Polar Express Party

In November I was asked to help with the decorations for the church Christmas party.  The person organizing it knew she wanted the theme to be Polar Express but at that point she was still nailing down the details.  We tossed around the idea of making a ticket booth or a big train out of cardboard coming out of the wall.

Fast forward to just after Thanksgiving when we returned from our big vacation to Florida (Disney tips coming soon!) and had a small break in between holidays and we spoke about plans again.  This person was finding a train backdrop and that person was making the ticket booth and so-and-so was in charge of getting some guys together to hang lights.  And for me?  Well she wanted to cover up ALL the ugly carpet on the walls with paper and would I paint some silver trees on that paper?

Um…sure.

I spent chunks of that next week painting trees on the floor of the kitchen, one 6 foot section of paper at a time.  I did have some help lined up but once I got started I decided there just wasn’t enough space for more than one person to work on it.  Don’t feel too badly though – a lot of the time was spent waiting for the paint to dry (not one of my favorite things).  Once I got into the rhythm I would spend maybe 10 minutes (20 on the big leafless trees) on the trees, let them dry for a bit, another few minutes for highlights, then let it dry completely.

I am not an artist but one thing crafting has taught me is not to be afraid of trying something new.  And I did ok on my tree during paint night last spring. 😉  So I did a quick internet search for images of trees for inspiration and just ran with it.

Pretty cool huh?  All pulled together with the twinkle lights and everything it was pretty impressive.

Other than my trees, there were a lot of fun party details

The tickets/invitations (aren’t they adorable?)

The ticket booth, where the bishop dressed as the conductor and punched tickets as everyone arrived.

The entry to the gym.  Isn’t that duct tape train track a nice touch?

The young women and activity days girls did all the coffee filter trees and the snowflakes.  Impressive.

The party was held at 9:00 AM on a Saturday.  Everyone wore their pajamas and they two buffet tables set up with french toast casseroles, sausage, fruit, milk and juice.  They also had a fun hot chocolate bar.  I didn’t get photos of anything after people started arriving since I kept running into people I hadn’t seen in a while and was having fun just visiting.

 

They had conductors set up to punch tickets at each of the stations (arrival, hot chocolate, Santa, etc) but I don’t think the guests were fully clued into that part of the party as I didn’t see much punching going on.

Once everyone had started eating. they had someone sit on stage and read the Polar Express, along with showing a few clips from the movie.  They also had a young couple with a brand new baby dress up as Mary and Joseph.  Then Santa arrived!

I was Santa’s helper for the morning and oh what fun to see all the interactions with Santa and the kids (and the teens and the adults!).  Santa was in top form and was really hamming it up for photos.

Little gift bags from Santa held a silver bell, train whistles and treats.

They also had family photos being taken in front of the big train backdrop by one of the members with her professional photographer set up.

It was a little more work than I was expecting when I agreed to help, but all in all I’m very glad I agreed.  Everything turned out nicely and, even better, I got to spend some time with a lot of great people I wouldn’t have had the chance to see otherwise.

Have you done something new this Christmas season that has added to your holiday experience?  I would love to hear about it!

 

 

 

Linking to:  Home Matters Party, Wow Me Wednesday,

Do I really want to simplify this holiday season?

Today we are hitting the tail end of what has been one of the most eventful weeks I have had in a very long time.  I’m not sure why things didn’t end up more spread out this month but events seemed to happen back to back to back this week.  We had birthday parties and band concerts and shopping to do and gifts to wrap and elves to supervise (tons of elf on the shelf inspiration here and here if you need it!) and I joined in on a couple of things I don’t normally do for the holidays.  Plus add in keeping up on the routine things like running kids to the orthodontist, checking homework, cleaning the house, volunteering in Tyler’s classroom, paying bills, running errands, and getting the husband to cook dinner as often as possible…

(I’ve been trying to take at least one photo a day for at least a partial attempt at December Daily so feel free to check out what I’ve been up to on my Instagram feed. )

Among all of this I keep seeing mentions of simplifying the holidays on social media and it has me wondering – do I really want to simplify my holidays this year?  Did I somehow take on too much or do it wrong this time around?

