Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Homemade Gift Ideas!

I love doing crafts with my little one and the holiday season is the perfect time for making special crafts to be given as gifts! I believe that it’s important to give my little one the opportunity to give presents she has helped create. During the holidays we make a homemade gift to give to our family members. Here are a few gifts we’ve made.

Make a Treat: Holiday cookies, fudge, or even peppermint bark. Let your little one choose which treat to make and have him or her help cerate these yummy treats.

Homemade Soap: You can find lots of recipes for making homemade soap online. This one from Baby Center is a favorite of mine. Use a small reindeer or a little Christmas tree to put in each soap!


Cloth Napkins: Use white linen napkins for your kiddo to stamp a cute winter shape or holiday symbol with fabric paint!


Cookie or Brownie Mix in a Jar: Kids can help measure out dry ingredients and pour them into the jar. Then tie a cute ribbon around the jar and a piece of paper with the rest of the ingredients and cooking directions.  I like to let my little one decorate the tag. Allrecipes has some great recipe ideas for “Cookie Mix in a Jar”!



Check out our Pinterest Holiday Fun board for more homemade gift ideas and other ways to get inspired to create this holiday season! (http://www.pinterest.com/blossomingbuds/holiday-fun/)

Happy gift giving! We wish you a very happy holiday and a wonderful New Year!


Tuesday, December 10, 2013

3 Ways to Give Back this Holiday Season!

The holiday season is my favorite time of the year. I love the hustle and bustle, the magic of Christmas, and celebrating with family and friends. 

I feel so blessed for my life. But I know there are those who are less fortunate. So many families struggle, especially during this time of year, to put enough food on the table and can’t afford new toys or clothes. It is important to me that I teach my little one about giving back. I want her to grow up knowing there are other families who need help. 

Here are a few ideas of how to give back this holiday season:

Send a card:  If your little one likes to draw or paint, have him/her make a holiday card to send to a local hospital or contact the Holiday Mail for Heroes program to mail cards to troops overseas. What a difference a simple homemade card can make.  Check out our pinterest Christmas Fun board for other homemade card ideas! (www.pinterest.com/blossomingbuds)




Donate toys, food or clothes: Check out these organizations that have holiday drives. Toys for Tots ( http://www.toysfortots.org/), Northwest Harvest (http://www.northwestharvest.org/donate), and WestSide Baby (http://www.westsidebaby.org/).  Or maybe consider making a donation to Children’s Hospital or the Salvation Army.  Each year Blossoming Buds Preschool and Blossoming Buds Cottage join Sleep Country to collect toys for their Secret Santa Toy Drive for Foster Kids: http://www.sleepcountry.com/local-foster-kids.aspx.



Give your time: If money is tight this year, it’s always a wonderful idea to donate your time by visiting nursing homes or helping out at a local food bank such as this one: (http://www.udistrictfoodbank.org/involved/). Sometimes lending a helping hand is most valuable during the holidays.

Wishing you very happy holidays!

To learn more about one of Seattle’s best preschools and drop-off childcare programs visit www.blossomingbudspreschool.com and www.blossomingbudscottage.com.