Stocking Stuffer Ideas For Preschoolers and Toddlers

I'm on a roll, posting once a year, woo woo!  It's that time of year again, so I thought I would share some things I am thinking of using as stocking stuffers for my kids.  Once again I have a son and a daughter, so some of these things are a little gender specific.  I love these ages, it seems so easy to buy gifts for, because they are excited about EVERYTHING! I must warn you that my kids are really into art right now and we had a recent trip to IKEA, sorry!

Preschool Boy:

(Age 3 1/2)

01:  IKEA hand powered flashlight 

(These the the BEST, especially for night time potty runs!)

02:  Marvel Super Hero Figures

03:  Flossers

04:  Magic Wash Rag (I buy them at Dollar Tree)

05:  Slippers 

06:  Chalkboard Chalk

07:  Smelly Markers

08:  Sandwich cutters 

09:  Straws

10:  Card Game

Toddler Girl:

(Age 19 months)

01:  Melissa & Doug Color Flap Mirror

02:  Baby Doll Bottle

03:  Bath Books (Dollar spot at Target or Dollar Tree usually has them)

04:  Small Stuffed Animal

05:  Flashing Ball

06:  Toddler Markers

07:  Jumbo Crayons (They say they're harder to break, I hope so!)

08:  Panties (I'm hopeful!)

09:  Toothbrush

10:  Detangling Brush (My friend Livia just did a post about these, I'm excited!)

We will throw in a couple cutie oranges and a candy cane and call it good!  Some of these won't end up in the stockings and will probably just get wrapped as a gift.  What are some of your favorite stocking stuffers for these ages?

Stocking stuffer ideas for babies and toddlers.

I bought these stockings years and years ago, when I was single.  Why I bought such a random number, 3, I dunno.  I have to get some new ones this year, since we are now a family of 4!

When it comes to holiday shopping, I spread mine out for a couple months, and then I like to be completely done by black friday weekend.  I like to be done, so that during the Christmas season, I can sit back, relax, serve others, and enjoy the season.  This also means I have *most* of my stocking stuffer presents already done too.  I have to pick up little clementines right before the holiday, so they obviously don't go bad.  This year since I have a baby and a toddler I started thinking of fun things for Santa to put in their stockings.  Once I started thinking, I got a pretty good list going, so I thought I would share it.  Obviously, I am not going to put all of these things in them, that would be some big stockings!

Since I have a boy and a girl, these are specific to them, but some of these items you could find for either gender.

Toddler Boy:
Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Bubblebath
Travel size loofah (I have found these are perfect for babies and toddlers!)
Character Bandaids
Matchbox car
Disney movie (Cars, Incredibles, etc.)
Mini Magna Doodle
Kids tape measure (My son LOVES playing with Daddy's.)
Glow sticks for bath time
Roll of pennies (He will love putting them in his piggy bank one by one!)
Camelbak water bottle
Bath Boats
Mini boxes of raisins
Small bag of pistachios (Weird, but my 2 1/2 year old LOVES them.)
Clementines

Baby Girl:
Toothbrush
Travel size loofah
Baby Bee wash
Piggy Paint Nail Polish (I like to paint her toes!)
Soft headband
Mermaid rattle (they have pirates too!)
Sili squeeze or baby food pack (I really like the sili squeeze my sister in law gave me!!)
Fisher Price Disney Princesses
Camelbak water bottle (I found out my 5 month old can drink out of it when she grabbed mine!)
Teether
Disney movie (I know she is way too young, but better start the collection now!)
Tights
Trumpette Socks (These actually stay on!)
Board Book
Sinucleanse kids mist

What are your favorite stocking stuffers for babies or toddlers??

Christmas Crafts

This poor little blog has been neglected lately, sad but true. Since we were much more on top of things last year, I thought I would link up some of our Christmas posts from last year.

It is only December 3rd, so you still have time for an advent calendar!!

Here is a cute gingerbread one....

Or the classic paper chain.
If you are needing some decor, here is quick and easy Christmas framed art.
Faux gingerbread cookies.
And snowman spoons. All of these crafts are super inexpensive, most using dollar store supplies.
If you need some neighbor gift ideas here are a few. Sand art brownies.
Homemade candied almonds.
Or, Have a "grate" Christmas!
Hopefully we will have more ideas to show soon!

