25 Questions of Christmas - Moms game

If your group has a website meeting page or is on Facebook, this is a great way for the moms to get to know each other and have some fun!  Post this on your message board requesting each member copies the questions and answers them...very easy and is fun to do:
1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?


2. Real tree or Artificial?


3. When do you put up the tree?


4. When do you take the tree down?


5. Do you like eggnog? 


6. Favorite gift received as a child?


7. Do you have a nativity scene?


8. The hardest person to buy for?


9. Easiest person to buy for?

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?


11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?


12. Favorite Christmas Movie?

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree?

17. Favorite Christmas song?

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year?

23. Favorite ornament theme or color?

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner?

25. What do you want for Christmas this year?

Snow Dough Playdate!

Let's Make Snow Dough!!!

Let's make snow dough and celebrate winter together! The kids will enjoy playing with snow dough while making snow shapes and creations.

Create with us! If your child isn't old enough to play with snow dough, come hang out with us any way.

One little snowflake with nothing to do.

Along came another and

Then there were two.

Two little snowflakes laughing with me.

Along came another, and

Then there were three.

Three little snowflakes looking for some more.

Along came another, and

Then there were four.

Four little snowflakes dancing a jive.

Along came another, and

Then there were five.

Five little snowflakes having so much fun.

Out came the sun, and

Then there were none!

Link to Family Fun Recipe

Your kids don't have to wait for an actual snow day to have some wintry fun. Just whip up a batch of this sparkling white play dough. Younger tots will enjoy squishing the clay, while older siblings might like using small twigs, dried beans, and tiny carrot sticks to create Frosty and pals. Other useful props: cupcake wrappers, colorful beads, paper drink umbrellas, egg carton cups, and snowflake cookie cutters.

Materials

1 cup flour
1 cup water

1/2 cup salt

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

2 tablespoons white tempera paint
1 tablespoon white or iridescent glitter

A few drops of peppermint extract (optional)

Instructions
To make a batch, combine all of the ingredients except the peppermint extract (if using) in a medium-size pan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture holds together, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.

Turn the play dough onto a waxed paper–lined counter to cool, about 15 minutes. If you like, knead in peppermint extract for a festive holiday scent. Store the cooled play dough in a ziplock bag in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Gingerbread Man Playdate

Run, Run, as fast as you can, you can't catch me...

I'm the Gingerbread Man!

The hostess will have the cookies made and ready to be decorated. Just bring a something you would like to add to your cookies. We will have extra for the kids to bring home and leave out for Santa on Christmas Eve.

Some ideas for decorating:

M&M's

Reese pieces

Tube Frosting...PLEASE include the color in yor RSVP.

Red Hots

Wafers(Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry)

Licorice

This will be lots of fun! I hope you can come!

Create Your Own Advent Calendar Playdate

An advent calendar contains reminders each day that Christmas is coming. Advent is a term from the Latin word adventur which means "arrival". The advent officially begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas.

Each December, families begin to decorate their homes, inside and out. They get out the special Christmas dishes to use during the holidays. The Christmas photo album is proudly displayed for all to enjoy. The favorite Christmas stories and books are set out. 

An advent calendar begins the time of anticipation. The house is filled with Christmas music and the sweet smell of baking. It is truly a time of preparation and joy.

Your hostess will have Santa Advent calendars for the kids to color and decorate.  The kiddos will take home their calendars along with cotton balls to fill in their calendar.  After they are done with their craft its time to PLAY!

The hostess will provide some snacks but feel free to bring something to share along with your little ones sippy cup.

Space is limited so RSVP for yourself and include how many kiddos will be attending in the comment portion of your RSVP.

Activity: Santa Craft Advent Calendar

The second version of the craft (print template 1a with calendar days December 1 to 25) is a Christmas Activity Calendar and
(print template 2a - with 24 days for an Advent calendar)

These calendar versions offer the opportunity to write and plan family, child care, and preschool activities for each day and
write them under the day number.

The calendar is a great way to preserve what happened during the holidays. It also makes a cute gift for children to make for friends and family. For a simpler activity for toddlers (18 months and older) it can also be used to simply glue a cotton ball on each day as Christmas approaches.