I hate feeling like I’m rushed or stressed and typically I’m pretty good at saying “no” to things that will bring too much of that into my life.  I almost always plan ahead and try to get the prep work done for big projects, parties, etc. days or weeks before they need to be done because I dislike doing anything last-minute.  My goal for Christmas is to have the majority of my gift shopping done by December 1st and here it is the 11th and I’m still missing things and in some cases I don’t even had decent gift ideas figured out.

When I pulled out my calendar Thanksgiving weekend and realized that we had committed to sooooooo many things that fell this second week of December I had a moment of panic wondering how we were going to handle it all.  I’ve been hoping daily that I won’t get sick because things would come to screeching halt if I did.  I have had to keep pretty close track of my time and priorities since then.  And there has been more than one night when my elf alarm (yes I set a nightly alarm on my phone for 30 minutes past bedtime to help me remember those elves) went off and I found myself wishing Tyler was ready to move on to being Santa’s helper along with his big sister (not that I ever want to wish my kids older or more experienced and jaded than they are – they grow up WAY too fast already).

But.

I haven’t regretted a single event or plan we made this week.  Not one.

My son had an awesome amazing birthday and a crazy chaotic joyful birthday party (birthday on Monday, party Friday night. blog post to be determined!).

My daughter shone in her band concert, more poised and confidant each time one of these comes around.

Our Bunco Christmas party was a pajama-clad, gift-stealing, fun tradition.

I got to know a lot of great people in the neighborhood and renew acquaintances with other fantastic people I haven’t seen in a long time while I spent hours helping decorating for the church party (a church I don’t actually attend).  It turned out beautifully and there is satisfaction in that along with the pleasure of watching the party itself happen.  I was busy most of the party as well, playing Santa’s helper and the interactions between Santa and the kids, teens, and even the adults were so fun to watch.  (Santa was really on his game yesterday – it was awesome).  PS – I’ll blog about the party details soon!

And for the first time since high school (I think we hit the 20 year reunion this year!) I took the opportunity to sing with a big choir at the community Christmas concert last night (a much bigger event than I knew it would be when I signed up).

So my take-away from this week?

Sometimes putting in the extra effort is totally worth it.

No matter what you are doing or what you may need to be doing in an hour, be fully in the moment and enjoy that one thing on its own.

and

Don’t be afraid to say yes.

Do I recommend filling every week to the brim?  Nope.  Do I want to take on every single thing someone asks me to do?  Nuh-uh.  Do I intend to take one day next week and spend it on the couch binge watching a show, drinking hot chocolate and forgetting everything else for an afternoon?  Absolutely.

Life isn’t about doing only the minimum or cutting out some of the hoopla simply because it’s what other people are doing.  I think we need to give ourselves things to look forward to.

You can’t do everything but you can do anything you choose.

So choose wisely but don’t be afraid to push yourself a bit.  I don’t think you’ll regret it either.

Happy December!
We are now off to the big gingerbread house decorating party with the husband’s family…

 

 

Gilmore Girls Care Package (or Gift Basket idea)

It’s the day after Thanksgiving – do you know what that means?!?

Ok, yeah so some of you said Black Friday shopping.  Yes, you could be doing that.

And someone else probably said something about putting out their holiday decorations.  I’m on board with that.  We put up our tree this morning.

But what I’m actually talking about is the fact that new episodes of Gilmore Girls are out today!  Bring on the junk food and binge watch all the shows!

I have a couple of good friends from high school who are big fans of Gilmore Girls, just like I am.  We used to talk about the show quite often when we would get together in the years right after college (we had a standing Saturday with the Girls once a month for years – such a fun tradition).  In fact, when the series ended we all got together and had a party to watch the final episode together – complete with matching T-shirts and themed food.  It’s fun to have friends that like to put that little bit of extra fun into things, isn’t it?

