Christmas

Healthy Christmas Treats for School

November 28, 2018 By Terri Thompson

There are a lot of challenges when it comes to planning a school party.

One challenge is that you can only use store-bought treats. And it’s not always easy to combine store-bought and healthy.

Luckily, with just a bit of crafty ingenuity, you can bring in some fun and healthy Christmas treats for school that the kids will love.

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Healthy Christmas Treats for School

Turn packaged string cheese into cute String Cheese Snowmen like this fun idea from No Biggie.

You can transform an applesauce cup into a fun holiday treat when you make these Rudolph applesauce cups from The Melrose Family.

Or you can make another Rudolph treat when you turn little oranges into these healthy reindeer treats from Hello Splendid.

Provide the kids with a healthy drink of milk when you create these fun Snowman Milk Chugs from Creative Kid Snacks.

These free Melted Snowman Water Bottle Labels from That’s What Che Said will turn simple water into a fun holiday treat.

Healthy Snacks for School Parties

Let the kids fill these fun Snowman Popcorn Cups from Creative Kid Snacks from bags of store-bought popcorn.

Or, the kids can use a store-bought veggie tray to fill these cute Vegetable Christmas Party Cups from My Mommy Style.

Use a few simple decorations to turn Babybel Cheese into cute Santa Bellies like this idea from Cute Food for Kids.

It’s easy to turn fruit cups into cute snowman faces with this idea from Bren Did.

Or you can use those fruit cups to make cute Fruit Cup Santa Snacks like this idea from That’s What Che Said.

Any of these fun healthy Christmas treats for school would be a great hit in the classroom. Plus, you’ll feel better because you’re not feeding the kids endless amounts of sugar.

There’s got to be balance, right?

And, you can make any of these treats even more festive by serving them up on these fun Christmas paper plates!

Healthy Christmas Snack Resources

With just a little bit of creativity, you can make any healthy snack festive. If you’re short on time, here are some great holiday bags and containers to put your healthy Christmas treats for school.

Are you looking for more kids activities?

Join our fun Facebook community, Creative Family Fun for Busy Families, for daily activities that are great for kids and families. We’ll chat, share, and have fun. It’s a safe and private place to share ideas for family and kids activities.

I’d love for you to join me! Just click the link below, request to join, and answer the questions (they’re easy, I promise). Come join the fun! Join the Creative Family Fun for Busy Families community here.

Christmas Tree Number Hunt Activity for Toddlers

November 27, 2018 By Trisha

Go on a festive Christmas themed hunt for numbers. Toddlers will love this Christmas tree number hunt.

It’s perfect for practicing number recognition. Or put the Christmas trees in order to make a number line.

And when you’re done counting, check out all our other simple and fun activities for toddlers.

Have fun counting and learning number recognition with this fun and easy to prep Christmas tree number hunt activity for toddlers.

Christmas Tree Number Hunt for Toddlers

You’ll need green and brown paper, glue, and markers to make the Christmas trees for this activity. You could also laminate the trees using contact paper or laminating sheets.

Cut Christmas trees out of green paper. I used a simple triangle shape. Add a trunk to your trees using rectangles of brown paper and glue.

Use markers, to write a number on each of the Christmas trees. We used the numbers 1-10.

Hide the Christmas trees around the room.

For toddlers, it’s a good idea to hide them in plain sight.

You can vary the height of your hiding locations or slightly hide the trees under something.

If your toddler is struggling with finding a Christmas tree, give him a clue.

Say: look near the couch, or can you find the number by the window?

When your toddler finds a Christmas tree number, ask him what number it is.

If he doesn’t know the number, say it and have him repeat the number after you.

Place the Christmas tree off to the side.

Keep hunting for numbers and saying their names.

Make a Christmas Tree Number Line

Once you have found all of the numbers, it’s time to sort them.

Ask your toddler to find a number one at a time.

Start with 1 and work your way to 10.

Place the numbers in a line.

Once your Christmas tree number line is complete, point to each tree and say the numbers together.

Hide the trees and go on a Christmas tree number hunt all over again. My kids like to take turns hiding the trees for each other. If they hide the trees really well, they have to give clues.

More Christmas Tree Activities for Kids

Baking Soda Painted Christmas Trees at Inspiration Laboratories

Christmas Tree Crafts for Kids

Fun Christmas Math Activities for Kids

Scrunched Paper Christmas Trees at Crafts on Sea

Grow the Grinch’s Heart Science Experiment

November 20, 2018 By Terri Thompson

One of the best parts of How the Grinch Stole Christmas is this scene: the Grinch is straining as he holds the sleigh balancing precariously on a mountaintop. He hears singing and then pop, pop, pop, his heart fills with joy.

