• CONGRATULATIONS to Our Kmart / Sears Gift Card Winner!

    The name has been drawn for the giveaway!

    CONGRATULATIONS to

    Andrea

    for winning a

    Kmart / Sears Gift Card!

    Thanks for making a comment in honor of our Giveaway!

    An email has been sent to you with more information*

    Enjoy your next shopping trip to Kmart / Sears!

    Don’t forget to enter our next Giveaway (the next giveaway will be announced later this morning)!

    *Giveaway must be claimed within 5 business days of the prize being announced.  Failure to claim the prize within the allotted time frame means you forfeit the prize.  The actual gift card may or may not be identical to the one pictured above.

  • Teaching Our Children: How to Wrap Gifts

    Letting the kids wrap their own gifts

    As I sit in the middle of the floor with little scraps of Christmas wrapping paper around me I have to smile…..  The girls LOVE going to the store to pick out the perfect gift(s) for each person.  They also really like to wrap the gifts!  While they have a tendency to make a mess, use more wrapping paper, put on too much tape, and take a long time wrapping they have a blast doing it.  Although, I have noticed that every year they get a little better and more efficient.

    Each girl starts the gift wrapping activity by picking out their own roll of wrapping paper to use for their gifts.  They use that roll of wrapping paper on all the gifts they have to wrap until there are no more gifts to do or the wrapping paper is gone.  They do the entire wrapping process on their own from cutting the paper to taping and even labeling the gift.

    While we still have the occasional – “Mom, I didn’t cut the wrapping paper big enough” overall they are getting better at the whole process.  At times, I’ve even had problems not cutting the paper big enough!  Typically, we spend an evening or two (depending on the amount of time we have) doing a “wrapping party” while listening to Christmas music.  As they wrap their gifts I will tackle some that I need to do as well.  Everyone has fun and we get a lot accomplished at the same time.

    I love that they take the extra time to not only wrap the gifts but label, add little notes, or draw pictures on the outside of the gifts.  They started doing this on their own last Christmas.  It was so cute reading their notes and talking about their drawings as we opened the gifts.  They were so proud of the gift and the wrapping which they did from start to finish.  Here are some of the sweet drawings and notes we found under our tree last year:

    Silly notes written on the gifts…..made me smile

    Brina even picked out turtle food at the store for the turtles and wrapped it for them.

    Karlie drew a planet, specifically Saturn, on this gift

    I Love You note on the gift

    Brina drew little “heart” people on the outside of this Christmas gift.

    Picture of the sweet sisters on the gift

    While the gift wrap my not win a decorative prize the girls are proud of their work and are excited to share.  They are learning many lessons during this too (hand-eye coordination, measuring, sharing, giving, etc….).  Pretty soon I will have to start delegating more gift wrapping tasks to them! 🙂

  • Snowmen Mini Donuts

    The girls were so excited to make and eat these cute snowmen.  After you finish making your snowmen, grab a cup of hot chocolate, your family, and curl up on the couch next to the Christmas tree or fireplace and enjoy.

    Snowmen Mini Donuts

    Our Blue Eyed and Green Mouth Snowman

    The girls love these little powdered donut snowmen!

    Our pretty girlie snowman

  • Kids in the Kitchen: Colorful Gingerbread Cookies

    Tray full of Gingerbread cookies to share!

    The girls love helping out in the kitchen.  At some point over the Christmas Holidays we try to make cookies.  The girls really enjoy decorating the cookies.  We have done a variety of different cookies from sugar to gingerbread and more.

    We typically turn on some Christmas music, whip up a batch of cookies, and play a game or read a book while the first batch is cooking.  Once the first batch has cooled enough and others are baking in the oven we start decorating.  As you can see from the pictures we used a couple varieties of frosting and decorations.  The girls decorate them however they want and as many as they want (they stick to the decorating until the very last cookie is done).

