How to Make Santa Slime

 It is no secret that kids love slime. That ooey, gooey and, for lack of a better word, slimey pile of fun is the perfect way to keep those little (and sometimes big) hands occupied this holiday season. Create this Santa Slime together, surprise them at their class party, or have it on hand during those long holiday meals that might not otherwise keep little ones attention. This Santa approved activity will keep everyone on the Nice List!

Clear Slime Recipe

To make Santa Slime you can use white or clear slime, but we chose clear slime so our mix-ins would stand out a bit more.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup clear craft glue
1/2 teaspoon borax
1 1/2 cups hot water, divided

Directions:
1. In a large mixing bowl, combine 1/2 cup of glue with 1/2 cup of hot water and mix well.
2. Mix 1/2 teaspoon of borax into your remaining 1 cup of hot water and stir until borax has dissolved.
3. Pour borax water mixture into glue mixture and stir. Ingredients will start to form slime.
4. Continue mixing and kneading with you hands to mix as much of the borax water mixture as possible.
5. Pour out excess water and remove slime from bowl. Continue kneading slime in your hands several minutes.

Note: To get crystal clear slime you will need to let it sit a few days in an airtight container without playing with it.

Santa Slime Mix-Ins

Once you have your basic clear slime created you can add all sorts of fun items to make your Santa Slime. Our favorites are glitter and colored craft pom-poms, but we have also used buttons, bells and sequins, too!

The more you play with your slime the stretcher it will get and all of these mix-ins become a fun sensory experience.

Share Santa Slime

Our kids aren’t the only ones that are slime obsessed…their friends all love it, too! We thought it would be fun to make and package up some Santa Slime for their friends. Storing in an airtight container is key so we used little mason jars. Adding a quick ribbon turns this simple gift into the perfect present!

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5 Holiday Traditions We Love

Some of our favorite holiday memories growing up aren't really about the toys we received, but about the traditions we participated in with our families. We both recall spending hours baking with our grandmothers. Jen remembers her grandfather reading 'Twas the Night Before Christmas each year with all of her cousins as the last activity before bed on Christmas Eve. There's the always popular "milk and cookies for Santa" tradition, and most recently, as parents ourselves, we've had the joy (???) of The Elf on the Shelf. 

We were chatting with Janette of Pineapple Porch Boutique about some of our favorite holiday traditions growing up, and she kindly introduced us to a few new ones that we can't wait to share with our own families. 

FIVE HOLIDAY TRADITIONS WE LOVE

THE MOUSE IN THE HAMMOCK
When we first heard about The Mouse in the Hammock we fell in love. This is the parents answer to that mischievous elf that has been popular the last few years. This little mouse teaches children that small deeds can make a big impact. He wakes from his Christmas tree hammock each night, and scurries around doing good deeds.  

What a great idea right? Promoting kindness and how you don't have to be big to do big things - that's a tradition worth celebrating during the holiday season! 

BAUBLE STOCKINGS
Okay husbands - listen up! Here's a tradition we want you to get on board with! 

When local Atlantan Kate Stewart got married, she asked her husband where her "bauble stocking" was. Little did he know Kate's family tradition was to participate in a fun scavenger hunt culminating in finding a special bauble in a stocking on the tree each holiday season. Kate felt this was such a fun tradition growing up, that she wanted others to share in that holiday joy each year too. She creates the stockings, you come up with the bauble. 

It's no wonder these gorgeous hand stitched Bauble Stockings have quickly caught on! Pineapple Porch carries several unique designs in stock for you to begin your own tradition!

SPECIAL ORNAMENTS
Collecting ornaments has to be one of our favorite all time traditions. Each year as we put up our trees, we love walking down memory lane via our ornaments. Our trees are a personal museum of past relatives, places we've traveled, shared hobbies, photos, and handmade gifts a plenty.  As we walked the gorgeous floors of Pineapple Porch we couldn't help but get smiles on our faces as we took in all the ornament bedazzled trees. 

From local landmarks and glittering glam to fa la la funny - Janette has done a great job of having a little something for everyone when it comes to ornament style. 

HOLIDAY HOSTESS GIFTS
Anyone who hosts a holiday event knows it is a lot of work. Therefore we will forever and always be behind the tradition of giving a gift to the hostess. 

From serving items, to delicious smelling candles to fun napkins - Pineapple Porch has a little bit of everything on hand to make your hostess feel special and appreciated for all their hard work. 

ADVENT CALENDARS
One of the most widely known traditions during the holiday season is the celebration of the advent calendar. From chocolate surprises behind cardboard doors to building entire Lego scenes, there are so many different options, and ways to countdown to the birth of Jesus.

