If you follow along over on Instagram or Facebook, you know I’ve been lucky enough to work with Toyota Pacific for the last several years and they’ve generously sponsored this post. We have a fantastic giveaway happening right now, so be sure to read all the way to the end for all of the details and how to enter.
Summertime is quickly approaching and I’m not sure we’ve ever looked forward to a summer more than this one. We’ve even gone as far as eagerly naming it “The Summer of ALLLL the Fun”. (Okay, so maybe that’s just me, but I’m beyond ready for fewer commitments, lighter loads, some serious fun with my kids, and more than anything, for Grae to be done with online school. Because it’s been a yeeeeeaaar.)
This summer will be our FIFTH summer with my RAV4, and I’m so, so thankful we own a hybrid that allows us to road trip all summer long without giving much, if any, thought to the cost – even when fuel prices are as high as they have been recently.
If you’re new new to the RAV4 Hybrid, I really can’t say enough good things… It’s an all wheel drive compact crossover SUV that has two electric motors and a regenerative breaking system in addition to a 2.5L four-cylinder engine. (Which basically means you get the perks of electric engines, without ever having to plug it in.) It’s reliable, comfortable, safe, and super peppy and fun to drive, all of which has contributed to it being one of Canada’s best selling vehicles, I’m sure. To boot? It’s super family-friendly, if fits the four of us and all of our stuff easily, and the fuel economy?? EXCELLENT. Since buying our RAV4 Hybrid, my fuel costs have gone down by more than 65%. (Seriously.)
This summer’s plan involves packing up the vehicle and road tripping to all kinds of fun right here in BC… And we’re going BIG! We have nothing set in stone just yet, but we’ve been brainstorming and I think the kids really want to hit up some local attractions that we wouldn’t usually do, which is a-okay with me this time around. Here’s some of the summer fun currently on our list and I’m happily taking suggestions, so if there’s something your family loves to do in BC during the summer, I’m all ears!
Splash BC Water Wibit in Penticton – Have you seen these before?! Wibits are essentially giant playgrounds on the water that include climbing walls, monkey bars, slides, trampolines, and obstacle courses. I’m pretty sure everyone 5 years old and up is welcome to enjoy them so long as they’re wearing a life jacket and they look like a ridiculous amount of fun. The one is Penticton is at the top of our list because it’s right off of the lakefront boardwalk lined with shops, including the cutest ever ice cream stop, Cherry On Top Shake Shop. Loco Landing is also right nearby, which I’ve also heard is great fun!
Cultus Lake Water Park & Adventure Park – A theme park filled with rides, an arcade, and mini golf plus BC’s largest waterpark right across the road from one another? Sounds like the things my kids’ dreams are made of! We have friends who go every single year and honestly the way they talk about it makes it sound like a local version of Disneyland – they love it that much. Apparently there are really great vacation rentals nearby and I hear that the camping options are excellent too.
Wild Play in Victoria – An outdoor adventure in the trees for the whole family? Yes please! Imagine platforms well above your head, ziplines through the trees, giant swings, suspended ladders, bridges, nets, tightropes, and obstacle courses all with the safety tethers and harnesses. The Victoria location is at the top of our list because we LOVE the island and haven’t visited Victoria in years, plus one of our very favourite family-friendly hotels, Hotel Zed, it just 10 minutes away. If you’ve never been, Hotel Zed is the absolute best – all of their locations include fun extras like free bike and roller skate rentals and the retro vibes are beyond cool. The Kelowna location has a huge games room and karaoke room and the Tofino location has epic outdoor games and a SECRET arcade room!!!
Granville Island & Olympic Village in Vancouver – This is one of our many favourite Vancouver adventures and we do it so often that I feel like we’ve got it down, so I’ll share exactly what we do. Park in Olympic Village, wander through Hinge Park and Habitat Island, along the water to Science World and the incredible playground in Creekside Park. If you have a membership, pop into Science World, let the kids explore for a little bit, then take an Aquabus over to Granville Island. Here, wander the public market, pick up some fresh fruit, bagels with cream cheese, and an iced coffee (always coffee) then walk along the boardwalk, in front of the Sea Village and all the way around to the playground and water park. If you have time and energy for anything more, pop into the Kids Market before hopping onto an Aquabus and heading back to Olympic Village. Depending on the day, finish the adventure off with ice cream from the nearby Earnest Ice Cream location (you won’t be disappointed).
Whistler Village – Okay, so this one is a bit of a different pace, but we haven’t been up to Whistler as a family since Sam was a newborn and I’ve been just itching to go. There’s no one main attraction we’d like to hit up per se, but I’d love to do all of the usual things… Ride the Peak 2 Peak Gondola, hike the Lost Lake Nature Trail while listening to the accompanying audio tour, do the village scavenger hunt put on by Whistler Tourism, find the infamous train wreck, and visit all of the restaurants and shops in the village. If you’ve not been to Whistler in the summertime, it’s a must.
Of course we’re hoping for some time at the cabin too, but it doesn’t count because Point Roberts is technically part of the USA. :)
We’ll see how much of our list we actually end up doing, but it’s starting to sound like a pretty great summer, isn’t it? (I’m also REALLY hoping for a short Scandinave Spa trip with my girlfriends too, so fingers crossed for that!)