When I heard about the Gilmore Girls revival I knew I wanted to involve my friends somehow.  We haven’t managed a big get together in quite a few years and with both of my friends having new babies recently I knew planning some sort of viewing party wasn’t in the cards.  So I came up with the idea of putting together a Gilmore Girls themed care package to surprise them with.

And now that I’ve sent out the package and don’t have to worry about ruining the surprise, I can share its contents with you!  😉

When it comes to care packages or gift baskets, a lot of the wow factor comes from the packaging, right?  I always take a minute to decorate the inside of the box when I’m mailing something special.  In this case I grabbed some patterned paper from my stash and printed out a few funny Gilmore Girls memes.

Don’t forget to decorate the bottom of the box!  It’s always fun to think you’ve reached the end and find something that gives you one last smile.

Inside the box:
-a coffee cup.  Of course, it wouldn’t be Gilmore Girls if there’s wasn’t some mention of coffee, right?  And even though my buddies aren’t really coffee drinkers, the cup works just as well for hot chocolate 😉
-Pop Tarts
-junk food!  Lots and lots of sugar in fun movie theater sizes
-printable quote from the theme song that I turned into a bookmark.  Had to have some sort of reference to books, right?  Printable found HERE
-fortune cookies
–Gilmore Girls Bingo cards
-and a few “things I learned from Gilmore Girls” quotes that I printed and scattered among all the items in the box (You can find links to these and a few other ideas I didn’t use on my Just the Girls Pinterest Board)
*quick tip on mailing care packages – using Regional Rate A boxes is a great way to save money.  They are only slightly smaller than the Flat Rate Medium boxes but because they calculate the rates based on distance travelled and I was shipping In State I paid about half the cost of a Medium Flat Rate box.  The catch is that post offices don’t typically stock them, you have to order them (for free) in bundles of 10 or 25 through USPS online.

I had a lot of fun putting these together and I’m sure it was quite the surprise when my friends found the packages in their mailbox last week.

I think it’s about time to grab a blanket and some snacks and settle in for a Gilmore Girls marathon this afternoon, don’t you?

 

 

Linking to:  Wow Me Wednesday

Elf Antics – 24 Days of Elf on the Shelf Fun

It’s that time of year again!  Halloween is over, Thanksgiving plans are well under way and all of the stores are decked out for the holidays…bring on the Christmas prep!  For me that means lists – gift lists, shopping lists, projects lists, Christmas card lists, and lists of ideas for our Christmas elves.

Our elves always show up on the first of December and spend the month with us keeping an eye on the kiddos for Santa, as well as having a little fun themselves (sometimes too much fun!).  The kids look forward to the visit from the elves and it adds a little daily fun and magic to the season for all of us.

Our elves have been making their appearance for almost 10 years now (yes, I looked it up 😉  I started this tradition in 2007), well before the Elf on the Shelf concept took on the recognition and popularity it has today.  So our elves don’t look like all of the other elves and they don’t have quite the same rules as the official Elf on the Shelf.  In fact, our elves love to get hugs from the kids and to play with them during the day.

To keep things fresh and fun year after year I do have to put in some planning time (thank goodness for Pinterest, right?  I have tons of ideas on my Holiday Elf on the Shelf board) so I’ve been pulling together ideas and reviewing photos of our Elf Antics from years past and I thought I would share a sample year with you.

This is what our elves were up to every day in December a couple of years ago.  (My kids were ages 11 and 8 at the time)

Day 1 – Sure enough, Tinsel and Twinkle arrived at our house on schedule bringing with them Lego advent calendars for the kids.

Day 2 – found them in the storage room where they had pulled out most of Grandma’s games and toys.  Photo is courtesy of Kaitlyn, who was quick to inform me when I got back from the gym that morning and found the kids playing Jenga that she knew I liked to take photos before we moved the Elves and had made sure to do so.  (Isn’t she the greatest?!)

Day 3 – in the bathroom, where Twinkle was tangled in Kaitlyn’s headbands and Tinsel had drawn a Rudolph head on the mirror.

