Unique Gift Ideas for Kids of All Ages
(Posted on Wednesday, January 12, 2022)
This post is sponsored by Hahaland.
I am always on the lookout for unique, fun, and educational gift ideas for my own children and for birthday celebrations. I was so happy when Hahaland let me try out some of their products and “best-ever” toys. Their products are of great quality and are functional and fun! I love that I can find toys for all ages in one place.
Let’s be honest, we use screen time in our home and I don’t regret that, but I do love when I come across a toy that allows for screen-free play. We can all use a little bit of balance in our lives.
Here are some of our favorites, sorted by age level. I hope you find them as awesome as we do!
Bonus, save $10 on Orders $65+ with code Lauren10 at Hahaland.
Baby/ Six Months Plus
This sippy cup with spout and weighted straw is great for smoothly transitioning baby from the bottle to a cup. We have found that a soft sippy spout more resembles the bottle which can help baby more easily get used to the feel of a cup. At 8 months plus, the straw cup (which is also included) can be used as well. The straw is weighted, which means that baby can be in any position to drink. Little ones are used to holding a bottle upright to drink, but a typical straw cup does not allow for this option. The weighted straw allows them to get used to the feeling of the straw more easily by drinking from any position. I love that this cup comes with attachments for both options, as a straw cups can support speech development and help little ones build muscles in the mouth. Measurements are also still included on the side of the cup to help manage feeding as well. Win!
Toddler/ Preschool Ideas
Paint with Water Flash Cards Toddler Puzzles are perfect for toddlers and preschoolers. I love educational toys as who doesn’t love having fun while learning? These cards have so many neat features. First, realistic images of fruits and vegetables are featured to use as flash cards to help with language development. The cards also function as small puzzles which help with motor coordination. For added fun, the front of the card features a magic water drawing activity. Fill the included pen with water, and little ones can paint to magically show what each fruit or vegetable can become. I love how this encourages children to think about cause and effect relationships. This is a great Montessori activity.
The Race Tracks Car Adventure Toy Playset has been a huge hit in our home for all of our children (ages 3, 6, and 8). They have spent hours playing with this toy. Little ones use their hands to activate different buttons along the bottom of the toy to make the cars move through obstacles along the path. At first it was fun just figuring out how the buttons worked and in what order. Now, the kids are working on keeping all three cars moving around the track at the same time. The playset helps build hand-eye coordination as well as motor skills. This is a great screen-free, electronic-free toy which provides endless entertainment.
Whole Family Fun
The LED Titanic Ship 3D Puzzle is hours of fun for the entire family. If you are looking for a scree-free activity for the whole family, this is it! We worked on this 3D puzzle together. We worked a couple of hours a day, and it took us about eight hours to complete (even with little hands helping). My six and eight year olds really enjoyed this challenge. With adult help, they were easily able to participate. I am amazed at how seamless this 3D puzzle was to put together. It looks like it would be very difficult, but it wasn’t. We just followed the directions exactly and were careful when punching out the pieces and it came together perfectly.
I cannot believe the details in this ship. They are intricate and beautiful. The pieces came together so perfectly that it seemed like magic. The finished product is 34.6 inches long and includes working LED lights. It looks beautiful on display. We will display it in our home, which will remind us of all of the fun we had together. This would make a perfect gift for a child, teen, family, grandparent, really for anyone. If you have a child who loves puzzles, this is a unique activity they will surely enjoy.
Remember, you can save $10 on Orders $65+ with code Lauren10 at Hahaland.
Do you have a favorite? Which product do you like best? Share it in the comments.
To learn more about. me and my blog, check out: About Lauren
You may also enjoy: 30 Plus Fun Craft and Activity Ideas for Kids with Household Items or What Makes a “Good” Parent
30 Plus Fun Craft and Activity Ideas for Kids with Household Items
(Posted on Thursday, April 9, 2020)
Here is a list of over 30 fun craft and activity ideas you can do right at home with household items. I love these activities as they don’t require an extra trip to the store, or purchasing any materials, because most of these items you can find right in your house. Win! Many of these activities also involve upcycling!
These fun activities for kids were compiled from some amazing bloggers! Simply click the links below the blog title for more information and full activity/ craft instructions!
You will find activities for kids of all ages! Have fun!
