Last year we made the decision to tell our oldest child the truth about Santa.

He had been asking a lot of questions about how Santa delivers gifts to everyone and noticing little things, like how the Santas at stores and parties looked slightly different from each other. He was 7 1/2 years-old, and we decided it was probably time.

I wrote him a letter to read on his own, and then we sat down together and had a little chat. He cried a little bit, and it took him a few days to process, but then he was on board and excited about becoming part of “Team Santa” for his little sister and brother.

Making the decision and knowing how to tell your child the truth about Santa is big. Not every child is ready at the same time, and not every child will take it the same way.

With that in mind, I want to share some tips to help other parents know how to tell your child the truth about Santa, including when to know when your child is ready, and how to actually tell them the truth.

How to Tell Your Child the Truth About Santa

When do you know they’re ready?

Every child is different when it comes to being ready to know the truth. Some kids get told by friends at school or older cousins while playing together. Some kids are more mature than others, and some are more skeptical and realistic.

We told our son last year when he was seven, and this year our daughter is seven, but she is absolutely not ready to know the truth. Every child is different.

If your child has been pestering you with questions about Santa, his operation, how reindeer can’t fly, or what Santa does for kids who don’t have chimneys, it might be time.

It’s also important to consider if your child will be able to keep the truth a secret. Will they blab to little brothers or sisters? Will they immediately tell everyone at church? They need to be mature enough to trust not to tell people who aren’t ready to hear the truth.

When you tell your child, make sure that nobody can interrupt and little siblings won’t overhear. Do it somewhere they are comfortable and somewhere you can give them your full attention. I know I’m sort of being dramatic, but it’s a big deal and you don’t want the memory of telling them you’ve been lying for years to scar them for life.

How do I tell them? What do I say? What comes next?

Now that you know when to spill the beans, it’s important to know how to tell your child the truth about Santa.

First, you need to decide if you’re going to say yes or no to the question “Is Santa real?”. I know that sounds like an obvious question, but there are two ways of looking at it.

You could tell your child that no, Santa is not real, and that parents buy presents and pretend that Santa brought them. Or you could do what we did, and says yes, Santa is real, but Santa isn’t a jolly, bearded man in a big red coat. We told our son that Santa is not one single person, but a team of people who work together to make Christmas magical. Specifically, we said “Santa is lots and lots of people who keep the spirit of Christmas alive. He lives in our hearts—not at the North Pole. Santa is the magic and love and spirit of giving to others.”

Next, you need to explain why you’ve lied to them for years of their life. Emphasize that it wasn’t to trick them or be mean, but believing in Santa teaches them about the magic of Christmas, giving to others, and believing in something they cannot see or touch. It’s just a fun way to celebrate, and a way to make the season more special.

Answer any questions your child has, and prepare for tears and to give them time to process the truth. Our son sat on the sofa in shock for a while, and then it wasn’t until the next day that he realized what it truly meant, and that’s when the tears flowed. It also helps to make sure you and your spouse are on the same side, so you can tell them together and comfort them during this truth bomb (because honestly, that’s what it’s going to feel like to your child).

The biggest thing that helped our son adjust when we told him that we and many other people play the part of Santa is to welcome him to the Santa “team” and let him help make Christmas magical for his younger siblings and friends. Our son loves helping hide our Elf on the Shelf, and when we go see Santa at the store, he plays along. He even writes a letter to Santa, and helps his little sister and brother with theirs. After the initial shock of finding out the truth about Santa, playing along for his siblings and joining “Team Santa” has helped him understand the why behind Santa.

Sample letter to help you tell your child the truth about Santa

Before I wrote our letter to our son, I read a few different ones other people had written. I took some ideas from other letters and then added a few of my own. I thought it might be helpful for you all to see what my letter said.

Here’s what I wrote in our son’s letter:

Dear J,

You’ve asked us a few times if Santa is real, or if it’s just Mom and Dad. We know you want to know the truth, and we had to give it careful thought to know just what to say.

The answer is yes, Santa is real, but he is not just one single person. 

Mom and Dad are the ones who fill your stockings and choose and wrap the presents under the tree—just as our parents did for us, their parents did for them, and you will do for your kids someday.

This could never make any of us Santa, though. Santa is lots and lots of people who keep the spirit of Christmas alive. He lives in our hearts—not at the North Pole. Santa is the magic and love and spirit of giving to others. What he does is teach children to believe in something they can’t see and touch. You need to be able to believe in things you can’t measure or hold in your hands.

So now you know the secret of how he gets down all of those chimneys on Christmas Eve. He has help from all of the people whose hearts he has filled with joy.

With full hearts, Mommy and Daddy take our turns helping Santa do a job that would otherwise be impossible. We are not Santa, but no one person is. Santa is love and magic and happiness. We are on his team, and now you are, too. It’s important to keep this magic alive. Now that you understand, it’s up to you to give the gift of believing in Santa to your little sister and brother, friends, and one day, your own kids.

We love you so much, and we’re excited to have you on the Santa team.

Love, Mom and Dad

I hand wrote the letter and saved it in his memory journal so he can look back at it one day when he’s grown up. Plus, writing it out made it feel more heartfelt than if I had typed it. But that’s just me. You are absolutely allowed to type it out and give it to your child (whatever is best for your family!).

It can be scary and anxiety-inducing to tell your child the truth about Santa. They may be mad at you for a while, but they’ll adjust and be just fine. And honestly, when your child helps keep the magic alive for friends and siblings, it can be even more special than them thinking Santa comes down their chimney on Christmas Eve.

Good luck, mamas!

The post How to Tell Your Child the Truth About Santa appeared first on Life With My Littles.

I received free product in exchange for this post. This post also contains affiliate links.

Over the eight years I’ve been blogging, I’ve put together quite a few gift guides. I have a gift guide for two-year-old girls, a Cricut gift guide, a non-toy gift guide for kids, and a gift guide for moms. I’ve written a few gift guides specifically for new moms, and I even have a new dad kit gift basket.

But there’s one age group I haven’t ever done a gift guide for, and ironically, it’s one I buy gifts for every Christmas–grandparents!

