Still Nuts About You: Anniversary Treat Tin

Okay, I'm fully aware that this little idea has made its way around Pinterest probably about eleventy-thousand times, BUT....I had put my own spin on it a couple of years back for our 8th Anniversary.

I gathered a bunch of nutty treats and piled into a metal tin, attached with a tag. If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm really into tags. ;) You can download it below if you'd like!

90's Table Decor & Bridging the Gap Relief Society Activity

There is such a tendency to interact with those in our same age group... of course there is! Commonalities and similiar situations bring people together, but I have to say that some of my most treasured relationships (outside of my family) have come from "folks" from an older generation. Even as a kid, I enjoyed talking to people much older than me (not sure how much they liked me talking their ear off, but I sure had a good time) :) 

My church's relief society (women's) group held an activity a while back themed:

BRIDGING THE [GENERATION] GAP

Speakers from different generations (a teenager, a newlywed/young mom, a middle-aged mom with teens, and a retired woman) provided insight into what it's like to be in their respective stages of life (as reminder of what has been or a glimpse into what's to come) for all of the women. The oldest woman's thoughts were particularly meaningful to me as she compared us all to trees, with roots and trunks and branches... and how everything has a time and a place. We bloom in different seasons but we all have a role to play in every season... She discussed how we can all work together to get the most out of life. I wish I could have had a copy of her whole talk; it was really great. 

Anyway, while spiritual and meaningful, the activity was also a lot of fun. Everyone was invited to dress-up in the decade attire of their choice and a few of us were asked to decorate a table for each of the past several decades.

I was born in the 80's, but I was a 90's kid so that was the table I was in charge of. Here was my sweet set-up. ;)

The entire table was focused around this poster: "the 90's as a kid"  ... take a quick read, I promise it'll make you laugh :)

....trolls, mixed tapes, hacky saks, and slap bracelets....aw yeah, welcome back to the 90's!

...don't forget beanie babies (WITH the tags!), VHS movies, and warheads (my mouth waters just thinking about them!)

Each place setting had a booklet of Lisa Frank stickers, a candy necklace, and stink-on earrings. SWEET!

 

these are our Warhead Faces...

me and my 80's Goonies pal...

Here are a few of the other tables...can you guess the decade?!

Great activity...I highly recommend it for your next Relief Society event! Such a fun way to connect our different generations of women in the church. 

Mom's Day Gift: Nailed It

Here's a just a simple and quick Mother's Day gift for the moms in your life that have really NAILED motherhood with flying colors....

Download this simple printable, write your message and wrap up with some fun new nail colors. 

My Stinkin' Valentine

If you're looking for something a little more cheeky and practical for Valentine's Day...or even just a random gift to let your spouse know you love 'em, this just might be the ticket. 

This was my Valentine gift to hubby in 2014, but let's be honest...the gift was reaaaallly for me, cuz I love my man in cologne! ;) 

If you want the gift tag, it's up for grabs. Download using the downward arrow!

Tickled Pink: Gift Bag for Grandma

So...it turns out that being a mom is SUPER easy....that is, when there's grandma to snuggle baby on demand, change diapers, help bathe and dress baby, cook dinner every night, bake all sorts of yummy treats, clean the house, take the baby while mom takes a nap, shop for groceries, stroll around with baby at the mall while mom shops for clothes that actually fit, assist with newborn photos, etc. etc! 

just a snip-it from my scrapbook page

What a fun and special two weeks it was to have my mom here after having my daughter! I was sad to send her back to Montana and I knew my babe would miss grandma’s constant cuddling. 

Before Grandma came, I gathered any little pink items I could get my hands on from places like Target's dollar section, grocery store checkout stands, Dollar Tree, Hobby Lobby, etc....     

and put them in this pink, canvas bag (a gift bag would work just as well) attached with a tag and personalized note. We really were tickled pink that she came to stay and help me!

You can download the tag below...just click the downward arrow. Enjoy!

The Olympic Snow Games

Remember my version of Reindeer Games from Christmas Eve two years ago? It was such a hit, that this year with family in town, I created a similar activity centered around SNOW, mainly because I could only dream of a White Christmas in Texas this year....

