Shop After Christmas Sales for Birthday Pinata Fillers

This entry was written on Jan 06, 2009 by our Holidays Guru Katelyn Thomas

Our guys all love pinatas, but the fillers are so pricey. This year, I bought a lot of little holiday trinketsand mini stuffed toys for 75 to 90 percent off at after Christmas sales. I am saving them for a birthday on January 14th. That pinata will be filled with silly little things and a bit of candy and the kids will be thrilled.

Other options for cheaply filling a pinata are:

• Asking adult guests to pitch in with a small bag of wrapped candy or a few small trinkets. If six parents bring a handful of fillers, that pinata will be bursting with goodies in no time.


• Shopping the Target dollar spot when it hits 75% off. Little erasers, Hello Kitty hair clips and assorted small toys were all a quarter when I visited Target the other day. (And I got Hello Kitty shopping bags for a quarter each, so guests could tote their loot home!)


• Making fillers yourself. Wrap small Rice Krispie treat squares in plastic wrap, knit animal finger puppets and whip up a bunch of necklaces and bracelets using that stash of beads that has been taking up room in your art supply bin.

Stay Safe on the 4th of July

The 4th of July is a fun summer holiday, filled with cookouts, fireworks and pool parties. However, it also has the potential to be quite dangerous. Remember these Independence Day safety tips to keep the holiday problem free:

• Never buy illegal fireworks from an out of state vendor to bring into your state. If something goes wrong, you may end up serving jail time or facing a very stiff fine on top of dealing with a family tragedy.


• Require all children to wear life vests at all times if you are near the water or have a pool in the yard. If a child slips out the door and falls in the pool, the flotation device can save the child's life.


• Make sure everyone stays hydrated and uses sun screen.


• Use insect repellent if you are in an area with mosquitos or ticks.

Take Great Family Photos During Thanksgiving

This entry was written on Nov 22, 2008 by our Holidays Guru Katelyn Thomas

Have you noticed that your Thanksgiving photos are a bit dull? Are they all crowded group photos of people around the table? One or two of these snapshots are great, but if your style is to get as many people into each photo as possible, you may want to change things up this Thanksgiving.

• A fantastic photo has a focal point. Take close ups of a single person's face or of a couple leaning in to talk to each other.


• Try a posed group shot where shorter people sit in chairs on one side of the table and taller people stand behind them instead of attempting to sneak off surprise shots of the entire group.

Keep Track of Christmas Gifts

Every year, you plan to do Christmas on a budget. Every year, you end up overbuying for a few people because you forgot you already picked up a gift. Then, you spend more money on the rest of your friends and family to even things out. The solution to keeping your Christmas budget on track is simple.

To avoid buying Christmas gifts for people who have already been taken care of, you need to keep track of all of the presents as you buy them.

• Begin by making a list of every person you'd like to give a gift to this year. Putting the list in alphabetical order is the best option, but you may prefer to group the people you are buying for by what their relationship is to you.


• Write a dollar amount beside each name. For example, you may want to budget $25 for Christmas gifts for a toddler and $5 for a gift for a coworker.


• Carry your list with you everywhere. As you find a gift, check the list to make sure that person still is in need of a gift and that it doesn't go over the budgeted amount. Once you are sure the gift is right, buy it and check that person's name off on the list.

Quick and Easy Stocking Stuffer - Felt Finger Puppets

This entry was written on Oct 30, 2008 by our Holidays Guru Katelyn Thomas

I used to buy felt finger puppets for the kids' stockings each year. When I realized how easy they were to make, I started to make them myself instead. This craft is super simple and even beginning stitchers can whip up some cute puppets.

Simply cut out two 2 1/2" long rectangles from a piece of felt. Round the top edge of each of them. Then, use other felt scraps to create a face. We like monsters, bats and bugs, but I've also done a cute little lamb and a puppy. On puppets for older children, I use googley eyes, but I stick with felt for the younger crowd. Sew on the faces and other decorative features. (I use a simple whip stitch to do all my sewing on the finger puppets.) Then, sew the two rectangular pieces together, leaving the end on the opposite side of the rounded edges unsewn. You have a finger puppet.

As you become more experienced, you will be able to make more complicated designs, such as our little bat.

Super Bowl Sunday Party Food Themes

As you open yet another bag of chips and reach for the cheese, you can barely hold back a yawn. Ten years of making nachos, hot wings and other traditional treats for Super Bowl Sunday has taken its toll. What you need are some new and exciting food ideas to shake you out of this boring party food rut you are in.

One fun idea for a very different Super Bowl Sunday food menu is to research local food preferences for the teams involved. Perhaps people from one team's home town chow down on artery clogging mega fries, while another team's supporters can't do without a fiery guacamole dip. Slipping a few of these dishes onto the buffet table can revive your enthusiasm for creating a great party spread and can introduce your guests to some new foods that just may end up being permanent additions to the menu during future events.

Another idea is to have each guest bring a dish that is traditionally served by his or her culture or is popular in his or her hometown. Of course, this doesn't work very well if you are only inviting family members to the party. In this case, you may need to assign a different region to each guest when you issue invitations.

Easy Kids Thanksgiving Craft Idea

This entry was written on Oct 29, 2008 by our Holidays Guru Katelyn Thomas

When you're rushing around cooking dinner and dusting off the good dishes, you don't have time to supervise complicated crafts. It's a good thing that there are plenty of easy kids' Thanksgiving craft ideas to help you out!

One of my favorite kid approved Thanksgiving craft ideas is to make the traditional handprint turkey. Kids love tracing around their hands to create all sorts of crafts and doting relatives treasure crafts that show how tiny those little hands are. Simply trace the hand shape onto white paper and then add details with a crayon. The thumb area is the turkey's head and the fingers become a colorful tail.

However, for older kids or young children who are more experienced crafters, traditional handprint turkeys can be a bit too simple.

To make a more complicated version of the handprint turkey craft, you will need:

• feathers


• googley eyes


• scissors


• glue


• crayon


• brown, red and orange paper


• orange pipecleaner


• hole punch


• yarn

Begin by spreading out the fingers on the hand you don't write with as wide as you can. Place your hand on a piece of brown or tan paper and trace around it. Cut out your hand shape. Cut out a red wattle and an orange beak. Cut the pipe cleaner in half.

Glue the wattle and beak to the thumb of the cut out hand. Add a googley eye to each side of the thumb. Glue feathers onto the fingers of your handprint. Shape the bottom of each pipe cleaner half into feet. Glue the pipe cleaner legs to your craft.

Punch a hole in the top of your turkey handprint. Thread your yarn through the hole and tie a knot. Now, you have a cute handprint turkey decoration that you can hang in your window.

For a messier version of this craft, use finger paints or a non-toxic washable ink to make the handprint instead of tracing around your hand.

Make an Easy Thanksgiving Card

This entry was written on Sep 30, 2008 by our Holidays Guru Katelyn Thomas

We love to give cards for every holiday, including Thanksgiving. Since I couldn't draw a turkey to save my life, I decided to create an easy Thanksgiving card using fall leaves. To make this card, you will need:

• Fall leaves


• Blank card


• Colored pencils


• Gel pen

Begin by positioning the leaves on the card in an attractive pattern. Then, trace around them with your colored pencils. Next, remove the leaves. Color your leaf outlines in. Don't forget to draw in some veins.

On the inside of the card, use your gel pen to write your Thanksgiving message. I wrote, "May your blessings pile up higher than the largest mound of leaves. Happy Thanksgiving!"