This year that ends. I’ve decided to put together a list of unique and meaningful gifts for grandparents, because if you’re a parent reading this post (which 90% of the people who read my blog are), then you’ve likely got some grandparents (aka, your parents or in-laws) that you will be buying gifts for this Christmas, and I want to help you out.

Gift Guide for Grandparents

Grandparent Balloon Art Gift DIY

Like I mentioned last week, this is what we got my parents last year. It’s just a super cute visual representation of all your parents’ grandchildren. And lucky for you, I put together a cut file and free tutorial so you can make your own! So this is a great cheap option for grandparent gifts!

Promptly Autobiography Journal

I’ve been a fan of Promptly journals for a long time, and I love their Autobiography Journals. Writing about yourself can be a challenge, but the autobiography journal contains guided prompts so you can get all the details down! It’s broken into different sections (birth, childhood, teenage years, young adult years, adult years, and golden years), and besides all the lovely writing space, there are places for pictures, too! I wish my own grandparents had filled out these journals before they all passed away. It would be so fun to go back and learn little details!

Promptly is having their Black Friday sale starting TODAY! It goes for a week, and you can get 15-40% off their products! So make sure you check that out while you’re on their site!

Digital Picture Frame

There are tons of options for digital picture frames on Amazon. The Aluratek Digital Photo Frame has tons of five star reviews and is only $40. If you want a fancier frame, the Nixplay Digital Photo Frame has WiFi so you can share photos with it via an app or e-mail. It also has a ton of five star reviews, but it’s pricier, at $175.

Photo Session with Grandkids

Another great gift for grandparents is a photo session with their grandkids! If you live close, this is an easy one, and if all the grandkids are spread out, this would be such a fun surprise! My parents always love getting pictures with their grandkids, and a professional session would be a gift they’d treasure for years!

Puzzle of Grandchildren

We did this last year for my mom, and it was such a cute gift! I love using Minted to make photo puzzles because they have tons of cute layouts so your puzzle can be more than just a flat picture of your children. If you have a new baby in the family, this confetti puzzle would be such a cute one to gift!

Grandparent Membership Pass

If you live close to your parents or in-laws and they love going places with your kiddos, this would be a great gift. A lot of zoos and museums offer grandparent membership passes where the grandparents are the membership holders and any grandkids under 21 can get in with them. If a year-long pass isn’t something you think would be utilized, you can also just get one-time tickets for them to go with their grandkids!

Tickets to an Event

Along the same lines, you could get grandparents tickets for them and their grandkids to go to a fun event! A sporting event, the theater, a concert, Disney on Ice (our personal favorite!), a special train ride, or anything else fun coming to your city (or theirs!). You could even plan a whole trip to visit them around the tickets!

Materials for their Hobbies

Grandparents have to have hobbies, right? So get them materials for their hobbies! My dad is big into coin collecting, so we’ve gotten him books and coin cleaning things before. Painting supplies, seeds for the garden, fishing lures (Mystery Tackle Box is a fun subscription box for fishers!), puzzles, books, yarn for knitting or crocheting, quilting materials, or anything else they may be interested in.

Blanket or Sweatshirt with Grandkids’ Picture

Another personalized gift that would be fun would be a blanket or sweatshirt with the grandkids’ picture on it! My friend recently told me that her husband’s family would gift their grandpa a sweatshirt with a picture of his grandkids on it every year, and I thought that was so sweet! You could do a blanket with a big picture on it, or even a pillow! It will be a constant reminder of the cute little people in their lives.

Custom Socks

The last wonderful gift on this list is the gift we’re getting my dad for Christmas this year–custom socks! Printify is a company that has a bunch of blank clothes and items that you can personalize. I had my kids draw pictures for their grandpa and then I uploaded them and put them onto a pair of socks! I chose the sublimation socks, and it was super easy to design and order them.

I love all of the ideas on this gift guide for grandparents, and I’d happily gift them all to my own parents (in fact I have gifted some of them!). Hopefully, as you make your Christmas lists this year, one or two of these gifts will stand out and you’ll be able to gift the grandparents the perfect Christmas gift!

The post Gift Guide for Grandparents appeared first on Life With My Littles.

This post contains affiliate links.

Last year for Christmas, my sister and I pitched in together and got our parents the cutest handmade gift. It was a silhouette of grandparents holding a bunch of balloons, one for each of their grandchildren. My mom especially loved it, and as I’ve been thinking about gifts to give this Christmas, the balloon silhouette gift kept coming to the front of my mind.

I also didn’t want to spend a ton of money to have someone make one for me, and since I own two Cricut machines, I knew I could probably figure out how to make it on my own.

Cricut Design Space had three different grandparent options that were perfect, but none of the balloons looked right for this project. So I decided to draw them myself!

I drew a few balloons, uploaded them to my computer, and imported them into Design Space, and they turned out great!

As a side note, I love uploading my own designs on Cricut Design Space. You used to not be able to do that, and it’s a huge game-changer now that you can. Anything is possible!!!

Anyway, this DIY grandparent balloon art project is really simple, and you can easily make one in less than an hour with the help of your Cricut Explore Air 2.

Ready for the tutorial? Of course you are. That’s why you’re here!

To start, pull up the project on Cricut Design Space. Click the “customize” button, not “make it.” You have to personalize it before you can start cutting!

Like I said, there are three couples, so choose the set that looks most like the grandparents you are making your gift for, and delete the other two.

Now either delete some of the balloons, or copy and paste them so you have enough balloons for all the grandchildren.

Choose what colors you want the balloons to be, keeping in mind that you don’t want to use paper so dark that you won’t be able to write the names on them. You can do one color for boys and one for girls, one color for each family, or just a combination of colors that look good together. It’s up to you.

To add the names on your balloons, you first have to detach the name from the balloon. To do this, select the first balloon and press detach in the bottom right corner.

Now double-click the name and change “NAME” in the text box to the name of the first grandchild.

Recenter (or resize, if needed) the name in the middle of the balloon.

Select both the name and the balloon and attach them together by pressing “attach” in the bottom right corner.

Repeat that step for all the balloons you need.

Once you have your balloons ready to go, it’s time to cut! Press “make it” at the top right, and get all your supplies ready. You’ll need to make sure you have the right size of cardstock set on the left before you begin.