I love watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas every year and I was dying to do an activity based on this favorite movie. So, we took a classic science experiment, gave it a Christmas-sy twist to get this fun Grow the Grinch’s Heart Science Experiment.

Try some Christmas science with this fun Grow the Grinch's heart science experiment. It's a STEM activity with a Christmas twist.

Supplies Needed:

Green balloon
Red Sharpie
Empty water bottle
White vinegar
Funnel
Baking Soda

Before you begin your project, you’ll want to make the Grinch’s small heart.

Take a green balloon and use your red Sharpie to draw a simple heart on the balloon.

Give it a minute to dry before you begin your grow the Grinch’s heart science experiment.

Grow the Grinch’s Heart Science Experiment.

For the first step in your experiment, add some vinegar to your empty water bottle. I filled it up to about the second groove from the bottom. Eyeball it. You don’t need to be exact.

Attach your balloon to the bottom of your funnel (like the picture above). Fill the balloon with about two to three spoonfuls of baking soda. You may need to shake it a bit to get all the baking soda into the balloon.

Remove your balloon from the funnel.

Carefully, without dumping any baking soda into your bottle, attach the balloon to the top of the water bottle, like you see illustrated in the photo above.

You’re all set up! Get ready to grow the Grinch’s heart.

Grow the Grinch's heart with this fun Christmas science activity based on this favorite book. It's a STEM activity with a Christmas twist.

Lift the balloon up and shake the baking soda into the bottle. Your balloon will start inflating immediately.

You can let go once the balloon starts filling up and watch the Grinch’s heart grow three sizes (or more).

Why did the Grinch’s heart grow?

The combination of baking soda and vinegar formed a gas called carbon dioxide, which filled your balloon.

This is the same gas that forms the bubbles in your favorite carbonated drink.

Have you watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas yet this year?

When you do, add a little extra fun when you do this grow the Grinch’s heart science experiment.

You may also enjoy one of these winter science activities:

Hot Chocolate Science : How does temperature affect the rate that hot chocolate dissolves?

Snow Science Prediction and Observation: Make some predictions about how quickly snow melts in different conditions.

Hockey Science: Experiment with friction when you do this fun science project inspired by the game of ice hockey.

Christmas Magic Milk Science at Little Bins for Little Hands: Try another classic experiment with a Christmas twist.

Find lots of fun ideas for Christmas Science Experiments for Kids.

My must-have resources for STEM fun:

If you love to have STEM projects on hand, but don’t always have time to prep, why not give a subscription box a chance. I love Green Kid Crafts for this reason. The boxes are packed full of projects that are fun and inviting. You can choose to get a subscription or a one-off box based off of a specific theme.

Here are some of our favorites (you can purchase and find out more at each link):

Get a monthly subscription.

Kitchen Science Box

Physics Box

Find all their fun STEM boxes here.

Are you looking for more kids activities?

Fun Christmas Snack Crafts for Kids

November 17, 2018 By Terri Thompson

Christmas will be here before you know it, in fact, it’s almost a month away!

My kids love getting into the kitchen around the holidays and helping bake or cook meals. Getting your kids involved in cooking while their young can teach them valuable kitchen skills, and even teach them to cook on their own in the future.

Making snack crafts is a fun way to get the little ones interested in cooking, and that’s why I put together 20 Christmas snack crafts that your kids can make. While they need a little parental supervision, most of these recipes can be made without you.

Let the kids get creative in the kitchen this holiday season with these fun Christmas snack crafts that that can make themselves.

Fun Christmas snack crafts for kids

Turn serving cups into a cute Snowman Snack Craft from Natural Beach Living to make any Christmas party more fun.

This sweet and salty Christmas Popcorn from Mom Foodie would be great for a Christmas movie night.

Turn simple pretzels into fun Grinch Snacks from Wondermom Wannabe. (You can find the fun food markers here!)

Take an Oreo and turn into a cute Christmas Reindeer snack from Childhood 101.

A simple Snack Filled Ornament from Busy Creating Memories would make a great party favor or a simple gift for friends.

This Gingerbread Christmas Tree from Busy Mommy Media is simple enough for even your littlest kids to make.

Rudolph Christmas Snacks from Rainy Day Mum would make a fun after school snack.

Christmas Strawberries from Wondermom Wannabe turn simple strawberries into sparkly Christmas lights. Fun!

Turn pretzel sticks into fun Rudolph Treats likes these from Masshole Mommy. You can find similar candy eyes here.

A Rainbow Cookie Gift Jar from Red Ted Art makes a fun kid-made Christmas gifts. And, they’re also fun for the kids to make!

Serve any of these treats on these fun Christmas paper plates for kids to make them even more festive!

