Sharing some of the gifts ideas for daughters. These work perfect for kids ages 5-8 and include STEM/STEAM & skill building! Hopefully this provides some ideas or you can click directly on the link to purchase on Amazon.ca!
Dot Lego bracelet making kits: Cute little way to design braclets using lego dots. Perfect way to keep kids entertained as a starter to legos for kids who don’t really like them
Build a robot with Remote Control: funny enough, building a robot like this was my university capstone project, now I’m buying them for my kids christmas presents! Great for the kid who wants to try their hand at building and controlling a robot.
Puffy sticker book: My kiddo loved another version of this book, it’s like playing dolls with thousands of possible outfits and activities.
Dance gear: of any gear to support their extra curriculars: dance shoes, personalized sparring pads, high bar.
Geodes kit: Awesome gift for the kid who’s into rocks and crystals. Adult help required, but you can actually crack the rocks to reveal the magnificent geodes.
Viral Tiktok Bedazzler: no explaination necessary – will be a popular choice for the kids and their moms alike lol!
Gimp: When kids are into making braclets, this is a great way for them to practice fine motor skills and following directions. This kit comes with key chain rings so can also be used to create gifts for grandparents or for school backpack zippers.
Lego friends: A step up from Dots but not as complex as a start wars set with 1000 pieces. Kids can follow the instructions and make the kit in 45 min or less. Then endless hours of fun!
So easy, yummy-hit the spot pancakes. I got you! These pancakes 3 ingredient (minus optional toppings) pancakes are refined sugar & gluten free – incredibly simple to make and you probably don’t even need to go to the grocery store!
I never liked making pancakes from scratch, the flour would be all over my counter and the batter was always clumping. The beauty of this recipe, any high speed blender does all the work!
What you need:
2 spotted bananas
2 large eggs
1 cup of quick oats
Instructions
Put all ingredients in a high-speed blender, blend until smooth
Heat a griddle or flat pan and greese with avocado spray or butter
Turn down heat on pan
Immediately, using an ice cream scoop, scoop 1 laddle full of batter and shape with back of spoon
Cook each side for 3-5 min (golden brown)
Let cool on a paper towel lined plate
Enjoy warm, with berries, whip cream, Nutella or pure maple syrup. The choices are ENDLESS!
I’ve noticed recently this cute party with friends idea which is a take on the classic potluck!
Instead of having your friends bring a slow cooked or oven baked meal, have them bring a board.
Some board ideas include:
S’mores
Fries and dips (sweet potatoes, waffle fries, tater tots)
Donuts
Build your own tacos
French toast, pancakes and waffle + toppings
Cheese fondue
Movie snacks (think popcorn, concession candy, pretzels)
Tea & biscuits
Sharing a beginner charcuterie board that I made for a get together recently. Super easy to put together and the best part of finding a creatively aesthetic of putting it all together 🎀
If you can’t get to the entire post, I’d like to highlight the following
Vision boards are great tools to help you conceptualize and work towards your goals
Even though I’m posting this on the last day of the year, #VisionBoards can be created ANYTIME (of the year) you need an extra boost of motivation
Scroll to the bottom for the FREE download!
I’ve been a big proponent of vision boards for a long time – and still am!
I’ve created them yearly (sometimes several times in a year) and find them to be a great way to focus and hone in on my goals.
I believe in them so much that I’ve got my girls in on it. I want them to know what it feels like to both be strategic and reflective when it comes to goal setting. I want them to know what it feels like to reach milestones and accomplishments they set for themselves. I also want them to know that getting to those goals, doesn’t happen overnight – and what progress feels like.
Also want them to know what it feels like to be internally driven. Not told to do something because the school system, an adult, society or their friends etc have told them to do something. And although yes, I do give them some guidance – I really ask that they think of the specifics around the goals. The journey throughout the year is really amazing. They consistently view their board, talk about it with me or between themselves and find ways to make their dreams a reality.
