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.

One thing I love talking about is how to support new moms. Whether it’s your first baby or your fourth, every new mom needs help and love.

I’ve written a few gift guides tailored to new moms, including a new mom gift basket, a gift guide focusing on pampering a new mom, and a gift guide with practical gifts to bring a new mom.

There are so many feelings to process, changes to adapt to, and healing to be done. Having a baby is hard, and adjusting to life with a newborn can be even harder.

Today I wanted to share a new gift guide for new moms, with a focus on gifts to help her through that difficult postpartum period, physically and emotionally.

Gift Guide for New Moms

Promptly Postpartum Journal

Promptly Journals have tons of great prompt journals, including ones for parents to write about their children. But for new mamas, the Postpartum Journals are the perfect way to find healing and self-care through the first year of your baby’s life.

There are sections for pregnancy, birth reflection, partner support, at home, body thoughts, and monthly check-ins , as well as a list of resources to help new moms with their mental wellness. The Promptly Postpartum Journal includes therapy tips throughout its pages, written by maternal mental health professionals, and quotes and affirmations to help uplift and comfort you.

Whether it’s your first baby and you have no history of depression, or it’s your third and you’ve dealt with postpartum depression each time, this gift can help a new mom heal and take care of herself during that first year of her baby’s life.

Tubby Todd Mama Gift Set

Tubby Todd is a fantastic mama-founded and woman-run business. Their Mama Gift Set includes three must-have products for postpartum mamas and their tender, healing bodies. All three are formulated with natural ingredients and are gentle enough for sensitive skin.

The hand cream helps soften and replenish dry, mama hands (you do a lot of hand-washing as a new mom, and it can dry your hands out fast). The belly oil promotes elasticity and works to restore skin’s natural luminosity, which every mama wants after having a baby! The organic nipple balm helps soothe the tenderness of nursing, and because its organic and contains lanolin, it’s safe to use before or after nursing.

I love Tubby Todd because all their products use natural ingredients and were originally created with sensitive skin in mind. I’ve used Tubby Todd on my kids and not only do the products smell amazing and leave my kids smelling like a dream, but they are so gentle and even work well on our oldest son who has dealt with eczema in the past.

Chatbooks Gift Card

New moms take a lot of pictures, but they don’t have a lot of time (or energy!) to organize, edit, and print them very often. Chatbooks are a great option because they make printing your photos super easy.

With the app, you can print the cutest little photobooks just by uploading from your camera roll or social media. They have hard or softcover options, and two sizes to choose from (6×6″ or 8×8″). You can include captions, or just print pictures and dates on each page. The books are incredibly affordable, starting at just $15.

For a new mom who is frazzled and wants to have hard copies of all the memories she photographs, this is the easiest, hassle-free way to print out photos.

Food Gift Card

Whether you just had a baby or your baby is a few months old, making dinner at the end of an exhausting day is often the last thing you want to do. Save her from having to throw something together when she doesn’t want to by giving her a gift card to eat out! Either get her a gift card to somewhere that has delivery (pizza always works!), or get her a gift card to a company like GrubHub, DoorDash, or PostMates. That way she can get a hot meal in under an hour with zero effort!

FridaBaby Portable Sound Machine

This fancy little gadget is the solution to a lot of a new mama’s problems. Not only is it a sound machine with five different sounds (two of which are shushing and a heartbeat), but it has a nightlight for nighttime nursing sessions and it’s portable and rechargeable. Getting your new baby to sleep can be exhausting sometimes, but the FridaBaby Portable Sound Machine helps make it easier.

Haaka Ladybug Silicone Milk Collector

To a nursing mom, every drop of breastmilk is like liquid gold, so when your letdown happens and you only have one baby to catch it, you can waste a decent amount of milk! The Haaka Ladybug Silicone Milk Collectors just fit right inside your bra and collect any milk that leaks out when your baby isn’t nursing. I wish I had had these when I was nursing!!

