Teacher Gifts

The end of year always has me stumped with regard to teacher gifts. I am never sure what constitutes a good gift. Chocolate seems a bit boring, cutesy "#1 teacher" items surely get old too and for the most part, I don't really have any idea what their interests are outside of teaching my children. I have canvassed friends and family but sadly, we seem to be in the same boat. My next stop of course was Pinterest; some nice ideas but most required more time that I have available at this end of the year. (Perhaps I shall have to start a little earlier next year).

And so this is what I came up with ... personalised clip boards in the teacher's favourite colours with their initial on them. Hopefully these will be a practical gift that they can use in the classroom. I bought plain board clip boards at Officeworks and then covered the front with 2 coordinating scrapbook papers, added a paper ribbon and monogram sticker and then covered the whole lot with a layer of decoupage paste. I left the back of the boards blank so that the girls could write a personal message on them.

The clip boards were a good start but I needed something to accompany it. I decided on a magazine for each of them to enjoy as they started their summer holiday. Everyone loves a mag to flip through don't they?

And for Bec's kinder friends, we made Magic Reindeer Food. This is to be sprinkled outside on Christmas Eve as a snack for Santa's reindeer. It has sparkly glitter mixed with oats so that they will see it twinkling in the moonlight. I made up a quick printable for this so if you would like a copy, you can message me in the comments or on my facebook page.

Charlie & Lola Party: Part 2

Ok so back to the party .....

The cake was Lola's head. Very simple outline with licorice and then decorated with coloured sugar. Just put a small amount of sugar in a zip-lock bag, add a drop or two of food colouring and shake well. You can create any colour you need. The girls all had pink milk boxes to drink as this is Lola's favourite.

We played Pin The Collar on Sizzles, the dog from the C&L books. I comandeered David's painting skills again and then cut out a blank collar for each guest and had them decorate them. This is a fabulous game for customising to any theme you like.

Love craft activities for the girls to do during parties. It gives them a bit of quiet time to calm down and create. Lola loves butterflies so I printed out a page for each guest with their name printed in a fancy font. Then they each had a glue-stick and LOTS and LOTS of punched out butterflies to stick around their names. When they had finished decorating the cards, we framed them as a take-home gift to hang in their bedrooms or display on a bookshelf. This activity was quite the hit and their kinder teacher told me the following day that several of the girls had bought their name frames in for Show & Tell.

Not forgetting the party boxes ... I made up a sticker for each box that said "Thankyou for helping me celebrate my 5th birthday. Love from your friend, Rebecca". The boxes had some C&L magnets I found some time ago, a box of smarties and a Build Your Own Cupcake pack. These were a really cute idea I found at http://vol25.typepad.com/vol25/kids-projects.html They are a free printable that you just print and cut out and very in keeping with Lola's style.

And now, we breathe a sigh of relief that another party is done and dusted. But just wait until you see what I have planned for next year.

The birthday girl, Miss 5

Charlie & Lola Party: Part 1

Well, we survived another party! All the last minute planning came together and the girls had a lovely time together. Thought I would share some photos but I will probably break this into 2 separate posts as there is a lot to share.

The photo opportunity was lots of fun. David drew and then painted the 2 figures and the girls enjoyed popping their gorgeous little faces through the cut outs for a photo. We have used photo props at several of our parties and have always found that the kids are more relaxed when they have something to hold or play with in the photos.

We had a new twist on pass-the-parcel this year (Thanks Audrey). Each year we wrap layer upon layer for the pass-the-parcel which uses a lot of paper, makes a lot of mess and the gifts and notes (where we have included these) often get mixed up in the wrappings being ripped off. So this year, we used a pretty gift box, and then just wrapped the small gifts and placed them inside. The girls passed the box and each time the music stopped they lifted the lid and chose a small wrapped present. It was a brilliant idea and really saved on mess and fuss with the usual wrappings. When the last gift was removed, it revealed a card which said WINNER and that child won a larger prize. We will definitely be doing pass-the-parcel like this from now on.