And while all of these things cost money to visit, the good news is that getting there won’t cost us much. Our usual trip from the North Okanagan down to Vancouver costs less than $45 in fuel, which you really can’t complain about.
If you’re in the market for a new family-friendly, affordable-to-drive vehicle, I can’t recommend the RAV4 Hybrid enough AND if you’re going to be in BC this summer, you’re in luck because we’re giving away seasons passes to WildPlay Element Parks for you and the family courtesy of Toyota Pacific and WildPlay Element Parks. The grand prize includes 2 adult and 2 kids seasons passes for B.C. locations.
Click this link to enter. This contest is open to those 19+ in BC and the Yukon and closes on Contest at 5 p.m. PDT on June 24, 2024 . Good luck, friends!! ❤️
Have you ever seen these ah-mazing surprise boxes that open and unfold the moment you take the lid off? I recently spotted the idea on my Instagram explore page and of course I haven’t been able to find the Reel since, but I’ll definitely link it here if I come across it again.
The idea is simple – surprise boxes are gift boxes that sort of “self-open” to reveal all kinds of fun goodies the moment you remove the lid. They’re SO. MUCH. FUN.
I made the kids each one for Valentine’s Day and kind of went with a self-care theme, but you could make them for any occasion – a birthday, a graduation, a wedding shower, or anything else! Make surprise boxes for your kids, your partner, a friend, a parent, or anyone else! You can also make them as big or as small as you like and fill them with less expensive gifts or more luxurious items. Anything goes, really.
Here is how to make your own surprise box at home…
You’ll need:
(the following lists contain affiliate links)
-2 boxes with lids, one smaller than the other (you want them to fit inside one another with a little bit of space in between – I found mine at Dollarama)
4 larger gifts (the thinner / flatter the better)
4 smaller gifts (the thinner / flatter the better)
1 small square or circular gift (doesn’t have to be thin / flat, but needs a flat bottom)
strong tape or mounting squares (I love these mounting squares – they make the job really easy and they’re super sticky)
scissors or a utility knife
Here’s exactly what I included in my kids’ surprise boxes this time:
Okay, now to make them… It’s actually not hard at all – gathering up the items I wanted to include was the most time consuming part!
Step-by-step instructions:
1. Using your scissors or utility knife, carefully cut down the seams of both boxes so they fold open and the 4 ‘flaps’ lay completely flat.
They should look like this. Don’t worry if the edges aren’t completely perfect when done… It doesn’t matter that much.
2. Using mounting squares (or loops of tape), adhere the 4 bigger gifts to the 4 flaps on the bigger box, keeping them as close to the top edge as possible.
3. Now do the same thing with the 4 smaller gifts and the smaller box, centring each object on its flap instead of keeping it close to the top edge.
4. Take your final gift, the small item that doesn’t necessarily have to be flat (mine is the small candle), and use a mounting square or tape loop to adhere it to the centre base spot on the smaller box.
5. Now gather up the four sides of the smaller box, place the lid on to hold everything in place, and tack it to the middle of the larger box using another mounting square or tape loop.
6. Gather up the four sides of the bigger box and place the lid on it to hold everything in place too.
At this point you could very much be done, but I’m a little bit extra and didn’t love the tops of the boxes as they were, so I decided to print off a couple of things to add to the top – a simple ‘Happy Valentine’s Day’ I found and customized on Canva and a photo.
I cut these out and just glued them onto the lids of the boxes with a glue stick and that was that!
When finished, the boxes appear to be regular gift boxes and I’m sure the receiver will think nothing of them other than the fact that they probably contain a lovely gift inside…
Of course when they remove the lids, they’ll be in for a SURPRISE, which totally makes the gift!
My plan is to keep the boxes and reuse them again and again to make surprise boxes for different occasions, which will mean it’ll be less work next time!
This article was originally published in the January / February 2021 issue of The Good Life, the in house magazine by Nature’s Fare. You can see all of my Nature’s Fare articles here.
No matter how old you are, having a journal practice can be a really wonderful part of self-care. Journalling allows us to reflect on our days, process our feelings, work through emotions, and practice gratitude, all of which contribute to emotional well-being and self-awareness.
And children can experience all of these benefits from journalling too! This daily reflection journal for kids and tweens is free, printable, and especially great for those who are new to journalling.
Simple winter decor made from paper bags? Yes please! These 3D paper bag snowflakes might be the simplest and quickest DIY decor project ever, but they turn out every time, look beautiful hung up, cost very little, and can be reused year after year and then composted when done. They’re so, so good.
Here’s something about me… Seasonal decor isn’t really my thing. I love it for other people, but I just don’t love it for me. I don’t love having and storing STUFF, I don’t love the extra work of swapping things out, and I’m sort of just happy with leaving our house decorated as it is all year long. There’s no Christmas village that comes out, no big mantle display, no seasonal mugs that appear in a hot cocoa station on the counter… It’s just not my vibe.
These though? I can get behind. They’re fun to make with the kids, the snowflakes can be reused year after year and fold down flat so they require very little space, and when I’m done with them? They can be recycled or composted.
Sign. me. up.
Wanna try?