Audible or Kindle Unlimited Subscription

For a new mom’s mental health, reading books or listening to audiobooks is a great way to get outside the monotony of motherhood with a baby. She can read while nursing or listen while doing all the chores that come along with having a baby (so much laundry!). Audible has over 200,000 audio books to choose from, and with Kindle Unlimited, you can choose as many ebooks as you want from over 1 million options. She’s bound to find something to interest here on either option!

New moms are one of my favorite people to buy gifts for (but that’s probably obvious based on all the new mom gift guides I’ve put together over the years!). These gifts are perfect to help new moms adapt to having a sweet new baby in their life. I hope the mama new mama in your life will be thrilled to get something from this gift guide for new moms!

The post Gift Guide for New Moms 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.

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

One of the songs that was played at every high school dance I went to was “Get Low” by Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz. As an adult, I’m horrified that the school staff allowed us to dance to that, but as a teenager, it was just a catchy song that everyone loved.

Last year, I decided to turn the lyrics of that rather-inappropriate song into a fun Christmas parody shirt. I took the lyrics of the chorus and changed them to

“To the window, to the wall, ’til Santa decks these halls!”

Unfortunately, I got a grease stain on it and had to throw it out, but I’ve never gotten over how clever it was.

Now that I’m getting into screen printing and with Christmas fast-approaching, I thought I’d make a new version of my “To the window, to the wall, ’til Santa decks these halls” shirt. After a minor redesign on Cricut Design Space, I grabbed a red sweatshirt and all my screen printing supplies and got to work!

I love the way my sweatshirt turned out, and because I love it so much, I wanted to share a tutorial on how I made it, complete with the free cut file for Cricut Design Space.

The first step when you screen print is to cut your design out of vinyl and apply it to your screen. It’s easy, but takes a few steps, so bear with me.

First, open up Design Space, press customize, and decide how big you want your design to be on your sweatshirt. If you like a more fitted look, you’ll probably want a smaller sweatshirt and therefore, a smaller design. I’m a fan of oversized sweatshirts, so that’s what I used. Obviously, my design was a little bigger, too.

I like to measure how big my materials are and then figure out how big I want my design.

You also need to keep in mind the size of your screen, because that will limit how big you go. This design is cut into two pieces because it’s bigger, but if you’re going to make it small enough to fit on your screen, you can easily weld the design together into one piece.

Once you have your sizing right, you get to cut! Press “Make It” at the top right, and then arrange your pieces on the mat. I know you can make this in one piece if you’re doing it smaller, but for the rest of this project, I am going to assume you’re making it in two pieces like I did. So make sure you have enough space around each cut to tape it onto the screen.

The easiest way I found to do this is to change the size of the material to 8.5×14″. That will give each piece it’s own cut.

Once you have the design ready on your computer, press “Continue” and select your materials. If you’re using an Explore Air 2 like I am, make sure that your machine dial is set to “vinyl.”

For this project I used Cricut Smart Vinyl in black. You can use any color you want, though. I just discovered the new Smart Materials a few weeks ago and I LOVE them because you don’t need to use a mat and you can cut up to 3′ at once.

Load your vinyl into your machine and press start. It’s that easy!

After your design is done, unload it, cut about an inch away from the bottom, and then load it up again and cut out the next piece. Then unload it and cut about an inch away from the bottom again.

Once you have both pieces cut, you need to weed them. You’re going to weed out the words and the mistletoe design (which is the opposite of what you would do if you were using the vinyl design you cut). The Cricut tools in the basic tool set are really helpful here (and for transferring!).

Now get a big piece of transfer tape and transfer the first half of your design to your screen. Mine is a Speedball 10×14″ screen. Make sure you center the design in the middle of the screen.

Then use painters tape to cover the rest of the screen. You don’t want any paint leaking through when you do your printing!

Center your design (keeping in mind that it might not be the center of your screen) on your sweatshirt, near the top. Make sure it’s straight and right in the middle.

Once you’ve got it just right, grab your screen printing paint, a plastic spoon, and your squeegee. Spoon a little bit of paint on the side of the screen, and use your squeegee to pull the paint across your design. You may need to go back and forth a few times, or even add more paint. Make sure it’s completely covered!

After you spread your paint all over the design, slowly and gently lift your screen off of your sweatshirt.

