How to Host a Mommy and Me Planning Party. #momlife

Need an excuse to spend time doing something for yourself? Perhaps a bit of "me" time in the midst of being an active parent? Well, I have invented a "planning party" that enables me to creatively utilize my planner while keeping an eye on my kid. I even get to spend quality time with him.

All you need is your planner, a planner or notebook for your kid(s), and some craft supplies. Oh, and some water so you guys don't get dehydrated. Sometimes my planning parties last a few hours! I think one thing that keeps the excitement going is that he gets to borrow my supplies. I keep them put away during the week and only let him use some of them during this special time.

Don't forget the stickers! I picked up two 500 count emoji stickers at the Dollar Tree for $1 each. I sometimes find good sticker deals on Ebay, at the local thrift store, or through careful bargain hunting. Stickers are a great way to talk about feelings, shapes, and colors. They're also good for communication through association. (The cake reminds him that his birthday is coming up. The hearts prompt him to tell me he loves me.)

Oh, washi tape. The first time I watched a planning video on YouTube where someone pulled out a washi tape from their huge stash I was baffled that one person could own so much decorative tape. So then I bought a box of it on sale at Michael's craft store, and now I understand. They lend a huge hand in the creative process.

My son likes "measuring" and cutting his own tape. He counts the shapes and talks about the patterns. Sometimes he'll mutter to himself things like he 'needs the cupcakes because mommy likes cupcakes.' I was very surprised at how excited he was and still is over washi tape.

While he's busy picking out stencils I'm using one to trace tennis shoes in each day of the week so I can track my steps. I also use small circles to track water intake. (You can read more about how I use my planner here.) These are the stencils I have.

I have been holding "planning parties" for about 5 weeks now. It started off as me wanting to explore a new hobby, and now it's a little party that my son looks forward to. Every Sunday he asks if it's time to get out the stamps and tape. Sometimes I put on music. At our latest party I had Depeche Mode on, and he told me he liked this music. (proud mom moment.)

I already ordered my planner for 2018 because I was excited to get it, I purchased a matching "imperfect" planner for my son for Christmas at a reduced cost, and there was free shipping. I got the Bloom Vision Planner for me, and the smaller version for my son, both in the fern design. I'll review them in a future post. Get 10% off here if you want to order one for yourself.


I hope this post inspired you to have a little planning party of your own or even just a crafting party with your kid(s.) What special activity do you do with your little ones?



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Frugal Fun - Cardmaking with a Preschooler.

 

My son's classmate recently invited him to her birthday party. This was his first party, and a real live pony party at that! Her mother told me she didn't want any gifts so I thought my son would enjoy making her a birthday card. 

I looked through my card stock and found a pretty, feminine sheet. I cut a rectangle out, folded it in half, and stamped a couple birthday quotes on the inside. I took the quotes from these sentiment stamps. Once he was done with the card I tied a purple ribbon around it for an extra special touch.

Then I let my son go to town. I gave him stickers, self-inking stamps, and washable markers to have fun with. Helpful hint: The blue mat in the picture is a "project" mat I got from the dollar store in the school supply aisle. I have him do his crafts on that so as not to damage the table as much. It's survived glue, markers, scissors, play doh, paint, and more. It's still going strong.

One of my goals this year is to make cards instead of purchasing them. I want to teach my son the value of handmade. I'd also rather not spend $5+ on a card for a pre-schooler. Plus, this is another excuse to spend some quality time together.

Have you made anything with your kids recently? I'd love to hear about it in the comments.



This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure statement here.

Frugal Fun. Toddler and Paper.

One day last year my husband brought home a $0.50 poster board for our son that had been sick. For months we all colored on it.

Eventually my son stopped coloring on it, and I got tired of looking at it so I decided we'd practice cutting with scissors and cut out some "mail" for his mini mailbox. I cut out a heart, put tape on the back, and he proudly stuck it on his shirt. The smile he gave was priceless.

He is pretty good at using scissors. He helped me cut out strips. I cut out a large rectangle out of the board and made an envelope so he could stash all his colorful little shapes. He loves playing with paper and mail.

He asked for more hearts, and he wanted to tape the biggest heart to the back of daddy's chair. The hearts eventually all ended up on our bulletin board. It makes him happy, and they're a reminder of a fun project.

Have you done any special crafts with your toddler lately?

Frugal Fun. Toddler Spaghetti Craziness.

Um, yes. That is a ton of spaghetti on my kitchen floor. I was cleaning out my pantry and came across some very old spaghetti noodles that weren't suitable to eat.

So instead of throwing them away I thought I would present them to my toddler in a big bowl to see what he would do.

I got this idea from a blog post somewhere. The blogger gave her kids an old bag of flour to play with outside. I remember the picture of her kids covered in flour. They had a great time.

At first I helped him break the noodles in half. Then he started putting them into a small box. Then into a gallon ziploc bag.

Not only did he get in some good sensory play he was thoroughly entertained for a long time, and I got some good pictures to show the grandmothers!

So if you have some old foodstuff that could be a potential toy consider giving it to your toddler for some screen-free fun.

I also have some dry oats that I'll bring outside when the weather gets warmer for him to toss around.

Has your little one played with food lately?