Christmas Gift's for the Kelly Boys

Well after finally rounding up all the presents that I had bought for the boys over the past couple months I came to the realization that they are going to be a little bit spoiled this year. Oops! Well this is the first year Kyler is really going to understand what is going on and Deagan is getting mostly diapers but so I wanted to make it fun and I really hadn't realized how much I had gotten for the boys until I pulled it all out of all my hiding little spots. That being said a lot of it I still bought second hand or on sale as neither one of them are going to know. Most toys we take out of their packaging before Christmas and put it in a plain box so that they can play with the toys right away anyways so who's to know if it was a second hand toy or new. :D So I thought I would put together a list of all the gifts we got for the boys so that maybe other parents could get some ideas as to what to get their kids or just to take a boo at what we got Kyler (2.5 years) and Deagan (7.5 months).

Okay, so firstly we wanted to start a tradition with the boys that they will get to open one gift on Christmas Eve and that it would be pj's. I also for as long as I can want to get them matching pj's as I think it's really cute when they are young. I picked these pj's as it was something that they could still wear after Christmas but they are made of a micro fleece so they are super cozy. The next tradition we have is that on Christmas Eve the each get an ornament to put on the tree Kyler has a little Nutcracker and Deagan is getting a Baby's First Christmas ornament.

For Deagan he is getting a lot of cloth diapers for Christmas. I had two custom made diapers from Luv Earth Cloth Diapers, one Tweedle Bugs Diaper, and then I got a Grovia Shell in Cloud with some extra inserts and Boosters. 

These are the Luv Earth Diapers. One is a pirate themed diaper and the other is Rudolf diaper. The Rudolf diaper I am going to have it prepped already so that he will get to wear this Diaper on Christmas. I'm sooo excited for these ones to arrive and to see how they work for us :)

The blue one is the Tweedle Bugs diaper we are getting and the Grey one is the Snap Closure Grovia Shell that we picked. We then got 2 packs of the stay dry inserts and a couple of boosters. The Luv Earth Diapers and Tweedle Bugs are diapers we have never tried before the Grovia is just adding to our Grovia stash.

Deagan then also got socks, an Infantino activity ball, a Leap Frog Learn & Groove Musical Table (the activity ball and table I got second had for $5), a large Giraffe stuffy for in his room, a laugh and learn alphabet express train, a wooden block puzzle, and some onesies.

Both boys also are getting a Scentsy Buddy. Deagan is getting Ollie the elephant (as he has the jungle/safari theme room) and Kyler is getting Ribbert the frog (as he already has a favorite stuffy who is also a frog) and both are getting the Christmas cottage scent to go in them. These I got on sale for their buy one get one free deal (which is why both boys are getting one).

For Kyler our major gift we are giving him the Leap Frog Leappad 2. He loves playing games on our computer, taking pictures with our camera, and playing videos and games on our phone so we thought it was time for his own piece of technology. We then got him a soccer ball, a soft hockey stick and ball set, a remote control car, and a Jake and the Neverland Pirates sword. I then picked up second hand a fire fighter outfit, a new never opened giant sticker book and puzzle (both were FREE), a bead and wire toy, and then a fleece blanket for his bed. 

So yes the boys are getting spoiled but I honestly didn't realize that I had collected so much over the last couple months. Hopefully the boys will enjoy everything they get as I was really excited about getting the items.

Thanks for Reading and Merry Christmas :)

Easy Christmas Crafts

After being a Girl Guide for 15+ years I tend to have a crafty side but I also like to get my eldest involved even though he's only two and half. I did 2 crafts with him that he had fun making and we could also make extras and give them as gifts. The first one was....

Homemade Gel Air Fresheners
For this craft you will need the following:
a jar or container
gelatine (I used Knox brand)
water
salt
essential oil/ diffuser oil
food coloring (optional)
Tissue paper (optional)
white glue (optional)
paint brush (optional)

For these we decided to use jar as we thought they looked nicer for giving away as gift. We made some in baby food jars and we made a couple larger air fresheners in mason jars.

As these ones were going to be gift this is where we added an extra step. We then took pieces of tissue paper and glued them on the jar. You want to glue them one with watered down white glue (you can use full strength glue but it tends to rip the tissue paper). Once you have covered you jar in tissue paper you want to go over the entire jar white glue just to protect the tissue. You can do one color or get creative with multiple colors. (Kyler my 2 year old glued most of the colors on the jar i had to paint the glue on and then he would stick on the tissue)

Once your jar are dried or you decided to omit that step next thing is to add 1tsp of salt to your jar (this is to prevent mold in your gelatine) 10-30 drops of your essential oil (depending on how strong you would like your scent) and 5-10 drops of your choice of food coloring to your jars. Once you have all of this in your container or jar give it a little stir just to help the salt dissolve better.

Next you have to make you gelatine. I used the Know brand gelatine but any gelatine you find I'm sure will work. For this gelatine one package of Gelatine will turn up to 2 cups of liquid into gel (a standard size mason jar hols 2 cups perfectly). Once you have determined how much liquid you will need you need to dissolve the package(s) of gelatine into half of your water and then add the rest of the water as boiling water. Example, one standard mason jar holds 2 cups of water in it. Combine 1 cup warm water and your gelatine together and mix thoroughly once gelatine starts to dissolve add 1 boiling water and mix altogether.



Once it is all mixed you can put you gelatine mix into your jar and let cool. Gelatine will set at room temperature however for a quicker set time place in the fridge for a couple hours to help set.

There you have it!!! Once set add a lid and done :D. If you want the scent to last longer leave the lid on until you want to use the air freshener. Once open air freshener will last for about a month. If you created the air freshener in a jar when the scent wears off you can scoop out the gelatine and use them as a tealight holder :D (2 crafts in one!!!)



Now the second craft we did was.....
Snowglobes
for this craft you will need the following....
An ornament that can get wet and fits in a mason jar
A wide mouth mason jar with lid and ring
glitter (any color)
water
hot glue or crazy glue (crazy glue does work better but both work)




First step is to glue your ornament to the bottom side of the lid

While your ornament is drying to your lid add glitter and water to your jar. Less than a half of one of the small tubes of glitter is perfect (too much glitter and it will just chunk up).

Then add the lid screw on the ring and your done. Give it a shake and instant snow globe :)

Thanks for reading and if you have any questions about these crafts please feel free to ask :)