Kiddos Create Challenge: TISSUE PAPER

Welcome to the Kiddos Create Weekly carnival!!! I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!!! I am a bit late with getting this post up because I have been busy enjoying time with my family and recovering from Christmas!

Amidst all of the tearing open of gifts gently unwrapping of gifts {smile}, I hope you managed to save some tissue paper to use for this weeks challenge! I can't wait to check out your links and see how you used this weeks item to create something by, for, or with your kiddos!! If you are new here and would like more info about the Kiddos Create Challenge of the Week and how to join in, please click here.

***Be sure to either link back to here or add the Kiddos Create button to your post! You can grab the button from the right sidebar.***

REMEMBER, you do NOT have make the creation this week. You can use something that you made in the past, just be sure to add the Kiddos Create button on a link back in your post.

Next week's challenge item is cotton balls. For your/my convenience (and planning purposes) you can see the upcoming weekly challenge items on the sidebar.

Remember: MckLinky will close this coming Saturday night at midnight. So, you've got all week to link up!

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The Minivan Express {Our Version}

First off, I must clarify. We do not have a minivan, but the idea was just so cute that I HAD to do it! I got the idea of the Minivan Express from Confessions of a Homeschooler. She even has cute little printable tickets for you to use. Anyhow, this is our version of the non-minivan express. LOL!!!

I think I was more excited than the kids!!! My husband got the kids all ready for bed while I got the popcorn and hot chocolate ready. While I hid the tickets in their beds, I was surprised to find my husband looking through the box of dress-up clothes. He was looking for the kids train conductor hat!!! Yes, I think he was excited too! We normally take the kids around town to look at Christmas lights, but it is something about the whole Minivan Express thing that had us both pretty excited!

So, before the kids found their tickets, he went to move his car out the garage so we would be ready to load the kids into my car...and much to our dismay, there was a thin, slick layer of ice on the road. In fact, my husband tried to drive the car around the block and he slid all over the road before he even got past our driveway. Needless to say, we didn't get to take a ride on the Minivan Express that night.

TIP: Be sure to make sure that the weather is conducive BEFORE the kids find their tickets!!! 

So, as he was trying to pull back into the garage, the kids were squealing with excitement as they each found their tickets...even the little boys were excited. So, we had to come up with an alternative plan. We still had our popcorn and hot chocolate, but we watched a Christmas movie instead. It took some work, but I was able to explain that the roads were too slick for the express. I believe they thought they were going to ride on a real train!!!

So, a few nights later, we tried again...making sure that the roads were safe to drive FIRST! The kids were just as excited and it was a huge success! They had such a blast that all but two of them had fallen asleep by the time we got back home. Since they were already in their PJs all we had to do was put them straight to bed! What a great way to end a great night!!!

This will definitely become a new Christmas tradition for our family!!! My very favorite part, aside from the kid's excitement, was that my husband got so into it! Not only did he find and put on the kid's conductor hat (both times) he even went to the extent of hole punching their first initial into each of their tickets!!! 

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Jingle Bell Creations {w/no help from mommy}

This week the challenge item for Kiddos Create Challenge of the Week was jingle bells. So, I have realized that I can sometimes be a bit...well...ummm...too involved when my kids are making crafts. So, for this challenge, I just gave them the supplies and walked away! This is what they came up with!

I am so impressed! They all look so beautiful on our Christmas tree! My favorite is the little Christmas tree in the right corner! I am amazed that they came up with that all on their own!!!

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Snowman Craft {For Little Ones}

So many of our recent crafts have been for the older kids. Well, this one was for the little boys. I helped them make these cute little snowmen using everyday materials from around the house.

Supplies Needed:

• clean, plastic jar (we used old peanut butter jars)
• stuffing (or cotton balls)
• buttons
• small twigs
• orange foam

Directions:

While the boys stuffed the jar full of cotton, I cut a carrot shape out of the foam.  Then I helped them slide the buttons, twigs, and foam right along the the inside of the jar. Be sure to make sure that the jar is stuffed well so that all the pieces will stay put. Finally, screw the top on and add a bow for the hat and that is it!

