Happy New Year from momstown Barrie!

most little ones, and some parents, won't make it to midnight to ring in the new year.  Every year with momstown we hold a Noon Years Eve party so the kids can ring in the new year with some fun a little early.

We had an amazing turn out and as usual there was lots of chaos but best of all lots of fun!

We rolled our Alphabet Crafts sponsored by Post Alpha-Bits into our celebration!  F is for Fireworks!

The kids got to make fireworks pictures that were super simple, kinda messy but totally fun!   a bit of glue, a piece of construction paper and lots of glitter and we had some awesome fireworks art!

A new year celebration would not be complete without some noise makers and our little ones got down and messy making paper plate shakers to make some noise with at noon!

These were lots of fun and the kids got shaking as we did our big countdown!

Some snacks and a freeze dance party filled our time as we waited for noon.   As the time rolled round, the kids and the moms were excited to count down to Noon Years with the kiddies!

It was a great day and lots of fun

Wishing you all safe and happy new year!

Post Christmas War Zone

Anyone else feel like they are living in war zone after Christmas?

I absolutely love Christmas, it is my all time favorite holidays but the aftermath is exhausting.

Decorating for the holiday weeks before was so exciting and fun, but putting it all away is just a chore that I don't want to do and seems to take forever.

The house is full of new gifts, mostly toys and clothes for the kids, and there seems to be no where to put it all.  So that means the purge that should have been done before Christmas needs to happen now... and the mess grows.

Then there is all the food in the house from all the entertaining.  Treats and sweets and mounds of leftovers.  How do you start a new year diet with so much in the house that just seems to keep calling your name?

The kids are still high from all the excitement of the holidays, toys are being played with and discarded as something else catches their attention.  Sweets are their main food source and sleep seems to elude them.

There is still a week left of holidays before the older kids go back to school... how do we survive? 

Our Baby Tales for Tots book this month was perfect for the season and the weather!!
On a snowy morning we met with our little ones to read Frosty The Snowman.  It was a cute book with the lyrics of the song put to pictures.

The sparkly cover of the book got lots of attending from the kiddies!

Our littlest winner was so happy to win and mom let us know that they have read it over and over and over!!!

Thank you Scholastic Canada for another perfect book

Frosty Fun Fact!  Frost the Snowman was written by Walter "Jack" Rollins and Steve Nelson and was first recorded by Gene Autry  in 1950

Frosty the Snowman

Frosty the Snowman, was a jolly happy soul,
With a corn cob pipe and a button nose, and two eyes made of coal.

Frosty the Snowman, is a fairytale, they say.
He was made of snow, but the children know he came to life one day.

There must have been some magic in that old silk hat they found,

For when they placed it on his head, he began to dance around!

Oh, Frosty, the Snowman, was alive as he could be;
and the children say he could laugh and play,
just the same as you and me.

Thumpety thump, thump, thumpety thump, thump,
look at Frosty go.

Thumpety thump, thump, thumpety thump, thump,
over the hills of snow.

Frosty the Snowman, knew the sun was hot that day,
so he said, "Let's run, and we'll have some fun now, before I melt away."

Down to the village, with a broomstick in his hand,
Running here and there, all around the square,
sayin', "Catch me if you can."

He led them down the streets of town, right to the traffic cop;

and only paused a moment, when he heard him holler, "Stop!"

For Frosty, the Snowman, had to hurry on his way,
But he waved goodbye, sayin' "Don't cry, I'll be back again some day."

Cookie Exchange Fun!

Cookie Exchanges are one of the great parts of the holidays.  It's a great time to get together with friends for a festive outing full of cookies!!

I usually take part in 2 every year, one with the awesome momstown mamas and one with a group of long time friends.  That's a whole lot of baking!!  It's so much fun to get in the festive spirit and bake cookies, usually with the kids!

Getting together with the girls is always fun but when you get some delicious cookies in there it's just that much better!

Over the years we have seen some pretty awesome and delicious cookies.  Every year I have a favorite, last year was an Oreo truffle like cookie, to die for!!  This year, one of the momstown mamas made a Fruit Jumble cookie that I just fell in love with.... and I am using this amazing recipe!

