Holiday Cards from Friends? Make a Photobook.

I decided that I would start a new, wee family tradition this year, which I kind of love, and it's to do with the Holiday cards that people send each year and what to do with them once the holiday season is over.

It is extremely fashionable these days to make the family photo Holiday cards and I always love receiving everyone's photo  cards that they send each year.  In fact here are a few of mine from over the years....

2015

2014

2013

Obnoxiously Adorable right?

However, once the holidays are over, I never know what to do with them! I cant bear the thought of just tossing them away as I know a lot of thought, time, money and effort goes into them, so over the years I stashed them away in drawers and hoped that one day I'd make a scrap book or something?!?! When in reality they just overstuffed my drawers!

... So this year it came to me. Each year I make a photobook of our Holiday photos that we have taken annually and this year I thought why not add these photo cards in at the back of the book?
I took my 50% off coupon from Shutterfly  (thanks Children's Place) and got to work.

I created my book as normal and then scanned each card into our computer and just placed them in as I would with ordinary photos.... so this year they are included in our Holiday Photo Book!

I am so in love with this idea and it is going to be so awesome, to always be able to look back over the years at all of our family friends too and remember them always.

"Christmas with the Johnsons 2015"

I even added in our own card

to start the "Holiday Card Section" off,

so we can keep track of those, over the years too!

I took it a step further and added the Christmas cards that I received from the girls, they were just too cute not to and this gave me an idea for something else......stay tuned ;)

This is a new family tradition

that I will enjoy and cherish for years to come!

I Hope this inspired you to start this too! Be sure to always look on Groupon for Photobook deals, coupons from Walgreens or Coupons from Shutterfly at Children's Place!


Best Wishes, G x

PS: How cool was Mrs Claus, this was a last minute opportunity with a local photographer where the girls got to meet and greet Mrs Claus over cookies, cocoa and a story book, while the photographer took the most amazing photos! Super Cute right?



Photography Credit:

Nishani Photography

Captured Memories MA

Valentines Presents for School - for Under $20!

After splurging out on Christmas gifts for the teachers at my daughter's school and spending more than I'd care to admit to my husband, last year, when shopping for Valentines gifts for my children's classmates and  teachers yesterday, I made a conscious effort to be budget friendly.

Last year I made Heart shaped Chocolate lollipops which were thrifty, adorable yet took a lot of time. Time is something that I don't have this year due to being a full time student. So I popped into Walmart last night and looked for some quick and easy ideas!

We yet again have a "Snow day" and schools are closed, including mine,  so I turned our Valentines gifts into an arts and craft (kill some snow day time) activity and we had a lot of fun with it.

Best part is, we made over 20 mini gifts and cards for all of their classmates and friends and are able to give each teacher in their school a little something all for UNDER $20! You cant beat that! If I do my usual and cant help myself go overboard, I may add a Dunkin Donut card for their actual teachers.... just because I'm an overachiever like that ;) but still this was still a super thrifty idea.

WALMART was my saving grace last night... Having just moved back  to suburbia from the city...again, I had forgotten about the genius of this place.... However, I must admit I do miss my NY dollar stores where I probably would have found everything for EVEN CHEAPER!!!

I was originally thinking something chocolate for their friends however with the amount of allergies that I know some of their classmates have, I was nervous to go down that path. I then saw boxes of Dum-Dum Lollipops 50 count with Valentine labels included to make your own Bouquets for $2.98 per box. I thought that these would be great, it even said on the box "free of all major allergens". I picked up two boxes and that was the kids sorted.

I originally picked up mugs for each teacher filled with chocolates and coffee but as I picked up 5, then 6, then 7 for their teachers, the "$" amount was wracking up. I thought to myself, Georgia you are totally over-achieving here. It is Valentines day, not a major holiday and it is the sentiment that counts, just a little something will do.

So I put the mugs back on the shelf and found some heart-shaped boxes of chocolates for $1 each. Just a nice little something to say "we appreciate you" on valentines day.

Next was cards, I wasn't really thinking of doing anything for Valentines day this year for them at school, but when the teachers handed out a list of the kids in their classroom with February's newsletter, I thought.... Oh maybe I should!

With time, I would have had the girls make cards from scratch, even just to give them something to do. But again since I didn't have a lot of that, I thought I would just buy a pack of pre-made Valentines Cards, but at $6.98 for a pack of 6.... I couldn't validate the splurge to myself.

So I found (on sale)  12 count packs of blank cards for $2 each (envelopes included) and I picked up a pack of  2 sheets of glittery, pink scrapbook paper for $0.97 and decided we would (half) make our own.

Like I said I wanted to give the girls something to do for the day so I fully involved them in putting everything together.

First we made up the Dum Dum Bouquets. We made a list of all of their friends and Savannah (5) even started to write the labels herself and I dived the pops up into 3 per child, while Sienna (2) made herself busy by picking up the dum dums and constantly asking me when she could have a "pop pop"

* TIP: The Bouquets were not holding with just the label itself so I used tiny, clear hair elastics to hold each bouquet together before sticking each label on and that solved the problem.

