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Play

Pretend Birthday Party Invitation To Play

June 4, 2020 by Stacy Craft Leave a Comment

Do your kids talk about their upcoming birthday for 364 days of the year? 

If so, they will love this pretend birthday party invitation to play where they can celebrate any day of the year. 

Play Pretend Birthday Party Invitation To Play

Things like sensory bins and invitations to play are things that probably never heard of until you had a child. 

And then you realized you were supposed to be doing these activities in order to encourage learning and development. Great, one more thing to worry about. 

The good news is that there are tons of ideas for playtime on Pinterest to make things easy. 

I actually really like dreaming up sensory bins for the kids & we have done things like Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal pies, Cookie Cereal Baking Bin, Vegetable Soup Water Table Play and Taste Safe Infant finger painting. 

But as much as I love coming up with ideas, my kids actually made up the pretend birthday party invitation to play.

They came up with this all on their own after a real birthday party last year. I got out some stuff today for them to do it again & they had just as much fun as the first time. 

Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.

Pretend Birthday Party – Invitation To Play

The pretend birthday party invitation to play is so easy and requires very little prompts from the parent. After I provided the supplies, my kids played “birthday party” for 45 minutes straight! 

I will give you the materials that we used & then give you some play prompts if you need them. 

Pretend Birthday Party Materials:

  • Recycled Gift Bags (I use the ones that are on their last leg and not something I would reuse again at a Birthday Party) 
  • A few sheets of tissue paper
  • A roll of gift wrap (we used old Christmas paper but you could grab a roll at the Dollar Tree too)
  • Tape
  • Scissors (if Age Appropriate) 
  • Balloons (again if age appropriate)

I put those items out and tell my kids to play birthday party. 

Gift Wrap for Birthday Party Sensory Activity

How to Host a Pretend Birthday Party for Kids

To play birthday party, you first need to “shop” your toys for something to give. 

Next, you wrap that gift. My kids love to wrap with wrapping paper or arrange it in a gift bag. It is something that I usually do if we are going to a real party and apparently it seems super cool to the kids. 

Wrapping Pretend Gifts for Unbirthday

Now it is party time! 

Party TIme - Birthday Party Imaginative Play Time

Play Prompts for Party Time

If your kids are struggling to come up with something on their own or if you like to give more structured instructions, here are some play prompts that you can use during this activity. 

My kids did the following: 

  • Welcomed their pretend friends to their pretend party.
  • Dressed up in themed clothing (My son chose a hero party so my daughter wore a cape & he wore a fire fighter outfit)
  • Made a Birthday lunch, cake and ice cream in their play kitchen. 
  • Sang Happy Birthday before eating their cake.
  • The Birthday Boy/Girl opened their presents 
  • Pretended to play birthday games like Pin the Tail on the Donkey
  • Played toss the Balloon 

Balloon Toss - Birthday Party Game

Some more ideas:

  • Have the children make birthday cards with paper and crayons
  • Decorate the room with homemade decorations
  • Make a real cake together, complete with candles & celebrate with a yummy dessert. 

My kids played for almost an hour with this pretend birthday party invitation to play. I did interact some but for the most part they were able to entertain themselves with the activity which allowed me a little bit of time to get other things done. 

More Sensory Activities for Kids:

Rose Petal Princess Tea

Plant a Flower Garden Bin 

 

Filed Under: Featured, Kid Activities, Play

#1 Beach Essentials for Baby (And It Is Not A Baby Pool)

June 25, 2018 by Stacy Craft 7 Comments

A beach trip with a baby is not exactly a relaxing mental image. Sand and little hands that go right into the mouth are enough to make any sane mama a little crazy.

We just got back from a vacation and there was 1 item that I could not have lived without on the beach! I have also compiled a list of other beach essentials for baby under 1 year old (and some that apply for preschool age too).

#1 Baby Beach Item

#1 Baby Essential for the Beach and It is not a Baby Pool

(Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.)

Before you get to the beach, read my Road trip plan for on the road entertainment for kids.

#1 Must Have Beach Item For Baby

You know how you see things and think it is such a simple idea but you just didn’t think of it until it is too late? This is that kind of idea. I will give credit where it is due, my mom actually thought of this. So what is the big secret? We took our Pack N Play to the beach with us. Every day for our 7 day vacation.

Pack N Play Beach Essentials for Kids

My mom mentioned that we might want to consider taking it and I really did not want to at first. It seemed like a pain to drag out to the beach every day. But I am so glad I did. 

We had multiple people walk by our tent and tell us that they wished they had brought their Pack N Play for their little ones. I used it every single time the baby was down at the beach.

