Holiday Gifts & Gift Baskets Blog

Grandparent’s Day is coming quick!  Do you have your card made yet? Grandparents love cards and gifts made by little hands.  Here’s one that sends along a hug!

This fun and easy craft will surely bring lots of smiles to Grandma and Grandpa this year!

What you need:

• Construction paper (4) 9″ x 12″ sheets (your choice of colors for the base of the card, shirt color, skin color and hearts)
• Googly eyes (large)
• Kid-safe scissors and adult scissors
• Ruler
• Glue (or double-stick tape)
• 3D paint (optional)
• Markers
• Coffee cup (use as a circle stencil)
• Newspaper to cover your work area

How to do it:

1. Choose a color of construction paper to be the base of the card. Looking at the paper horizontally pick up the right side and left side of the construction paper and fold them towards the middle. When the edges of the paper meet press them down to crease and flatten both sides. Your card should now have two flaps that open in the middle (like a pair of double doors). Set this aside for now.
2. Next, choose a color of construction paper for the shirt. You will need to measure and cut a 2″ x 12″ long strip of paper (arms) and a 4″ x 6″ rectangle (shirt). Set them aside with the card.
3. Choose a piece of construction paper to make the hands and face. Tracing around an upside down coffee cup makes a nice circle for the face. Draw two lines down from the face for a neck. Using paint, markers and glue create pink circles for the cheeks, attach the googly eyes and have your child draw the nose, ears and hair as a self-portrait. Draw two circles or a pair of hands on the same paper. Allow any paint used to dry, then cut out the completed face and hands. When cutting out the face make sure to leave about 1″ of neck below the chin (you will need this to attach the face to the card)
4. While the face is drying you can cut out a small heart from construction paper. Set aside.
5. Take your finished face and with the card open to the inside, glue the neck and chin to the top of the card. (When the card is closed you should see the eyes and nose peeking out over the top)
6. Next attach the hands to the ends of the long 2″ x 12″ strip of construction paper. These will be the arms. Attach this strip over the bottom of the neck across the top of the card. The hands should hang out over the edge of both sides of the card. Attach the small heart you made earlier to the right hand.
7. Attach the 4″ x 6″ rectangle on top of the arms below the face. This will be the shirt. Using markers, have your child customize their shirt by drawing a neckline and writing Happy Grandparents Day or BIG HUGS.
8. To complete the self-portrait, have your child add pants or a skirt below the shirt edge using markers.
9. When all paint and glue used is dry, close the card so that the hand with the heart peeks out the front and using markers write: To Grandma and Grandpa on the front of the card.

This fun craft was found on NestleFamily.com

This October make sure you do not forget to pay tribute to those you love and those who work hard to provide you with the love and support you need to be successful at life.  The reason for this is because October 16th will mark the eighty-eighth annual Sweetest Day.  If you have not heard of this holiday or you simply don’t know about the story behind the creation of this special day, then this article is intended for you.

Sweetest Day is observed each and every third Saturday in the month of October.  Its origins can be traced back to Cleveland, Ohio, where, in 1922, the employee of a large candy company decided that it would be a good idea to honor those who suffered from handicaps, those who were orphaned, or those who were otherwise of need.  The man’s name was Herbert Birch Kingston.  From his idea came the Sweetest Day we know today. Since that date, people all over the country have embraced the idea of sharing with and caring for others a little more than usual on this one special day in October.  Celebrities have been known to buy thousands of small gifts and give them to children who work hard or who have known true suffering.

Though this holiday started in Cleveland and slowly spread to other areas of the Great Lakes region, today it is noted all over the country.  One of the reasons the notoriety of the Sweetest Day has spread is because of the migration of those born and raised in the Great Lakes area as they have moved about the country.  And, while the holiday was once intended to be a day to treat those less fortunate with special care, it is often interpreted today as a time to recognize love.  Couples thrive on the opportunity to treat each other to a token of love and affection.  Whether it is candy and flowers or a spa treatment and a night out, Sweetest Day gifts are meant to say “I love you and appreciate all that you do.”  It offers the opportunity to take a moment in time and recognize all that others do around you.

Before this articles draws to a close, there is one other matter to address.  Many people feel that this holiday was created by those looking to make a little extra cash – the greeting card and candy makers of the world – but this is not the case at all.  While it is never discouraged to pay tribute to your significant other, it is also important to understand that this holiday was not meant to be for secondary Valentine’s Day gifts.  Instead, it was meant as a way to pay tribute to those less fortunate and recognize their trials.

So, perhaps on this Sweetest Day, you would consider spending the money that would have been spent on your beau to make a donation to a charity, to help someone less fortunate, or to share a small memento with each member of a hospital ward.  In this manner, you will be paying tribute to those who were originally meant to be honored each third Saturday of October.  This Sweetest Day, do your best to pay homage to the meaning of the holiday; give a gift of love to those who need it most.