The little boys LOVE their snowmen. They identified the eyes, the nose, and the "sticks." I guess they didn't quite realize that the "sticks" are the arms. Oh well, they still have had a blast playing with them!

I got this super cute idea from Crafts to Make in the Winter.

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Disclosure Policy

Complying with the recent FTC ruling that bloggers need to disclose if they are being paid or compensated for their posts, the following is my full disclosure policy:

This policy is valid from December 22, 2009.

Mama Jenn is a personal blog written and edited by me, Jennifer, aka Mama Jenn. For questions about this blog, please contact  MamaJennBlogs {at} gmail {dot} com.

Mama Jenn abides by word of mouth marketing standards. I believe in honesty of relationship, opinion and identity.

This blog does accept forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions, and other forms of compensation.

The compensation received may influence the advertising content, topics or posts made in this blog. That content, advertising space or post may not always be identified as paid or sponsored content.

As the owner of this blog, I am compensated to provide my opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though I may receive compensation for my posts or advertisements, I always give my honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely my own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.

You can create you own disclose policy by going to DisclosurePolicy.org


Now, my disclosure policy in plain English...

I write and edit this blog myself. It started out and continues to be a place for me to document my life and things that we do as a family. However, I have discovered that even I, a stay-at-home mom, can use her blog as more than just an avenue of sharing her family life. Hence, I do receive compensation for some of my posts and the space used on my blog.

I occasionally review products for other companies (at no cost to me). In most cases companies contact me independently to share about their product and ask if I would be willing to review it. Occasionally I contact companies and inquire about the possibility of working with them. In most cases I am not paid to review a product. I do, however, receive the actual product or a similar product in exchange for writing the review. Sometimes the company will give me an extra to use as a 'giveaway' on my blog. All reviews that are compensated as such will be identified as such.

I often post my reviews about products and items that we personally use as a family and love. These reviews are simply my opinions and I do not receive any compensation for writing the review. It is just me sharing about things we like!

There are numerous links throughout my blog, many of which may be affiliate links. Such links provide me with a small compensation should someone click on the link and/or make a purchase through the link.

I will ALWAYS give my honest opinion on a product, regardless of whether I am being compensated or not. I have reviewed some things that our family has absolutely loved and some that we were not so pleased with. I have also kindly turned down companies because I didn't feel that their product would be something that I would want to be associated with or because I didn't feel it warranted the time it would take for me to write the review. Either way, I will always provide my honest opinion!

So, in a very BIG nutshell, I think I have fully disclosed! {smile} For questions about this blog, please contact  MamaJennBlogs {at} gmail {dot} com.

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Homemade Gingerbread Houses

Last year, I sort of started another Christmas tradition with the kids. Well, I guess it has become/will be a tradition since the kids asked to do it again this year. Anyhow, each of the older three made their own gingerbread houses.

It was super easy and super fun! We made them using graham crackers (so I guess, technically, they are not really gingerbread houses). I cut down the box that the graham crackers came in so that the crackers could fit on the outside of them. We used icing to cover the box and "glued" the graham crackers onto the box. This created the basic house for them to decorate. Once the each got for graham cracker walls and a roof, they got to work decorating them with icing and various leftover candy from some of our other fun edible projects.

I love how each one of the houses is so different!

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Homemade Snow Globes {Using Baby Food Jars}

My daughter has been asking for a snow globe for quite awhile now.For the longest time she didn't know what it was called. She would just describe what she wanted in GREAT detail...until I figured out that she was talking about a snow globe. So, we decided to attempt to make our own. This is what we came up with.

All we did was use old baby food jars, glitter, and foam. I cut out the shapes for the snowman and the house and glued them together. The kids used permanent markers to draw on the snowman and the house. While they drew, I cut a circle from white foam to fit into the lid of the jar. I used a hot glue gun to glue the circle into the lid of the jar (so that the ground would be white...like snow.) Once they finished designing the snowman and the house, I glued them onto the circle inside the lid. Once dry, we added water and glitter to the jar and screwed on the lid...really, really tight. And, viola...your very own snow globe. Shake it watch the snow (glitter) swirl around!

