TURKEY SURPRISE BALL

It's almost time for Thanksgiving! I don't think I will ever tire of surprise balls. They are just so much fun! This little guy would be perfect for Thanksgiving. Make one for each kiddo and have it sitting at their seat for them to unravel and squeal with delight at finding each little gift. It's a great way to keep them occupied during dinner! Sounds pretty great, right? So let's make some, shall we? To start, you will need folded crepe paper, glue and scissors. Oh yeah, and lots of fun tiny treats to wrap up inside! Start with the roundest object you have (like a bouncy ball) and layer the toys into a ball by wrapping them up with thin strips of crepe paper. It's seriously so easy and a great Netflix watching craft. To make the face I just cut up some paper and glued it on. And if you don't feel like decorating them, leave the faces and feathers for the kids to do themselves! They'll love it. 

THE DREAM CAR

Have you guys heard of Dream Car? It's... a dream. Seriously. This is one beautifully made toy! Each set comes with two tops as you can see and they attach to the gorgeous wood base with embedded magnets. It's so easy to snap in and get playing! Perfect for little hands. The tops are obviously chalkboard, but I have to say this and I don't know if anyone out there feels the same. But not all chalkboards are created equally! Some chalkboard surfaces are rough, uneven and don't write on smoothly. These chalkboard cars are amazing. So easy to draw on and wipe off to recreate something new. I love it! And! The Dream Car comes with a set of colorful chalk and an eraser. Pretty amazing, right? The cars are bigger than I first expected them to be, which to me is fantastic. I debated whether to give this to Elliott and have him model the awesomeness of the cars, but in the end decided to hold off and give these to him for Christmas. If you have a little one who you love dearly and want them to have a gorgeous, one of a kind gift this holiday season, this is a great option. They will love it! And so will you.

DRY ERASE PUMPKIN

Remember these dry erase printables? Well, we are at it again! This time we went the pumpkin route and I have to say we have been loving it. Elliott has a daily routine with it. Draw, erase, repeat. It's so easy to make. Just print it out and take it to your friendly neighborhood copy shop to get it laminated. That's it! A great way to keep your kids busy and using those sweet creative juices. I love it! See more of the post I did for Handmade Charlotte over here.

JACK-O-LANTERN TOY

I think I may have gone a little overboard with the pumpkins this year. Elliott is obsessed with jack-o-lanterns so I guess he rubbed off a bit on me. This toy is a lot of fun and quick to make. The only supply you might not have is the adhesive velcro. But trust me. It's totally worth a quick trip to the store! So, let's make one, shall we?

First! Cover your cardboard with some tape.

Once it's covered, turn it over and draw out your shape. Steps one and two could easily be switched.

Then cut out that shape! It's starting to look like a pumpkin, huh? You will also want to follow the same steps to make some face pieces. It wouldn't be a jack-o-lantern without a face, right?

And finally, add the adhesive velcro to the pumpkin and to the back of the face pieces. Make as many as you want! Make silly faces, sad faces, and any other kind of face you and your little one can think of. It's a blast!

PETER PAN COSTUME

Finally, Elliott's costume for this year. Peter Pan! Elliott's insistence on attention to detail for this costume was amazing. "Mom, Peter doesn't have a golden belt, it's brown." So much for the shoes matching the belt! We finally found and made the right ingredients for a perfect and not too hard Peter Pan costume!. I have to say that any time I can put little legs into tights is alright by me. The shirt was just a few sizes too big and cut up. The collar was made just by folding it over and adding a stitch or two. The belt I made using some rope, cutting it to size and adding velcro as a closure. The holster and dagger were made from cardboard and duct tape. I added slits in the back and slid the belt through. Seriously so easy! The shoes were the hardest thing for me to figure out.  I was told I needed the perfect golden shade and wouldn't you know it, my friend Susan recently came out with the perfect ones! Elliott is so excited about his costume and I couldn't be happier with how everything turned out. And how little time it all took to put together! That's always a huge bonus!