Easy Handprint Christmas Tree Craft for Toddlers #WaterWipesWalmart

This post was sponsored by WaterWipes as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.

Hands down, my all-time favorite crafts for toddlers are handprint crafts. At Christmastime especially, you'll find countless tiny acrylic painted handprints on my Christmas tree, on my mantel, or hanging on my walls.

I enjoy making these crafts with your kids, too. So, if you leave your kids in my care, around the holidays, you'll likely be surprised with a tiny handprint craft of your very own to take home.

Today, I sat down with Mabry to create a handprint Christmas tree, that will become a keepsake ornament to be treasured for years to come. While it is a super easy craft, I took step-by-step photos for you, so you can make them with your own precious kids.

It's so easy. And...quality time, FTW!

You'll need:

• a white piece of cardstock
• a variety of acrylic paint colors, at least one of them to be green
• a paint brush
• a glitter star sticker, or you can paint your own star
• a metallic marker, not pictured
• a paper plate for your paint puddles
• WaterWipes, sold at Walmart

First, "paint" the palm of your child's hand green. 

Next, have her put her handprint on the paper, pressing firmly, and lifting carefully and quickly. After they've printed their precious little hand onto paper, grab a WaterWipe to wipe their tiny hand clean of paint. With only TWO ingredients in WaterWipes, 99.9% pure Irish water and 0.1% grapefruit seed extract, you can rest assured that your little one won't be putting harmful chemicals in her mouth. 

Once you have the cutest little green handprint, you can decorate it, to become a Christmas tree. Using a variety of acrylic paint colors, have your little one dip a single fingertip into a single color and dot his/her handprint with "lights." Speaking from experience, it makes it more fun it you make little sounds like, "boop. boop." as each "light" is placed. 

Don't forget to wipe her finger clean of paint before dipping into the next color. 

After she has finished her Christmas tree, she's inevitably going to want to paint freely. With WaterWipes, you can let her! No more worrying about clean hands, faces or surfaces. No more worrying about potential harsh chemicals found in other baby wipes. You can wipe them clean with WaterWipes, a safer, more natural option.

Once she's completely finished painting, you can sit back and stare at her. Take it all in. She won't be this little for long. Hashtag babies don't keep.  BUT, you now have her tiny handprint to remember how small she once was. 

It's the most wonderful time of year to WIN a $150 gift card from Influence Central! Follow the social media actions below to be entered.

WaterWipes Walmart Giveaway

Influence Central will randomly select winners from all program entries, and will facilitate fulfillment of the winning prizes (5 winners).

8 of the Best Elf on the Shelf Ideas

Depending on when your Elf returns from the North Pole, you still have a few weeks to spend with him.  I thought it would be nice to give you a few ideas of what you can do with him...er, a few ideas of what shenanigans he may pull while he's in your home.

Last year, our elf, Snowflake, introduced himself though a Magic Door in our living room. My kids were skeptical at first but, they each grew to enjoy seeing where Snowflake would be the following morning. Truth be told, I had a lot of fun with it, too!

{I got the door from Michael's, spray painted it white, sprinkled with LOTS of glitter and nailed to the wall. The little wreath is a mini wreath that I found a 6-pack of, also at Michael's. The string of lights is a necklace from Walgreens that really lights up! Finally, the door mat is a scrap of Christmas burlap that I sewed and then made fray a bit on the edges. }

Last year I had every intention in making Snowflake bendable. Because I never got around to it, he was limited in what he could pull off. This year I'm not holding back! I'm going to follow the directions in this tutorial and make it happen!

Wanna see what Snowflake may be up to this year? Here are a few great ideas I found!

We'll call this one Chocolate Lover. Imagine the looks on your kid's faces when they come down to see their elf digging into the chocolate chips!

This naughty elf replaced all of the stockings with the family's undies. {even a baby diaper!} Do elves get put on the naughty list??

How many Charlie Brown's Christmas fans do we have? Set up this "the elf is in" booth for your kids to enjoy.

Have a little wintry fun indoors with your elf and one of his best pals. Create a couple Lego walls and have them "throw" marshmallows at one another for a good old fashioned snowball fight!

Elves get hungry, too. This elf was making it pretty clear to his family that he was in the mood for a sweet snack. He said please. I wonder if he ever got his cookies?? You'll have to click through to the original blogger to see. 

My kids have a horrible habit of blaming it {whatever "it" may be at the moment} on their brother or sister...whoever isn't in the room gets the blame. Every time. How funny will it be when the roles are reversed? This Blame Game WILL be played by our very own Snowflake!