From Artsy Fartsy Mama Blog:
Free Printable LEGO Challenge Game
Super Soft Two Ingredient Play Doh
From Finding Myself Young:
5 Minute Toilet Paper Roll Houses
From Picklebums:
DIY Cardboard Tube Construction Toy
From Crayons and Cravings:
Sponge Paint Toddler Art with Homemade Paint
From Mom in the Six:
From The Play Based Mom:
Rainbow Toast: A Fun Breakfast Activity
From A Cotton Kandi Life:
How to Make Plastic Yarn (Upcycled Grocery Bag Craft)
From Little Learning Moments Blog:
From the Feeling Nifty Blog:
The Easiest No Sew Sock Bunnies
From the Who Needs a Cape Blog:
From The Dad Life Lessons Blog:
How to Make a Dollhouse Out of Cardboard
From The Printables Fairy:
From Go Science Kids:
DIY Magnetic Marble Run for the Fridge Door
From Mud, Paper, Scissors Blog:
Cheerios and Pipe Cleaner Bird Feeder
From Red Ted Art:
Toilet Paper Roll Giraffe Marionette
How to Make a God’s Eye Weaving Craft
From the Four to Love Blog:
3 Printable Indoor Scavenger Hunts
From Enjoy the Eco Things:
How to Make an Easy Dollar Tree Barn
From the Moms Who Save Blog:
Frozen-Inspired Princess Wands
From Projects with Kids:
Printmaking for Kids Using Recycled Materials
From Bitz & Giggles:
From Best Toys 4 Toddlers:
From the Animallama Blog:
From Team Cartwright:
At Home Chemistry: Cleaning Pennies with Ketchup
For more fun activities, check out these additional ideas:
From Toot’s Mom is Tired:
Let Celebrities Read Books to Your Kids
From Moms and Munchkins:
From Savoring The Good:
A Complete List of Free Disney+ Coloring Pages
And finally, many additional activities from,
A Mother Far From Home:
Easy Screen-Free Activities for Kids at Home
I hope you have found lots of great activities to try out right in your own home. I will leave you will one of my favorite mottos:
Remember, when in doubt… Play!
I hope you enjoyed these activities for kids with household items! Let me know which activities you want to try with your children in the comments. I would love to hear how the activity went!
To learn more about. me and my blog, check out: About Lauren
You may also enjoy: Creative Gifts for Creative Kids of All Ages or What Makes a “Good” Parent, It’s Not What You Think
The Ultimate List of Summer Activities for Kids
(Posted on Friday, July 5, 2019)
With all three kids home for the summer, we’ve got to have some things to do! With a 1, 4, and 6 year old, for some reason, boredom never seems to end well! Of course there is always heading out and about, to the local library, pool, or playground! But, I have compiled a list of awesome summertime activities for kids from some amazing mom bloggers for you to try! Check out this ultimate list of activities for kids to find fun activity ideas for all ages!
Simply click the links to check out the full posts including all instructions!
From the Projects with Kids Blog:
From the Finding Zest Blog:
Check out these three fun activities:
How To Build a Fairy Garden with Kids
How to Make Slime without Borax: Catepillar Slime
From the Exploring Domesticity Blog:
Bubble Towers: DIY Bubble Blowers
From Fun With Mama Blog:
Here are three fun activities:
From I Love Painted Rocks:
From One Crazy Mom: Inspiring Moms to Embrace the Crazy
Check out these two easy and fun activities:
From Creative Green Living:
Here are two fun activities we love:
How to Make a Mermaid Garden with Succulents
From the Country Chic Cottage:
From the Grace, Giggles and Naptime Blog:
From A Dab of Glue Will Do Blog:
Kids Alphabet Say and Spray Activity
From Muddy Boots and Diamonds:
From the Artsy Fartsy Mama Blog:
Two awesome activities:
From Sixth Bloom:
From Red Ted Art:
Check out these giant bubbles and a bubble wand making station too!
Bubble Recipe and Giant Bubbles
From the Play. Party. Plan. Blog:
15 of the Best Water Games to Beat the Heat
From Moon and Spoon and Yum:
Gluten-Free Peppermint Play Dough
From The Healthy (ish) Home:
From the Coffee and Carpool Blog:
Random Acts of Kindness for Kids
From the Glitter on a Dime Blog:
From the Learning Through Experiences Blog:
From the Step Momming Blog:
From Mombrite:
From Pink Fortitude:
From the Fun Money Mom Blog:
Here are two adorable activities:
How to Make a Super Cute Seashell Turtle
From the Bitz and Giggles Blog:
From Atlanta’s Frugal Mom:
Kids Free Summer Reading Programs
From the Modern Small Town Mama Blog:
From the Live the Old Way Blog:
From Mission: To Save
From Crafts By Ria:
From the Cenzerely Yours Blog:
Here is a list of 101 more ways to entertain the kids this summer!
101 Fun Ways to Entertain the Kids this Summer
For extra rainy day fun, check out our post, 10 Rainy Day Activities For Kids
We hope this list will help make your summer extra special and fun! What are your favorite summer activities for kids?
To learn more about me and my blog, check out – About Lauren
You may also enjoy – What They Say About Parenting: Podcast Episode or My Author Journey: Writing My First Book
10 Valentine’s Day Activities for Kids That Won’t Break the Bank
(Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2019)
Have you heard them say Valentine’s Day is just a “commercial holiday,” a “money-making scheme,” or —my favorite— that it’s “just an excuse to eat chocolate?”