Dry Erase Menu board

Today I thought I'd feature a craft that my baby sister made. She's a newlywed, and just starting to get her little house in order. She has some great ideas, and I thought this was one of them. She originally saw the idea on make and takes.

She started with a simple black 12X12 picture frame that she picked up for just a couple bucks.



She added a pretty piece of scrapbook paper from her vast collection.



Then she just used stickers to spell out the days of the week.



Here it is all finished. Doesn't it look cute with my teapot?

Teacher Appreciation Gift

It's Teacher Appreciation week, and I've spent lots of time in the candy aisle of the supermarket to try to come up with something. There are so many options in the candy aisle, I love it! This is what I came up with.

I started with these pasta sauce jars.



The lids needed a makeover, so they visited The Spray Paint Place.



I bought a few packages of gum, and arranged them to my liking in the jars.



I found some scrapbook paper that matched the gum, and some coordinating ribbon. Then I printed out my "saying".



I added a circle of scrapbook paper to the lid to tie everything together.



Lastly, I cut my "saying" to size, and glued it to my scrapbook paper "label". I hot glued this onto my jar, and added the pretty ribbon. ~By "gum" it's nice to have such great teachers~

Hershey Kiss roses tutorial

I've been wondering for weeks what to get my man for Valentine's Day. I am always at a loss, and then I remember how much he likes food. This year I'm giving him a chocolate rose bouquet, among other things. I thought I would share how I made the Hershey Kiss roses.

Supplies I used:

Red Cellophane
Hershey's Kisses w/ almonds
bamboo skewers
scotch tape
floral tape
greenery
scrapbook paper and ribbon for embellishment
Sugar shaker



Start with some bamboo skewers. I painted mine a spring green color. I would have gone darker, but wanted to use stuff I already had.



While your skewers are drying, you'll glue your kisses "bottom to bottom" with a dot of hot glue.



Put a skewer in the end of one kiss and tape it closed around skewer.



Cut your cellophane into squarish pieces (mine were roughly 4in X 4in. VERY roughly)



Fold your cellophane over your Hershey kissed skewer, and twist it closed.





Secure with tape. At this point I wrapped floral tape around the scotch tape for a more finished look, but alas, I forgot to snap a picture of it.



Add greenery by securing it to the skewer with floral tape, or if you're lucky like me, you can just push the skewer through a hole.



I lined my sugar shaker with festive red paper, and filled it with red pistachios...



Add a tag... I'm NUTS about you!

Last Minute Neighbor Gift Idea: Homemade Candied Almonds

Even though I rack my brain and try to make a list of every neighbor/friend I want to give a small holiday goodie to, I still am bound to forget someone. Then my doorbell rings and it is my cute neighbor with a treat for me and I am scrambling to find something to give in return. It always happens this last week before Christmas too, so whip up a batch of these homemade candied almonds to have on hand for a quick exchange! I actually made these this year for some of my neighbors who have to have "gluten free" due to allergies. One of the BEST parts about making these is the smell, it will make your entire house smell like Christmas with the yummy cinnamon smell. These are way cheaper than the ones you buy in the mall, I get the 3 pound bag of almonds at Costco, I think it is around $10. This recipe requires a lot of stirring, I recruited my strong husband to help.

I got this recipe from allrecipes.com, I have included a TON of pictures, I wish I would have these, I had to learn how to do this recipe the hard way, by ruining a batch, boo. If you just keep stirring this recipe is SIMPLE.

Candied Almonds

1/2 Cup water

1 Cup white sugar

1 TSBP ground cinnamon

2 Cups whole raw almonds

Combine the water, sugar, and cinnamon in a saucepan over medium heat; bring to a boil; add almonds. Cook and stir the mixture until the liquid evaporates and leaves a syrup like coating on the almonds. Pour the almonds onto a baking sheet, lined with wax paper. Separate the almonds using a fork. Allow to cool for 15 minutes.

****The "syrup like coating" is misleading, keep stirring, you want them to be dry and have a crystallized coating. Below is the recipe in photos.

Mix your ingredients and bring to a boil....
Add the almonds and keep stirring...
It will start to thicken a little, keep stirring....
More stirring....
This is what I thought is a syrup like coating would be, DO NOT STOP HERE, KEEP STIRRING...
The sugar will start to stick to the bottom of the pan, that is OK, you're not done yet, even when it looks like this, KEEP STIRRING....

