Thank you cards

I am a big fan of handwritten Thank You letters.

I think it's really important to write a thank you note if you have been given a gift - even if it's just a few lines. I am determined that this will be something that my wee ones do as they grow up.

So, on Christmas morning as the kids unwrap their parcels, I write down what they received and who it was from. I then love getting to go to the shops to find the coolest wee note cards to send on their behalf. However, this year, I didn't get the chance to go card shopping...very sad!

So I turned to Pinterest for some printable ones. Instead, I got a cool idea to try out.  Unfortunately,as you'll see in the photos, Evan wasn't that keen to pose.

Santa has been

We have had a wonderful Christmas! We've been really busy since schools broke up for the holidays and fitted lots of fun things into each day.


We've been ~ baking lots, crafting,  having fun at soft-play, swimming, to the theatre, on a polar express, at a birthday party, at a bad Christmas jumper party and of course we've had a very busy Christmas Day too. The kids have been exhausted and so have we!




Polar Bears Go Wild
www.macrober.org

Theatre

 



On Sunday 23rd we went to MacRobert Arts Centre to see 'Polar Bears Go Wild' - it was brilliant! Last year we saw the first Polar Bear show and it was amazing. It is a fantastic little show for the under 5's where 2 actresses, dressed as polar bears, go off on an adventure together to different places. There is clever, yet basic, set and no dialogue ~ there is however, lots of comedy, some crowd participation, music and loads of laughter. I would go back in a flash as both kids loved it and were engrossed throughout.

 

Crafting

 

We made little Santa hats from triangles of red card and 2 cotton pads (split in half) and a huge amount of glitter!!!

 

 

Baking

Heather and I made shortbread cookies for Santa  - Daddy kept stealing the dough and eating it though! Evan has been devouring the cookies (and everything else in sight recently), I think it'safe to say he has a sweet tooth like his Mummy.

 

My first loaf of bread - I can't believe I've never made one before. It was really easy, I just used my trusty friend (the Kitchen Aid mixer) with the dough hook and let it work it's magic. The only difficult thing was leaving it to prove for 2 hours - I am far too impatient! Anyway, it worked out well so I think I'll be making more.

Polar Express

I came across a fantastic post on www.confessionsofahomeschooler where the parents surprise their children by taking them out on a trip to see the Christmas lights instead of goingto bed. I loved this idea so we copied it. We made up little golden tickets and hid them amongst the kid's pyjamas. It took Heather a little while to understand what we were about to do but by the time we were in the car she kind of understood the idea. She was soon shouting out each time she saw the brightly lit houses. Even little Evan started to understand - he began pointing at the houses and shouting too. Bless.

.

Red week

I taught H the colour Red just before Christmas - it was a stroke of genius because there was lots of red things everywhere, especially pictures of Santa Clause!

I did a bit of research to get some colourideas. I found some great ideas on one of my favourite blogs - Toddler Boredom Busters. I came up with a little list of things to do.

Fun in the house - Treasure Hunt
I laminated a bunch of little red clipart pictures and put a blob of bluetac on the back of each. I hid them around the downstairs of the house whilst H hid in the playroom. I then sent her off to find all the red pictures. I really didn't expect her to have so much fun! We must have played it about 10 times in a row. It has also been a great game to play when we've not got any plans.

Walk - Treasure Hunt - outside
I took H and E out for a walk in the pram and we looked for red things - cars, traffic lights, front doors, vans, post boxes, signs etc.

Story - Little Red Riding Hood, Library for red themed stories/ picture books
We went to the library and looked for red themed stories. We obviuosly had to get Little Red Riding Hood! H loves books and the library so she had lots of fun picking up the books and shouting "Mummy read it, read it". I'm not syre the other Library users enjoyed it as much...

Craft - Red tissue flower
I have a tonne of craft bits and bobs that I've acquired over the years (it's all part of the stationary obsession) and so gathered together: red tissue paper, red card,  glue and a lolly-pop stick. .I cut out a flower shape and ripped up the tissue paper then let H spread the glue all over the flower. I then showed her how to scrunch up the paper and and push it into the glue. H absolutely loves craft stuff, so this was right up her street. Once it was dry, we then taped a big lolly-pop stick to the back. She was very proud of her flower. She enjoyed it so much she made one for Granny too.

Santa Picture
We did a tissue paper Santa. I used the same technique as above.

Hand Painting & stamping
I mad some stamps out of potato and let H get messy with red paint. She's not that keen on getting messy so this was a challenge for her!!

Game/ Role Play - Post Box
I took an old Aptamil box and painted it red - I tried painting the lid too...after about 4 coats it finally was covered, only to peel off when H started playing with it. I then cut a slit in the front - just the right size for mini letters - the lid lifts up so you can get the letters back out. H and I made letters and envelopes together. H loved it. She played herself (she usually wnats me to play everything too) for over an hour.
Red Clothes
We wore red things!

Red Food
I pinched some ideas from Toddler Boredom Busters http://toddlerboredombusters.blogspot.com/2009/11/red-lunch.html.
I also looked at Muffin Tin Mum http://michellesjournalcorner.blogspot.com/

DIY Shop

I was searching for things to do with H and found a fantastic idea on tipjunkie.com. It was 32 ideas of things to do with a cardboard box. Honestly, some people are so creative and clearly have more time on their hands than most! Anyway, the ideas are amazing - have a look!

As usual, I suggest to my hubby that we make one. He looked so excited (not) at the prospect of spending his Sunday morning cutting, painting and building a shop for our wee girl...! I should maybe mention that it was about 7am when I dragged the huge box out the dining room and suggested this!

Fortunately, Ian is an absolute super-star husband and Daddy and therefore promptly (well, after a cuppa and a bit of encouragement) went out to the garage to get all the bits and bobs we would need.


I am so pleased how it turned out. We have added some cheery wallpaper to the back wall and counter since this photo was taken. H has been playing with it everyday.  So far it has been a shop, a ticket booth, a cafe and a post office. I am thinking it might also make a good puppet theatre too.