Here’s what you’ll need:
– 8 to 12 paper bags that are all the same size
– a glue stick
– a pencil
– a good pair of scissors
– twine
– a hole punch (not required, but helpful)
– paper clips or small alligator clips (optional)
– watercolour paint & a paintbrush (optional)
Okay, let’s do it! Here’s how to make a paper bag snowflakes at home…
Start by placing one of your paper bags on the workspace in front of you with the folded flap facing up and the bag’s opening at the top.
Side note: bags that make great snowflakes include brown paper lunch bags, paper bakery bags, small craft bags, paper party bags, collected gift bags, and saved paper grocery bags.
Using a glue stick, cover the entire surface of the paper bag with glue. Quickly place a second bag directly on top of the first bag, making sure it’s lined up and oriented the same way as the first. With a little bit of pressure, smooth the bag down to ensure the two are fully attached.
Repeat this process until you have a stack of 8 to 12 bags glued together. For paper lunch bags, 10 tends to be a good number. If you’re using smaller bags, you’ll need more and if you’re using larger bags, such as paper grocery bags, you may be able to get away with only using 8. Something to keep in mind: the more bags you use, the more full and intricate your finished snowflake will look, but more bags will also make it more difficult to cut.
Next, it’s time to cut out your snowflake designs. This part of the process is very similar to cutting out 2-dimensional snowflakes, but can be a little more difficult due to the thickness of the paper bags. Feel free to draw your designs on with pencil first or just go straight to cutting with scissors.
First, cut the top open ends of the paper bags into a shape of your choosing. Snipping off the top corners to create a triangle top looks great, but you can also do a more rounded shape, a single angled line, a zig-zagged top, or any other shape you might like to try.
Now cut along the sides of the paper bags. Anything goes here – cut out triangles, semi-circles, and lines in different sizes and formations. Just be sure not to cut out TOO much and to keep the bottom flap part mostly in tact.
A couple of cutting tips:
– Make the cutting part of this project easier by preparing two half stacks of bags, cutting the design out of each stack, and then glueing the two stacks together.
– Make it even easier by cutting your design out of one bag and using it as a template for cutting out the other bags before glueing them together.
– For little ones requiring a lot of help, consider having them draw their design onto the paper bag stack and doing the cutting for them.
Time to fan out the bags in a circular motion to bring your creation to life! If you love how your snowflake looks fanned out, you’re ready to secure it. If it doesn’t look quite how you’d like it to, fold it back up and adjust your cuts or add a few more.
When you’re ready to secure your snowflake, you have two options – clips or glue. If you’d like your snowflakes to fold flat for easy storage after use, secure the two flat sides of the bags together with small paper clips or alligator clips. You might be able to see them a little bit, but they shouldn’t be overly noticeable. If you don’t mind storing the snowflakes in their 3D form, or if you plan on composting them after use, just glue the two sides together – so easy!
Finish off your project by using a sharp pencil tip or hole punch to create a small hole in one of the snowflake’s points. Thread a piece of twine through and secure it with a knot. This will be used for hanging your snowflake.
If you’d like to, you can add a little bit of colour to your snowflake using water colour paint… Just go easy on the water as paper bags tend to get soggy easily.
And that’s it! Make a bunch and hang your snowflakes along a wall, in front of a window, from a mantle, or even from the ceiling.
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We’re BIG fans of road trips and since getting my hybrid a few years ago, we’ve road tripped more than ever because it’s just so affordable and easy. My RAV4 is super reliable, it’s comfy, and it fits everything we need perfectly… Pair that with amazing fuel economy and we really have no excuse to NOT take road trips. (You can check it out here.) One of my favourite features of the particular model I have is the touchscreen infotainment system with Apple Car Play integration (hello, big clear navigation maps, Siri commands, hands-free calling and texting, JBL sound system, and multiple front and back USB ports!)
If you follow along over on Instagram or Facebook, you know I’ve been lucky enough to work with Toyota Pacific for the last three years and they’ve generously sponsored this post. They also have a fantastic giveaway happening right now, so be sure to read all the way to the end for details on how to enter.
We road trip A LOT and I love it. Our kids are great travellers and we all love adventuring and spending time away from home from time to time. Before heading out, I always prepare a few different things to listen to while road tripping and it makes long drives so much better! Here are my go-to options for things to listen to while road tripping with kids…
As you may know, for many years I wrote for CBC Parents where I shared all kinds of recipes, kids’ activities, and parenting hacks. CBC is currently doing some major reorganization and at the moment, my posts are unavailable, leaving many of you searching for links that you use year after year. I’m not sure if my articles will eventually find new homes on CBC Kids, but in the meantime I’m happy to reshare them here so you can have what you need. Please reach out to me if there’s something you need and I’ll do my best to help! ♥︎
Father’s Day is just around the corner and this sweet little ‘Dear Dad’ book is a perfect, from-the-heart gift for little ones to make for their dads or caregivers. Included in this post is the Dear Dad version of the printable, as well as a Dear Daddy version, a Dear Papa version, and a blank version so you can fill it in with whatever name your child calls their special loved one.