    It has been really neat seeing their skills improve over the past few years.  You can actually tell what the shapes of most cookies are after they are done decorating nowadays.  Plus, they have learned not to “lick” the frosting or their fingers during the whole process, ha!  🙂

    Starting to fill the tray with colorful Gingerbread cookies.  I especially like the Betty Crocker writable frosting because their easy to use for kids, only a little bit comes out, and you can stack the cookies together once they have dried.

    Just looking at these make me smile!   Some as you can see from the tops of the Christmas trees broke in the decorating process.  Love seeing the girls creative juices get flowing.

    Another rack of delicious gingerbread cookies, decorated with love! 🙂  Thankful for those quiet afternoons that we can spend relaxing and decorating cookies together.

    Next time I need to do better about taking pictures of the kids too.  I only have a couple of pictures of the girls just starting to make the cookies that didn’t really turn out.  Once we got into the cooking and decorating I got swept away with the fun that I didn’t pull the camera back out until all the cookies were done.  Hopefully, next time I will have more kid pictures to share. Does your family like to decorate cookies, if so what kind is your favorite?

  • Do You See Apple Slices or A Candy Cane?

    It is the super simple things that can add an extra festive touch to a family snack or get together.  The girls wanted a snack so I sliced up some apples, but instead of putting them in a bowl or on a plate I left them on the cutting board in the shape of a candy cane.  I love it when I am thinking clearly enough to actually do the “little stuff” because it is so worth seeing them get excited over apple slices in the shape of a candy cane or something similar.

    Think of 3 simple ways you can add a festive touch to things you are already doing.  Not to mention it may coax your kids to eat more apples or other healthy foods around the Holidays! 🙂   You don’t have to make  elaborate dishes to spark a smile in your family members!

  • Creative Kids: Packing Peanut & Wallpaper Craft

    Fun craft for the kids

    There are many great uses for the styrofoam packing peanuts.  Not only are the styrofoam packing peanuts  used to protect items that are being stored or transported they can be a wonderful kids craft once they are no longer needed.  The colorful ones are the most fun (at least according to the kids).  You can also pick up a big bag of them at your local craft store.

    When Jake’s sister and her family came to visit they spent one of their evenings here with friends.  Their friends introduced them to this easy and entertaining craft for the kids.  They brought home a baggie full of packing peanuts so I got out some wallpaper samples and the kids had a blast building all kids of items with the craft.

    The kids used paint brushes and water to wet down the styrofoam peanuts.  The wet peanuts would stick together and to the wallpaper like glue once they dried.  They can use their imagination and build whatever they want.  On the fireplace we had towers, houses, forts, pools and more fun stuff.

    If your looking for a fun craft and have a few extra packing peanuts around you should try it.

  • Giveaway: $10 Kmart / Sears Gift Card

    I am thrilled to announce a new giveaway on Blessings Multiplied!   The winner of this giveaway will receive a $10 Kmart / Sears Gift Card!  The best part about this card is you can use it either at your local KMart or Sears (or a little at both).  If you need to pick up a  gift, looking to score some bargains, or just need to restock your household items after house guests this is the perfect card for you.    The stores offer everything from clothing, toys, household supplies, jewelry, health & beauty, toys and more!  Here’s how to enter the giveaway:

    Enter the Giveaway (up to 4 entries per person)!

    1. Sign up to follow my blog (if you haven’t done so already) and leave a comment below telling us how you follow Blessings Multiplied.  Put a separate comment for each way you follow Blessings Multiplied (Email, Twitter, or Facebook) plus an extra entry for your bonus answer!   Each comment counts as an entry into the giveaway.

    All comments must be made by December 31, 2012 at 10:00 PM EST to be entered into the drawing.  Good Luck!

    The actual gift card may or may not be identical to the one pictured above.

  • Colortime Crafts and Markers – Promo Code for 15% Off All Orders

    Are you looking for a great gift for a budding artist?  Do you have a little one who loves to color?  Colortime offers a large assortment of items to color from shirts, pillowcases, tote bags, backpacks, bandanas, headwraps, and more!

