In the rush to Christmas, sometimes the Thanksgiving holiday gets overlooked. I love Thanksgiving, and think it is about so much more than stuffing our bellies and shopping for Black Friday deals. Teaching kids about gratitude, and practicing an attitude of thankfulness ourselves is key to living a life of peace and contentment. The more thankful I am for my life, the better I am at living it. For the second year in a row we’ve created a very simple Thankful Tree for the month of November to help us focus on gratitude. Read on to find out how we make it as well as to find ideas for Thankful Traditions from the other Festive Family bloggers. Don’t forget to enter the big holiday gift guide giveaway at the end of this post.
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Create a DIY Holiday Garland with Your Child’s Art
If a child lives in your home, the chances are good you have a collection of their art stashed in an ever growing pile. My kids love to color and paint and create, and their masterpieces start to really add up. I love their little creations, but I’m not trying to end up on Hoarders. You just can’t keep everything, right? I came up with a way to keep pieces of their paintings without hoarding and creating something lovely and decorative at the same time. I shared a garland we made for the Bear’s room here, and this time we decided to make a DIY holiday garland and love how it turned out. Read on to find out how to make one of your own.
You’ll need a collection of drawings or paintings. This project works best with toddler and preschool art because it is typically a little more “abstract”. If letting your kids paint intimidates you, read about how we finger paint without stress here.
Materials:
- collection of your child’s art
- 2 inch circle or other shape punch
- scissors
- hole punch
- ribbon, string, or baker’s twine
Strategically punch out shapes from the paintings. You may have to cut pieces to get the look you want. I try to get a good mix of colors. After you get a pile punched, line them out how you want them to hang. I did mine about 4 inches apart. This will help you measure the string you need. I always leave a little extra when i cut the string in case I need more. Punch holes in the shapes and then let your child string them on your garland. This is great fine motor skill practice. If your child is older they can help with the punching as well.
Let them thread all of the shapes on to the string. We had a lot of fun with it. They were so excited to be making something with their artwork.
After the kids were done stringing the shapes on to the twine, I went back and knotted each piece in to place. Now it is ready to hang and decorate our home for Christmas.
Don’t forget to visit our Festive Family Holiday Gift Guide & Giveaway for prizes and more holiday fun. Read more about how we simplify the holiday season here. How do you make the holidays special for your kids?
Follow Becca Eby ~ Bare Feet on the Dashboard’s board Festive Family Holiday on Pinterest.
Five Ways to Simplify the Holiday Season & the Festive Family Holiday Giveaway {$1800+ in Prizes}
Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanakkuh, Kwanzaa, Pancha Ganapati, New Year’s Eve… whatever you are celebrating during the November and December holiday season it is a busy time that can be taken over by stress, social engagements, financial worry, and anxiety. This year I want to have a festive family holiday full of joy without stress. I’m sharing 5 ways we can all simplify the holiday season so we can focus on the joy and share it with others. I’ve teamed up with an amazing group of bloggers from around the world for our Festive Family Holiday Hop and Gift Guide Giveaway. At the bottom of this post you’ll find a HUGE giveaway with 4 prize packages to take care of everyone on your shopping list plus links to find out how the other bloggers are sharing the joy of the season.
Hand Stamped Fishing Tackle & Gifts from Fish with Hope and Stamped with Hope ~ Festive Family Holiday Gift Guide Review
Personalized gifts from Fish with Hope and Stamped with Hope are a part of my holiday gift guide for the second year in a row for a very good reason. Meaningful, personal gifts for men that they can actually use are difficult to find. In both shops you’ll find gifts that are practical, useful, and well made. Read on for our review of the father/daughter gift set I had made for my brother and his daughter.
Handmade Snuggly Swaddle Dolls from Designs by MSusan ~ Festive Family Gift Guide Review
Is there a precious wee one in your life who would to receive love a snuggly friend as a holiday gift? Our Pearl Girl got her first handmade swaddle doll from Designs by MSusan last year for Christmas, and she still snuggles her daily. This year we are reviewing a super cute set of blonde baby dolls just made for playing. Read on to find out what we thought about our set of Snuggly Swaddle Dolls.
Minted Holiday Cards & Gifts Review ~ Festive Family Holiday Gift Guide
A few years ago, my sister told me about this shop where I just had to look for Christmas cards. As with most tips she gives me, she was totally right. Minted is now my favorite place to shop for holiday cards every year. When they signed on to be a headline sponsor of my Festive Family Holiday Gift Guide, I was totally thrilled. I can’t wait to tell you all the reasons we love their cards, and what we thought about their holiday gifts as well. BONUS: Use the code CHEER25FS to get $25 off your order AND free shipping through 11/10/14.
Mum + Bub Bath Products for the Whole Family from Aden + Anais ~ Festive Family Holiday Gift Guide Review
I am so stinking excited about what the next few weeks have in store on this little old blog. I’ve teamed up with fabulous brands and amazing bloggers to create the Festive Family Holiday Hop and Gift Guide Giveaway. We’ll be giving away over $1800 in prizes plus bringing you creative ideas for the upcoming holiday season and reviews of our favorite gift ideas. Today I’m kicking off the review series with a product line from one of my favorite baby companies, Aden + Anais. We have long loved their burpy bibs and muslin blankets, but had yet to try their Mum + Bub line. We reviewed them as a family and fell in love.
Preschool Fun: L is for Light Letter Activities & Free Printable
We are a few months in to our home preschool adventure, and loving our letter of the week learning. I’ve joined 30 other bloggers for 31 Days of ABC hosted by All Done Monkey, with daily alphabet learning activities for each letter and much more. Today I’m sharing fun activities for the letter L and the word Light. We had a blast creating a DIY lightbox and exploring the letter L.
Create a Thumbprint Cross to Teach Your Child About Easter
Holy Week is one of my favorite times of the year because we get to take the time to focus on Christ’s work on the cross and what it means for us. I’ve shared with y’all about simple ways to bring Jesus in to your child’s daily life here, but talking about Easter and what it means can be a bit more difficult. Christmas is easy with the baby Jesus and all of the manger scene and Jesse Tree activities. Death on a cross for the sin of humanity is slightly more difficult to discuss with preschoolers, am I right? One way we’ve made it personal for our kids this year is to create a thumbprint cross with each of them. Their unique thumbprint represents the personal nature of Jesus’ death and resurrection – that it means the possibility of real relationship with God and eternal life for them. Plus, they are super fun and easy to make.
Simple Ways to Bring Jesus in to Your Child’s Daily Routine
One of the most important roles we play as parents is as the spiritual guide for our children. We’ve found a few simple ways to bring our faith in Jesus in to our children’s lives that I’m sharing with y’all today. We are far from having it all figured out and are still learning so much about every aspect of parenting. For our children to know Jesus at a young age and grow up with a strong faith is our constant prayer and highest goal. If you are of a similar mindset, here are a few simple ways to bring Jesus in to your child’s daily routine.