You can use either a light grip or standard grip cutting mat, or you can use Cricut’s awesome new Smart Paper Sticker Cardstock and then you’ll get to skip the glue altogether.

Make sure you have your pen in the machine before pressing go, otherwise you’ll skip writing the names!

After each piece is cut, you’ll need to take it off, very delicately. The best way to do this without ripping the balloon strings is by using a scraper from the basic tool set. Be very gentle, don’t rush it, and if you do rip the string, you can still try to glue it on so it looks alright.

After your machine cuts all the balloons and the grandparent silhouette and you’ve taken them off your mat, you can assemble the picture.

Start by deciding where you want to put your grandparents. I put mine in the bottom left corner. You don’t want to glue down the grandparents until all the balloons are glued down, but you do want to make sure you know where all the balloon strings are going to meet in the grandparent’s hand.

Take a pencil and make a tiny dot under the hand where they are going to be holding the balloons. This will be key when you glue down the balloons.

Decide how you want to arrange your balloons on the paper, and then start gluing them by beginning with the balloons that will be at the top first. Some of the lower balloons may need to cover the strings, so you want to do those last.

The easiest way to glue your balloons down is to use a disappearing glue stick. Put some glue on the balloon part, then very gently run the string over the top of the glue stick.

After all the balloons are glued down, glue down the grandparents. Pop it in a frame and you’re done! You just made your very own handmade grandparent balloon art gift!

Grandparent Balloon Gift DIY

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Active Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Grandparent balloon art gift you can DIY and give this Christmas! All you need is some cardstock and a Cricut machine to make the perfect, personalized grandparent gift.

Print

Materials

• Colored Cardstock
• Black Cardstock
• 8x10 White Cardstock

Tools

• Cricut Explore Air 2
• Basic Tool Set
• Black Pen Set
• Glue Stick

• Standard Grip Mat (choose one)
• Light Grip Mat (choose one)

Instructions

1. Open Cricut Design Space file.
2. Choose the grandparent set that looks most like the grandparents you are making your gift for, and delete the other two. 
3. Make sure you have enough balloons by either deleting some of the balloons, or copy and paste to make more.
4. Change balloon colors to match cardstock.
5. Select the first balloon and press detach in the bottom right corner.
6. Double-click "NAME" and change it in the text box to the name of the first grandchild.
7. Recenter (or resize, if needed) the name in the middle of the balloon.
8. Select both the name and the balloon and attach them together by pressing "attach" in the bottom right corner.
9. Repeat steps 5-8 for all the balloons you need.
10. Press "make it" at the top right.
11. Load pen, load paper, and press "go" on the machine.
12. After each piece is cut, you'll need to take them off, very delicately. Use a scraper and be very gentle.
13. Assemble your picture by first deciding where you want to put the grandparents. Take a pencil and make a tiny dot under the hand where they are going to be holding the balloons.
14. Decide how you want to arrange your balloons on the paper, and then start gluing them by beginning with the balloons that will be at the top first. Some of the lower balloons may need to cover the strings, so you want to do those last.
15. After all the balloons are glued down, glue down the grandparents.
16. Pop your picture into a frame and you're done!

There are also two other variations of the grandparent balloon art that I want to mention.

If the grandchildren you’re making balloons for can write their own names, letting them personalize their own balloons might add a special touch to the gift.

Also, if the thinness of the balloon strings keeps throwing you off, you could also cut the balloon strings off with scissors and just draw the strings with a black pen.

I hope your own grandparent balloon art gifts turn out great, and I’d love to see them! Tag me on Instagram if you share them! Merry Christmas, mamas!

The post Grandparent Balloon Art Gift DIY appeared first on Life With My Littles.

Over the last few months I’ve been going through our baby things and slowly getting rid of things. We’re 100% sure we’re done having babies, and while it’s sad that the baby part of our lives is over, we’re happy knowing our family is complete.

But as any parent knows, babies amass quite the collection of stuff. Our storage closet was literally full of things our kids had grown out of.

As I started going through our kids’ old things, I realized that it was going to take more than just a weekend to get rid of everything. Some things I could sell, some things I could donate, and some things just needed to go in the trash.

If you want to get the most out of your old baby things, you’re probably wondering where to turn. Luckily, I’ve gone through it all and I’ve got a helpful guide so you know what to do with used baby items!

What to Do with Used Baby Items

What to Do with Used Baby Clothes

The thing we had the most of was baby clothes. We only have one girl, so everything she’s grown out of in the last six years was just sitting in storage tubs downstairs. And as for our boy clothes, some of them didn’t last through two boys, but we still had a lot that both of them had worn and we didn’t need anymore.

Keep

I’m pretty sentimental, so when I was going through all the clothes, I chose a few special outfits to keep. What I do with them in the future, I’m not sure, but pieces like what my babies wore coming home from the hospital or some of my favorite outfits, I just couldn’t get rid of. I have a special bin for each of my kids, and along with other special mementos, I decided to keep a few of their baby clothes in there.

Sell

Some of the clothes we had left were nice enough to sell. The easiest way to sell baby clothes is either through a garage sale or through a second-hand clothes store like Once Upon a Child or Kid to Kid. You could post them to Facebook Marketplace too, but that seemed like a lot of work with the amount of clothes we had.

Donate

Donating is what I did with most of our baby clothes. We got a lot of baby clothes for free when our babies were little, and I wanted to pay it forward and donate clothes to other mamas who might need them.

How you donate your baby clothes is up to you. You can either give them to friends who have babies or younger kids, donate them to a women’s shelter, or give them to Goodwill.

Recycle

There’s always a few outfits that are torn or stained from baby food or spit-up, and while you could throw those away, the better option would be to recycle them. I just googled “textile recycling near me” and a whole list of places came up.

What to Do With Used Car Seats

Car seats are kind of a tricky thing to get rid of. You shouldn’t donate or sell a car seat unless you’re 100% sure it’s never been in an accident. I personally would never take a used car seat from someone, just because you never know if it’s been compromised. You can’t drop them off at Goodwill, because they don’t accept used baby equipment, and that includes car seats.

