DIY: EASTER EGG CARTON FOR KIDS

We are just over a week until Easter 2022 and I wanted to share a super simple DIY that you could easily put together this weekend! With a few simple treats that you can buy from many stores, this little egg carton makeover will excite any little one on Easter morning.

Here’s how to make it.

Step 1: Cut an egg carton in half.

Step 2: If you want to add personalization or the little ‘Happy Easter’ message on the inside, simply make, cut out and glue on.

Step 3: Line each egg holder with left over raffia if you have it.

Step 4: Fill!

Here are some ideas of what to fill your Easter egg cartons with:

• chocolate mini eggs

• hair ties, hair clips or scrunchies (we adore these Liberty print ones)

• caffeine-free tea bags (our kids love tea!)

• nail polish

• scratch and win ticket (might be fun for teens)

• rubber stamp or easter stamp

• stickers

• chocolate Easter bunny

• mini jam or honey (fun if you have hot cross buns, croissants or scones on Easter morning)

• any kind of toy (mini slinky, wind up chick toy, wooden animal, etc.)

• eraser

• coins

• lip balm

That’s it! I’d love to see if you try this idea. Tag me on Instagram or use the #winterdaisyDIY

XAVIER'S SUSTAINABLE 7TH BIRTHDAY PARTY

It’s been a LONG time since we’ve shared a birthday party here, but given we are all practicing social distancing amidst the COVID-19 pandemic right now, I thought it might be fun to share a happy moment from our last home gathering for, quite possible, a very long time.

Xavier (our youngest) turned 7 and we celebrated with a small gathering at home. I wanted to create a party that was memorable and used as much sustainable decor as possible and I think we achieved both!

These giant leaves were from Our Little Flower Company and provided huge impact for the table backdrop. The garland is made from a giant roll of brown kraft paper and is recyclable.

You may have seen our letter board before (here) and we love using it for so many occasions. Xavier really wanted a turtle cake and although cake making is definitely not a strong suit over here, we made one and he was thrilled.

Xavier’s friends joined for the party and we had Animal Safari Rescue Centre come with some of their rescue animals to show the kids. It was an absolute hit and the kids learned all sorts of facts about the animals.

At the end of the party, little bags with National Geographic readers went home with the kids as well as these super cute animal stickers. A great day before the social distancing started. Happy 7th Birthday Xavier!

BLUSH, SILVER + WHITE 7th BIRTHDAY PARTY

I can't believe our twin girls are 7!!! Over the past few years, I've shared Kaia and Noelle's birthday parties with all of you. Their 5th birthday with fairy crowns and a nature walk, their 6th birthday at a local art studio and this year, for their 7th birthday, they wanted something at home. So...with just a few friends and some pretty decorations (as well as an incredible magician!), we had a party that not only celebrated another year of having our joyful children in the world but also ticked the box as "the best birthday party we've ever had Mama!".

I've learned over the years to keep the decorations to one spot that is well lit. We opted to use our everyday console table and throw a white tablecloth on it. Using three cake stands (that we use for so many occassions), we filled the brown paper bags with popcorn and the cake took its' prized position in the centre. We added a few flowers in jars (I love eucalyptus and baby's breath) and picked up a few blush coloured roses to match the balloons. 

While the girls waited at the window for their friends to arrive, I filled simple paper bags with party favours. 

Once the kids arrived, we had a magician come to the house for a magic show, which was great fun and lots of laughs. The kids were even taught a trick of their own at the end. After all, parties are all about the fun, which this day was full of.

A big thank you to my sister Amanda from Amanda Haddow Photography for capturing these photos perfectly.

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KIDS CHRISTMAS WOODEN PLAYHOUSE

GET THE LOOK…

Our little wooden playhouse is all decorated for Christmas!!! You may remember the summer makeover of this cubby house from last year and I finally got a few things together to decorate it for the holidays. I had this idea to surprise the kids with a fun afternoon outside eating shortbread cookies and drinking hot cocoa and I am so thankful we did it before the crazy rain started because they LOVED it!

The white lit birch trees were such a fun addition that I will move inside later; one for the girls' room and one for Xavier's.

We swapped summer lemonade for hot cocoa and the menu changed to include cookies, brownies and candy canes (kids dream menu!). All three kids wanted to take turns 'serving' the others and the shortbread cookies were gobbled up nearly instantly.

I just love the unexpected colours in the peppermint garland from Pearl and Jane. It's so cute for the playhouse and would be equally as adorable as holiday decoration in a children's room!

I adore the little details in our playhouse: the tiny HO HO HO banner, gold drop garland and JOY banner are all from Etsy. So many creative makers that I love to support! I just had to include this photo of our youngest smiling broadly and poking over the door. 

If you missed the original makeover, you can find that post here. I hope you find inspiration and a little fun from our holiday playhouse.

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SUMMER PLAYHOUSE

OUR SUMMER LEMONADE STAND (USING IKEA KIDS TABLES!)

They say it's a right of passage to have a lemonade stand as a child. I say throw two IKEA LATT kids tables together, paint them white and you're set to go!!!

Our daughter Noelle, who is 6, told me a few nights before school started that having a lemonade stand was on her list of 'must dos' for the summer and she seemed pretty set on it. Without having much time to think about it, we put the kids to bed, I found the two IKEA tables in the basement and a few pieces of scrap wood and set to work (big thanks to my hubby for screwing the wood into the tables enabling a stand to be made). 

Our IKEA kids tables mainly get used for parties or when kids come over for playdates and were definitely not in the best shape, so after finding the pieces of scrap wood to use as the 'stand', I used some leftover paint from my playhouse project last summer and quickly painted it all. You can see how dark it was when I snapped a photo once the paint was on. This is devoted parenting at its' best, right?! Ha!

BEFORE...

AFTER...

I made the 'LEMONADE' sign the next morning by cutting out large triangles from card stock and sticking some gold foil letter stickers on. I already owned the drinks dispenser that we use all the time for parties and playdates and apparently now lemonade stands too!!! The adorable silver star garland is from Pearl and Jane on Etsy. The girls and I walked up to the flower shop to choose some flowers for the stand and they picked out this sweet combination themselves. They also drew, coloured and cut out the lemons and stems to stick onto the stand for decoration. Aren't they the cutest?! This is definitely my favourite detail of all!!!

Everyone who came by commented that at 25 cents, our lemonade was the best deal around. I guess we wanted the stand to be about having fun and not making money and we even had a jar of quarters for anyone who came by who didn't happen to have change with them. This turned out to be a great idea as we could then give out free lemonade (therefore getting more 'customers') while the kids could transfer a quarter from our money jar to theirs. Watching the joy on their faces when their neighbourhood friends stopped by was priceless; such a great summer memory.A win win for everyone!

We have owned this little silver scale for years and it made a perfect accessory for the stand. The kids filled their own glasses up more times than I was willing to count but I suppose that's half the fun, isn't it??!!

So, there it is. A summer bucket list item ticked off for the kids and hours and hours of fun for us all. Who else has a couple of IKEA kids tables kicking around?

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