Below are some examples of 2-3 word activities that can be written and fit in the limited space and adults can help the children plan and write them:

Bake cookies, call Grandma/pa, wrap presents, skating or skiing day, snowman fun, make paper snowflakes, sing Xmas songs, play group day, show & tell day, Xmas video night, read ___(Title of a book),  etc.

Kid's Christmas Card Exchange - Virtual Event

I know my kiddos light up when they receive a letter or package in the mail.

What little one doesn't?

It's time to do our annual Kid's Christmas Card Exchange. If you would like to participate all you have to do is RSVP "Yes" and email your mailing

address to the hostess.

In the first week of December the hostess will send all the participants a list of the kids and their addresses.

Once you get the list, help your little one fill out Christmas cards for their friends and drop

them in the mail! 

Please do not RSVP Yes unless you are committed to sending Christmas cards to all the participants.

Happy Holidays!

*What is a Virtual Event? 

These are events that have no meeting time or place.  They occur in your own home at a time you choose.  When you RSVP Yes you are saying your going to do it, its like your own little reminder.  Once finished, share your experience with the group!

Christmas Sticker Exchange

Let's celebrate with stickers!

Meet for a fun afternoon of holiday sticker swapping and playtime! Everyone needs to bring some of their favorite Christmas stickers to share with their friends!

Each child will have a sticker book to collect their favorites in. When you RSVP, include your little one(s) name so that the book can be personalized just for them!

Stickers and playtime - what else can we do? Oh yes, please bring a snack to share with all. Don't forget sippy cups for the kiddos! Please post in your RSVP the snack you will be bringing & any allergies.

Join us for a *STICKY* good time!

  

For the hostess:
You can buy sticker books at Dollar Stores or 99cent Stores.  These are also easy to make on your own using basic white paper and wrapping paper covers.

Personalizing can be as easy as writing with a Sharpie or you can buy alphabet stickers.

COOKIES FOR SANTA - Decorate Your Own Cookies

Let's decorate cookies for Santa! The hostess will provide the cookies, all you have to do is pick an item below to help with the decorating! All the kids can enjoy a cookie or for their snack and be able to bring home a couple to leave out for Santa on Christmas Eve. Before and after we can play!

Some ideas for decorating:

M&M's

Reese pieces

Tube Frosting...PLEASE include the color in your RSVP.

Red Hots

Wafers(Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry)

Licorice

Plastic baggies for taking home for Santa

This will be lots of fun! I hope you can come!

If making cookies is something you love to do, then this event is for YOU! You can make them or we can also purchase plain baked sugar cookies from the grocery store for the kids to decorate. 

Please contact our groups organizer to you pick the time and date that works best for your family...as well as how many children you would like to have over.

Hostess's are taken on a first come basis, Thank you in advance for opening your home to us to come and play!  



Hand Print Keepsake Holiday Ornament

This is going to be a great

holiday tradition!

When picking out your ornament to decorate, remember your kiddos handprint will be on it so make sure the texture is smooth and a solid color.

Ornaments can be found at Dollar Stores and major retailers.

We'll spray it with a sealant so it'll be a bit more hardy to water and such.




Supplies you'll need:
Solid color ornament (plastic is safer if you can find it)
White tempura paint
Red, Green, Blue, Orange, Yellow, Purple, Blue tempura paints.
Sharpe pen or permanent black marker
Ornament hanger to let hang while drying

Step 1
Dip your child's hand in white paint. Let them grip the ball then release. Let completely dry.

Step 2
You can be as creative as you'd like with decorating the snow people. I like alot of colors so I make each scarf a different color and alternate the colors of buttons.

Step 3
Using your permanent marker, draw on a top hat, coal eyes, button mouth or a big smile, and stick arms.

Step 4
Using the permanent marker or a glitter glue pen, personalize with the year, name of kiddo, or and season greeting.

I found some big plastic ornaments at the local Dollar Store that all 3 kids could fit a handprint on! We make one for each set of grandparents for Christmas gifts.

Tips
Tempura is washable so if you need to wipe off a print when your kiddo couldn't resist playing with the fun texture of paint and the gloss ball - you can as many times as you need to! With my toddlers and baby I let them get the squishies out of their system before I do the real print, I have a wet towel on hand for when they're done and clean up the ball. Then its just a quick grab of the ball and their done!

