Happy New Year!

(Decorating last year's New Year tree.)

New Year's Tree

*** This Post is from the Archives of Tutus and Turtles***

The creative Mom of this lucky family takes the Christmas decor off of the Christmas tree just in time for the New Year and when the kids wake up on New Year's Day the tree is covered in confetti and stuffed with party crackers. A New Year's morning party ensues, and face paint and homemade pinatas stuffed with confetti add to the festivities.

See more images and ideas from the New Year Tree Party here.
Isn't this the perfect way of involving kids in the celebration without sacrificing their sleep too much? I think having friends over and turning this into a New Year brunch would be a great way to compensate for the lack of babysitters and festivities for our early-to-bed on New Year's Eve Family...

Salt Dough Ornaments

This year we decided to try out an advent calendar. My girls love checking what is behind the door each morning, and were super excited when they got to make ornaments. I tried out this Salt Dough Recipe and it was awesome. It takes a bit of time, but the girls loved it and their ornaments turned out fantastic!

Fancy Nancy Splendiferous Christmas

We love Fancy Nancy at our house, so when we saw that there was a new book out we just had to get it! Fancy Nancy Splendiferous Christmas was darling! A new favorite for my girls.

* Check your local Costco or Sam's Club, it's a bit cheaper there than online!

Accentuate Designs

Accentuate Designs makes adorable banners that would help set the mood for any holiday or celebration -- and they even do custom banners with your own letters and colors!

My favorite for the holidays is the Believe Banner.

I know my girls would love to have this darling birthday banner hung up for them all birthday month long.

Their kid-friendly countdown blocks would be great to help your kids work on their numbers all the way to Christmas.

Happy Valentine's Day!

{If you are looking for last minute printable Valentines, see this post over at Kidshaus.}

Last Minute V-Day Ideas... for the kids.

Hearts How-To

1.Cut a fat heart from paper that has a white side and a patterned side -- wrapping paper works well.

2. Lay the heart with the patterned side down. Fold in sides as shown.

3. Fold the top down just above the middle.

4. Fold the point up.

5. Turn envelope so flap is at the top, and seal with a sticker.

Chocolate How-To

1. In a double boiler over low heat, melt chopped-up chocolate bar, whisking frequently.

2. Place in a plastic bag with a corner snipped.

3. Pipe onto chocolates of a contrasting color; let dry.

4. Package with cellophane and ribbon.

{as seen on marthastewart.com}

Valentine Chair Backer

{Valentine Chair Backer}

I remember a February long ago when I carefully and lovingly pieced together a rather fancy paper mailbox for my younger sister to use for her school's Valentine's Day party. It was lovely and she adored it.

Now I have two little ones that would be tickled pink to have their own Valentine's mailbox where they could drop off colors they pictured, "I "heart" U"s that they write, and find treasures delivered just for them. Instead of stopping at Valentine's Day, the entire month of February could become our month to go out of our way to express our love for each other. This time around we are going to need something a little more permanent than a paper box because my days of spending hours upon hours on disposable creations are over...

Amy at Our Scoop created these darling Valentine Chair Backers and generously put together a detailed tutorial so we can all make our own bags to be filled with Valentine loveliness all February long! Keeping everyone's bag on their chair makes the finished project easy to use and keep organized and you can reuse them for years to come.

Make your own Valentine Chair Backer with this tutorial.

Valentines Party Games

A friend of mine asked me to find a game for our preschool children to play during our Valentine's Party. Here are a few of my favorites!

Heart Stomp gets their little bodies moving to great music and helps them think fast when the music stops.

Valentines Day Bingo -- a must have party game! I really liked DLTK's version because you can customize your bingo card for the age group that is playing.

Cupid's Tree Scavenger Hunt! This game is great for kids who can read, and can be modified for kids who can't. It is full of riddles and gets their minds thinking while they are having fun!

picture courtesy of kaboose

Heart Cupcakes

These would be an easy, fun way to include your kiddos in valentines day. Instead of doing sugar cookies, do cupcakes!