Here’s what you’ll need to do this project with your child:
– our printable ‘Dear Dad’ pages
– coloured card stock
– a pair of scissors
– a single hole punch
– embroidery floss or twine
– a pencil
– a black fine liner
– pencil crayons
Alright, let’s get started, shall we? First up, you’ll want to prepare the basic card stock book. Whether you do this part, your little one does this part, or you do it together, is up to you. I always opt to let kids do as much as they can, but you know your child’s abilities and your comfort level best.
The very first thing you’ll want to do is cut 3 card stock pieces to size. Optimally you want the pieces to be 11.5 centimetres wide by 23 centimetres long.
Next, fold the 3 rectangular pieces of card stock in half to form a square book and punch one hole on either side of the centre crease.
Lastly, loop your embroidery floss or baker’s twine through the holes a couple of times and secure it with a tight knot on the outside of the book before trimming the ends.
With the base of your book ready to go, it’s time to get started on the most important part – the personalized pages about Dad. Again, how much support you offer your child during this task is completely up to you. My daughter’s been writing independently for a few years now, so I simply let her to it. When she was younger, however, I would have asked her to tell me what she wanted to say and I would have scribed for her. Do whatever works best for your kiddo.
Now, a few quick tips for this part of the project…
1. Have your child personalize their book pages before they’re cut out and glued onto the card stock base. This way, if a mistake that cannot be fixed is made, you can always just print off another sheet.
2. Ask your child to do all of their work in pencil first and then trace it in black fine liner. The fine liner will make the finished book look polished and give it some pop, but having everything done in pencil first means that mistakes can easily be fixed.
3. Don’t tackle all of the book pages in one sitting (unless your child is super focused and into it, of course). Spreading out the project over 2 or 3 sessions will allow your little one to do their very best work throughout the entire book and will keep the project light and fun.
When the personalized pages are done, cut them out just outside the dotted line and glue them into your pre-made book. Be sure to include the year on the last page or on the back of the book and your sweet, from-the-heart gift is ready to give!
We’ve always loved a good road trip, but over the last couple of years we’ve done more road tripping than usual and it’s been so, so wonderful. If you follow along over on Instagram or Facebook, you know I’ve been lucky enough to work with Toyota Pacific for the last few years and upgrading to a new Toyota RAV4 Hybrid has definitely taken our road trip game to the next level. It’s by far the most reliable, efficient, and safe vehicle I’ve ever owned and it feels SO good knowing that everything is just going to work while we’re on the road. Also, the fact that it’s a hybrid has made road trips significantly more affordable, which is a massive plus given the current cost of fuel. Some of my favourite road trip features? Dynamic radar cruise control (seriously so helpful), rain sensing wipers (the best), lane departure alert (safety!), and the digital rear view mirror (perhaps my most loved feature). Toyota Pacific has generously sponsored this post, as well as an incredible giveaway to help out with your next road trip, so be sure to read all the way to the end for details on how to enter.
We’ve road tripped A LOT with our two kids and I must say – we’ve become pretty darn good at it! After YEARS of road tripping with kids, very often as the solo parent and driver, I’ve learned exactly what needs to happen for happy, low-stress road trips. Here are my best tips for taking road trips with kids…
Clean out the vehicle beforehand – If you want to start your road trip off on the right foot, this is where to start. A clean vehicle with all of the extra stuff taken out makes SUCH a difference for me. The night before we head out on a road trip, I wash and chamois my vehicle, take all of the garbage and extra stuff out, then vacuum the carpets and give everything a wipe down. While I’m out I also stop and top up both fuel and washer fluid if needed. Then when morning comes and you’re ready to head out, you’re actually ready to head out – no stops needed.
Pack lightly – I’m all about thinking ahead and having everything you’ll need, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned through all of the travel we’ve been lucky enough to do is that when it comes to STUFF, less is more. Too much usually just equals chaos in my opinion, and in a vehicle that stuff can very quickly end up sprawled out EVERYWHERE. We always try to bring one suitcase for the family and if we’re going to be gone a while, we only pack clothes for half of the days we’ll be away with the plan of washing them part way through. Each kid gets to bring one small backpack filled with things to occupy them, and that’s it. If it doesn’t fit, it generally doesn’t come.
Prepare an activity kit – Okay, so on top of backpacks filled with their personal belongings, I always keep an organizer filled with car-friendly activities in the backseat. These are generally things that are quiet, low-mess, and reusable or usable for long periods of time. Think sketchbooks with pencils and twistable crayons, sticker activities books, road trip bingo games, magic marker activity books, pen and paper game pads, paint-by-sticker books, and notepads with colourful pens… Nothing with itty bitty pieces or caps that can be lost in the shuffle. Before a road trip I’ll often clean up our organizer and switch out a couple of activities or add something new. Happily engaged kids make for easier road trips.
Bring books – This is a MUST for us being that our kids are such big book lovers. We pack them along in their backpacks and both kids spend a good amount of our road trips reading and flipping through books. Choosing good ones – books that’ll keep their interest for a long while – is something I often help them with. For Gracen, my veracious reader, lengthy novels with storylines that really pique her interest do the trick. For Sam, reference-style books with lots of illustrations that he can flip back and forth in without having to be able to read all of the text are best. If we’re headed to the ocean, we’ll often bring an ocean anatomy book. If we’re headed to the mountains, we might bring a nature anatomy book… Something that will spark conversation and be useful while at our destination too. That being said, any book with lots of detailed illustrations, bits of info, flaps with hidden things underneath, etc. are usually a big hit.
