Celebrations, Parties, Uncategorized

DIY TNT Party Cups

DIY TNT Party Cups

I have expressed my love for the Solo brand Grips to Go! lidded cups in the past, and they continue to be a staple at many of my parties.  The lids, straws and cups all in one package are such a convenient buy, and I feel better knowing that drinks are contained and spills are minimized when entertaining a house full of small humans.

Minecraft TNT Party Cups

To match my Minecraft party theme, I decided to turn my cups into TNT.  The red cups provided the perfect background and I designed a simple black and white printable TNT label to fit around the middle of the cup.

Download the printable here: Minecraft TNT Cup Labels_DolledUpDesign

Minecraft TNT Party Cups

Once printed and cut, I simply attached each label to my cups using some good double sided tape on each end of the label.

Minecraft TNT Party Cups using Solo Grips to Go!

The slightly squared shape of the Solo cups work well with the pixelated Minecraft theme and, with the addition of the straw into the cup, it even looks like a dynamite fuse.

Fun and functional!

 

Celebrations, Gift Ideas, Parties, Uncategorized

Sweet Stacking Fun with Tsum Tsum’s

Jakks Pacific Tsum Tsum Easy Cupcake Toppers

Even though I love almost all things Disney, I will admit that I never understood the appeal of Tsum Tsum’s.  I didn’t understand the need to transform beloved characters into the odd flattened oval shapes and what people did with the toys beyond collect them to display on a shelf.

Then, I was given the opportunity to review Jakks Pacific‘s new line of Tsum Tsum figurines and learned that the word “Tsum” is actually Japanese for “stack”.  Finally the whole concept made a whole lot more sense to me!  The odd shapes of varying sizes were to allow for stacking of the toys in a myriad of combinations. Continue reading “Sweet Stacking Fun with Tsum Tsum’s”

Big Hands, Crafts, Gift Ideas, Little Hands

Easy DIY Handprint Snowman Christmas Cards

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Between my two children, we have 6 different teachers to buy Christmas gifts for this Holiday season.  My kids both love school and I think the teachers and aides play a big part in that so I wanted a small gift each to thank them for their efforts. Continue reading “Easy DIY Handprint Snowman Christmas Cards”

Celebrations, Crafts, Everyday Life, Little Hands

Giving Back With Kellogg’s Cereal

We are continuing to give back to our community this Holiday season thanks to some help from Kellogg’s cereal, Hasbro Toys and The Salvation Army.

Free Hasbro Game or Toy Offer

Back in October, I stocked up on Kellogg’s cereal to take advantage of the Hasbro Game or Toy Offer they were running.  By inputting a special code printed inside the box, I was able to order 5 coupons good for a free Hasbro toy valued at up to $15 or a coupon for $10 off a toy that cost $25 or more.

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It took just over a month for the coupons to get shipped to me, but once I had them they were easy to use at Toys R Us and Walmart to “buy” toys.  I let my kids pick out one toy each for themselves and we used the other 3 coupons to pick out toys to donate to the Christmas Bureau.  It was fun shopping together, and I was happily surprised by my son’s response of “Oh, that’s a nice thing to do for other kids mom!”

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There are lots of great organizations collecting new toys at this time of year, but I chose the Strathcona Christmas Bureau because of their connection with the wonderful Santa we always visit at Sherwood Park Mall.  In the past we have made a monetary donation during our visit with Santa, but this year it was a lot more fun to toss toys into the large donation bin.  I already had a few toys I had bought to donate, but thanks to the Kellogg’s coupons we were able to give more toys and make Christmas merrier for a few more kids.

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I didn’t have high hopes for our Santa visit after my daughter insisted she wanted nothing to do with Santa, so I was pleasantly surprised when she climbed up on his knee and happily chatted to him.  I can’t say enough good things about this Santa and we had a lovely afternoon creating Christmas memories.

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Treats for Toys

Our boxes of Rice Krispies did not stop giving with the Free Hasbro Toy.  With Kellogg’s Treats for Toys program, I was also able to plan a fun little activity for my kids that gives back to the Salvation Army.

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By simply making a toy inspired Rice Krispie treat and uploading the picture to the Rice Krispies website, Kellogg’s will make a donation of $20 to the Salvation Army to buy a gift for a child this Christmas.  I uploaded our picture this morning and it was incredibly quick and easy.

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I had a teddy bear shaped silicone mould so I decided to use that for our toy inspired treats.  With a bit of store bought icing and a selection of candies, we decorated our teddy’s and created a fun bedtime snack that gives back.  It doesn’t get much sweeter then that!

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Thank you to Kellogg’s, Hasbro and the Salvation Army for helping us give back this Holiday Season!  I love both programs and it is amazing that we were able to give so much with little more then the cost of a few boxes of breakfast cereal.

Givng Back Without Breaking the Bank

 

Friday Favorites, Gift Ideas, Uncategorized

Friday Favorites: “Do You Want to Build a Snowman” Jewelry Box

Today marks 2 years since Frozen was released in theaters.  The movie is still a huge hit in our house, and judging by all the Frozen merchandise in stores this Holiday season, I have a feeling my daughter is not alone.

When shopping with my 3 year old we always inevitably end up in the princess filled aisle so she can check out all the latest and greatest in dolls and dresses.  While checking everything out on a recent shopping trip, she was immediately drawn to this “Do You Want to Build a Snowman” Jewelry Box* by Jakks Pacific.

"Do You Want to Build a Snowman" Jewelry Box Continue reading “Friday Favorites: “Do You Want to Build a Snowman” Jewelry Box”

Celebrations, Gift Ideas, Uncategorized

A Minimal-ish Christmas

A Minimal-ish Christmas

I am sure many of you have seen this cute Christmas poem that is meant to help simplify Christmas and minimize shopping to 4 items.

Something they want.
Something they need.
Something to wear.
Something to read.

I love the concept, but I also love shopping and spoiling my kids at Christmas.  Growing up I have very fond memories of the mound of gifts under the tree and the flying paper and chaos as me and my 3 siblings unwrapped all our gifts. Continue reading “A Minimal-ish Christmas”

Celebrations, Two Legged Fun, Uncategorized

8 Great New Books for our Holiday Collection

We are going on to the third year of our Christmas Advent book countdown.  This year Auntie is spoiling the kids with a Lego City Advent Calendar for my son and the Little People Advent Calendar for my daughter, but I still love the annual tradition of opening a nightly Christmas book to read. Continue reading “8 Great New Books for our Holiday Collection”

Big Hands, Celebrations, Parties

Rudolph Party Printables

Free Rudolph Party Printables

Last Christmas I put together a fun Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer Holiday Party on Christmas day.  It is my absolute favorite Christmas movie, so it was fun for me to design all the different printables and pull together this festive party.  Today, I am sharing all the printables so you can host your own Rudolph themed party this upcoming Holiday season. Continue reading “Rudolph Party Printables”

Friday Favorites, Gift Ideas

Friday Favorites: Playmobil

Playmobil Logo

For Christmas this year, I have decided to venture into the world of Playmobil.  The teeny tiny pieces have scared me off in the past, but since we now have Lego scattered all over the house I figured what’s a few more tiny pieces to deal with?!  Plus, I figure the really small stuff can be tucked away if need be. Continue reading “Friday Favorites: Playmobil”

Big Hands, Celebrations

Happy Halloween 2015

Happy Halloween 2015 - Star Wars and Frozen

Halloween has come and gone again for another year, but I wanted to share some pictures of my costumed cuties and my pumpkin creations. Continue reading “Happy Halloween 2015”