Happy Friday, friends!!! This week has been a great one and I still can't believe it's our last full week of school! I feel like we've been counting down for weeks and it's here!
Erika, Narci and I are all sharing our FAVES today and we'd love it if you'd join us and share your own FAVORITES this week as well! All you need to do is grab our graphic, link back to one (or all!) of us and share your own Friday Favorites post.
First up on my list of FAVORITES is Twister!!! Buddy the Elf brought it one night this week and we have all been playing it all week long - I don't know how I've been a parent for 11 years and not thought to buy Twister before now but consider this my official endorsement of the classic game :)
Today I'm sharing stocking stuffer ideas and I can't WAIT because honestly - stockings may be my favorite kind of gift giving :) Growing up Santa always left our stockings at the end of our beds and I can remember me and my brother getting up pretty much in the middle of the night to go through our stockings with each other. Years and years ago I accidentally ordered the world's largest stockings (pictured below from a few years ago)...
... and Dave and I have the best time filling them up. Even though we don't hang these stockings anymore (I have those pretty white knit ones) we still have Santa fill these and I think that that will be our tradition forever and ever.
The way I shop for stockings is I pretty much shop all year long... when I see a cute sticker book at Michaels I'll grab it. If I'm at Hobby Lobby and they have slime on clearance I'll stick it away or later. We have three tupperware kind of basket things on the top shelf of Dave's closet and I just tuck things away throughout the year and end up pretty much "curating" their stockings from the little treasures I've collected. I'll finish the stockings off with some candy/treats and we're good to go!
So... here are a few of my go-to-ideas...
- GAMES -
Y'all know we're big game people and I love popping a small game into the kids stockings because it's really a gift for everyone and something that I know we'll get a lot of use out of. If I had to recommend a single game this year it would for sure be TENZI. It's great for all ages, SO SIMPLE, it's quick rounds and it's just an all-around blast.
Here are a few of our other favorites...
- TOILETRIES -
I always throw in a couple of toiletry items into stockings - Dave and I included. This year each of the kids is getting one of these electric toothbrushes ($19 on sale from $50) which I know isn't super exciting but when they're pulling it out of a stocking it would be more exciting than it would be on a regular day :) hahaha
- SIMPLE TOYS -
I love adding in "simple toys" like play dough and foam, kinetic sand, army guys, etc. Things that encourage imaginative play throughout the year.
- BOOKS -
Obviously the new Dog Man or next book in a series they love would be a great stocking stuffer, but we also love joke books, puzzle books and "fact books". All fun. All great choices.
- PRANKS -
As my kids get older the more of these kind of "prank" things end up in their stockings. I mean - does anything say"elementary aged children live here" like fake cockroaches and electric gum??? ;)
- GIRLY STUFF -
I wouldn't be mad if Lip Smackers OR a rainbow purse showed up in my stocking - just sayin' ;)
- ART SUPPLIES -
Stockings are a great time to restock your art supplies. Paints, papers, stickers, coloring books, etc.
- BOY STUFF -
I always like to throw a pack of socks into my boys stockings because WHERE DO THEY ALL GO?!?!?!
AND HERE ARE A FEW OTHER RANDOM IDEAS
- Car air fresheners (I get these for Dave every year - it's kind of a running joke at this point)
- Everyone's favorite candies
- Lottery tickets
- movie theater gift card
- their favorite snack
- gum
- mechanical pencils
- nail polish
- SOCKS (I get Dave socks for his stocking every year along with white undershirts)
- chapstick
- beef jerky
- hand sanitizer
- purse size wet ones wipes
- Cheese Balls (my kids always beg for the Costco size bucket thing of cheese balls and the only time they get it is when Santa brings it - random but fun!)
- stuffed animal
- mittens/gloves
- sticky notes
- sunglasses
- travel cup
If you have a stocking tradition in your family and/or a great stocking stuffer idea (or two!) I'd love it if you'd leave it in the comments!
HAPPY THURSDAY, FRIENDS!!!
PS - this post contained affiliate links... thank you so much for reading and supporting my blog!
I asked for Christmas questions last week on my Instagram and y'all DELIVERED! I got so many good ones and today I'm going to answer seven and then next week I'll answer another seven. Here we go!
Today I'm wrapping up my Christmas decor home tour and showing you the downstairs. I didn't change up too much from last year but I feel like everything looks so much better with the fresh paint we had done this summer.
Happy Friday, friends!!! It's been a BUSY week and I've had no voice for about 90% of it so I am SO READY for some rest this weekend.
Erika, Narci and I are all sharing our FAVES today and we'd love it if you'd join us and share your own FAVORITES this week as well! All you need to do is grab our graphic, link back to one (or all!) of us and share your own Friday Favorites post.
It's the most wonderful time of the year... our house is FULL of twinkle lights and I AM HERE FOR IT!!! Today I'm going to share the entry and upstairs Christmas decor because 1) I take too many pictures and 2) I still haven't finished decorating downstairs
I've been collecting Christmas books since Luke was a baby and we get them out every December and have th ebest time reading and enjoying them during our reading time at night. I love hearing the kids go, "ohhhhh! This one is my FAVORITE! No... THIS ONE is my favorite!" and reminisce about reading them year after year.
It's one of my absolute favorite Christmas traditions and I so enjoy picking out a few new books to add to our collection each year. Today I'm going to share our newest additions and hope that you find a new good one (or two!) to add to (or start) your collection.
Our elf, Buddy, made his annual return to our house Saturday morning and brought a special North Pole Breakfast with him. We started this tradition in 2012 and it's one of my most favorite mornings of the whole year. I did red and green for the first 6 years and then last year I mixed it up with a whole bunch of colored bottle brush trees. My intention was to go back to red and green this year but then I was at Hobby Lobby and everything was half price and I ended up with supplies to make it a winter wonderland-ish theme instead :)
Well, if that title didn't draw you in I"m not sure what will :) The past few days have been PACKED with fun stuff and so today is a catch-all post documenting some of the fun things we've been up to.
Someone PLEASE tell me how on earth it's already Friday?!?! This week has FLOWN by but at the same time we've packed in some great family time AND decked our house from top to bottom. It was a productive week!
When we moved from Canada to North Carolina there was QUITE the culture shock in several areas... tea was iced not hot, ma'am was a term of politeness and wasn't accusatory and you were ALLOWED TO CALL ADULTS BY THEIR FIRST NAME (think Miss Joyce instead of Mrs. Buchanan). I have VIVID memories of going to a friends house to play and eat dinner and being served a big 'ol plate of corn bread, collard greens and black eyed peas. WHAT?!?!
