Printable

The Most Memorable Way To Give Kids Their Presents

My sister, Becca, is probably the most creative and sentimental human being that I have ever met.

She always amazes me with her thoughtfulness and the energy she spends to create special memories for our kids.

When we get our kids together she is always preparing fun snacks, special crafts, itineraries of special events, and much more.

Well, she started a tradition with all of the kids just two years ago that the kids now anticipate and remember more than any other tradition: a scavenger hunt to find their toys!

The kids were so attentive to figure out their next clue!

So, my awesome sister buys small toys/trinkets, writes riddles for the scavenger hunt, and has the kids play outside while she sets up all of the gifts. Another sister, Ali, is also a PHENOMENAL gift-giver so she loves to help with the shopping and setting up of the gifts as well.

I asked Becca if she was okay with today’s printable being this year’s riddles and she was glad to share it. So, HERE is the riddle if you want to print it and use it OR just use it as a guideline to make your own.

Here is an example of one of the riddles in action:

And here is the play-by-play of this year’s scavenger hunt:

1) Favorite Bible Stories Coloring Books on the playroom table.

2) A piñata hanging in the backyard.

3) Nativity Magnets and birthday blowers in the kitchen.

4) Candy Canes in the bedroom.

5) Presents under the tree in the living room.

December 22, 2013 by Jessica | 1 Comment

Favorite Christmas Traditions

I made a printable to piggyback this morning’s post…. you should definitely go back and read it if you haven’t had a chance!

Or, you can always “Pin It” and save it to read later. 😉

I made a journal template for Christmas traditions so that you could help your kids write out their traditions as a keepsake, but I decided that I am going to print one for myself.

I want my kids to get to see what my childhood traditions were so they could learn a little and yes, even compare the traditions from my childhood to theirs.

So, here it is:

Oh, and Stick these in a folder or binder with sheet protectors so you can always add pictures later!

December 21, 2013 by Jessica | 0 comments

Get Ready For Winter {Printable}

Tomorrow is the first day of winter.

I know that this is true, but if I walk outside of my Louisiana home right now I could easily work up a sweat.

Still, I was excited to get ready (a day early) and have my kids paint the letters that spell out WINTER and display the season in our playroom over all of our Christmasy art.

Winter Letters

Is Christmasy a word? I use it a lot.

I printed this printable and pulled out my paints.

We painted the letters “W” and “T” dark blue.

We painted the letters “I” and “E” light blue.

And we painted the letters “N” and “R” gray.

I deemed these wintry colors.

Is wintry a word? I don’t have time to “google” this stuff y’all.

You could probably back these letters to construction paper to make this even cuter, which I might do when my life slows down. Don’t wait up.

HERE is the printable

December 20, 2013 by Jessica | 0 comments

When You Don’t Have Time For Gift Tags

I love labels. I have a pack of multi-purpose labels (sheet of 30) that are 2 5/8″ x 1″ that I use for a lot of things.

I use them to print addresses so that I can quickly peel and stick before sending out Christmas cards.

I use them to label my kid’s stuff (like school supplies).

I will now use them in place of gift tags because I can either pre-make them with a little cute “To:” or “From” by editing my PDF and inserting a text box OR I can simply write my little message on the labels.

Every printer is different so it may take a second to make sure these line up properly. I think I choose “Fit” and “Borderless.”

Another reason this is my printable today is because your child can write on these and it’s okay if he/she messes up a few times to get it right.

These could also be the perfect way to give classmates or neighbors gifts. Stick a little label that says “Stay warm, but stay cool” on the outside of a box of hot chocolate. Or, stick one that says “I just popped in to say Merry Christmas” on a package of Pop Corn.

You get the idea. Enjoy!

This printable is included in my membership but I sell it for just 50 cents HERE if you would rather.

This printable is on my “Seasonal Printables” Page under the members page.

December 19, 2013 by Jessica | Comments Off

Great Last-Minute Christmas Gift From Kids

I’m excited about today’s printable, but I’m even more excited to see what you artsy people will do with it.

If you use this Christmas Gift Template SHARE your child’s finished work on our Facebook page because our favorites will get a free link to their choice of Member-only Christmas Printables or playroom labels of your choice. 😉

I made a template as a gift for Grandparents:

And for parents:

But if you e-mail me with a specific request (aunts and uncles, cousins, special grandparents names like MeMe and Poppy etc.) I may be able to help out.

Casey had the idea to: take a crayola marker and paint your child’s thumb red and do thumbprints at the end of every line (tree branch)… make little “ornaments” out of the thumb prints. You could make them all red, or do different colors. Turn it into a thumbprint tree 🙂

My friend Allie had the idea to possibly have her kids paint this and modge podge it onto a small canvas.

I am thinking I might have my kiddos decorate it and place it on a frame with a clothespin glued onto the top so that the art could be interchangeable. I got the frame idea from Allie when I visited her playroom – I’ll post pictures when I make that happen!

Whatever you come up with, don’t forget to SHARE your work so that we can feature our favorites here (updating this post) and offer you our Christmas Printables or Playroom Labels for free!

December 18, 2013 by Jessica | 0 comments

The Mommy Teacher