Suitable for for the holidays, winter break, or the next time your family is "snowed in", this lil' family event will have you all laughing, cheering, and having "snow" much fun together!


Here's what you'll need for your Olympic SNOW Games:

1 - the Game Board. You'll invite the competitors to view the Game Board for each game's title as you read the game description and/or rules for each corresponding game. (I noticed that the younger kids in our group kept looking at it and getting excited about the next game. Some of the titles are deceiving and I was cracking up as they guessed what they thought the game would be about and they were waaay off! haha.) 

2 - The Olympic Snow Rings, made out of paper plates from Dollar Tree and centers cut out. Note: you will have to tape the slits you made from cutting and intertwine each ring the proper way in order for them to hang correctly. It's trickier than you'd think. Either that or I'm just a little slow. :)

3 - The Olympic Snow Torch - made from a long paper umbrella (or anything else long and cylindrical like this!). I just wrapped white wrapping tissue around it and then wrapped again with a sheer, glittery wide ribbon. When you get to the top (fire part), wrap the base of the tissue in with the rest and then leave enough of top to give you a torch.

4 - White Medals, grab yourself a few packs of White KitKats, white ribbon and a hot glue gun. (obviously, a low-temp glue gun is best because you will be gluing the ribbon directly onto the back of KitKat. I didn't have any problems with the chocolate melting...if it did, it was the tiniest bit. No big deal.

5 - The Official SNOW GAMES Instruction Packet, it's a PDF download I've created just for you! It includes rules and instructions for the games, supplies list for each game, and pretty much just organizes it all for you in one easy-to-read packet.

Okay, it's game time. Here's how it works.

Opening Ceremonies

On a computer, phone, or tablet, have the Olympic theme song playing from this youtube video. I started at the beginning and stopped it at 1:06. When the music starts, have your chosen carrier-of-the-torch make an entrance into the living room (or wherever your group is sitting) and hold the torch high! Then, about 10-20 seconds into the song, have your Master of Ceremony announce something like this:

"Welcome to The 2014 Olympic Snow Games: Celebrating the _____________(family name)'s Quest for the White Medal! (Show the White Medal) Required of each competitor is outstanding sportsmanship, a team spirit, and most importantly, a great sense of humor (because the gamemakers tend to be a little corny!) We wish for all to have "snow" much fun! Let the Games Begin!!"

Games

v  Snow Blowers 
It may be cold outside, but there's plenty of hot air in this game! Each competitor will blow up their white balloons and use the air from it to blow snow from the table down to their bucket. Whoever has the most snow in their bucket wins the round.  The winners of each round play a final round to determine White Medal winner.

v  Blind Snowman 
A blizzard of snow has blown in and covered everything in a blinding blanket of white! But, the games must go on and a snowman must be built! In this individual sport, each competitor will draw a snowman...with eyes closed!  No peeking!
(Instructions & rules included the Game Instructions PDF download below. You'll need these instructions for the game to work!)

psssttt, there's a free printable for this game!
Download links at bottom of post.

v  Snowball Fight
In this favorite Snow Games team sport, the two 

top-ranked teams in the world meet for this snowball showdown. Who will be victorious? Who will get socked? (Play like dodge ball.)

 v  Snowbowls
A well-loved individual sport, Snowbowls has each competitor picking up 

as many mini snowballs as they can with chopsticks and drop them into a bowl, while a timer runs for one minute. The winners of the initial rounds will play a final round and the winner takes the WHITE! (4 at a time, or as many chopsticks as you have. Not all at the same time, because you want some to watch and some to play. Winner of each round plays a final round and the winner gets the White!)

v  Eat Snow
Only the fiercest of competitors are invited to face off in this event, but winning comes with sweet rewards! Each competitor starts with a snowball (white chocolate oreo) on their face and follows these rules: (Instructions & rules included the Game Instructions PDF download below.)(Variation of this game: If you can't find white chocolate oreos, just name the game "Dirty Snow" or "Eat Dirty Snow" and use regular oreos.)

   v  the Silly Snow Song 

As the Olympic Snow Games of ________(year) come to a close, all competitors come together to sing the beloved theme song of the games. (I used the lyrics of "Let it Snow!"  (Instructions for this madgab are included the Game Instructions PDF download below.)

