Thursday, October 18, 2012

K's Point of View: Falling (Down) Asleep

Kids really do say the darn-est things.

Me: K, just close your eyes until you fall asleep.

K: Mommy, why do you say fall asleep?

Me: Because that's what you're supposed to do.

K: But I don't want to fall asleep... because... because... fall is means falling down... I don't want to fall. I will just sleep.


Sunday, October 14, 2012

Halloween Treat Packs!

It's K's second year in pre-school and also her second time to celebrate Halloween, in an organized way (thanks to toddler school!). This year, she wants to be Princess Aurora. Finally, that costume from Disney will be put to good use. How she will survive 3 hours in a skirt with wire hoops is another matter.

This year, I thought it would be nice to make small treat bags for her friends. My criteria for the treat bags are: materials should be readily available at home or from bookstores/supermarkets, creation should not require a lot of pattern tracing or paper folding (printables welcome), and K should be able to help me with the production. So i searched the internet - and found these four ideas for Halloween trick or treat bags. Click on the links for more detailed instructions or use your imagination and make your own just by looking at the pictures.

1. Halloween Crackers. These are reminiscent of British New Year poppers. Cardboard toilet paper cores, orange crepe paper, cutouts of halloween shapes, and some tape/glue should do the trick. If you are one to save those cardboard rolls - then you should be good to go.

from www.marthastewart.com;
hot glue a plastic spider on to the roll and make it a little more spooky.
2. Personalized Treat Bags. Download a halloween font, print out a ghoulish message "boo!" on black card stock (or oslo paper for old school speak). Attach label to a sandwich bag filled with treats. More points if you can cut out the label with "drip design" and if halloween wingdings can be added on to your printouts. These will definitely be a hit for busy corporate moms like me.

from www.marthastewart.com
3. Girly Skull Cups. This is my favorite among the four, and is fast becoming the winner for my choice of treat pack design this year. Get white paper cups. Pre-cut the eyes, heart shaped nose, barred teeth, and cross bones for the back, and of course, the ribbon! With some glue, your little one should be able to help you put together this girly rockin' skull. Better yet - put double sided tape on the backs of your cutouts - to make sticking them on easier. I'm thinking of getting caps for the cups so that the treats stay put.

from www.parents.com; hot pink cups would make these cups rocker chic!
4. Pumpkin Envelopes. Those brown envelopes that get sent around the office would be perfect for these; instead of throwing them out, recycle them. Line with 2-3 black lines. Precut the triangle eyes and goofy grin. Your toddler will definitely get a kick out of designing the toothy grins. The green node and vine on top would be an added bonus. Instead of candy - you can opt to put stickers/coloring pages and a few crayons into this treat bag, and save those kids one less trip to the dentist.

www.parents.com
Ask your kids to help you draw the toothy grin.
I have 11 days to create these in time for my daughter's school celebration. Good luck to me. Happy Halloween!