6 Fun Family Activities You Can do This Valentine’s Day
In my early years of motherhood, Valentine’s Day was just another day with a quick store bought Valentine’s card and a few pieces of candy. My heart wasn’t into it. However, the past couple of years I’ve come to love this day and make it more memorable. Not by buying more candy or giving more gifts, but by spending quality time with the people I love and showing them how much I love them.
I’ve put together 10 activities you can do together as a family to make this day more memorable. You definitely don’t need to do them all. Pick and choose the ones that would fit your family. Have fun planning the day. Hopefully we can make Valentine’s Day 2021 a fun year to remember.
- Fun Valentine’s Day Breakfast. Start the day right with a creative breakfast. In years past, we have made pancakes, put a little pink food coloring in them, shaped them into hearts and then put whip cream on them, topped with berries. It’s actually a pretty simple, yet yummy breakfast.
- Scavenger hunt. Set up clues around the house for a fun scavenger hunt. You can make this as detailed as you want. You can either put treats or kind notes at each spot, or nothing at all, just have them find the clues to the end where you can have a final treat/toy/surprise. My kids LOVE this.
- Candy Gram. Did you ever get these growing up? My parents would make these for us when we were kids and we loved them! Try making a fun candy gram for each kid or even your spouse and tell them how much you love them using yummy candies. Here is one example with some printables as well.
- Spend Quality Time Together. If you have a favorite activity to do as a family, make it happen! If you don’t, try playing some games together. Get out those board games and card games and play together. Put away your phones and really talk with the family. Kids can notice when they are getting full attention! Make it happen.
- Make Valentine’s for Friends & Neighbors. Growing up we would always make Valentine’s, put them on our friends doorsteps, ring the doorbell and then RUN! It was always so fun and a little terrifying. I’ve noticed no one does that anymore. However, this year would be a great year to do a little door bell dashing to your friends. Who wouldn’t love a little surprise on their doorstep? Think about some older people in your neighborhood. I’m sure they would love this.
- Make Chocolate Fondue. Chocolate dipped strawberries are typical for a yummy Valentine’s day treat. Why not make them from home? If you don’t have a fondue maker, buy one now on Amazon and it will be here in time for the big day. Grab some Rice Krispy treats, marshmallows, pineapple, strawberries, raspberries, bananas, and pretzels to dip in the chocolate. This would be a great way to end off the night.
Benefits You Need to Know about the NEW Walmart + Program
Move over Amazon Prime, this new program is in town! Walmart has this awesome NEW Walmart + program where you can save big time on everything from shipping to gas in your car. Right now they are offering a FREE 15 day trial to Walmart + which is an awesome time to test it out. The benefits include the following:
- FREE next day & two day shipping on items from Walmart.com. No order minimum required.
- FREE delivery from your store. You can get groceries & more delivered as soon as today, at the low prices you love. There is a $35 minimum. Restrictions apply.
- Check out with your phone as you shop in-store.
- Save 5¢ per gallon at Walmart & Murphy stations. Plus, access member prices at Sam’s Club fuel centers.
For payment you can either pay $12.95 per month for Walmart + or you can save some money by paying $98 per year. Which is an awesome savings. Test out the 15 day trial to Walmart + first to see how you feel and then you can sign up! I HATE paying for shipping. So to get my groceries AND shopping items delivered to my home for FREE would be a total game changer. I’m going to try this out. Let us know what you think!
5 Delicious Soups to Keep You Warm This Winter!
How are you handling the cold this winter? It seems like it’s been cold for so long and if it’s going to be cold, I believe there needs to be snow, am I right? Well we’re making it through this winter with these yummy soups my family has been enjoying! Soup is definitely a go to when it’s chilly outside or when we’re looking for something light. So here are 5 yummy soup recipes you can try over the next couple months.
- Creamy Sausage Tortellini Soup by The Recipe Critic
- Chicken Potpie Soup by Kitchen Dreaming
- Copy Cat Zupas Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup by Chef in Training
- Creamy Chicken Enchilada Soup (a go to for our family)
- Chicken Wild Rice Soup by Little Spice Jar
5 FREE Exercise Videos You Can Do at Home
With a pandemic going on, it’s hard to go to the gym or other small spaces to exercise. I’ve found a few fun exercise videos that I can do in my home for FREE. They get me sweating just like I would be doing in a room full of people. Check these out!