Closing Ceremony:
Make sure you take a group photo with everyone and their White Medals......

 and then move onto some yummy snacks and treats!

Because it was right after Christmas, we still had sooo many goodies leftover, so I didn't go all out for this part of the activity. However, the sky's the limit here. Here are some ideas for ya:

*Pepperidge Farm Snowball Cookies (citrus)
*White Powdered Donuts

*Vanilla Snow Cotton Candy (holiday section, Walmart 2014)

*SnoCaps nonpareils candies
*Betty Crocker Snowball Cookies (mix)
*Hostess SNOBALLS
*Cadbury Snow Bites

*Chex Mix Muddy Buddies or Homemade Puppy Chow (call them Snow Chow)
*Little Debbie White Fancy Cakes
*White Cheddar Snowballs
*White Cheddar Popcorn
*White Fudge Flipz (white chocolate pretzels)
*Reese's White or KitKat White
*White candies & taffies (look at your local party store)
*Lindor White Chocolate truffles
*White Jordan Almonds
...seriously, this list could go on forever. White ANYTHING :)

And of course there are oodles of ideas for homemade treats that take a bit more effort, but might just earn YOU the White Medal in your family's eyes... try this collection of 25 "snow" themed treats from Something Swanky.

And, as promised, the download links are below. Please, please, please..if you use these ideas with your family, I would so completely enjoy seeing your pictures if you wish to blog about it and comment or email me the link!

Full Instruction Packet
Blind Snowman Drawing Sheets
Game Board Text Strips: (includes PDF images so you can print out the text and cut & glue to scrapbook paper to make the board like mine)
Board Title, 2 options*
Game Titles 1*
Game Titles 2*

*okay, I don't know what happened but some of the text and/or swirls on the game board strips are not showing fully after I converted to PDF... it's a minor detail, but fill it in by hand and no one will even know!  :)
.............................................................

Oh, and just in case you were going to try some games of your own, here are some other fun ideas that I decided not to incorporate this time around (mainly because I didn't want the whole activity to be too long).

Just a bunch of Snow-flakes - cut paper snowflakes. have everyone vote for best one. any ties have to create another and then revote.  

Build a Snowman - Pair people off into groups of two. This will be a race to make one person in each group a toilet-paper wrapped snowman. You can just give them the supplies they need, or create some sort of riddle or hunt for each item: the scarf, pipe, carrot nose, hat, and buttons. 

SnowBunny - I thought this could work just like Chubby Bunny, where it's a contest to see who can stuff the most "snow" (aka jumbo marshmallows) into their bunny cheeks and still say SnowBunny audibly.

Other possible game title ideas: Snow Blizzard; Up to Snow Good; Ready, Set, Snow!; Snow Flurries; Don't Be Snow-flaky!;

Christmas Coupon Card: Easy, Last Minute Spouse Stocking Stuffer

My husband and I have this funny thing about coupons...we actually both LOVE receiving these dumb, cliche coupons...love them enough that we hint outwardly ask beg for them for birthdays, Christmas, Valentine's, anniversary... but neither of us love giving them because we know we'll have to own up to whatever we write on those dang coupons at some point later in the year when we've all but forgotten about them and then, "hey hunny...remember this coupon you gave me??!"  And the trouble is, most people think that in order for it to be a substantial-enough of a gift, it needs to be a full coupon BOOK. seriously? I can't be responsible for honoring the redemption of a BOOK of coupons for massages, breakfast in bed, win-an-argument...and you know, the like. (PS...I don't ever give win-an-argument coupons. that's just crazy. haha)

BUT...in the spirit of giving this Christmas, we agreed to give each other 3 coupons in our stockings. THREE. I can handle three. and maybe even an extra one for a lil' extra love.

