crafting with grandma - Fun, Excellent & Inexpensive Gifts - Easy Christmas Ornaments!

It is reasonably safe to say by now I've established I LOVE Christmas! It is also reasonably safe to say you all likely know I enjoy making ornaments . . . and if there is a snowman involved I will be very happy! So, when I was browsing on Pinterest and saw some cute, easy ornaments with snowmen options, well . . . I had to share them with you!

Today is National Cocoa Day!

Today is National Cocoa Day so I thought I'd share some fun cocoa facts with you. Did you know . . .

• Long before people nibbled on bars and brownies, chocolate was consumed in liquid form. Historians credit the Olmec civilization of southern Mexico as being the first to roast the fruit from the cacao tree, then grind it down and mix it with water and other ingredients. Archaeologists have discovered Olmec pottery with trace amounts of chocolate dating back to around 1700 BCE.

Today is National Ice Cream Day!

By the way, did you know today is National Ice Cream Day?! I do enjoy a nice bowl of ice cream, but since I've been focused on losing weight (I've lost 100lbs since the start of 2020!), I rarely eat this sweet treat. I have found, however; sorbetto on a stick - especially the mini-size only has 50 calories per serving! Hooray! 

But back to ice cream - let's look at some ice cream fun facts - did you know . . .

Today is National Poinsettia Day

Yes, while Poinsettias are a beautiful plant and something which brightens any day, today is the day to especially appreciate and celebrate them. I would love to have Poinsettias at my house, but I have the black thumbs of death and have been grounded forever by my grown children and grandchildren from every having plants again - they all say I am "cruel and unusual punishment - for the plants." So, instead I very happily enjoy Poinsettias at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park as they have so many of them as part of their Holiday Traditions exhibit! I'm happy to share with you some really interesting facts about Poinsettias - did you know . . .

Things I Love About the 4N1 - a Unique Mobility Rollator/Chair and the Perfect Christmas Gift for You or Someone You Love

     

Miracle Mobility sent me their unique and award-winning 4N1 to review so I am able to try it out in a variety of settings and let you know all about it. If you or someone you love is experiencing mobility challenges, the 4N1 may be the perfect resource for you/them as it combines a rollator, electric wheelchair, a wheelchair others are able to push someone in, and a power assist chair into one amazing item! Today I will share a few of my observations about it so you are able to consider it for yourself or someone you love - it would make a fantastic Christmas gift for sure as it is actually the gift of mobility!

The Life on the Goldilocks Planet Books are Available as Kindle ebooks!

   

From time to time I post about my Life on the Goldilocks Planet books as they make fantastic books for the entire family to enjoy. Today I am very happy to let you know while you are able to get these books as paperback books, the entire series is also available as Kindle ebooks on Amazon!

Since I am older, I enjoy books in their printed form, but I know many people really like being able to get their books in a digital format, so if this is you, or someone you love, you are able to get the Life on the Goldilocks Planet books in their very portable ebook format!  

These books are interesting, fun, engaging, and fantastic tools to help you hand down confident faith. I am not the only one who believes these books are an excellent tool to help you hand down confident faith - look what people are saying about it . . . 

crafting with grandma - One-Eyed Monster Slippers!

Today I'm remembering when my grands were little - from time to time we had "monsters" which "invaded" my home - of course I'm NOT talking about my sweet grands, but "monsters"! I remember one day twelve years ago when I was fixing lunch in the kitchen and my grand ran into the kitchen and told me there were "monsters in the hall!" I asked if they were teeny, tiny or ginormous, humongous! He said they were the "most ginormous, humongous, EVER!" I asked if they were nice or cranky. He said they were "the most cranky monsters, EVER!!!" He said they were going to eat me - I asked whatever should I do and he said he would protect me! This is one grandma who is so thankful I have such a brave grandsn at my house when the most ginormous, humongous, and cranky monsters EVER invade my home!

Give the Gift of a Membership to Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park

For nearly the past week I wrote about ENLIGHTEN at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park and how tickets to go experience it is a fantastic experiential Christmas gift you could give the ones you love. Today I want to write about how giving a membership to Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park is the most wonderful gift you could give yourself and the ones you love for Christmas.

Lost: One Camel . . .

Years ago I found a crochet pattern for a nativity set. This pattern used regular yarn and was designed to have most of the pieces fit over soda bottles . . . so, the finished set would be fairly large. 

When I looked at it, I thought maybe I could use very small hooks (9mm or 10mm) and crochet thread to make a small set which would fit nestled among the branches of my tree each year. Since I like to keep the focus of Christmas on Jesus . . . it is, after all, His birthday . . . I liked the idea of nestling a Nativity set among the branches, so it was the focus of my tree.

Give the Gift of ENLIGTEN - for Many Wonderful Reasons . . .

For the past few days I've been writing about ENLIGHTEN, the outdoor light, color, music, and art extravaganza from Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park and how it makes a fantastic gift to give the ones you love. Today I want to share just a bit more from my visit to ENLIGHTEN with my family and how you are able to experience this with the ones you love.

crafting with grandma - Nativity Ornament

It is so easy for children to focus on the "getting" part of Christmas . . . what gifts will they "get"? What activities will they "get" to do? How many parties will they "get" to go to? The list goes on. But, Christmas is really about giving, God gave His Son to us! Well . . . I guess it is also about "getting" as we are the ones who "get" to receive the gift of Grace and forgiveness from God!

At any rate, Christmas is a wonderful time of year to help our grandchildren focus on "giving" and one way we can help them to do this is by helping them make ornaments which they can then give to their neighbors, friends, teachers, shut-ins, coaches, pastors . . . you help them decide who to give them to!

ENLIGHTEN - a "Mesmerizing" Experience & Great Gift to Give!

Last night my husband, grown kids, and grandkids went with me to ENLIGHTEN at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park - and as my 16 year old grand said, "It was mesmerizing!"

We were greeted at the entrance with color, light, and music which followed us throughout the mile-long ENLIGHTEN experience. I was expecting color, light, and music, but actually experiencing it was more than I imagined it to be!

Today is National Brownie Day!

If ever there was a treat worth celebrating, brownies would certainly be the one to celebrate! My family enjoys brownies, so I'm fixing some for them to eat today - I'll share my favorite recipe with you, but first, some fun brownie facts - did you know . . .

THE Gift to Give to the Ones You Love this Christmas - ENLIGHTEN!

For the past two days I've been writing about Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park's new opportunity for families to make incredible memories as they experience ENLIGHTEN. Today I will share with you how they describe the rest of the "journey" . . .