We were on a roll crafting and baking this past Easter and we were able to make and put our own spin on 5 different ideas we found on Pinterest. (If you didn’t see my previous two posts on how to make an Easter Egg Bouquet or Mustache Easter Eggs, which we found on Pinterest, check them out.)

So, for our third piece of craftiness, we decided to make Easter Bunny Butt-Up Candy Cups to give to the little nieces and nephews at Easter. These would be so cute to set as placeholders on the Easter dinner table or as favors at an Easter party.

My inspiration came from this idea from the Delightfully Noted blog. She explains how she made them on her site and her photography is so much better than mine, so definitely check it out. I deviated just a little from her instructions and I couldn’t find the cups she used at Target, so I improvised.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Small paper or plastic cups (Easter themed or pastel colors)
• Styrofoam balls
• White foam sheet (one sheet will get you 24 bunny feet)
• Pink foam sheet or Pink sharpie marker
• Glue gun or craft glue
• White pom poms
• Candy – jelly beans, Robin’s Eggs, M&Ms
• Green Easter grass

Important Tip: Buy your cups first! Styrofoam balls come in so many sizes so I found it incredibly helpful to find the cups first and then take one with me to the craft store to see which size ball fit the best. You don’t want it too big so it looks like a muffin top and you don’t want it too small that it falls in the cup.

To start I took a plain piece of white paper and drew an oval that I thought would be the right size for the feet. They need to be about 3/4 of the size of the ball so they can hang over and flop. Once you have the right size on the paper use that as your pattern to cut feet out of the white foam sheet.

Now for Delightfully Noted’s version, she cut the little pads for the feet out of a pink foam sheet. My daughter and I decided to cut the work time in half by just drawing the pads onto the feet with a pink sharpie marker. (I’m all about cutting crafting corners.)

You are ready for the glue. We used a glue gun because it sticks better and dries faster but you could use regular glue, no prob! Glue the feet on facing down. (I glued them facing up first and my daughter thought I was a nub. Don’t do the same thing and look lame in front of your child.) Then glue the white pom pom on the top center of the butt.

Now you are ready to fill your cup with candy, put some Easter grass on top of that and center your bunny butt on top. Viola! Easy-peasy. Took us 20 minutes.

So what do you think? Here’s the version from Delightfully Noted and then ours. I like her cups better and we should have made the pink feet pads a little bigger but overall, still pretty cute.





Did you make anything you saw on Pinterest this Easter? I’d love to hear about it so please leave me a comment below.

For more Holiday fun ideas, check out the Easter craft and recipe section of my blog or my Easter Ideas board on Pinterest. Feel free to pin this idea to your craft and Holiday boards.

[Read more →]

Tags: Easter Crafts, Recipes and Ideas · Easter Recipes & Activities

I know Easter is over but my family and I had so much fun baking and crafting this Easter. I decided we should tackle some of the cute ideas I had pinned to my Easter Board on Pinterest because you know, if you are pinning but not doing, then you are just digitally hoarding. So, we tackled not one, not two, but five Pinterest ideas. The funny thing was I wasn’t the only one in the family having a Pinteresting Easter. When the family got together for Easter dinner we were all laughing because almost every one of us had brought a new recipe they found on Pinterest.

Over the next five posts, I’ll show you the original pin and then the version that we made. I think our creations came out pretty good but my photography skills leave A LOT to be desired so you’ll just have to come over the next time we’re crafting and admire our work in person.

First up, we made a DIY Easter Egg Bouquet to give as a gift to Grandma. The idea came from a pin I saw from the Ms-notsoperfect.com blog. She made a super cute “floral bouquet” using plastic Easter eggs. It looked easy to make and it definitely was. My daughter and I finished it up in 30 minutes. Click over to her site to see the directions.

I made one modification and added a green styrofoam floral cone to the inside of the vase to stick the skewers in. That way they were secure and not bouncing around when you carried the vase. I got all of the supplies at my local craft store but I could only find the wooden skewers at Target or the grocery store.

So, below you can see her version first and then our version. We did pretty good, right?

Next up will be Mustachioed Easter Eggs.

Did you do any craft projects with your kids this Easter? What did you make?

[Read more →]

Tags: Easter Crafts, Recipes and Ideas · Easter Recipes & Activities

I was thrilled to be included in an article in the Miami Herald on Throwing a Kid-Friendly New Years Eve Party. Check it out and grab some ideas for next year.