Day 4 – the elves had put up a “tent” using one of the pool towels so they could hide while they created Top Secret missions for the kids.
Wonder what’s in the envelope….   (printable found here.  Awesome idea)

Day 5 was Tyler’s birthday so the elves had made an attempt to decorate with crepe paper but got distracted playing with the party games.

Day 6 – the elves we cozily reading a book together in the rocking chair

Day 7 – had decorated the photo wall in the office using dry erase markers

Day 8 – Perler bead creations

Day 9: they got into all of the treats left over from the birthday party

Day 10:  must have been taking inspiration from my (body builder) brother.  Looks like Tinsel might benefit from a few personal trainer sessions.

Day 11:  found the sled on top of the entertainment center in the living room.  I’m told Twinkle almost met with a horrible accident when she toppled off and my brother’s pit bull picked her up.  Luckily, the husband saw it and pried her out of his mouth before any damage was done.

Day 12:  packed the kids’ lunchboxes

Day 13:  changed out the light bulb in the hallway for a pretty stained-glass one.  Tyler said it looked like they were having a dance party.

Day 14:  climbing the Christmas tree.  I’m afraid it looks like Tinsel must have taken a tumble or two.

Day 15: hot chocolate!  They found a special Cookies and Cream version from Stephen’s – MMMMMM

 Day 16:  crepe paper Christmas tree

Day 17:  time for a Nerf dart war

Day 18:  the elves found the tablet and had used it to take photos of themselves (by the Christmas tree, posing by the dog, random selfies, etc) then used them as the desktop background photos on the tablet.

Day 19:  Playing with Tyler’s Minecraft toys and even found a Santa Minecraft head for Steve.  (The Steve is a printable I used for Tyler’s Minecraft Party  and the Santa head is a printable found here that I just enlarged a bit before printing.  It wasn’t quite big enough for one of our elves to wear, but it worked fine for Steve)

Day 20:  We got home late last night and the kids forgot to open their Advent treat box before bed so the Elves did it for them.  Lucky for the kids, the elves didn’t get as far as opening any of the chocolate!

Day 21:  found the elves fast asleep under the Christmas tree, using the kids’ stockings as sleeping bags.

Day 22:  the elves were having fun with the camera last night and took all kinds of photos.  (Printable photo props found here)

Day 23:  this morning they attempted to hitch a ride to school in the kids’ backpacks.  I think we are all excited for the last half-day of school before Christmas break!

Day 24: elf zip line!  And of course they also wrote up a farewell letter because Santa picks them up on Christmas Eve while he is making deliveries.

And that, my friends, is an entire month of Elf on the Shelf ideas for you.  They’re my favorite kind too – quick and easy.  Easy enough to implement at 3AM when you suddenly wake up with that feeling that you forgot to do something…  😉

What have your elves been up to?  Any great ideas you would like to share?  I would love to add a few to my list for this year!

Linking to:  Wow Me Wednesday,

Last Minute Halloween Prep

Life can get crazy-busy very quickly and it is so very easy to let it take us for a ride – which is exactly what has happened to me in the two months or so since my husband got home from deployment.  First, we spent a few weeks all wrapped up in enjoying having him home and doing all of the family stuff still on our bucket list.  Then we jumped into a massive remodel of my parents’ kitchen (so many blog posts to write!) before the husband had to return to his civilian job.  Plus, school started before that project was completed and we have all been doing our best to get back into the normal routine of work/school/extra-curricular activities.

And now?  Now we are knee-deep in October which is Birthday Month around here (7+ birthdays to celebrate – more on that soon!) and I suspect things are going to keep moving just as quickly.

Which brings me to today’s project, or rather yesterday’s project – my son’s class party for Halloween.  His teacher has developed her own traditions and one of them is performing a Mad Scientist show for other classes in the school.  I’ve known about this for weeks – after all, I’m the Room Mom this year and my job was to organize the parent helpers and donations to provide lunch for the class in the middle of their busy day of Mad Scientist shows.  So it really shouldn’t have been a surprise when my 9-year-old came home the night before the party talking about turning a shirt into a lab coat.