Pack along a meal – So I know that there’s already SO much to do the night before a road trip, but I promise – if you’re able to make time to pack a couple of bento boxes and a few snacks, it’ll make for smooth sailing the next day. I always do our usual snacky lunch and focus on nutritious, easy-to-enjoy-in-a-moving-vehicle foods. All things the kids like – no spoons or forks required. Having a lunch packed and ready to go means that you’re prepared for whenever the kids are hungry and rather than trying to scout out a suitable option somewhere along the highway, you already have what you need and can just pass the bento boxes into the back seat.
Have a front seat basket – Speaking of bento boxes, I always keep a basket in the passenger seat that contains everything we’ll need during the trip. Lunches, my purse, our reusable water bottles, my reusable coffee cup, extra snacks, and anything else we may need. This makes them easily accessible, but tucked out of the way until they’re needed. One thing I try to keep in mind here (and when packing for a road trip in general) is that anything that’s loose in your vehicle has the potential to become a projectile in an accident. I try to keep things light and secured down as much as possible, but water bottles are definitely tricky.
Make time for stops – My number one tip for happy, low-stress road trips with kids… Don’t rush the trip. Plan for it to take a couple of hours longer than it “should”, make peace with that, and then make stops along the way. Let the kids out to stretch their legs. Stop at that beautiful roadside pull out. Visit the cute cafe in the little town you’re passing through. It’s so tempting to try and power through to your destination and make it there as quickly as possible, but for us, all that usually results in is stressed out parents and unhappy kids. Not worth it. Everyone seems to be happier and more chill when there’s no pressure to arrive in record time.
Bring thin blankets – You know those muslin blankets you have stashed away from when your kids were babies? They’re perfect for road trips. I actually learned this tip from my friend Lizzie and we’ve brought them along with us on our travels ever since. They’re super lightweight and fold up small, so they’re easy to pack along, but also, they’re good for allllll of the things. Use them for some extra warmth and coziness in the car, but also as a neck pillow, a sun shade, and a picnic blanket on your stop. They’re very multi-purpose and great to have on hand.
Pack along old phones + headphones – My secret travel weapon. We generally go fairly low tech when road tripping (just my preference – nothing wrong with doing it differently!), but old phones / iPods loaded with the kids’ favourite songs and audio books? LIFE SAVERS. I don’t pull them out until I need to, but in those final hours of a15 hour trip? Or on those days when you just can’t muster up the energy to answer question number 567? They’re the best. The kids love getting to use them and total silence on a long trip, even if it’s just for a short while, can be just what you need.
Well, that’s them!! What would you add? Do you have a tried and true road trip tip that makes travelling with kids easier or more stress-free? I’d love to hear if so!
ALSO – do you have a road trip planned this fall? Because Toyota Pacific has generously offered to fund one lucky winner’s next road trip with a $500 prepaid Visa card to help fuel all the fun! (Doesn’t get much better than having your adventures paid for, does it?!) You can enter for your chance to win here:
Contest closes at 5:00 p.m. PST on September 12, 2022. Retail value: $500.00 CDN. Must be 19+ and reside in BC or the Yukon to enter. Winner will be drawn at random at or around 9 A.M. on Tuesday, September 13, 2022 and will be announced here and via Instagram.
With vacations and visitors on hold this winter, we teamed up with The Home Depot Canada to create the ultimate fun at home – a really easy DIY outdoor skating rink right in our very own yard! The Home Depot Canada has been our go-to for all of our pandemic project needs, and this was no different – we were able to get everything we needed for our skating rink at our local Home Depot location* and having a skating rink in our yard has been a total blast. Thank you, The Home Depot Canada for sponsoring this post.
Oh my goodness…. I can’t even tell you how much fun we’ve been having with this little DIY outdoor skating rink we put together in our front yard! Any time we like, day or night, we can just whip on our skates, head outdoors, and enjoy a little ice time without even having to leave home. It’s truly been the BEST way to make it through our recent cold snap – we get outdoors every day and it’s actually really enjoyable. The kids have loved it too and they’ve both become better skaters because of it.
A fun fact? Growing up, my dad, along with a few other neighbourhood parents, used to flood our local park in good ol’ Cold Lake, Alberta to create a skating rink for us kids, so the whole process has been very nostalgic for me. I think many of our lovely retiree neighbours have felt the same way because throughout the process they’ve been cheering us on, stopping to chat about it, giving us tips, asking to take photos of us, and even dropping off treats to enjoy with our hot cocoa afterwards…. So sweet!
Now here’s the thing about this particular DIY outdoor skating rink…. It’s incredibly easy to put together! I know because I’m not all that handy, I have a very limited tool stash, and I put this together myself with just a little bit of help. And truth be told, I could have built it completely on my own if need be, but my brother dropped by just to check in (he’s been a builder and project manager for his entire adult life and he’s who I consulted while drawing up my plans) and because he can’t bear to stand around, he jumped in and sped the process along part way through. He made sure not to do any job I hadn’t already done myself though, so I truly got a chance to do at least part of every task required to create our rink.
