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Ten Tips for a Joy Filled and Stress Free Holiday with Your Family

The holiday season can be a hectic and stressful time, so much so that joy and excitement and love can get shoved aside while anxiety and busyness and even depression take their place. We build up our favorite holidays and dream they’ll be Pinterest perfect, and when our to do list doesn’t get done or our perfect tree is lopsided or our family member makes a scene it can be a crushing blow. Today I’m sharing ten simple tips for a joy filled and stress free holiday with your family. At the bottom of this post you’ll also find holiday themed posts from some of my favorite bloggers, as well the amazing Festive Family Holiday Gift Guide Giveaway featuring a prize package worth over $1500 that contains gifts for everyone on your shopping list.

Ten Tips for a Joy Filled and Stress Free Holiday with Your Family

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Family Fun in DFW: Amazing Jake’s Plano

Family Fun with GoKarts at Amazing Jakes

Summer days are long and hot in Texas, and we are always looking for a way to beat the heat and have fun as a family. Recently we had the opportunity to visit Amazing Jake’s in Plano, and it was a blast for the whole family. Located close to 75/North Central Expressway in Collin Creek Mall, Amazing Jake’s is worth the drive from all over the metroplex. Read on to find what we thought about the entertainment at Amazing Jake’s for toddlers, preschoolers, and adults.

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Clean Mud Bubble Dough – The Easiest Sensory Dough Ever

Making Clean Mud Bubble Dough with Kids - The Easiest Sensory Dough  Ever

We love to play outside, but sometimes need fresh ideas to get the kids engaged. They’ve been really in to bubbles lately, so after making a DIY bubble solution with dish soap and water I was inspired to try a new twist on clean mud dough. Play dough of all kinds is so much fun and give kids a great sensory experience, but making it yourself can be a challenge. This recipe for clean mud bubble dough is pretty much the easiest sensory dough ever and creates clean bubbly fun for your kids. It takes only 3 ingredients and about 5 minutes, plus the clean up is super simple as well. Ready to have some bubble dough fun?

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Kid Art: Painted Mason Jar Scented Oil Reed Diffuser DIY

Kid Art DIY Painted Mason Jar Scented Oil Reed Diffuser

If you’ve been following along on our journey through The Jesus Storybook Bible during Lent, welcome back. Today I’m sharing how the Bear painted a mason jar to create a reed diffuser diy to help us better understand the story of the sinful woman anointing Jesus, “Washed with Tears” (Mark 14/Luke 7/John 12). Read on to find out how to create your own scented oil reed diffuser with your kids. It was a fun interactive art project for the Bear, and now he gets to enjoy the essential oils diffusing in his room. Mason jar reed diffusers make a fabulous child made gift for mother’s day or grandparents.

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Pottery Barn Inspired Tulle Tutu Easter Basket DIY Tutorial {Fabulously Frugal}

DIY Pottery Barn Inspired Tulle Tutu Easter Basket

Last spring I fell in love with a gorgeous white Easter basket from Pottery Barn Kids that came with a pink tulle skirt around it. I was *this close* to paying way too much money for it, justifying the purchase with thoughts of the Pearl Girl’s first Easter holiday. Thankfully I came to my senses and decided to make one myself. It was so easy to put together and cost less than $10 to make. Read on to find out how to make your own tutu Easter basket DIY and be sure to link up your latest frugal post to our Fabulously Frugal Link Party.

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Four Sweet and Simple Easter Traditions to Start with Your Family

Starting Sweet and Simple Easter Traditions with Your Family

Easter is one of my favorite holidays. I love the joy and the promise of new life that comes each spring, and I love dressing my kids in cute outfits and hunting for Easter eggs. As a young family with little kids, starting new traditions for our little family can be a challenge as we unite those of our families of origin with what we want for the future. My goals for our family Easter traditions are that they would be three things: memorable, special, and simple. I don’t want to add stress to an already hectic time of year, and I don’t want to get caught up in trying to make things too perfect while forgetting about what is really important. Today I’m sharing four simple Easter traditions we’ve started with our family to make the holiday special while keeping it stress free.

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Teaching Kids to Give

Giving our money, time, and love to others is an outpouring of God’s love for us. Teaching our kids to have giving hearts is important to us, because it will enrich their lives and help them to be people of gratitude rather than entitlement. Teaching kids to give can be a challenge, but it is worth it. We talk about giving, model service in front of them, give them opportunities to serve with us and each other, and try to lead by example. This week I got the kids involved in a giving project for my very favorite non-profit outreach ministry (YoungLives – a Christian outreach to teen moms & their babies), and tied it in to a story from The Jesus Storybook Bible.

A Lesson on Giving with Easter Eggs

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Taste Safe Strawberry Lemonade Sparkle Sensory Play Dough

Jonah and the Whale Hide and Seek Game

Playing a Special Game of Hide and Seek to Bring the Story of Jonah and the Whale to Life for Kids

We’ve loved reading the Jesus Storybook Bible with our kids and creating interactive play ideas to bring the stories to life for them. Today we played a game of hide and seek to give them a new perspective on the story of Jonah and the Whale. You can read the activities we’ve done to go with the stories of Samuel and David, the Tower of Babel, and Moses and the Red Sea. Read the entire series with activities for all 40 stories in the Jesus Storybook Bible Interactive Play Series here.

Reading the Jesus Storybook BibleWe read the story “God’s Messenger: Jonah and the Big Fish” from the Jesus Storybook Bible together, and then played a game of hide and seek. The Bear would hide while Pearl Girl and I looked for him, then we swapped. After several rounds, I brought the game back to the story.

Here’s what I asked him: Did I find you every time? Yes. Did I ever stop looking for you? No. Why did I keep looking for you? Because I love you and never want to lose you. God feels the same way about you and He felt the same way about Jonah. When Jonah ran away, God even used a storm and a big whale to bring him back because God never wants anything to get between His children and Him.

It seemed to really make sense to him, and it was a super fun way to spend a morning.

A Jonah and the Whale Hide and Seek Game to Bring the Bible Story to Life

 

How do you bring the Bible to life for your kids?
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Bringing the Story of King David & Samuel to Life by Anointing and Blessing Your Kids

We did something really special and fun with our kids this weekend that we’d never done before but definitely will do again – we gave them a blessing and anointed them with oil. It was simple and sweet and our whole family loved it. I felt funny about it at first and thought it might be kind of weird, but it was really the most special thing. We are trying our best to teach our kids about Jesus and bring the bible to life for them using the Jesus Storybook Bible, and this was another way to accomplish that. We simply read the story of Samuel anointing David as God chooses him as Israel’s future king and then gave our kids a blessing. I’ll share with you how we did it so you can try it with your family. Be sure to check out the entire Jesus Storybook Bible Activity Series here at My Mundane and Miraculous Life.

Bringing the Story of Samuel and King David to Life by Blessing and Anointing your Kids

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