Don’t forget Grandma and Grandpa this year (September 12, 2010)!  The Sunday after Labor Day each year, the nation comes together to recognized the older generations in our families.  That’s right.  That Sunday is officially recognized by the country as Grandparent’s Day.  This holiday to many, comes with the anticipation to celebrate these important people in our lives with clever and creative Grandparent’s Day gifts.

Consider all that your grandparents have done to honor you in the past.  Consider their impact on your youth.  Think back on the many happy memories you shared with them.  Now, think about what it would be like to share them with thirty-nine siblings and cousins.  A master in the art of time management is Marian McQuade, the woman that is able to brag many impressive titles was once Vice-Chairman of the West Virginia Commission on Aging.  Her dedication to serving the older population did not start or end there.

She was the wife of a coal miner, but that did not mean that she was going to settle for a life of quiet, small town living.  She took her love and appreciation for the experienced residents and made it a goal to ensure that they would be properly recognized for their contribution.  Knowing the impact a grandparent could have after having been a grandma to forty children, she was armed with the tools she needed to fight her case.

Her goal was ultimately achieved, nine years after she started her fight for the cause, and in 1979 President Jimmy Carter announced that from that point forward, the first Sunday after Labor Day would be recognized as National Grandparents Day.  This was the perfect day to choose, given that those being honored were in their “autumn years.”  In 2008, Mrs. McQuade passed away.  At the time, she had fifteen children, forty grandchildren, ten great-grandchildren, and one great-great grandchild.  Surely she is honored by many each and every Grandparents Day.

What images come to mind when you hear the phrase “The Dog Days of Summer”? This picture of my dog in his swimming pool is the first thing that pops into my mind.  But what does a dog have to do with it?  Nothing, really!

The Dog Days of Summer in the Northern Hemisphere is a period from about July 3 – August 11th.  The name “Dog Days”  comes from the ancient belief that Sirius, also called the Dog Star, was somehow responsible for the hot weather.  Sirius is the brightest star in the Canis Major (Big Dog) Constellation.

Sirius is the brightest star besides the Sun and rises and sets with the sun during the “Dog Days” period, so people believed that it helped contribute to warmer temperatures during this time.

Although it is certainly the warmest period of the summer, the heat is not due to the added radiation from a far-away star, regardless of its brightness. The heat of summer is a direct result of the earth’s tilt.

Enjoy the Dog Days of Summer!

August is just around the corner!  Soon school will be starting, the weather will start changing . . . but what is happening during the month of August?  There are plenty of silly holidays and observances in August that makes every day a holiday!

August 1 – Friendship Day and Girlfriend’s Day and Sister’s Day

August 3 – Watermelon Day (I’ll be celebrating!)

August 4 – National Chocolate Chip Day

August 5 – International Beer Day AND National Underwear Day (I see a connection!)

August 6 – National Fresh Breath Day

August 7 – National Mustard Day

August 10 – S’Mores Day

August 13 – Blame Someone Else Day

August 15 – National Relaxation Day

August 18 – Cupcake Day

August 20 – Men’s Grooming Day (Just one Day?)

August 21 – Hug Your Boss Day

August 24 – National Waffle Day

August 25 – Kiss and Make Up Day

August 30 – Toasted Marshmallow Day

What is more fun on a warm summer day than blowing gigantic rainbow bubbles into the breeze?

If your kids are like mine, the bubble solution runs out quick!

Did you know you can mix up your own batch of bubble solution that is just as good if not better than any you can buy at the store?

Below is a recipe that will fill your yard with those amazing bubbles!

Ingredients:

• 6 Parts Water

• 2 Parts Joy Dish Washing Detergent (Must be the Joy brand).

• 3/4 Part Corn Syrup

Directions:

Mix the ingredients above in an ice cream bucket with a lid for storage.  Fill empty bubble bottles or pour in a shallow pan and use a variety of items to make bubbles (bend pipe cleaners, cookie cutters, etc.)

If you’re not all that fond of “The Great Outdoors”, how about set up a camping experience indoors!  Turn off the TV, set up the “tent” and get ready to make memories.

You can use a real tent for your sleeping quarters, or create one of your own!  A couple chairs and some large sheets or blankets are all you need to create the illusion of a tent.  Grab a couple flashlights and books, tell some ghost stories, make shadow puppets and enjoy some one-on-one time with the kids.

What about the campfire, you ask?  Below is a fun craft that is perfect for pretend play!  Some toilet paper rolls, cotton balls and tissue paper make for a realistic campfire you can sit around to make your camp out even more fun!

Supplies:

• 6 cardboard tubes
• brown acrylic or poster paint
• large paintbrush
• red, yellow and orange tissue paper
• 2 twigs
• cotton balls
• white craft glue
• hot glue gun

Directions:

1. Paint all cardboard tubes with brown paint and let dry. repeat for a second coat if needed.

2. Cut tissue paper into three squares for each color. The yellow squares should be a little larger than the orange and the orange should be a little larger than the red.