I guess I had just figured that a pair of safety goggles and some crazy hair would be a “good enough” costume (and really that would have been fine) but my little guy wanted something a bit more.

(ah boys – he was dead convinced that Mad Scientists don’t smile and I couldn’t manage to get him to pose any other way)

An old shirt and a Sharpie saved the day.  In less than 5 minutes (and $0!) we were able to transform a shirt he no longer wanted to wear into a lab coat by simply drawing a few lines on it with a marker.

It turned out cute, he was pretty excited about it  – and after seeing all the other kids, some with full wigs and everything, I was glad we put in the little bit of extra effort.

Tyler received plenty of compliments on his costume and it had me wondering…I bet that’s not the only costume that could be pulled together in a pinch with just a shirt and a Sharpie.  Any ideas for other options?!

 

Deployment Care Package Idea – Half-Way There

We are approaching the final countdown on this military deployment – YAY YAY YAY – and having that husband of mine home again is on my mind a lot.  I can’t wait!

Now that we are approaching the end, I remember how much I looked forward to the mid-point of the deployment and how much fun it was to put together the care package with a Half-way There theme.

Everything was cut in half – and I mean EVERYTHING.

I decorated the box with two different patterned scrapbook papers, so even the box looked like it had been divided in half.
And again, I always include something in the very bottom of the box as an extra surprise – the funnier the better.

The box was filled with anything I thought might lend itself to being cut in half – a package of pudding cups, a package of microwave-able mac n cheese, Pop Tarts, Thin Mints Girl Scout Cookies, powdered drink mix, balloons, and a package of party confetti poppers.

The boxes were fairly easy to cut in half.  For any packaging that didn’t stand on it’s own or threatened to spill the contents once cut in half I simply covered the exposed end with packaging tape.

Splitting up the pair of running shoes my husband had requested and sending just a single shoe was my daughter’s idea. Haha!  Of course, we put together a second (workout themed) package with the other shoe and sent it the very next day.  We were a bit worried one of the packages would get lost but it went perfectly and the two boxes arrived back to back without any problems.

I love how some of the snack foods now have fun lettering on them.  I made sure to snap up this Snicker’s  candy bar that reads “Impatient” the minute I spotted it, then held on to it for a few weeks (some days that wasn’t easy!) knowing I would find the perfect package to send it in.

The kids always try to contribute a letter or drawing to each care package.  To stick with my theme, I cut my son’s drawing in half and did the same with the letters from myself and my daughter.  Then I cut an envelope in half, putting half of the letters and drawing in each side and hit one part of the envelope on the bottom of the package and placed the other part in the top of the package.

I’m sure hitting the half-way point of the deployment was the high point of my husband’s week, but he did get a real kick out of the package too.

I was thinking if you currently didn’t have a husband on deployment (lucky you!) what else would be a fun theme for a half-way gift?  Any other long distance separation, of course – long distance relationship, missionary gift, college care package, countdown to a big milestone like marriage or graduation…

Any other ideas I’m missing?

 

I’m still adding a lot of my care package ideas to the blog – please feel free to explore.
–Beat the Heat Summer Care Package
–Favorite Things Care Package
–First Care Package for Deployment
–Deployment Survival Kit (for military spouses)

Or check out some of my other Gift Basket or Summer Fun ideas for the Kids and more:
–Summer Themed Dinner Gift Baskets (in red, white and blue!)
–Summer Bucket List
–Cupcake Wars Birthday Party

 

5 Summer Themed Gift Basket Ideas for Under $25

Happy 4th of July!  It’s ok if I jump the gun a little bit right?  I’m pretty sure the festivities (4 nights of rodeo) start tomorrow night here anyway.

The 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays.  I love the enthusiasm for it here in my hometown.  The flags all over the place.  So many events to pick and choose however we want to celebrate.  And the red, white and blue – one of my favorite color combinations.  So, when it worked out that it’s my mom’s turn to host our Bunco group right after the 4th of July we were really excited to put together the prizes.  And what better for a 4th of July/summer theme than food-related gift baskets?!

