Archives for December 2015

December 30, 2015 by Krista

Spread Cheer with Simple Surprises

How was your Christmas celebration? Or, if you don’t celebrate Christmas, how was your past week? It was busy, busy, busy around here. We have had some fun adventures, a busy Christmas full of family and are getting ready for the new year to bring some more fun. Have you been busy too? Hopefully your hectic holidays are winding down, but don’t stop spreading cheer just yet! Spread cheer with simple surprises this winter season.

SPREAD CHEER WITH SIMPLE SURPRISES

The kids are out of school and I am trying to find a balance of attention for them and not letting my other responsibilities get left behind or completely overwhelm me. We have been looking for lots of fun activities that aren’t too time consuming or involve a lot of preparation or supplies. We’re working with little attention spans and all. That also lets me spend time with my boys and still not have too much mom guilt when I tell them I need to do some work or a few chores.

Betty Crocker® cookie mixes have come to our rescue more than once this past week! We love cookies… because, who doesn’t? We used Betty Crocker® mixes to make our cookies for Santa and he loved them. He told me so. We’ve shared cookies with lots of family and friends this past week too. It’s been fun to spread some cheer with simple surprises, like a plate of cookies.

I knew that Christmas Eve would be a busy day and we had quite a bit of baking we needed to do. Among the pies, rolls and waffle dough we needed to make we also needed to make cookies for Santa. I knew we weren’t going to have a lot of time so I went with one of my favorite flavor combinations. Peanut butter and chocolate!

I picked up the Betty Crocker® peanut butter cookie mix at Walmart. I grabbed a sugar cookie one too because I knew my kids would be home for the next three weeks and we might need a project to do. We haven’t made the sugar cookies yet, but there’s still two weeks of Winter Break so I’m not tucking it away into the cupboard just yet.

We made peanut butter blossoms for Santa on Christmas Eve and it was perfect. My boys love to help mix things up in the mixer and Betty Crocker® cookie mixes are perfect. They are quick and there’s just enough ingredients that my boys stay interested. We rolled the dough so my boys even got to help with getting it ready to bake, which they usually don’t get to do.

While the cookies baked, my boys helped me unwrap the chocolates to top the cookies with. They did really well and didn’t even eat that many of the chocolates, although that was their favorite part, of course.

We will be making some more cookies while we wait for New Year’s tomorrow, although I’m not sure what kind of Betty Crocker® mix we’ll use yet. There are so many to choose from. I love being able to get my kids in the kitchen in a low-stress, fun project that we can do together. It’s something we all enjoy. And the end result is pretty great too. Another simple surprise we can all enjoy.

If you want some fun cookie ideas, check out the Betty Crocker® Homepage. How would you like a coupon to save on some delicious Betty Crocker® cookie mix? You can do just that with any Betty Crocker® cookie mix and this coupon on Ibotta. How are you going to bake with Betty this winter?

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Betty Crocker. The opinions and text are all mine.

December 23, 2015 by Krista

#SpreadCheer This Holiday Season! $20 PayPal Cash Giveaway

Christmas is in two short days! Are you ready? Gifts all bought? Already wrapped? I’m close, but I have few things more to do so this will be the last post until next Wednesday. I’m gonna take the next week off to get ready for Christmas and then spend time with my family.

However, if you’re in the midst of all your gifts and would like to try to get yourself a little something, I’ve got just the post for you – how does a giveaway sound?! How would you like some cold hard cash? Betty Crocker has a super fun campaign going on where they are encouraging you to #SpreadCheer this holiday season. They have made everything as painless and simple as possible. Because we are all busy, am I right?!

HOW YOU CAN #SPREADCHEER THIS HOLIDAY SEASON

Check out some delicious recipes that are a cinch to put together with Betty Crocker cookie mixes. Looking for something fun to do with the kiddos this week while you wait for Christmas? How about a fun Christmas Eve activity with a fun surprise for your family and friends? Use the printable tags to dress up and drop off some goody plates for one last Christmas random act of kindness. Betty Crocker mixes are super easy to make, which means you can spend your time decorating or dressing up your cookies. That’s the part my kids like the most anyway. Let Betty keep your holiday focus where it should be: on your favorite people! Little J and I had a Christmas Cheer Mommy-Son date where we made the cookies and then delivered them to some of his friends. He loved it!