 I decided to try being funny and write some disclaimer nonsense including some inside jokes (so, if you read it, you're gonna think it's dumb.)  ...if you're anything like me, you'll realize there may even be a little bit of truth to the disclaimer notes. :) Here's what my Christmas Coupons Card looks like:

...and you know I won't let you leave the blog empty-handed if you want to do something similar. I have a blank version that you can either hand-write on or edit in photoshop (just add your text over-top of the pdf/image). 

Merry Christmas! Download HERE.

National Dentist Day Gift

As a dentist's wife, I'm always looking for clever dental related anything. I stumbled upon The Tooth Book by Dr. Seuss when I was pregnant and thought it'd be a perfect gift from his daughter-to-be. 

National Dentist Day is on March 6th every year and here's a simple idea for your favorite dentist...especially if he (or she) is a parent. There are a plethera of tooth-related children's books, so this is easily adaptable. And if they're a by-the-code-type-of-dentist and candy is a no-no, you can bet your life that the staff wouldn't mind indulging in a few goodies between cleanings and insurance claims. 

Oh, and please see past my terrible i-phone shots. my iphone was way past it's expiration by this time and I was too pregnant & lazy to pull out the digital SLR. 

Goodie bucket filled with variety of white candies: sixlets, taffy, gumballs, kit-kat white, lifesavers, buttermints and white chocolate reese's peanut butter cups

I wrapped the book up in white paper, and tied it up with a bunch of balloons and delivered it to M's office.

Here's Dr. Daddy reading The Tooth Book to our sweet babe on the day she cut her FIRST tooth! oh, when I walk in on picture-perfect moments like this, I melt. These two have my heart.

If you want to adopt the same tag I created & used, feel free to click and save as on the image below.

I'm back, baby!! Sorta....

Sooo....it's been a while. i know. but seriously, how do I have eleventy-thousand unread emails from this blog? That may be a slight exaggeration, but there are far too many! For that, I am sorry...I did not mean to ignore and purposely neglect your sincere emails with questions, problems downloading files, purchase requests, etc... but you see.... my focus has dramatically shifted over the past year. 

Here's a quick recap: 

Aug 2013

Oct 2013

Apr 2014

....fast forward 8 months to

Dec 2014

and by fast foward, I mean REALLY fast! Holy cow, this little babe has consumed my entire life but I have never loved a job or a calling more...being a mother is my favorite. But, it's true what they say....it goes by way too fast!  My litttle babe is only getting bigger and I intend to spend as much time as I can by her side watching her grow. and kissin' on her sweet cheeks! 

But, I'd like to throw a few posts up on this ole' blog of mine (if for no other reason, because it helps ME keep track of things I've done and a resource to easily access them again). So, look for some new posts coming soon! (and again forgive me for not returning past emails...and let's be honest, for future emails, too. probly. i'll try. ;)

Reindeer Games on Christmas Eve

Last year, we spent Christmas with my husband's parents and his sister's family. We decided it would be fun to play some festive reindeer games...but not just ANY reindeer games. Allow me to introduce you to the Christmas Eve Reindeer Games...a perfect mix of interactive games for kids and adults! Gather the family where they can all see the game board (pictured below) and read this lil' four line poem to kick things off...

Make sure everyone "dons" their antlers before you take a fun group photo! These came from the Dollar Tree last year.

Here's the game board: (nothing fancy..just a piece of foam board with scrapbook paper)

You will reveal (turn over) each game title one by one...so it'll look like the picture above at first,
then slowly turn into the picture below! (I don't know why I did it that way...maybe for the anticipation...?)

Once the game title has been revealed on the game board, read the game description and play each game one at at time!

Scrambled Reindeer - Unlike scrambled eggs, scrambled reindeer isn't very tasty. Kids, team up with an adult as you hurry and unscramble these famous reindeer names. The first person to be done with correct answers or the person with the most correct reindeer names in this one minute race wins! *handout sheet for each pair; Answer Sheet (in order): Donner, Comet, Blitzen, Dancer, Rudolf, Prancer, Dasher, Cupid, Vixen

                Dasher - asreDh
                Dancer - cneraD
                            Prancer - nacPrer            
                Vixen - xiVne
                Comet - meCot
                Cupid - iduCp
                Donner - noDren
                Blitzen - zitnBle
                Rudolf - oldRuf

Oh , Deer! - The North Pole is not a safe place to get lost with all that snow...but every now and then, Santa and his elves must go looking for a lost reindeer. Kids, there are 9 lost reindeer for you to find. Clues will help guide you. You must find each one in order! If you find one along your way, leave it there until the specific clue leads you to it. If you need help with a clue, ask the adults! When you find the lost reindeer, shout "Oh, Deer!"