Donate

There may, however, be a way to donate your car seat still. I googled “car seat recycling” and I got a lot of local resources about donating car seats. They did have some restrictions, though (like the car seat can’t be older than five years and it can’t have been in any accidents).

Trade-In

The best way to get rid of an old car seat is to trade it in. Target offers car seat trade-in, usually once a year. You can bring your used car seat to your local Target and trade it in for a coupon for 20 percent off a new car seat, stroller, or select baby gear.

Walmart also offers car seat trade-in one a year, and they give you a $30 Walmart gift card that can be spent on anything in return. However, they do not accept booster seat trade-ins (Target does).

Recycle

Some places can recycle your car seat if the above option don’t work for you. The website recycleyourcarseat.org has different links for different states, so you can check there and see if you can recycle your old car seat anywhere near you.

What to Do With Used Baby Equipment

There are lots of options for getting rid of baby equipment like cribs, high chairs, bouncers, strollers, diaper pails, swings, or changing tables. And depending on what type of equipment you’re getting rid of, some options are easier than others.

Sell

If your baby equipment is pretty gently used, selling it is a great option. I sold most of our old baby equipment via Facebook Marketplace, and that was easy. There are also second-hand baby and kid stores that accept used baby equipment. You can get some decent money back when you sell things, too!

Donate

Like I said before, Goodwill won’t accept used baby equipment, but you can give it away to friends or neighbors, or you can try calling local women’s shelters and see if they’d be able to take things.

Recycle

For anything that’s been through multiple kids and you can’t sell or donate, you may have to recycle them. This gets kind of tricky. Sometimes they’re made of different materials so you can only recycle parts of them, or you may have to take them apart in order to recycle them. Call your local recycling service and see what they’re willing to take. And heads up, sometimes they require a fee to recycle baby things.

What to Do With Used Baby Toys

Keep

If you have any special toys, like a favorite stuffed animal or action figure or something, that’s totally okay to keep. I have my favorite stuffed animal from when I was a kid and now my kids all take turns sleeping with it. Just try to be very minimal with anything you keep.

Sell

Some baby toys you could probably sell for a few dollars. The easiest way to do this is to have a garage sale. Posting them online is going to be a lot of work for not very much money.

Donate

Lots of places accept used toys, like Goodwill, preschools, churches, or charities. As long as they’re in good condition and still work, donating used baby toys is a great option. In some cases, you may need to call ahead and make sure they’re accepting donations, but if it’s like Goodwill, just drop them off.

Recycle or Trash

If the toy is broken, super worn, or generally not in good condition, you should try and recycle it. If you can’t, just toss it.

What to Do With a Used Breast Pump

I looked into selling and donating my breast pump, but there were health restrictions on doing this. So unless you go some back-alley way outside of Facebook Marketplace or Goodwill or something, your’e going to have to recycle your used breast pump (even though that does seem like a huge waste).

Recycle

Some breast pump manufacturers (like Medela) will recycle the pump unit part of your breast pump if you send it in. You do have to pay for shipping, but if you want to be responsible, this is what you should do. The rest (like the breastshields, connectors, tubing, or bottles) should be recycled through your local recycling program.

What to Do With Used Books

Keep

My parents kept a few of my favorite books from when I was a kid, and I really enjoy reading them to my kids now. Especially the ones that aren’t super popular that probably won’t be around in 20 or 30 years.

Sell

You can of course try to sell used baby books. The best way to do this is probably in a garage sale. But there are also websites and stores that buy used books, so you could try that, too!

Donate

I actually haven’t gotten rid of any of our old baby books, but when my kids do outgrow them, I plan on donating them. You can donate books to Goodwill, a library, schools, or a local charity. Books for Africa is a charity that sends books to Africa (obviously). You can send them via mail, or they have a few drop-off locations in the United States.

Recycle

Books are 100% recyclable, so if you have books that are so well-loved that they’re falling apart, recycle them!

What to Do With Used Pacifiers

Trash

Unfortunately, there’s nothing you can do with used pacifiers but throw them away. They shouldn’t be reused because they can harbor bacteria, so just toss those babies when you’re done with them.

What to Do With Used Feeding Supplies

I’m including things like bottles, burp rags, sippy cups, and baby spoons, plates, and bowls in this category.

Sell

As long as things have been sanitized, it’s fine to sell these things. I’d recommend selling bottles somewhere like Facebook Marketplace, and everything else is more likely to sell at a garage sale. And you’re probably not going to get much from anything other than bottles. Especially if they were pricey to begin with!

Donate

All of these things can be donated to Goodwill, as long as they meet CPSC’s current standards and haven’t been recalled. Women’s shelters would probably also accept sippy cups, bowls, plates, and spoons, as long as they are in good condition.

Recycle

If any of these things are broken, cracked, or just not usable anymore, recycle them. Burp rags can be recycled as textiles and if your bottles, sippy cups, spoons, plates, and bowls are made of plastic, they can be recycled, too!

Is there anything I didn’t cover? I’ve been through all of our baby bins, and I think I mentioned everything I found here!

What are you motivated to get rid of now? I hope you have fun! And now that you know what to do with used baby items, if you’ve caught the decluttering bug, make sure you head to my post with an on-your-schedule declutter challenge printable!

The post What to Do With Used Baby Items appeared first on Life With My Littles.

It wasn’t until the last few years that I’ve realized how much I enjoy connection with other people.

I used to think of myself as very introverted, and I am, but I’ve discovered that talking to friends frequently and feeling the bonds of sisterhood really bring me joy (as cheesy as that sounds).

Of course right after I’ve embraced this about myself, this whole pandemic happens and hanging out with friends becomes forbidden.

Luckily, there are still ways to stay connected with friends and family when you’re stuck at home. If you’re struggling to feel connection with other adults like I have been the last month, here are some ideas to help:

Ways to Stay Connected When You’re Stuck at Home

One-on-One Video Chat

FaceTime, Google Duo, or Skype are all great ways to video chat with friends when you can’t see them in person. I’ve called a few friends on FaceTime and it’s been great to see their faces and check in on them!

Phone Games

I don’t usually play games on my phone, but I do like ones where you can play with people you actually know. My sister and I play the game called Draw Something, kind of like pictionary, and it helps us feel connected even though we’re far away.