[Read more →]

Tags: Family Party Ideas · Holiday Celebrations

Who’s up for a fun, spooky kids Halloween party idea? MommyParties contacted me a few weeks ago to host a party to promote R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour TV series. I was definitely interested since my kids like to read Stine’s Goosebumps books and I was planning on hosting a Halloween party for my kids and their friends, but I wasn’t sure what theme to go with this year. Problem solved, then! I set to work to create a party centered around the Haunting Hour TV episode they sent us, which featured vampires. (Grampires, to be exact. You know, a Grampa who is a vampire.)


DECORATIONS

We used a lot of our existing Halloween decorations to create a mood for the party. Bats, rats, spiders, and pumpkins helped create a mood. As part of the promotional package for the show, they sent us Team Grampire t-shirts. We put a t-shirt on our full size skeleton for some spooky humor.

I also decorated several tables wtih Scarrots. They are super easy to make. You just take full size carrots and glue on googly eyes or draw on the carrots with a marker. My daughter made one look like a mad scientist. Then put them in a black or Halloween candle holder for some funny, spooky decor.

PARTY ACTIVITES

To start, we spent some time crafting. I had two craft projects for the kids to keep them busy. The first was to create a paper skeleton mask. The kids could color, stamp, bejewel a paper skull to take home and use as Halloween or Day of the Dead decorations.

Or, if they wanted, we glued popsicle sticks to the back to turn the skull into a spooky mask. I had purchased a paper skull decorating kit earlier in the year which was perfect to use for the party, but you can also download this free skull template and use your own craft materials for this easy kids craft idea.

The next craft we worked on was to create spooky wooden peg people. I saw the idea at the Eighteen25 blog and the kids just loved this whole craft idea. I bought the wooden pegs at Hobby Lobby but instead of paint, we used Sharpie markers to create our spooky creatures. As you can see, they were veeeeeery creative.

Our next activity was to watch the Haunting Hour episode that we were sent. I decided to kill two birds with one stone and eat pizza while we watched. Let me tell you the kids were hanging on to the edge of their seats during the episode. Even my 12-year-old son, who felt he was too old to come to the party, came in to watch the show. If you think your kids might be interested in the show, you can watch a sneak peak trailer for Season 3 of The Haunting Hour here.

As our final party activity, we played the Blood Red Donut Bobbing Game. Our local donut shop has great red velvet flavored donuts whose color reminded me of blood. So, it was a natural fit for this vampire party. To play the game, I used black curling ribbon to tie several donuts to a large stick. I then had my husband and son hold the stick up in the air and the kids had to bite the donuts using no hands. Whoever finished their whole donut first won.

To make the game harder, I tried to have the kids use their vampire fake teeth to bite the donuts but they quickly felt the game was hard enough on its own and took their teeth out.

TREATS

As parting treats, we gave the kids a goodie bag that I made to look like a tombstone. I just purchased small black treat bags and cut the top so it was rounded. We used a white poster paint marker to write R.I.P. on the front. I filled the bags with some of the material that I was sent from MommyParties like fake vampire teeth, glow in the dark wrist slapbands, and Haunting Hour Bumper Stickers. I also included some Halloween candy in the bag.

As a final treat, we sent the kids home with a Vampire Bite Cupcake that my daughter and I made. We saw the idea on Pinterest but we adapted it to make it our own. I made chocolate cupcakes from a mix. I frosted them with store-bought white vanilla frosting. I then rolled the edges of the cupcake in black sugar. Then we used a chopstick to puncture two teeth marks in the cupcake. We then filled the holes with red gel frosting. Remember to gently taper the frosting out of the hole to make it look like the blood is dripping. You could also use a toothpick to pull some of the red gel frosting out of the hole for the same effect.

You can find the original version of the vampire bite cupcakes and tons of other Halloween party ideas on my Halloween Party Pinterest Board.

Thank you to MommyParties and the Hub TV Network for sending us the materials. We had a great party and I had fun putting everything together with my daughter.

NOTE: I was selected to be a MommyParties host as part of a promotional program through MomSelect. However, my opinions and party ideas are my own.

You Might Also Like:

Plan a Spooktacular Kids Halloween Party

[Read more →]

Tags: Halloween Family Fun Ideas · Kids Halloween Party

There are some really good books written for kids that explain the Holiday tradition of Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead. I introduced this fun Holiday to my kids when they were five years old and reading books about the Holiday made it so much easier to share the tradition. Here are a few of our favorites. (Note: I put the links for the books in to make it easier for you to find and buy them. I don’t get any commission for the books I recommend.)