Pack N Play for Naps

I would pack my portable changing mat and change him from his swim diaper into a dry diaper before nap. I laid a towel down for him but if you had a really young infant, you could bring a crib sheet to tuck in around the mattress for safety. 

Pack N Play sleep

He would get a bottle then take his usual nap. Since we were under a tent, the ocean breeze kept him cool and the sound of the waves crashing against the beach was a great natural sound machine.

Pack N Play for Play

After nap, it was time for a little play time! My little one can sit unassisted so I would let him play in the sand a little. But as soon as the sandy fingers started heading for the mouth, we would rinse off in the ocean and head back to the trusty pack n play.

Beach Essentials For Kids Pool & pack n play on the beach

I brought some regular toys (not beach type toys) to play with in the pack n play. He had a great time playing and could put things in his mouth without me worrying about it. He also spent a lot of time standing up and watching people walk by and watching his sister play.

Pack N Play for Snacks

The beach and sand make me cringe. It never fails that when I eat something on the beach I crunch down on a big piece of gritty sand. I can only imagine that my kids are probably eating 25% sand when snacking on the beach! The Pack N Play helped with that for the baby.

I gave him a little bowl with some puffs or sometimes we would just set them on a towel for him. I always had a transitional sippy cup full of ice water for him to make sure that he was hydrated. One day I even took some fresh cut up strawberries in our cooler & put them in the Silicone Fruit Feeder for him (I like these better than the mesh version because they are easier to clean).

Other Top Beach Essentials for Baby

Baby Splash Pad/Pool

Ok, I said my #1 beach essential for baby was NOT a baby pool. But that didn’t mean it wasn’t something awesome to have with us.

Baby in Splash Pad Pool on Bed

With my first baby, I bought a baby pool that was way too big. It took 19 years to blow up, it was cumbersome to pack and it took 47 trips to the ocean and back to fill it up with water. This year, I found the ultimate baby pool for the beach!

This baby splash pool is so great for many reasons! It is inexpensive, has a built in back support seat if your baby is still a little wobbly, and a toy ring activity. It also takes no time to blow up (you won’t even need a pump) and with 1 or 2 sand buckets of water, you will be set. Seriously, it is so worth it.

Baby Swimming Pool Splash Pad for Beach Vacation Infant

We will use this at home in the back yard too so it was a double win!

10×10 Tent Canopy

You may not think about a tent making a beach essentials for baby list but having lots of shade at the beach is mandatory if you have a new baby! As a family, we all spent more time under the tent than out in the sun so it is a worthy beach item for us.

It also helps prevent your cooler from getting hot & any food or drinks that you brought from warming up.

Sand Bag Anchors

We were the family fishing our tent out of the ocean after a big gust of wind a few years ago. It wasn’t fun, it wasn’t pretty and we had to buy a new tent after the powerful ocean mangled ours to bits. This year we got smart and purchased these sand bags. They were super easy to set up and our tent was safe and sound.

Beach Wagon

We talked about how amazing our wagon was every single day. We used it when we arrived to the condo to unload our car because all the carts provided by the facility were being used. Hauling beach chairs, coolers, toys, and that oh so precious pack n play was much easier with our wagon!

I even saw a couple of people hauling their toddlers around in the wagons!

Other Primary Essentials

Of course you don’t want to forget your beach essentials. Baby Sunscreen (this is the only one that doesn’t break my kids out), beach towels, sand toys, tons of water & snacks.

This DIY Kid’s Beach first aid kit is also a must for infants, big kids or even adults at the beach. 

I hope this list helps you when packing for your baby’s first trip to the beach. The additional beach essentials for baby helped us on our beach vacation. Hopefully they will make your trip easier too! What can you not live without on the beach?!

 

Filed Under: Featured, Plan, Play Tagged With: Baby, beach, essentials, infant, must haves, packing, planning, road trip, vacation

Rose Petal Tea Sensory Bin

May 24, 2020 by Stacy Craft Leave a Comment

A rose petal tea sensory bin is a great spring activity that can be done with common household items!

Rose Petal Princess Tea Party Sensory Bin for Toddlers and Princesses

Rose Petal Tea Party Sensory Bin for Toddlers and Princesses

The other day I saw a mom on a Facebook Support group that I’m on complain about sensory bins.

She didn’t want to have to go to 3 stores, spend $47 buying materials and then spend 29 minutes putting it all together only for her son to play with it for 3 minutes.

And I totally get that. Been there, done that. Nothing is more frustrating than spending time and money on something that your kids are done with in less than 5.

That is just one reason I lover this rose petal tea sensory bin. We used only things that we had at home and I even had the kids help me gather some of the supplies.

So it was cheap, involved a nature item and entertained the kids for more than 5 minutes. I felt like I was winning!

Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.