How cute are these cupcakes? And who knew you could create rainbow cupcakes so easily? All you need to do is divide your cake mixture into several small bowls and add food colouring. Spoon the mix into the patty cases carefully 1 colour at a time. It really is that easy and the results were amazing. Oh and make sure you take off the patty cases so you get the full effect of the rainbow cake. And here's another tip for you for making party cakes: cheat and use a packet mix cake. Packet mixes (I use butter cake) give you a really light cake that everyone seems to enjoy.

A banner adds to the theme for any occasion and they are very simple to make. I used a variety of scrapbooking papers and cut them to photo size (4 inches x 6 inches). Then just tape or staple them to a length of ribbon or cord.

I'll share more of the games and take home boxes in my next post. Thanks for checking in.

Warning: Party Planning in Progress!

I have been absent for a few days as I am neck-deep in party planning. Miss (now) 5 is having 16 of her nearest and dearest girlfriends for her birthday party in a little over 36 hours!!! (Not that I am counting down ... or starting to panic ... breathe, breathe.)

We decided on a Charlie & Lola theme some months ago and I have been gathering party items and ideas but it always seems to be the way that there is a LOT to do in the couple of days leading up to the party. I did wonder if I was up for another party so soon after Alison's Carnival and even briefly considered outsourcing the party (McDonald's was looking mighty attractive) but this is what we do in our family; we have the girls parties at home, we choose a theme and we go to town.  Which is how David found himself roped into painting a life-sized cutout of Lola and bestie Lotta, for the photo opportunity.

They have been reinforced and stood up tonight and I can't wait to have Bec pop her cute little face through and become Lola for a while. I will share lots more photos and ideas once the party is over but for now I have to get back to my cutting. So much to do, so little time. And as Miss 5 likes to say, "Toodles".

Making the piles even

Last night I sat on the floor of our lounge room surrounded by bags. These bags contained all the Christmas gifts I have bought over the year. I had already had an attempt at checking the list; this was checking it twice! David sat on the lounge and glanced at me in bewilderment from time to time. "There's an awful lot of stuff there" he commented merrily. "Well, yes" was my reply, "we have 4 children."

I really try not to go overboard at Christmas (and I readily admit that this has not always been the case). Having recently decluttered both the toy cupboard and the girls bedrooms, I know only too well that they don't need more stuff. I am actually a huge fan of the consumable and/or useful gift - thus their stockings have new thongs and bathers, branded (read Barbie, Bratz and Dora) undies, lipgloss and the traditional gold coins (of the chocolate variety).

They each receive a main gift from the jolly man and one from us with a couple of supporting gifts. This is where things get tricky. For one, I don't want "S" getting all the credit for the great gifts. Then there is the size of the gifts - it really is best for everyone concerned if the piles look about even (and I am sure that many mujms can relate here). My girls are really nonplussed about the monetary value, it is just based on how it all looks. Which is why I found myself back at the shops today looking for something large for my 2 little girls. This is no easy feat with 4 children of the same sex ... we already have most of the popular girl toys and believe me, there is a limit to how many dolls accessories you can fit in one average sized home. Thankfully, the toy makers are on to this very problem and continue to bring out a stream of NEW toys each year. I swear I had no idea what a "squinkie" was until today but I am sure we will become more closely acquainted as I will no doubt step on one or more in the middle of the night in the months to come.

So the piles are now pretty even and I discover that I only have 2 more gifts to buy and then I am officially done. One 12 year old boy neighbour and one 40 year old husband. Oh help! If you have any fabulous ideas, I am more than open to suggestions.

Tree Decorating for Kids

I love to decorate the Christmas tree and this is something I have also passed onto my girls. Up until a couple of years ago, we actually had 2 Christmas trees; one for me and one for them. (Mine was barricaded inside the playpen but that's a whole 'nother story.) The girls' tree was their height and the decorations were non-breakable. They would spend hours throughout December decorating it, then taking all the decorations off and decorating it all over again. Great for entertainment value but oh the mess all those little green pine needles made all over the floor ... constantly! 2 years ago, I conceded defeat and allowed them to help me decorate the big tree but they are not allowed to rearrange it every day and I think they have missed this.