If you’ve ever considered making one, I highly recommend giving it a shot. I promise it’s doable and it’s a fairly affordable project too – especially given the fact that the wood and tarp can be used year after year.
Yours will look slightly different based on the space you’re working with of course, but here’s a detailed look at how I made our DIY outdoor skating rink…
1. First, I started by sketching out some plans. To do so, I went out into our yard, determined which space seemed largest and flattest, and then measured it so I knew what I was working with. Our total space was approximately 26 by 24 feet, so I decided to make our rink 24 by 22 feet just to give some space along the edges.
I decided to enclose our rink the simplest way possible – with a perimeter of 2×6 boards, plus additional 6-foot 2×6 boards at the joint on each side to ensure they were nice and strong. In order to hold the boards upright, I chose to use wooden stakes every few feet, so I used that info to draw up my plans. As you can see from my sketch, I thought I’d use L-brackets on the inside corners of my frame too, but once we got building we realized that they weren’t really necessary, so we skipped them!
Just for fun, I decided to include a simple bench and some posts for hanging string lights (string lights make everything better, don’t they?!), but those are totally optional. If you want minimize work and cost, I’d totally skip both!
As far as materials go, I picked up every single last thing at our local Home Depot Canada store, which definitely added to this project not being overly complicated or time consuming. (Isn’t being able to get every item on your list in one stop the very best?!) The other thing I love about The Home Depot Canada? They’ll cut all of your wood for you for a very minimal fee! Such a game changer if you’re like me and don’t own an actual saw… All you have to do is go into the store with your lengths planned and they’ll take care of the cutting for you. (Yes please!). Another option? Trying their tool rental service!
Okay, here’s everything I used for the project…
For the rink frame:
– ten 12-foot 2×6 boards
– two 8-foot 2×10 boards
– one 25-pack of 2×2 pointed wood stakes
– two 100-piece containers of 3-inch construction screws
– 30-feet x 50-feet all-purpose white tarp
For the lighting:
– twelve 8-foot 2×4 boards
– six 1 1/4 inch hook 2-packs
– two 48-foot plug-in LED string lights
I also used the following tools / equipment:
– carpenter’s square
– level
– sledge hammer
– line reel
– measuring tape
– power drill & bits
– hose
2. With my plan in place and my materials picked up, it was time to build our skating rink frame. This was a job I wanted to do quite early while it was still warmish and the ground wasn’t yet frozen. (I’m sure you could probably do it in colder temps if needed, but the stakes would be harder to pound into the ground.) To start, I set out my materials on the lawn exactly as I wanted the rink to be. This included my long 2x6s, my shorter support 2x6s, and my wooden stakes.
Standing the 2x6s up on their sides is tricky when they’re on uneven ground, but I just laid them down or tapped in a some stakes where needed.
3. Next up, we attached the two long 2x6s that formed each side of the rink frame using the shorter support 2x6s. This meant that we now had 4 very long pieces – our 4 sides of the frame.
4. With that, it was time to connect our first corner. Using a carpenter’s square to make sure we had a decent right angle, we screwed our first corner together.
5. Okay, this next part is kind of important if your space is like ours and isn’t all that level. First, determine your surfaces’s high point. For us, this was just to the right of the patch of soil you see in this pic. Your 2×6 frame will sit directly on the ground at the highest point and will sit up off the ground at lower points.
Make sure your corner and attached sides are situated as you want them, then pound a stake into the ground on either side of the corner. Place your level on top of your frame somewhere in between your high point and your corner and lift your corner until it’s completely level. If you have someone to hold it in place for you, fantastic, but if not, you can prop it up with some scrap wood or even your foot / leg (safely of course!) while you screw through your stakes and into frame. If your first corner is lower than your high point like ours is, it’ll sit up off the ground.
6. Next, screw together your remaining corners. Don’t worry too much about having a perfectly rectangular rink at this point – you just want to kind of get everything tacked together.
7. Okay, now to try and get everything nice and square! Honestly, I don’t know important this is beyond how it looks, but we aimed to get it as square as possible using this set up – a reel line run from the original corner to the next one over, plus a measuring tape from corner to corner diagonally.
My brother actually ended up having two really long tape measures with him, and we found that running them both diagonally at the same time (so they form an ‘x’ in the middle of the rink) was the way to go. Basically you want to place the boards so that the two corner-to-corner measurements are as equal as possible and so your long sides follow the path of your line reel (it’s surprising how off it can be). When we started, our rectangle was far from perfect, but we just kept measuring and shifting our boards / corners until it was good.
8. When your rink frame is nice and square, begin driving in your other stakes, placing one on each side of every corner and then one every few feet or so in between the corners. Just as you did before, attach your frame to the stakes securely using your level along the way. In some places your frame might be resting on the ground and in others it might be a ways off the ground – the most important part is that it’s as close to level as possible.
If you’re just doing a basic frame with none of the extras, you’re done for now! YAY!! You’ll want to hold off on laying your tarp until you’re ready to start making ice, so don’t worry about that just yet. If you’re wanting to make a bench and light posts like I did, stick with me for just a bit yet!
