Events Category
Happy Valentine’s Day
Wishing you and your families a very happy Valentine’s day! We will be spending Valentine’s day with our children making some treats and fun crafts.
How will you be spending Valentine’s Day?
3 Easy Valentine’s Day Crafts for Kids
Valentine’s day is a day of love and cuddles. We like these easy DIY valentine’s day crafts you can do with your children.
Valentine Photo Hearts
What you need:
- Red, white or pink foam
- Foam glue
- Photo of your baby
- Sharpie
- Scissors – adult use only
- String
What to do:
- Cut foam in shape of heart & cut out middle. We used a scrapbook die cut for the fancy edges.
- Cut photo in heart shape and glue to the foam for the frame.
- Write message to your child’s Valentine on the part you cut out of the frame heart.
- Glue to the photo frame.
- Put string through top to hang.
- Make someone smile when you give it to them.
Tissue Paper Valentine
What you need:
- Red & pink tissue
- White foam
- Scissors
- Sharpie
- Non-toxic Glue
- Photo
- Pencil
What to do:
- Cut foam in a heart shape.
- Write message on heart.
- Glue photo of your child on the foam (we embellished with scrapbook hearts).
- Cut tissue into squares.
- Put tissue square on end of pencil & dip into glue.
- Outline heart with tissue paper.
- Make someone’s day when you give them this cute Valentine.
New Spin on the Love Frame
What you need:
- Frame
- Background paper
- Window markers
What to do:
- Put background paper in frame with message “I love you because”
- Every day have all family members write in why they love a certain member of the family.
- Switch days for each member of the family to receive frame love.
Thanks to Happily Domestic for the Frame Love idea.
What are your favorite Valentine’s Day crafts?
Fun and Easy Super Bowl Sunday Dessert
Our friends at Parenting Magazine always come up with fun recipes that will make your Super Bowl party sweet. We loved this football cake that is sure to be a hit for everyone at your party even if they are there just for the commercials.
Ingredients:
- 1 (9 by 5-inch) loaf cake
- 1 to 2 tsp cocoa powder
- Red food coloring
- 1 can (16 oz) vanilla frosting
- 6 vanilla Tootsie Rolls
- 7 white Good & Plenty
- Green food coloring
- Yellow food coloring
- 2 cups flaked coconut
- 1 Tbsp warm water
What you’ll need:
- A serving platter
- A bread knife
- A clean dish towel
- A rolling pin or a clean, heavy bottle
- Scissors or a sharp knife
- A medium bowl
To get the complete recipe, visit Parenting’s website!
What yummy recipes do you have for Super Bowl?
Parenting Resolutions for the New Year
It’s a new year, a new start, a new opportunity to start over. Many people hit the gyms, increase their vegetable consumption and resolve to improve their lives at the start of a new year.
Thankfully as parents we don’t have to wait for a new year to “start over”. Our children give us opportunities to start over every day. We may lose our patience or our wits, but the smiles and kisses from our children tell us that it is ok to start over. That being said, it is a new year. It’s 2012 so go ahead make those resolutions to eat healthier, to exercise, to spend more time as a family, to give yourself time to recharge your batteries – resolutions are good. But remember, built into parenting is the opportunity to start over every day, every hour, every minute. Let 2012 begin anew everyday with a kiss and a smile.
Happy New Year!
From our Kolcraft Family to yours, we hope you have a Happy New Year filled with love and joy. May your dreams for your family in 2012 come true!
Creating New Years Eve Noise Makers
Celebrating 2011 and the start to 2012 is a wonderful opportunity to spend time as a family. Your family can create homemade noisemakers to ring in the new year.
What You’ll Need:
- White Paper Plates
- Beans
- Crayons and or markers for decorating
- Streamers
- Stapler
Let’s Get Started:
- Children can decorate the back of the paper plate. If you like, you can also use jewels or other decorating materials.
- Fold the paper plate in half
- Add beans to the inside of the plate, however not too full, this will help it make more noise.
- Staple the edges together to enclose all of the beans
- Glue, tape, or staple streamers to the sides
- Shake, shake, shake and ring in 2012!
