{Snow Painting}

Snow Painting Fun!

We tried snow painting last spring, and it was such a quick and simple activity to prepare, but the kids had so much fun playing! They've been talking about it ever since (we did it last spring!), and can't wait for snow this year so they can do it again!

Just fill some squirty bottles [affiliate link] with water, add a few drops of food colouring, and they're all set! They wrote their names in the snow, made a giant snowcone, and gave the snowman a makeover!

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{Edible Sparklers}

Edible Sparklers:

Pizzazz for Your Party Table!

"Mummy, I can't take my eyes off them, they're just so loveable!" 

If you're looking for a little pizzazz to dress up your party table, these edible 'sparklers' were so easy to make - they literally took 5 minutes - and are an easy party treat for kids to make! We made them for New Year's Eve, but they would be perfect for any fireworks night such as the Fourth of July or Canada Day, or for kids' birthday parties.

To make them, get some pretzel sticks or bread sticks (we liked the salty pretzel sticks combined with the sweet topping - mmmm!) and dip the top half in melted chocolate (see my tips for melting chocolate here, as it can easily burn). 

Then we quickly rolled them in various sprinkles. (Do not use coloured sugar as it will just dissolve in the warm chocolate.) I had a few gold sprinkles left, which I combined with some confetti sprinkles, some star sprinkles, [affiliate links] and some normal rainbow sprinkles, mixed together on a shallow plate. I love how the combination turned out! 

Then lay them out on some baking paper or wax paper, spaced apart, and refrigerate for a little while until the chocolate hardens.

They really remind me of real fireworks!

I first saw the idea of edible sparklers over at Nurturestore, but hers are a bit different - made from chocolate fingers. Have a look and see which will work for you. 

These are definitely going to be our new party food staple!

Don't miss out on new ideas!

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{25 Homemade Gifts for Preschoolers}

25 Homemade Gifts for Preschoolers

Are you the crafty type? Looking for some ideas for making a DIY gift for your preschooler for Christmas, stockings, a birthday or just because? 

25 Homemade Gifts for Preschoolers:

Very Hungry Caterpillar button threading counting game on Mama Pea Pod

Magnetic peg dolls from Frog, Goose and Bear

Scratch-off tickets from Teach Mama (I made these for all our stockings a couple of years ago and they turned out great!)

No-knit knitted Christmas stockings from Red Ted Art (I'm still trying to find the perfect sweater for this!)

Magical treasure-filled walnuts from Here We Are Together

Cozy car caddy from Homemade by Jill

Freezer paper stencilled t-shirts with your child's favourite picture on it, on Mama Pea Pod

Recycled DIY crayons from Frog, Goose and Bear

Jingle bell ribbon rings from Make and Takes

Personalized I-spy bottles from Lalymom

DIY play kitchen from The Boy and Me

Holiday straw toppers from Fireflies and Mudpies

Easy-sew personalized pillows from Mama Pea Pod

Felt quiet time book from Babes in Deutschland

Fort in a bag from Saltwater-Kids

Superhero cape from Hideous! Dreadful! Stinky!

Toddler-friendly sewing basket from Childhood 101

Snowman kit from Make It Do (we got one of these as a gift and it was a huge hit!)

Mermaid Waldorf doll from Taming the Goblin on Mama Pea Pod

Felt ABC mat from Oopsey Daisy

Ribbon wands from Frog, Goose and Bear

Fairy house kit from Inner Child Fun

Puppet making kit from Childhood 101

Gingerbread play dough from Sweet Sugar Belle


There are lots more adorable ideas on my Homemade Gifts for Kids Pinterest board!

For more simple ideas for kids, subscribe to Mama Pea Pod.

{Cute Reindeer Crafts for Kids}

 

 Cute Reindeer Crafts for Kids

These cute little reindeer ornaments are easy and fun to make for the Christmas tree or to decorate a gift. Or kids can make them as teacher gifts! The ones you see here were made two ways:

Reindeer 1: The one above was made by wrapping a sparkly tinsel pipe cleaner (all product links in this post are affiliate links) around an empty narrow tape roll! I imagine you could also use a tiny craft wreath. Before wrapping, thread a jingle bell onto the pipe cleaner and slide it along to the middle (you could also glue on a pom pom if you prefer). Then wrap. It turned out great, and the hard middle makes it sturdier. 

Then use cut pieces of beige pipe cleaners to make the antlers (we used 1/4 of an extra long pipe cleaner for each antler; probably 1/2 of a regular 12 inch pipe cleaner would do). Place it so that there is a longer and shorter end and wrap around the center piece - twist tightly to attach. Then either fashion each end into an antler 'hook', as we did with the ones below (I actually like those antlers better), or simply twist the ends together and leave a little sticking out in each direction, as we did with the one above (easier for little kids to do). Then glue on some googly eyes (I used hot glue, but regular white school glue would also work.) Finally, tie on a loop of sparkly ribbon for hanging your reindeer ornament.