Valentine Wreath

This wreath looks really fancy, but is actually easy enough for your children to help you make. Just choose a bright fabric, grab a heart wreath and you are set. You could always use this same idea for a birthday, fourth of July, or Christmas. Also, take a look at all of the other fabulous things Little Birdie Secrets has, she's full of fun ideas!

Hanging Hearts Mobile

This heart mobile is cute and simple.

from PBK, as seen on ohdeedoh

Valentine's Clippies

These hair clips from Berkley's Clippies etsy shop would be perfect for adorning your little gal on Valentine's Day this year.  I have an odd obsession with felt flower clips, so these are calling my name.

Valentine's Day Projects for Kids

Heart and Lollipop Flowers

Martha Stewart has some fun Valentine's Day projects for kids. I think that if we started cutting out hearts and decorating now, the kids could make all of their own valentines for friends and family.

New Year Tree

I am almost heartbroken that I only just heard about this great New Year idea this afternoon, but still plan on throwing a little something together for the morning and am already excited for next year:

The creative Mom of this lucky family takes the Christmas decor off of the Christmas tree just in time for the New Year and when the kids wake up on New Year's Day the tree is covered in confetti and stuffed with party crackers. A New Year's morning party ensues, and face paint and homemade pinatas stuffed with confetti add to the festivities.

See more images and ideas from the New Year Tree Party here.

Isn't this the perfect way of involving kids in the celebration without sacrificing their sleep too much? I think having friends over and turning this into a New Year brunch would be a great way to compensate for the lack of babysitters and festivities for our early-to-bed on New Year's Eve Family...

Idea and images via se7en - thanks a million!

Kid-Friendly New Year's Eve Party

Cookie has ideas and a schedule for an early-evening party that kids and adults can enjoy - see them here.

Happy New Year!

Yummy!

We made these donuts for Christmas and boy, were they YUMMY!! They would be a great way to welcome in New Year. We rolled ours in powdered sugar and filled them with pudding. My girls loved to cut out the circles, watch them rise, and then cover them in sugar.

Party Favors

With the New Year just around the corner, and a week with the kids out of school it's time to pull out all the tricks! Family Fun has a great section on making party favors and decorations that are just perfect for little hands to make.

Sponge Print Christmas Lights

Happy Holidays!

We hope to keep busy on these cold winter days with fun projects like these Sponge Print Christmas Lights from No Time For Flashcards.

via The Crafty Crow

Holly's Christmas Book List - Part 2

The rest of my Christmas Book List:
(Part I is here, and the reason behind the list is here)

Snow - A delightful rhyming tale that had my kids laughing and planning to hide snow in the freezer!

Bright Christmas, An Angel Remembers - This is so beautiful.

Auntie Claus - Auntie disappears each year after Halloween and doesn't return until Valentine's Day. Sophie is determined to find out where she goes... A nice (but longer) story with a nice lesson.

The Elf on the Shelf - I picked this up late this season and the kids are obsessed with it. Behaving for one of Santa's elves is important to them, but finding the elf's latest hiding spot each morning is the highlight of this fun new tradition.

The Little Drummer Boy - Beautiful illustrations in a board book format.

The Christmas Story, Carol Hayer- A very detailed version for a children's book. I like it. It tells more of what happened after Christ was born.

Snowmen at Night - A fun tale of that explains why Snowmen sometimes look a little worse for the wear the morning after they are built.

Madeline's Christmas - Classic Madeline.

Merry Christmas Little Critter - Mercer Mayer and Little Critter are always favorites. I had Merry Christmas Mom and Dad as a kid and it is now on my wish list for next year.

The Little Donkey - My daughter loves tiny books.

The Tale of Three Trees - A lovely, symbolic story. It might be more of an Easter Story for some, but I think it is perfect at Christmas as a reminder that there is more to this holiday than presents and mistletoe.

The Polar Express - A wonderfully illustrated classic that is beautiful enough to inspire people of all ages to "believe."

Santa, Reindeer, Snowman - I am not able to find a link, but they are cute, short, glittery board books that the kids like.

10 Christmas Lights - A quick read with little red lights that actually light up.

The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree - My kids like the search for the Christmas tree and I like that there is a lot for all of us to learn from this touching tale.