Rose Petal Tea Sensory Bin

To create this activity, we just took a quick trip to the rose bush in the front yard. If you don’t have a rose bush (and don’t want to pick the neighbors) we have some other ideas so that you can still make this rose petal tea sensory bin.

Rose Petal Tea Sensory Bin with Easy Set Up for Toddlers

What You Need for Rose Petal Tea Activity

  • Clear Bin or Bowl – This is my favorite for sensory bins
  • Rose Petals – No roses in your yard? What about a blooming azalea? Wild Flowers? You could also use a package of rose petals from Dollar Tree
  • Water
  • Red/Pink Food Coloring
  • Plastic Tea Set & Misc. Spoons from your kitchen

Creating the Bin

Kids Sharing and Serving Rose Tea to Others

Usually when I do sensory bins, I gather the materials and set up the experience. I then introduce it to the kids and invite them to play.

But with this rose petal tea sensory bin, I wanted to change it up a bit. Since it is spring inspired and roses petals are the star of the show, some outdoor time seemed appropriate.

We went outside and spent time collecting petals and adding them to a bucket. I love my little rose bush so the kids were only allowed to collect the petals that had already fallen.

Once you have plenty of rose petals collected, add them to your bin with plenty of water and a few drops of food coloring.

Pouring Colored Water into Pretend Teapot

Place a tea set, kitchen utensils and even plastic cups from your kitchen if you don’t have a tea set into the bin.

Hand the beautiful pink rose petal tea sensory bin over to the kids and let their imaginations run.

Play for Varying Ages and Genders

Our rose petal tea sensory bin entertained both my 2 year old boy and 6 year old girl for a good period of time.

My older daughter made a “real” fancy tea party with her bin. She took orders, brewed the tea, added rose garnishes and served her creations.

The 2 year old just had fun splashing around and pouring from the teapot into the teacups and drinking the tea. I’d like to say he pretended to drink but he got a few real gulps in.

Thank goodness it was just water and food coloring. And of course after a quick Google search, I found out that all rose petals are edible. So if you use real petals, this is technically a taste safe activity (although I personally would not recommend it!).

Learning Activities with This Sensory Bin

Fine Motor Skills - Rose Petal Tea Pouring

I love sensory bins because not only are they fun, it is also a great way for kids to learn through play. 

Here are some things that the kiddos can learn while using this sensory bin:

  • Motor Skills – Pouring and scooping are great for developing those fine motor skills that they will need to .
  • Colors – You can talk about colors of the water, flowers, even the cups and tea pot.
  • Pretend – Developing the skills for the kids to be able to play pretend is so beneficial. 
  • Learning about Nature – You can discuss how the roses grow, bloom and then fall to the ground at the end of their life cycle. We played with this bin outside too which added to the nature aspect.
  • Sharing and Serving – Learning to share and serve others is something that I think is good for the soul! I loved watching them make “tea” and then let their brother or sister have the first “sip.”

Love this rose tea petal sensory bin? Here are some more to keep those kids busy!

Cookie Cereal Sensory Bin

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Bin

Vegetable Soup Water Table Play

Planting Seeds, Growing Flowers Sensory Bin 

Filed Under: Featured, Kid Activities, Play

Flower Garden Sensory Bin

May 23, 2020 by Stacy Craft Leave a Comment

A flower garden sensory bin is a spring inspired activity that can be played with indoors or out.

Flower Garden Sensory Bin

My daughter has been asking to plant things lately. And she wants to plant everything!

If it is up to her, we will have a full vegetable garden, a bunch of fruit trees and a yard full of bedding plants.

Since we haven’t been able to get out and get flowers yet, I thought a sensory bin would be a fun way to practice planting.

Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.

Flower Garden Sensory Bin

A flower garden sensory bin allows for imaginative and tactile play.

The kids can pretend to plant their seeds in soil, water the seeds and watch them grow into beautiful flowers. And once they grow, they can pick them of course!

Materials Needed For Flower Garden Bin

  • Artificial Flowers
  • Painted Chickpeas* (Acrylic paint and dried chickpeas)
  • Dried Black Beans
  • Mini Wooden Scoops
  • Small Terra Cotta or tin planters
  • Mini Watering Can (I got ours at Hobby Lobby)
  • Large Container to hold all of the play items – This is my favorite bin, not too big, not too small & inexpensive.

Materials for Flower Garden Sensory Bin

Preparing the Flower Garden Sensory Bin

The first thing you want to do is paint your chickpeas. Simply put a little acrylic paint into a ziploc bag and drop in the desired number of dried chickpeas.

Seal the bag and shake, shake, shake. Remove from the bag and lie flat on some paper towels to dry. They dry pretty quickly.

