Best Holiday Movies of All Time

Posted on December 24, 2012 No comment

It’s that time of year, and amidst a flurry of gifts, lights and snow, are the timeless films we love to watch with our family and friends. The amount of films devoted to the spirit of Christmas is nearly countless, but here’s a few of the most iconic and lasting titles you may want to snuggle up with your family this year.

It’s a Wonderful Life

This film is a classic gem, about the divine intervention of a man prepared to commit suicide on Christmas Eve. His guardian angel saves him, and shows him how life would have been had he never been born. The film is quite a testament to the longevity of cinema, as it was released in 1946, and is still the go-to Christmas movie for families. This movie is perfect for anyone who wants a dose of nostalgic charm, vibrance, and goodwill.

Home Alone

A hearty success for budding child star, Macaulay Culkin, “Home Alone” is a humorous and lighthearted romp. Its plot follows a child who’s accidentally left behind by his family as they go on vacation. At first, he loves the freedom of being alone, but soon finds it’s a bit disheartening, especially when burglars try to invade. While the movie is light and bubbly overall, it conveys a message of family appreciation.

The Polar Express

Combining the techniques of computer animation with motion-capture technology, “The Polar Express” artfully tells a tale of several children, who board an enchanted locomotive that’s on a journey to Santa’s fortress in the North Pole. The film conveys an idea about the innocence of childhood, and believing in great things even though you can’t experience them tangibly.

A Muppet Christmas Carol

Based on Charles Dicken’s famous story, this film manages to combine fantasy, humor and a genuine love, seamlessly. The plot follows the basic formula of the three ghosts of Christmas, and the muppets respectively act out their roles with whimsy and flair. The film certainly communicates a positive message of friendship and togetherness that anyone can appreciate.

A Christmas Story

This film captures a decidedly darker tone than many Christmas movies, which is refreshing. The brilliant humor and casting of “A Christmas Story” is simply unmatched. It’s a film that will delight for years to come, and the unique narrated aspect of the story is something that imbues charm and realness to the film. Many movies portray a fantasy, but this film generates a completely life-like atmosphere that will resonate with everybody.

I hope you enjoyed this list as much as I enjoyed writing about it. Now it’s your turn, what are your top holiday movies?

_____________________

Loren Stacks is a booklover, music-lover and a freelance writer for companies like SecureYourTrademark.Com. Ever-frustrated with not being tan enough, he has a running project of visiting 12 beaches around the world in 12 months.

Celebrating, Crafting, and Cooking Snowflakes With Kids

Posted on December 21, 2012 No comment

I’m in a snowflake mood today. It finally started snowing here in Colorado. It’s almost Christmas. Bring on the snowflakes!

Join me in celebrating winter with snowflake food, books, and crafts.

Snowflakes

Snowflake Books

I can’t decide which of these book are my favorite. My kids love the pop-up book – it is gorgeous — and I adore the photographs in The Secret Life of a Snowflake.

Snowflakes: A Pop-up Book by Jennifer Preston Chushcoff

Robert’s Snowflakes by Grace Lin

The Snow Day by Komako Sakai

The Secret Life of a Snowflake by Kenneth Libbrecht

Snowflakes for All Seasons: 72 Fold & Cut Paper Snowflakes by Cindy Higham

Snowflake Crafts

Do you kids like to cut snowflakes? Mine, too! I think you know how to make the basics so here are more ideas beyond the basic snowflake craft. We’re starting with the buttons and pom-poms.

Make a Button Snowflake, Red Ted Art

3D Snowflake, All Students Can Learn

Pipe Cleaner & Pom Pom Snowflake, Free Kids Crafts

Stick Snowflakes, Little Things Bring Smiles

Junk Mail Snowflake, Michele Made Me

How to Cut Snowflakes, Michele Made Me

Snowflake Food

I’m psyched to have discovered these snowflake food ideas – especially the tortilla snowflake. Yummy!

