December 2013 - Page 2 of 2 - Bare Feet on the Dashboard

If you are one who likes to give the unexpected, the creative, the responsibly sourced, or the incredibly unique, Uncommon Goods is the place to shop. When they contacted me about doing a review, I was quickly sucked in to the rabbit hole of shopping on their site. A few of my favorite items are shown above: a men’s belt made from recycled bike parts, blocks with braille and sign language, sleeping bear and pig slippers, and a gorgeous rough stone ring. Click here to find the perfect holiday gift for everyone on your list from Uncommon Goods. Besides featuring a plethora of recycled, upcycled, eco-friendly, and handmade goods, Uncommon Goods uses sustainable environmental and fair wage practices. I’m giving away a $25 gift card from the generous folks at Uncommon Goods as well, so click here to enter.

I chose to review gifts for the Bear and Jed – Kinetic Sand and a Pick Punch.

For review purpose I gave the gifts early, and they were both a big hit.

We all agreed the Kinetic Sand is one of our favorite review items EVER.

If you have a curious kid on your list, this stuff is ridiculously amazing.

We received the small package weighing 2.2 pounds (1 kg) that retails at $15. It pretty much saved us during the crazy ice storm we had this weekend. We got it out 4 times the first day and 5 times the second day, playing for 20-30 minutes each time. That is an eternity in toddler years, people.

I was worried about the mess so I put it on a cookie tray on a sheet. Turns out I didn’t need to worry. The stuff is pretty much magic. It sticks together and if some gets away you can pick it up with a chunk of the sand. Crazy and awesome. It feels like a fun science experiment mixed and we all seriously loved it. I was skeptical at first, but I played almost as much as Bear.

I’ve missed my calling as a sculptor, obviously.

You can mold it, shape it, cut it, let it drift through your fingers, and then roll it up and do it over again.

The Bear’s favorite game was to build a castle and then promptly bash it.

I don’t know what kind of wizardry is used to keep it together, but I’m dying to find out.

The girl who spent a summer at science camp and was the historian of her high school science club came out to play for sure. Nerd alert. Jed was fascinated as well. He starting teaching Bear how to use a butter knife to play with the sand. Then we got out the cookie cutters. The possibilities are endless.

If you have a kid or kid-at-heart on your list, this is the perfect gift.

We could not recommend it any more. We truly love it.

My husband, Jed, loves to play the guitar. I gave him the Pick Punch to review, and he thinks it is really fun. He used an old Starbucks gift card to test it out, and was able to create three picks from one gift card. They are the same size as the picks he purchased, and work perfectly.

If you have a musician in your life, the Pick Punch would make a great gift. It retails for $25. Teenagers who’ve taken up the guitar would be prime recipients, as would rock start dads like my husband. In my experience, men and teenagers are the most difficult to buy for. My husband is picky, and he loves this little machine. If you need more gift ideas for men, click here.

Uncommon Goods is also budget friendly. Click here to find a great selection of gifts under $50.

Check out Uncommon Goods and come back and tell me your favorite item.

Be sure to enter my giveaway for a $25 gift card here (ends 12/16).

The weather outside is indeed frightful, and cabin fever may be setting in among your family members. Today I’m sharing my own version of Loteria, the Mexican Bingo style game, perfect for entertaining the whole family. My mom is a Spanish teacher, so she taught me how to play the original Loteria as a kid and I’m starting a new tradition this year with my family. If you’ve never played Loteria before, the game is incredibly easy to learn and can be played by anyone ages 2 and up, and even younger with help. Toddlers and adults alike can get in to it and it would be a great game night tradition to start during the holidays. I’ve created a set of twelve cards for you to print free of charge, as well as a call sheet. This game is perfect for family night, long days during school break, and to teach matching skills with preschoolers. Everybody loves bingo!

Everyone gets a Loteria sheet and a handful of beans or candy to mark the objects called. As the caller shouts out the object drawn, the player placed their bean on top of the matching picture on their card. The goal is to get four in a row in any direction, much like Bingo. You can also play cover all, four corners, and 4 square to mix it up. Beans are traditionally used, but I like to use little candies like chocolate chips or M-n-Ms, and eat them at the end of the game. You could have a big game with prizes for the whole family or use it as a teaching tool with your preschooler.

Click this link to head to the files in Google Drive. Each image contains two playing cards. Print each sheet and cut in half to create two cards. You can leave the call sheet whole and just call objects out at random (marking them with a bean after they’ve been called), or cut it in to pieces and draw each object out of a bowl. When a player gets four in a row they yell, “Merry Christmas!” and win that round. I hope your family enjoys this fun little game and starts a new holiday tradition.