Advent Activities

Whilst it's fun to just open the advent calender and light the candles why not come up with a list of advent activities that your can do each day together in the lead up to Christmas.....

I have been looking for ideas....... here are a few of my favourite..... click on the link for each one to go to their blogs....

and finally......

What ever you choose today have a great advent.....

Advent Candle Art

I thought today we would have a go at decorating our own advent candles - we will need four, one for each advent weekend before Christmas.

I had a look on the net, go old google, and found some great ideas. I decided to follow this post from redtedart

Why don't you all a have a go you've go a few days to get ready!

Kids Crafts - Advent

Children love the anticipation of Christmas and there is nothing more exciting than counting down the days leading up to that big event......

So instead of buying a chocolate filled Advent Calendar why not make your own - with the kids help of course......

Here are a few easy but effective ideas to inspire you that you can all make leading up to the start of Advent...

all these ideas are really simple and you probably have most of the materials to hand - obviously minus the gifts inside.......

if you want more ideas check out pinterest there's loads of ideas there......

Banana Biscuits

Wow where has the time gone?

I seem to be running to keep still at them moment so have totally neglected this part of my blog......I'm so sorry to all of you who do take the time to visit my kids section and I have had nothing for you. I will be remedying this very soon and especially to the run up to Christmas.

 I have all sorts of ideas planned so will be back in force towards the end of the month.

But here's a really great recipe that I've been baking for a while now - banana biscuits - they easy to make and you can all get involved....

I got the recipe from kids spot kitchen take a look & give them a try....

Lets get ready for halloween....food ideas

There are loads of great halloween party food ideas around at the moment and whilst us adults might find some of them a little bit off putting (to say the least!) kids just love it - the more gruesome the better.......

so here are a few ideas I have found recently that you can make with your kids to have or take to a party this halloween....

l love this idea - here's the link 'banana ghosts'

and these worms are so easy to make just pour jelly into some bendy straws - let it set and yuck - wiggly worms.....

and how about this - so simple but effective......

for more ideas check out my halloween pinterests site

Mixed-Berry Shake

Milk shakes are great fun to make with the kids and adding ice-cream makes it even better.

Try this simple recipe this weekend to help prolong that summer feeling...

This will serve about 6

Takes about 10 minutes to do....

You will need...

1 litre tub vanilla ice cream

6oz mixed red berries - those frozen ones are good for this

1 pint milk

Some fancy dancy straws - if you wish!

In a blender, combine half of the ice-cream, berries and milk. Puree until smooth - ypu may need to stop occasionally to give it a stir - Pour into glasses and repeat with the remaining ingredients

See simple

Have a great weekend

 

Shadow Puppets

I love a good puppet show and when I was a kid I used to make loads of shadow puppets and patterns on the wall. My step son's also loved it and we would spend hours making cutouts for a play on a wet day....

It's really easy and fun way of pretend play, making up stories and putting on a show with the kids for family & friends - you can even make popcorn & 'sell' tickets for the event to make it all a bit more fun.....

Check out this link for some great ideas......

Flappy Birds

We made these at our kids club the other day and they went down a storm. Loads of different designs and colours.........

So I thought I'd share the link with you.

The idea was from that excellent site 'made by Joel' I love all the things he does on his blog.

check out the link...... and happy flapping!!

Kids Kebab

 

Kids like nothing more than helping with the dinner and one of the easiest things to do with them is to let them thread meat, fruit & veg on to skewers for the barbecue or under the grill.

Its a funny thing but if you allow the children to choose what they want on 'their' skewer they will eat it all up when cooked! But if you put the exact same ingredients, without them being involved, they will become fussy and refuse to touch it - Murphy's law or something!

Loads of different ingredients can be available for cooking this way from cubes of meat & cocktail sausages; to meat balls & bacon rolls; pineapple & grapes; halloumi cheese; all types of vegetables including mini tomatoes;corn-on-the-cob rings; colourful peppers; black pudding; prawns and I've even tried mango wrapped in bacon.

This is so easy to do all you need are some kebab sticks (or even coctail sticks for mini kebabs) and raid your fridge & freezer for a variety of ingredients (you only need small amounts) to prep and place in bowls for the kids to assemble themselves. When they have finished you can just brush with oil & grill or barbecue.

Serve with simple dips of tomato sauce, mayonnaise or  just a fruit yogurt if they are sweet kebabs.

Have fun enjoy yourselves and let your imagination run riot!

Tasty Tacos

I found this brilliant recipe idea for tacos last week and they went down a storm in our house.

Children can help prepare & cook this meal and also assemble their own tacos. From just simply grating the cheese, cleaning the salad or helping to stir the sauce - kids love to get involved with this style of dish.

Click on the image below to get the recipe link

Upgrade the ice-cream cone

Make your ice-cream cones individual with a quick dip in melted white chocolate & flakes of coconut

or you could use coloured candy or mini marshmallows - the choices are endless........

here's the link to creative wednesday - where I got the idea!

Fresh Fruit Skewers

We made these the other day & they were sooooo good we decided to share the recipe with you all......

I found the idea on a food blog called inspired taste - I'll share there link at the end of this post.....

Children of all ages enjoy making these...

It's very simple - to make 12 kebabs (will serve 6) you will need....

1 lb fresh pineapple (or tinned), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 pint strawberries, halved
2 whole bananas, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3 whole kiwis, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 bottle (7.25-oz) chocolate topping that forms hard shell
12 8-inch bamboo skewers

All you do is ....

Thread fruit alternately onto bamboo skewers, using approximately 2 pieces of each fruit per skewer.

Place fruit skewers in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze for at least 1 hour or until fruit is frozen through.

Just before serving, drizzle each skewer with chocolate topping and return to freezer until ready to serve.

We had ours with some cream - very yummy......

Here's the link to inspired taste

Calendar Fun

Every year my nieces, Bethan & Jelly (nickname for Genevieve), have made their father a calender for Christmas.

Originally the pictures for each month were collages or finger paintings and hand prints but as the girls grew up the calender has become more & more impressive.

This year they have progressed to planning; staging & taking the photographs; editing & they also plan to upload the pictures to get the calender published.

This year the aim is to take loads of pictures of Timothy (my well loved bear) in loads of different places & poses.

So far he has visited France on a boat

 and played boule,

Posed with a impressive Knight

and I have no idea whats going on here!

The girls are having so much fun doing this and it is teaching them all about photography & editing. They are really inspired.......

If you and your children want to have a go at this all you need is a digital camera or phone.

Most catalogues and supermarket chains offer a publishing service on line and you just have to upload your chosen photo's. It's quite cheap to do - you can even have a mouse mat or a mug printed if you wish.
 My brother loves receiving this each Christmas and it is always in pride of place in the kitchen. Mike (my brother) has kept every single one and it has been a great way to look back & remember special events.

Colouring In

I do love a good colouring in sheet and you can now find loads to download & print off on line.

If I'm feeling really organised and need to take little ones with me at an appointment I try to remember to take a book or something for them to do with me. And I find the most successful thing is a couple of crayons and a colouring in sheet.

Some of the best designs can be found on 'made by Joel'

Here's the link - go & have a look there are loads of really great ideas.