Let this first half of your design dry for at least 24 hours, and then repeat the above steps again with the second half of your design.

If you’re worried about getting the second half of the design in the right place, you can place two pieces of tape on either side of your sweatshirt to mark the bottom of your first half.

After another 24 hours, it’s time to heat set your paint. I love using my Cricut Easy Press because you can adjust the temperature every 10 degrees, and you can even set a timer. You want to make sure you heat set your entire design at 320 for 40 seconds.

And that’s basically it! You’re done! Pull that sweater on and hit the club!

Just kidding. I’m not sure if that’s even a thing people say anymore, but it certainly fits with the theme of this sweatshirt!

Now put your hands up and sing along! “To the windooooooow! To the wall! (To the wall!) ‘Til Santa decks these halls!” We’re not going to finish the rest of that!

"To the Window, to the Wall, 'Til Santa Decks these Halls" Christmas Parody Sweatshirt

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Active Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

"To the Window, to the Wall, 'Til Santa Decks these Halls" Christmas parody sweatshirt that you can DIY! All you need is a Cricut, vinyl, screen printing supplies, and a sweatshirt to make this hilarious holiday sweater.

Print

Materials

• Red Sweatshirt
• Smart Vinyl
• Transfer Tape
• White Screen Printing Paint

Tools

• Cricut Explore Air 2
• Basic Tool Set
• 10x14" Screen Printing Screen
• Painter's Tape
• Craft Squeegee
• Cricut Easy Press

Instructions

1. Open Cricut Design Space and pull up the cut file here.
2. Decide how big you want your design to be and size down the design.
3. Cut out your vinyl on your Cricut Machine. Make sure each half is centered on the cut screen and you're making two separate cuts before pressing "Go"
4. Weed out the words and the mistletoe (the opposite of what you would do if you were using the letters you cut).
5. Using transfer tape, transfer your first half of the design to your screen.
6. Remove the transfer tape and cover up any open spaces on your screen with painter's tape.
7. Center your design on your sweatshirt.
8. Spoon out paint on side of screen and use a squeegee to pull the paint across your design.
9. Carefully lift your screen off the sweatshirt.
10. After at least 24 hours, repeat steps 5-9 with the second half of your design.
11. After another 24+ hours, heat set your ink. Use an Easy Press set at 320 degrees for 40 seconds.

In our home we always decorate for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving, and I bet you can guess what I’ll be wearing when I get everything out!

“To the window! To the wall! ‘Til Santa decks these halls!”

Merry Christmas, mamas!

The post “To the Window, to the Wall, ‘Til Santa Decks these Halls” Christmas Parody Sweatshirt 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.

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

Last year we watched the classic Christmas movie Home Alone with our kids, and they thought it was one of the funniest movies they’d ever seen. They watched it over and over, even after Christmas was over. And I have to say, I can’t really blame them!

One of my favorite parts of the movie is when Kevin and Buzz are arguing about the last slice of cheese pizza and the milk spills on the plane tickets and passports and everyone freaks out trying to save them. Then things calm down and Kevin’s uncle looks at him and goes, “Look what you did, you little jerk!”

Oh my goodness, can you even imagine! Everyone is quiet and glaring at little Kevin and blaming him for everything that went wrong. I laugh so hard every single time.

I have recently been experimenting with screen printing, and I thought it would be a fun idea to make a DIY Home Alone screen print shirt with that hilarious quote from Uncle Frank!

Screen printing isn’t too complicated, and as long as you have the right tools, you can create one-of-a-kind items that will last a long time! I haven’t ever shared a screen printing post on here, so I wanted to make sure I give you guys a full tutorial so you can follow alone and make your own Home Alone shirt, too!

I opened up Cricut Design Space and got to work. I even asked my Instagram followers their advice when I designed it, and had so much great feedback! I used the Cricut font “ITC Machine Medium,” and added the little house from Home Alone to the end of the quote. You can access the cut file on Design Space here.

Figure out how big you want your design to be on your shirt. I usually grab a ruler and hold it on my material to see how big I want it to be. Then size down your design. I did 12″ for my design. Just make sure your design will fit on your screen, too!