Reindeer 2: For the ones just above and below, we made them almost the same way as above, but without the tape middle. Instead, they just formed an oval shape with the tinsel pipe cleaner and twisted the ends together. Then made the antlers as described above. I prefer this style of antlers, as I think they look more like antlers, but my daughter needed a bit of help.

Then we used them to decorate their teacher gifts - homemade bath salts for one teacher, and specialty beer for the other!

Before you go, you might want to check out these similar posts:

Two Christmas Cards Preschoolers and Toddlers Can Make

Reindeer Growth Records 

35+ Christmas Crafts for Preschoolers

And be sure to check out Mama Pea Pod's Christmas Ideas Page and Christmas Pinterest board! 

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{10 Christmas Advent Calendar Ideas for Preschoolers}

10 Christmas Advent Calendar Ideas for Preschoolers:

This round up of 10 of our favourite ideas for advent calendars that are suitable for the preschool crowd may be just what you're looking for, or may inspire you to come up with a unique idea of your own! If you have a great advent calendar for your preschooler, please share it on the Mama Pea Pod Facebook page! I love to see what you've made!

DIY Advent Calendars Round-Up from Mama Pea Pod

Paper Bag Advent Calendar Activities (with printables) from The Connection We Share

Santa's Beard Countdown to Christmas from Paper Creations by Kristin

Matchboxes Advent Calendar from Write.Click.Scrapbook

Recycled Christmas Cards Activity Advent Calendar from Octavia and Vicky

Kid-Made Festive Christmas Countdown from Creative Play Central

Book Tree Advent Calendar from Reading Confetti

Around the World Advent Calendar: Merry Christmas in 24 Languages from Glittering Muffins

DIY Cone Advent Calendar from Glittering Muffins

Book a Day Countdown to Christmas from The Chirping Moms


You might also be interested in Mama Pea Pod's Christmas Ideas page over there on the right --> (scroll down a little)

{Quick, Last Minute New Year's Eve Party for Kids}

Like Mama Pea Pod for birthday party ideas? Please consider throwing a vote our way in the Red Tricycle Most Awesome awards for Birthday Party Ideas! Thanks so much! x

Last year was the first year we celebrated New Year's Eve with the kids (though not as late as midnight!). We decided to have a spontaneous party and knocked on doors to invite all our neighbours with kids (8 adults and 6 kids in all, ranging in age from 1 1/2 to 7 years old). 


In Hungary, New Year's Eve (called Szilveszter in Hungarian), is often celebrated with a large dinner of pork and stuffed cabbage for good luck. (Read more about Hungarian New Year's traditions in my guest post over at Red Ted Art.) Since we decided at around 6pm that night to have a party (after all the shops were shut), we didn't have any stuffed cabbage on hand. Instead, we raided the pantry for whatever we did have and came up with crackers and cheese, cookies, a box of brownie mix, various sweet treats from Christmas, and some frozen meatballs - pork! 


Szilveszter is also a time of superstitions, to ensure good luck for the coming year. In an effort to scare away evil spirits, people make as much noise as they can. Kazoos, paper horns, and other noisemakers keep the spirits away. People often wear silly hats, masks, and accessories, and buy noise-makers, fireworks, and sparklers. Earlier in the day, we had bought some noise-makers and sparklers for our own kids - and we always have lots of silly accessories in our dress-up box!

So after our snacks and drinks, some free play, and a spontaneous 'talent show' put on by the kids in our living room, we bundled the children up in their snowsuits and took them out to the garden to light up the sparklers (fortunately we had enough for everyone to share). They all had a wonderful time waving them around in the dark (with very close adult supervision, of course*), and blowing paper horns and those noisemakers that roll out, making as much noise as they could!


It was such fun, and the kids were all SO excited! Even though we had prepared nothing, it was one of the most fun parties that our kids remember, and they've been asking for months now to do it again this year!


*It goes without saying, really, but children should be supervised carefully whenever they are around sparklers or fireworks, should be shown how to safely hold a sparkler near the end away from the sparks, and should never pick up a sparkler that has burnt out as it remains hot for some time. We also had a designated place to put the burnt out sparklers, to avoid anyone stepping on them or picking them up. Also, please ensure that children are spaced far enough apart to avoid bumping one another with their sparklers.


Boldog Új Évet Kivánok! I wish you a happy New Year!

{Merry Christmas from the Peas}

Merry Christmas from the Pea Family!

Wishing you and yours a happy, healthy holiday!

{Christmas Around the World - Hungary}

Gingerbread

"Boldog Karácsonyt!" (pronounced more or less like Bowl-dog Car-ah-chont) is "Merry Christmas" in Hungarian.

One of the things that makes our family's Christmases a little more interesting (and a lot more complicated!) is that we celebrate a mix of English and Hungarian Christmas traditions. Our children are half Hungarian and we live in Budapest, the capital city of Hungary. Hungary is located in central Europe, bordering Austria, Croatia, Romania, Slovakia, Serbia, Slovenia, and the Ukraine. 

