Safe Play Toddler Christmas Tree

If you have small children, you kinda know what it is like putting up a Christmas tree in your home. It becomes a challenge to keep your most precious ornaments safe from curious little fingers. Our babies are now almost 3 and 4 years old but we have had many ornaments broken to pieces in the past years. They are only materialistic things I know, but some can break and hurt them. Last year I sat with our youngest son in front of our tree for almost an hour guiding his little hands carefully over the fragile ornaments. That was my way of getting him over his curiosities for each ornament. The more you prevent them from going anywhere near the tree or touching anything on it, the more it becomes a fascination to them. It's the whole forbidden fruit thing ya' know? 

Anyway, I saw a few posts online that featured Christmas felt trees that are placed on the wall. The ornaments are made from felt also and they are attached with velcro. They can be removed and attached all day long. It is a way to keep young kids away from the big tree and all it's precious, heirloom ornaments. I think it is the cutest idea ever. I figured I wanted to make that for the kids this year also but I wanted to use an actual tree instead. An artificial one that is. I saw a very cute one at a nearby discount store for $5.99 Not bad I thought. It came in white or green...

I wanted to use a small sized version of our big tree just so that they would get used to an actual tree-like structure. I even bought miniature gift boxes to place under it on Christmas morning.

 I was supposed to set it up and place it in their room for an early morning surprise but the kids found the boxed tree in my room way before I had a chance to hide it. I tried to show them how to set it up but they wanted to take over. So, I let them...

I let them use the safe, plastic ornaments. It's genius. Looks like the real thing but they are virtually indestructible. Each had a wide enough string loop for little hands to hang and unhang. Remove and replace etc.

I think they were pretty proud of it. They demanded more and more ornaments...

This lasted HOURS...

They napped...

They awoke and went straight to the tree.

When they tugged too hard and the tree falls, I no longer have to panic thinking something would break...

How cute.

Hang NEW little toys on the tree on Christmas morning for them to find. They would love it!

Enjoy! 

Please leave me your wonderful comments and questions...

Have a safe and happy holiday season all!

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DIY Holiday String Lights

Hey all. I am in full swing of all things Christmas and Holiday'ish. I have been working on all Holiday crafts. It's the best time of the year! I get all cozy and creative with just about anything. I made these strings lights for our dining room table. Check out the ones I made a few years ago-String Lights.

Things you will need:

1. White tissue paper of coffee filters
2. Battery operated LED string lights
3. Scissor

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Fun LED Christmas Night Lights!

PLEASE NOTE: Only use LED lights for this. LED lights do not get hot or give off any type of heat. Especially when placed in a plastic bowl. The use of non LED lights may become a fire hazard.

For some reason I am very exited about Christmas this year. The kids are at an age where they are really looking forward to it. I dug trough my Christmas storage in the attic and found lots of things that I forgot I even had. It's amazing how only a year passes and we forget what we have stored away. I found these fun colorful string lights that I have not used in a few years. I still love the old school colorful lights. It brings back so many memories from my childhood.

Anyway, while the kids were sleeping today, I placed the string lights in a deep clear Plastic bowl. I didn't even bother to untangle them. Just stuff em in there and leave a portion out (enough to reach the outlet). You can leave as is or place the lid on the bowl and turn over. When the kids woke up they were very excited to see their new night light...it's a really simple thing to do but these kids get excited about anything shiny or anything that lights up! 

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Budget Friendly Christmas Decor

Like making cone trees? I can never get tired of seeing them. They are so expensive looking but so inexpensive to make. These two cone trees cost me nothing to make. I had everything I needed right at home. 

Things you will need:

1. 8.5x11 inch printer paper
2. Used tissue gift paper
3. Scotch tape
4. Elmer's School glue

I was inspired by these trees from potterybarn.com. Aren't they adorable? I love walking into that store and feeling like I can make almost anything in there. Hah, well except for the furniture...

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Best Guacamole. Ever...

Hello all. I just wanted to share a quick recipe with you all. My all time, favorite thing in the entire world to eat. Guacamole. I learned how to make this about ten years ago while visiting a cute, little latin restaurant in Queens, New York. Hubby (boyfriend at the time) and I watched the waiter/chef prepare this amazing appetizer at our table. I insisted that he explained all the sprinkles and dashes of this and that as he went along. From then on, I was known to make a pretty mean guacamole. It's a simple yet super tasty concoction I must say...Here's how.

My Recipe

1. Three ripe Haas avocados
2. Two plum tomatoes
3. Two or Three jalapeno peppers
4. One large tablespoon chopped cilantro leaves and stems
5. One teaspoon red onion
6. One teaspoon olive oil
7. One teaspoon dried oregano
8. Half teaspoon sea salt
9. One lime, juiced

Start by slicing your avocado vertically until your knife hits the seed inside. Then rotate the fruit until you have sliced it all around...

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Never Buy Organic Scallions Again...

This past summer, I started incorporating more and more organic produce/vegetables in my diet. One of those are scallions. I use a lot of scallions. I use it in scrambled eggs, soups, fried rice, sautés, mashed potatoes, sandwiches...you name it. It is used for it's amazing flavor and also for garnishing your dishes beautifully. I found myself buying this green onion almost every week or so. Usually, to save time, I would buy a good amount of it. Dice it up and freeze it-- but of course, nothing beats having it fresh. I certainly couldn't garnish my meals with frozen scallions...

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