The prizes are supposed to range in cost from about $12 to $24 so all five of these gift basket ideas are under $25.  As a fun twist we not only stuck to a summer food/dinner theme but tried to incorporate as much of the red, white and blue patriotic theme as we could find.  With the 24th of July Pioneer Days celebration here in Utah, we keep the red, white and blue out the entire month of July 😉

My favorite basket would have to be our picnic themed one.  We found this adorable insulated picnic basket to use as the base for the gift (from TJ Maxx).  I love that it’s red, white and blue colors but flower-patterned instead of stars and stripes so you can use it any time of year.  We filled the basket with  patriotic themed picnic supplies – paper plates, napkins, those adorable red mason jar drinking cups with straws, a vinyl tablecloth, and red, white and blue tortilla chips to finish it off.

What’s summer without ice cream, right?  We just had to do an ice cream themed basket but the kind of base to use for the theme was a bit of a sticking point.  In the end we went with a basket of sand toys – ice cream and the beach works great, right?  The little sand strainer was the perfect thing to lift the items up so you can seem them above the top of the basket.  The basket is filled with an ice cream scoop, ice cream cones and waffle bowls, and a selection of toppings like chocolate and caramel syrup, marshmallow cream, and of course, some red white and blue sprinkles.

With all of the free concerts in the park, drive-ins, or those fun DIY back yard movie theaters that summer has to offer, we went with a popcorn theme for our third basket.  This one was also a good fit for our least expensive gift basket since it doesn’t take a lot to make this one cute.  We grabbed a blue popcorn bowl for the base and smaller individuals bowls in red, then added some microwave popcorn and a selection of popcorn seasonings.

Our local grocery store always has these great hot dog roasting sticks in stock and we knew we wanted to use these for one of the gifts (I have a set and we use them ALL the time).  The tricky part was figuring out how to package up something so long and skinny.  In the end we went a similar route as the ice cream but instead of sand toys we tied everything to a children’s bat and ball set  (baseball and hotdogs – totally works).  We also added a set of hot dog baskets (red, white, and blue!) like you would get at the drive-in, condiment squirt bottles and a container of potato chips.

For our final gift basket we went with a back yard grilling/BBQ theme.  The container is a plastic water pitcher to which we added some grilling tools, kebab baskets, corn on the cob holders, a grill brush with some barbeque sauce and a marinade, and a lighter.

I can’t decide which one I would like to win – can you? 😉  I can’t wait for our Bunco party, but first I’m going to enjoy the fireworks this weekend.

 

Beat the Heat – Deployment Care Package

Summer, summer, summertime!  Sometimes it’s a bit less enjoyable than others – especially when it’s hot.  We hit 90 degrees here this week but the husband has been telling me that is their nightly low for the past few weeks over there on deployment.  Ick.  He has been complaining about the high temps since April and there’s not much we can do about it – except send a care package 😉  A Beat the Heat/Stay Cool care package, of course.

I’ve developed my own little system for decorating the inside of the boxes.  I usually use a Medium Flat Rate box (though I think this one may have been a Regional Rate A which saves a bit on postage), which is easily covered by 5 sheets of patterned paper (works out great for using up my giant stash of scrapbook paper).  I usually print the letting for the theme of the box directly onto the papers before attaching them to the interior of the box then finish it off with a couple of funny memes and don’t forget to add something extra to the bottom of the box.  A little humor goes a long way.

Next step – add items that fit the theme (but won’t melt!).

