Mom it Forward » Candy

Sweets: Giving Out Candy Canes as a Thank You for Kindness

Jyl Johnson Pattee — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 00:00:28 +0000

What are the holidays without sweets? And what is Christmas without giving? One of the family traditions we’ve found most memorable, not to mention fun, this time of year is passing out sweet treats throughout December to thank people for their kindness.

How to Make Reindeer Candy Canes

Below is a list of supplies and step-by-step instructions for how to make the perfect reindeer candy canes to pass out to people this holiday season.

Supplies

To complete this project, you’ll need the following:

Brown pipe cleaners
Small red pom poms
Small googly eyes
Small bells
Glue and glue gun or double sided tape (hot glue works best)
Tag
Cardstock
Printer

Instructions

To make reindeer candy canes, follow these simple steps:

1. Wrap one brown pipe cleaner around the top of the curved part of the candy cane. Get creative and shape the antlers however you’d like!

2. Using a glue gun and hot glue or double sided tape, place the googly eyes below the antlers side by side and the red pom pom beneath them for the nose.

3. Thread the small bells onto the tips of the antlers.

4. Create a tag using a piece of cardstock and your printer with a phrase such as: “Happy Holidays! Thanks for Your Service!” Or, “Thanks for brightening up my day. Happy Holidays!” Or, “I appreciate your kindness. Merry Christmas!”

5. Once you have converted all of your candy canes into reindeer, divvy them up in the bags, giving an equal amount to each child. Then store them in the car and encourage everyone to hand them out to people who are kind to them during the holidays as a way of thanking them.

Tip! My boys are shy and when they were little, they had such a hard time. My suggestion, if this is the case for you, is to go with them and encourage them until they can do it themselves. The first time someone gets a surprised smile on their face and says thank you, they will want to find more and more people to pass them out to. It is contagious!

What do you and your family do to reward people for their kindness during the holiday season? How do you spread the Christmas spirit?

Special Needs Kids and Halloween: Tips for Bring the Fun to You!

Barb — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 11:00:01 +0000

Living in a snowy area like Denver creates some interesting challenges for our family. My youngest is a full time wheelchair user and while Denver is a very accessible city by most standards, our neighborhood isn’t. Everyone has steps up to their house (including us) which makes trick or treating a little bit difficult.

Our first Halloween in Denver, really made me think about how we were going to continue to make Halloween as fun as it was in our last (very flat) neighborhood. Lot’s of places around us do the mall trick or treating and so on but those are pretty heavily attended by the little ones. I have tween and teen boys. We put our heads together and decided that if Carter couldn’t go trick or treating, we would bring the action to him.

And the great haunted house building was born.

I want to be real clear that our neighbors know that we are the ‘scary house’ on the street. They love it but know it can be a bit traumatic for a toddler, so we find that the parents actually like to come up to the door on their behalf. We asked why they just don’t skip us and they said, “No way! Your house is the best.”

Just a word of warning: If you are going to copy some of our ideas, warn your neighbors first.

I have just started getting the decorations going this year. Here are some pictures to give you some ideas to create your own haunted house and bring the fun to your kids if, like us, going out just isn’t an option.

Feeling brave enough to reach in for the mail?

Wonder whats under the rock...

On Halloween night, Carter wears a pirate skeleton costume and Connor goes as a very scary clown. Connor hides behind the porch and very slowly walks up on trick or treaters as they knock on our door. Carter parks himself in a dark corner by the fog machine. We have a halloween spooky sounds cd playing on outdoor speakers and he has a microphone hooked up to scream “boo” at trick or treaters as they pass by. We use glow in the dark liquid to cover all the items.

Watch out for the scary clown sneaking up on you

Legs (using pvc pipe and old clothes/shoes) are stuck under the garage door and covered in ketchup. This looks great if there has been a recent snow.

Have to pass under him to get to the door

If you want to know how to create any of the effects I talked about, leave me a comment here!

Barb is a busy (and often exhausted!) work at home mom with three boys, 12, 14 & 38. Yes, she counts her husband as kid! She has a Master’s degree in Elementary Education but left teaching to homeschool her youngest when his frequent surgeries began to make traditional school too difficult.

Come connect with Barb as she tries to balance a chaotic household, life with wheels and her occasional need for a bubble bath. You can find her randomly musing on her own blog, Elementary Spirits, or tweeting away @chaotic_barb.

Mom It Forward This Halloween by BOOing!

Jyl Johnson Pattee — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 01:34:40 +0000

Check out these great Halloween boo-ing ideas from fellow blogger and friend, Cindy Hopper from Skip to My Lou. She shares how it’s not to late to Mom It Forward Halloween style to your neighbors, family, and friends! What’s more is this is a perfect family activity! In her own words: “It is all about the ding & dash.”

Gather some treats, download and print this special Ghost Door Hanger and you are ready to go. One side lets everyone know you have been booed, the other a fun poem and instructions about how to BOO!

You might also like this unique way to BOO with a decorated plastic pumpkin. “Am I a Cat or Jack Boo Pumpkin” makes a great way to BOO your friends.

Another idea is to make a special BOO! Cone .

If you are into paper crafts a BOO! Sign is a wonderful way to share some Halloween fun!

Let the “BOOING” begin!