Cut it out on vinyl! I used my Cricut Explore Air 2 and Permanent Black Vinyl. You can use whatever color on hand, but you need to cut your vinyl all at once, so make sure you have a big enough piece of vinyl. Once you get to the “prepare” screen, center your design on the mat so you have a good amount of edge on each side. This will come in handy when you are screen printing.

Then press continue on Design Space, make sure your machine is set to “vinyl”, load your mat, and start cutting!

Weed your vinyl. Unlike a regular vinyl project, you’re going to be leaving the outlines of what you want to screen print. I always have my Cricut Starter Tools on hand, because the weeder and spatula come in handy when peeling things off the mat.

Grab a big piece of Transfer Tape so you can transfer your design to your screen. Use your scraper for the tool set to smooth out all bubbles, and make sure every little edge is stuck to that tape!

Pull up that Transfer Tape with your design attached and stick it to your screen. My screen is a Speedball 10×14″ Screen. Again, the scraper will help you eliminate any bubbles.

Pull off your transfer tape and then cover up any open spaces along the edges with painter’s tape. You don’t want any paint on you shirt where you don’t want it!

It’s time to paint! I’ve screen printed several times, but I’m certainly not a pro, so if you haven’t ever tried it before, it’s best to read up on how to do it because I can only give you the basics. Pigskins and Pigtails has some great screen printing for beginners posts.

The basics of what you need are your vinyl stencil on your screen, a paint squeegee, and paint. I also like to have something like a paper plate on hand to set my squeegee down when I’m done. And I use a plastic spoon to spoon the paint out onto my stencil before I squeegee it.

Okay, so once you have everything on hand, center your screen and design onto your tee. Now imagine how good your DIY Home Alone screen print shirt is going to look! You’re almost there!

Also, I didn’t get any pictures of this but make sure you have some type of paper or cardboard between the layers of your shirt, especially if you’re doing your design on a white shirt, too. The paint will bleed on a white tee a little bit, and if you don’t have something in between the front and back layers, you’ll print the reverse shadow on the back of your shirt.

Now spoon a little bit of red screen paint along the edge of your design.

Very careful and not too quickly, pull the paint across your design with your squeegee. It’s a big design, so the paint may not get the whole thing at once, and you may have to add a little more paint on the other side. Go back and forth with the squeegee until there aren’t any more white spots left and the paint isn’t pooling anywhere.

Slowly and again, very carefully, lift the screen off your tee. I start at the bottom and peel it away little-by-little. It will look AWESOME but you need to be patient and let it dry at least 24 hours before the next step. So set it somewhere away from little hands.

After your shirt has dried for a full 24 hours, you need to heat set the ink before you wear it, otherwise when you wash it, some of the ink will fade.

You can use an iron if you want, but the easiest way to heat set your design is to use a Cricut Easy Press. Set the temperature to 320 degrees and the time to 40 seconds. When it heats up, heat set your design by holding the Easy Press on your design. Repeat the process anywhere you miss (if your design is bigger than your Easy Press).

I also like to use the Easy Press Mat behind my materials when I heat set so I don’t damage the table or floor (or wherever I am) underneath. An ironing board works, too.

Now you’re ready to wear your shirt! Pull it on, grab some popcorn, and turn on Home Alone! Or, if you’re feeling brave, watch the new movie Home, Sweet Home Alone on Disney+. It comes out November 12th and I’m not sure how I feel about it! Although, if I’m being honest, I’ll probably still watch it.

Yield: 1 tee

DIY Home Alone Screen Print Tee

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Active Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

DIY "Home Alone" screen print shirt based on Uncle Frank's line "Look what you did, you little jerk!" One of the best lines from the original movie on a tee! Includes the free cut file on Cricut Design Space, and a full tutorial!