I’m still surprised at how easy it is to fill these boxes if you just keep your eyes open when you’re out and about.  Snow cone flavored gum?!  Icee flavored candy?!  Yes!  And those cooling towels are great.  My husband has been using them in various versions when outside working in the heat for years now but left all of his home because they were too brightly colored.  I did my best to find an understanded looking one.  They really should make them in camo print, doncha’ think?  Maybe I should suggest that… 😉

The complete list of items I included in the box:
-cooling towel
-freezer pops (he has a mini-fridge in his room so I know they can freeze these once they arrive)
-Icee slushies (note that any time I put things that are more liquid in the package I make sure to put them in zip-top bags just in case)
-Icee squeeze candy
-snow cone flavored gum
-“ice” breath drops
-drink mixes to add to water bottles (one of the biggest requested items since they can only drink bottled water and drink it by the gallon every day)
Other ideas might include sunscreen, chap stick (with SPF), exercise-type water bottles, etc.

Final step:  box it up and send it on its way!

Interested in seeing other care package (or gift basket) ideas?  Stay tuned – I will be trying to catch up on posting photos of the packages I have sent over the past few months.  And don’t forget to check out my ideas for my First Deployment Care Package, Favorite Things Care Package, or May the 4th/Star Wars Mini Care Package.

I am down to needing only a couple more care package ideas before this deployment ends – woohoo!  Do you have any favorite ideas you would like to share?!

 

Linking to:  Pretty Pintastic Party, Home Matters Party,

Summer Bucket List 2016

 

Summer is in full swing!  With the Summer Solstice/First Day of Summer this past week I think we can declare it official – as if we hadn’t already.

The kids and I have spent the past couple of weeks getting into our daily summer routine, which includes spending the mornings at the pool for swim team and a lot of lazy afternoons.  It feels very easy to just drift along and let that be all we worry about and that’s been great so far but I’m afraid that too much down time leads to sibling arguments and mommy crankiness (and maybe a bit of jealousy when we see everyone else’s vacation photos).  So it has become our tradition to sit down as a family at the beginning of summer and make a list of all the things we each want to include in our summer – a Summer Bucket List.

You know the tradition is a good one when the kids ask “Mom, when are we going to ____?” and that’s exactly what happened this year.  A week or so before school let out my little guy was asking when we were going to make our summer list and that weekend we sat down to compile ideas.  The husband even contributed a couple via chat (though mostly his big goal was to finish this deployment).  We try to come up with a combination of ideas – some easy, some that require more planning, a few goals (last year we wanted to hike to the top of Timpanogos), some that are fun and some that might require a little work.

This year’s list includes:
-lots of playdates/friend time
-family vacation
-snowcones
-paddleboarding
-family game of Monopoly (Tyler is obsessed)
-Kaitlyn:  babysitting, swim camp, get a state swim time, YW camp, be in the parade, build muscle
-Tyler:  new tricks on skateboard/scooter/bike, 4H Arts and Crafts Camp, Scout badges, change bedtime to 9 PM (his biggest request)
-sleep under the stars
-make a list of things to do on rainy summer days
-night games
-parties:  water fights, treasure/scavenger hunt, end of school party
-Do/see something new
-play baseball with Bambi (the dog)
-regular exercise for all, especially Bambi
-try out a new restaurant
-kids learn to cook a few things
-Sam home!

You can see last year’s list HERE.  And if you need even more ideas to get you started with your own list I have a great post full of Summer Fun Ideas Without Breaking the Bank.

Once our list is compiled I like to put it on display in a frame where we can easily refer to it and cross things off (dry erase markers work great on glass).  True to form, it took me a while after our family pow-wow to type it and get it up on display.  I suppose that works in my favor since this week I’ve felt like we needed to give ourselves a bit more direction and now all we have to do is pick something from the list and go do it.

My biggest take-away from my chat with the kids was that they wanted to spend a lot more time with friends.  I get that.  During the school year we have very little time between school, homework, and activities and they were feeling socially deprived.  No one wants to be bored or lonely or to feel like our friends might be out having fun while we sit at home, especially during the summer.  But it does take some effort to turn that Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) into Getting Out More Often (GOMO), doesn’t it?  I’ve found, however, that the effort and planning is worth it.  And once I get past some of the roadblocks like trying to coordinate with friends with busy schedules and that whole Jungle-Book-esque mind-set of “What do you want to do?”  “I dunno, what do you want to do?” (don’t tell me I’m the only one that pictures those buzzards every time we have a hard time coming up with a plan?!), it’s really not that hard to get out and have fun.