9. Okay, time for our very basic bench! I figured this might be nice for taking breaks, putting on and taking off skates, and sipping on hot cocoa, and I was totally right. Our bench actually gets used a ton, so I’m glad I made one.
To make it, I used one long 2×10 and got my friends at Home Depot Canada to chop it into four pieces for me – one long piece for the bench top and three equal shorter pieces for the legs. I assembled it just like you’d imagine…. By placing one leg on either end of the bench and the other one directly in the middle. Then I simply screwed down into the legs from the bench top. (I should have taken a picture of it before we attached it, but just imagine a giant ‘E’ flipped onto its side and you’ve got the idea – hah!)
10. For stability, attach your bench directly onto the frame of your rink.
This side is by far the lowest side of our front yard, so as you can see, our frame is sitting up off the ground a good amount. For this reason, I made sure to make my bench legs extra tall, but you’ll make yours to suit your space of course.
At this point, it was starting to look like an actual outdoor skating rink, wasn’t it??
11. Next job – attaching the light posts! Originally I wanted to use 2x2s for this job simply for the sake of looks, but my brother suggested that 2x4s might be better stability wise, so that’s what we went with. I decided to use 12 6-foot tall 2x4s evenly spaced around the perimeter of my frame and recruited my littlest helper for the job.
To attach them, we simply made sure that the bases of the 2x4s were flush with the base of the frame, checked that they were level, and then screwed them into the frame with several screws.
While we were at it, we decided to add another 2×6 to the bench side of our frame in order to close in that big gap we had. If the gap were smaller I wouldn’t have bothered, but I went ahead with it since this side of the yard is so much lower than the rest and I figured it would be helpful to have that barrier in place when flooding.
12. As our final step in constructing the actual rink structure, Sam and I added little screw-in hooks to the tops of our light posts…
And our skating rink structure was officially complete!
And then it was basically a waiting game….
One thing we did do as we waited for freezing temperatures was that we used the snow we shovelled from our driveway to fill in our low side of the rink and make the ground more even. Now truth be told, it all melted before our weather got cold enough to make ice, but it was worth a shot and I do think it would have been helpful had it turned out. We also strung our lights up, which turned out to be super helpful for evening floods later on.
With everything in place and ready to go, the moment it got cold, we jumped and began making ice! To do so, we set our giant white tarp into the base of the rink (folded in half), pulled it nice and snug, and draped the extra material over the edges of the frame. Then we began adding water using our garden hose. How much water you add at a time is up to you…. We had quite a bit of evening out to do and would usually flood for about 15 to 20 minutes at a time. We’d wait for the water to freeze completely, then add another layer.
Now a few of things to know about the actual ice making process….
First of all, back in the fall we actually had our old outdoor tap replaced with a frost-free outdoor tap to make sure we wouldn’t have issues with it freezing up while trying to use it mid-winter. This was something we wanted to get done anyways, but this project was definitely motivation to get it done asap.
Secondly, and this might be obvious, but it does really need to be cold out. We started trying to make ice the moment our temperatures were consistently at 0º or below both day and night and the process was slowwwwww. Truthfully, I wasn’t sure it was going to happen for us for a little bit there! We’ve had the STRANGEST, most mild weather ever here in the Okanagan and when daytime temperatures started rising above 0º, everything started melting. Thankfully we got a good cold snap and the moment temperatures were consistently at -5º to -10º, making ice was a total breeze!
Thirdly, to avoid having it freeze up on you, you’ll want to take your hose inside with you after each flood. During the ice making process, we kept our hose in a big tote bin, which made it really easy to bring it in and out of the house without any mess.
Keep adding layers until you have a good, solid slab of ice. If needed, I know you can do a final flood with hot water to smooth everything out, but we didn’t need to…. Our ice turned out nice and smooth all on its own!
Once we had the base of our rink completely covered in ice / water, I did loosely tack the excess tarp to the outside of the rink frame with a few screws. I think you could probably skip this step if you didn’t want to put holes in your tarp, but I didn’t mind.
Once your ice is solid, it’s time to skate!!!
And oh my goodness – were we ever excited for this moment!! Because of the timing and weather, our ice making process was slow, but had we started once it was actually cold, it would have only taken us 2 or 3 days from start to finish, which is pretty incredible.
I mean… Does it get any better than this??
Neither of our kids are super confident skaters, but they’ve been enjoying having a home rink SO much and have gotten so much better in just a couple of weeks.
Our favourite thing at the moment? Playing hockey together as a family…
And enjoying hot cocoa afterwards of course!
So, so fun. And a definite highlight of this tough, stay-at-home year. I really can’t recommend making your own outdoor skating rink enough.
Find a full list of all of the materials and supplies required for this project hereon the Home Depot Canada site.
Happy skating, friends!
*The Home Depot Canada recommends staying home and opting for online delivery or curtsied pick-up in lieu of in-store visits whenever possible. Please be sure to adhere to all government and provincial protocols in your region.
The holidays are just around the corner and I think this year more than any, those of us who have the means are making a conscious effort to support small, locally-owned shops and businesses. And because of that, I thought I’d share some of our very favourites in the form of a small shop gift guide. When you purchase these items, or items from these shops, you are directly supporting a person or a family – many of whom I know personally and consider good friends.