Your turn. Leave me a link with your best elf shenanigans. I may put together another round-up of ideas and feature yours!

**There are a couple of affiliate links within this post. This simply means that when you purchase from said links, I get a small percentage of your purchase to help support my family.

Enjoy Every Holiday Moment #LivePadFree

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Walmart and Poise Impressa. All opinions are my own. 

It's the most wonderful time of year.

It's the time of year to climb up into the attic and pull down all of the Christmas decorations. It's the time of year to climb up and down the ladder, to adorn your home with Christmas lights. Lots and lots of Christmas lights. It's the time of year to drink hot cocoa with your family.

It's the time of year to get all gussied up, to go to a different Christmas party every Saturday evening of the entire month of December. It's the time of year to laugh endless laughs with friends, old and new.

Know what could put a damper on said Christmas activities, that happen during the most wonderful time of year?? Bladder leaks. Yep, I said it. Bladder leaks.

Let's talk, ladies.

As a mom of five, there are a few things that this old body just can't always, 100% control. I mean, a good jump on the trampoline and...let's just say I gave up on my jumping days long ago. Oh my gosh, when I get together with a bunch of girlfriends, and we laugh until we cry? Yeah, you know. #tinkle So, needless to say, I'm pretty excited to be teaming up with Walmart and Poise Impressa®. No more bladder leaks, y'all!

Now, with Poise Impressa® I can climb up into the attic, go up and down the ladder, and enjoy cup after cup of hot cocoa. I can get all gussied up to attend numerous Christmas parties and laugh lots of laughs with my girlfriends. But, I won't be laughing "until I pee my pants!!"

Somebody find me a trampoline. This momma has a new confidence to JUMP!

I can even enjoy a day date with my hunky hubby, to do a little Christmas shopping. 

You can find Poise Impressa® at Walmart. Unsure of where to start? Buy the Impressa Sizing Kit FIRST. 

Watch this video, and see how women, just like you and me, are enjoying the Holidays leak-free. 

How to Create a #FullHomeHappyHome {and a $100 Sam's Club GC Giveaway}

This post is sponsored by Acorn Influence and Sam's Club. All opinions are my own.

Tis the season of all things merry and bright. It's also the season for all things go-go-go! With a family of seven, we are constantly on the go. McKinley has cheer practice and competitions, Jonah had his first Spelling Bee competition, Jake had a Winter Concert with the school band, my husband and I had a wedding to attend, and we've all had holiday parties to go to. With all of these events, it's left very little time for things like grocery shopping and house cleaning. 

[McKinley's team came in FIRST PLACE!]

[Jonah came in 7th place in his 5th grade Spelling Bee.]

[Jake plays percussion in his middle school band. The concert was a success!]

I love having a large family. But, with having a large family comes large jobs...lots of laundry, lots of dishes, and lots of trips to the grocery store. Add to that it being the holidays and things just.get.crazy.

One of my most favorite stores to shop is Sam's Club. I love that I can get my family's favorite foods and everyday essentials in bulk, meaning I have to grocery shop less often. Winning! Best part, I can go online, shop at my convenience, and show up to pick my order after I drop McKinley at practice or before I pick up the kids from school. Goodness knows, I don't like dragging five kids in to any store, for any amount of time. This leaves me more time to decorate my home and cook my favorite dishes. Oh, and all of the other activities and events that come up along the way. 

Last week, I went to Sam's Club with a $150 budget. I was able to get...

• Tide Pods 120 loads
• Gain Fireworks in-wash scent booster
• a super plush throw blanket
• a new 10-piece knife set [that I've desperately been needing]
• a large roll of christmas gift wrapping paper
• 2 large spools of christmas gift wrapping ribbon
• a 5-lb bag of Tyson fully cooked chicken tenders
• a 2-pack of orange juice
• a 2-pack of apple juice
• a bundle of bananas
• a container of gourmet macaroni and cheese
• Suave shampoo and conditioner

I went over by only $2-$3, but was more than happy with all that I was able to get with $150. That's laundry for a couple of weeks, at least two dinners, enough wrapping paper for two years, knives that I have needed for years, a blanket that has already become our favorite, and enough juice to quench the thirst of all five kids for at least a week. Imagine what you could buy with $150. The average person saves $97 when shopping at Sam's Club. It's enough to have a Full Home, Happy Home!

[Our dog, Emma, LOVES our new blanket...we all fight over it!]

Enter to WIN one of five $100 Sam's gift cards below. Good luck!