Print

Materials

• White tee
• Transfer tape
• Vinyl
• Red screen paint

Tools

• Cricut Explore Air 2
• Weeding tool
• Scraper tool
• Screen
• Painter's tape
• Squeegee
• Easy Press
• Easy Press mat

Instructions

1. Open Cricut Design Space and pull up the cut file here.
2. Decide how big you want your design to be and size down the design.
3. Cut out your vinyl on your Cricut Machine. Make sure it is centered on the cut screen before pressing "Go"
4. Weed out the words and the house (the opposite of what you would do if you were using the letters you cut).
5. Using transfer tape, transfer your design to your screen.
6. Remove the transfer tape and cover up any open spaces on your screen with painter's tape.
7. Center your screen on your shirt.
8. Spoon out paint on side of screen and use a squeegee to pull the paint across your design.
9. Carefully lift your screen off the tee.
10. After at least 24 hours, heat set your ink. Use an Easy Press set at 320 degrees for 40 seconds.

Notes

Before you paint your tee, put something in between the layers so the paint doesn't bleed through. Don't remove it until after your ink has completely dried.

The post DIY Home Alone Screen Print Shirt – “Look What You Did, You Little Jerk” appeared first on Life With My Littles.

This post is sponsored by Cricut and contains affiliate links.

After a long year of homeschooling last year, I am beyond thrilled that my kids are going back to in-person learning at the local elementary school in a few weeks.

For my son, that means starting third grade and getting back into the routine of learning at school. He did his first two years of elementary school at school, so he knows what to expect and he’s familiar with the concept of “going to school.”

For my daughter, who did kindergarten at home last year, “back-to-school” means something entirely different. She did two years of preschool before kindergarten, but it was only half-day, a few days a week. She didn’t get a true kindergarten experience last year, and I’m excited and nervous for her to spend her days in a classroom with other students and a teacher who isn’t me.

I know she’s feeling a little nervous herself, so I wanted to do something extra special for their first day of school breakfast. My kids loved the Valentine’s charcuterie board I made for them earlier this year, and I thought it would be fun to throw together a back-to-school-themed breakfast charcuterie board for their first day!

I wanted to make some school-themed labels for the board, and I knew that using my Cricut Explore Air 2 to make chalkboard labels would be perfect! I also wanted to make them as simple as possible so I could put them together quickly, and I was thrilled to see that Cricut came out with a sticker-backed Smart Paper cardstock for their larger machines that works without a cutting mat and doesn’t need any messy glue! Can’t get much faster or easier than that!

Besides the amazing Smart Paper Sticker Cardstock, I also grabbed a set of Metallic Pens to write on the cardstock so the labels looks like mini chalkboards, and a Scoring Stylus to make folding the labels easy and more precise.

After deciding I wanted to do a mix of proteins, carbs, and fruit on my breakfast charcuterie board, I opened up Cricut Design Space and got to work designing.

I made chalkboard-style labels that could be folded in half and stuck on toothpicks (thank you, Sticker Cardstock!). You can get the free cut file here.

Once you have all your labels designed and ready to go, it’s time to write, score, and cut! Design Space will tell you which pens to use and when to insert the scoring stylus. Just make sure you have a sharp Premium Fine Point Blade in your machine before you start, so you get crisp clean edges.

When your Cricut machine is done doing the hard work, unload your Sticker Cardstock, and one at a time, peel your labels off the sheet. You’re going to put a toothpick in the middle so your labels can go stick in your food, so make sure you have those ready.

After you peel a label off, gently fold along the score line, line the toothpick up inside, and press the label in half. Repeat for each label, and voila! You have breakfast charcuterie board chalkboard labels!

All that’s left to do now is assemble your charcuterie board and add the labels. When I make my boards, I do anything in bowls first (syrup and jam, then eggs and yogurt), followed by bigger items (sausage, waffles, bacon, croissants), one at a time, and then little things (fruit) to fill in any extra spaces.

Last, add your labels. If you have bowls and can’t stick the labels into what’s in them, try taping them to the side. Anything else, just stab with a label.

I love the way our back-to-school breakfast charcuterie board turned out, and my kids loved it, too. Serving this special breakfast is the perfect way to start the first day of school off right!

Back-to-School Breakfast Charcuterie Board

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Serving a breakfast charcuterie board is such a fun way to celebrate your child's first day of school! And with these cute school-themed DIY labels that you can make in a few minutes with a Cricut machine, the first day of school will get off to a great start!