Day of the Dead by Tony Johnston and illustrated by Jeanette Winter is a good book with fun illustrations that explain how a Mexican family gets ready for Dia de los Muertos. The beautiful, colorful illustrations really capture the joy the family is having preparing to visit with their loved ones.

The Festival of Bones/El Festival de las Calavera: The Little-Bitty Book for the Day of the Dead. Luis San Vicente created a bilingual (English/Spanish) book that helps young readers learn more about the Day of the Dead and how to celebrate the Holiday respectfully. The illustrations are so incredibly fun!

Felipa and the Day of the Dead by Birte Muller is another one of our favorites that is more of a fictional story. Felipa loses her grandmother and to comfort her, her parents tell her that a soul never dies. She finds that the celebration of Dia de los Muertos helps her feel close to her grandmother again.

Rosita y Conchita, by Eric Gonzalez and Erich Haeger, is the story of twin sisters who are trying to find a way to get back together once again, even though one of the twins has died. The illustrations alone would make this an incredible book but the story is equally as good with Rosita building an altar with ofrendas for her twin sister. The book is really good at helping to explain the concept of death to your child that isn’t scary or confusing. The end of the book has some extra goodies like a history of the holiday, along with a simple recipe for making your own sugar skulls, and directions on how to draw Rosita’s character.

Finally, a book that doesn’t talk directly about Day of the Dead but is a counting story that features Day of the Dead inspired art, is Just A Minute: A Trickster Tale and Counting Book by Yuyi Morales. (Shameless Plug: I have one copy left of this book at ChocolateCakeClub.com. Grab your today!)

How do you teach your kids about Day of the Dead or any unique cultural Holidays?

You Might Also Like:

Celebrate Day of the Dead with your Kids
Paper Calaveras: An Easy Kids Craft for Dia de los Muertos

[Read more →]

Tags: Halloween Family Fun Ideas · Holiday Celebrations

Have you heard of Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead? It’s one of my family’s favorite Holiday traditions. Celebrated November 1st – 2nd, in many Latin American countries, the Holiday is about remembering and honoring loved ones who have passed away. I learned all about the Holiday when my family moved to Mexico City when I was in 8th grade. I loved the concept of not only taking a day to remember the people you miss, but also to honor them with some fun and festivity. Sounds odd, right? But here’s the thing. The Mexican culture embraces death as just another aspect of life. It is not to be feared. And even when you are gone, you are not truly gone if someone remembers you.


I have passed this fun tradition on to my family and boy, do they look forward to it every year. To celebrate, we create a Dia de los Muertos shrine or “altar” in our house. These “altars” are not for worshipping, they are just a colorful, fun, physical reminder of the people you miss. Then on the evening of Nov. 1st, we cook a special dinner to honor our loved ones who have passed on, like our Grandpa and our pets. In other words, we throw them a party. We make their favorite foods, display photos of those we love, and share funny stories to help keep their memories alive. The kids love it. And, of course, we decorate with fabulous bright colors, candy skulls, and have tons of food where we eat, eat, eat.


This year my daughter and I wanted to make something that we could use to decorate our Dia de Los Muertos shrine. There is nothing more iconic for Day of the Dead than the Calaveras or Sugar Skulls that are sold all over Mexico around this time of year. So I came up with an easy paper craft to make little Calaveras or Calaveritas that we could work on and decorate together. (It’s also another great opportunity for the kids and I to talk about the people we miss most.)
However, you don’t have to celebrate Dia de los Muertos to have fun decorating these skulls with the kids. Just use them as Halloween decorations.

Here’s what you need:

• White cardstock
• Colored construction or scrapbook paper
• Scissors
• Glue
• Markers, colored pencils, crayons
• Decorating embellishments – glitter, jewels, foam cut-out shapes, felt

Calaverita Template
To get started, download the Calavera or skull template I created from the link above. If you want to make bigger skulls you can enlarge it when you print or copy it and enlarge it. Same thing if you want to make smaller skull, just reduce the size when you print or copy. Make sure you copy it onto cardstock or cover paper. You need a little extra weight to hold up to the glue and decorations.

Cut out the skull and start decorating. We used markers to create the dots and squiggly lines around the skulls’ eyes, mouth and nose. Day of the Dead art uses a lot of turquoise, rose, lime green, black and purple colors. So don’t be shy, the more colorful the better.


