keepsake gifts, especially if you put the child’s age and the date on the back. You can also photograph the craft and have it made into a mug, t-shirt or bag for grandparents.... [Read more]

It’s always fun to keep holiday snacks in the spirit of the season. Keeping them healthy at the same time is even better. Today I have some fun tips to share with you from Kim Kirchherr, Supervalu’s Corporate Dietitian. I had a wonderful phone conversation with Kim, and she shared several great ideas for making holiday snacks fun, festive, and healthy all at the same time. Kim says one fun thing you can do is break out the holiday cookie cutters. They’re not just for cookies. Here are a few healthy kid’s snacking ideas you can make more fun with a simple cookie cutter or two. Use them to cut your sandwiches into shapes. Cut shapes from whole grain tortillas, brush them with olive oil then bake them in the oven at 350`... [Read more]

Betty Crocker sent me a couple cans of their new Cupcake Decorating Icing to try out the other day. They sent Ivy Green and Rose Red, which were perfect colors to create some Christmas wreath cupcakes. My son and I decided to use them to decorate some cupcakes this afternoon. Each can comes with four tips, a star tip, a leaf tip, a round tip and a tip that’s flat on one side (for ribbons, flat lines, etc) with the other side  perfect for basket weave. I used the green with the star tip to make the wreaths, then used the red with the round tip to make the red ornaments on the wreaths. After the icing dried for about an hour I used my finger to pat down the peaks on the ornaments and to give them a round appearance. The cans do take a... [Read more]

Today I have the winner of the Barney Please and Thank You DVD. I want to thank everyone who participated in the contest. It was great fun reading what everyone had to say. I want to say a huge thank you to HIT Entertainment for sponsoring the contest. Now lets get to the winner! The winner was chosen by Random.org. Congratulations Adrienne to who says her favorite Barney episode is the one where a fireman came to visit. Thank you Adrienne for participating in the contest! I’ll be contacting you in the next day or so to find out where to send the Barney Please and Thank You DVD. Thank you to everyone who participated! I’m sure I’ll have more giveaways coming up in the next couple weeks! So stay tuned, and subscribe to the Play... [Read more]

Yesterday I shared a few ideas for handmade Christmas ornaments you can create with your kids this time of year. There are tons of other Christmas crafts you can also create if making ornaments isn’t your thing. One that’s fun to create for a keepsake is a handprint-footprint reindeer. They’re easy to make, and you can save them to show your children how much their hands and feet have grown. All you need is some construction paper, some paint, and some little hands and feet to trace around.You can also use glitter for the nose, but you can also just use black or dark brown paint, or cut a circle out of construction paper. Trace around your child’s foot on some brown construction paper, then trace around both hands on... [Read more]