                They all work together and receive small prizes after finding all 9 reindeer.

Here's how our clues looked... (attached to chipboard reindeer from Michael's last year)

        

Deer in the Headlights - Couple's Questionnaire. Give each adult a questionnaire handout and have them fill out. Give 5-10 minutes then go through each question and have each couple give their answers and compare. (Note: EACH person gets a questionnaire. The left column is what you say. The right column is what you THINK your spouse would say about you to that same question.) clear as mud, right? ;) 

ReignDeer Bubble Blowing Contest - Reindeer know just where to fly when Santa pulls the reins. But Sometimes, it snows heavily on Christmas Eve night and the reindeer must be skilled at blowing snow out of the way of the sleigh as it glides through the air. It's kind of like blowing bubbles with bubble-gum. Here's your chance to practice. The person to blow the biggest bubble will be the "reigning" champion!

Reindeer Poop - Reindeer sometimes can be a bit messy, it's true. It's the elves only complaint, having to pick up the reindeer poop! YUCK! But, it has to be done. Kids, grab a spoon and head out to the backyard tundra and let's have a race to see who can scoop up the most reindeer poop!

               (This is a timed race game in the backyard (or garage, or wherever!) where the kids pick up cocoa puffs (aka: reindeer poop) with a spoon and carry back to a designated spot to fill up their container.  

Rain-Deer Homes - In the North Pole, it's sure to rain and snow, and that is why reindeer must have a safe place to go! Kids & Adults, team up and get ready to build a Reindeer home out of marshmallows and toothpicks. You'll only have 5 minutes to build!  (provide enough toothpicks and mini marshmallows for all groups)

Reindeer Gear - Reindeer have some heavy duty gear to wear every day, not just on Christmas Eve. The antlers of reindeer can get up to 39 inches in width and 53 inches in length! That's quite the load to carry on your head! Let's give it a try, shall we? Kids, grab an adult partner and line up for further instructions.

You will be making antlers to go on each of the kid's heads. Blow up your balloons, and stuff them into the legs of the pantyhose. There should be 4 on each side. Then, the top part of the pantyhose should be worn on your head to complete your Reindeer Antlers!
         (pantyhose bought from walmart for less than a dollar; balloons from dollar tree)

Deer John - In their free time, reindeer love to write letters and re-write songs...  Their favorite one to rewrite and sing is "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer". Let's rewrite the song ourselves and sing it loud for all to hear!

               This is a Mad Lib game - fill out the madlib on the poster board with the group's shoutouts as you ask for each kind of word. Then reveal it at the end for everyone to read and sing.

Endeer to the End! - Reindeer have quite the job...flying all around the world in just one night! This is the last reindeer game and you must "enDEER" to the end!  Remember, reindeer are all tied together when they fly, but they work together to deliver all the toys. Kids, you must work together to pick up all these chocolates on the floor and put them in the bucket in 15 seconds. Any leftovers go to Grandpa!

Reindeer Snacks - After a long night of flight, reindeer love going back to the north pole for a cool, refreshing Root-Deer....along with some salty reindeer chex!

Oooh...if you can't tell, we had a lot of fun! Here are the printables you'll need if you'd like to host the Reindeer Games this Christmas Eve!

Game Board - Reindeer Games Title

Game Board - Game Titles 1 
Game Board - Game Titles 2
Game Board - Game Titles 3
Treat Table Labels
Reindeer Scramble Cards
Oh Deer! Reindeer Scavenger Hunt Clues
Deer in the Headlights - Couples Questionnaire
Full Reindeer Games Instruction Sheet (with game descriptions)