I’m so glad I introduced them to vision boards early. I only learned about them as an adult so I’m still learning and right now, I’m pivoting as well. So two things of note:
I’m currently perusing the book #FutureBoards for more inspiration and knowledge
I’m taking on a different approach where instead of doing a vision board for the entire year, I create a vision board for a month or a quarter
Creating a vision board doesn’t need to only happen at the start of the year
Some tips I’ve started to use when creating my vision boards are:
Come up with a goal statement and write it as if you’ve already achieved it! (very empowering) Remember you can also have several goals in different buckets (Personal, Professional, Fitness, Family etc)
Next write out a detailed story of each goal – be as specific as you can. You really want to help your brain see in your minds eye and your heart feel emotions attached to achieving the goal. If you have a why statement you may find yourself leaning on or tweaking that as part of this exercise.
Break down that vision into milestones, 4 works really well because that can fit nicely into quarters of the year or weeks of a month.
Now with each milestone, figure out activities that will help you get there. As an example if you want to change careers you might have a milestone to apply to your dream job. Activities for that milestone could be to research companies that align to your values, update your resume and then apply to jobs. Milestones can have many activities, so try to keep it to three activities so as to not overwhelm yourself.
Now here is the best part! You can create a vision board based on the goal statement, goal story OR on the milestone activity! Like I mentioned above, I’ve always created the vision board based on the goal story (macro level based on what you want to accomplish in the year), but this time I’m creating it on the milestone activity (micro level based on what I want to achieve in each quarter of the year).
I don’t think there is any right or wrong way – I do think you have to try it out and see what works for you.
If you are planning on creating a vision board or set intentions/goals for the new year – enjoy! I wanted to share two motivational wall papers (for your phone and desktop wallpaper).
It’s around this time of year that we see a lot of gift guides online. And as important and lovely giving the perfect present to someone can be – it can also be crazy stressful (hence said gift guides appear all over the interwebs).
And I know there are people like me that need to “get warmed up” for holiday shopping by treating themselves to something nice first ;)
A few weeks ago I shared some thoughts about systems. All the items below help me create routines (or systems). Having systems in place can be helpful when coping with change, creating healthy habits, being more mindful and knowing yourself better.
So here is the treat yo-self/start your (new) year RIGHT gift list for YOU! Sharing a list of items to help you create systems! (Of course, you can start doing these things without these items – but a visual ALWAYS helps!).
Skin care: The first step to self care is about develop and maintain a healthy relationship with yourself. Honestly sometimes, you must demand that time of yourself. Putting yourself first is important so you can find balance with the other priorities of your life. Either an AM or PM skin care routing (or both) can be both soothing for your skin and for your mood. It just feels good to pamper yourself and having a consistent routine for your face (even if it’s just wash/moisturize daily and a weekly face mask) can make that happen for you.
Dress to impress (for yourself): Don’t do it for anyone but you. Dressing up (even for WFH or on a lazy Sunday) helps you build consistency and confidence. Whether it’s a fresh pair leggings and a tunic style sweater, a beachy waves hair do or hoops and a red lip – get dressed for yourself. I always feel more organized when I’m not sitting in two day old gym clothes or when I have all my rings, layered necklaces and bracelets on (haha, don’t ask).
Manifest: Which also includes meditation, journaling, affirmations, vision boarding and just being mindful overall. These activities are considered enduring systems, because they can help one reap long term benefits with permanent effects. What helps me is having a variety of journals (blanked, lined and prompts) and pretty pens – and I naturally gravitate towards this system.
Water & Smoothies: I recently got back on smoothies. I love them because they are easy to eat, help with digestion and it’s a quick way to eat a variety of fruits/veggies. Even better when it’s is a smoothie bowl. Having a smoothie for breakfast or dinner has become a comfort now. I rather mindless sip a smoothie then a bag of chips.
Wake up & Plan your day: Planning has become essential to me. I’ve gotten really good at weekly and daily planning but I’m working on going macro to micro (2-3yrs – today). I have my direction which guides me, but I really want to get more strategic.
Feed your mind: Read, listen to podcasts/ted talks, take micro learnings. This is something that I do when I feel in a funk. Reading and learning is essential for building self esteem, improving memory and reducing stress. It’s also great for when you are feeling stuck, because it can light up your imagination and help get those innovation juices flowing.