Still need a bit more inspiration or ideas for things to do?  Check out websites like Eventbrite – it’s like TicketMaster but for smaller events, and can be used to coordinate your own events like a local 5K.  I hadn’t heard of this website until a few weeks ago, then coincidentally a few days later my son brought home a note from school about 4H opportunities this summer and wouldn’t you know it – online sign ups were available through Eventbrite.  Tyler was excited about the Arts and Crafts workshop so I had my first experience personally using the website and it was pretty easy and user-friendly.  I could see this being a great resource since you can search for events by area or even create your own events (oh how great would that have been when we were putting together our own version of Paint Night?!  Oh wait – I haven’t blogged about that one yet.  Remind me to do that soon – it was awesome! 😉  )

Other great resources include your local community events (4th of July plans, anyone?), summer workshops (Kaitlyn just had a blast at swim camp at a somewhat-nearby university), outdoor concerts and plays (we gave my mom tickets to Peter Pan for Mother’s Day and the play was on Tuesday.  It was so much fun – one of my favorite plays to date and I’ve seen quite a few), and so on.

No excuses, right?  I’m off to call a friend and make plans for a picnic at the park for next week.  Or research a nearby hiking trail the kids and I haven’t had a chance to explore yet.  So tell me, what’s on your Summer Bucket List?

 

Linking to:  Home Matters Party, BFF Open House,

Splash Bash – Last Day of School Water Party

Hello Summer!

Well, almost summer here.  The kids still have one more week left of school but the countdown has certainly begun and I’m nearly as excited for the change in routine as the kids are.  Oh how great to get a later start on the mornings, and to not have to wait until the kids are out the door in order to get a chance to take a shower!  (someone remind me of this feeling on one of those long summer afternoons when the kids are “bored” or constantly bickering!)

This past weekend the kids and I sat down to work on our Summer Bucket List – which has become one of our yearly traditions.  (you can see last year’s list HERE and I will post this year’s soon!)  As we were talking I noticed a theme emerging from their suggestions – fun time with friends.  I wondered for a second if my kids have been feeling…socially deprived…?  (and if so, do I lose Mom Points for that? 😉  ) but quickly realized it was just a manifestation of their fun-loving, outgoing sides which I would like to help them nurture.  Being a bit of an introvert myself, I admire that side of their personalities while at the same time I have to subvert my own desire for calm and quiet in order to give them the chance to explore that.  So we made a list of things they wanted to do with friends and party ideas and I agreed to let them host something on a regular basis.

First up on their list – a party for the last day of school!  This is something we did a few times in our old neighorhood but didn’t follow through with last year and Kaitlyn, in particular, was very excited about hosting something.  She quickly decided on a water theme (after seeing an idea on Pinterest for SlipNSlide baseball a few days before) and in less than 30 minutes we not only had a plan and menu ideas, but had created and printed out the invitations too.

I found the Splash clip art on the internet then simply added the wording over the top and printed everything onto cardstock (4 to a page).  The back side of the invitation holds all the details:  time, date, location, etc.

We checked the weather forecast and so far it looks like we will have sunshine and decent temperatures – yay!  That means we can go ahead with our ideas for SlipNSlide kickball, water gun target shooting and Splash Ball lacrosse.  (actually we don’t know how to play lacrosse but we do have a couple of sticks and they can play catch)  Kaitlyn helped me pick up supplies and snacks last night so we’re all set to party.  Bring on the last day of school and bring on SUMMER!

I’ll be sure to post party details after the event – check back soon!  Or check out some of our other Last Day of School Traditions, End of the Year gifts for teachers and kids (Buckets of Fun idea or Teacher Gifts in a Cup ideas) or Summer Fun Ideas that Won’t Break the Bank.

Linking to:  Home Matters Party, Pretty Pintastic Party,