Let’s start with the real thing. My friends over at Menu Planning Central.com have put together a cute document on how to make a ginger bread house. It includes step by step instructions and photos. Keep in mind that it will take you several days to complete the whole thing, so you may want to start on it within the next day or so. The result is so yummy and cute though, it will be well worth the time and effort you and your kids put into it.

How To Make A Gingerbread House (PDF)

If you don’t feel quite that ambitious, but still want the kids to decorate a gingerbread house, check out this website. The kids will drag and drop candies onto a cute little house to turn it into a complete gingerbread landscape. Here’s a screenshot of one my daughter and I made last night. We had a lot of fun and there was no mess to clean up after

Happy Holidays!

During the Christmas holidays, you drive around passing miles of homes whose decorations are so enchanting you feel inspired to decorate your own yard.
Once home, you plan to decorate your yard for Christmas, too. Here are some ideas to consider.

Run lights all along the eaves and sides of your home, as well as around each outer window pane. Place a big wicker basket of Christmas balls on your front porch. Add garland around or over your mailbox, as well. Take red, green or silver garland and wrap it around your front railing. If you have fir trees in front of your home, add lights to all of them. Decorate them with ornaments and garland, too. Better still, if you have a large tree on your front lawn, trim it with lights of all colors. If you have a spacious front lawn, put up a life size Santa or Snowman that lights up. Or, you can place an animated Santa, one that has a sensor so that when you pass it, you’ll hear “Merry Christmas” greetings.

Place poinsettias on each step next to the railing on both sides. Find a large Santa boot and fill it with gifts. Place it on the front lawn. If you have a large Merry Christmas sign that lights us – place it in your front yard, too.

If it has been a snow-less winter, spray the outside window panes of your home. Start at the bottom and spray up slightly to the right or left with a can of snow spray. If you cannot afford the traditional Santa and reindeer with sleigh on the roof, purchase or make your own sleigh, and fill it to the brim with empty wrapped presents. The sleigh would look lovely on the front lawn. Don’t forget – Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without the Nativity Scene. Choose a special place for the Nativity Scene as well.

Decorating your yard for Christmas can involve every member of your family. Make it a special time. Draw a plan, together, to decide where each Christmas item will be placed on your front yard. Don’t be surprised when you see cars slowing down to admire your decorations, too.

We recommend:
Dine Without Whine
The family friendly menu mailer – Dinner recipes that you and your kids will love send to your inbox everyday. Christine will even create a grocery list for you. Fixing dinner every night couldn’t be easier. Give it a try!

Kids love making their own Christmas decorations for their home and displaying them proudly.

Use ribbons and bows to decorate lamps, curtains and drapes. Choose different color ribbons and bows according to the colors in your home. For example, if you have white curtains, add red and green bows you can stick onto any surface, and arrange the bows on the white curtains any way you wish.

Kids may want to decorate the drapes using different sized white doilies, and fill the drapes with snowflakes. Attach green or red garland to the bottom of the drapes, and hang small light colored ornaments on the garland.

Kids can also decorate the entertainment center with candles of all colors, little glass bowls of Christmas balls, and Christmas figurines. Whether the entertainment center is wood, white or black, this is a sure way to make the entertainment center a Christmas display.

Have a coffee table? If the coffee table is glass, the kids can decorate the edge of the coffee table with garland and ornaments. Remember to choose a garland that compliments the colors in the room. Tape the garland around the table. Start with taping the garland at one corner of the table and let the garland hang a few inches. Repeat the process: tape and hang, until you have hung the garland completely around the coffee table. Then add favorite ornaments and hang them on the garland. This is a wonderful visual effect that also works on your mantel or a banister or railing, too.

Your children can create Christmas artwork with markers, paints or crayons. If you display it in a nice frame, it will complement your home décor and look like you paid money for it.

And, of course, a favorite Christmas decoration is a gingerbread house. Create a gingerbread house with your children. The gingerbread house will be a perfect display for a countertop or in the middle of your coffee table.

Choosing Christmas décor ideas for kids to make is easy; arranging them to compliment the décor of your home is the challenge. Choose the decorations, and have the kids use their imagination to turn your home into wonderland of color.

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The Complete Christmas Collection
Enjoy crafts, activities and plenty of festive holiday recipes with the kids.
Dine Without Whine
The family friendly menu mailer – Dinner recipes that you and your kids will love send to your inbox everyday. Christine will even create a grocery list for you. Fixing dinner every night couldn’t be easier. Give it a try!