Print

Materials

• Smart Paper Sticker Cardstock
• Toothpicks

Tools

• Cricut Explore Air 2
• Metallic Pens
• Scoring Stylus
• Premium Fine Point Blade

Instructions

1. In Cricut Design Space, open the cut file.
2. Press Make It! Connect your Explore machine, load your Smart Paper, and make sure the correct tools are loaded.
3. Press Go on your machine and watch it take care of the hard part. Make sure you stick around and switch out tools when prompted on Design Space.
4. When your Explore is done, unload the Smart Paper.
5. One at a time, peel your labels off the sheet.
6. Gently fold along the score line, line a toothpick up inside, and press the label in half, making sure to seal the toothpick inside.
7. Repeat for each label.
8. Assemble your breakfast charcuterie board.
9. Add labels.
10. Enjoy!

The post Back-to-School Breakfast Charcuterie Board appeared first on Life With My Littles.

This post contains affiliate links.

Did you know that today and tomorrow are Amazon Prime Day!?

The deals this year are amazing and I’ve spent a good chunk of my morning hunting down some of the best sales for parents. I thought it would be fun if I rounded up some of the top baby and kid brands on sale and shared some awesome deals with you guys!

First, I must remind you, that you have to be a member of Amazon Prime to shop Prime Day. If you aren’t, you can sign up for a 30-day free trial of Amazon Prime so you won’t be left out.

Alright, let’s get to the deals!

Amazon Prime Day Deals For Parents

1 Year of Amazon Kids+ for $19.99

If you haven’t heard of Amazon Kids+, that’s okay, because I hadn’t heard about it until recently either! Amazon Kids+ is an all-in-one subscription that gives kids access to thousands of kid-friendly books, movies, TV shows, educational apps, Audible books, and games on compatible Fire, Fire TV, Android, iOS and Kindle devices. Plus, kids can enjoy hundreds of hours of fun with ad-free radio stations and playlists, Audible books, and a growing list of premium kid’s skills available on compatible Echo devices.

Parents also receive access to easy-to-use parental controls that allow them to find the right balance between education and entertainment. Parents can personalize screen time limits, set educational goals, filter age-appropriate content, and also manage web browsing and content usage based on their preferences.

Amazon Kids+ is normally $69.00 a year, but on Prime Day you can get it for just $19.99!

Fire HD 8 Kids Tablet for $69.99

The Kindle Fire HD 8 Kids Tablet is the ultimate table for kids. It comes with a kid-proof case in blue, pink, or purple, a 2-year worry-free guarantee, 1 year of Amazon Kids+, and a vibrant 8″ HD display. Parents can give kids access to more apps like Netflix, Minecraft, and Zoom via the Amazon Parent Dashboard. Plus, within Amazon Kids+, kids do not have access to social media or Alexa, so you can let them play without worrying about what they’re viewing.

Kids can stream over wifi or view downloaded content on the go with 32 GB of internal storage and up to 12 hours of battery for reading, browsing the web, watching videos, and listening to music, so it’s perfect for travel. Parents can limit screen time, set educational goals and curfews, and manage content for up to 4 child profiles with easy-to-use parental controls.

Normally, the Fire HD 8 Kids Tablet is $139.99, but on Prime Day it’s only $69.99!

Deals on Parent-Approved, Kid-Favorite Brands

Up to 30% off Nerf products

Up to 30% off Hasbro games

Up to 40% off Graco high chairs, car seats, strollers, and pack n’ plays

Up to 30% off Simple Joys by Carters baby and toddler clothes

Up to 40% off VTech and Melissa & Doug toys

Up to 30% off learning and technology toys (including brands like National Geographic)

Up to 30% off baby clothes from Burt’s Bees Baby

Up to 30% off LEGO

Up to 30% off Magna Tiles

Up to 30% off My Little Pony

Up to 35% off Instax Mini

I know this is a short post today, but I hope you’re able to find some awesome deals on something your kiddos will love! Happy shopping!

The post Amazon Prime Day Deals for Parents appeared first on Life With My Littles.

After a year of homeschooling, we’ve really been looking forward to the summer. Sleeping in, no schedule, lounging at the pool, and popsicles for days; honestly, I’ve been dreaming about it for weeks.