Sweet Tortilla Snowflakes, Our Best Bites

Snowflake Pretzel Rods, LA Times

Meringue Snowflakes, Spoonful

Snowflake Cookies, A Southern Fairytale

Won’t you join me in celebrating snowflakes?

Photo credit: bernat… / Foter / CC BY-NC-NC

Give the Gift of Imagination

Posted on December 14, 2012 No comment

This holiday season, find gifts that allow your child to imagine; toys that are open-ended! That’s why we call ourselves Imagine Toys because we think all our toys offer that opportunity.

Give the Gift of Imagination

Toys that use imagination:
- are simple
- don’t have batteries
- don’t do all the thinking for the kid
- are open-ended
- allow the child to imagine the play

Read this post on why imaginative, open-ended toys are best for children’s brain and development.

Gifts that Give Imagination

FREE (because you already have them)

Cardboard Box

Stick

Blanket

Pipe Cleaners

LOW COST

Alphabet Blocks

Doll
doll

Doctor & Jungle Animals
doctor and animals

MEDIUM TO HIGH COST

Indoor – Outdoor Tent
tent

Play Kitchen

Workbench

You get the idea, right?

You are looking for a toy that a child can play with for hours, using his or her imagination to develop a pretend play scenario.

These are the toys that are not just best for your kids, but that they will like the best!

Happy Holidays!

~ Melissa

Top Photo credit: I, Timmy / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA

10 Favorite Christmas Crafts to Make and Do with Kids

Posted on December 7, 2012 6 comments

I love how creative these bloggers are – they have thought of some wonderful ideas for kids to make for holiday gifts. See for yourself!

Homemade Snow Playdough

Pipe Cleaner Christmas Tree

Pom Pom Ornament

Twiggy Stars

Paper Candy Canes

Lacing Tree Ornaments

Which do you like best?

Cars and Trucks and Things That Go

Posted on December 3, 2012 2 comments

Ever since my first son was born three and a half years ago, I swore I would not push “boy” toys on him. That I would let his interests guide his play.

This is why he likes to watch princesses and has a baby doll. It’s also why he asked for a tea set for Christmas.

But I believe there is an element of “boy” that is just engrained in his DNA.

He carries his baby doll around and declares that he will shoot bad guys with her bottle.

He bakes birthday cakes and makes us “lunch” and begs for Nerf guns.

He gets mesmerized by Minnie’s Bow-tique, but wants to be Batman.

And the thing he loves most? CARS AND TRUCKS!

Every single time a commercial comes on for cars or tracks or trucks he yells, “I WANT THAT!” or “PUT THAT IN MY LETTER TO SANTA!!!”

Because we clearly do not have enough.

Eddie has had this obsession with things with wheels from his first truck—a fire truck that made a ton of racket.

Some of his first words were “truck” and “bus” and “car”. Daddy drove a “cuck” and mommy drove a “caw” and on his way to daycare he saw “coo busses”.

He would grunt and point out everything that moved when we drove down the street. Every semi-truck got a “YOOK, MOM! Dat cuck is HUGE!”

When a child gets a fascination with a certain subject, family and friends are quick to cling to that for gift ideas. And so our home became over-run with all the things that go—much to Eddie’s glee.

In fact, Eddie’s favorite thing to do with his cars and trucks was to make a “parking lot,” which really just meant lining them all up.

There was no daily task to which he couldn’t incorporate the need of a truck or car. Taking a nap? There’s a car for that. Playing outside? There’s a truck for that. Getting his diaper changed? There’s a car for that.

Eating a snack?

You got it. There’s a truck for that.

Now, at the ripe old age of three, he is more into racing them. He wants fast cars and cool trucks.

He loves to be able to build and take apart and change things out. It’s probably why he loves his new Smart Max Power Vehicles Set and Legos and trains so much (other posts completely).

He’s into doing things by himself and showing us his new creations.

And wouldn’t you know it? His baby brother, Charlie has recently taken an interest to things that go too.