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Kiddos Create Challenge: JINGLE BELLS

Welcome to the Kiddos Create Weekly carnival!!! This week our challenge item is jingle bells. I can't wait to check out your links and see how you used this weeks item to create something by, for, or with your kiddos!! If you are new here and would like more info about the Kiddos Create Challenge of the Week and how to join in, please click here.

***Be sure to either link back to here or add the Kiddos Create button to your post! You can grab the button from the right sidebar.***

REMEMBER, you do NOT have make the creation this week. You can use something that you made in the past, just be sure to add the Kiddos Create button on a link back in your post.

Next week's challenge item is tissue paper.  

**Don't forget to save some to use from Christmas morning!**

Remember: MckLinky will close this coming Saturday night at midnight. So, you've got all week to link up!

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"An Angel Just Like Me" by Mary Hoffman

  

An Angel Just Like Me 

by Mary Hoffman

My kids really enjoyed this book! It is about a boy and his quest to replace the broken angel for his Christmas tree with an angel that looks more like him. He questions why all the angels that he has seen look like girls. He wonders why they all have gold hair and pink skin. After an unsuccessful search, he decides to replace the broken angel with a star since "they are the same for everyone." On Christmas morning, much to his surprise, he receives the most beautiful wood-carved boy angel...that looked just like him! Once his friends (boys and girls of various different races) see his angel, they all want angels...angels just like them!

You can find this book and many others at:

The "Brown Like Me" Bookstore.

Want to know more about the "Brown Like Me" Book Review and how it got started? Click here!

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Contributing on Totally Tots

Awhile back I mentioned in a post about some new, exciting things that were going on for me. Well, one of them is that I am now one of the new writers for Totally Tots. It is an honor to be working with such an awesome group of ladies who truly have a heart to be a blessing to others!

I will be writing the Simply Made feature and co-writing the Once Upon a Book feature. So, if you have posts showcasing simple learning tools that you have made for your tot and would like to have them featured on Simply Made, feel free to email me at JennAtTotallyTots {at} gmail {dot} com.

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Christmas Trees {Past & Present}

One of my bloggy buddies asked me to upload pics of our Christmas tree. It got me to thinking about how much our tree has changed since having kids. This is what our Christmas tree looked like about six years ago...

This is what our tree looks like now...

Big difference huh?!?!?!? I didn't even bother putting up most of the "nice" ornaments that I have collected through the years. This year it was all about the kids...and I figure this is how our tree will look for many years to come. But, you know what, I'm okay with that. I would take the kids over a "fancy" tree any day!!!

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"Snowflake Kisses and Gingerbread Smiles" by Toni Trent Parker

Snowflake Kisses and Gingerbread Smiles

by Toni Parker Trent

This is a cute little Christmas book about some of the joys of Christmas Eve and Christmas morning as seen through the eyes of a child. What we loved about this book was that it featured actual photos of the children.

You can find this book and many others at:

The "Brown Like Me" Bookstore.

Want to know more about the "Brown Like Me" Book Review and how it got started? Click here!

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Printable Nativity Sets

Ever since last Christmas, KJ has been asking for her very own Nativity set. Well, just last week, I happened to find a few really cute, free, printable Nativity sets online.

I found the first printable nativity set on Making Friends. However, it ended up being for the big boys, because KJ wanted the one below for herself. She got to color it in and everything! Plus, she loved that it came with a manger that we could make...rather than using an old Nike shoe box like we did with the one above. (I am partial because I really like the first one. I think I may even use it to make felt board pieces.)

 

You can download and print the second Nativity set from Scrapbook Scrapbook. Once we got both of our Nativity sets made, I found a really cute printable Nativity Set using toilet paper tubes on Dollar Store Crafts.  

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Snowman Banner Craft {Craft Stick Style}

So, I have another fun craft that I was inspired to make from Oriental Trading. I saw this cute craft stick snowman banner and you know me...I decided to figure out how we could make our own version of it! This is what we came up with:

 

 

Supplies Needed:

• 9 regular sized craft sticks
• paint (black & white)
• craft foam (orange, red, black, and yellow)
• cardboard
• glue

 

Directions:

1) Line up eight of the craft sticks and cut the cardboard so that you can glue it onto the sticks. Glue the cardboard onto the sticks (to hold them together) and let the dry.

