parenting

Motherhood: Don’t All Good Moms Shop at Joann’s and Buy Wilton Products?

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About a month ago, we sent out a survey to our readers and online community. Not surprising to us, they wanted more craft and food posts. And for a good reason. Whether you craft or spend any time at all in the kitchen, DIY pics and food photos are eye candy most everyone loves to look at, myself included.

Don't All Good Moms Shop at Joann's?

If you're at all like me, you're very appreciative of all things DIY, including cooking and baking, as well as pinning these fabulous pictures on your Pinterest boards.

And even a step further, you have started to think that you, too, can be one of those moms. You know, the kind whose kids must have a better Christmas because of all the fun kids crafts and family cooking activities they do right from the comfort of their own home. The kind whose neighbors look forward every year to receiving their handmade neighbor gifts. I'm guessing these moms' houses are spic and span and their kids don't fight either. Who wouldn't want to be that kind of mom?

So, in an effort to be a "good mom," I went to Joann's. I figured all good moms must shop at Joann's since the parking lot is always full, I hear everyone talk about it, and well, honestly, because I didn't shop there!

I hit the craft store of all craft stores on a good day, which the good moms all knew about, because they were all there. Had they known me, they would have detected the imposter in their midst, but they didn't, so I walked around acting like I knew what I was doing. Fake it til you make it, right?

Wilton Candy Melts for Chocolate Snowflake Pops

First off, I bought a year's supply of candy melts and lots of chocolate molds. I remember my mom, who is the good mom type, always having candy melts and molds, so I figured that would be a safe place to start. The good news is that a huge sale was happening and I got lots of craft and cooking goods for a fraction of their original cost (all lost on me, because I never buy it).

I went home and made chocolate snowflake suckers for a church activity. I got lots of compliments and someone even asked for the recipe. Even though I placed them on a plate and didn't have them sticking into some sort of foam core Christmas tree with DIY dodads all over it, I figured I was well on my way to being a good mom.

Gingerbread House Kit

Next up? Gingerbread house kit. I'm sure lots of good moms make their own gingerbread houses, but I took the risk on buying the kit, figuring a pre-fab gingerbread house had to be better than no gingerbread house, right? I also figured it was one more Wilton product to add to the list. And don't all good moms stock their pantries and craft rooms with Wilton?

Well, I may have had all the other good moms fooled, but when I got home, my 10 year-old son said, "Hey! Mom! Is Wilton your client? Are they doing a #gno Twitter party with you or something? Because why else would you go out and buy all of this stuff? Do we need to tweet about them or something?"

Wow! The wisdom of kids.

So, we broke out the pre-fab gingerbread house. Just one tip for anyone reading this who is a mom like me (the type to ruin a gingerbread house, even one that comes from a kit)... check all the gingerbread pieces before putting them together. The roof looks amazingly similar to walls. And wow does that icing turn into cement like stuff quickly! Not a lot of time to repair mistakes!

Advent Calendars

And finally, the advent calendar. Now, I realize it is already almost Christmas. But seriously... don't good moms embrace the "better late than never" philosophy? I'm going to play by that rule until someone tells me otherwise, because I bought the mid-sized Fiskar's hole punch and the Wilton tiny tins to make the advent calendar I saw on this good mom's blog, I can't for the life of me figure out how to do the printing and design work to get the little advent activities into the bottoms of the tins. The most non-craftsy of all steps to the project and I can't figure it out. Oh! Well! We'll have a Valentine's advent calendar instead. We're already ahead of the game craft wise! Aren't all good moms?

The Real Definition of a Good Mom

Nutshell? When I jumped down to earth from heaven, I somehow missed the good mom manual and ended up in a don't-you-dare-DIY body. I appreciate all the creativity. I will pin the pictures and longingly look at them on my boards. And I'll keep trying projects from Joann's and Wilton so my kids can have a little fun during the holidays. But, I'm hoping they'll also forgive me for flat reindeer cookies, pre-fab gingerbread houses, and Valentine's Day advent calendars. After all, who really are the good moms? Those who are spending time with their kids, regardless of how crafty they are.

What craft and cooking projects do you do with your kids? If you aren't the crafty type, what other activities do you do for fun as a family?

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An active part of the Mom It Forward team, Jyl primarily writes about parenting, social good, and all things travel related. In a past life, Jyl was an award-winning copywriter and designer of corporate training programs for Fortune 100 companies. Offline, Jyl is married to @TroyPattee; a mom to two teen boys and a beagle named #Hashtag; loves large amounts of cheese, dancing, and traveling; and lives in the beautiful Rocky Mountains. Topping her bucket list is the goal to visit 50 countries by the time she's 50.

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