Stop Feeding Your Kids Junk! – Skip the fast food and frozen TV dinners…Find out how easy it is to cook a home-cooked meal each night by planning it ahead of time. Grab your free Menu Planning Basics report at www.MenuPlanningCentral.com – and watch for the menu pack offer after you sign up.

You’ll Need

* 5 wine corks
* Glue
* Brown pipe cleaners
* Small black or red pompom
* Small wiggly eyes

Directions:

Glue two of the wine corks back to back length-wise. This will be the body of your reindeer. The next cork will be the reindeers head. Glue it length-wise as well, but slightly offset on top of one of the sides of the reindeer body.

The last two corks will become the reindeers legs. Glue one vertically under each side of the reindeer. Your reindeer now looks like it has two legs.

After the glue had a chance to dry, draw a line in the middle of each of the leg corks to make them appear as two legs each.

Use a pen or large blunt needle to poke a whole in the top of head of the reindeer. Form antlers out of the brown pipe cleaners and poke them into the whole. Glue on the black or red pompom as a nose, then glue on two wiggly eyes.

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KidsActivityCalendar.com
How would you like to get fun and educational activities for your preschooler delivered to your email inbox every week? Join us for some alphabet fun

Stop Feeding Your Kids Junk! – Skip the fast food and frozen TV dinners…Find out how easy it is to cook a home-cooked meal each night by planning it ahead of time. Grab your free Menu Planning Basics report at www.MenuPlanningCentral.com – and watch for the menu pack offer after you sign up.

You’ll Need

* 3 large marshmallows
* White icing
* Toothpick
* Miniature M&Ms
* Red licorice string
* Pretzel stick
* Chocolate kiss

Directions:

Make the snowman body by stacking the three marshmallows on top of each other. Secure them with the toothpick and “glue” the marshmallows together with a little icing. Allow the icing to harden.

Use a dot of icing on the back of two mini M&Ms to glue them on the top marshmallow. Cut a very small piece of the red licorice to make the marshmallow snowman’s mouth. Use a little more white icing to glue it on as well. Glue the chocolate kiss on top as a hat or cap. Stick the pretzel stick on the snowman’s side.

Optional – You can glue two miniature marshmallow on each side of the middle marshmallow as arms.

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School Activities:

* A Calendar To Keep Track. This is the easiest and most effective things you can do to keep yourself organized. Keep a large, wipe-off calendar in the kitchen or another central location in the house. Write the children’s holiday activities and parties (and anyone else’s for that matter) on the calendar. This way, everyone will be able to see who has an event scheduled. Having everything together in one place will also prevent you from “overbooking” your kids or having different events scheduled at the same time. Refer to your calendar daily to stay on track and be prepared for any event.

* Keep a running list. Your kids will be asked to bring snacks and drinks to their class party. They may also be asked to bring in special items for holiday craft projects in school. Keep a running list of items you need to get on the refrigerator so that you can do your shopping all at once. Having this list will prevent you from making several trips to the grocery store.

Gift Giving:

* Create a budget for your kids. If you will be providing money for your kids to buy Christmas gifts with, then make a budget. If your kids will be using their own money, it is also a good idea to help them set up a budget to keep them from spending too much. This is also a great way to teach your kids about fiscal responsibility and budgeting in a very practical and hands on matter.

* Make a shopping list. Sit down with each child and make a list of everyone they would like to get a gift for. Ask them to jot down what they are planning to get for each person and offer to help brainstorm as well. Don’t take them shopping without a list – you will either end up spending a lot more then you were planning on, or you will end up running around stores forever trying to find gifts.

We recommend:
Dine Without Whine
The family friendly menu mailer – Dinner recipes that you and your kids will love send to your inbox everyday. Christine will even create a grocery list for you. Fixing dinner every night couldn’t be easier. Give it a try!

Just grab a few crafting or decorating supplies and let the kids loose. You’ll be surprised how well what fun Christmas decoration ideas they come up with on there own. Here are some ideas to get everyone started.

Decorative Bows
Pretty Bows add a special touch to just about any decoration. Choose your color scheme for this year, then buy matching ribbon and make lots of bows with the kids and add them around your house. You can even find color-coordinated pre-made bows in the Christmas section of your craft store to match your other decorations.

Indoor Lights
Use clear, white lights to decorate inside the house this year. If you have indoor trees or greenery, get the kids add a small string of clear lights to them. Lights look pretty just about anywhere. Placing a string of white lights in an oversized vase or bowl turns it into a lit up piece of art. String some lights on your mantelpiece for a more traditional feel.