A few summers ago, I tried doing a weekly schedule so we could have activities and things to do and I wouldn’t have to listen to the kids say “I’m bored” every five minutes. It was fine, but it got to be too much after just a few weeks.

This summer, in an effort to plan a few activities while still being flexible, I thought it’d be fun to put together a giant printable summer bucket list for kids.

Instead of scheduling specific activities throughout the summer, I just put together a list of things I knew the kids wanted to do (like tie-dye), and that I knew we could do at some point during the summer (like going to the beach).

Now that two of my kids can read, I also knew I wanted to display the list and let my kids choose when they want to do different activities. I made a Christmas bucket list for toddlers a few years ago, and my kids loved it. The summer bucket list is the same style, black and white, very minimal!

Although I did decide to let them color it, which they had a blast doing!

Giant Printable Summer Bucket List for Kids

I printed my summer bucket list at Office Depot for $23. Just upload the file to their website and print it as a a 24×36″ poster. It was ready in a few hours.

I can’t wait to see my kids set up their own little lemonade stand! And my older kids both chose their top choices from the list, too! J chose tie-dye, and A chose a beach day!

A few days after coloring our giant printable summer bucket list, we knocked the first thing off our list and went to the zoo. It was a blast, and I think it may have made the kids even more excited for the rest of the things on the list!

I hope this big list of fun summer activities helps prevent your kids from saying “I’m bored,” and helps prevent you from losing your mind!

The post Giant Printable Summer Bucket List for Kids appeared first on Life With My Littles.

This post contains affiliate links.

Over the last year, I’ve kind of lost myself. I’ve been on survival mode homeschooling the kids, having very little time to myself, running the house at a very basic level, and only doing the essentials to keep my blog up and running.

Unfortunately, I know I’m not alone. This last year has taken a toll on everyone, especially moms. We’ve had it dang hard, with navigating distance learning, staying home with kids all day, and even working from home.

DANG HARD.

Moms always have a lot on their plates, and it’s easy to put yourself last and forget to do things you enjoy. And if you’ve been mommin’ hard for a few years (or more), you may not even be sure what that is anymore.

If you’ve been wanting to pick up a hobby but aren’t sure what kind of hobby you want to try, this post is for you. I talked to some friends and have put together some ideas that make great hobbies for moms. Bonus: they’re all pretty easy to pick up!

25 Hobbies for Moms

Houseplants

Every heard of a plant mom? Well I have fully become one over the last year. And I’m planning on writing a post with some of the easiest houseplants for beginning mamas, too!

Brush Lettering/Calligraphy

I’m lumping these two together, but I know there are slight differences. Learning how to do brush lettering has always been on my to-do list, and I may have to actually take it up some time! You can do so much with it!

Crafting

This is a pretty general term, and it can include so many different things. You could even start selling your own little crafties!

Journaling

If you’re not a frequent journaler, you may not thing this can be considered a hobby, but I assure you, it can. Journaling doesn’t just mean writing “Dear Diary” and recording your latest crush. Promptly has great journals for beginning journals, and if you already know what kind of journaling you want to do, a blank one from Scribble & Jot is my favorite. You can even keep memory journals for your kids!

Yoga

This one’s not for me, but if fitness is your thing and you want a hobby that helps you stay healthy, yoga is perfect! There are tons of free videos on YouTube to get you started.

Baking

I do love this one. There are so many different things you can bake, and if you bake a lot, you can share your treats with neighbors and friends! Everyone loves the friend who brings them treats!

Cake Decorating

Cake decorating is a great hobby for moms. It’s a great artistic outlet that has a bonus of being delicious. You can do it from home and even make your kids’ birthday cakes if you want. I love Cake by Courtney for cake recipes, and I get lots of my decorating inspiration from Instagram accounts.

Gardening

If indoor houseplants aren’t your thing, maybe try gardening! Fresh vegetables from the garden are the best way to eat vegetables, and there are lots of things you can grow that are pretty foolproof and hard to kill. We used to have a huge garden at our old house, and now we have three garden boxes with cute little garden markers I made myself. Even if you just start small with one tomato plant, it’s so satisfying to harvest food and flowers you grew yourself!