In Hungary, there is no Santa Claus that comes on Christmas Eve. Instead, Szent Mikulás (Saint Nicholas) comes on the night of December 5th, filling children's newly polished boots on the windowsills with chocolate, tangerines, nuts, and small gifts. You can read more about the Mikulás tradition here. 

Walnut and Poppy Seed Beigli

Christmas itself is celebrated on December 24th, not the 25th. On Christmas Eve, families enjoy a traditional Christmas dinner of carp soup, stuffed cabbage, and possibly some other meat (could be pork, chicken, or turkey - likely as breaded and deep-fried cutlets known as ránttot hús), followed by beigli, a sweet pastry roll filled with walnut paste or poppy seed paste.

Száloncukor candies to hang on the tree

After dinner, children often go out for a walk or some other such distraction with their grandparents. While they are out, Baby Jesus comes to the house and delivers presents and a fully-decorated Christmas tree. Trees usually have száloncukor candies hanging on them - chocolate covered candies with various fillings (marzipan, jelly, nougat, etc.), and it's not unusual for there to be real candles on the tree instead of lights. Children come home from their walk to this magical sight and open their presents.

Budapest Christmas Market

One of the highlights of Christmas in Budapest is the Christmas markets. They are a great place to find some special, handcrafted gifts, including beautiful locally made pottery and elaborately decorated gingerbread cookies. Or just wander around drinking forralt bor (mulled wine) or hot apple cider from your special Christmas market mug and eating Hungarian specialties such as mangalica sausages, stuffed cabbage, and roasted chestnuts. Nighttime at the market is especially magical, with all the Christmas lights twinkling.

Stuffed Cabbage

Ummm....rooster testicles stew, anyone??

Some of the challenges for us celebrating a multicultural Christmas here include getting a Christmas tree earlier in the month (although they are becoming more popular and easier to find now), since most Hungarians don't put up their tree until Christmas Eve; and buying a whole turkey to roast for our Christmas dinner - we have to pre-order one specifically from a butcher as you can't buy them in supermarkets. And, of course, 'keeping the story straight' for all the various relatives from each culture can be very complicated and confusing!

Despite the challenges, celebrating a mix of cultural Christmas traditions makes our Christmas special, and reflects who we are as a family. We love that our children are growing up bilingually and biculturally!

If you want to get into the spirit of a Hungarian Christmas, why not try this beigli recipe, or have a go at making some of these lovely decorations made from dried fruits and spices? They smell divine! (Follow these instructions for drying oranges)

Hanging decorations made from dried oranges and limes,
 cinnamon sticks, and bay leaves

How do you celebrate Christmas where you live?

This post is part of the Christmas Around the World series from Living Life Intentionally. Catch up on previous posts in the series to learn about how the holiday is celebrated in other countries! And be sure to get your free Christmas Around the World ebook to accompany the series.

Happy holidays to you, wherever and however you celebrate!

{New Year's Eve in Hungary: Guest Post}

Hi folks, hope you're having a happy holiday season so far. Today you can find me over at Red Ted Art guest posting as part of their New Year's Eve Traditions Around the World series about how we celebrate New Year's Eve (with kids!) here in Hungary.

Hope to see you there! Would love some comments over there :-)

{Easy Homemade Candy Canes}

We made easy peasy 'candy canes' this week for Princess Pea to share with her kindergarten class. These were fun to make (at least the first 6 or so were fun - after about 18 she was getting weary! lol) and are a great kid-made gift for preschoolers to make, too, as it's just like playing with playdough - except it's edible!

These are not your traditional hard minty candy canes. We made these out of marzipan! And because marzipan (also known as almond paste) stays fresh for a long time, these can be made well ahead of time (check the expiry date on your marzipan). Or, if you're like me and do everything at the last possible minute, that works too, as these are fast and easy to make.

All you need is a stick of marzipan - that's it! We bought white and red marzipan because it's relatively easy to get in lots of colours here, but it would be easy to make the red yourself just by adding a few drops of food colouring and kneading (much like dying homemade play dough). (You should be able to get marzipan/almond paste in the baking section of your supermarket, at least around Christmas.)

How much marzipan you need depends on how many candy canes you plan to make, but however much white you use, you need about a third of that amount in red.

All you do is squish the marzipan up (again, just like play dough) to soften it, then roll it out into sticks. For each stick we used a ball of white marzipan about the size of a large marble, and about a third of that in red. Make your white stick about candy cane thickness, and then roll out your red stick to about 1 1/2 times the length of your white stick (since you're using about 1/3 of the amount of marzipan for the red stick, it will be much skinnier than the white one). In the picture below, the red is actually a bit longer than it needed to be, but we just pinched off the end and put it back into the ball.

Then wrap the red around the white stick and roll it some more until the stick becomes smooth again and bend the top over. Leave to air dry and harden a bit.

Voila! Cute and tasty homemade candy canes to share with your friends!