Family Musings

I've been talking to Abbe Mazer Lunger, the mompreneur who founded PrintArtKids , and she sent me a sample of the products they can create using your child's artwork. I was impressed with the both the quality of stationary created and the concept of using children's art to engage them in the etiquette of hosting a party. I asked her to share more about how to engage children in gratitude and how her shop works. *************************************** In the current age of email and texting, it’s only a matter of time before the hand written note is all but forgotten. As parents, we must challenge technology by continuing to teach our children the art and importance of personalized correspondence. Involving children in the planning of their birthday parties is the ideal time to introduce them to this necessary life skill. Creating their own unique invitations, thank you notes and birthday cards using their own art is a fun activity, and will enhance both fine motor skills ...

Do you have those moments in life that just scream for chocolate cake? Those special events that need a special treat to go with them? I recently was introduced to an online company, The Chocolate Cake Club , that can help you create those moments, to be inspired, and to have more fun even if your family is busy. They call these "Chocolate Cake Moments." Their tag line is - "Products That Make Life Easier For Busy Parents." What parent couldn't appreciate that. And while they offer all sorts of organizational tools and things for daily life, I want to share with you something they sell that makes life easier when you are planning a party. They are called Birthday Party Entertainment Kits . Birthday Party Entertainment Kits come with an activity that doubles as the party favor, goody bags for filling, themed invitations, themed thank you cards, a game, a party and entertainment guide, as well as one or two more things to round out the theme. Themed kits i...

Unique and unusual party favors are one way to make your child's party memorable. I had the opportunity to share several unique ideas at Charlotte's party. One of them was a cupcake soap that we shared as a party favor. Sudz N Bubbles makes and pre-packages these to match any party color scheme. We had one extra to keep for Charlotte,  but she doesn't want to use it because it is so pretty. Fortunately, she doesn't want to eat it either. These soaps are a nice way to avoid cheap dollar store toys that will break before the party is over. And they can also prevent sugar overload from giving a favor bag full of candy.  Finally, these glycerine soap products will last longer, letting the recipient remember the good time for weeks to come. Not only can these Sudz N Bubble soap cakes be personalized by color, Cindy, the mom-preneur who founded the company, can make a custom label to go on the bottom of the cupcake package. Cindy says "Sudz N Bubbles was born out o...

Kid parties are often known for concluding with a big mess for the hostess to clean up. There are cake crumbs in the carpet. Little bits of paper being chewed up by the dog (or the baby if you live at my house). And inevitably, some kid decides to make a big pink stain with his juice cup right in the middle of the living room. Right? Recently, I came across a product call Strawlution. It is a straw that goes in, but doesn't come out. That ought to foil the neighborhood brat's attempts to ruin your carpet for sure. You can use it in juice boxes, yogurt or pudding cups, or anything else that is drinkable through a straw. I've let Charlotte use these straws when she has a drink in the car because the number one no-no for us is pulling the straw out. It works especially well with those little chug milks too that you get in the drive thru. For those extremely rare days when nothing else is available. (Was I convincing enough?) Enough of my fast food habit... back to the st...

I had fun with the random number generator tonight and here are the winners from all of my closed giveaways: The Sewing Loft - #90 by Jeannine Peppers and Pollywog s - #16 by Naomie hoops&yoyo - #36 by Brandy Chocomize - #69 by Angie NYC Subway Line - #57 by Julie Cake Crystals - #78 by Melisa Bass, #68 by Heather , #37 by Sophia, #44 by Lona728, #71 by Supreme Vision Sassy Signs - #37 by SJT42075 DaSweetZPot - #7 by Shairbearg Congratulations! I'll be emailing all of you shortly to get your contact information!

Life sure does get busy when school starts... even for those of us who don't have school aged children. My hubby went back to work. MOPs started again. And a "new friend from China," as Charlotte calls her, moved in with us. (We are hosting an exchange student this school year.) So that means I still have a handful of reviews/giveaways to write up. Look for those to all be posted in the next few days. The participating companies include: Bloomin' Books Strawlution Chocolate Cake Club My Punch Bowl Monkey Monkey Music Sudz N Bubbles Squishy Press Print Art Kids (review only) Z Wind Ups Leave an comment on this post letting me know which company you are most interested in and I'll give you an extra entry on that giveaway!

PosePrints.com is unique in the world of customized cards, announcements, and invitations. They allow you to create a cartoon or silhouette version of your little one to adorn your card instead of just relying on stock images.  I had fun playing around with different birthday invites for Mary (since Charlotte already had invitations printed). I was able to email the pose and card I designed to myself to use as a digital invitation for Mary's 1st birthday. It worked perfect for us because we do 1st birthdays pretty low key around here, so there is no need for a printed card. Once I received the email, I was able to forward it to my family as an informal invitation. I think the card would have looked cute printed as well and there is an option to order blank cards to use as thank you notes or to print invitations yourself. One thing I had trouble with the first time I used the site was how to create a baby pose. I could only see the adult female pose. I e-mailed customer service...

