DIY Gingerbread Man Kits

Homemade Gingerbread Cookies Packaged with Icing, Ready to Decorate

Christmas Gifts for Neighbor Kids

My neighbor Kathy Rogers gave our girls gingerbread men and icing one year and it was the most adorable, and sweetest little gift.  The girls and I decided to make our first batch of gingerbread this year, and thought we would share this fun treat with our younger neighborhood friends!  Baking is a huge Christmas tradition in our family, we do lot's of cooking the entire month of December, and we buy pounds and pounds of butter, sugar, and flour, and this is great addition to our festivities.

You can do little gingerbread men or big ones. You can fit 8 or so small cookies or 2 of the extra large cookies in a standard size plastic treat bag.  Add a little bag of frosting, that can double as a piping bag, and you have an instant kid gift.  It's a craft and snack all in one!

For reference: The gingerbread recipe we used made 4 extra large cookies and 20 small cookies.

Supplies needed:

A gingerbread recipe, I used this one- Gingerbread Man Recipe 

Store bought frosting

Gingerbread boy/girl cookie cutter- Cookie Cutters

Any treat bags (mine are from Party City) - Treat Bags

Bakers Twine or ribbon

DIY Gift Tags or any gift tags

Mini bags for frosting - Snip off a corner and use it as a piping bag

Merry Christmas to our Littler Friends!

Christmas Wrapping Paper

Gold, Stripes, Plaid, and Ugly Sweater: Christmas Wrapping Paper

 

Almost everything I do happens organically, rarely is anything ever planned, because I'm too busy to plan!  I picked up my Christmas wrapping paper this year at three random place and it worked out beautifully!  Nothing is more trendy this year than plaid, & black/white/gold, &  I personally think the ugly sweaters are starting to get cute again.  Fashion faux pas gone cool.

Paper #1: The black and white stripe is from Hobby Lobby, I found it in the gift wrapping section, not with the Christmas papers.  It was priced $6.99 (use a 40% off coupon on their website), and the quality and quantity was great, their rolls are huge.  There are grids printed on the backs of their papers, which makes it so much easier to cut.  Plus, it's extra thick and doesn't rip when you are gliding your scissors across it.

Paper #2: The red plaid with glittery gold gift tape is from Dollar General.  The wrapping paper quality is mediocre but the gold tape quality was excellent.  The wrapping paper was a smaller roll, but still wrapped a handful of presents.  The cost- wrapping paper was $1 per roll, and glitter tape was $2 per roll.

Paper #3: The green ugly Christmas sweater paper is from the Dollar Tree.  The quality was extremely low, I wasn't able to run my scissors across it without it tearing.  But, the roll was wider than a standard roll so I was able to stretch it further.  I added a little extra tape to my packaging to make it a little stronger, and it looks cute, so it's still a win!

Gift Tag:  The chalkboard label sticker is from the scrap-booking section at Michaels.

Happy Wrapping!!!

Gift It: My Top 10 Preschool Girl Gifts

Christmas In July

As a mother of 3 little girls, 2 that are preschool age, I often get asked for suggestions on little girl gifts. It can be so overwhelming to even walk down the toy isles, especially if you don't have kids, or yours are a different age or gender. That being said, I have no idea what preschool boys like! But, here is what I consider fail-proof gift purchases for 3-5 year old girls. These are all moderately priced & they won't outgrow them overnight.

I have spent the last calendar year staying home with preschool age girls, & these are toys that we have, that the girls use & abuse! They are also toys I don't mind getting on the floor & playing with too.

OUR favorites:

1. Pizza Parlor by Green Toys

2. Shopping Cart by Melissa and Doug

3. Duktig 10 Piece Coffee/Tea Set by Ikea

4. Hungry Hungry Hippos by Hasbro

5. Mala Easel by Ikea, with Felt-Tip Pins & Drawing Paper Roll

6. Bake and Decorate Cupcake Set by Melissa and Doug

7. Scoop and Stack Ice Cream Cone Play Set by Melissa and Doug

8. Lalaloopsy Deluxe Crumbs Sugar Cookie Costume by Lalaloopsy

9. Six Wheel Doll Carrier and Stroller by Badger Basket

10. Disney Princess Cupcake Party Game by Wonder Forge

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