    If you are looking for a neat gift for a kid or want to do a fun craft for a group of kids (Girl Scouts, Birthday Parties, Sunday School, VBS, etc…) Colortime has the perfect product for you.  The kids can use their markers to color a variety of fun items.

    Get 15% off all orders using Promo Code: 15USFG

    Since 1990, over 5 million children and adults have loved creating t-shirts, pillowcases, backpacks, tote bags, bandannas, and more for parties, slumber parties, and scout meetings with our permanent fabric markers. We have provided our customers the opportunity to entertain their guests with a creative activity that becomes a permanent keepsake. Also, we are a licensed vendor of the Girl Scouts of America. Check out our wholesale program, great for your organizations.

    More fun stuff from Colortime

    Below is a great Christmas craft you can do with the kids!

    Make sure you get 15% off your order by using Promo Code: 15USFG when you check out at Colortime!

    A special thanks to U.S. Family Guide and Colortime for sponsoring this post.  Any specific product information was provided by Colortime and U.S. Family Guide, however, the opinions expressed in this post are our own.  Blessings Multiplied will be receiving a free craft for this post.

  • Fall Scavenger Hunt

    We recently held a camp out for our Community Group from church at our house.  It was great spending some extra time with friends. The kids all had a blast riding their scooters, bikes, drawing with chalk, blowing bubbles, crafts, going on a scavenger hunt and more.

    I am thankful for an opportunity to spend extra time with family and friends.  It was a wonderful experience for our girls.  I am grateful for a big yard where we can host events and pitch seven tents!

    The kids did really well hunting down the items on the list.  I gave each kid a grocery bag, the list printed on bright orange paper and set the time for 20 minutes.  They were off and running in no time.  I was quite amazed at the items they were able to come up with in that short amount of time.  Some kids worked independently while others stuck more in groups.

    If you are looking for a fun, entertaining, and educational activity to do this weekend here’s a great place to start.  There is a one page (with two columns) printable link at the bottom of the post so you can print it out as well.

    Fall Scavenger Hunt

    • Large Red Leaf
    • Smallest Yellow Leaf
    • Dry Brown Leaf
    • Evergreen Leaf
    • Jagged Edged Orange Leaf
    • Bird Feather
    • Rough Bark
    • Smooth Bark
    • 2 Different Types of Grass
    • Smooth Pebble
    • 4 Acorns
    • Flower
    • Most Beautiful Item
    • Stick Shaped like a Letter
    • Piece of Litter
    • Ladybug
    • Tiny bit of Moss
    • Pine Cone
    • Wood Shavings
    • Caterpillar
    • Coins
    • Wiggly Worm
    • 3 Leaf Clover
    • Seed
    • Dog Toy
    • Piece of a Thorny Bush
    • Animal Fur
    • Aluminum Can
    • Piece of Plastic
    • Bug (any type)
    • A Circular Item
    • A Square Item
    • A Triangular Item
    • An Oval Item
    • A Heart Shaped Item
    • An Octagon Item
    • A Soft Item
    • A Fluffy Item
    • A Fuzzy Item
    • A Furry Item
    • A Hard Item
    • Something Blue
    • Something Purple
    • Something Black
    • Something Gray
    • Something Pink
    • Something White
    • Kids Toy

    I have been asked by a number of people for a printable version of the Fall Scavenger Hunt so here it is for your family to enjoy as well:

    • Fall Scavenger Hunt – I printed ours out on bright orange paper and let the kids have a blast searching for the various items on the list! 🙂

  • Squeezing in a Little Fun

    Sometimes we need to get out for a little bit and have fun!  Our family loves our time at home and on road trips but every once in awhile it is nice going out for a special treat.  On this particular day the girls were being troopers while we were on a short road trip so we decided to stop for a few minutes for a quit treat at McDonald’s.

    While Jake ordered the girls and I headed to the play area.  The girls burned off some extra energy for a few minutes.  They were all smiles when we returned to the van.  Thankfully the girls travel well and were content spending only a few moments playing. Even though the difference between going through the drive through and walking into the restaurant probably only was a few minutes (if that) it was worth it to allow our girls some time to run around.