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10 Cheap & Easy Indoor Beach Ball Games to Keep Kids Active

March 2 by Alli

These are such smart ideas - cheap, easy, and will help the kids burn off steam inside!

I was looking through some old photos recently and I was reminded of how much we used to play with beach balls in the house when the kids were younger. It was such a simple way to keep the kids active and happy when we were stuck indoors - plus it was super inexpensive and easy to set up (two of my favorite qualities in a kids' activity). Back in the day, this one was right up there with our Life-Sized Building Blocks, Construction Sensory Box and Upcycled Inventor's Box. The idea is so great, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Alli, Sensory & Interactive Play, The Make & Play Vault Tagged With: beach ball games for kids, being active inside with beach balls, indoor beach ball game, play ideas

20 No/Low Set-Up Ways to Play with Your Kids in the Back Yard

April 30 by Alli

20 No-Fuss Backyard Play Ideas for Kids - Getting so many good ideas for our summer bucket list. Love how easy they all are - gonna go do #2 right now!

Not that I'm counting or anything, but summer is something like 52 days away. I don't know about you, but for us... Summer is all about fun without the fuss. Our family loves the new-found together time. And we love doing activities together, both in and out of the house. But the key to making things more enjoyable for everyone? Especially for Mom? Minimal planning and set up. I mean, it's KEY. As usual, we'll be focusing on getting outside as much as possible this summer, even despite the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Alli, Outdoor Play, The Make & Play Vault Tagged With: easy backyard play, low set up backyard games, outdoor play ideas, simple outside games for kids

Make It: Donut Easter Bunny Surprise

March 6 by Alli

Making this cute little guy for a simple Easter morning breakfast.

Easter is about a month away, so it's time to roll out the ideas. We're kicking things off with Alli and her super cute bunny donut idea, perfect for Easter.   We'll probably make ours Saturday morning since we do family brunch on Easter Sunday.   Here's how to make yours... Who says you can't play with your food? Especially your kids' food. Our home activity theme for this month is Easter, so I was determined to surprise Isaiah with a bunny breakfast at some point. And I just loved how … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Alli, Holiday Projects, In the Kitchen, The Make & Play Vault Tagged With: donut Easter bunny recipe, Easter breakfast recipe, Easter dessert, Easter kids' treat, Easter recipe, Easter treat

Parenting: Making Cookies with Grandma, Uninterrupted

December 15 by Alli

Parenting: Making Cookies with Grandma, Uninterrupted #ad #nobabyunhugged

*This post is sponsored by Huggies. In this house, we love uninterrupted family time. We were so excited for my parents to visit last week, for example. We all had the chance to sit down and ice gingerbread cookies together for what felt like hours. I honestly got teary eyed, it was so special. Three generations, bonding and baking together, with no interruptions. My son was so proud icing the pieces "all by himself." And I know he was happy to be dry during our cookie frosting family … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Alli, Parenting Tagged With: #huggiescouncil, long lasting diaper protection, no baby unhugged

20 Organization Projects to Make Back-to-School a Breeze

August 3 by Alli

TONS of great ideas here - love the self-serve lunch stations and study spaces the most.

It's back-to-school month. You know what that means - time to buckle down and set up some solid morning, lunch packing, and maybe even homework routines. It wouldn't hurt to set up a backpack and study zone either! Here's Alli with 20 of the best projects out there to get you organized for Back-to-School. My oldest son will be starting a Mother's Day Out program this Fall. I know, I know. That's small potatoes in the back-to-school world. But still. It has my heart in a lurch. I'm already … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Alli, Organizing, Project Organize Your ENTIRE Life Tagged With: back to school organization, how to get organized. POYEL, kids routines, organizing art supplies, packed lunches, Project Organize Your ENTIRE Life, school organization

Mother’s Day DIY Mug (You can call me Queen Bee)

April 21 by Alli

DIY Mug "You Can Call Me Queen Bee" - love this for Mother's Day!

Mother's Day is the perfect time to try a DIY project and I guarantee you're going to adore this one. I want to make one for every mom I know! Here's Alli with the details... I am loving the "make your own mug" trend for two reasons: 1. There's nothing better than a handmade gift. 2. It's so amazingly EASY! I mean, really. The possibilities are endless. I picked up one mug at the dollar store for this project, and I found myself wishing I'd grabbed a dozen. I decided to go with a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Alli, Holiday Projects, Seasonal Fun, The Make & Play Vault Tagged With: DIY Mother's Day gift, DIY mug, favorite, handmade mug, Mother's Day craft, Queen Bee Mug

10 Brilliant Indoor Play Ideas Using a Beach Ball

February 17 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

10 cheap and easy indoor play ideas for kids using a beach ball- perfect when stuck inside on a rainy day!

I was reading one of my favorite MPMK posts the other day, How to Maintain Your Zen When the Kids Have Lost Their Ever-Loving Minds, and I was reminded of how much we used to play with beach balls in the house when the kids were younger. It was such a simple way to keep the kids active and happy when we were stuck indoors - plus it was super inexpensive and easy to set up (two of my favorite qualities in a kids' activity). Back in the day, this one was right up there with our Life-Sized … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Alli, Parenting, The Make & Play Vault Tagged With: beach ball play ideas, indoor play for 2-year-olds, indoor play ideas, indoor play ideas for 1-year-olds, indoor play ideas for preschoolers, indoor play ideas for toddlers, rainy day play ideas

Roundup: Black Friday Sales on MPMK Gift Guide Toys!

November 27 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

Amazon Toy Sales Alert Page - Part of MPMK's famous mega toy gift guides. This is where you can see which toys have gone on sale. There's also an email sign-up so you don't have to check back each day... This page blog gives the most detailed toy descriptions and awesome age recommendations and now you can save $ on all their picks- hooray!!

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! Now that we’ve all stuffed ourselves and, hopefully, had a great day with the family – it’s time to get a little Christmas shopping done. I stayed up extra late last night/this morning to scour Amazon for deals they’re running on any and all of the 400+ Toys featured in our gift guides this year. I really hope this goes a long way to saving you a little time and money today! Before you get to shopping, don't forget to Bookmark our new page: NEW THIS … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Alli Tagged With: Amazon Black Friday toy sale, amazon sales, amazon toy deal of the day, amazon toy goldbox deal, amazon toy sale, amazon toy sale alerts, best toys, Black Friday toy sales, Christmas toy sales, MPMK toy gift guides, top toys, toy sale alerts, where to find toys on sale

25 Simple Play Ideas for Fall

November 3 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

Kids Activities for Fall- Great list of easy set-up play ideas for fall, best books for fall, kid-friendly recipes for fall, and even a few fun fall toys.

I've written a lot about the importance of family traditions, big and small. But one thing I sometimes forget is how many mini traditions we've built around the changing of each season. It's often not until the leaves start turning colors and there's a chill in the air that I remember how much the kids love it when I have a hot pot of apple cider simmering on the stove, or reading In November together under a big soft blanket. Today our contributor Alli is here sharing some of her favorite … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Alli, Educational Activities, Holiday Tagged With: autumn play ideas, autumn recipes, fall activities for kids, fall play activities, Fall recipes, Thanksgiving play ideas

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