25 days of Christmas Activities – Blessings Multiplied

Super cool fake snow!

Our friends Mike, Ashley, and Bradley gave the girls Insta-Snow Powder for their birthdays! It is AMAZING! The girls have spent hours playing with it. Ok, I will admit it I have been playing with it too. It’s just so cool to play with inside!

It is super simple to make (just add water to a measured amount of powder). The canister we have makes 2 gallons of snow. We have only made a few batches and still have the snow we made from the last several weeks. It lasts a really long time if you put it in a ziplock bag. It is fascinating, not cold, and funky to play with.

The girls were wanting to go somewhere with snow for their birthday so our friend sent “snow” to them. They had the snow out almost immediately and within a couple of days of playing with the Insta-Snow we got real snow outside in SC. The kids are convinced our friends are good luck because every time they played with the Insta-Snow they sent them it would snow again in SC (which means no school too).

It is a fun activity for the kids. If any of the snow particles do get on the counter or floors they are easy to wipe up or if you miss them they will dry back up into the powder which is easy to sweep or vacuum up off the floor. We are gearing up to do a science project and the girls are convinced that whatever they decide to do they will need to add some of the Insta-Snow powder to give their science projects an extra WOW factor, ha!

I think the next thing we are going to try is to dye the snow different colors to see how it handles that and what it looks like when you mix various ones together. Thankful for thoughtful friends who know how to brighten the lives of the little ones (and big ones) in our home! THANK YOU Ashley from Reflecting on the Simple Things in Life for providing hours of entertainment at our house!!!

They thought it was neat being able to write messages in the snow!

The Insta-Snow Powder came in this canister and it makes 2 gallons. The snow expands rapidly to 100 times its original size. It goes from being a dry granule to fluffy white snow-like substance in a matter of seconds.

Inside the canister there is a scoop for easy measuring!

First we measured the insta-snow powder into a red cup than poured the water into it.

Mixing up the snow and water. It literally grew in her hands. Super cool!

Playing with it!

So fascinating they wouldn’t even look up for the camera

Pile of fake snow to play with inside.

Felt really neat!

Loved looking at all the little pieces and playing with it.

Building a volcano!

Look it’s snowing inside!

You could play with it for hours with your bare hands because it is not cold like actually snow plus it doesn’t melt and it’s easy to clean up!

Brina playing with the snow!

Creating a replica of the Great Wall of China which we were just talking about the other day!

If you are looking for a fun and indoor activity you can find Insta-Snow Powder and other Snow like items on Amazon.

Candy Cane and B.L.E.S.S. note taped to a local ATM Machine

We have officially started our 25 Days of Christmas B.L.E.S.S. (Blessing Lives Everyday with Special Surprises) and in all honesty I think we have been blessed more by doing these activities. It has been a real joy doing these fun events everyday and it has been a great experience so far. In some cases we get to see who receives our B.L.E.S.S. gift and in other cases we will never know who is on the receiving end. We pray that whoever receives or finds these gifts will experience joy during this Holiday Season. Each night we take down the B.L.E.S.S. activity for the next day and read the verse and the activity then pray for those who have and will receive our little BLESS’ings.

Quarters taped to the toy and candy vending machines at the front of the store.

Here is what we have done so far and a couple pictures to share of our adventures:

Day 1 – Gave a donation to the Salvation Army then passed out stickers at our local Walmart as people were coming in and out of the store. During our 45 minutes passing out stickers at Walmart we saw several friends (it was great to greet friends on their way in or out of the store). The girls gave one little girl and her Dad a sticker, the Dad reached into his Walmart bag pulled out a new container of cookies gave it to his daughter and then had her give the girls each a cookie to say “thank you” for sharing a sticker. It was so sweet, I almost cried watching the whole interaction in the middle of the Walmart store entry way!
Day 2 – Taped a candy cane to the ATM at a local bank. Taped quarters to the toy and candy vending machines at a local store. The girls wanted to go back the next day and see if the quarters were used!
Day 3 – Hid dollars in the toy section at the Dollar Tree, the girls loved doing this one and giggled the whole time they were hiding the dollars. They were very excited for the kid who would find a dollar hidden in the toys.
Day 4 – Collected food for the Alms & Legs Food Pantry to help families in our local community. The girls each picked out items that they wanted to share with others. They spent a considerable amount of timing picking out the perfect cans of vegetables, fruit, and other goodies to share.

Quarter taped to the vending machine for another little kid to enjoy

One of our favorite verses this week went along with our Day 4 activity.

For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me. – Matthew 25:35

The verse was very specific so it was a fun one to discuss. When we discussed the verse with the girls they knew exactly what it meant. “If a person is hungry we should give them food.” They enjoyed picking out some of their favorite foods to share.

Karlie’s $1 “hidden” in the Dollar Tree toy aisle

I am super excited to see how great this B.L.E.S.S. activity is going already. It has been a true joy sharing with others (many of whom we’ll never meet). It has been a great experience and I look forward to seeing what will happen with our fun adventures this week.

Brina’s $1 “hidden” in the toy section on Dollar Tree.

The main purpose of this activity is to teach our family the joy of giving and sharing to those around us. I plan to do another update on our fun B.L.E.S.S. adventures next week. Sometimes it’s the little stuff that can make the most positive impact. I would love to hear how you are spreading the Christmas cheer this Holiday Season.

(Update) I have been asked by a number of people for a printable version of the 25 Days of Christmas B.L.E.S.S. activities, verses, and sheets to handout so here they are for your family to enjoy as well:

25 Days of Christmas Blessings B.L.E.S.S. – Acts of Service (we came up with more than 25 activities, around 40, then narrowed them down and decided as a family which ones to do together. I decided to give you all the activities we had listed so you can choose which ones work well for your family from the list. Just print these out on colorful paper, cut out, and place into your B.L.E.S.S. activity bags!)
25 Days of Christmas B.L.E.S.S handout sheets to leave on an item or to give to the person you are blessing.