Easy Crafts for Kids During Holiday Break
Making a holiday wreath with one of our Kolcraft Kids
Your holiday celebrations have come and gone, but your holiday cheer doesn’t have to leave with the holidays. You and your children will have fun with this easy wreath craft that isn’t just for the holidays!
What you will need:
- Non-toxic paint
- Newspaper to cover the surface you are working on
- 2 Paper plates
- Ribbon
- Scissors (used by adult)
- Tape/ non-toxic glue
- White art paper
What to do:
- Poor some finger paint on a paper plate
- Cut white paper into a circle that is about half inch bigger than the paper plate
- Dip your baby’s hand or have your child put his/her own hand in finger paint
- Place hand-prints on white paper & rotate them around the circle to give the effect of leaves. If you want to make a holiday wreath, use red & green paints. If you want to do a New Year’s wreath use gold & silver. If you want to do a summer wreath use blue & yellow paints. Be creative!
- Let paint dry.
- Glue or tape the circle to the plate. You can fasten it with a 2-prong fastener & a sticker like we did in the photo.
- Cut the ribbon to the length you want to hang the wreath.
- Tape ribbon to back of plate.
Enjoy!
Our wreath made with one of our Kolcraft Kids
Merry Christmas from Kolcraft
To all our fans who celebrate Christmas, we wish you & your family the most joyful of seasons.
Merry Christmas from our Kolcraft Family to Yours!
5 Homemade Holiday Craft Gift Ideas for Kids
Homemade gifts during the holiday season are the perfect way for a child to show parents, grandparents, and even siblings, how important they are! These fun holiday crafts are kid-friendly and super easy!
- Photo Frame Ornament: Glue 8 Popsicle sticks together (2 per side) to make a photo frame. Adhere a yarn loop to the top of the frame and decorate as desired (we used macaroni noodles and glitter)! Once the frame is fully decorated, glue down the photo
- Calendars: Many craft stores sell blank calendars that can be filled with fun family photos and memories. For a more personalized touch, write in birthdays and anniversaries!
- Coupon Books: Creating a coupon book is a fun gift for both the child and recipient!
- Decorate a Mug: Most craft stores also sell mug decorating kits for kids. Now grandma will think of her grandson or granddaughter every morning when she drinks her coffee!
- Butterfly Magnet: Glue a small sized photo of the child’s face onto a clothespin. Using leftover paper (or even wallpaper), cut out wings and glue onto the clothespin. Finally, adhere a magnet to the back of the clothespin to finish this cute butterfly!
Once your child has made their gifts for the whole family, they can even wrap them in handmade wrapping paper. Simply take a roll of plan white or brown paper and have them finger paint, or stamp a fun holiday pattern.
Kolcraft Celebrating Holidays with Those Less Fortunate
Jessica, Mark & friends at Blair Early Childhood Center
Kolcraft is dedicated to providing families with must-have baby gear items. During the holiday season, we realize that not all families are able to easily obtain quality products for their children. Through the generosity of Kolcraft employees, we were able to donate a van full of crib mattress, potty chairs, strollers and toys to local charities.
Our first stop was at Blair Early Childhood Center, a school that provides educational programs to children ages 3 to 6 with disabilities. Karen, the school’s principal, showed us around their facility, including the herb garden the children tend to. The donated strollers will be used to transport children around, while the new toys and stuffed animals will be enjoyed by all. Kolcraft is proud to support an organization dedicated to education and enrichment of local youths.
Our next stop was at the Toy Box Connection, a local charity that provides toys, books, and even crib mattresses to organizations across the state of Illinois, and even as far away as New Mexico. When we arrived, we were greeted by Michelle Maxia, the energetic founder of Toy Box Connection. Since its inception, this organization has donated over 1 million toys and books to children in need! Our donated crib mattresses will help a local women’s shelter, while the toys will be distributed to non-profits across the state, including the Ronald McDonald House.
Kolcraft and its employees are proud to support the Blair Early Childhood Center and the Toy Box Connection this holiday season. If you are looking for ways to encourage your children to give back, check out “When Children Give Back, Everyone Wins” article from our friends at the Neighborhood Parents Network.
From our family to yours, Happy Holidays!
