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Is the Elf on the Shelf Part of Your Holiday Tradition Yet?

November 14 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

Are you guys familiar with The Elf on the Shelf phenomenon?  If not, I HIGHLY suggest you get familiar fast and jump on the bandwagon while there's still time.  Here's how it works, in a nutshell: The first year your elf joins the family via a special delivery from Santa, each year after that he reappears on a certain date - in our family it's the day after Thanksgiving. When the elf arrives, he belongs especially to your family and your littles get the distinct honor of naming him or … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Seasonal Fun, The Everyday

Thanksgiving Bucket List

November 5 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

So many great ideas for making memories with the kids between Halloween and Christmas.

It's officially the holiday season. What I love most about this time of year are all the special activities I get to do with the kids.  What I don't love about this time of year is how crazy hectic it can be - often leaving me stressed out that I'm not finding the time to actually do all those special activities with the kids! This year the plan is to get out ahead of the stress by deciding what we'll do now and arming myself with the supplies so we'll be ready to make memories at a moment's … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Holiday Projects, Seasonal Fun, The Make & Play Vault Tagged With: Thanksgiving activities, thanksgiving books for kids, Thanksgiving crafts, Thanksgiving ideas for kids, thanksgiving recipes for kids, Thanksgiving treats

Ideas so Good It’s Spooky

October 30 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

The hubs and I are back from our whirlwind trip to San Francisco (thank you all for the fabulous restaurant suggestions!) and I'm realizing it's very nearly Halloween - eek!  In case the holiday has snuck up on you too, here's a list of MPMK activities and recipes there's still time to have some fun with... Make Oobleck (the perfect activity for Halloween parties) Read some of our top notch Halloween Story picks. Start a (last minute) Halloween tradition. Decorate pumpkins - ideas for … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Seasonal Fun

Make Your Halloween Costume Count (and Last)

October 22 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

Photo credit: Justin W. Moore (www.outdoorphoto.com) Whether you buy a costume or make it at home, they can be expensive and time-consuming. You can make those dollars and hours count by not only encouraging your child to have fun on Halloween night, but by helping her to really get into character and to learn a lot as well. Dressing up is the ultimate form of pretending and there are amazing learning opportunities in the fun of dressing up for Halloween. In costume, you get to really feel … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Kim, Seasonal Fun

DIY Outdoor Halloween Garland

October 15 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

My kids love having Holiday decorations outside our home. I love having homemade decorations. Unfortunately homemade + outdoors don't always mix well. A couple of years ago we started making these cute duct tape garlands and I'm happy to report that 2 years later our banners are still looking great. They are easy to make and look so festive no matter what the occasion. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Allison, Holiday, Holiday Projects, Seasonal Fun

Scary Spider Webs & A Wonderful Fall Activity Book

October 12 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

Ah, fall - I adore this time of year, especially now that I have kids.  There's so much potential for fun: fun crafts, fun outings, fun food - fun, fun, fun! The only thing I don't love about the season is the slightly panicked feeling I get about getting myself organized enough to cram it all in. That's why I'm so excited my friend, and kid art aficionado, Jean wrote The Artful Year: Autumn.  It's loaded with just the kind of activities and recipes I want to share with the kids this year, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Holiday Projects, Seasonal Fun, The Make & Play Vault

Top-Notch Halloween Stories

September 28 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

I love seasonal and holiday books, although I've discovered that you generally have to sort through a lot of poorly-written or cheesily-illustrated reads to find the gems.  These are six that I consider very well-done against any scale, not just for Halloween. Earlier this week Steph suggested reading stories at night by candlelight as part of MPMK's 31 Ways to Start a Halloween Tradition.  All of these picks would be excellent choices for doing so. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Janssen, Seasonal Fun, The Book Nook

DIY Autumn Arrangements

September 27 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

Lot of pretty looks to try at home this fall.

Is it cooling down where you live yet?  Fall is definitely in the air here and with the crisp weather, comes a desire to fully immerse myself in Autumn.  Despite my penchant for DIY projects, I've never been much of a floral arrangement kind of girl (I actually just got my first wreath last Christmas). However, the web has been teeming with bold and beautiful autumn foliage lately.  So much so that I'm inspired to try out a DIY arrangement at home.  In no particluar order, here are my top six … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Design with Kids in Mind, Life: Styled, Seasonal Fun Tagged With: DIY autumn wreaths, DIY fall decor, fall decor, fall wreaths

Handmade Halloween: Etsy Costume Roundup

September 14 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

I know it's a little early for Halloween, but when talking costumes it never hurts to get ahead of the crowd.  I absolutely love the look of handmade Halloween costumes over store-bought.  But that doesn't mean I have the time, or for that matter the talent, to actually make them.  In the next few years I'm really going to try to work on my sewing skills (and on recognizing that it's about the effort and not a perfect product).  Hopefully I'll be ready to whip something up by the time my kids … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Seasonal Fun

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