I have a feeling that living in this house of boys means cars and trucks underfoot for a few years yet.

_____________________

Katie Sluiter is a freelance writer and teacher who should probably be grading papers or changing diapers but is more likely blogging, tweeting, or just overusing social media in general. She chronicles all this on her blog, Sluiter Nation.

7 Tips for Taking Better Holiday Photos

Posted on November 30, 2012 No comment

With the holidays coming up, we’ll all be taking lots of photographs. To get the best photos, remember a few important things: some you know, some you might not.

1. Charge your battery.

2. Turn off the flash unless it’s night. Trust me, the color will look much better without flash.

3. Go for the close-ups. Zoom or move closer than usual.

4. De-messify the background. Too much clutter distracts from your photographs.

5. Don’t center your subjects. Instead of putting your kids in the middle of the shot, move the camera so they’re off-center.

6. Go for different angles: low on the ground, or high above your subject.

7. Take lots and lots of photographs. Odds are better you’ll have the perfect shot with more to choose from.

Want more suggestions?

More photography tips:

16 Photography Tips for Christmas, Digital Photo School

Christmas Bokeh, Mom and Camera

How to Get Better Photos of Your Baby, Babble

Close-Up photo by reiserloh; group photo by gobucks2

7 Ideas for Staying Active in Cold Weather

Posted on November 23, 2012 No comment

7 Ways for Kids to Stay Active in Winter

Do your kids get 60 minutes of physical activity every day? Even during the winter months?

The National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) recommends school age children engage

in “at least sixty minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity every day.”

We find this challenging some days, especially in the cold. So, here are our favorite staying active ideas that work for us, and can work for you, too.

Outside Active Ideas

Sledding

The next snow day, grab your sled and your child

and have a blast.

Showshoeing

Rent or buy snowshoe equipment. If you can walk, you can snowshoe!

Snowball Fight

Snowball fights involve a lot of movement – bending, twisting, and running.

Inside Active Ideas

Basketball

Set up a basketball hoop in your basement to play inside in bad weather.

Mini-Trampoline

Let your kids bounce, dance, and run in place on an indoor trampoline.

Jump Rope

If your ceiling is high enough, jump rope inside. Check YouTube for inspiring jump rope tricks and songs.

Yoga

Kids’ yoga incorporates familiar poses by using kid-friendly language – most of the time using animals like

a snake, lion, cat, or butterfly to describe the poses.

The Most Important Parenting Advice

Posted on November 16, 2012 No comment

“There are many little ways to enlarge your child’s world. Love of books is the best of all.” — Jacqueline Kennedy

I didn’t know much about parenting before I had kids but I did know one thing. Reading aloud. I knew for sure it was the best way to raise a reader.

Read aloud to your kids.

Every day.

Decades of research show that reading aloud to children is the single best way to ensure that they start school ready to learn (ahead of their peers) and develop into a life-long reader.

Isn’t that amazing?

Because it’s not hard, it’s not costly (thank God for libraries!), and it’s not boring.

Reading is fun!

(I give you more tips for raising a reader and encouraging a reluctant reader in my new book, Book Love: Help Your Child Grow from Reluctant to Enthusiastic Reader. It’s on sale now! I hope you’ll check it out.)

What books should you read? Whatever your child likes! Trial and error will tell you. One of my children loved stories with real photographs of other children and anything with bright colors. The other loved all books, luckily for me.

Our favorite authors we recommend for your family to try are:

Byron Barton
Mo Willems
Jane Yolen
Jean Reidy
Eric Carle
Sandra Boynton
Karma Wilson
Barney Saltzberg
Karen Katz

Our favorite books usually were colorful, feely, and flappy. Here are some favorites:

Pat the Bunny (yes, ours is in tatters it was so well-loved)
Where is Baby’s Belly Button
That’s Not my Puppy (Usborne)
Peekaboo Kisses
Too Pickley
Spot Lift the Flap
Maisy Lift the Flap
The Going to Bed Book

What about you?