$100 Sam's Club Gift Card Giveaway for Everyday Essentials 
 

Vendor calculation based on proprietary methodology comparing average non-promoted retail price per unit from a combination of leading U.S. retail outlets vs. average retail price per unit at Sam’s Club® for 2 months ending September 26, 2015. Pricing and item availability may vary in Alaska, Hawaii, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, Wisconsin, and on SamsClub.com.

Unboxing the Toy Swag from Sweet Suite 2015

Since returning from Blogger Bash in New York City last week, I've been stalking the UPS man. We knew before we left New York that the companies represented at the Sweet Suite 2015 event would be sending us a great big box of goodies instead of giving us swag there. I'm so thankful for that...it meant less lugging of bags back to your hotel room and to the airport. Whomever first thought of this idea, I'd like to give you a great big hug! Thank YOU!

{As we walked into the building, we were greeted by these gorgeous lollipop ladies.}
Let me tell you a little about Sweet Suite. It's a BIG night of play with more toy brands than you can shake a stick at! I mean, there's Crayola, Cabbage Patch Kids, VTech, Strand Bands, LeapFrog, Fisher Price, Hasbro, Hexbug, and SO many more.

{The idea of Strand Bands is similar to what we all did when we were in middle school 20 years ago, it's a modern twist on friendship bracelet making, and more!}

Watch my unboxing video for a taste of what all we saw at Sweet Suite. And, what's inside the box isn't all of it! There are some bigger items arriving on my doorstep over time. I've got some pretty amazing toys to share with you over the next few months!!! You'll want to stay tuned!

Which was your favorite toy that came out of the Sweet Suite Swag Box?? Are any of these toys on your kids Christmas Wish List? Tell me about them in the comments below!

Christmas Craft Ideas from ME and @BlissfullyD!

Over the next couple of weeks I'll have quite a few Christmas craft posts popping up over at Blissfully Domestic. If you aren't already signed up for our newsletter, go here now. You won't miss a single craft idea, recipe or fashion tip with that weekly update. If newsletters aren't your thing, check back daily. We are working hard to bring you fresh new articles and ideas every day!

Without further ado, I present you with my newest Blissfully Domestic content {click link below photo to be redirected}:

Holiday Wreaths that Dazzle

Christmas Ornaments You Can Make with Your Kids


12 Days Christmas Crafts for Kids

Which craft is your favorite? The felt Christmas tree and Olaf footprint are my favorites! These are must-do crafts this year! If you make any of the above ideas PLEASE tag me, @jonahbonah, on Instagram so I can see your fabulous creations! Remember, check back often for more fun ideas! 

Idina Menzel's Holiday Wishes {an Album Review}

I participated in the Idina Menzel Holiday Wishes album review program as a member of One2One Network. I was provided an album to review, but all opinions are my own.

Today while the kids played and I made my grocery list for the things I needed for Thanksgiving dinner {Procrastinate is my middle name}, I listened to Idina Menzel's newest album, Holiday Wishes. You know her. She's the uber talented gal that sang Let It Go for a small film named Frozen. Maybe you've heard of it? I kid...of course, you've heard of it. It's only the highest grossing animated film of all time! Of. All. Time.

One could say that Idina is Queen Elsa in the flesh. I'll totally be selling this album to my daughter as "Elsa's Christmas Music!" She's going to love the upbeat songs and she'll even recognize When You WIsh Upon A Star. This album is one you can keep on repeat throughout the Holidays!

One of my favorites from Idina Menzel's Holiday Wishes is Baby It's Cold Outside. She and Michael Buble sing a duet. The best part about the video is that it's lip synced by two talented, dancing kids and Idina and Michael sing the song. Watch it and see for yourself.

Have you started listening to Christmas music yet? You can get your own copy of Idina Menzel's Holiday Wishes at Amazon or iTunes today!
About Idina Menzel and Holiday Wishes
Holiday Wishes, a Christmas album recorded by Tony Award-winning singer/actor Idina Menzel, is out now on Warner Bros. Records.
 
The album was produced by Grammy Award-winner Walter Afanasieff (Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, Mariah Carey) and features such classic favorites as “All I Want For Christmas Is You” and “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,” as well as Joni Mitchell’s Christmas-themed “River,” one of Menzel’s favorites.
 
Another highlight is a duet with international superstar Michael Bublé on “Baby It’s Cold Outside.” An exclusive Target edition ofHoliday Wishes features two bonus tracks, including “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!”.
 
Idina’s career has traversed stage, film, television, and music. She was most recently heard as Elsa in Disney’s global box-office smash Frozen, in which she sings the film’s Oscar-winning song “Let It Go.” After her performance of the multi-platinum song at the 86th annual Academy Awards, she made history as the first person with both a Billboard Top 10 hit and a Tony Award for acting.