To decorate or embellish your calaveritas, I just used whatever I could find around the house. Glitter, jewels, foam stick-on shapes, and scraps of colorful paper. We cut out shapes of hearts and flowers to glue to the skulls.

We used glue to draw a flower and then poured glitter over the glue. Tap it off and you get a glitter shape on your calaverita. You can even have your kids write their names at the top of the skulls because in Mexico it is tradition to have your name written in frosting on the top of the sugar skulls you buy. For inspiration on how to decorate your calaveras, check out my Day of the Dead Ideas Board on Pinterest.

Once you have your Calaverita decorated, you can paste them up around the house, you can tape them to the windows, or you can decorate your own Dia de los Muertos shrine. Click here for the directions to create a Dia de los Muertos shrine in your house. You can also turn your Calaverita into a mask. Cut the eyes out so you can see and glue a popsicle stick to the back of the skull to hold it in front of you to cover your face.

You Might Also Like:

How to Celebrate Day of the Dead with your Kids

5 Great Books to Teach Your Kids About Day of the Dead

[Read more →]

Tags: Halloween Family Fun Ideas · Holiday Celebrations

Did you volunteer to plan the Halloween party this year for your child’s classroom? Here are some fun game ideas for elementary school kids that will assure your place in the Room Mom Party Planner Hall of Fame! (These games are perfect for ANY kids Halloween party or scouting troop celebration.)

General tip: Class sizes are so large now that setting up game and craft stations is a must for a classroom party, especially for a Halloween party where kids are bouncing off the walls excited about their costumes and candy. I suggest coming up with 4-5 different activities (games, crafts, reading corner) and rotate the kids through to each station. This way, each volunteer parent or helper running an activity only has 5-6 kids at a time. This keeps the kids a little calmer and makes it easier on the volunteer Moms and Dads.

Most of these games can be adapted for any grade but I’ve indicated where a game might be more suitable for younger or older kids.

Freeze Dance – Always a hit and perfect for all elementary grades. Get some spooky music or fun dance music and let the kids dance. When the music stops, everyone freezes. The last one to stop moving is out. Makes for great pictures or video.

Pin the Stem on the Pumpkin – Similar to Pin the Tail on the Donkey, cut out a large pumpkin out of oversized orange construction paper. Cut stems out of green construction paper and write each child’s name on the back so you know who’s closest. Use a bandana or scarf as a blindfold, turn each child around 3 times and let them at the pumpkin. Whoever sticks the stem closest to the correct spot wins a prize. You can also Pin the Wart on the Witch using a large photo of a witches face and sticky tack for the wart. Perfect for kindergarten through second grade.

Mummy Wrap – For grades 2-6, the Mummy wrap is a blast. Divide the kids into teams of two – one person is the mummy and one person is the wrapper. Give the wrapper a roll of toilet paper and have them wrap their teammate quickly. Whichever team is done first, wins. For a variation for older kids, once the mummies are wrapped, have a mummy limbo contest. Use a broom stick and have the kids limbo as low as they can go without breaking their toilet paper wrapping.

Costume Creation – For a variation on the Mummy Wrap theme, for 5th or 6th grade kids, divide the kids into teams of 4 or 5. Have one person be the “mannequin” and the rest of the team creates a costume for them out of toilet paper.

Halloween Science Experiment – Instead of a game, try a Halloweenp-themed science experiment with the kids. This spooky, swamp water lava lamp is fun. Have each kid bring in a jar to the party or ask some of the other Mom volunteers to help you collect and clean an appropriate amount of plastic or glass jars. For third grade and up.

Halloween Bingo – I found this cute free downloadable Halloween Bingo game from the Artsy-Fartsy Mama Blog. For something a little spookier, try this Halloween Bingo download from Makoodle.com.

Read a Halloween Story – I love Jerry Seinfeld’s Halloween book. Reading this funny book is good way to get the kids back together and calm them down before the party ends. Want a different Halloween book? Read my post on 10 Great Halloween Books for Kids.

Halloween Bowling – If you have a large hallway to use for your classroom party, try some Halloween bowling. Click on the link to see a variety of options on how to make your own Halloween Bowling set. Have the kids make them in class the week before the party, or Room Moms, you can work on the set with your kids at home.

For additional ideas, read my Kids Halloween Party Planner for ideas on decorations and snack for your party or check out my Halloween Party Board on Pinterest.