But when we spotted this gorgeous decorative Advent Calendar in Pineapple Porch we swooned. What a gorgeous decorative piece to help countdown to the big day! 

Do you have any special traditions you do each holiday season? 

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Merry Christmas!

From our families to yours we want to wish you all a Merry Christmas!!!!

We are taking this week off to spend time with our families and focus on the true meaning of Christmas.  From the bottom of our hearts we would like to say a big THANK YOU to all of our readers, followers, and friends who have helped our blog grow.  We absolutely love what we do and have so much fun sharing our little slice of the Internet with all of you.

We'll still be over on Instagram and maybe even Facebook this week, so be sure to follow along over there.  We'll be back here on the blog next week with all sorts of fun stuff including our January book club post, our 2018 Favorite Moments post and our New Years Resolutions/Goals.

Enjoy this special time with your family and friends and we'll see you back here next week!

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Stocking Stuffer Inspiration

Only a few more sleeps until Christmas and this crew is READY! Yesterday was our last day of school before the holiday break and this weekend we are getting ready for the big day. Family is coming into town and we are both hosting. We could not be more excited to fill our homes with all that holiday cheer! 

Because we knew we were hosting this year, we made sure to wrap up most of our holiday shopping early. We really tried to take our own advice and minimize the holiday stress as best we could so that the moment everyone was home we could enjoy it! 

We've wrapped up all our gifts, and now all that's left are the little details. Stocking stuffers is last on our list. We've for the most part got this nailed down, but it's always one of the few things we leave until the end just in case anyone whispers to Chippy the Elf they want something small the last minute. 

We also try to minimize the amount of candy our kids get in their stockings. Because if you've met our kids sugar is the last thing they need. #highenergy #imtired

Here are some of our favorite ideas, but share with us if you have anything to add! We have recycled a few of these over the years and are looking for new inspiration. Bonus points if you have any ideas for older kids! 

NON-CANDY STOCKING STUFFER IDEAS

• Reading - We usually try to throw in a book or magazine. Something for them to read and enjoy maybe once the newness of all the toys winds down or if they are looking for a quieter moment. 
• Sensory Play - We try to throw in a small Playdough or some fun slime or putty to play with. 
• Pouch Snacks - Our kids love the Slammers Snack pouches! Packed with protein and some good fruits and veggies - the kids don't realize that they are a snack that's actually good for them. They just think they taste great and that they are a treat. They are perfect as a Christmas mid-morning snack or can be saved for to get them through that awkward in between lunch and dinner meal that tends to throw the whole day off. 
• Socks - Our kids all love fun socks, and our sports loving boys are into that tall sock trend right now. (We also like to throw in underwear in the stockings too!)
• Lip Balm - All of our kids from toddlers to teens love lip balm. So we snagged fun holiday themed lip balms, and for the tweens we threw in some fun lip glosses (Our favorite lip glosses for tweens/teens are on sale right now!). 
• Notebooks - Fun little notebooks or activity books always make for great stocking stuffers with our crew. They come in handy when they have down time in the car, in restaurants, on the bus, etc. 
• Trading Cards - Pokemon and sports cards are a big hit here for the Elementary aged crew. They are always trading on the bus or on the playground so a new pack or two in their stockings is the way to go so they have new ones to trade when school is back in session. 
• Toothbrushes - A treat or two is bound to be eaten that day...so just a hint right? Might as well throw in some floss and some toothpaste while we are at it. 
• Mini Balls - Our kids all are into sports and we've found the mini-balls are perfect entertainment no matter what sport they are into. We throw them in their sports bags and if they are at a tournament or competition and have down time they are a great way to quickly (and with minimal damage) entertain them and their teammates.
• Mini Nerf Guns - While Nerf guns and darts are the bane of our existence (#stopshootingmommy) our kids love these mini ones. 
• Gift Cards - This goes without saying, but gift cards regardless of age are a huge hit. We try to get ones in small denominations (think $5-$10) to either their favorite fast food places, Starbucks, or for iTunes. They think they are so grown up when they pay for things themselves. 

What are some of your favorite non-candy stocking stuffer ideas? 

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Thank you Slammers Snacks for sponsoring this post. All thoughts and opinions are our own. 

How To Make Santa Slime

Slime...we just don't get it, but the kids absolutely love it. 

When my kids ask to make it the answer is usually no, but I decided to be a nice mom and let the kids make some Santa Slime last week.  

It was a big hit and something they will probably end up playing with all of Christmas break if I had to bet on it.  