So I was inspired when I saw a felt Christmas tree on Pinterest (yes, I know, the source of all inspiration these days). No pine needles to drop and the girls can decorate (and redecorate) to their hearts content. I am not sure whether I should admit this, but I happened to have all the materials I needed for this little project in my craft cupboard. I had planned to do something else with it a long time ago and had never quite gotten around to it. To make your own felt tree, all you will need is a large piece of green felt and several scraps of coloured felt. I cut out different sized circles and then blinged them up with some KindyGlitz (everything is better with KindyGlitz - you just have to trust me on that if you haven't used it before yourself.) I also added some velcro squares to the back of the circles and the tree.

I finished it last night and left it on the coffee table . When I got up this morning, Alison had already tried it out and the little girls were excited to give it a go. It doesn't keep them entertained for quite as long as the real tree decorating did but then it doesn't make the mess either and that makes it a winner in my book.

Family Christmas Photos

It’s that time of year again … time for me to attempt to get some lovely  half decent photos of my girls to use on our annual Christmas card. It is, of course, near impossible to get a good photo of 4 children together – especially my children. 1 is always playing the fool, 1 is off with the fairies, 1 is usually cooperative and then there is the grump – the one that for whatever reason, doesn’t feel like having their photo taken today. (These roles are not always played by the same child, in fact, they seem to enjoy mixing it up a little and keeping me on my toes!) 

In fact, I have considered sending my Christmas cards out with seasonal pictures on them rather than bothering with the photos. However, most of my extended family lives interstate so I figure that they all at least receive an updated photo of the girls every December. And so I persevere.

For Alison’s 8^th birthday party recently, I made up some photo props. The kids could then choose from a range of props to pose with for their photos. It really was a lot of fun so I thought I would make up some Christmas ones for our Christmas card photos. I found some printable props (Santa & Rudolf) from http://jessicapeck.blogspot.com/2011/11/holiday-photo-props-tutorial-sew-or.html and then made up a few of my own (Elf & HoHoHo). The Top Hat and Moustache were from http://ohhappyday.com/category/free-printables/

The girls enjoyed trying them all out and I did get some cute photos of each of them. Then I tried to get a photo of all four together. As I said up front, this is not always an easy task and today, I just abandoned it. Maybe I will have better luck next year.

December Parenting Tool

Oh how I do love the Christmas Advent Calendar! Such an amazing parenting tool if only used in the right way. Early in my parenting journey, we always opened the little numbered window in the morning. This was an exciting way to start the day, no doubt but I’m afraid that if you too subscribe to a morning opening, a large part of the value of this little chocolate is lost. We have swapped to an evening opening of the Advent window and oh how much mileage I am able to squeeze from one small block of chocolate. It is surely worth it's weight in gold.

In our home, this chocolate has to be earnt. Each night before the opening, we have bedroom inspections to make sure that they are nice and tidy. I always go to some effort before December 1 to clean out the girls rooms with them and get them all tidy to start the month but from then on, I expect them to maintain them throughout the month. December is a busy month in our house as I'm sure it is in yours and doing a quick clean up each night after dinner ensures that the rooms stay looking neat and don't become overwhelming. (If I thought this would work on a continual basis I would buy 12 advent calendars for each child - one for each month of the year. Sadly, I think the novelty would wear off.)

Now here is the important part .... If the bedrooms are not tidy (or if the girls behaviour has been less than desirable throughout the day), they don't get to eat the chocolate! They still get to open the window but the chocolate goes to mum or dad who eats it on the spot. Let me tell you, there were tears and tantrums last year when all three of our big girls missed out on their chocolate one night. (In fact, David & I felt pretty mean I do confess.) However, DO NOT NEGOTIATE (with terrorists or children!). The next day the girls were extra helpful and sweet and their rooms that night were spotless and they made sure that mum and dad had to find their own source of chocolates from then on.

I read in some parenting book a long time ago, that you should not reward children with food. I would like to suggest to you that the author of that book had never had children of their own. And if I can harness their desire for chocolate for good rather than evil, well I am all for it! Happy parenting :)