Netflix Party

Have you heard of the Netflix Party? You can watch synchronized Netflix shows and movies with people in your own homes! There’s a group chat so you can talk about what you’re watching, host long-distance movie nights, and binge shows together! If you normally get together regularly and watching things, this is a way you sort of still can!

Marco Polo

Marco Polo is an app that my family tried to get me to download for a few years, but I didn’t until we got stuck at home last month. Basically you send short videos back and forth, you can watch them in real time, and you can add filters or change your voice. It’s kind of like a video chat but you can watch the videos at your leisure so you can have conversations all day long and actually see your friends’ faces!

Google Hangout or Zoom Meetings

If you want to talk to multiple people at once (like your family or a group of friends), try using Google Hangouts or Zoom meetings! You can even use a virtual background if you have a plain background or a green screen behind you. I’ve done this a few times with friends from church, and even though we were having meetings, it was still so good to chat with each other!

Drive By and Say Hi in the Car

Just because you can’t get closer than six feet doesn’t mean you can’t still see each other in person! So hop in your car and drive to their house or to a park or something and just chat in your cars! You can even have a car picnic and eat lunch in your own car while talking!

Mail Letters

I know this takes a little longer, but getting handwritten letters is so fun! Decide to become temporary pen pals with someone and send letters back and forth! It’ll brighten your day when you get their responses and help you feel connected!

There are lots of ways to stay connected with friends and family, even if you can’t be closer than 6 feet away! It’s a bummer and it’s definitely weird to not be able to get closer than that, but it’s not going to be forever!

If you’ve been feeling isolated and lonely, try one or two of these ways to stay connected and reach out to your friends. I bet they’re feeling the same way!

Check out the other posts in my Stuck at Home series here:

• 36 Things to Do With Kids
• 35 Things to Cook With Kids
• 10 Things to Watch with Kids
• Working From Home With Kids

The post Stuck at Home: 7 Ways to Stay Connected With Friends and Family appeared first on Life With My Littles.

UPDATED FOR 2021 WITH 2021 CALENDAR LINKS!

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Remember the little chocolate advent calendars from childhood where you’d open a tiny little paper door each day in December and behind it would be a small little chocolate, usually in the shape of something Christmasy?

I know they still exist (we’ve done them with our kids before!), but advent calendars have really stepped up their game in the last few years! From socks to toys to books, there’s really an advent calendar for every interest and age these days!

Back in August I pre-ordered the Disney: Storybook Collection Advent Calendar, and last week, it showed up! Mamas, we haven’t even started it and I love it so much! It’s huge, great quality, and has 24 mini Disney storybooks inside from our favorite Disney movies. We already peeked at number one and it’s 101 Dalmatians!

Today, I thought it’d be fun to share some other awesome unique advent calendars that I found online, both for kids of all ages and interests! No disrespect to the classic chocolate advent calendars (we might grab a few of those this week, too), but these ones look like so much fun!

19 Unique Advent Calendars

Disney: Storybook Collection Advent Calendar

Crayola Christmas Countdown Activity Calendar

Play-Doh Advent Calendar

LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar

Paw Patrol Advent Calendar

Barbie Advent Calendar

The Office 12 Days of Socks

Lindt Bear Advent Calendar

Hot Wheels Advent Calendar

Disney Pixar Cars Advent Calendar

24 Days Christmas Advent Calendar with Fashion Jewelry

Bonne Maman Mini Fruit Jams and Spreads Advent Calendar

Harry Potter Holiday Magic Advent Calendar

Chocolate Kisses Candy Filled Advent Calendar

Funko Harry Potter Advent Calendar

Thomas & Friends MINIS Advent Calendar

Funko Pokemon Advent Calendar

Sweetapolita Sprinkle Advent Calendar

Funko The Office Advent Calendar

LEGO Marvel The Avengers Advent Calendar

I also want to note that there are a bunch of awesome sock advent calendars at Target right now, and you can find more online, too. So if none of these spoke to you or if you just want to do socks for everyone in the family, that’s a fun advent calendar idea, too!

Hopefully at least one of these unique advent calendars will work for your family. I honestly wish I could buy several of them (maybe one year!), but I’m 100% happy with our Disney Storybook Collection calendar. I can hardly wait to start reading the stories each night with my kids!

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I’ve always wanted to find a meaningful way to show gratitude during November, but haven’t ever found something that has actually turned into a tradition.

I once tried filling a jar with paper slips that had things we were grateful for on them, but that only lasted one year. I’m definitely not perfect.

I love the idea of doing a gratitude tree, but actually using real branches and hanging paper leaves on them isn’t very kid-friendly. That would probably last a few days in our crazy house.

So instead, I decided to make a paper gratitude tree! But there was still the problem of making a tree big enough that we’d be able to add leaves to it until Thanksgiving. There’s five of us (assuming our two-year-old participates), and a wimpy little tree printed on letter paper just won’t cut it.

Last year I made a giant bucket list for December (instead of an advent calendar) I printed it on 18″x24″ poster paper at Office Depot. It was perfect!

So I sat down and drew my best tree, scanned it into my computer, and printed it off at Office Depot (I found a coupon code that made the price only $20), and voila! The cutest gratitude tree I ever did see!

I loved it so much that I wanted to share it with you all! I think it’s a great visual representation for kids to see how much we have each to be grateful for.

You can download your own giant printable gratitude tree below. And please remember this is for personal use only.

Now as far as the leaves go, I used my Cricut to cut them all out. But I know not everyone has a Cricut, so I’ve also included a printable of leaves you can print on colored paper and cut out yourself. And if I was you, I probably would skip the stems if I was hand-cutting all of these!

I hung our poster up downstairs in the kitchen, and I can’t wait to fill it all up over the course of November! I’ll include a picture of our full tree after Thanksgiving (scroll down to see it!), but for now, enjoy our staged version!

One last little note. If your kids can’t write yet, have them draw things they’re grateful for! Gratitude has no age limit, so you can use this even if your kids just scribble!

Update: Our gratitude tree was a huge success! It was so fun to recognize all of our blessings each night and it certainly brightened up our kitchen!

I’m definitely going to do this again next year!