Watercolor

Another one of my favorite hobbies is watercolor. If it sounds intimidating, it’s not. I’m mostly into abstract paintings, and I’ve got several things I’ve done hanging in our house. It’s a pretty forgiving art form, and it’s a lot of fun to try! I have a set of Prima tropical watercolors and I love them.

Embroidery

This is a great hobby for moms because you can just sit wherever you are and work on it! Plus, supplies are pretty cheap (embroidery hoop, fabric, embroidery floss). I embroidered one of my favorite quotes a few years ago and I still love it.

Quilting

Quilting isn’t just a grandma hobby! You can make quilts for your family and friends, or even donate them to shelters or hospitals.

Card Making

I know this also sounds like a hobby your grandma might do, but it can be so fun to make and send handmade cards in the mail! And who doesn’t love getting a handmade, handwritten card in the mail? (Side note, the Cricut Joy & card mat make card making SO EASY)

Pilates

Another healthy hobby, pilates is great for moms who want to work on strengthening their muscles and looking good! I was really into pilates after my first son was born, and it was great for me!

Running

Remember when I was really into running and then there was this pandemic and everything came crashing down? Me too. Anyway, running is a great hobby, even if you’re super slow and not in it for the competition. You can even listen to podcasts or audiobooks while you run!

Knitting

Another hobby that I’ve never learned, but I know some people love it! And since it has minimal materials you can do it on-the-go!

Crochet

Crocheting is pretty easy to pick up, and also different than knitting! But another great one to take on-the-go.

Sourdough Bread

If you haven’t tried to make your own sourdough starter yet, now’s the time! Since the pandemic, sourdough has risen in popularity, and the internet is flooded with delicious sourdough recipes!

Reading

One of my newly-renewed hobbies that I forgot I loved so much is reading. I love reading and being pulled into a story. And it can be a free hobby if you get a library card!

Paint by Sticker (or Number)

Paint by Sticker is one of our family’s newer favorite activities. It’s basically like painting by number, but instead of actual painting, it comes with stickers for each spot. The pictures turn out amazing, and it’s kind of soothing! Or you could always go with the classic paint by number, too.

Coloring Books

There’s a reason adult coloring books have risen in popularity, too. They’re an easy, calming hobby and something you can do while listening to a podcast, music, or an audiobook.

Procreate

I’m not very artistic, but I think Procreate is so cool. You can create all kinds of digital art, and when I asked my Facebook friends what their favorite hobbies were, several mentioned Procreate!

Diamond Painting

Another hobby that a few mama friends mentioned was diamond painting. It’s described as a mix between cross-stitch and paint-by-number. I saw someone doing it at the rec center last month and it really did look cool!

Stamp Collecting

One of my secret hobbies is stamp collecting. I don’t have very many, but I think it’s so fun to track down stamps that have a special meaning or tie to somewhere I’ve been or something I like. One of my favorites I have is an old Walt Disney stamp from the 1968.

Puzzles

Puzzles are another pandemic hobby that’s taken off the last few months. We’ve done a few, and my kids have even helped a few times. If you can make a space in your home to set up a puzzle spot, it’s worth it! Even a small little card table works.

Lego Sets

My kids love Legos, and it wasn’t until one of my best friends showed me the Lego set she had gotten for Christmas that I realized Legos can be a hobby for adults, too! I even got my own set (Harry Potter Legos, what else?) for Valentine’s Day, and it was a blast to put together. If you have somewhere you can keep them up, Legos make a great hobby!

Being a mom is a busy, full-time job, with no breaks, no holidays, and no weekends, and this last year has been ROUGH. But despite all that we have on our schedules, it’s important to find things to do for ourselves.

Hobbies allow us to do things we enjoy, just because we want to, which is something we don’t often get with all the little people in our lives.

Pick one or two of these hobbies for moms, try them out, and if they aren’t for you, try something else. You may even find something you’re passionate about and can enjoy for years to come!

The post 25 Hobbies For Moms appeared first on Life With My Littles.