ChapStick Launches Limited Edition Holiday Varieties

by brandyellen // December 12, 2012 // Comments off

ChapStick is always a fun stocking stuffer idea and this year I am happy to announce the Seasonal Varieties that are available for your stocking stuffer pleasure!

I honestly would love to have ChapStick brand in my stocking every single year from the big man in red, because I use ChapStick like it’s going out of style and this is my favorite, and only used, brand of lip balm for my lips that dry out easily. I usually go with the plain ChapStick, but during the holiday season I tend to try out the seasonal varieties to ensure I am mistletoe-ready.

The big man in Red always leaves my daughter with the new seasonal flavors of ChapStick in her stocking! This holiday season why not try out the new Apple Cider, Candy Cane or Chocolate Truffle for your lip loving pleasure? Each package comes with a convenient gift tag on the back of the package, no need to gift wrap these babies. ChapSick seasonal varieties are available November 1st in the cough and cold aisle at food, drug and mass retailers for the suggested retail price of $1.01 – $1.99. The Chocolate Truffle one can be found exclusively at Walmart (just an FYI).

The point behind ChapStick and why I use it daily? To help prevent and temporarily protect chafed, chapped or cracked lips. Apply ChapStick liberally as needed, particularly before sun exposure, dry, cold or wintery conditions. They say not to use on a child under 6 months of age, so if that is your mission, please consult a doctor before making such a decision.

Connect with ChapStick on Facebook to keep up to date with the latest news!

Mess-Free & Kid-Friendly Holiday Décor

by brandyellen // December 22, 2011 // Comments off

When you involve your children in the holiday decorating, you build long lasting memories and fantastic keepsakes. If you’re looking for kid-friendly, mess-free holiday decorating projects for you and your kids with step-by-step instructions, I am excited to pass on these ideas to you.

Be sure to put the date on the back of your crafts to turn them into timeless keepsakes. Next year, your kids will see the artwork from the previous year (and the fun that they had) when you unpack the holiday ornaments and decorations. Just the memories of the fun times that they had will inspire them to create new holiday crafts year after year. They may even come up with some great ideas on their own!

Mess-Free & Kid-Friendly Holiday Décor:

Decorate pictures with Santa: Craft some homemade frames to adorn the pictures of your kids on Santa’s lap. Decorate them with holiday foam, pieces of wrapped candy, holiday colored buttons, scraps of ribbon, mini bows made with the mini Bowdabra , and other creative embellishments to give them a festive appeal.

North Pole sign: Look around the house for recyclable materials, such as wrapping paper tubes. Wrap some white and red ribbons around the tub to create an innovatively made candy-cane looking pole. A cardboard box can be
cut to add the sign to the top of the pole with any creative decorations you choose and write the words, “North Pole” on the sign with glittery glue.

Handprints: Children’s handprints are the best keepsakes, as they change in size every year. Cut out handprints from holiday fabrics, green and red construction paper, or other materials of your choice. You can glue a bunch
of the handprints together (in a mish-mash way) to make an adorable holiday wreath.
Getting your kids involved in the decorating for the holidays will open up their imaginations and encourage them to get their creative juices flowing.

For more creative ideas, visit www.C4K555.org to download free projects at Crafters 4 Kids or www.Bowdabrablog.com

About the Author:

Sandy Sandler is founder of non-profit Crafters 4 Kids and the do-it-yourself craft site, Bowdabrablog.com and creator of the QVC best-seller, the Bowdabra. Her frugal craft projects and activity ideas are designed to transform the creatively-challenged into creative pros. Sandy’s focus is on creative and easy projects that parents can do with their kids and that kids can even do on their own that are both frugal and green in nature. Crafters 4 Kids focuses on projects that can be done under 5 minutes and under $5. Visit www.C4K555.org or www.Bowdabrablog.com.

Old Candy Canes on Christmas Tree Leaves Three Year Old Pouting

by brandyellen // December 20, 2011 // Comments off

Every year I put the same candy canes on the Christmas tree, it was something I remember as a kid doing and well it is sort of something I decided to start doing. Since one year Ki and I put a whole box of like 12 count big candy canes on the tree and I knew she wasn’t going to be eating them all, we stuck them in the Christmas tote and have pulled them out year after year to decorate the tree.

Ever since the boys were born I debate whether or not I will put the old candy canes on the Christmas tree, because after all it is a tease to see candy canes, but not be able to eat them. I believe I skipped the candy canes last year for fear Baby K would try to chew em up, and they are extremely old. This year I debated and the kids voted that we put them on and K agreed that he wouldn’t try to eat them.

