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Free Printable: Thanksgiving Gratitude Conversation Starters

November 10 by Kristin

Free Printable Conversation Starters for Families: All About Gratitude- we printed these and made a countdown chain as the post suggested. Such a great way to easily incorporate thankfulness into our day this time of year AND get the kids talking to me!

Gratitude isn't a new concept for us.  We've talked before about regularly expressing gratitude toward our kids and putting our gratitude into writing. Do a simple search for gratitude on the blog and you'll see many ideas for crafts and thoughts about giving thanks. The benefits of being a grateful person range from being more optimistic, less materialistic and self-centered, to increasing our self-esteem and actually making us healthier.  This is something we should be working on literally … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Holiday Projects, Kristin, MJ, Printables, Seasonal Fun Tagged With: free thanksgiving printable, kids gratitude ideas, kids Thanksgiving craft, kids Thanksgiving ideas, Thanksgiving activities, thanksgiving countdown, thanksgiving diy

Homemade Face Paints for the 4th of July

July 1 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

There’s no time like the 4th of July to get your party on in the backyard.  Along with the fireworks this year, why not whip up some homemade face paints using the simple recipe below.  Your kids will light up at the chance to display their very own stars and stripes. To make homemade face paint, you will need: 1 tsp of milk 1 tsp of cornstarch ½ tsp of water red food coloring blue food coloring Combine the milk, cornstarch, and water in a small bowl and add a few drops of food … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Holiday Projects, The Make & Play Vault Tagged With: 4th of july face paint, DIY face paint, homemade face paint, non-toxic face paint

St. Patrick’s Day Treat: Rainbow Drinks

March 4 by Janssen

Such a quick and easy way to celebrate St. Paddy's Day with the kids - love the sherbet version at the end of the post!

I love celebrating the holidays with my kids - they have such a knack for getting excited about each and every one. But that doesn't mean I want to stay up all night frosting cupcakes! Simple but special treats that take under 5 minutes to prepare are much more up my alley. Here's Janssen with a great one... Last year, I made some of that rainbow jello that's floating around on the Internet to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. It looked great, but it took hours to make (because it had to set between … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Holiday Projects, Janssen, Seasonal Fun Tagged With: kid snacks, kid treats, rainbow dessert, rainbow fruit drink, recipe, st patrick's day, St. Patrick's Day dessert, St. Patrick's Day treats

Playtime: Valentine Fortune-Tellers & Knock-Knock Jokes

January 22 by Kaley

I don't know about your kids but mine are totally obsessed with knock-knock jokes - they think they're hilarious and absolutely love getting a laugh when telling one.  So I know they're going to go nuts for these adorable Valentine Fortune-Tellers. Be sure to click for the printable with all 14 Valentine-inspired knock-knock jokes! Do you remember folding fortune tellers back in elementary school? (Maybe you called them cootie catchers?) If I wasn't busy playing M.A.S.H. with my BFFs, we were … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Creating & Engaging, Holiday Projects, Kaley, Seasonal Fun, The Make & Play Vault Tagged With: How to fold cootie-catcher, how to fold fortune teller, kids Valentine's, Kids' craft, playtime activity, Valentine's Day craft, Valentine's Day Knock-Knock Jokes

DIY Halloween Decor: Spiderweb Garland

October 15 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

DIY Halloween Decor: How to make origami Spiderweb Garlands

If you're looking for a simple DIY Halloween decor idea to try with the kids this year (one that - bonus - will keep them quiet and busy for a good chunk of time), check out my kirigami paper spiderweb garland. Kids love the ancient art of origami and kirigami takes it up a notch by adding in cutting work (which is great for building fine motor skills).  Follow our step-by-step instructions below to make some basic kirigami spiderwebs with the kids in Halloween colors. Then string them … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Holiday, Holiday Projects, The Make & Play Vault Tagged With: DIY Halloween decor, Halloween crafts, Halloween crafts for kids, spiderweb garland

Halloween Craft: DIY Stand-Alone Ghosts

September 26 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

Stand-Alone Cheesecloth Ghosts: a simple Halloween craft for kids - Such a great project for kids of all ages and they think it's so cool the ghosts actually stand up!

If you’ve been to your local craft store recently, you’ve probably noticed the sudden abundance of cheesecloth available on the shelves. The thin, gauze-like material has been a Halloween crafting staple for decades and for good reason. It’s a very user-friendly material for both kids and adults to work with and it’s appearance naturally lends itself to ghost and mummy projects galore.   Today we’re giving you the quick and easy steps involved in making some spooky spirits that you … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Holiday, Holiday Projects Tagged With: cheesecloth ghosts, Halloween crafts, halloween projects for kids, kids halloween crafts

Free Printable: Advent Calendar with Jokes for Every Day

November 29 by Kristin

Free printable Christmas joke Advent Calendar - my kids will love this and it'll be so easy to keep up with - score!

Advent calendars have become such a HUGE part of Christmas these days – have you noticed? This handy free printable has 24 jokes for kids and an ornament for each day of December leading up to Christmas. Get it by clicking below or filling out the form up top. Get your Free Knock-Knock Jokes Here Our free printable Christmas Joke countdown takes zero effort from me once it’s up and my kids adored it last year. This year, they still can’t get enough puns and knock-knock jokes. Think of it as an … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Holiday, Holiday Projects, Kristin, MJ Tagged With: advent printable, Christmas knock knock jokes, free Christmas printable, kids advent activities, printable advent calendar

Handmade Halloween: Make Spider Sack Decor with the Kids

September 27 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

DIY Halloween Spider Sack Decor - the perfect Halloween craft to make with kids. Lots of hands on fun and the result is so impressive!

I'm so excited about this Halloween project, it turned out even better than I'd envisioned.   It's the quintessential MPMK project - easy enough for kids of all ages to get in on the action and the finished product is a decidedly stylish take on traditional Halloween decor.   And did I mention how inexpensive it is?   … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Holiday Projects, Seasonal Fun, The Make & Play Vault, Tutorials Tagged With: DIY Halloween decor, Halloween crafts, Halloween crafts for kids, halloween decor

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

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