More fun Christmas snacks for kids

These fruit Christmas Kabobs from Suburban Simplicity are a fun and healthy snack.

Fudge can actually be a very easy Christmas treat to make and this Easy Christmas Fudge from Tweenhood is the perfect recipe for your kids to try themselves.

I’ve never met a kid that hasn’t had fun turning an ice cream cone into a fun Waffle Cone Christmas Trees like these from Somewhat Simple.

Make a store-bought snack special by turning it into a Reindeer Granola Bar with this package decoration idea from A Night Owl Blog.

Use celery sticks to make this Healthy Christmas Tree Snack from Fantastic Fun and Learning.

Turn store-bought Jello cups into a fun Christmas Tree Snack from Craft Create Cook.

Build a Santa Candy Sleigh from Red Ted Art out of your Christmas candy. This would also make a fun gift for your friends!

These Wreath Chocolate Covered Oreos from Heartbeats Soul Stains would make a fun addition to the cookie tray.

Make these Celery Reindeer Snacks from Wondermom Wannabe for fun and healthy after school snack.

Kids will love to make their own Christmas candy when they make these Chocolate Rudolph Bites from Chocolate and Wine, I’ll Be Fine.

Which of these fun Christmas snack crafts are you going to make with your kids?

Our recommended Christmas snack craft resources:

You can make your Christmas snack crafts festive with some fun holiday-themed dishes and serving ware. Grab some cute paper plates for serving or display your fun creations on a pretty Christmas platter. Here are some of our favorite choices.

Are you looking for more kids activities?

Fun Christmas Math Activities for Kids

November 12, 2018 By Terri Thompson

I don’t know about you, but I love to get a little festive this time of year with everyday things – like math practice.

So let’s practice counting, counting, patterns, symmetry, addition and more while getting in the Christmas spirit. We’ll use candy canes, reindeer, and make Christmas trees.

You’ll love all of these Christmas Math Activities. They’re so much fun and perfect for learning during the holiday season.

Make math fun this holiday season with one of these Christmas math activities for kids. You'll find activities for both preschoolers and elementary kids.

Whether you’re looking for ideas for your preschoolers or your elementary kids, you’ll find something fun here. I found great counting games, fun geometry games, addition practice and more.

Keep reading for all the fun Christmas math activities.

Preschool Christmas Math Activities

Get a little fine motor practice while using a hole punch to do this simple Christmas Tree counting activity from Sugar Aunts.

Practice counting with this Gingerbread Cookies Counting Tray from Teach Me Mommy.

Explore patterns with this simple Candy Cane Pattern activity from This Reading Mama (comes with a free printable).

Have some sweet counting fun with this simple M&M Christmas tree counting activity from Umbrella Tree Cafe.

Practice counting and ordering with this Evergreen Tree Math Game from Mom Inspired Life.

Count and have fun with this two-player Jingle Bell Math Game from Fun-A-Day.

Do some simple adding and counting while you build a snowman with this fun activity from And Next Comes L.

Use Christmas bows to practice sorting by size with this simple measurement activity from Learning 4 Kids.

Practice number matching and counting with this Christmas Tree counting activity (that would make a great busy bag) from Mom Inspired Life.

Play with a fun Christmas tree geoboard. Fun-A-Day shows you how to make and use this simple foam tree geoboard.

Elementary Christmas Math Activities

Use candy canes to practice symmetry with this fun activity from Fantastic Fun and Learning.

Have you heard of Pascal’s Triangle? Explore this pattern activity with this fun Christmas tree activity from Teach Beside Me.

Create a Christmas tree out of Sierpinski fractal triangles with this STEAM activity at What Do We Do All Day.

Explore tally marks with this fun Candy Cane math game from JDaniel4’s Mom.

Practice your estimation skills with this simple LEGO math activity from Little Bins for Little Hands.

Explore tangrams with this fun (and yummy) Christmas Cookie Tangram activity from Left Brain Craft Brain.

Learn about fractions with this Snowman Fractions game from Teach Beside Me.

Explore a hundred chart and practice simple addition while playing Jingle All the Way to 100 from Simply Kinder.

Practice circular measurement, pattern making, and more with this beautiful STEAM Math Stars activity at Nurture Store.

Race your reindeer along a number line with this fun and simple Racing Reindeer game from Mom Inspired Life.

Hope you have a festive and fun time with all these Christmas math activities!

Christmas

Healthy Christmas Treats for School

Healthy Christmas Treats for School

Healthy Snacks for School Parties

You may also like these kids snack ideas:

Healthy Christmas Snack Resources

Are you looking for more kids activities?

Christmas Tree Number Hunt Activity for Toddlers