Front Door Wreath
Instead of buying a wreath to hang on your front door this year, let your kids make one. Buy a plain, undecorated wreath. Make or purchase some miniature Christmas tree decorations. Supervise with the hot glue gun while the kids create a special wreath for your family’s front door.

Nature Centerpiece
Take the kids out on a nature walk. Gather pine cones, acorns and colorful leaves. Create a beautiful nature centerpiece for your holiday dining table. Make holiday swags with sprigs of green pine needles, complete with a red bow in the center. Or have the kids arrange the finds from your walk in a bowl or basket.

Holiday Scented Candle
Stock up on holiday scented candles. Keep several candles lit in each room while entertaining. Some popular holiday scents are gingerbread cookies, French vanilla, cinnamon sticks, and eggnog. Check your local department stores or specialty candle stores for more fun holiday scents. Please be careful about lit candles with the kids around.

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Stop Feeding Your Kids Junk! – Skip the fast food and frozen TV dinners…Find out how easy it is to cook a home-cooked meal each night by planning it ahead of time. Grab your free Menu Planning Basics report at www.MenuPlanningCentral.com – and watch for the menu pack offer after you sign up.
You’ll Need

* Green Posterboard
* Construction Paper
* Markers Or Crayons
* Glue
* Scissors

Directions:

Draw a basic Christmas tree shape on the green posterboard and cut it out. Draw 24 ornaments on the construction paper and cut those out as well. Write the numbers 1 – 24 on the ornaments. We like to make number 24 a bright yellow star that will go on top of the tree.

Starting December 1st add one ornament each day all through December 24th – Christmas Eve. Simply tape or glue it on the tree to decorate it.

This is a great way for kids to keep track of how much longer they will have to wait until Santa gets here. It’s a simple, crafty version of an advent calendar.

If you have several children, simply make the tree larger and make a set of 24 ornaments for each child. You can write your child’s initials or name on the back of each ornament.

We like to hang our Christmas Tree Calendar up in the kitchen.

We Recommend:
KidsActivityCalendar.com
How would you like to get fun and educational activities for your preschooler delivered to your email inbox every week? Join us for some alphabet fun

Stop Feeding Your Kids Junk! – Skip the fast food and frozen TV dinners…Find out how easy it is to cook a home-cooked meal each night by planning it ahead of time. Grab your free Menu Planning Basics report at www.MenuPlanningCentral.com – and watch for the menu pack offer after you sign up.
You’ll Need

* 5 wine corks
* Glue
* Brown pipe cleaners
* Small black or red pompom
* Small wiggly eyes

Directions:

Glue two of the wine corks back to back length-wise. This will be the body of your reindeer. The next cork will be the reindeers head. Glue it length-wise as well, but slightly offset on top of one of the sides of the reindeer body.

The last two corks will become the reindeers legs. Glue one vertically under each side of the reindeer. Your reindeer now looks like it has two legs.

After the glue had a chance to dry, draw a line in the middle of each of the leg corks to make them appear as two legs each.

Use a pen or large blunt needle to poke a whole in the top of head of the reindeer. Form antlers out of the brown pipe cleaners and poke them into the whole. Glue on the black or red pompom as a nose, then glue on two wiggly eyes.

We Recommend:
KidsActivityCalendar.com
How would you like to get fun and educational activities for your preschooler delivered to your email inbox every week? Join us for some alphabet fun

Stop Feeding Your Kids Junk! – Skip the fast food and frozen TV dinners…Find out how easy it is to cook a home-cooked meal each night by planning it ahead of time. Grab your free Menu Planning Basics report at www.MenuPlanningCentral.com – and watch for the menu pack offer after you sign up.
You’ll Need

* 24 small treats or presents
* Scraps of wrapping paper
* Tape
* Scissors
* Markers
* String or Ribbon (optional)

Directions:

Start out by getting 24 small treats or presents for your child. This doesn’t have to be much – it’s more the element of surprise because we will wrap the presents that make an advent calendar fun.

Here are some ideas for the treats:

* individual pieces of candy
* a new pen or pencil
* a couple of crayons
* a quarter
* dollar store toys
* marbles or jacks

Once you start looking, it will be easy to come up with 24 small gifts. Wrap each gift individually. Write the numbers 1 – 24 on the gifts. You can set the gifts out on the counter, put them in a small basket, or string some string or ribbon across a wall and tie each present on it.

Every morning starting December 1st, your child gets to open one of the little presents.

We Recommend:
KidsActivityCalendar.com
How would you like to get fun and educational activities for your preschooler delivered to your email inbox every week? Join us for some alphabet fun.