- High Fitness. This is one of my favorite high intensity work outs. I do it a few times a week and love the music as well as the great workout.
- Blogilates. This channel has a good variety of workouts and stretches. So if you want some more low key and stretching, this is for you.
- Fitness Blender. I love how down to earth this couple is. I love how you can pick a video that will focus on the part of the body you want to focus on. Choose some for your abs, upper body, butt, high intensity and so much more.
- Yoga with Adriene. If you want to focus on yoga, then try this out. I love how she has quick 20 minute stretches or more intense options too. Yoga is so good to help your body and mind.
- Madfit. If you have some fitness bands, then try this out. She has a few different short and sweet videos that use bands and give you a great workout. If you want some bands, you can buy some here!
15 Quarantine New Years Day Activities to Do with Your Family this Year
This year is 2020 the year of the global pandemic. Are you ready to ring in a new year? I sure am! However, we need to be careful so we don’t spread more of the virus to our friends and family. We can stay home and still have a wonderful New Year. That’s what we are planning to do this year. Here are 15 things you can do this New Years Eve!
- Dress up and have a photo shoot.
- Have everyone pick a favorite appetizer and have those for your lunch.
- Make personal pizzas for dinner- loaded with everyone’s favorite items.
- Play games via zoom with friends and family.
- Have a dance party to favorite songs of 2020. Do you have a strobe light? You can totally include this.
- Make New Years resolutions/Vision Boards, but make it fun! If you have kids, get posters and have them print out pictures or color pictures that goes with their goals. Then hang them up in their room so they have a visual reminder. You could totally do that in your room too.
- Play classic board games with each other.
- Pop the Balloon hour by hour games. This is where you put games or activities on a piece of paper. Put them in a balloon and blow it up. Tape the balloons around the house. Then, starting at whatever hour you determine, you pop one balloon each hour or half hour and you do what it says in that balloon. Then you pop the next one and so forth. This is fun for kids to keep them busy until it’s time for bed!
- Watch a movie together.
- Make a festive dessert that you can enjoy during the evening.
- Make noise. If you have pots and pans, then that’s all you need! Go outside and bang those pans, your neighbors will enjoy it too!!
- Silly string. When the new year chimes in, then get that silly string out and go have a party with string. Fun way to ring in the new year.
- Outdoor time. Being inside all of the time can be hard. Plan something to do outside, even it it’s short. Go on a walk, go sledding or biking.
- Pajama party. If you’d prefer not to dress up, then get in your pajamas and relax the night away together.
- Watch the ball drop at Time Square. They will be doing it virtually this year without crowds. Tune in to ring in the new year!
Easy Cake Mix Cookie Recipe- Perfect for Santa’s Christmas Eve Cookies
I love making cookies, especially at this time of year. I turn on a little Christmas music and get baking. I had to share with you one of my most favorite cookie recipes. These cake mix cookies are AWESOME. What makes them awesome? They are fool proof. Seriously. It requires little ingredients, not a lot of time, and they turn out great! You can also make them with a variety of cake mixes and add in different candies, chips and sprinkles. YUM! Kids can even help with this recipe. I like to have them help me with these cookies for Christmas Eve. Then we leave a few out for Santa. I hope you enjoy these as much as our family does.
Ingredients:
1 Package Dry Cake Mix of your choice
1/3 Cup Oil
2 Eggs
Directions:
Mix all ingredients together well with a fork or spoon. Roll balls into 1-1 1/2 inch balls. Place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Don’t over bake. Once they start to crack on top they are done!
**You can mix and match cake mixes and add ins. Try making a devils food cake mix with mint chocolate chips. You can also get a vanilla or lemon cake mix and add in sprinkles or butterscotch chips. Try a chocolate cake mix and add in crushed peanut butter cups. There are so many different ways to make these and they are always yummy!
Fun & Easy 12 Days of Christmas Ideas (Starts Dec. 13th!)
Every year when I was growing up, we would do the 12 Days of Christmas to a few neighbors. I always thought I would get caught. However, I don’t think we ever did! Now that I’m a mom, I realize how much this service meant to those neighbors. This year, since we haven’t been able to see a lot of friends and neighbors, whey not do a secret 12 days of Christmas to them? I’m sure they would love it. This version is super simple and has some fun items to give. Feel free to change it up and add your own in. These ideas might get you started!
