November 16, 2015 by Krista

Star Wars Christmas Tree

Not so long ago in a galaxy not so far away, the day my husband has been anxiously awaiting finally arrived. No, the kids aren’t all potty trained – I WISH! No, we decided it was finally time to share Star Wars with our boys. My brother has always loved Star Wars and it was a big part of my childhood, so I was excited to share it with them almost as much as Mr Napping. The polling is complete and the results are in: my boys LOVE Star Wars, big surprise. It’s been the only thing to compete with superheroes lately. When Mr Napping and I found these Star Wars IttyBittys at our Hallmark Gold Crown store, we knew what we needed to do with them to make Christmas extra galactic!

STAR WARS CHRISTMAS TREE

Now, the IttyBittys aren’t actual ornaments so I attached ribbons to each of them (which I will give you the details on in just a moment) and then we surprised our boys with an early Christmas present and a fun Christmas activity. We decided to make the IttyBittys into ornaments with the hope that my boys will play with that Christmas tree and not our big tree that will go up in December. They can pull off all the ornaments they want, decorate the tree again and again. If they want to play with the IttyBittys, it’s not a big deal and they won’t break them. Want to make your own ornaments? Here’s the how to:

Materials:
– IttyBitties available at Hallmark. Not so into Star Wars? That’s ok, Hallmark has lots of IttyBittys to choose from. There are nativity set IttyBittys, superheroes, Frozen, Rainbow Brite, winter-themed, Disney Princesses, Peanuts, Wizard of Oz, Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Inside Out, Monsters, Inc., and more – there’s something for everyone. Not all stores carry all the IttyBittys, see the Hallmark site for the complete selection.

– Skinny ribbon.
– Needle and thread
– Scissors

Directions:
– Cut off a 3-inch length of ribbon.
– Loop the ribbon with the ends together and tie a knot in the ends. Trim the ends, but not too close. I trimmed a couple too close and my boys ended up pulling the knots out and I had to re-attach them to the IttyBittys.

– Thread the needle and tie a knot in the end of the thread. I actually used the thread doubled over for a little more strength.
– Attach the loop of ribbon to the top of the IttyBittys with the thread. I just stitched around the ribbon a few times and tied a knot. Trim the thread ends.

– Repeat until all IttyBittys have ribbons attached to them.

After I attached the ribbons to the IttyBittys, I put them in a fun gift bag (also from Hallmark) and told my boys we had a surprise for them. We let them open the bag and then we set up our small Christmas tree and let the boys decorate their hearts out. They had almost as much fun decorating the tree as they did just playing with the IttyBittys. I don’t know how many times that tree has been redecorated since Saturday.

We were still missing one thing though. Every Christmas tree needs a topper. And what kind of star tops a Star Wars tree? Why the Death Star, of course. I spent a good chunk of today bouncing between kiddos and making a Death Star to top our tree.

We are still adding to our Star Wars tree and we probably will keep adding to it until we take it down. My boys love to play with the IttyBittys and this was such a fun activity to do together as a family. They are still breaking out in the Imperial March every time they see the tree. Mr Napping likes to start humming and then bask in the resounding chorus of three boys.

SAVE TIME WITH HALLMARK THIS SEASON

Want to save some time this holiday season? Make Hallmark your one stop shop for your holiday shopping. Check out Hallmark’s new Crafters & Co. line of luxury soaps, teas and candles for decadent gifts to spoil the special people in your life. this holiday season.

There are lots of great ornaments perfect for gift giving. Home decor elements are my go-to gifts for my favorite girlfriends and Hallmark has some awesome options. They’ve got you covered for all your gift wrap needs too! We seriously debated the Star Wars wrap, but went with the cute bag instead because well it’s just easier to wrap in a bag… And, of course, Hallmark has a fantastic selection of cards for your Holiday gifting. There are even Star Wars cards my boys would be crazy for.

November 4, 2015 by Krista

Nutter Butter Snowmen Cookies

I can’t think of a better way to kick off the chilly season than with some fun in the kitchen. Celebrate the first snow fall, with these fun and super easy Nutter Butter Snowmen cookies!

I often run out of steam and energy before we’re finished when I’m in the kitchen with my boys; so, I decided to skip the baking part and just jump right to the fun part. We used Nutter Butter Cookies and candies to decorate and make snowmen!

NUTTER BUTTER SNOWMAN COOKIES

Print This Recipe

Nutter Butter Snowmen Cookies

Prep time: 30 mins

Total time: 30 mins

Decorate Nutter Butter cookies and turn them into a winter wonderland! Create friendly snowmen with candies and white dipping chocolate.