2) Once dry, flip it over and use a pencil and the one extra craft stick to mark one line where the brim of the hat will go. (This will be the line that separates the white paint from the black paint.)

3) Let you little one paint the craft sticks (the top black and the bottom white). Paint the extra one black.

 

4) While your little one is paining, use the foam to cut out the following:

• nose (orange foam)
• "ribbon" for the hat (red foam)
• star (yellow foam)
• mouth (black foam)

5) Help your little one glue everything on...and there you have it, your very own imitation Oriental Trading snowman banner craft!

You can even add a string to it so that you can hang it up! This makes a cute Christmas tree ornament or simply a winter decoration to hang on a doorknob!

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"Waiting for Christmas Morning" by Monica Greenfield

Waiting for Christmas
by Monica Greenfield

This is a cute book about two children who enjoy the little things about the holiday season as they await Christmas morning. It reminds me of my kids because each day as we enjoy many of the very same little things, they remind me of how many more days there are until "the big day!"

You can find this book and many others at:

The "Brown Like Me" Bookstore.

Want to know more about the "Brown Like Me" Book Review and how it got started? Click here!

 

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Kiddos Create Challenge: GLITTER

Welcome to the Kiddos Create Weekly carnival!!! This week our challenge item is glitter. I can't wait to check out your links and see how you used this weeks item to create something by, for, or with your kiddos!! If you are new here and would like more info about the Kiddos Create Challenge of the Week and how to join in, please click here.

***Be sure to either link back to here or add the Kiddos Create button to your post! You can grab the button html code from the right sidebar.***

REMEMBER: The creation does NOT have to be made this week. You can use something that you made in the past, just be sure to add the Kiddos Create button or a link back in your post.

Next week's challenge item is jingle bells. For your/my convenience (and planning purposes) you can see the upcoming weekly challenge items on the sidebar.

MckLinky will close this coming Saturday night at midnight. So, you've got all week to link up!

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{This post may contain affiliate or advertiser links. Please review my disclosure policy.}

Life Saver Candy Cane CHRISTmas Ornament

I saw a recipe for making Life Savers candy canes a few years ago and I vowed that one day I would make them. Since the kids have been SOOOO into making ornaments lately, I decided that this would be the year!!!

First, we read the book J Is for Jesus: The Sweetest Story Ever Told by Crystal Bowman, which is about a candy maker who makes candy canes. He explains how the candy cane is a symbol of the birth of Christ and His gift of salvation. If you haven't read this book, I would highly suggest that you check it out! We love it!!!

After reading the book, we got out our Life Savers. Each of the kids had to tell me something about how the candy cane before they began to create their very own. Of course, we ate a few in the process!!!

Supplies Needed:

• 4 pineapple lifesavers and 4 cherry lifesavers (I bought a big bag of them)
• cookie sheet covered in tin foil
• 1½" cut from a plastic drinking straw
• ribbon or string

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 325°F.
2) Arrange the eight lifesavers into the shape of a candy cane.
3) Bake for 3 to 6 minutes, until candies are melted.
4) Remove from oven.
5) Quickly use the straw to poke a hole in the top of the candy cane. Leave the straw there until the candy has cooled.
6) After the candy is completely cool, gently remove the straw. (I did this with some of ours and was unable to get the straw out without breaking the candy cane. So, for the remaining candy canes, we made sure to remove them from the oven before the top hole already in the Life Saver melted. We used that hole to do step 7.)
7) Tie the ribbon or string through the hole to hang the ornament on your Christmas tree.

I am linking this up with Kid Friendly Friday (which is currently hosted with the Round Robin), Handmade Holidays and Making Christmas Meaningful!

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Pinecone Christmas Tree Ornaments

The kids have been ALL ABOUT making ornaments, so we decided to make pinecone Christmas tree ornaments. They were very easy and the kids LOVE using glitter!

First, they painted the pinecones green. They they used glue to put dots all over the pinecone. They shook on the glitter and let it dry. Once it was all dry, I used the glue gun to glue on the star and the ribbon to hang it with...and that was it! Super easy!!

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