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Since my oldest finished kindergarten this year, this is our first real summer vacation.

Sure, we enjoyed summer and did fun things last year and the year before that and every other summer before, but this year it feels more important that we maximize our time together and enjoy the break from school.

Before school ended, I wanted to come up with a simple schedule that would give us things to do so my kids weren’t complaining that they were bored and so that I didn’t lose my mind a week into summer vacation. But I didn’t really like the traditional summer schedules (Make It Monday, Take a Trip Tuesday, that kind of thing). I wanted it to be more relaxed and less strict.

So I sat down and wrote out several different activities that we could do, and figured we could just do them when we wanted. No particular activity has to be on a certain day, (which is nice because sometimes you can’t go swimming on the same day each week), and my kids can help decide what we do every day.

At the start of the week, my kids and I decide what we want to do that week. We plan out a week at a time and choose one fun thing a day. Sometimes it’s a big day trip and sometimes it’s something a lot easier and faster. But we try to do one fun thing a day, and only one thing a week that costs money. 

Here’s our list of activities on our simple summer schedule:

1. Bake/cook something

Either cookies or something from a kids’ cookbook like this or this

2. Make a craft or do an activity 

I usually find something from Busy Toddler that they can do

3. Water play

Swimming, a splash pad, running through the sprinklers, or water balloons

4. Field trip

This is usually somewhere that costs money like the zoo, an indoor playground, a trampoline park, a museum, or a day trip (these are good to do on rainy days!)

5. Visit a new or favorite park

6. Movie

Go to the theater, the drive-in movie, project a movie on the side of the house, or have a movie marathon inside (another good rainy day activity!)

7. Library

8. Service activity

These 11 ideas are great for kids

9. Special treat

Like going to get ice cream, cupcakes, donuts, or cookies

They’re pretty simple ideas, but planning them out and picking one to do a day gives the kids and I something to look forward to. And since most of them don’t take all day, we usually do a walk or a bike ride or go to a close park in the afternoon when my youngest wakes up from his nap. My kids also usually color or do their school workbooks while I make dinner. Or play outside (they do that a lot, too!).

If you wanted, you could even write them on popsicle sticks and put them in a jar and have your kids pick out a different activity each morning. Or get a big dry erase calendar and write out activities for the whole month. Seriously, whatever works for you!

Sometimes we have late nights, sometimes we go to bed on time (my kids wake up at the same time either way). The whole point is to make the most out of summer vacation and not to feel like you HAVE to do a specific thing every day. Flexibility is key! 

And I know this isn’t like a super fancy detailed post, but I figured it might help out some mamas who are already struggling with trying to find something to do each day this summer. It works for toddlers, preschoolers, or elementary-aged kids. Probably middle school, too, but I don’t have one of those for a while 🙂

I actually had a different post scheduled to go up today, but wanted to share this since we’ve been having so much fun with it! I hope it helps! Happy summer, mamas!

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Growing up, my family went camping a few times each summer. We’d load everything up into our car, drive up in the Rocky Mountains, set up camp, and have a great time. Sleeping bags, s’mores, hikes, and board games were a big part of my summers growing up. 

It wasn’t until we started camping with our own kids last year that I realized how much work it is to go camping with kids! It’s like packing for a vacation but EXTRA. You have to bring and cook all your own food, plan your activities, set up your own shelter, and keep everyone safe and warm. It’s hard, but it’s so much fun, too.

We went camping over Memorial Day weekend this year, and this time we even brought our new puppy, Penelope. It was a lot of fun, (even if we went home early!) and it sure was exhausting! Worth it for the memories, though! 

If you’re planning on going camping with kids, here are a few tips to help make it easier and more enjoyable for everyone!

Tips for Camping with Kids

1. Do a test run in your backyard.

We weren’t able to do this this time, but growing up we would camp in the backyard a lot, and I totally get why now! It’s so easy to test it out, see how your kids do, and make sure you know what you need to bring (or buy!) that you wouldn’t have thought of before!

2. Plan a kid-friendly menu.

There are so many yummy camping meals you can make, but it’s important to remember to plan things your kids are actually going to eat. Sure, a fancy Dutch oven casserole sounds delicious, but will your kids even eat it after you go to all that work? We planned simple things like pancakes, eggs, cinnamon rolls, hot dogs, sandwiches, quesadillas, and nachos (not to mention several delicious desserts!).

3. Get a campsite close(ish) to the bathroom.

Kids always need to go to the bathroom at the most inconvenient times. And they never have to go at the same time as anyone else, either. So try to get a campsite that’s relatively close to the bathrooms, but not close enough that you’re going to smell them from your tent!

4. Bring a lot of snacks.

I mean I think this is a good tip for camping no matter what age your fellow campers are, but it’s especially good for kids. Bring a good mix of healthy food and junk food (we’ll allow it) so you don’t feel bad if they constantly want to snack!

5. Set up a screened canopy tent. 

We don’t have one of these yet, but I really want to get one this year! If you’re going to be camping when the mosquitos or other bugs are out, it’s nice to have a place to relax that’s in the shade and free from bugs! Especially when you have kids! Plus, this is a perfect place for them to play games, read books, or color on the ground. This one has amazing reviews on Amazon (and the one minute set-up sounds divine!).

6. Bring kids’ camp chairs.

We got a few camp chairs for our kids last year and they have been the greatest. No more fighting over camp chairs or trying to share them with littles. We got ours at a camping store, but Melissa & Doug has some really cute ones that have great reviews and are under $20.

7. Bring extra baby wipes.

Like, way more than you think you’ll need. Baby wipes are great for wiping up messes, cleaning up owies, wiping dirt off of kids (or yourself), and of course, changing diapers. Regardless of if you have a child in diapers, bring some baby wipes!

8. Don’t forget lanterns and flashlights.

You’re definitely going to be making some nighttime trips to the bathroom, so make sure you have a few flashlights to help your kids see where they’re going! And a lantern is a great idea for inside the tent when you’re changing clothes because it’s hands-free! And bonus tip, bring glow sticks for your kids to play with at night!

