healthy food, lifestyle, travel, & everyday moments.
Just dropping in to wish you and yours a very happy Thanksgiving! We have a full long weekend planned visiting with friends, cooking (sweet potato casserole and gluten-free pie), two Thanksgiving dinners, getting our Christmas tree and celebrating a big birthday. Hoping your holiday is full of love and busyness/peace… whichever you prefer, or maybe a bit of both 🙂
xx Claire
I am a minimalist. I also have four kids, three of whom are not minimalists (the other one is three weeks old, so I’m not sure about his aesthetic yet). My olders love their toys, books, art supplies, random bits and bobs they’ve accumulated from birthday parties or the dentist’s office, school crafts… an endless array of things that are meaningful to them. C’est la vie!
However, we are six people in a four-bedroom house–and Eric works remotely, needing a full-time office space–so space is limited. To this end, and given our generous extended family, we realized a few years ago that we needed to cut back on gifts (both given to our own kids, and things we all receive). The stereotypical American Christmas is focused on the presents, but we needed and wanted something different.… Read More »
In defense of cheap or “junky” Easter basket fillers, I loved getting that type of gift in my baskets growing up. Light-up pens, scented erasers, keychains, tiny notepads, rubber balls, etc. My sister and I were hyper-organized kids who appreciated all those little treats and used them up.Â
My children? They’ve barely met a plastic toy they haven’t broken within a month. Tiny things get lost underneath the sofa, in the car or washing machine. They’re not trying to be destructive, but they play hard and it shows with cheap toys. Then they’re sad when something is broken beyond repair and needs to be tossed. So I try not to buy things that will end up in the trashcan sooner rather than later.… Read More »
We had our first snow a couple of weeks ago in Minnesota, so it’s safe to say that winter is on the way. How better to celebrate than by reading all the little kids winter books? (Non-lyrical Christmas music is allowed in our household, but nothing truly holly jolly until after Thanksgiving… idk why, it’s just the rule!)
I think we’ve read every book about the seasons and different holidays at our library. We are huge fans of Jan Brett (not so much Beatrix Potter–some of those are a little creepy). My olders also love books about the natural changes that take place as the seasons change, especially when we can get outside and see it in action later!… Read More »
The holidays are busy enough for everyone. Then you have kids, and 97% of December is spent putting on jackets and boots, packing up snacks and sitting in the car rushing from activity to activity. By the time January arrives, it feels like you’ve completely missed the holidays with all of the busyness.
So what’s a parent of littles to do?!
Here are our best tips for making the most of the holiday season with little kids. And by “the most,” I don’t mean “cramming in as many festivities as humanely possible.” I mean how to really enjoy the beauty and peace of the season, whilst still attending the events that are important to you.… Read More »
