Wednesday, March 2, 2023

Mini Egg Rice Krispie Squares

I always get excited at Easter Candy time. Mini Eggs are in stores again! Yaaay! 

Mini Eggs are pretty good by themselves, but there is an EVEN BETTER way to eat them.




...That's right. PUT THEM IN RICE KRISPIE SQUARES. I am basically an evil genius. If you need me, I'll be in my cave shaped like a skull on the side of a volcano.

All you do is follow the directions on the cereal box and throw in a bunch of Mini Eggs, but here's the step-by-step.


Ingredients:

- Mini Eggs: AS MANY AS YOU WANT (I used a giant-sized bag)
- Rice Krispies: 6 cups
- Margarine or butter (but let's be honest JUST USE BUTTER): 1/4 cup 
- Vanilla extract: 1/2 teaspoon

For a healthy kick, try adding some ground flax - HA HA HA just kidding, these are terrible for you.

You may want to add more marshmallows or less cereal, since you are also adding the Mini Eggs. It's like a really wonderful math problem.


Directions:

1) Use a big pan to melt the butter. Add the marshmallows and melt those too. Stir the sticky horrible mess until it's not lumpy.

2) Remove from heat. QUICKLY before the marshmallows solidify into one giant hell marshmallow, stir in vanilla, cereal, and Mini Eggs.

3) Press into a buttered pan with a buttered spatula. Add a few more Mini Eggs on top because life is short.

4) Instagram that shit because you will look like you are winning at life.

5) Your kids will now start clawing at you like ravenous wolverines. Hold them off with the buttered spatula until the squares have cooled. 


Then, obviously, DEVOUR THEM because they taste even better than you think they will.



Monday, February 8, 2024

Super Easy (and Cute) DIY Valentine

This valentine is really adorable, and SUPER easy. You probably have everything you need already!


An easy footprint Valentine for the craft-impaired



You will need:
  • cardstock
  • washable paint
  • scissors (I folded my cardstock and then cut it in half)
  • marker or pen 
  • SECOND person (helper not pictured)


The Easiest and Cutest DIY Valentine Ever - you probably already have everything you need in your house!


STEP 1

Stick your kid’s foot in some paint. Get someone ELSE to hold the baby/toddler on their lap.

Take the cardstock and press it against the child's foot. This is A LOT easier than trying to bring the child to the cardstock.

You should also have some wipes handy to clean that foot off when you’re done.




Have some extra cardstock handy, because kids are wiggly. Even with your helper's assistance, you will end up with some footprints like this:




Happy Unrecognizable Blob Day! Try not to yell at your helper like I did. Sorry, Husband.


STEP 2

Write something cute on there. I chose “Little feet, big heart.” Cute, right??

I also like to put the year on footprint crafts because I know my brain will not remember when their feet were that little.


The Easiest and Cutest DIY Valentine Ever - you probably already have everything you need in your house!


Write a short message inside, and you're done!




Not every footprint will be perfect, but they will all be super cute, and your loved ones will get a kick out of these Valentines. 

So cute and easy, right?

If you have energy for another craft, check out my Keepsake Valentine Garland below!







Monday, February 1, 2024

"You Rock" Printable DIY Valentines

I am a pretty lazy person, so I usually just buy a box of valentines at the grocery store for my kids to hand out. If I'm feeling generous, I'll get the ones with stickers.

But, I was sitting in my daughter's room staring at the giant, overflowing vase that houses her rocks collection, and inspiration struck. What if we could GIVE some of those to OTHER people?





I made the kids paint them first so that they are special and it's not just like, "Um, here's a rock?"




We used washable paint for the rocks because I didn't want my kids to be permanently stained. After they dried, I sealed them with Krylon Clear Coat spray paint.




I also made this adorable printable tag that says "Valentine, you rock!" Now it all makes sense. You can download the printable tag TOTALLY FOR FREE right here. You're welcome!




I just poked a hole in each tag, then wrapped string around the rock and tied the tag on. SO easy.


"You Rock" Printable DIY Valentines - this is a great way to whittle down the kids' rock collections. Super easy and cute!


You can also download different versions for the kids' grandparents - just click on the appropriate image below to get to the free document!

"You Rock" Printable DIY Valentines - this is a great way to whittle down the kids' rock collections. Super easy and cute! There are also printables here for Grandparents' valentines!





If you have energy for another craft, check out my Keepsake Handprint Garland below!





What are your kids handing out for Valentine's Day?



Monday, January 25, 2024

Keepsake Valentine Garland

This garland is a super-easy Valentine's Day craft.

Each paper heart on the garland has a child's hand print, and a list of the things they love this year. You can bring it out and add to it year after year to create an awesome keepsake!