Toddlers are not too young to learn to give to others. And honestly, most kids have too many toys anyway. That is certainly true of my own toddler. So for her 3rd birthday, instead of asking guests for gifts, we asked them to bring a pair of new pajamas. I also took her shopping to pick out a pair to make sure she was really involved in the process. Then, Charlotte and I went to the FL Baptist Children's Home and donated the pajamas to their emergency shelter. We were able to get a tour of the facility and learn more about how children end up in their emergency care. I hope that by doing this, she will start to learn about the value of helping others and be excited to come up with her own caring and sharing ideas for parties in the future. Other moms are doing the same thing to help their kid's celebrate. Malia, of Homemaking 911, has done it twice. One year her daughter hosted an Operation Christmas Child Birthday Party . Another year, her daughter asked to support the Tou...

Lots of things about Charlotte's 3rd birthday party worked well. But one of the things that worked the best (besides my mom who helped out a lot), was the cake. Actually, they are called Cake Shooters. And a bakery in my very own Central FL makes them. These are an innovative way to serve cupcakes at an party, whether its for kids or adults. The push-up style dispenser is filled with layers of cake and frosting that are easy for even young children to eat. This little girl is about 1 1/2 and she was able to work the push-up on her own. Admittedly, the flavors inside were some pretty powerful motivation! The flavors are definitely better than your typical home baked cake as well. Each shooter has a few layers of cake with yummy frosting in between them. All a kid has to do is push up slowly from the bottom and start nibbling the goodness. There are several different Cake Shooter flavors to choose from. The kid's at Charlotte's party tried Sprinkles Signature and  Cho...

When your daughter asks for a pink and purple birthday party, planning is pretty simple. There is room to be creative and have fun with the invitations. And you know what, I did just that. I found these cute birthday invitations at The Party Starts Here and thought they fit Charlotte's personality perfectly. The personalization process is easy to follow and the variety of invitations to choose from is awesome. They really had something for every personality or party theme out there. One thing I appreciated about The Party Starts Here is that they will also sell you a blank card so frugal moms can save the $7 personalization fee and do it themselves. The cards themselves were printed on thick card stock with an appropriately thick envelope to match. I wasn't worried about these cards getting damaged in the mail and I think the one I saved for posterity will stand the test of time. After browsing the various invitations, I want to throw more parties just so I can order and ...

Moms are some of the most creative people I know. If you think about it, we created little people, so there must be something flowing in the left side of our brains! It was easy to find professional party planning ideas. But I know that many moms can't afford to hire professional help for executing their wee one's birthday party. So, I went looking for moms who did it themselves, and these were some of the ideas I found. ******************** If you are into character themed parties, Karli at SweetBeaker designed a Dora the Explorer Fiesta for her own Charlotte. The Dora birthday invitations look upscale and she made them just by using the free printables available at Nick Jr.com. Same for the rest of the Dora decorations and favors . It just took some digital paper crafting skills. The color palette is simple (yellow, orange, and pink) and I can see how it would fulfill any toddler's Dora the Explorer birthday party needs! Karli told me that they kept to a simple, kid-...

When I was looking around and talking to different people about birthday ideas, I came across some particularly unexpected ones. What do you think, would you ever throw one of these parties? Karate Party Anyone - Children have lots of fun while actually learning TaeKwonDo at your child's birthday party! Your child and guests will fully participate in a safe introductory TaeKwonDo lesson. All the children learn the rules of safety while gaining self-confidence and self-respect at a party that no one will ever forget. Soccer Collies - Invite doggies to the party! I bet some of these collies are more well-behaved than some toddlers! Orange Kite Theme - A color themed party is what we did for Charlotte. Her colors were pink and purple, but the little girl with the kite party chose orange and I think the results are stunning! And using kites for a spring party makes tying everything into the theme so much easier. Have you planned any birthday parties with an unexpected th...

It helps sometimes to put a toddler's birthday party in perspective. Recently, I spoke with Candy Wingate, the President of Nannies4Hire, and she shared the following tips for managing a child's birthday party. Keep it simple. Your child won't care if there are elaborate decorations, or a meticulously thought out menu. He just wants to have fun. Get some help. Many parents get overwhelmed trying to do it all themselves. If your father-in-law is artistic, ask him to make the invitations. If your sister is a great baker, put her in charge of the cake. Consider hiring someone to entertain the kids, run the games or clean your house pre- and post-party. Ask for your child's input. Before you start planning, get your child's opinion. Even young children enjoy a trip to the party store to choose between Elmo and Thomas the Train plates. My kids love to browse through party catalogs to choose a few special things for their party. Keep it manageable. Instead of invitin...

The first giveaway in the Family Musings Birthday Bash is over! I used the random number generator at Random.org to select from the 157 comments. And the winner of the Bake Me A Wish giveaway is.... Anonymous commenter # 85. I've emailed the winner and hope they enjoy their Triple Chocolate Enrobed Brownie Cake!