Have a great party!

[Read more →]

Tags: Kids Halloween Party

The Fourth of July is the pinnacle event of the summer. You usually get a few days off and this Holiday always seems to really drive home the fact that summer is in full swing. BBQs. Picnics. Family Reunions. The local parades and the firework shows are always a good time. But after you’ve done the typical Fourth of July activities, you still have a day or two off to have some fun with the family. This year the Fourth of July falls on a Wednesday and it’s messing with everyone’s schedule. Do you celebrate this weekend? Next weekend? Which days do you get off of work? It’s all across the board this year.

However and whenever you decide to take some time to be with your family, here are 5 creative ideas to have fun on or around the Fourth of July. If you have friends or relatives coming over to enjoy the Holiday, you’ll be sure to have a blast with any of these ideas. (And look like the coolest family on the block!)

1. Tee Up in the Backyard. Take a look around your yard and envision a course where you, the kids, and some friends can have fun putting and chipping around obstacles. Give prizes out for closest to the cup, hole in one, ball still on the grass, etc. Here’s everything you need to create your own backyard golf course.




2. Backyard Campout. Grab your tent, sleeping bags, flashlights, and get ready to camp out in the comfort of your backyard. You can catch fireflies, make s’mores, create shadow puppets and tell scary stories all night. (I love camping in the backyard because I get to use my own bathroom!) This would be so much fun to do on the evening of the 3rd or 4th of July if your town is having a fireworks show. You might be able to see or definitely hear the celebration. Read these tips for the perfect backyard campout.




3. Rev your Engines. Grab your favorite toy cars or spend some time making one and then let the races begin. Here’s a super fun way to turn your driveway into a racetrack for some summer fun. There are even creative ideas for race car themed snacks to make it a party.




4. Host a Beach Party! Are family and friends coming over on the Fourth of July to celebrate? Bored with the same old red, white, and blue decorations? Why not use a beach party theme this year for something a little different? Check out these creative and yet easy ideas for a beach party including decorations, games, activities, and yummy food.




5. Let the Olympic Games Begin. Get a jump start on celebrating the Summer Olympic Games by hosting your very own competition. You can spend a lot of time setting up and thinking about the challenges or you can just use what’s in your backyard already. Look through your garage to find some games and “obstacles” that you can use to create competitions for your kids and their friends. Use your creativity and make the games as silly as you want. Here’s a list of kid-friendly, Olympic game ideas to inspire you, as well as Olympic-themed craft ideas, decorations, recipes, and of course prizes.

What are your plans for having fun during the Fourth of July Holiday? Hosting any parties or family get-togethers?

[Read more →]

Tags: Family Celebrations · Holiday Celebrations

Search for homemade Father’s Day gifts on Pinterest and you’ll be amazed at all of the options. There is everything from super simple to incredibly elaborate. I wanted to find a few ideas for gifts that I could definitely make with the kids but that still had a lot of “Wow” factor. Here were a few of my favorite ideas, however I pinned quite a few more on my All About Dad Pinterest Board, if you’re looking for more inspiration.

1. I loved these Father’s Day Necktie Goodie Bags from LittleFamilyFun.com. The kids want to fill ours with plenty of chocolate for Daddy.

2. My husband loves relaxing on Sunday mornings and drinking coffee out of a real, ceramic coffee cup, not a paper cup or plastic travel mug. It is a subtle reminder that he doesn’t need to rush to work today and he can savor his coffee. So, when I saw these homemade chalkboard paint coffee cups from WitandWhistle.com, I had to Pin it!

3. Positivelysplendid.com came up with a super cute idea for a Father’s Day photo collage gift. This would be awesome to do every year to see how the kids grow.

4. Finally, there are a ton of Father’s Day coupon ideas out there but I liked how the eighteen25 blog created a tin of tokens for Dad. The tin has way more impact as a gift. This could be a great gift for Grandpas, too.

For one final idea, last year I bought one of those digital frames for my husband to put on his desk. He was complaining that he didn’t have enough photos of the kids at work. So, the kids and I chose all of our favorite photos of Dad and the kids over the years and then added music to create a “soundtrack” for the photos. The songs we used were some of Dad’s favorite Dad-themed songs:

• Ralph’s World - Bedtime Girl
• Foo Fighters – My Hero
• Will Smith – Just the Two of Us
• Paul Simon – Father and Daughter
• Loudon Wainwright III – Daughter
• Luther Vandross – Dance with My Father
• For silliness, Dean Martin – Papa Loves Mambo

Have fun making the ultimate Father’s Day gift with your kids! If you have a great idea for a gift, I’d love to hear about it. Please leave me a comment below. Thanks and Happy Father’s Day!


