Wedding Season Gift Idea

I don't know about you, but its summer, and it is wedding season.
I'm the type of person that thinks that the idea of the gift registry is phenomenal
(hey, I took total advantage of it when we got married!)
But, I also like giving origional and memorable gifts -- for any occasion!

So when I saw this adorable gifr on Pinterest from Darling Doodles, I knew that it was

a) getting pinned in my gifts board
b) It was not going in the archives, I was going to use it!

(btw: you should go check out all the other adorable stuff she has there!)

We were invited a few weeks ago to a wedding shower (aka couples shower) for my husband's superviosr. Naturally they had a registery but I didn't want to go that route.
However, I also knew that I couldn't do the "pb&j" gift basket either (they're older then the typical couples that I see getting married). I knew that it would be kind corny for them
So I thought and thought about other things that "go together"

And I came up with:
"You go together like Marshmallows & Chocolate"
and made them a S'mores basket for an "at-home" date night.

Fairly inexpersive and completely memorable!

I loaded my basket with totally adorable roasting sticks that are retractable (easy sotrage and transport!)
Graham crackers
Marshmallows
Chocolate bars
AND Reese's Cups
(if you haven't tried that yet -- you MUST. Its the whole sweet/salty/peanut-buttery thing. It's delish!)

I'm sure that I could have added in some cute cloth napkins, or lined the basket in a picnic blanket if I was thinking more clearly then (so you do that for me, OK?).

I whipped up this cute card on my computer and tucked it in.
It was a huge success of "ooohhhhs, and ahhhhhs" :)

What other combinations can you think of that would make a good gift?

P.S. I'm totally doing the PB&J one for a wedding coming up in a few weeks, for an adorable, college-aged couple!

My Inner Childhood

 

I have had the opportunity over the years to work with young girls in our church in various committees.  The girls have this fantastic effect on you...they make you feel young again!  Their energy and enthusiasm is infectious!  In deciding what to write about this week I got to thinking back on what activities we have done and what I learned or re-learned to do.  One of my favorite hobbies as a child was friendship bracelets.  Remember those?  They are a perfect craft for kids to do during the summer.  Its inexpensive and a little time-consuming so it helps with the constant "I'm bored!" mantras we all deal with in the summer.  You need three pieces of equipment...embroidery floss which you can find at any dollar store, scissors, and a safety pin to attach it to a pant leg or pillow (or clipboard) to give that all important tension.  There are a ton of websites online that teach how to make them.  Everything from the classic chevron or diagonal to how to put your name (of the name of your BFF!) on them!

http://www.how-to-make-jewelry.com/friendship-bracelet-patterns.html

this is a good site for basic patterns and learning how-to

 http://friendship-bracelets.net

this site has every bracelet under the sun!

and there are tons of other sites that all have fun and fascinating ideas for you to try out!

I hope you  have fun rediscovering the joys of childhood with your kids doing this fun, easy and inexpensive craft!

Summer: A Plan of Attack

Summer break will soon be upon us.
Sooner then any parent would like to think or even believe!
I feel that a little structure makes for a much more enjoyable and fun summer break.
In fact, structure might be too rigid a word for some -- lets say a plan of attack.

I want my boys to have a fun summer that isn't full of playing video games or watching tv.
However, I still want them to be engaged and to have a little bit of education oportunities to stimulate their brain so that they are ready for the next school year, come fall.

I did a whole post on my summer routine for a friend of mine last fall, if you want to read more, you can visit my home blog at the Peterson Party Page. There I break down what I did every day with my boys during the summer. Including a morning devotional (of sorts) and the workbooks I used.

Below is the books that we will be using this summer.
Summer Bridge books are amazing (and I've actually been surprised that the boys teachers' haven't heard of them).
You can purchase them at almost any bookstore or educational supply store and even online from the publisher itself.

The worksheets take very little time (so the kids aren't dreading doing some school work every morning of summer break) and they are one sheet front & back of spelling, math skills, reading, fitness....the creators did a spectacular job with these books.

I am taking it one step further this summer.
Now, you might be thinking that I'm a little too organized for your taste if I already have my schedule ready for the summer.
The reason that I am, is because I know that if I don't begin planning and organizing my summer now, I won't get it done and then I'll listen to "I'm bored" all afternoon, every afternoon. And I'll kick myself for not being more prepared for the summer.

So I won't mentally kick myself I have done a little scrounging on Pinterest and other websites to create a daily schedule of an extra thing to do each day -- mostly during #3's naptime (at least the "at-home" activities are.).
I've planned a different day for a different activity: games, science, crafts, cooking, library & or field trip.
I've also included the website I found the activity on so that I didn't have to write out all the instructions (if they were long), or where I needed to reserve something.

If you would like to create your own, I found the template in Word, in the template menu under "planners" and just inserted everything you see here.

If you would like a copy of your own in PDF format, click HERE.

If you would like a copy of your own in Word format, click HERE.

(fyi: this document is only for the 1st five weeks of the summer, if you want all my summer activy scheduling, contact me and I will send it to you)

The most important thing for a active, fun summer is flexibility.

I will also be making room in our schedule for musical theater camp for #2,

swimming lessons for #1 & #2,

and some camping fun.

Have a fun summer and make some great memories with your kids!