I was upstairs and K ran downstairs yesterday, thinking he was being all sneaky. I knew he was up to 1 of 2 things….. 1) Trying to plug in Christmas lights or 2) Attempting to sneak a candy cane. I was correct on both accounts, I was downstairs shortly behind him because I know better than to leave this child unattended and he was attempting to visit the outlet with the plug for lights, no he wasn’t trying to plug it in .. yet. I knew better and was downstairs close enough behind him so that all he could do was grab the plug on the tree. Once he saw me and I said “NO” loud and explained why he can’t touch electrical plugs, he ran for a candy cane, grabbed it and booked it across the way to his bedroom.

Lucky for him this Mama is quick, yes even sick I am slightly quick, and I ran to him and managed to save the candy cane and K’s stomach from having eaten an extremely old candy cane. Do they really make you sick I wonder? Not willing to find out, that boy is miserable when sick. So I saved the child from his curiosity with electricity and I saved the candy cane for the tree. One would think this is a great ending to the story, right?

No. There sat K on the floor with a big, huge POUT.

Easy To Make Holiday Gift Ideas

by brandyellen // December 8, 2011 // Comments off

It’s easy to make the holidays fun with your children while creating long lasting memories. The best gift a person can receive is one that is home made and here are some fabulous finds for creative home made gifts this holiday season.

Hot Cocoa in a Decorative Bag

If you are good at sewing you can create small decorative holiday bags, such as those you would see potpourri in. From there get a canister of hot cocoa mix and insert some into a plastic sandwich bag. Place the sandwich bag inside of the holiday sewn or purchased gift “bag” and tie a festive ribbon around the top to enclose the bag.

Chocolate Dipped Candy Canes

You will need chocolate melting chips that are used for melting chocolate at home making lollipops and candy. Take as many candy canes as you need, sometimes the actual ‘stick’ style candy canes will work best for this but feel free to use the traditional ‘cane’ style candy canes, it’s a matter of preference. Melt down the chocolate and dip your candy canes one by one into the chocolate. To finish sprinkle some candy sprinkles over the melted chocolate before it melts.

Home Made Trail Mix

Who doesn’t like trail mix? Create a normal nuts and raisins trail mix or get creative and add in chocolate candy and similar to have a sweet n salty experience. Wrap up your trail mix into a decorate bag for the holidays and include a tag on the outside to write a special message to a loved one you will give this to as a gift.

What do you do for fun, creative home made gift giving?

How to Create a Kids Christmas List

by brandyellen // November 17, 2011 // Comments off

It is that time of year again, the snow has already fallen in NH, yes we had a snow storm in October. Some places had 31″ while I had 5″ that soon melted away with the warm, sunny days that followed but the sign of snow reminded me just how close to the gift giving season we are. The kids are all ready to see Santa Claus and my youngest only wanted a candy cane for Christmas, that is until his sister created her Christmas wish list.

The best way to create a Christmas wish list, from a bloggers perspective, is to read online reviews and ask around as to what other bloggers recommend, but the way that works best for children is commercials. You know this time of year those toy commercials are in full swing promoting every cool product that kids just have to have this year.

My daughter caught onto the fact that there are so many toy commercials and decided to channel surf, but not for shows that may be on, instead my daughter decided to channel surf for toy commercials. Yes you heard me right, my daughter spent most of her Saturday morning surfing the television for the best toys possible in commercials and had a notepad with pencil beside her to create a list like no other.

Since the three year old spotted his sister doing this and so did the five year old, I now have two boys who want everything. The cute thing about the boys is that the three year old wants literally every single toy he sees, yes even Barbie on a horse and Barbie on DVD, he has no judgement as to whether the toy would be ideal for a girl or a boy – he just wants everything. There goes his whole “all I want is a candy cane” because now he says “I want everything and a candy cane for Christmas”. **sigh**

My five year old wants every possible boy product there is out there, from wrestling to the Nerf foam gun products. The five year old is just loving everything he sees that is boy related and promptly asks to have it placed on his Christmas wish list.

The children are busy creating their Christmas wish list for Meme and Santa Claus by watching commercials daily.I suggest this technique for any parent who has a child who isn’t quite sure what they want this year, but remember it could backfire into a huge want, want, want bug which means time to sit and explain the true meaning of the holiday season as you celebrate it; giving to others, enjoying the lights, being thankful for family, etc.