While He Was Napping

momma gets stuff done

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{Printable} Kid’s Christmas Countdown Jar

Will you be crazy busy with holiday preparations this month?  Will the kiddos be home a lot more than normal?  Need a quick little advent calendar or boredom buster jar for the cold month ahead?  This boredom jar or Advent Calendar Christmas Countdown Jar is exactly what you need! Check out this little beauty that will take about 30 minutes to put together and will help make your December one to remember:

KID’S CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN JAR
This is a simple and fun way to celebrate the season all month long. Use it as a Boredom Jar or Advent Christmas Countdown.

 Download the watermark-free version HERE.
Looks like fun, right? My kids love when the Christmas Countdown jar comes out! It’s full of fun activities to do together all season long. Some of the activities are simple – like writing a letter to Santa. Some are a little more involved and will make for some great memories and traditions – making Christmas cookies or a picnic by the Christmas tree. This is a great reminder to me that holidays with my kids are limited and to really think about what I want them to remember about Christmas – and then to make those things happen!
Kid's Christmas Activity Jar
Hit the link above to get your copy of the free version of The Christmas Countdown Jar. If you’re looking for a little more, the full version of this project in my Etsy Shop. It includes 18 more activities and a full page of blank cards to easily add your own activities so nothing important gets left out. Check out the photo below for exactly what’s in the expanded version. You’ve got enough going on this December, but that doesn’t mean you can’t prioritize making memories too! Let me do the work for you!  Just print, cut apart and stick in jar.
This is a simple and fun way to celebrate the season all month long. Use it as a Boredom Jar or Advent Christmas Countdown.

 

 

Check out these other ideas for Activity Advent Calendars as well:
Envelop Advent Calendar

Toddler Activities Advent

This post was written by Krista and originally appeared on While He Was Napping.

 

 

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Weekend Wander #150

Hey, everyone.  Welcome to the party!  I’ve decided that this is going to be the last party.  At least for the rest of the year.  I may revisit this gig once the holidays are behind us, but for right now, it’s just more than I’m willing to take on.  I’m feeling WAYY stressed out and I want to be able to enjoy this time with my family.  So, for now, this is it.  Thanks to everyone who has linked up, especially you regulars and the great friends I’ve met through these link parties.

So, to end with a bang, let’s do a giveaway, shall we?!  How about a jewelry grab bag?  Or how about three?!  That’s right three of you will win a grab bag of jewelry.  The surprise is half the fun, right?  Use the rafflecopter widget below and get those entries in!  Also, BLACK13 will get you 30% off in my Etsy shop.  Grab some stocking stuffer coupons for him or the kids, the Christmas Countdown Boredom Buster Jar Kit, the printable Advent Calendar with Activities, a Date Night Jar for your sweetie or get your custom print for a great price!  Check it out!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Link ’em up!


This post was written by Krista and originally appeared on While He Was Napping.


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{Printable} Holiday Bucket List

I’m sure most of you of are super focused on your Thanksgiving preparations. However, I’ve got it pretty easy this week. Aside from entertaining two youngsters in the car as we hop from stop to stop on this crazy trip, my Thanksgiving prep consists of a single potluck dish.  Maybe two, if Mr Napping gets ambitious.  And, let’s face it, he will probably do most of the prep… Whew, I’m practically completely off the hook!

Because we are traveling, I’m limited to projects I can complete on my laptop… Luckily, digital designing is a passion of mine and I’ve got some printables for you this week!

While most of you are thinking turkeys and pumpkin pies, I’ve been working on our plans for next month. Christmas is my favorite holiday and I try to make it a special time for my kids and family.  To make sure we don’t forget any of our favorite traditions I’ve created a printable bucket list.

Holiday-Bucket-List1

You can click on the image and open in a new window, then right click, “save as” and download the image to your computer or you can get a watermark-free, high quality version HERE.  Happy Thanksgiving!

What are some of your favorite holiday traditions?

This post was written by Krista and originally appeared on While He Was Napping.