9. Pack lots of water, and if you have a younger child, a sippy cup.

Getting dehydrated is the worst, and sometimes the water source is far from your campground, so bringing your own water bottles is a good idea! My 6-year-old and 4-year-old were fine drinking from water bottles, but my youngest is two and we brought a sippy cup to refill for him. 

10. Pack extra clothes.

We were going to camp for two days and I brought four outfits for each of my kids. You never know if your kid is going to fall in the water, the mud, or get covered in marshmallow!

11. Don’t go light on sunscreen.

You think a sunburn hurts? Just wait until your kid gets one! You’ll think they’re dying from the amount they’ll complain. So make sure you bring enough and apply it every few hours!

12. Keep the bugs away!

Bring either buy spray (and apply it a lot), a mosquito repellent bracelet (easy for kids and no trying to spray them down!), or a zone mosquito repeller (like this). Similar to kids with a sunburn, kids with bug bites can really ruin a camping trip!

13. Bring planned activities. 

You’d think kids would be able to occupy themselves in nature for a few days, but they get bored so fast! So bring a few activities (like this fun nature scavenger hunt, bubbles, or simple card games like Go Fish or Uno!). That way you’ll be able to get a little quiet time in!

14. Bring lots of layers. 

It can get pretty chilly at night when you’re camping, so bringing long sleeves, hoodies, and jackets is a good idea! That way you can just take things off as you warm up during the day!

15. Use paper plates for minimal clean up.

One thing I used to hate growing up was cleaning the dishes when we were camping. So this time we brought paper plates and plastic forks. It made things so much easier, and I didn’t have to worry about keeping an eye on the kids while trying to wash dishes!

16. Encourage them to explore, but set boundaries.

When we first got to our campsite, our kids were so excited to run around and explore and check things out. Which is totally fine, as long as you set boundaries! If your kids are older it may not be as important, but I wanted to be able to see my kids at all times, so they had to stay in front of our tent and within sight.

17. Bring bikes.

We actually didn’t this time, but so many people bring bikes to ride around the campground! It’s a fun, easy way to occupy your kids and get some exercise!

18. Bring sanitizing wipes or sanitizer.

Depending on how primitive the bathrooms are, you’re going to want to bring something to clean your hands (or more importantly, your kids’ hands). Plus, you never know where those dirty little hands have been before dinner!

19. Bring blankets and pillows along with sleeping bags.

Yes, of course, you want to bring sleeping bags. But blankets and pillows are just as important! We had to do extra blankets on our kids so they stayed warm at night, and they also worked great for cuddling with in the evening!

20. Expect dirt.

I know this should go without saying, but expect that your kids are going to get a little dirty. Or even a lot dirty. That’s part of the fun of camping, so try to take a deep breath and just accept it!

21. Bring a rug or basket for putting shoes outside your tent.

One thing that I remembered to do this time was bring a little outdoor mat to put outside our tent so that we didn’t get dirt in our tent trying to take off or put on our shoes! It was a great idea, especially for kids who constantly want to go in and out of the tent!

22. Pack a picnic blanket for the table and things to hold it on with. 

Sometimes those tables at campsites are sticky, extra dirty, or have weird spots you’d rather not touch. So packing a picnic blanket and things to hold it onto the table with (like these) is a good idea. Especially for kids who frequently don’t put their food back down on the plate (please tell me that’s not just my kids!). 

23. When you pack, keep it organized.

Of course this is a good tip for any camping trip, but it’s especially important when you’re going camping with kids! Especially because kids are not patient at all. We packed all our food in one cooler and one clear container, all our “camping gear” in another big bin, and each kid had their own bag with their clothes and stuffed animal. It was easy to find everything because everything had a specific place!

24. Make sure your tent is big enough.

Sure, a two-person tent was great when you were just a couple, but a four-person tent will not be comfortable for two kids and two adults. Kids move A TON at night and you’ll end up getting squished and cramped and all up on each other. We have five people in our family (plus we brought Penelope) and everyone had their own space in our Coleman Montana 8-Person Tent. 

25. Don’t plan on your kids going to bed at their normal bedtimes. 

Firstly because it won’t even be dark until 9:30 or later, and second because there’s so much noise and excitement all around the campground that they aren’t going to want to! We tried putting our kids down around 9, and they were so hyper and giggly that they didn’t end up falling asleep until my husband and I went in with them around 10. But I had planned on that, so it was fine!

26. Bring Bandaids and a First Aid Kit.

The very first time we went camping, our oldest was two and he fell on a stick he was running with and cut his cheek. The scar is finally almost gone (four years later). But we would’ve been in big trouble without a First Aid Kit! You never know what will happen!

27. Bring something for your kids to do when they wake up.

You think your kids wake up early in their own beds? Wait until you go camping! Our kids were up around 5:30 and there was no way we were getting up at that time. So we brought our iPad with some games a a few shows downloaded so they had something to occupy themselves until it was actually a decent hour to get up.

Alright, and now for some bonus tips if you’re planning on camping with a baby or a toddler!

Bonus Tips for Camping with Babies or Toddlers

1. Bring a Pack n Play with a sheet over the top.

First of all, a Pack n Play is a great place for baby to sleep and take naps in the tent. Second of all, it makes a great playpen outside the tent! Put a sheet over the top to keep out bugs and you’ve got a perfect area for baby to hang out safely!

2. Bring disposable diaper bags. 

When you’re camping with only a single trash bag for trash that’s kept at your campsite until full, you are not going to want to just toss poopy diapers in there! Bring some disposable diaper bags like these so you can toss the diapers (and their stench!) in the trash. 

3. Use a small umbrella stroller or cheap high chair to keep them contained.

You can’t hold your baby every second when you’re camping, so you’ll need somewhere to put them down that will keep them safe. Bringing a small umbrella stroller or a cheap high chair (like the Ikea Antilop high chairIkea Antilop high chair) is a super easy and light way to have somewhere for baby to sit while you eat or cook or set up the tent!

4. Bring a baby carrier or hiking backpack.

One of our favorite parts of camping is going hiking! And even if you aren’t going hiking, it’s a good idea to have a baby carrier or some way to keep your baby close and secure. Our favorite carrier for our babies has been the LÍLLÉbaby 4 in 1 baby carrier and we really like the Kelty child carriers for our toddler (and he likes ours, too!).