Then dump enough dried black beans into the large container to cover the bottom. You want plenty of beans because this is your “potting soil.”

Next, cut apart your artificial flowers into individual stems. Scissors will work but wire cutters will be easier. Make sure you cut the wire close so that there is no chance for injury.

Now the best part – just dump all the rest of the items into the play bin. It is time to play!

Planting in the Flower Garden

My 2 and 6 year old kids both had fun gardening in their sensory bins.

For the toddler, lots of time was spent scooping beans. He transferred them from the big bin into the smaller planters.

With a little prompting, he did a little planting and playing with the flowers as well. But the beans were definitely the favorite.

My 6 year old used more imagination in her play. She took the painted chickpeas and planted them in the pots.

Child planting flowers in sensory bin activity

Pretended to water the pots and seeds to make the flowers grow.

Then she picked the flowers and made a bouquet for me! Sweet girl.

Planting Flowers in Garden Invitation to Play

Learning Prompts:

  • Identify the Colors of the Flowers
  • Count the Flowers
  • Discuss How Plants Grow (plant the seed, water, sunshine, grow)
  • Demonstrate volume in a container (fill half way or 3/4)

What would you add to this gardening invitation to play activity?

More Sensory Bins?

Cookie Cereal Baking Bin

Apple Cinnamon Fall Sensory Bin

Vegetable Soup Water Table Play

Edible Infant Finger Paint

Filed Under: Featured, Kid Activities, Play

Things To Do With Fast Food Toys

May 25, 2020 by Stacy Craft Leave a Comment

Tired of throwing away the cheap plastic toys that come in kid’s meals or birthday party favor bags?

Find new and fun things to do with fast food toys that will keep the kids engaged and having fun.

16 Ideas for things to do with Fast Food Toys

16 Ideas for Party Favor Trinkets

Does your house seem to pile up with little plastic trinket toys? Whether they are from school holiday parties, fast food toys or birthday parties, they appear and multiply.

My typical protocol was to let the kids play until they lost interest in these little junk toys. You know as well as me, that usually happens in 5 minutes or less.

Then I would throw the toys out because I couldn’t take anymore clutter in our playroom.

I felt joy in knowing that I was not adding to an overabundance of toys. But I also felt a little guilty. Especially if the toys came from a party bag.

Someone spent money on those little trinkets. And here I am throwing them out. So I decided to start finding creative ways to use them beyond the 5 minutes that the kids spend playing with something new.

Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.

Things To Do With Fast Food Toys

Giving a new purpose to an old or cheap toy is the best way to get those toys played with.

The Collection Process

Kids eating McDonald's

The first thing you need to do is save up these little toys.

I keep a big gallon ziplock bag in a cabinet. As the fast food toys come into my house, I simply collect them once they have been discarded by the kids and place them in my toy bag.

Do the same thing with party favor toys.

Once you have a good amount of toys in the bag, you can pull out just what you need for activities or just release the whole bag to the kids to play with.

Ideas for Things To Do With Favor Toys

We have been sheltering in place for the last month due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The other day, I pulled out my plastic toy bag and handed it to the kids outside.

And do you know what happened? They played for quite a while with all these toys that they had lost interest in before. That I would have previously thrown out.

It was like found treasure. And they loved it.

Here are some ideas on things to do with fast food toys instead of discarding them:

  • Take them to the Park – If one gets lost, no big deal.
  • Play with them in water table or sand box
  • Use as Slime or Play Doh toys
  • Play in the Bath time – Since these toys aren’t really meant to be water toys, you may have to toss if they start to get gross but you were going to toss them anyway right?
  • Keep A bag in the car for trips or unexpected traffic jams
  • Use them at restaurants to keep kids busy while you wait on food
  • Take them to Grandmas house for when the kids are visiting.
  • Use them in Sensory Bins
  • Set up in a doll house
  • Build a Lego fort to house all the figurines
  • Play hide the toys (an Easter Egg hunt of toys)
  • Freeze the toys in water and use a dropper of water to free the toys
  • Create a nature fort for the figurines (gather sticks, leaves and flowers and let the imagination go from there)
  • Paint the toys with washable paint to give them a new look
  • Cover the toys in shaving cream and let kids clean them with a cheap toothbrush or rag.
  • Set up figurines in a bowling triangle and play a round of mini bowling using a bouncy ball

Check out these ideas from to stop sending in junk to class parties:

  • No Junk Halloween Favors
  • Unique Birthday Party Favors

How do you like to recycle trinkets into a fun activity that keeps kids busy?

Filed Under: Featured, Kid Activities, Play

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Hey - I'm Stacy! Join me on a journey to buy smart, plan and save so that you can also PLAY!

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