So, how about that $20? Use the rafflecopter widget below to enter. There are three entry options and you can do, one two or all three! Also, come check out this post for more #SpreadCheer ideas (and to enter the giveaway over there for another $25)! Good luck! And Happy holidays to you and yours this season. I hope you all find yourselves surrounded with love and laughter and your favorite people! Now, enter to win some money and then go celebrate the holidays!

December 21, 2015 by Krista

Fill in the Blank Printable Coupons

This is a last minute stocking stuffer I’m giving to my kiddos and it’s so easy, I figured I’d share it with you too. These fill in the blank printable coupons are super versatile and you can use them for more than just your kids. Use them for your sweetie too. Because they are fill in the blank, they work for everyone. It’s an easy gift that will keep on giving through the year.

FILL IN THE BLANK PRINTABLE COUPONS

Materials:
– Pen, Markers or Pencils
– Scissors or Paper Cutter
– Fill in the Blank Printable Coupons
– Hole Punch
– String or Yarn

Directions:
– Print out the high resolution Fill in the Blank Coupons. Click the link or the image to download the high resolution file.
– Use the pen, markers or pencils to fill out the coupons however you want.
– Cut the coupons apart with the scissors or paper cutter.
– Punch a hole or two in each coupon, string the coupons together on the string or yarn and tie them together. Alternatively, you could staple the coupons together or put them in an envelop. Whatever method you want to use to keep all the coupons together. You can also embellish the coupons more if you want.
– Gift your coupons to your lucky recipient and enjoy some fun moments and memories for the next year. I purposely didn’t put an expiration date on mine, but you can write one in if you’d like.

That’s it. Super simple, right? And it’s free! I know I definitely don’t need to spend any more money on Christmas, but this is still a meaningful gift. And I love that I was able to make one for each of my kiddos (well… the older two) and my husband without having to spend a lot of time create extra templates and doing redesigns.

December 16, 2015 by Krista

Best Christmas Movies on Netflix

Everyone loves good Christmas movies, right? We don’t have cable or satellite, but we do have Netflix. Their selection of Christmas movies hasn’t left me disappointed this year. There’s lots to choose from, especially for the kiddos. So get ready to pop some popcorn, snuggle in on the sofa with some cocoa and enjoy some fun Christmas movies this season!

These movies are all on Netflix, but I have linked to the movies on IMDb (Internet Movie Database) so you can check them out more before you decide to watch them. I love being able to check the parent’s guide if I’m wondering about watching a movie with the kids. That way we know what to expect without having to screen every movie first. All of these movies I’ve either personally seen (marked with an *) or they are on my list to see. To find any of the titles on Netflix, just search them. (All images are from the IMDb site).

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES ON NETFLIX

For the Kids:
* Cat in the Hat Knows a lot about Christmas – The boys and I watched this one the other night. The Cat in the Hat and the kids help a lost caribou find his way back home on Christmas Eve. It was cute, although a little long for my little ones. The Dr. Seuss was there, as was the happy ending to the story. Big J got a little distracted part way through it, but he was glued to the ending.
* The Legend of Frosty the Snowman – This one was good for my older two (6 and almost 4). The animation was lively, the characters were fun and the message was feel-good. It was a good quiet time movie when we had an unexpected snow day on Monday and Baby N was napping.
* Kung Fu Panda: Holiday – We like the Kung Fu Panda movies and this one doesn’t disappoint. All the characters you love are back in a fun Holiday story where Po has to decide where he is really needed the most on his big night. Mr Napping even watched this one with us.

* Thomas and Friends: Merry Winter Wish – There are also four other Thomas Christmas movies on Netflix, but my boys really like Merry Winter Wish. This set of Thomas adventures includes four Christmas stories that my boys love. Even Baby N likes to watch these a little. Christmas and trains are hard to beat in this house. I love that I can choose how long I need my kiddos distracted for – they can watch all four stories or just one or two.

* Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas – This is one of my favorite kid Christmas movies to watch with my boys. They don’t love it as much, but it is a good compromise for everyone. They get the characters they love so much and I get the feel-good story line with beloved characters from my childhood too. I also like that this one is another one that we can watch just a show or it can buy me at least half an hour to wrap presents uninterrupted.

* Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas – My two-and-a-half-year old niece and Little J (almost 4) love this one. They love their movie dates when I let them eat popcorn, fruit snacks and watch George. About midway through December I started getting sick of this one, but it’s cute the first half a dozen times.