What are your favorite authors and stories to read to your kids?

“So please, oh PLEASE, we beg, we pray, Go throw your TV set away, And in its place you can install, A lovely bookshelf on the wall.” — Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Make Your Own Story Stones

Posted on November 8, 2012 1 comment

Since I’m a recent Mod Podge addict, I’ve been finding ways to combine it with literacy. Hence, story stones! Delight in finding pictures in old magazines, and Mod Podging them onto rocks. Then, use the stones to inspire family storytelling.

Start by collecting large rocks.

Then gather your supplies:

Mod Podge
old magazines
scissors
paintbrush

Cut out small pictures you like.

First, spread the Mod Podge on the rock.

Then add a picture and spread more Mod Podge on top of it.

Allow to dry for several hours or overnight.

When dry, your picture will be firmly attached to the rock and you’ve made a story stone!

When you have a collection of story stones, you can use them to tell stories with your kids.

(Write down your best stories.)

Have fun!

Holiday Baking With Kids — The Best Cookies and Treats!

Posted on November 1, 2012 2 comments

I think the holidays are the perfect time to get the kids baking in the kitchen. And, if your kids are like mine, they love sweets and baking cookies.

Our favorite recipe is iced sugar cookies. The measuring, stirring, and baking means lots of fun family time, too. Then, decorating with icing lets us be creative. Finally, we can enjoy our delicious cookie creations with hot chocolate or milk.

Martha Stewart’s Sugar Cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Assorted candies, sprinkles, or colored sugars, for decorating (optional)

Directions

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in one bowl. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture; beat until combined. Divide dough in half; flatten into disks. Wrap each in plastic; freeze until firm, at least 20 minutes.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment. Remove one dough disk; let stand 5 to 10 minutes. Roll out 1/8 inch thick between two sheets of floured parchment, dusting dough with flour as needed. Cut shapes with cookie cutters. Using a spatula, transfer to prepared baking sheets. (If dough gets soft, chill 10 minutes.) Reroll scraps; cut shapes. Repeat with remaining dough.
Bake, rotating halfway through, until edges are golden, 10 to 18 minutes (depending on size). Cool completely on wire racks. To ice cookies, spread with the back of a spoon. Let the icing harden, about 20 minutes. Decorate as desired.

To make icing, sift 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar into a small bowl. Whisk in 3 to 4 tablespoons milk, water, or lemon juice, 1 tablespoon at a time, until smooth and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. If too thin, whisk in more sugar; if too thick, add more liquid.

- – - – - – - -

We added cake coloring to color the icing. Look how bright the colors turned out!

**Try these molasses sugar cookies for a little varation.

Give your kids icing and sprinkles and let the artistry begin . . .

What else can you bake with your kids? How about one of these unique and delicious treats?

More Holiday Treats To Bake with Kids

Candy Cane Cookies (recipe and photograph from Spoonful)

Cake Mix Cookies (recipe and photo from Projects for Preschoolers)

Nutella Meringues (recipe and photo from Cream Puffs in Venice)

Rice Crispy Treat Houses from Land o’Lakes

Snowman Cupcakes (recipe and photo) from Meet the Dubiens

Peppermint Popcorn Bark (recipe and photo from Plain Chicken)

Mini Fruit Pizzas (recipe and photo from Banner Boutique)

Wreath Cornflake Cookies (recipe and photo from Mr. Food)

Accessories for Cooking with Kids

Finally, don’t forget that every young baker loves his or her own apron and supplies. You might like this Curious Chef Cookie Kit with cookie cutters, a whisk, a spoon, a rolling pin, and more. Imagine Toys has lots of cooking toys for kids, too. Play pretend with a play kitchen of your own!

I’m going to let my kids pick our next holiday treat recipe.

What about you? Which will they pick?

« Newer posts | Older posts »

Imagine Toys Blog