12 Days of Christmas Ideas:
- 1st Day of Christmas your secret friends give to you…. a partridge in a pair tree. (Can of Pears or a basket of fresh pears)
- 2nd Day of Christmas your secret friends give to you… 2 Turtle Doves (Turtle Chocolates or Dove chocolates or Dove soap)
- 3rd Day of Christmas your secret friends give to you…3 French Hens (Chik fil A gift card, or Chicken Noodle Soup cans)
- 4th Day of Christmas your secret friends give to you… 4 Calling Birds (Gold Fish Crackers, or phone accessories, you can find examples here)
- 5th Day of Christmas your secret friends give to you…5 Golden Rings (Ring Pops, Pineapple & slicer)
- 6th Day of Christmas your secret friends give to you…6 Geese a-laying (Cadbury Cream Eggs, Egg McMuffin Ingredients)
- 7th Day of Christmas your secret friends give to you…7 Swans a swimming (…in Sprite, or Coke, or Fanta, you could also give a bath bomb or bath bubbles)
- 8th Day of Christmas your secret friends give to you…8 Maids a Chocolate Milking (Chocolate Milk)
- 9th Day of Christmas your secret friends give to you…9 Ladies Dancing (iTunes Gift Card, Just Dance Game if they have a gaming set, CD for any favorite artist)
- 10th Day of Christmas your secret friends give to you… 10 Lords a-Leaping (…over cookies- you can make or buy any cookies, you could also get jump ropes)
- 11th Day of Christmas your secret friends give to you…11 Pipers piping (Licorice, fun drink straws, long pretzels)
- 12th Day of Christmas your secret friends give to you…12 Drummers Drumming (Drumsticks Ice Cream bars, or a cute Little Drummer Boy Ornament or book found here)
Candy Cane Cookie Recipe
Have you ever made these cookies before? If not, you should totally do it this year with your kiddos or friends! Each Christmas season, my mom would make these with my sisters and myself. It’s a fun memory. They are super easy and kid friendly. Give them a try!
Candy Cane Cookie Recipe
Recipe & Picture by Princess Pinky Girl
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter (softened)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure peppermint extract
- 1 ¼ teaspoons clear vanilla flavoring
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon red squeeze gel color
Instructions
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Using a stand mixer, or a handheld mixer and a large mixing bowl, on medium-high speed, cream the unsalted butter for 1 ½ to 2 minutes.
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Reduce the mixing speed to low, and add the granulated sugar, cream of tartar. Increase the mixing speed to medium and continue to mix for 2 to 3 minutes or until the shortening mixture is fluffy.
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Reduce the mixing speed to low and add the peppermint extract and clear vanilla flavoring.
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Keeping the mixer speed low, slowly add the baking powder and all-purpose flour a ½ cup at a time. Continue mixing just until the flour is well incorporated and no visible streaks of flour are showing.
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Divide the cookie dough into 2 equal dough balls. Return 1 dough ball to the mixing bowl to be colored red. Cover the dough ball that is to be the white part of the candy cane cookie and place it in the refrigerator.
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Add the ½ teaspoons red gel color to the dough that is left in the mixing bowl. Using the mixer on low speed, add the red coloring into the dough until it has a uniform color and no white streaks are visible. Place the red dough in a medium-size bowl and cover the red dough and refrigerate for 1 hour.
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Just before removing the dough from the refrigerator, preheat the oven to 350* and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
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Using a ½ tablespoon measuring spoon, scoop out the white and red dough balls. Roll each into a tight round ball, to make sure the dough rope holds its shape.
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Cover your counter or a cutting board with a sheet of parchment paper. (This is to keep from staining the counter or cutting board red) Use your hand to roll the white and red dough balls into 5 inch long ropes. It is very important that your hands stay cool while you are rolling the ropes.
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Lightly press the bottoms of the 2 ropes together. Carefully and with light pressure, twist the ropes together. Be sure to keep the ropes rounded and do not flatten them out.
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Place the twisted rope onto the prepared baking sheet and curve the rope tops into the candy cane crook. Repeat the dough ball and twisting process with the remaining dough. Place the cookies 2 inches apart.