You Might Also Like:

6 Last Minute Father’s Day Ideas Dad Will Love

Very Pinteresting Father’s Day Card Ideas

Make Father’s Day a Piece of Cake

[Read more →]

Tags: Holiday Celebrations

I was on Pinterest last night (shock!) and fell in love with some of these really creative Father’s Day cards that you can make with the kids. Some are easy, some are a little more involved but all of these ideas will thrill Dad on his special day.

Download and print this Father’s Day card and coupon set from Amy at LivingLocurto.com. The download is $3.95 but that’s how much I paid for a Father’s Day card at the store, which didn’t include the fun coupons. I would certainly ask the kids for a few more ideas and add some of our own coupons, as well.

I adore the “I Love You This Much Card” from the A Day In My Life Blog. It’s really easy to do so head over to Tiffany’s site to get the instructions.

If you have some scrapbook paper at home, this Father’s Day card from the Write. Click. Scrapbook site is stunning. I love the quote about Fathers but the colors and buttons make it a card worth framing.

Finally, TheMotherHuddle.com has a family tradition of asking her kids every year what they love most about their Dad. She records their answers on video and then she used PicMonkey to make a really beautiful card with their answers. It’s adorable and I’m hoping she shares how she made it on her blog today or tomorrow.

You can see more amazing Father’s Day card and gift ideas on my All About Dad Pinterest Board. If you have a fun homemade Father’s Day card you’d like to share, I’d love to feature it on the blog. Leave a comment below with a link or shoot me an email at sue (at) chocolatecakeclub.com.

You Might Also Like:

Fabulous Father’s Day Gifts to Make with the Kids

6 Last Minute Father’s Day Ideas Dad Will Love

Make Father’s Day a Piece of Cake

[Read more →]

Tags: Holiday Celebrations

Thinking about hosting a kids Halloween party this year? We’ve put together some fun, easy and inexpensive ideas to help you serve up some spooky Halloween fun.

HALLOWEEN PARTY INVITATIONS

There are certainly a variety of cute Halloween party invitations out there, both paper versions and as e-vites. However, sometimes sending a homemade invitation makes all the difference and creates a great first impression for the festivities. Your invitations can be as simple as taking a photo of the kids from last Halloween and writing the party details on the back.

You’ll find more easy kids Halloween party invitation ideas here.

PARTY DECORATIONS

There are so many ways to decorate for Halloween, it’s mind boggling. I like to use everyday objects in the house and “spookify” them in some way. For example, drape cobwebs over your picture frames. Wrap muslin strips around a candle and add googly eyes to make it look like a mummy face. Cut a black mask out of construction paper and tape it to your large candles.

Our favorite easy Halloween decoration is to make Scarrots. Read my Easy Halloween Party Decorations post to find out how to make scarrots.


PARTY GAMES & ENTERTAINMENT

Mummy Wrap Limbo – You’ve all played Mummy Wrap where one kid wraps another up in toilet paper to look like a Mummy. Take it a step further and make them do the limbo. Whoever breaks their toilet paper wrapping is out.

Freeze Dance – Get some spooky Monster Mash music and have the kids play freeze dance in their costumes. Grab your video camera! Play the music and when you stop, have the kids freeze. The last one moving is “out” and gets to run the music next.

Halloween Storytime – Especially if you have little kids at the party it’s nice to calm them down for a few minutes by reading them a Halloween story. Here are some of my family’s picks for Best Halloween Books for Kids.

Read about more of our Kids Halloween Game & Activities.

SPOOKY FOOD

Halloween Cupcakes – The kids and I made some fun Halloween cupcakes last year. Check out the instructions to make Jack Skellington, Owl, and Spiderweb cupcakes.

Halloween Bento Boxes – While these fun ideas from AnotherLunch.com were to create a Halloween Themed Bento Box Lunch for your kids, you could easily use these creative ideas for a Halloween party and give each child their own bento box or have the food out on larger plates for them to take. It would still be super cute!

Beefy Pumpkin Tostadas – If you want to serve more substantial food for the party, try this recipe for easy Beefy, Cheesy Pumpkin Tostadas.