Party favors come in all shapes and sizes. And if you are lucky enough, all flavors too! DaSweetZpot Jam can turn any flavor or beverage or food into a yummy jam or jelly that can please the youngest and the oldest party guests. For Charlotte's 3rd birthday party, I included a small, personalized jar of Kool-Aid jelly from DaSweetZpot on Etsy . This was an easy choice because pretty much every kid knows Kool-Aid and the flavors are accessible to tiny taste buds. It was a fun addition to our favor bags and something that no one had seen before. (Actually, our favor bags had lots of cool things, but you'll have to wait a day or two to read about the rest of them.) I had to pick our jelly flavors before Charlotte decided on her birthday theme, so I chose to do a rainbow of jellies. The jars were beautiful to look at and they included her name, age, and a thank you for coming note on the label. The flavors were listed on the bottom. I asked owner Marlene how they took flavors of K...

When you have a park party like Charlotte just did, it is important to make sure your guests know which pavilion or picnic area to go to. Sassy Signs are a fun way to do that. They are completely adorable and completely customizable for birthday, anniversaries, yard sales, fundraisers, or just about any other event where people need directions to get there. Sassy Signs is another great company started by moms who saw a need and knew how to meet it. And they didn't do the job halfway either. After using their signs for Charlotte's party, I can see why they are so much better than the traditional plastic cardboard type sign that gets staked in the ground or the typical piece of paper taped to a poster board. The Sassy Sign is very easy to customize with letters, numbers, arrows, greetings, or other symbols. You just peel and stick your characters onto the thick poly sign, insert the spring wires, and then place in the ground. It bends with the wind but can't be blown over...

A cake from the local grocery store bakery is a fine way to celebrate a birthday. But what if you could take it to the next level? You know, bling it up a little? Now you can! Cake Crystals are a new product this year that can take an ordinary cake to the next level. It is hard enough to make a delicious cake, let alone one that is beautiful. Most of us just don't have the time to mess with tints and tips the night before our loved one's special day. In steps Cake Crystals. And thank goodness too! I promise I had every intention of making cute cupcakes for Charlotte's party. Then, I realized that I had less than 14 hours to party time and hadn't even cracked one egg. In steps the local grocery bakery and out comes the Cake Crystals. I was able to take their cake to the next level of cuteness. They have the texture of a lollipop but don't get melty or sticky in the heat. And the flavor is a vague fruity flavor that doesn't interfere with a great chocolate ...

Sometimes I think I am a rural, slow life down country girl.... then I wake up and realize that chickens, 40-minute drives to the nearest Target, and making my own butter just aren't for me. And when I've visited major cities, I feel energized and think, I could live here. But really, I couldn't. It is just too darn expensive to be a SAHM in NYC. In part, that led us to settle in Lakeland, a semi-urban city with some wide open spaces nearby (like Kathleen). So, the next company I am going to share with you let's me have share a taste of urban life with my family without hurting my wallet. Hip moms like myself in NYC have discovered NYC Subway Line apparel. They  make the "Birthday Shirt" which uses the NYC Subway "route indicators" as their subject. These shirts allow your toddler or preschooler to show how proud they are of their new age. In these pictures, Charlotte is sporting her new '3' shirt which represents her new age ...

You've heard the expression, "like a kid in the candy store," right? How about being like a kid in the virtual candy store of Chocomize? Chocomize allows customers to customize their chocolate; that's how they got their name. Clever isn't it? They are the first company in the US that allows people to customize their own chocolate bars. First you pick your chocolate base - milk, white or dark premium Belgian chocolate. Then you can add up to five additional ingredients from a list of over 100 that includes things like dried fruits, nuts, chocolate plaques, beef jerkey and even 23 karat gold flakes. Charlotte was a happy little girl when I let her sit in my lap and browse the add-in ingredient choices at Chocomize.com . In the end, she chose a chocolate butterfly, pop rocks, dried strawberries, and gummy bears. Obviously, I had little to do with choosing her items. :) This girl doesn't get candy too often so the treat was extra special. Fortunately,...

How about we go a little outside of the box with this review? Explore a unique idea for a party favor? Have a little fun with hoops&yoyo ? According to my sources at Hallmark, these are the most popular characters Hallmark offers. What if, next time you threw a toddler party, you gave the moms a party favor instead of just the kids? They’ll share great memories and laughs at your toddler's birthday and then continue the laughs when the hostess offers an assortment of hoops&yoyo Happy Birthday sound cards to moms on their way out of the party. I don't know anyone who doesn't crack at least a small smile when they hear hoops&yoyo. They can choose one and use them to send to one of their friends who has a birthday coming up. I’ve never seen anyone do this before but what a great idea/parting gift for moms who came and gave of their time/money making your toddler’s experience a great one. Another out of the box idea is to throw a hoops&yoyo party. The pi...