5 Tips for Making Your Easter Holiday a Success

Easter is a heart-warming holiday that focuses on new life and the blossoming of spring! Traditions for Easter vary across the world and there are many great opportunities for making Easter special for you and your family! And we’d like to share a few tips that would help make your Easter fun and memorable!

Visit a local farm

Easter is known for a few things: bunnies, eggs, ducklings, and lambs. All those things are on farms. Easter is in many ways, a celebration of spring and new life. A petting zoo, or family farm where the kids can play with baby ducklings or feed bunny rabbits is always going to be a hit. Just be prepared for a potential tantrum if they get it in their head to take one home with you. The best way to maneuver through this conversation is to tell the kid that these baby ducklings would be happier here with their brothers and sisters and mama. Take pictures of your kids with the little animals. It always makes for some great photo ops.

Plant some flowers or vegetables

Do you have a little bit of space outdoors for a small garden or potted plants? Make a project with you and your kids to plant a seed and watch the seed grow into a large plant. An easy plant to grow are bush beans, and your kids will get a kick out of pulling the beans off the bush to cook up for supper. It might even make them excited to eat veggies! Another good option is to pick out some pretty flowers to plant, and have your kids help with digging the soil and planting the little flowers in the ground. Adding some colors to the home is a great way to celebrate Easter.

Painting or coloring eggs

The smell of vinegar from egg coloring is one of the most nostalgic things about Easter for many people. It's a fun tradition that requires only a little prep and work in the kitchen. Try to have your kid be as involved as possible, because learning how to participate in the traditions is part of what makes them fun. It's also a chance for kids to let out their creative side.

Plan an egg hunt

You can't get away with not having an egg hunt, but sometimes they can turn into disappointment if there aren't enough eggs to go around, or if the eggs are hidden too well. Whatever you do, make sure you don't use real eggs!

Attend a Religious Ceremony

If the religious aspect of the holiday is important for you and your family there is nothing quite like experiencing an evening service the night before Easter. If you have a local orthodox church in your area who is open to visitors, some of the most majestic services take place there. You can also check with your local churches to see what kind of events they have planned. There are tons of fantastic events you can find around Easter time, so Happy Easter to your family from all of us!

Tips for a Stress Free Family Trip

There is something magical about a family vacation. Getting to see the look of wonder and excitement on the faces of your little ones as you explore new places can be so rewarding. The trouble is getting there. Anxiety and drama about travelling with young children is so palpable and immediate for so many of us that it's practically become a meme. And yes, some of the hazards of travelling with kids feel unavoidable, but with a little patience and planning, you can head off trouble before it starts and leave you and your family ready to enjoy that dream trip you've been wanting.

Tips for Travel

·        Book Early! If you're flying, booking your flight well in advance means you'll more easily get seats together and avoid the hassle and anxiety of having one or more members of the family in a different row.

·        Plan for extra time between activities. Everything takes longer with kids so leave space for all the impromptu bathroom breaks and snack sessions as well as room for stumbling into fun things you didn't plan. Trust me, if your little one sees something unexpected and exciting it'll be a sweeter memory for both of you to be able to enjoy it rather than hurrying on to your next scheduled event.

·        Answer the 'Are we there yet?'. Kids have a hard time grasping hours and minutes during travel, so when they inevitably start to wonder how much longer they'll need to be in the car, I recommend trying to use language they understand, like 'between lunch and dinner' or 'as long as two movies'.

·        Give them something concrete to look forward to. Talk about the experience of travel to help them understand what it'll be like and relieve any anxiety. Let them know about the fun things they will get to do at their destination so they stay engaged and excited about the upcoming trip as well as more willing to cooperate with your trip preparations.

·        Try to stay relaxed. Bad weather, cancellations, and delays. They all happen and there usually isn't anything to be done. Your kids will take your reaction as a cue on how they are supposed to react and feel. If you're relaxed they will be more likely to follow suit.

·        Avoid early or late travel. When possible, try to aim for your travel time to be between late morning and early afternoon (or better yet, around your child's usual nap time!). Remember that bit about everything taking longer with kids? Early morning and late night travel leads to tired, stressed, and scrambling kids and adults and can be a recipe for a tantrum.