Ghost Pretzels – These White Chocolate Ghost Pretzel snacks are so easy to make that the kids could do it as an activity at the party or make a bunch to take to your child’s school Halloween party.

SPOOKY HALLOWEEN CAKE IDEAS

Last year the kids and I made this Creepy Critter Cheesecake with Chocolate Rats for Halloween. The kids had a blast making the rats and the cake was darn tasty too.

Here’s photos of some otherHalloween cakes for more inspiration.

PARTY FAVORS

A Halloween bag full of candy is certainly fun as a party favor but why not get the kids to help make Ghost Tootsie Pops for your party favors? It’s super easy. You’ll find more ideas for party favors there as well.

Got any great party ideas you’d like to share? I’d love to hear about them, so leave a comment with your tips! Have a great party!

[Read more →]

Tags: Halloween Family Fun Ideas · Holiday Celebrations

I know Easter is over. And I hope you had a fabulous Holiday with your family. My kids and I have one last Easter treat idea to share. You can change the theme, easily. Check out this Easter Kit Kat Cake that I made with my daughter, having fun in the kitchen together.

We were inspired by this post for a Kit Kat Cake from Made in Melissa’s Kitchen.

The cake looked great but we wanted to give ours an Easter flair. Here’s our version, using Peeps:

You need:

Chocolate Cake Mix
Chocolate Frosting
6 Kit Kat bars (4 pieces each)
Bag of Shredded Coconut
Green food coloring
Peeps, robins egg, or jelly bean Easter candy
Ribbon

First we baked a Chocolate Cake using 2 round cake pans. We used our knife to even off the top of one cake so that the top layer would sit a little nicer on the bottom layer. We generously frosted the bottom layer of the cake, then added the top layer and frosted it. We finished up by frosting the sides.
(more…)

[Read more →]

Tags: Cooking with the Kids · Easter Crafts, Recipes and Ideas · Easter Recipes & Activities

Happy Earth Day! Isn’t the picture my 8-year-old daughter drew for Earth Day cool? We hope you enjoyed all of our ideas for celebrating Earth Day with the kids. Here’s are three more fun ways to celebrate.

First, join Earth Day 2011′s Picnic in the Park initiative. As they say on their site, “celebrate the planet we live on with good food and great people. Choose a favorite outdoor location, round up some friends and take the planet out to lunch!” Check out their website to find picnics already planned to join in or grab some great picnic recipes from famous Chefs like Mario Batali. (The Goat Curd and Fruit Tart looks especially yummy!) Here are my tips on how to plan the perfect family picnic.

Heart Shaped Earth Day Crayons

Recycle your old crayons and turn them into heart shaped earth crayons. They look cool and you can start drawing again. The directions for how to make them come from Martha Stewart here but the TSJ Photography blog had the inspiration to make them look like the earth.









Earth Day Cupcakes
These earth day cupcakes by Stephanie Lynn over at the Under the Table and Dreaming blog are so cool. Definitely bake them with the kids and bring them to your Picnic in the Park. I like that they are gluten free.

We hope you enjoyed all of our Earth Day ideas! Go have fun celebrating.

[Read more →]

Tags: Celebrate Earth Day with Kids · Family Fun Ideas · Spring Family Fun Activities

There are so many great posts out there about how your family can do some simple things to Go Green for Earth Day … and every day frankly. I like this one from Savvy Sassy Moms. However, I wanted to write a post about how you can have FUN Going Green.

1. Kill the Vampires. Play a game and have the kids go room to room looking for any appliances that are plugged in and running but aren’t being used. That includes unplugging your cell phone when it is fully charged. In my office for example, we had a scanner, three printers, and three computers plugged in. These appliances were still sucking electricity even though they were in sleep mode. Turn them off! Kill the vampires.

2. This Friday Night have a Family No Electricity Night. Light a fire in the fireplace, add some candles, and then play board games by candlelight. The kids will think it is so cool. It’s a great way to spend some quality time together talking and playing games without all of the distractions. In today’s uber, fast-paced world, unplugging seems like a great way to relax and bond while also conserving energy.

3. Bike Ride to Dinner. Plan on going out for dinner this weekend? Why not pick a restaurant that can be part of family bike ride. Save gas and burn off that dessert. Bonus!

4. Walk to your local Farmers Market. If you live in the Midwest, it seems like Farmers Market Season will never come. However, for many other parts of the country take the kids to the Farmers Market and support your local farmers. The benefits? Organic food, no chemical fertilizers to harm the environment or you, less gas used for distribution, and very little packaging to clutter up our landfills. Here are some ideas on Games and Activities to do with the kids at the Farmers Market.