Idina currently stars as Elizabeth in the original Broadway production of If/Then.
I can't wait to hear what YOU think of Idina's newest album!

Snowy Holiday Fun in Kissimmee, FL at the Gaylord Palms

I was provided accommodations, theme park admission and tickets to local attractions in exchange for my feedback. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you, Experience Kissimmee!

One of the amazing perks to living in Florida is all of the fun attractions and events that surround us. Within just a couple of hours, we can be right in the middle of Gainseville, Daytona or Tallahassee. A favorite of my family's, though, is Kissimmee, Florida. There's so much to do and see in Kissimmee...especially during the Holidays!

Recently, Jonah and I had the privilege of experiencing Kissimmee and quite a few of it's popular Holiday attractions. Over the next few days I'm going to share our Snowy Holiday travels with you. If you're looking for some incredible attractions and events to go to and make memories with your family, you'll want to be checking back often! I'll be sharing stories from Disney, Sea World and also from places you may have never heard of like, U Can Cook and Fun Spot...and boy, do I have stories to tell! Jonah and I had more fun in four days in Kissimmee, FL than we've had together in years!

The first stop on our Snowy Holiday Adventure was Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center. We were there to enjoy dinner at Sunset Sam's, watch a preview of The Nutcracker by the Orlando Ballet, see a performance by Luminescence, feel the wind in our hair as we rode Snow Tubes at Alpine Rush and set our eyes on breath-taking displays of ice sculptures at ICE! featuring The Nutcracker. You could say we were in for a very eventful evening of {very COLD} fun!

photo credit

photo credit

Gaylord Palms features three historic locations in Florida within their beautiful indoor atriums: St. Augustine, Key West and the Everglades. You can also see South Beach featured at the Quiet Adult Pool. In the photo above you see St. Augustine's Castillo De San Marcos.

photo credit

Our dinner reservations were at Sunset Sam's Fish Camp, located in "Key West" at Gaylord Palms. We boarded our vessel and dined under the twinkling lights. The atmosphere is romantic enough for date night and family friendly, too. Your kids will love that they get to eat dinner on a sailboat!

I enjoyed a Grilled Rib Eye Steak with Chimichurri Sauce, Fingerling Potatoes and a Grilled Tomato. It was divine. The steak was so tender and the chimichurri sauce was an excellent compliment to it. 

Next, we made our way to see the Christmas Tree Lighting and watch a preview of The Nutcracker performed by the Orlando Ballet. The dancers were are so graceful and beautiful. It made me want to find the nearest location to see the full performance.

After the ballet, we were dazzled by the breathtaking musical performance of Luminescence. When I say "breathtaking", I mean BREATHTAKING. There were numerous times throughout this show that I found myself either near tears or in complete awe of their talent. This band and group of entertainers will have you in the Christmas Spirit in no time!

{pictured is +TampaMamaAdventures and FrugalandFunMom's kids with Jonah}

The night just kept getting better; there is so much to do at Gaylord Palms during the Holidays! After the tree lighting, ballet and musical performance, we went to Alpine Rush to Snow Tube down one of EIGHT lanes of snow. This time my breath was taken by the sheer fun I was having! I felt like I was a kid again racing down the slopes in my snow tube. After tubing, we enjoyed a Hot Chocolate Bar, Rice Krispy Treats and Italian Ice. 

Finally, we went to discover what 3 million pounds of ice looks like. ICE! at Gaylord Palms is an exquisite display of The Nutcracker depicted in the form of sculpted ice. It's truly amazing. 

Before you step foot inside the 15,000 square foot, 9 degree "cold room", be sure to grab one of 1,500 parkas that is provided so you don't freeze your buns. Did you know it took Harbin Ice Carvers 11,160 hours of total carving time to create this Winter Wonderland.  

Photos truly don't do this attraction justice. I'm not sure what I expected to see when I first walked in...but, I was blown away by how beautiful and cold and colorful and cold it all was. {Yes, I said cold twice. It was cold, y'all!}

If you're looking for a fun Holiday event for your family then you'll want to be sure to check out Christmas at Gaylord Palms in Kissimmee, FL! On top of everything that I've mentioned above, you can also see Santa Claus or have Breakfast with Shrek and his Friends!

Win a Snowy Holiday of your own from Experience Kissimmee by either texting "snow" to 82257 or going to SnowyHoliday.com. The prize is a 3-day, 2-night stay at a Kissimmee destination resort, theme park admission and tickets to local attractions for the winner and three guests.

Want to follow along on all of the Snowy Holiday Adventures with Experience Kissimmee? Check out Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!