You will need:
  • White paper or cardstock
  • Hole punch
  • Ribbon
  • Ink pad (I used a rainbow one from Michael's - just make sure it's washable!!)
  • Hook to hang your garland (cup hooks or sticky Command hooks)
  • Diaper wipes 
  • Helper / minion to do your bidding

Step 1

Cut some heart shapes out of the cardstock. I printed a heart that I found on Google and used that as a template for tracing. No drawing skills necessary!

Punch holes on either side of the hearts. Make a few extra because kids are squirmy and some of your handprints will not work out. 





Step 2

Go get your minion (husband?) and child. Press your child's hand in the middle of the ink pad, then onto a heart. It may take a couple of tries to get this right. Be sure to have some wipes handy to clean the little hands unless you want adorable hand prints EVERYWHERE.

If you are doing this with a baby, it will be kind of hard. Once the ink is on a baby's hand, the baby always, always makes a tight fist and cries. Babies hate this, but it's WORTH IT. Get your minion to help you pry that hand open and press it flat on the paper.





Step 3

Since this is Valentine's Day, write about what your child loves around the perimeter of the heart. 

Don't forget that your ribbon will cover the little bit right next to the holes when you're done. I forgot, so the ribbon covers some of my text.





Step 4

String the hearts onto your ribbon. 

To prevent fraying, seal the ends of your ribbon by holding a lighter close to the edge. It will melt just a little and stay nice and neat.





Leave some hearts blank so that you can add more in the years to come.





Step 5

Hang and bask in the cuteness!





If you need some adorable Valentine cards, check out the simple footprint ones at the link below!


Super easy and adorable footprint Valentine cards!



Monday, January 18, 2024

Parties at Shakers Fun Centre

Today's post is from Brooke Berry, who had her son's sixth birthday party at Shakers Fun Centre!

Birthday parties in the winter require a lot of planning. You can't go outside, and I try to avoid a massive group of 6-year-olds in my house, so I always look for an alternate location. This year, we had a party for our son Jett at Shakers Fun Centre, and let me tell you - it was the easiest thing ever.
Birthday party packages include everything except the cake!



When we entered, the kids all immediately bolted for the huge inflatable slide. It's big enough for four kids to slide at once.

They loved the climbing wall too - the kids who climbed stayed on the wall for the whole night. I literally had to peel them off to go home.

The biggest hit, though, was laser tag. Being 6 and 7, most of the kids hadn't ever played before and were a bit timid to start. I went in with them and helped to explain the strategy. We played with another group that was there for a separate party. The kids were really great with the younger players, and they mostly teamed up on Mom and Grandma. If team play doesn't work for your group, you can also play as individuals.




We held off on giving them the arcade cards as long as possible, instead saving them for the end of the night. This was recommended when I booked the party and it was a great suggestion.  Once the kids got to the arcade games, they were winding down and blazed through their cards pretty quickly. It worked well for them to play and cash out their tokens right before going home.




Ages

There is no age requirement for parties at Shakers - they let anyone play who wanted to. That includes the 4-year-olds, who could barely stand under the laser tag vests! I would say parties are ideal for kids who are about 6 and up.


Cost

The "indoor unlimited" party is $220, and the "outdoor unlimited" party is $270. Compared to other party venues in Calgary (and considering the fact that everything but food is included), these prices are more than reasonable.





What You Get:

Player Cards
Party packages are for 8 kids, so you get 8 Player Cards for them to use in the Arcade. These work like debit cards, and each has $10 worth of gaming on it. Most games start at $0.55.

Loot Bags
Loot bags from Shakers are filled with great toys and treats. The kids can buy small toys with their tokens from the arcade, but the loot bags ensure everyone will leave happy!

Pop
2 jugs of fountain pop are included in the cost of the party, and additional food is available for purchase. There are lots of kid-friendly options, and the pizza is delicious.

Passes for Parents
You get 2 'Parent Unlimited Attraction Passes," which are handy for supervision and laser tag tutorials. Plus, YOU get to play.

Table Reservation
Each party area at Shakers has a table with plates, cups, napkins and utensils. There's also storage for boots and coats. Parties include a 60-minute table reservation.





Activities

The indoor party includes unlimited use of the inflatable slide, wall climbing, and laser tag. When weather permits, the outdoor party includes everything inside in addition to mini golf and go karts.

Overall, this birthday party was a big hit for the kids and the parents. Everything was well organized. The staff was very helpful and great to work with. My husband's company had their family Christmas party at Shakers last year, and all of my boys were thrilled to get the chance to return.

Every kid got to burn a lot of energy, and a great time was had by all. The best part is that it was completely stress free - Shakers is set up for this kind of thing, so you have almost no planning to do!







Full disclosure: Brooke received a complimentary party in exchange for a review.


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