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Bake for 7 minutes.
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Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for 10 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack. Store in an airtight container.
Easy & Yummy Vanilla Steamer Recipe
My kids found a recipe for Vanilla Steamers and begged to make it. I agreed and they started to make it. The outcome was actually really good. It’s a good change from the traditional hot chocolate. This recipe has simple ingredients that you most likely have in your home as well. Enjoy this yummy Vanilla Steamer this winter season!
Homemade Vanilla Steamer Recipe
Recipe & Picture by Premeditated Leftovers
- 1 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- whipped cream (optional)
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- Add milk, vanilla, and sugar to a microwave-safe coffee cup. Stir to combine.
- Heat the milk in the microwave for 1 minute. If it is not warm enough, heat for an additional 15 – 20 seconds, but avoid letting it reach a boil.
- Top with whipped cream if desired.
5 Fun Things to Do on a Quarantined Thanksgiving Day
This Thanksgiving will definitely be different than years past. If you’re like us, you will be celebrating the day with those in your own home. Even though you won’t be surrounded by family and friends this year, there are still some fun things you can do. Here are 5 things you could do to make this Thanksgiving a good one!
- Set up a virtual time to be together with your family. You can do this while you are actually eating your meals or before or after. You can play games together online or just talk with each other. It’s so nice we have this ability to see and talk with each other even when we aren’t in the same house.
- Watch the Macy’s Day parade. YAY! I’m so glad that this tradition will still be going on. There will not be any people lining the streets as in years past, but you can still see the fun floats and balloons and hopefully a few performers.
- Turkey bowl. If it’s decent weather where you live, then get outside and start up a turkey bowl, or football game. It can totally be a low key one if you have just a few people in your home. Play flies up, or go on a turkey run/walk/jog. Anything to get your outside and moving.
- Make Mini Pies together. Since you won’t be making big pies to share with a lot of people, why not make your own mini pies for everyone in your family? Each person can choose which kind they want and make their own! check out Sweet Chatter to get a good idea how to make these.
- Shop online. This is a great year to do all of your Black Friday shopping online. Deals will start (again) on Thanksgiving night. So be sure to follow us on Instagram and Facebook so we can help you get those items checked off your list!
20 Fun Indoor Winter Activities for the Kids
It’s that time of year when it’s too cold to comfortably play outside. My kids tend to gravitate towards screens when they are getting “bored” and they say there is nothing to do. I’ve decided I need to make a list of things that the kids can do inside the house. There really is a lot for them to do, but they need options. So here are 20 fun things to do inside this winter!
- Create a treasure hunt around the house.
- Bake something new
- Create a new playlist with everyone’s favorite songs and have a dance party
- Attempt a science experiment and learn something new
- Tie Dye party- here are some instructions on how to tie dye.
- Board games or card games
- Play doh – everyone create a scene and share it with everyone else
- Make salt dough ornaments for Christmas this year
- Create a time capsule – have each person find something that represents 2020 to them and write down their thoughts on 2020.
- Built a pillow and blanket fort
- Draw portraits of each other
- Cosmic Kids Yoga
- Build an obstacle course around the house- you could even play hot lava with it
- Color in coloring books and turn on some classical music
- Make a thankful jar
- Play hide and seek or sardines
- Put on a play with costumes and accessories
- Have an indoor picnic
- Face time grandparents or cousins that live far away
- Pictionary- either on paper or you can do it with LEGOs- be creative!
How to Make a Christmas Countdown Chain Using Your Halloween Candy
Now that Halloween is over, do you have a TON of candy? What do you do with it? How do you minimize the intake of sugar for your kids? Here is a great way to solve all of your questions- Make a Christmas Countdown Chain! This chain seriously saves me from kid tantrums and tears. Instead of them asking every 10 minutes if they can have another piece of candy, they know that they get one piece a day and each day means it’s closer to Christmas! It does take some time, but the kids can help you out! Here’s how you do it:
Supplies you need:
Plastic Wrap
Ribbon or Yarn- cut into strips long enough to tie
Scissors
Halloween Candy (# depending on when you start your chain-days to Christmas.)
