Who knew coloring would have become such a huge trend in 2016?Maybe it's a welcome break from so much screen time or just a way to keep ourselves sane in a crazy year. Because now our girls can even color in their own clothes, with the C…
I've always loved Thanksgiving and although I have been looking forward to it for weeks now, it feels like the events of the election may loom over the dinner table like 50-foot floats in the Macy's Day Parade (except not as cute and fri…
I truly love spending autumn weekends doing fall crafts with my nieces, and now that we're done with pumpkins and ghosts, I'm looking into cool craft projects for Thanksgiving . I searched around and found some favorites from the harvest…
In a world where a quick Google search can answer even the toughest question in just seconds, we love the delicious act of waiting for a surprise in the mail. But while most subscription boxes give you a pretty good idea of what to expec…
Look around, look around, at how lucky we are it's Halloween right now! Why? Because the awesome people at the Hamilton Facebook page have released the official instructions to create a #HamiLantern. And who wouldn't want a little Lin-Ma…
When my kids were small I somehow had the time to make their costumes by hand -- things like princess dresses, a lion, and one amazing Nacho Libre costume. However, last year I literally pulled together a costume for my oldest in about 5…
I'm barely getting to the store before all the good candy is gone, so I'm definitely not looking for over-the-top complicated crafts and activities that are going to impress my friends at our annual Halloween party. And when I'm charged …
Some of my favorite posts here come from the things my kids ask me to find -- in this case, printable Halloween paper dolls. They loved some incredibly adorable paper dolls we'd featured here years back , but now they've gotten older and…
Let's be honest...I'm lucky if I can get two eyes, a triangle nose, and a mouth carved into our pumpkin each year, but for some truly talented and dedicated pumpkin carvers out there, insanely intricate carvings become a masterful work o…
It's officially that time when my kids beg to decorate our door for Halloween and here come our friends from Caravan Shoppe to the rescue! Mom and graphic artist Alma Loveland -- make of the Ollieblocks we can't get enough of -- has just…
If you've been following our Halloween coverage this year, you won't be surprised that we've been seeking out cool Sharpie Halloween pumpkin decorating ideas. After all, we're busy! So we're all about cutting down on fuss , days of exces…
My daughter is 10 and already bemoaning her leg hair and asking why the boy who used to be her friend now teases her mercilessly. No wonder she gravitated toward a fabulous new book the moment it landed in our mailbox. Crafting with Femi…
Welcome to the no-stress portion of our Halloween coverage, as we track down some of the coolest, most creative no-carve pumpkin decorating ideas that are perfect for kids. After all, for me, Halloween's swarming bats, cackling witches, …
Putting together these ideas for easy Halloween costumes for babies, all featuring clothes and accessories they can wear again, wasn't just fun -- it was very personal. I know I'm not the only parent who doesn't look forward to spending …
I have no problems with princesses and more traditional Halloween costumes for my daughter, but I admit I do have a bit of a bias toward strong girl Halloween costumes. So when my daughter told me she wants to dress up as a Greek goddess…
Not everyone has kids that want scary Halloween decorations around the house. Like mine, for example. Hosting a trick-or-treat party is one of my kids' favorite traditions of the year, and they totally love Halloween, but they'd prefer w…
Two years ago, when I learned about Parents magazine lifestyle editor Amanda Kingloff's cool, modern crafts book Project Kid , I flipped. For joy. These were crafts my kids could easily make , and I'd actually want to keep. (Sorry, glitt…
This year, with all five of my nieces dressing up as Star Wars characters, I couldn't think of a more perfect Halloween craft than creating Star Wars Halloween pumpkins together. So I've searched the web for them -- and all of you! -- an…
When you've got a little one, you probably know that means you have a whooooole lot of preschooler birthday party gifts to look for over the course of the year. One gift for each party for each kid in your child's preschool class? Yeouch…
With the cooler weather around the corner, we've got one terrific way to get ready for lots of indoor play: The fun new craft kits and art supplies from our most excellent sponsor, Handmade Charlotte Kids , now available at Michael's sto…
It seems like one of the great organizational issues that all parents have in common is finding stuffed animals storage solutions for those dozens of critters that seem to accumulate out of nowhere. When I was a kid, it was Beanie Babies…
If you ask me, it's never too early to teach a child about emotional intelligence. I still remember my teacher making us practice "I" statements -- as in, "When you steal my Hello Kitty pencil, I feel hurt and sad." A couple of decades l…
The thermostat may not reflect it where I live just yet, but tomorrow is officially the first day of fall. And though I likely won't touch a sweater until November, I'm still finding ways to make it feel like autumn with scented candles,…
My absolute favorite feature on my iPhone isn't the smart to-do list that keeps my life sane or the ability to look up random facts on Google whenever I want -- it is, of course, the camera. I take thousands of pictures each year, and as…