Next was working on the cards, we had to turn these blank cards into something Valentines-y
So we started on the envelopes. Last year I made Valentines wrapping paper with Potato Print Hearts so thought this would be fun for the girls to do and they could decorate the envelopes.

I took a potato and my "Pampered chef heart-shaped fruit and cheese cutter" and made two heart shaped printers. I gave each of the girls a paper plate with a dollop of red paint on it and just let them go to town with their potato stamps.

*Tip: I used the shape cutter for the potato print, but last year I simply just cut a heart shape out myself with a knife and it worked just as well.

While the envelopes dried, we worked on the cards. We made a template, drew and cut out 24 hearts out of the pink glittery paper and then glued a heart onto each card, The gluing was Sienna's favourite part.

And Ta-Da we turned our blank assorted cards into

Insta-Valentines cards.

Cute, Right?!

The girls, with my help, wrote them out to each of their friends and teachers, added some pictures and popped them into their beautiful heart, printed envelopes!

We were all chuffed with the adorable outcome!

Although Sienna still wanted that Lollipop!

Roses are Red,
Violets are Blue,
This was so cheap,
And you could do it easily too!

Have a Happy Valentines Day Everyone!

<3 G x

Snow Day = Princess Spa Day

Snow Day, Spa Day!

We had a full Friday planned of gymnastics, Occupational Therapy, more gymnastics and a major clean up for Daddy coming home after being away for the week. Yet all of those plans were put to a hault, when we awoke to the second blizzard of 2016. Being new to the North East we chopped today up to a "PJ and Lounging" kind of day and I was excited for this. I even put on a movie and snuggled up on the couch, however, around 10am the kids were already getting restless and were looking for something to do.  

I don't know if I had been living under a rock or what, but everyone seemed to know about this storm but me, I had some clue about it last night when I noticed the neighbours lifting their windshield wipers ( wiper blades ) I was not prepared for this and raided my pantry for cookie mix, there was none and then I thought we could paint.... but I really did not want to deal with THAT mess when I already had so much to clean.

My eldest Savannah (5) was complaining that she had a hang nail on her toe and it came to me!!! PEDICURES!!!! I could give them a PRINCESS SPA DAY!!! and it kind of took off from there ...

I quickly rounded up all of their make-up, nail polishes, lotions etc and made up a wee station with towels & foot baths and created my own mini spa for them, I called them through to the living room, offered them a robe and welcomed Savannah and Sienna (2)  in for their 11am appointment at "Spa Mummy" ;)

Because I am me, I needed to create the ambience of a Spa and mentioned "we need Spa Music" Savannah suggested the Princess Tea party soundtrack that Aunty Ali had used for their Princess Tea Party last year, and I thought.... Hmmm Princess Lullaby Music.... that will be perfect so I went on YouTube and found the perfect one  Piano Collection - Full Album (Disney) RELAXING PIANO by Hirohashi Makiko

It was.... PERFECTion!

I even remembered that I had bought them some magazines while grocery shopping earlier in the week and they enjoyed having one, "just like Mummy does, when getting her nails done" THEY WERE LOVING IT!

They read their magazines, drank water with a splash of lemon out of play tea cups and chatted amongst themselves, as they enjoyed their pampering, it was adorable.

First I started with the Pedicures, where I just soaked their feet in their usual bubble bath, cut their toe nails as normal, gave them a little foot scrub with their loofas and then a moisturizing massage. They then got to choose their colors and I painted their toenails. Savannah picked blue and Sienna pink :)

As you can see they were enjoying every second of it....

  

Next Came the Face Masks...

 While their toes dried, I thought it would be cute to put on a wee organic, homemade face mask, so I quickly googled child friendly face masks and surprisingly the first one that came up was simply a mashed banana.... (apparently for adults it's "better than Botox" and excellent for moisturizing so I even put it on myself)... Even for a little sensory play I thought it would be fun for them putting mush on their face.... and it was fun for everyone.

I left it on them only for 5 mins (20 for me) washed it off with a warm face cloth and put a little moisturizer on their face (which they think is make-up)

Spot of Lunch

By this time I was getting really into it, I made them a spa like lunch of sandwiches and fruit (and of course I had to make their sandwiches heart shaped...right?!)

Surprisingly Sienna ate EVERYTHING! Which NEVER happens!

While they munched their lunch, I set up an Manicure station, with many of the same items I had used for their Pedi's and they could barely wait for it....

Growing up in Brooklyn, NY they have visited the nail salons many a time with mummy so are very used to this game ;)

After their Manicures, at their request...well Savannah's (with Sienna mimicking her) I curled their hair and applied their princess makeup.....

Then it was time for them to choose their Princess Gown to wear;

Savannah chose Merida....

And much to my amusement Sienna Chose.......

                                                                                                          ...       GECKO!!!!!

                                                               Who was I to Argue!?

All in all, an excellent day of mother/daughter bonding and with me being away all of last week for school, we ALL needed this.

An excellent, fun and impromptu #Snowday!
and it was all made up as I went along!!!

 

And This is just beautiful and even relaxing music for any ordinary day, if you appreciate Disney ;)

Have a Great Snow Day,

<3 G x