I love thinking up fun ways to get kids involved with holiday celebrations, like coloring in turkey crowns or this “cornucopia” snack mix, but I have to let you in on a little secret: the adults usually love these details just as much as the kids! I mixed up a batch of this snack mix – a spin on homemade Chex mix with some fun additions like candied peans, Reese’s pieces and pumpkin candies – and served it in big waffle cones to make it look like a cornucopia. They’re fun handheld treats for kids (and my husband, who loves this snack mix more than anyone!) — get the recipe below! 
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Gearing up for back to school around here and I was digging into the archives for lunchbox packing inspiration and thought I’d share a few of my tried and true tricks for kid-approved lunches. See my ideas and lots of lunchbox faves below!
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Last year we threw an end of school party for Jane and all her classmates to celebrate surviving what could only be described as a wild year – for the parents, the teachers, and the kids! As this school year winds down, we talked about making this a tradition, and inviting classmates over for another after school celebration with some simple, old-school summer fun. I visited my local Christmas Tree Shops to stock up on all my party supplies and wanted to share a few of the fun finds and ways we’re celebrating the kick off of summer.
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After our last trip to Scotland, I did a big Q&A over on my instagram stories about traveling with kids. The conversation was so great, I thought it would be helpful to round up all of my tips and tricks for plane travel and road trips with kids as we enter the busy summer travel season. Scroll down for my tips about preparing kids for big trips, our favorite kids travel gear, and all the best kids entertainment to bring on planes, road trips and in restaurants. Happy travels!
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My favorite Fancypants Baking Co decorated cookies are the perfect nut free, allergy-friendly treat for Valentine’s Day celebrations! The individually packaged decorated cookies are my go-to for school holiday parties, and I love the idea of incorporating them into Valentine’s gifts and giveaways. When planning for treats to bring to school parties, we have to make sure that all of the ingredients are clearly labeled as nut-free. All of the Fancypants Baking Co cookies are made in a peanut and tree-nut free facility so they’re an easy choice! On top of being allergy friendly, they’re made with fresh, wholesome, mindfully sourced ingredients, and all of the icing is dyed naturally with colors from fruits and vegetables.
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My friends at Minted shared some of their Valentine’s Day collection with me, and I’ve been having fun playing around with the sweet little cards and pairing them with special treats for festive kids valentines ideas. A few of my favorites ideas: You’re So Ex-Straw cards paired with heart crazy straws; You Brighten My Day cards paired with heart sunglasses; You are Sharp cards paired with pink pencils; and You’re a Treasure cards paired with homemade valentine’s bracelets (that Jane and I made with heart beads for some of our friends and family!). Scroll down for all of the sources, and PS: I have a discount code to share! Use XOXODOMESTIKATE for 20% Valentine’s Day cards & gifts on orders of $50+!
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It’s Elf on the Shelf season! I have a soft spot in my heart for the little guy and get a kick out of thinking up silly scenarios for him. Last year I snapped pictures of all of best elf-antics and have over 20 Elf on the Shelf ideas to share to keep you inspired. My best advice for doing the Elf on the Shelf is to start small – the first year I only did it for two weeks before Christmas, not the whole month – and have fun with it. Sometimes the simplest set-ups have been the ones that garnered the best reactions! 
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Back to School is one of my favorite times of year. Besides being a school supply nerd (give me those freshly sharpened pencils!), I also love being back in a routine. Getting back into that routine can take a little bit of practice though, and I like to set myself up for success by getting prepared for the season ahead. My friends at Christmas Tree Shops and That! recently invited me into their store to check out some of the fall trends, and while I was there I did a major stock up on supplies for back to school lunches. I thought I’d share a few of the things I keep on hand to make lunchbox packing fast, fun, and affordable!
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This post was sponsored by Artkive as part of an Influencer Activation and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.
A few weeks ago I shared on my Instagram stories that I was filling up a box with Jane’s entire year’s worth of preschool artwork and sending it off to Artkive to test out their Artkive Book process. I got so many messages in response asking for my review once the book arrived because it sounds like a lot of us are in the same boat! Just like at our house, many of you also have endless piles of precious preschooler artwork that pull at your heart strings (but also take up so much space!).
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The snow is coming down outside, and I’d venture to guess lots of other parents like me are trying to figure out how to entertain their kids this morning. I love a seasonal DIY project, Jane loves a seasonal DIY project, and we both had a really fun time making this one for Valentine’s Day: recycled heart crayons! We have a big plastic container in our playroom that holds all the random crayons — broken crayons, crayons from restaurants, crayons from craft kits, crayons that somehow ended up in the bottom of my purse. With a little bit of prep work, a silicon mold, and some color sorting, we recycled the abandoned crayons and melted them down into festive heart shapes to share with our friends. 
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