Christmas is so magical! So many new sensory experiences- lights everywhere, Christmas trees, excitement in the stores, pretty decorations, blow up snowmen and reindeer...and of course a trip to see Santa! 

While I really wanted to have more crafts prepared for the days leading up to Christmas, it is also a very busy time of year.

This sensory bin was easy and quick... and we have been playing with it daily for a week. The objects I used in my bin should not be used without careful supervision as they can be dangerous for young children. I picked up some bows from the dollar store, a string of gold beads, a santa hat, decorative snow and scented pinecones. I carefully examined the pinecones before giving them to Parker and removed any sharp thorns.  Later this week he decided that the pinecones are food for the barnyard animals at the stable. The Santa hat and the bows were obviously his favorite and has been destroying any hope I had of recycling the bows for wrapping presents. 

You could make your own Christmas or holiday bin with so many different objects- jingle bells, cotton balls, wrapping paper, tissue paper, garland, a snow globe, burlap, cookie cutters, and more! Happy Holidays!

Happy Baby=Happy Mama!

Winter blues! Sometimes you just need to put your toes in the sand. It is just that easy when you have a little indoor sandbox! Hilariously enough Parker wants to put his toes in the sand every time we get his sand box bin out. My kind of boy!

In typical boy style, my Parker loves trucks and sticks so that is what are doing with this bin at this time... a little dump truck, plow, a few sticks from the outdoors, sand, a funnel and paper-towel roll has given us hours of entertainment.  Oh and a small tarp for mommy to easily clean up!

The weather outside is frightful... therefore indoor activities need to kick it up a notch! I need a few ideas that will occupy Parker without my 100% involvement for times when mama needs to cook dinner, pay a bill or respond to an email.

This activity was a quick fix... not complicated or creative... but it was a good time for Parker! I have a feeling that it will be simply amazing for your little one as well.

I started by running some warm water in a bin, emptied all of my ice trays and threw in all the  cold weather animals I could find to create an artic winter scene.  Honestly, Parker was less interested in the animals or my (lame) water scene but rather completely fascinated by the ice. He kept fishing for the cubes, trying to pick it up to watch it melt. Does that sound boring? Well guess what? Ice and water is pretty amazing when you are one year old! And it's quite fascinating when you are an adult watching it through a child's eyes.  Clean up was easy with a small tarp and quick change of clothes!  Simple, simple! 

Happy Baby= Happy Mama!

Ho Ho Ho! Merry Christmas! I am having my second childhood over here! After Thanksgiving, we immediate started our Christmas season! I was worried about Parker touching and knocking over the adult Christmas tree so I created one just for him!

I bought a large peice of large green felt from a local craft store- folded it in half and used a sharpie to sketched out a tree. I also created simple, colorful  circles, diamonds and a star for the top of the tree and used a brown sheet for the trunk.  I used my roll of white butcher paper to make a background (attached with blue painters tape) and hot glued my felt tree to the paper.  

I created the fireplace out of diaper boxes, screwed them together, wrapped it in butcher paper, used red paint and a sponge to create the brick look.... and Santa is coming to town folks! The fire was a $10 find from Target.  

This stage has been played with, talked about and used for hours and hours of dramatic play! We are loving it! We talk about the shapes, the colors, the hot fire; we sing Christmas carols; read Christmas stories... and are enjoying the magic of Christmas!

Happy Baby= Happy Mama!