Some clear slime, some fun mix-ins and I was declared the best mom ever!  

Check out all the details on Savvy Sassy Moms today! 

Do your kids love to play with slime?

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Kitchen Confessions: The Best Christmas Bark

The countdown is on! Christmas is TEN DAYS AWAY! We've been on holiday overdrive lately. If you see us running around with powdered sugar on our faces, remnants of wrapping paper stuck to us, or a trail of glitter in our wake give us a little grace. Because we have been doing all the holiday things. 

Topping the list has been baking (ahem, and eating) holiday treats. We've love gifting tins of holiday treats to friends and neighbors this time of year. We have a variety of go-to recipes that we usually make, but a crowd favorite has to be this Christmas Bark. 

This Christmas Bark recipe is seriously THE BEST! It looks pretty, but only takes a few minutes to make (a huge bonus if making large quantities!). It really is so easy that the kids can actually do it themselves. 

It has just the slightest hint of peppermint to it, and the minute you put it in your mouth you know you're going back for seconds. 

Or thirds.

Possibly fifths. 

Okay...the whole tin. Make yourself an extra batch. 

This year we delivered our treats in these adorable mini tin pails. 

To see more details and grab the full recipe of THE BEST CHRISTMAS BARK head over to Savvy Sassy Moms. 

What are some of your favorite holiday treat recipes? We're looking to add a few more to our baking list before the season is over. Bonus if it has peanut butter in it. Christmas is on our future, but those Halloween Reese's are still fresh on our minds! 

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Christmas Home Tour 2018

I don't know about y'all, but my very favorite time to decorate is at Christmas!!!  I just love how cozy everything feels with twinkling lights on the tree, cozy blankets on the couch, and lit candles making my house smell so good.  I truly enjoy seeing other people's Christmas decorations, so I thought I would share some of my decorations with all of you today! 

I always love decorating the front porch and when we were building our house I knew that a big wrap-around front porch was on my must-have list. I couldn't wait to decorate it with garland each Christmas and it is still one of my favorite things about my Christmas decor.

I used to use outdoor Command Hooks to attach the garland to the porch and sometimes they would fall so this year the Mr. suggested that I use real hooks.  It took me a while to get them all in and my fingers were frozen by the time I finished, but I just kept thinking about how easy it would be year after year now that I can just hang the garland on it and be done! 

I do use the outdoor Command Hooks on the transom above the door and because they are clear I just keep them up year round. 

These sweet little deer are always fun to pull out each year and I have the best memories of the kids sitting on them for pictures when they were little. 

I got these plaid outdoor pillows at Walmart this year for only $5 each!  They only had two at my local store so I grabbed what I could. 

You'll notice that I have a ton of nutcrackers that I use all over.  They used to belong to my mother-in-law, but she passed them on to me when they moved and now I love placing them all over. The kids love playing with them and I just love all of the intricate details and seeing how each one is different. 

We have always had a real tree, but this year we decided to go with an artificial one. I went back and forth about getting a flocked tree, but I'm so happy that I ended up getting it. 

I love it so much and feel like all of our ornaments stand out so much more on it.  I've said it before, but we don't have a "designer tree." Instead we have ornaments that have been collected over the years. Some from mine and the Mr.'s childhood, ornaments the kids have made at school, ornaments that were gifts from friends and some that we have collected on travels. Each one has a story and a memory with it and I love that about our tree.  

tree//tree collar//stockings

Each of the kids have a small Christmas tree in their rooms.  On it they have some of their special ornaments and I let them have total free reign when it comes to their trees. 

Little Mama loves decorating hers, Blondie throws a few ornaments on and says she is done and my little guy just LOVES putting ornaments all over his tree, but they are generally all clumped in together. 

I have collected so much over the years that pretty much every table top, mantle and counter have little touches of Christmas. I usually pack up most of my regular decor things and put out everything Christmas. This canvas painting was a gift from our sweet neighbors that I just adore! 

I also have a lot of old photographs of the kids with Santa that I like to put out. 

In our dining room and in other areas of the house I add red berry sprigs to greenery arrangements that I already have to give it a wintery Christmas feel. 

The playroom is full of the kids Christmas artwork and special things that they have made over the years along with some fun singing snowmen. And, of course our Elf, so cleverly named Elfie, always seems to find himself a spot around the house, too! 

I just truly love this time of year and how special the house feels every time we come home. I like to sit in the living room each night by myself with all the lights off except the Christmas tree.  The house always feels so bare after taking it all down so I try to soak it up and enjoy it while I can!

Do you love decorating for Christmas?  Have any special traditions or pieces that have been passed on to you?  

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