Snow Globe Playdate

Tired of doing the Baby Jar snow globes? Here's a great alternative that not only looks much better then the baby jars, but the entire project is Under $4!

Description of Playdate:

Who can resist shaking a snow globe? My kids surely can't!

Due to my kids love of shaking these containers I'm suggesting we do something a bit more sturdy then the basic glass baby jars. Bring a fun plastic container to convert into a big snow globe!

*We found ours at the local Dollar Store - they had tons of varieties to choose from.

We also found a 4 pack of ornaments that will fit perfectly in the container as well as some glitter to use as snow.

Cost of craft $4

How to make inexpensive snow globes

What you’ll need to have on hand for the moms or ask them to bring with them:

• Decorative plastic container - We found ours at the Dollar Store
• Small ornaments - We found a 4 pack at the Dollar Store as well
• You can use super glue, a hot glue gun, or aquarium sealant
• Glitter to resemble snow
• Glitter for the floor covering
• *If you wish to personalize any of the ornaments, bring a waterproof pen
  
  

How to make this craft:

Step One:
Clean out the container and decide the placement of the ornaments.

Step Two:
Apply your glue to the bottom of the ornament and hold in its chosen place till dry. With super glue it took about 90 seconds. The bottom of the container I chose was not flat so I was very careful that all was fully dry and able to stand on its own. Continue to do this with any additional ornaments to be placed in the globe. We chose three.

Step Three:
Have the glitter you chose for the flooring open and ready for sprinkling. Apply glue to the bottom inside of the container then quickly sprinkle the glitter in. *If your using super glue, or any toxic glue for that matter, make sure your in a well ventilated area and do not get your face close to the opening. The chemicals are being increased in the container as the project progresses, a simple exhale from you sends all that right back to your face and eyes!

Step Four:
Fill the container with water.

Step Five:
Pour in the glitter you chose to use for snow. The amount depends on your preference. You can easily put in small amounts, put the lid on and shake to see if you at your desired level of “snow”.

Step Six:
Once you happy with the amount of snow in your container its time to seal it. Apply your glue of choice to the entire rim and place the lid on. Let dry.

It doesn't take long to dry so this a craft the kids can take home with them!

*If your using super glue, or any toxic glue for that matter, make sure your in a well ventilated area and do not get your face close to the opening. The chemicals are being increased in the container as the project progresses, a simple exhale from you sends all that right back to your face and eyes!

Foot Print Penguin Keepsake Plate

Playdate Description:
Tis the season to start painting your little ones hands and feet for keepsakes as gifts for the grandparents...and for ourselves!

Bring a plate of your choice to this event and we'll create a very cute Penguin Footprint!

We found plain plates as well as a couple with seasonal borders at our local Dollar Store. These plates are purely decorational so please inform the reciepent to not use this in junction with food!
This is also a perfect craft for any of you moms with more then 1 or 2 kiddo's!

What you will need on hand or to ask the parents to bring:

• A plate to decorate
• Glitter Glue Pens in Red, Gree, and Orange- I've found these at Walmart, the Dollar Store, Michaels, and Target
• Acrylic Paints in Black, White, and Orange - also found at Walmart, Dollar Store, Michaels, and Target. I use Folk Art.
• Google eyes
• Super Glue for the Google Eyes

*Tip: You will want to start this craft immediately to allow for drying between coats and to let the final touch of glitter glue to dry as well.

How to do this craft:

Step One: Paint your kiddo's foot black and make an impression onto the plate. You will most likely need to "fill in" some blank areas since our kids arches are perfect, unlike most of ours! Let the paint completely dry. This doesn't take too long.

Step Two: Using the white paint fill in an oblong circle to show the penguins tummy.

Step Three: While the white paint is out, dip the tip of your pinky in the white and create the brim of the penguins hat with your pinky impressions. Let completely dry.

Step Four: Glue on the googlie eyes.

Step Five: Using the orange glitter glue or paint, dry on a triangle beak. Let dry.

Step Six: Using the glitter glue, draw on a hat in whatever color you choose.

Step Seven: Using the glitter glue make any notes on the plate - Seasons Greetings, Happy Holidays, etc....

Here is an example of footprints on a plate minus the border:

I saw this idea on a friends blog who also has a ton more fun ideas!

Fun Handprint Art