Kid Made Bird Piñata

Had to share the piñata that my three year old insisted we make for mom's birthday.  "It isn't a party if there isn't a piñata," he told me the night before!  One box, a crayon drawing and a few handfuls of crushed tissue paper later we were party ready.

Pipe Cleaner Garland

Pipe cleaners can be tricky for little hands.  They are a bit sharp and hard to manipulate into exact shapes.  But this abstract spring garland was a perfect pipe cleaner activity for my one and three year
olds.

Materials
Pipe Cleaners
String, ribbon or thin rope

Hang a long ribbon or string in a spot that your little one can reach.  Set out a stack of pipe cleaners.  I was thinking spring, so I picked out a mix of happy yellows, oranges, greens and pinks.  Show your little one how the pipe cleaners bend and move.  Then let them get to work!  Encourage your little one to hang their creations on the string.  The mix of unique little sculptures makes a super fun celebratory display!

Cookie Party!

One of the highlights of the Christmas season is our annual cookie exchange.  This year we had twenty-five guests.  Our friends made spectacular cookies!  The bounty included rosemary butter cookies, chocolate crinkles, peanut butter blossoms, lemon basil cookies, brown butter rice krispies treats, molasses cookies with orange sugar, and ex-mother-in-law cookies that were dead ringers for Nilla wafers.

For snacking we served berry topped pavlova, a chocolaty buche de noel, and gingerbread with fresh whipped cream on the side.  There was also a hot chocolate bar.  Yum. 

Here are the basics, excerpted from the email invite we send out:
The Cookie Exchange:
Make 3 dozen cookies, come to our house for a party, and take home 3 dozen assorted cookies. If you want to come but aren't the baking type or don't have time to make something, you are still very welcome. You won't be walking away with cookies, but there will be plenty of drinks, treats, and holiday cheer to go around!

The Rules:
1. Bring 3 dozen of one type of cookie .

2. All cookies must be homemade. They don't have to be "Christmas cookies", but they should be something special.
3. Bring your cookies ready for display.
4. Bring a separate container for the cookies you will take home. **
5. If you can avoid using almonds or walnuts in your cookies, please do. Some of the cookie exchangers are allergic.
6. Tell me what type of cookies you plan on bringing so there are no duplicates. ** You need one thing to hold the cookies you've made and something else to collect the new cookies you'll take. The displaying and the exchanging happen at the same time so you need two separate containers