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{Creative Home Keeper} Sweet & Savory Cinnamon Popcorn

Victoria is back today and has a fabulous recipe to share!  Let’s get right into this.

 

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ss cinnamon popcorn

Hi! I’m Victoria from Creative Home Keeper and I’m thrilled to be posting for you today! Can you believe that Thanksgiving is on Thursday? And this also happens to mean that Friday is the official launch of the Christmas season too! Want a great snack to enjoy with your family for the holiday season? I’m so excited to be sharing with you one of my absolute favorite sweet and savory snacks, which is also a perfect snack to include in your holiday festivities this year too. Popcorn is one of my very favorite snacks. I love it, and I eat it all the time. Plus it is super easy to make too, just a few simple ingredients and a few minutes make a mouth watering, savory treat worthy of just more than movie night. Popcorn on the stove top popped in coconut oil is truly a decadent treat, in fact the coconut oil mixed with a little salt basically eliminates the need for adding melting butter (although I do occasionally because butter, in my opinion, is just about one of the greatest things ever!) While I love simple popcorn, I also love trying out different varieties and ingredients to make the popcorn an even better treat. Today I am sharing with you my favorite sweet and savory popcorn recipe which includes the best sweet combination, cinnamon and sugar. I have such found memories growing up of my mom making me buttered toast with a little sprinkle of cinnamon and sugar. While I’m not much of a chocolate eater (I know, I know! but I do love M&Ms :)), my usual go-to sweet treats involve some sort of cinnamon and sugar combination. It just feels like home. On a whim one day I decided to try out adding some cinnamon and sugar to my popcorn and oh my! It is a delicious combination. Ready for the recipe? Alright here we go… Sweet and Savory Cinnamon Popcorn

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  • 3 TBSP oil (I use coconut oil, and don’t worry it won’t leave your popcorn tasting like coconuts!)
  • 1/2 cup popcorn kernels
  • 2 TBSP butter, melted (you can omit this, but if helps the cinnamon and sugar coat better, plus it is delicious!)
  • 1/4 cup of sugar
  • 1 TSP cinnamon
  • 1/4 TSP salt

Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large, heavy pot. Add the kernels and cover with a lid. For best results, leave the lid slightly ajar to let a little stem escape. Also shake the pot once or twice while the kernels are popping.

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As the popping slows to about 2 to 3 seconds apart, remove the pot from the heat. IMG_4542

 

Pour popped popcorn into a large bowl and pour the melted butter over it and toss to coat. (This is how you make the best simple popcorn ever! So if your not in the mood for cinnamon and sugar, you can just add salt here and call it a day.
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Add the cinnamon, sugar, and salt on top of the popcorn, and toss really well to make sure the seasonings are evenly distributed over all of the popcorn.

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Serve and enjoy!

 

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 With the holidays approaching, this would also make a lovely gift for neighbors, teachers, or anyone really! I placed about 2 cups of the seasoned popcorn into a mason jar and added a pretty holiday ribbon. In an air tight container, like a mason jar, the popcorn will last for several days.
  popcorn
 Now the trick is hiding these gifts from the rest of the family (OK from me) before I have a chance to deliver them!

 

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Thanks, Victoria!  That sounds delish!  I will definitely have to try that this holiday season.  Check out more from Victoria at Creative Home Keeper!

This post was written by Krista and originally appeared on While He Was Napping.

 

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Weekend Wander #149

It’s party time!  I hope you are all doing awesome and that your Thanksgiving plans are coming together (you Americans, that is).  Everyone else, I still hope you’re doing awesome.  And it’s always a good time to be thankful.

I have been packing my family for our holiday travels this week.  Not only that, Mr Napping is out of town and this darn baby insists I eat every hour and a half or get blinding headaches.  Then there’s the usual commotion of my two hooligans.  All that to say, no features this week.  Again, I know.  I’m sorry.  But go ahead and link up!


This post was written by Krista and originally appeared on While He Was Napping.


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