·        Charge devices and download entertainment. Having downloaded games and shows ready is a great save when travel makes wifi unavailable or spotty. This is true for long car rides or flights. And just remember, in-flight entertainment may be down and it's best to have a back-up, just in case.

·        Emergency Barf Kit. Instead of dreading a case of vacation car sickness, packing a kit for quick cleanups can turn that little accident into a quickly forgotten speed bump. Paper towels, wet wipes, plastic bags, and spare clothes will make sure you are covered even if you're many miles from the nearest sink.

About the Destination

·        Try to stay somewhere with a fridge, microwave, and laundry access in the building. Being able to have a fast, energizing breakfast in the room gets you out and enjoying your vacation faster rather than trying to corral hungry people to a dine-in breakfast when they are eager to hit the ground running.

·        Bring a solid stroller with you. For young kids, having a reliable stroller will help immensely, particularly for theme parks and sightseeing as they involve tons of walking.

·        Satisfying snacks for hangry kids. Cheese, crackers, fruit, apples, and almonds are filling and will lots of walking and new, unfamiliar foods, having comforting snacks can go a long way.

·        Repeat destinations. Coming back to the same destination means you know what to expect and you won't have to spend a lot of time researching attractions or finding directions.

Give the Gift of Style this Christmas

‘Tis the season of giving! During this time of the year, we’re often inundated with thoughtless gifts that are a dime a dozen. This year choose gifts that will stand the test of time and create lasting, special memories. Home decor is an underrated gift that can be quite personal because you have to truly know a loved one’s style in order to choose right.

Our felt ball craft accent decor adds a wonderful, whimsical touch to any home decor. Treat your loved ones to the gift of style:

Trivets and Placemats

Trivets and placemats are a wonderful way to liven up kitchen and dining room decor. These functional accent pieces are made with wool felt balls. Choose from monochromatic or the ultra-colorful to match best match your decor and color scheme. Ideal for your favorite host or hostess.

Felt Acorns

Whether you string these darling acorns into a garland or simply fill a festive basket to create a quick, stylish centerpiece, you’re certain to fall in love with their whimsical charm. These little acorns also make wonderful stocking stuffers for kids. Perfect for your favorite crafter or interior decorator.

Felt Ball Garland

Garlands are surprisingly versatile. Long after the Christmas lights have been stowed away, you’ll want to keep this adorable felt ball garland on your walls. From traditional red, white, and green to a more minimalist white and grey, you’re certain to find a color scheme that’s perfect for your style. Perfect for everyone!

Felt Ball Baby Mobile

Baby mobiles are a thoughtful gift for new parents that will one day become a sweet, whimsical keepsake that may be passed down through the family. There’s no limit to the colors you can choose from to perfectly match your loved one’s nursery decor. Ideal for children and new parents.

Quirky, cute home decor is truly the gift that keeps on giving. Not only will bring a smile to your loved one’s face every time they pass it in their home, it will welcome warm, fun conversation from all of their guests!

Make the Most of Baby’s First Christmas

Christmas is a precious time in every family’s life, but the addition of a new baby can transform this already magical time into the memory of a lifetime. Baby’s first Christmas is as beautiful and simple as it gets. You’ve not yet reached the years of lengthy lists to Santa and long nights wrapping presents. Instead, this is a wonderful time to create family traditions that will withstand the test of time.

Baby’s first Christmas is a milestone. With the festive decor and adorable outfits, it’s the perfect occasion to take photographs for scrapbooks and there’s no holiday card quite like one with a new baby as the star. Your little one may not know who Santa Claus is quite yet, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get him acquainted early on. This darling photo is the ultimate keepsake.

Adorable outfits, keepsake Christmas box, baby’s first ornaments, and whimsical stockings! You’ll likely still have many gifts left over from the baby shower so instead you can spend time and money searching for the little things that make the holiday all the more special.

These little touches will grow to be part of your traditions, memories, and keepsake collection throughout the years.

Because you can forego the mountains of gifts, you can enjoy this simple time, focus on the spirit of the holidays, and create long lasting family traditions. Don’t forget to take pictures!

What ideas do you have for making your baby’s first Christmas a memorable one? Share them in the comments below!