Ingredients

Nutter Butter Cookies
White Dipping Chocolate
Mini Chocolate Chips
Mini Chocolate Candies
Mini Peanut Butter Candies
Chocolate Flavored Roll Candies
Red and Green Licorice
Confetti Sprinkles

Instructions

Melt the white chocolate.
Work one cookie at a time so you can get it completely decorated before the chocolate hardens.
Spread the white chocolate on one side of the Nutter Butter cookie with the back of a plastic spoon.
Shape the chocolate roll candies into the shape off a top hat. I actually found it easier to make several at a time and have them ready to go straight on the cookies as soon as I got the chocolate spread.
Use the mini chocolate candies, the mini peanut butter candies and the confetti sprinkles to create eyes and buttons on the snowmen. The orange peanut butter candies perpendicular on the cookies made a great nose on the round snowman faces.
Use the licorice to make a scarf for the snowman.

Notes

The best part of these cookies is that you can decorate them however you want! Your imagination is the limit. My kids liked the snow globe, but my favorite was the snowman faces. Get creative.

Decorating these cookies was a ton of fun and, while my boys ate more candy than they put on their cookies, it was definitely more conducive to the length of their attention spans. There wasn’t a long wait time while the cookies baked. We got in, got it done and moved on to other activities.

These would be perfect for neighbor goody plates this holiday season. My kids loved the snow globe cookie, but it wasn’t as pretty as I had in my head so I only did one of those. My favorites were the snowman faces.

Tips and Tricks I Discovered While Making Nutter Butter Snowman Cookies

I loved that the cookie decorations were trapped in the melting chocolate after it hardened. It was less messy when my kids were eating them… and that’s definitely a win. You could definitely substitute the melting chocolate for frosting too, if that is more your style.
I opted to just spread the melted chocolate on one side of the cookie because I like Nutter Butter cookies as they are and didn’t want to change the taste too much. I didn’t want the dipping chocolate to overpower the Nutter Butter cookie flavor. And it cut down on sugar a little bit.
I used my little melting pot to keep the chocolate warm and melted. It worked great. A small slow cooker would probably work as well. Just make sure you don’t over heat your chocolate or it will get grainy. You can also just heat it in a microwave-safe dish in the microwave in 30-second intervals until it’s melted. If you have access to a melting pot, I would highly suggest using it.
It was much easier to shape several hats before I started putting the chocolate on the cookies. Then I just had to grab one and stick it on. I didn’t have to worry about moving quickly before the chocolate hardened.
Use a toothpick to help you place the little candies on the cookies. The candies are tiny and kind of hard to position with larger hands. My boys did great if I was steadying their hands. A toothpick lets you push the candies right where you want them.
Use an orange peanut butter candy bit for the snowman face nose. Stand it up on the cookie to make it look more carrot shaped and give your cookie more dimension.

December 2, 2014 by Krista

Free Gift List Organizer Printable

It’s the first Tuesday of the month again and that means I’m over at Ask Anna once more. The holidays are fast-approaching and December is one of the busiest months all year. The key to keeping the chaos manageable is to organize, organize, organize! Let me help you organize your gift-giving with the gift list organizer.

In a simple, easy to reference layout that can be used in multiple ways the gift list organizer will help you make sure you get the perfect gift every time. You can put each recipient on a line with their gift(s) listed beside them. Or put each store on a line, with the recipients listed below, and the items you need to purchase from each location on the right side. You’ll be sure to get everything you need at each store… because who has time to retrace their steps and go back for forgotten things. Not this month, am I right?!

Keep your chaos under control will this Gift List Organizer you can print right at home and get organizing TODAY! It doesn’t get much easier than save, print, organize! The file is formatted to an 8.5″x11″ size, perfect for your holiday organizing binder! Organize your holiday celebrations so you can enjoy

So, head over to Anna’s and

get your FREEBIE printable organizer!

The sooner you get organized, the easier your holiday gifting will go… right? Right?

December 2, 2013 by Krista

{Printable} Kid’s Christmas Countdown Jar

Will you be crazy busy with holiday preparations this month? Will the kiddos be home a lot more than normal? Need a quick little advent calendar or boredom buster jar for the cold month ahead? This boredom jar or Advent Calendar Christmas Countdown Jar is exactly what you need! Check out this little beauty that will take about 30 minutes to put together and will help make your December one to remember:

KID’S CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN JAR

Download the watermark-free version HERE.

Looks like fun, right? My kids love when the Christmas Countdown jar comes out! It’s full of fun activities to do together all season long. Some of the activities are simple – like writing a letter to Santa. Some are a little more involved and will make for some great memories and traditions – making Christmas cookies or a picnic by the Christmas tree. This is a great reminder to me that holidays with my kids are limited and to really think about what I want them to remember about Christmas – and then to make those things happen!

Hit the link above to get your copy of the free version of The Christmas Countdown Jar. If you’re looking for a little more, the full version of this project in my Etsy Shop. It includes 18 more activities and a full page of blank cards to easily add your own activities so nothing important gets left out. Check out the photo below for exactly what’s in the expanded version. You’ve got enough going on this December, but that doesn’t mean you can’t prioritize making memories too! Let me do the work for you! Just print, cut apart and stick in jar.