5. Spend an evening at your Local Library. Libraries are the original reuse and recycle centers! Save the trees (truffula or others) – don’t buy new books when you can get them from the library. Everyone in my family loves to read so we enjoy going to the library and spending some time alone and together discovering favorite books or new authors. We can sit on the comfy chairs in the library and read to the kids. Read The Lorax. This way the lights are all off at our house, too.

If you turn your Go Green efforts into FAMILY FUN, they’ll probably get done more often and become a habit for your family. After you have done all of these activities, have your kids write and send a letter to The Lorax and let him know that your family cares and is doing its part. Here are some additional tips on what families can do to protect the environment.

“Unless someone like you CARES a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

Any other ideas on how your family can have fun AND protect the environment?

[Read more →]

Tags: Celebrate Earth Day with Kids · Family Celebrations · Family Fun Ideas · Parenting Tips · Spring Family Fun Activities

Earth Day is this Friday, April 22nd and we are excited to bring you ideas on how to celebrate and raise awareness with your kids. I think the best way to get the kids to care about the earth and nature is to give them an appreciation for nature. How do you do that? Go play outside! Explore all of nature’s wonders. Here are some fun ideas whether you head on out to the park or explore your backyard.

I mentioned yesterday that one of my new favorite sites is the Go Explore Nature blog. Debi, the blog’s chief explorer, has some great ideas in these posts: How to Raise Kids Who Care About the Planet, 50 Ways to Explore Nature in Your Own Backyard, and Top 10 Spring Nature Adventures.

I also love the book Toad Cottages & Shooting Stars by Sharon Lovejoy for ideas on exploring nature with kids and grandkids.
(more…)

[Read more →]

Tags: Celebrate Earth Day with Kids · Ideas for family projects · Spring Family Fun Activities

We’re celebrating Earth Day this week so we’ll be sharing ideas on how to get the kids involved in respecting and preserving our planet, as well as simple things we can do as families to protect our environment.

Here are some ideas on how to talk and act upon the meaning of Earth Day.

Play: First and foremost, go outside and just enjoy the day. I just discovered the Go Explore Nature blog, which is a new favorite, and I love their idea and checklist for a Spring Nature Scavenger Hunt.

Another way to play and help is to purchase eco-friendly toys and support the manufacturers who are doing their part to save the environment. Some of our favorite eco-friendly toys, that we we love enough to sell at ChocolateCakeClub.com, are the Green Toys Tea Set, Green Toys Recycling Truck, and the Totem Boys and Girls Recycled Construction Sets.

We sell quite a few organic and eco-friendly toys that kids love and you’ll feel good about giving.

Plant: Head over to your local nursery and buy a perennial flower that you love. Plant it with your kids to help beautify your yard and the neighborhood. Read How to Teach Your Kids a Love of Gardening. Get your kids their very own Gardening Set so they get excited about spending time in the garden with Mom or Grandma. Teach your kids about locally grown produce with the Playful Chef’s Farmers Market Set. Here’s how to have fun with the kids on a Trip to the Farmers Market.
(more…)

[Read more →]

Tags: Adventures · Celebrate Earth Day with Kids · Family Fun Ideas · Ideas for family projects · Parenting Tips · Spring Family Fun Activities

I have been collecting what I think are the best of the best Easter craft and recipe ideas to delight and have fun with your kids. I’ll kick things off with this Easter Cupcake Topiary created by Christy from the Girl Who Ate Everything blog.

Is it a recipe or is it a craft? It’s both! I just loved the idea for showing off your cupcakes in such a unique way. It’s THE perfect centerpiece for Easter or for an upcoming baby shower.

While I was checking out the recipes on her site, I found this recipe for Angry Bird Cake Pops. Now you can literally feed your obsession. I LOVE it! My kids were so psyched to see this! As she says in the post, it’s a little complicated to make so I’m just going to look at the picture and drool.

If you have a kid-friendly recipe or craft idea for Easter that you’d like us to share, please send it in! We’d love to feature your creativity and if you have a blog site, we’re happy to give a link back. If you can, take a second and vote for us in the Leading Moms in Business contest. It only takes a click!

[Read more →]

Tags: Cooking with the Kids · Entertaining at Home · Family Celebrations · Holiday Celebrations