Thanks to Jenn S. for letting me share this recipe with you!  I hope you enjoy it!!

Chocolate Fruit Jumble Cookies
1 cup salted butter softened (if you only have unsalted add about 1/2 tsp salt)
1 cup white sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar packed
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips (or 1 1/2 cups if you use the mini ones like I do)
2 cups of dried fruit or nuts of your choice (I used 1 cup cranberries 1/2 cup cherries and 1/2 cup chopped pecans)
Preheat oven to 300 F
Cream butter and sugars together
Add eggs and vanilla
Mix flour and baking powder in until combined
Add in chocolate fruit and nuts mix until combined
Drop on parchment lined backing sheet buy rounded tablespoons
Bake for 22-24 minutes. After baking transfer immediately to flat surface to cool.

Annual Christmas Party Success!

I love when we are able to bring our families together for fun events during the holidays!

Our Annual Christmas Party is personally one of my favorites!.  I love to see all the kids dressed up and excited for the day and its great to see the moms and dads mingling.

The kids were so full of energy and so excited that they had a blast running after each other and playing games.

In between their playing, they took some time out to make some crafts.  We made reindeer antler head bands and decorated Christmas trees.   The adults got into this as well, it always seems to happen! 

The kids looked so cute in their reindeer antlers!!!  

Along with the crafts, the kids go the chance to decorate gingerbread men!  This was cute to watch as the little ones got so into it and were concentrating so hard!

It was  a great morning of fun and of course the day would not be complete with out a visit from Santa!

Santa came all the way from the North Pole just to see our kids!  They were so excited and ready to visit with the big guy; at least most of them were!

Each kiddie got the chance to sit with Santa and tell him what they want for Christmas.

It was a great way to end a great morning!

Mama Book Club takes on Inhuman and LOVES It!

Thanks to Scholastic Canada our Mama Book Club got to read a fabulous book called Inhuman by Kat Falls

This was a great read that the moms really enjoyed.  For some, it was a genre they weren't used to but they loved it none the same!

"By the end of the second chapter I decided so far I'm really enjoying it!!  It isn't a genre I'd generally read so I'm glad I like it...."  Jenn C - member

"was hesitant, at first, because it's not really a genre I would normally choose, but once I started I couldn't stop!! I really enjoyed it :)" Nadia - member

Our moms really enjoyed this book and are waiting for the next one!

Book club is a great way to make an excuse to read, as moms we are always busy and find it hard to take for ourselves, making  commitment to the club is a great way to ensure time to read and time to get out of the house to talk about the books!

Foot print Christmas trees!

Doing Christmas crafts is one of my favorite things this time of year.

Sometimes doing crafts with our littlest ones isn't always easy.  This is when hand print and foot print crafts come in handy!  Not only are they super cute, but they don't have to put pieces together or figure out cutting and gluing!

We made Christmas trees with their little foot prints.  Super cute and super easy.  Some of the kids were so interested in what we were putting on their little feet that they just let us do it... others not so much!

I always feel so bad for the little ones that cry when we do the prints, but the few tears is always worth the adorable outcome!!

Christmas specials for kids!

As a kid I loved watching Christmas specials after dinner. I can remember getting all excited to get in my PJ's and watch the same specials I had seen a million times before.

There were the classic favorites like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman, Charlie Brown's Christmas and ones like Santa Claus is coming to Town and 'Twas the Night before Christmas.   Does anyone remember Christmas Eve on Sesame Street?

I love that these are still coming on for my kids to watch, and that they haven't been reworked or changed to meet today's cartoon standards.

I also loved all the cartoon Christmas specials from the cartoons of my childhood.  Alvin and The Chipmunks, The Smurfs, Garfield's Christmas, all the Disney specials and more. 

I would love to see some of those old holiday specials come on now to share those with my kids.

I certainly do miss the cartoons from when I was younger... they may not have had the fancy graphics, or be 3D, but they were sure fun to watch!