Valentine's Candy Boxes

I made these Valentine's candy boxes with all of my kids' favorite candy!  I saw something similar at the store but was appalled by the price and thought I could do it cheaper plus I could personalize it with all of their favs!  I got a rectangle foam floral block and wrapped it in red wrapping paper.  I hot glued 4 movie size candy boxes on each side.  For the other candy, I hot glued individual packages to wooden dowels (check out the baking section at Hobby Lobby or Walmart).  Then I placed the dowels into the foam block at different heights and kept filling in until it looked full.  For the final touch, I added a Valentine's balloon to the center of the foam block.  These turned out so cute and definitely cheaper!

2022 Free Printable Calendar

Here is an 8.5 x 11" free printable 2022 calendar.  I keep this one in my office for a quick and handy calendar reference.  I got a thin gold table top frame for it so it looks nice and professional.  Download HERE.  Happy 2022!

Christmas Shoeboxes

We love making Christmas shoeboxes!  These shoeboxes are sent all around the world as Christmas presents for children.  The biggest program of this sort is Operation Christmas Child by Samaritan's Purse.  We have participated in this program before and love it!  The shoeboxes I made below are actually part of a program through our church for Bulgaria so please note that candy is allowed in these shoeboxes but that Operation Christmas Child does not allow candy.  Besides the candy, the rest of the items should work well for any Christmas shoebox program!  To find out more, visit Operation Christmas Child.  They also have some good tips on things to include/not include.

I made 3 Christmas shoeboxes and picked all girls around 4 years old.  Since I have boys, sometimes it's fun to buy girly stuff!  I like getting the same age and gender if I'm doing multiple shoeboxes so that I can buy multipacks of items and split them up.  When my children were younger, I would pick boys around their ages and involve them in picking out items for our shoeboxes.  It's such an easy way to involve our kids in giving to others!

I usually try not to get too many character items in case the child doesn't know the character or pick items with well known characters.  I also try to get dolls that may have the same skin coloring as the child.  Be sure to keep the age of the child in mind.  I didn't get any small items that might be a choking hazard since these girls were only 4 years old.

I like to do a plastic shoebox since it's sturdier and the child can use it for storage.  The shoeboxes have to be checked for items inside so I tie on a red and green tulle bow that can easily be slipped on and off.  It makes it a little more festive though!

Here are the items that I included to give you some ideas! (all of these items were purchased at Walmart)  To pack the shoebox, start with the coloring book then add items biggest to smallest.

• sunglasses
• small pouch with hair ties
• hair barrettes
• travel hairbrush with mirror
• toothbrush
• bracelets
• Band-Aids
• coloring book
• crayons
• small paper pads
• stickers
• socks and underwear
• My Little Pony
• stuffed animal
• light up ball
• small car
• playdoh and cookie cutters
• noise makers/kazoo
• small doll mermaid
• squishy unicorn
• flashlight
• smarties and ring pops (candy not allowed for Operation Christmas Child)

It's so fun to think of a child thousands of miles away opening a shoebox we made just for them to celebrate Christmas!  

Jurassic Park Trunk or Treat

This past year, we did a Jurassic Park trunk.  We've always focused on the costumes instead of the trunk but we decided to do both this time!  

The inflatable costumes were hilarious!  My youngest was a T-Rex, I was a Velociraptor, our dog was a T-Rex, my husband was a park ranger (we needed someone with mobility to hand out the candy!), and my oldest was a Triceratops. My youngest ran around the whole time which the kids thought was so funny!  The Triceratops costume was huge, so my oldest could hardly move!  

For the outside of the trunk, I collected similar size cardboard boxes and wrapped them in black wrapping paper.  (the liquor store is a great place to get similar size boxes!)  We taped them together to form an arch.  Then, I wrapped the sides in spiderwebs and added the lanterns which were black cardstock cones stuffed with red, yellow, and orange tissue paper.  I ordered a Jurassic Park movie poster (Amazon) for the top and added green cardstock dinosaur footprints on the ground.  

For the inside of the trunk, I ordered camo netting (Amazon) and added fake ivy and palm leaves (Amazon).  I also stung a "danger! high voltage" sign (Amazon again) in front of our dog.

Everyone really loved the trunk and the costumes and we loved making our community kids smile!  

Guardians of the Galaxy Trunk or Treat

Another year, we did a Guardians of the Galaxy trunk or treat.  The costumes (& the dog) were the highlight!  My husband was Drax, my youngest was Star-Lord, our dog was Rocket, I was Gamora, and my oldest was Groot.  We played the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack music.  For the trunk, I ordered a spaceship interior vinyl backdrop (Amazon) and made a banner.  People really enjoyed my green face!

(it's hard to see in the photo but this is the backdrop we used)

Avengers Trunk or Treat

I realized that I never posted about the trunks we did for Halloween the past few years.  So, here's to 3 posts in a row in case you need some trunk or treat ideas!  One year, we did the Avengers: my husband was Thor, my youngest was Captain America, our dog was Spiderman, I was the Scarlet Witch, and my oldest was Ironman.  (P.S. it's hard to find a girl super hero costume that's appropriate for the church trunk or treat!)  Since the dog was the star of the trunk, there wasn't much decorating to do.  I used a Superhero/cityscape plastic tablecloth (Amazon) for the trunk background and covered the rest in black felt.  I made an Avengers banner with different color cardstock and Avengers clipart.  We also did a superhero photo booth (Etsy).  It was so fun!

2021 Free Printable Calendar

Here is an 8.5 x 11" free printable 2021 calendar.  I keep this one in my office for a quick and handy calendar reference.  I got a thin gold table top frame for it so it looks nice and professional.  Download HERE.  May 2021 be better than 2020!