When your almonds look like this, you are done!

Pour them onto your baking sheet and let them cool....

I had some decorating bags that I decided to put them in....

I think they worked well, I made sure to tie a bow over the logo, so you don't see it. I found some cute cone ornaments I had bought at IKEA last year to put them in.

I think they turned out cute, and they were yummy!!
Merry Christmas, 5 days left!!

Neighbor Gift Ideas: Sand Art Brownies

Remember back in the 90's when sand art was all the rage?? I remember going to an amusement park and paying to make some cool sand art. As an ode to a once popular trend, I have revived sand art, just a bit, with these sand art brownies. It is actually a recipe I got from my Mother, I think she got it from a friend when sand art was in it's prime. As I was doing some holiday shopping for various gifts at IKEA a few weeks back, I came across this super cute jar. It is a 37 ounce jar, with stars etched on it and it was quite the deal at $3.99.I layered the ingredients, then found a scrap piece of Christmas fabric, and secured it with some baker's twine. I printed out the instructions and gave it to my cute friend.
Here is a view of all the layers. I think it turned out pretty cute myself!
Here is the recipe for Sand Art Brownies:

Layer the following ingredients at the bottom of a quart jar as follows:

1/3 cup cocoa powder

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup white chocolate chips (optional)

1/2 cup chocolate chips (I usually use semi-sweet)

2/3 cup brown sugar

1 Cup + 2 TSBP flour

1/4 TSP salt

1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

I usually leave out the white chocolate chips and nuts when I am giving this to neighbors, since many don't like them.

Here is the instructions for your note:

Add:

1 TSP vanilla

2/3 cup vegetable oil

3 eggs

Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes in a 9x9 greased pan. This recipe makes 16 brownies.

What are you giving your neighbors and friends this season?

Five Dollar Friend Gift

Tis' the season of giving! I think that one of the most challenging parts of the season, isn't the actual shopping for gifts, but it is thinking of what to give. I try to put some thought in and really find a good gift, but that can take some major effort. This is a really good gift for friends, or a neighbor who you are really close to, it is the CHOGIST cheese grater. I gave this to my Mother one year, she loved it so much she gave it to my Aunt, and now they both give it out to their friends and neighbors. It is no surprise that I love IKEA, but I can always find great stuff there for a reasonable price. The reason why this grater is so great (he he he), is because it grates your cheese right into the bowl and comes with a lid, so that if you don't use all of your cheese for dinner, you can put it in the fridge for later. It comes with the bowl, the lid, and 2 graters (a large and a fine) for only $4.99! So I threw a bow around it and attached a note underneath that said "Hope you have a "grate" Christmas!" Simple, cheap, and an awesome gift!

Journal Jar

One thing that I would love to be great at, but constantly fall short, is journaling. I always have good intentions, but then I feel like what I am writing is lame, so I end up not writing at all. The blogging world has helped a little bit, I am documenting fun things here and there on my family blog, but I would still like to be better. My Mother is a good journal keeper, and I love reading through her journal, the stories are so fun to remember. While cleaning out closets the other day I came across my journal jar that I had made a few years back. I brought it out and put in on my dresser, I am going to start small with my goal, and say I will dedicate some time once a week to journaling. Eventually, I hope to make it a daily routine, but I am starting with once a week, so that I am not quickly disappointed with myself. Making a journal jar is easy and inexpensive, and with Christmas coming, a fun home made gift for family members. You can tell mine is from a few years ago, with the raffia bow. :)

To make your own journal jar you will need:

An empty jar (Mine is an old quart size canning jar)

Scrapbook or colorful card stock paper

A fun ribbon or some baker's twine to tie around your jar

You can print out different journaling topics, cut them out with fun scrapbook scissors, and place them in your journal jar. Then once a week or day, pull one out an write about it.
If your giving this away as a gift, it would be fun to find a cute journal to give along with your journal jar.

I am not sure the author of the poem attached to my journal jar, but here it is.

"Preserve you memories..seal them up well. What you forget, you can never retell. But a journal that's kept fresh on the shelf, will help someone through tough times...maybe even yourself."

If you want a full list of the topics that are in my journal jar, send me and email at bagsnrags3 (at) gmail (dot) com and I would be happy to send it. It's a little lengthy for the blog. Also, if you have great journaling topics or ideas I would love to hear them, please share!