Family Movie Night:
* Christmas with the Kranks – I can definitely understand the appeal of skipping Christmas (Baby N tried to eat the glass tree ornaments last week and we’re down at least 3 more glass balls that Mr Napping and I got our first Christmas together – I have been tempted more than once to just take the tree down already), but I also know that it just wouldn’t be the same without all those things. The Kranks decide to skip Christmas until their daughter decides that she is going to come home. In trying to put together the perfect Christmas, they find out just what Christmas is really all about.

* I’ll be Home for Christmas – I haven’t seen this one in a few years, but I liked it when I was younger. A young college kid decides to skip Christmas with his family until his dad bribes him to come home. But Jake runs into a few hang-ups on his cross-country trip that help him realize home is really where he wanted to be all along.

A Christmas Carol – I haven’t seen this version, but I love old movies so I’m thinking it would be a winner. At least in my book. The classic story of Ebenezer Scrooge and Jacob Marley is a must-see at least once around Christmastime. I might have to do some wrapping while I watch this one.

Date night:
* While You Were Sleeping – This movie didn’t actually inspire my blog name, but I think about it all the time. I love this movie and have ever since I was little and remember watching it at my Grandpa and Grandma’s house. As I got older and understood more of the story, I loved it even more. Lucy gets more than she wanted when she pretends to be engaged to the guy she likes, but has never really spoken to, when she meets his family.

White Christmas – I haven’t seen this one either and I’m not sure how that has happened. I hear it’s fantastic and, as I mentioned, I love old movies so this one is going on my list to see sooner rather than later. Mr Napping enjoys a good musical every now and again, so this one is on my date night list.

The Christmas Card – I haven’t seen this one, but it was nominated for a prime time Emmy and it has 7.1 stars on IMDb, which is a great rating. The parent’s guide looks pretty clean and I love a warm feel-good movie. So… I might trick Mr Napping into snuggling on the couch and watching it with me after we get the kids in bed some night this next week. It’s a war movie, hon…

Girls night
12 Dates of Christmas – So this looks like Groundhog’s Day for Christmas. I like Groundhog’s Day so I’m willing to give it a chance. It’s got a 6.4 star rating, which isn’t bad and tells me it might be worth seeing. There isn’t any info in the parent’s guide though, so be aware of that if you decide to watch it some younger viewers. I don’t know that I could convince my husband to watch this with me, but my sister would be all over it. Girls night!

Christmas Angel – This one has good ratings and sounds like a fun feel-good movie with a bit of romance in there too. Another great girls night choice. And it’s only 88 minutes long – the length of nap time maybe? When wishes start coming true Olivia discovers that some times, it’s not about what you want.

The Heart of Christmas – Great ratings and the cast looks solid, if maybe a little obscure. It also looks like you better bring the tissues to this one. A family comes together in a truly difficult situation to make it the best Christmas ever – even if it is in October.

What are your must-see Holiday movies?

December 14, 2015 by Krista

Cork Reindeer Ornament

I have been wanting to make this cork reindeer ornament since I made my cork jewelry organizer. Yeah, almost three years ago… But, I made the cork jewelry organizer in February. After Christmas. So, I saved it. And saved it. Annnnnnd saved it. But no more! I have put those extra corks to great use and turned them into some fabulous Christmas ornaments! This would be great for little bit older kids – there was a little too much hot glue for my not-so-careful kiddos. But it was super cathartic for me… so there’s that.

CORK REINDEER ORNAMENT

Materials:
– cork
– googly eyes
– small black or red pom pom
– 2 brown pipe cleaners
– paper clip and wire cutters
– glue gun and glue sticks

Directions:
– Hot glue the eyes in the middle of the cork, close together.
– Hot glue the pom pom on the end of the cork for the nose.

– Shape the pipe cleaners into antlers and hot glue them to the sides of the cork.

– Shove the end of the paper clip into the top of the cork. Leave about an inch of space after the paper clip comes out of the cork. Use the wire cutters to carefully bend the paper clip into a small eye hook. Secure with a bit of hot glue to keep it in place if desired.

– Attach a hook to the paper clip loop and hang it on your tree.

These went together so quickly that I ended up with three of them… so now we have three cork reindeer ornaments. Maybe I’ll slap years and names on the backs of those babies and give them to my boys as gifts. But seriously – so EASY! I would have (should have!) made them with the 8-11 year old girls I used to have Activity Days with a couple years ago. They would have loved these reindeer ornaments!