3. Glue cotton balls to the ends of twigs for marshmallows.

4. Arrange cardboard tubes into a pile, you will need three of the tubes to be pointing upward with some room in the center of the pile where the tissue paper will be.

5. Use a hot glue gun to quickly tack them together, but reinforce with white glue as it holds together better.

6. Place a square of red tissue paper into the palm of your hand, lay a piece of orange on top of that and a piece of yellow on top of the orange square. Stick your pointing finger into the center of the yellow square and close your palm around your finger. Hold tissue paper in place and remove your finger.

7. Put some glue on the end of the gathered tissue that is in your palm and insert it into one of the open cardboard tubes that are sticking up at the top of the campfire pile. Repeat this process for all the other two sets of tissue paper and glue into the remaining two tube that are pointing upward.

8. For added stability, and to make this easier for your child to carry, glue the entire project to a piece of sturdy cardboard to create a base. You can even create some pretend rocks to go around the campfire!

When you think of a July Holiday, Independence day might be the only one that comes to mind.  Did you know there’s a National Ice Cream Day in July?  Or how about International Chicken Wing Day?  Odd but true, every day is a holiday!  Below are some of my favorites.

July 2 – International Chicken Wing Day

July 3 – Compliment your Mirror Day

July 7 – Chocolate Day (Better eat it fast – it’s hot out there!)

July 7 – Tell the Truth Day (Did you take my chocolate?)

July 10 – Don’t Step on a Bee Day

July 13 – Embrace your Geekness Day

July 17 – Cow Appreciation Day

July 17 -National Hot Dog Day (See Above – Hope those aren’t beef hot dogs!)

July 18 – National Ice Cream Day (Every day is National Ice Cream Day in our house!)

July 19 – National Hug your Kid Day

July 20 – National Lollipop Day

July 23 – Gorgeous Grandma Day

July 24 – Tell an Old Joke Day (Was probably my dad’s favorite day!)

July 29 – Lasagna Day

July 30 – National Talk in an Elevator Day (Was this really needed??)

HAPPY JULY!

If you’re looking for an easy way to dress up your 4th of July picnic tables, this firework flowers craft is bursting with patriotic colors!

This is a great craft for children of any age.  The smaller children will needs help with the cutting, but everyone will love painting the flowers.

What You Need:

• basket coffee filters

• chenille stems (red, white, blue, gold and/or silver)

• red and blue watercolor paint

• paintbrush

• scissors

• 2 pieces of paper towel
  

Directions:

• Cover table with newspaper
• Place one coffee filter onto a paper plate and flatten it out. Paint the coffee filter with water color paint. Paint some solid red, some solid blue and others a combination of blue and red, leaving some areas unpainted. Move the coffee filter to the towel and lay flat to dry. Repeat with the second coffee filter.
• Leaving the center of the filter in tact, cut the coffee filter in strips, working you way around the circle.
• Cut a 1.5″ piece off of one end of a chenille stem and set aside. Take the longer piece of chenille and poke it through the center of the coffee filter. There should be about 2″ of chenille poked through.
  
• Turn the entire thing upside down and grasp the filter with your fingers. Gather it around the chenille and secure it by wrapping the extra piece of chenille stem that you cut off in an earlier step. Twist it around the part you are holding and turn the flower back upright. Manipulate with your finger until strips are spread out and it looks the way you want it to.
  

Summer Solstice – the first day of summer – began June 21, 2010 at 7:28 am EDT this year.  So what exactly is the summer solstice and how do people celebrate?  Below are some Summer Solstice fun facts:

• As a major celestial event, the Summer Solstice results in the longest day and the shortest night of the year. The Northern Hemisphere celebrates in June, but the people on the Southern half of the earth have their longest summer day in December.
• Summer Solstice and Winter solstice are the most common names. However, these can be ambiguous since seasons of the northern hemisphere and southern hemisphere are opposites, and the summer solstice of one hemisphere is the winter solstice of the other.
• Awed by the great power of the sun, civilizations have for centuries celebrated the first day of summer otherwise known as the Summer Solstice, Midsummer (see Shakespeare), St. John’s Day, or the Wiccan Litha.
• Weddings were, and still are, popular during this time.
• It is overseas that Midsummer is truly recognized. If you visit Stonehenge, in the English country of Wiltshire, the English heritage has it opened for Solstice celebrations.
• Sweden celebrates Midsummer Eve and Midsummer Day from June 19 to June 25. Sweden is more traditional in their festival. They raise and dance around the Maypole and have a great feast.
• France has the “Fête de la Saint-Jean” or the Feast of St John. Taking place on June 24, towns build large bonfires to celebrate Saint John the Baptist.