5. Bring a playmat with a pen or tarp with pen.

Another easy way to keep your baby or toddler contained is with a playmat that has a pen around it, or a big tarp that has a pen around it. The first time we went camping, our daughter was about 20 months, and my husband’s grandpa built her a playpen using a big tarp and the ramps from his trailer. It worked and was an easy way to let her be free!

6. If you want to do a bath, bring a big plastic bin.

We haven’t ever done this, but I heard it somewhere and thought it was a good idea if you’re going on a longer camping trip and want to give your baby or toddler a bath. Just bring a big plastic storage bin, fill it with water in the morning, put a lid on it during the day to let it warm up, and in the evening, you’ve got a portable bath for your little one!

Camping with kids is a lot of fun, although I’m sure by the amount of tips I’ve included you also now realize it’s a lot more work than camping before having kids! Hopefully these 27 (plus 6!) tips for camping with kids will make it easier and help you have a great trip! Have fun!

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Eight days ago, my husband and I ran the Star Wars Rival Run Half Marathon at Walt Disney World. We both had so much fun, were happy with our finish times, and we got to visit the different parts at Disney World the two days before. And we didn’t bring our kids.

What? I know. What kind of parent goes to Disney World and doesn’t bring their kids?

Honestly, it was because it was going to be a short trip and we didn’t want to spend all the extra money on our three kids. Plus, we would’ve had to find someone to watch them during our race on Sunday morning.

Sure, I felt a little bad about not bringing them, but I don’t regret the decision in the slightest! Going to Disney World without kids is a dream!

If you’re trying to decide whether or not you want to go to Disney World without kids, or you are just trying to plan a kid-free vacation and can’t decide where to go, here are some reasons why you should consider going to Walt Disney World sans kids:

It’s cheaper.

We all know Disney World is expensive. A one park per day child ticket starts at $104, and if you add on the park-hopper option so you can visit multiple parks a day, it’s $164 for a child ticket. And that’s just for one child, one day! And if you add in the cost of travel (in our case, flying) and food, the price can double pretty fast. Going to Disney World without kids is just cheaper!

You don’t have to share food.

Besides the half marathon, the thing I was looking forward to the most was the food. Disney is famous for having delicious food, and we came prepared. I had a big list of things I wanted to try, and if we had brought the kids, I would’ve had to share. No kids means more delicious food for me.

You can get around faster. 

Going to Disney World without kids means you can walk at your own pace, without leaving any little legs in the dust. Walking around Disney World in a group is a challenge because there are so many people and you have to make sure you aren’t losing someone every few minutes. When it’s just you two, you can weave through crowds, walk briskly (or run) to get to your next ride, and you take less bathroom breaks!

You don’t have to go on lame rides you don’t want to go on.

Kids are great, but they usually want to go on different rides than adults. I’m going to get some crap for this, but I hate It’s A Small World. I don’t want to stand in line for the Dumbo ride. And the teacups make me so sick I wouldn’t be able to do anything the rest of the day. When you don’t bring kids, you don’t have to wait in line for any of those rides! We were able to do Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain Railroad, the Seven Dwarfs’ Mine Train, Expedition Everest, and Slinky Dog Dash without having to worry if our kids were tall enough or brave enough to ride them! 

You don’t have to worry about naps.

When you bring kids who still nap (our youngest does) you have to plan around their nap time. Usually that means a nap in the stroller with parental supervision or going back to the hotel for a few hours and then coming back to the park. But when you go to Disney World without kids, you can just power through as long as you want! No naps means more Disney time!

You can stay out late and go in as early as you want.

Again, you don’t have to plan your schedule around your kids getting enough sleep! We were able to go do Magic Morning both days we were there without having to worry about the kids losing steam halfway through the day. And if we had wanted, we could’ve stayed until closing! We didn’t since we had to run 13.1 miles on Sunday morning at 5:30am, but we could’ve if we’d have wanted to!

No stroller to push around!

Okay, this is a biggie (especially with all the changes around allowed stroller sizes starting May 1st). Not having to push around a stroller is amazing when it’s busy, and like I said, you can get around faster! Plus you don’t have to worry about it getting wet if it rains, or trying to find a place to put it when you go on rides!

No bulky diaper bag.

When you don’t bring your kids to Disney World, you also don’t have to bring a diaper bag! All I brought with me was my Fawn Design Fawny Pack with my wallet, my phone, a phone charger, and my sunglasses. It was so nice not having to take it off every time we got on a ride, and my back didn’t get hot or start hurting halfway through the day! Yay! 

We didn’t have to wait in line to meet characters.

I say we didn’t have to, but we did wait in line to meet Chewbacca because he’s our two-year-old’s favorite and we wanted to send him a picture. But with kids, a lot of time spent at Disney can be spent waiting in lines to meet characters. So instead of doing that, we got to ride more rides and eat more food! It was great! 

Disney World without kids is a lot less stressful.

Disney is fantastic and so magical and just the best trip with kids, but it’s also exhausting and stressful. So take those kids away, and it’s a lot more relaxing! Personally, we didn’t feel like we needed to ride every ride or make sure it was the perfect, best day ever (which we have always felt like when going with kids). We were able to take breaks and just sit down when we wanted and we didn’t feel the pressure that comes with bringing kids to Disney World. It actually felt like a vacation!

You can eat wherever you want and whenever you want.

If you have kids, I’m sure you’re familiar with the scenario where your kids can’t agree on where to eat, or they refuse to eat where you want to, and then an hour later, they’re hungry and you have to get them something else. It’s frustrating, and when you’re at Disney World, it’s especially frustrating. Leaving your kids at home means you can eat wherever you want (whether that’s something quick at Magic Kingdom or a sit-down place in Epcot), whenever you want (because adults can manage hunger a little better than kids!). Seriously, it’s a dream.

Going to Disney World without kids at first sounds crazy, mean, or even like bad parenting, but I can assure you, it’s none of those things. We loved visiting Disney on our own, and it really made a difference in how much we got to do, how much we spent, and how much we enjoyed our trip. I don’t know if we’ll ever get a chance to do it again, but if we do, I’m all for it! And I hope if you have the chance to go without kids, you jump on it, too!

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