As unbelievable as it sounds, according to this article from the National Retail Federation (NRF), Americans were expected to spend 19.6 billion dollars on Valentine’s Day last year, which was up from the 18.2 billion spent in 2017.
This may be one of the reasons why some people love Valentine’s day and why some people hate it.
Still, no matter how we feel about this holiday as parents, no matter what “they say” about it, kids seem to love it. No matter the purpose behind the day, I love it, because it gives us an extra reason to focus on showing our children how much we love them. I don’t think that could ever be a bad thing.
We can show our kids love by hugs, kisses, and by just being in the moment with them. Honestly, these three things alone would make for a fantastic day!
For those of you looking for a new activity or for a little something extra this year, here is a list of 10 Valentine’s Day activities that won’t break the bank.
1. Cover your kids’ doors with the things you love about them.
My favorite activity leading up to Valentine’s Day was shared by my Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) group. Side note: I absolutely love this wonderful group of women! There is nothing better than connecting with other mamas who “get it.”
The idea: Starting the morning of February 1st and ending on Valentine’s day, cut out a heart and write down one thing you love about your child. You can write about something they do well. You can write about a quality they possess. You can write about something they did which made you proud that day… anything!
Here are some examples:
You are such a great big brother (or sister).
You are such a big helper. I loved how you helped clean up the table last night.
You are a wonderful artist.
You are honest.
You are loving.
Your smile lights up a room.
Each night, we taped the heart on the outside of the kids’ doors. Every morning, my kids were so excited to look at their door and see what we wrote about them. By the time Valentine’s Day comes around, they will have 14 hearts on their door. They didn’t want to take them down.
2. Make a mess with bath paints.
Pull out some Valentine’s Day inspired bath paint colors and let the kids go crazy. They can paint hearts all over the tub and make the bathtub a fun color.
3. Have an extra special breakfast or lunch.
For breakfast, try to make pancakes in the shape of a heart. I don’t know about you, but the keyword for me here is try. The kids love it no matter what, especially if the pancake is covered in strawberries, whipped cream, and maybe even a hint of chocolate syrup! For lunch, cut their sandwich into a heart with a heart cookie cutter.
4. Have some fun with pink slime.
Elmer’s has a great recipe for making slime. Click here to see the full instructions.
All you need is:
5 oz Elmer’s Color Glue or Glitter Glue
½ tbsp Baking Soda
1 tbsp contact lens solution
5. Help the kids decorate their room or the house.
Cut out some hearts or use heart doilies. Add stamps, stickers, or color. The kids can tape them up or hang them from a banner to display.
Here is a fun craft gift set full of stickers and doilies, or simply use construction paper and any Valentine’s inspired stickers you can find.
6. Use a heart-themed craft kit.
Decorate your own wooden heart or make wooden heart necklaces with these fun kits.
7. Make heart jewelry with Shrinky Dinks.
My kids love Shrinky Dinks. They can color the designs on the special paper. Then, we bake them in the oven. The drawings shrink up and become hard, like plastic. It is pretty cool to watch. This particular kit makes heart jewelry.
8. Make a heart bird feeder.
Don’t the animals deserve a little kindness too on Valentine’s Day? Have the kids string Cheerios onto a pipe cleaner and shape it like a heart. They can choose a place to hang it outside for the birds to enjoy. My children made these in MOPS kids as well. They were so excited to hang them up when they returned home.
9. Create heartfelt valentines for each family member.
Valentine’s Day wouldn’t be the same without Valentines, so make cards for each other and exchange them. Everyone can write or draw something they love about each family member. You can even throw in a nice conversation starter while you work: Talk about how important it is to show each other love and kindness—not just on Valentine’s Day—but every day.
10. If Valentine’s day is about showing each other how much we love and care, then what a great time to talk about being kind to others!
Valentine’s Day is a great day to talk about kindness. Words and Your Heart, by Kate Jane Neal, is a great book about how powerful our words can be. Words can make people feel better or they can make people hurt. My five-year-old was able to grasp this book, and it can be used for older children as well.
Reading a book about kindness can be a fun way to start a discussion. Here are some examples of questions to get the kids thinking about this topic:
How we can show each other we care, not just on Valentine’s Day, but anytime?
How can our words make others feel good? How can our words make others feel bad? Brainstorm examples.
This particular book does a nice job of talking about how our words can make each other happy or sad, and how our words can either encourage and build each other up, or just the opposite.
Another fun book which has underlying concepts of kindness, sharing, and giving is The Rainbow Fish, by Marcus Pfister.
I hope this list will make your Valentine’s Day extra special this year! But remember, it is not about the number of activities you provide, how much money you spend, or the gifts that you give. It’s about love. If our kiddos know they are loved, then I’d say we are winning!
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To learn more about me and my blog check out: About Lauren
You may also enjoy: 17 Time-Saving Parenting Tips