Directions:
Stretch your Plastic Wrap out and keep it straight. Don’t cut it off until you are completely done. Tie Ribbon on the end and add in your first piece of candy. Next you’ll want to wrap the plastic wrap around the candy and twist the end a few times so the candy doesn’t fall out. Then add another ribbon. Repeat this step until you have all of your pieces in your plastic wrap. End the chain with another ribbon-twisting before you tie. That’s it!
Tips:
#1: If you have more than one child, consider using different colors of ribbon or yarn for each kid. That way they know which chain is theirs just by looking at the color.
#2: Remember to twist the wrap after each candy, otherwise they tend to fall out.
#3 If you don’t have enough pieces to go all the way until Christmas, consider going until Thanksgiving or even through the month of November. There can be different ending times, depending on the amount of candy you have.
5 Fun DIY Halloween Desserts/Crafts to do with your Kids
This year since a pandemic is raging around our country, Halloween will be a little different. We might be staying indoors and surrounded by our own family members. I was trying to think of some fun things for the kids to do this Halloween and I think I found them! There are TONS of super cute dessert and craft ideas that you can make with the kids this year. I’ve narrowed it down to 5 that I love. Hopefully these will be a favorite for you too!
- Halloween Peanut Butter Spider Cookies. These look super easy to make and chances are, you’ll have these items in your home already to make! If you don’t have the candy eyes, you could totally use chocolate chips or sprinkles. You can check out the recipe here by Mommy Musings (photo above by Mommy Musings as well).
- Mummy Dogs. These are seriously the easiest and most kid-friendly meal ever. The kids can help make it and dinner is ready! You can check out the easy way to do it here by Home Made Interest.
- Spider Headband Craft. If you guys have not made this before, then you totally need to. It brings me back to my childhood when we made these in school. I have yet to see my kids make them! So grab your construction paper and make these fun headbands. My littler kids are going to love it! You can find the instructions here by Fantastic Fun and Learning.
- Monster Rocks. For the older kids, this would be a fun activity. My older boys love to create monsters and faces so this would be perfect. You could make a whole family of monsters! You can find the instructions here by Inspiration Edit.
- Carving Pumpkins. This is definitely a tradition in the family. Did you know there are FREE stencils that you can use? Check out these 35 different pumpkin stencils that you can print out for free and use this Halloween. This is my kind of carving!
7 Low-Risk Activities to do this Halloween
This year will be a little different than past years for Halloween. Getting together in big groups and having large parties is high risk and one to be avoided this year. The CDC has come out with lists of low, medium and high risk activities for 2020. If you want to stay safe, here are 7 Low-Risk activities that you can do this Halloween, they are fun too!
- Carving or decorating pumpkins with members of your household and displaying them
- Carving or decorating pumpkins outside, at a safe distance, with neighbors or friends
- Decorating your house, apartment, or living space
- Doing a Halloween scavenger hunt where children are given lists of Halloween-themed things to look for while they walk outdoors from house to house admiring Halloween decorations at a distance
- Having a virtual Halloween costume contest
- Having a Halloween movie night with people you live with
- Having a scavenger hunt-style trick-or-treat search with your household members in or around your home rather than going house to house
You can read all about the level of risks here at CDC.gov.
Super Easy & Yummy Pumpkin Sheet Cake Recipe
I absolutely LOVE the Fall season. Pumpkins, pumpkin spice, pumpkin cake, what’s not to love? One of our favorite recipes for the Fall is pumpkin sheet cake. It’s super easy to make and it feeds a lot of people. My kids even request this over and over again. It’s definitely a crowd pleaser. YUM!
Pumpkin Sheet Cake Recipe (Picture & Recipe by Six Sisters Stuff)
Pumpkin Cake:
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 15 ounce can pumpkin puree
- 2 cups flour
- 3 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 cup butter softened
- 1 8 ounce package cream cheese
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 3 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
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Spray a half baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
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In a mixing bowl, combine eggs, sugar, vegetable oil, and pumpkin puree until fully incorporated.
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Slowly add the flour but continue stirring to avoid lumps. Mix until well combined.
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Add the cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda and salt and mix until well combined.
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Pour the batter into prepared baking sheet and spread in an even layer.
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Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until set and let cool completely.
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For the frosting, cream together butter and cream cheese in a mixing bowl until fluffy.
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Add vanilla and powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
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Spread frosting over the cake and sprinkle cinnamon on top, if desired.