Dilly Dally Kids – our very favourite shop for all things kids! Seriously though – the majority of our toys have been purchased from Dilly Dally over the years. The store is owned by Tyler and Claire, a Vancouver husband and wife / mama and papa duo and they are PROS when it comes to all things kids. They stock the best of the best – quality items that are open-ended and grow with your kids. Exactly what you want when purchasing toys. They also have a fantastic selection of books and creative supplies. We have so, so many favourites, but if I had to pick, I’d say our Grimm’s rainbows, Maileg mice, Micro Kickboards, Grapat loose parts (pictured above), Holtztiger animals, and Schleich animals are our most loved Dilly Dally purchases. Check out my other top picks in this IG Story gift guide I did with them earlier this month.
Collage Collage – our other favourite, favourite place to shop for kids! Through drop-ins, classes, camps, shop visits, and chats online, I’ve come to know Erin, Collage Collage’s owner, well and I just ADORE her. Everything she does and has done with Collage Collage is incredible and it’s really so much more than a store – it’s part of the community. A really integral, really fun, magical part. Collage Collage specializes in all things creative – quality art supplies, incredible classes (virtual ones too!), and beautiful art kits. Erin is also THE BEST at finding the most incredible kids’ books, at I’m at the point where if she recommends one, I just buy it because I know it’s going to be really, really special. Some of my top picks from Collage Collage include their Stabilo 3-in-1 Woody Pencils, their highly-pigmented-last-forever puck paints, their Lyra Colour Giants Skin Tone pencils, and their and their art kits (I’m particularly partial to the peg doll kit and the weaving kit, and I’ve got my eye on their new rainbow rope weaving kit too).
Connetix Tiles – easily one of our most played with and enjoyed toys! And even better because they’re the passion project of my lovely Aussie friend Brea, her husband, and their business partner. We started with a different brand of magnetic tiles, but we’ve switched over to 100% Connetix tiles and donated our old collection to a local school because these are just that much better. The magnets are crazy strong (as in Sam can build small structures and actually PICK THEM UP without them falling apart), the bevelled jewel-like design is crazy beautiful, the quality is excellent, and they’re compatible with all other major magnetic tile brands. We use them for everything… From building towers, mazes, race tracks, castles, parking garages, animals homes, and trucks to creating art with them to using them for home learning. We’ve used them to create puzzles, to practice symmetry, to explore fractions, to do sequencing, to create patterns, and the list goes on. Brea and her husband are also constantly coming up with fun new Connetix products… They have a vehicle pack that Sam loves, they just released their giant base plates (which are also excellent as rooves), they have a ball run set coming out soon, and a GIANT pack that would be perfect if you’re just starting out coming out soon too.
Okanagan Stitching Co. masks – my fave!!! I have several other brands of masks I bought at the beginning of the pandemic, and although they’re beautiful, I only ever wear my Okanagan Stitching Co. masks. I have several, Brad has several, and both of the kids have a couple too – they’re that good. (Here are the kids’ masks.) These are handmade in West Kelowna by Manisa, the shop owner, and I think we love them so much because the design is different than most masks. They’re super easy to pop on and off, they have great coverage over your nose and chin, they stay in place, and they sit just out from your face so you can actually breathe. Grae has 3 different types of masks and these are the only ones that don’t fog her glasses up – game changer! Just an FYI as I’ve had lots of sizing questions, I wear a size small, Brad wears a size large, and both Grae and Sam wear the kids size, but there’s a great sizing guide on the site. (Manisa has generously offered everyone here 10% off their site with the code MAMAPAPABUBBA10 too.)
Rascal Remedies rollers and sprays – these were new to us this year and they’ve very quickly become a part of our every day routine. Rascal Remedies is an essential oil wellness line formulated specifically with children in mind. If you know me well, you know that I love essential oils, but I’m also very cautious when it comes to essential oils and kids and I often cringe at the oil usage advice given to parents. And that’s why I love Rascal Remedies. Dorthe, the owner, worked closely with certified aromatherapists to ensure that their blends are 100% safe for little ones 2-3 and up. Their rollers and sprays contain only kiddo-safe oils (there are several oils that are not recommended for littles) and are pre-diluted to a child-safe potency so their ready to use. Our absolute top picks are Sofia Snooze (on the back of Sam’s neck each night before bed), Finn Focus (above each of our heads each morning before we start our home learning), and Genie Germz (on our hands anywhere and everywhere because a) it’s undergone third party antimicrobial effectiveness testing by a regulated Canadian lab and passed standard ATCC criteria and b) it smells EXACTLY LIKE ROOTBEER!!!)
Mint & Birch custom jewellery – the best of the best! It seems like there are SO many makers out there creating custom jewellery at the moment, but the items created by Jessica of Mint & Birch are in a class of their own. She takes no shortcuts and every part of the process – from cutting to filing to drilling and polishing – is done by hand. Jessica also uses ethically sourced, certified gold fill and solid sterling silver sourced from North American mills and her pieces are made to last, which I love. The difference between gold fill and gold plated is HUGE and I’ve worn my bar necklaces for two years now without taking them off to sleep, shower, swim, etc. and they’re still perfect {save the fact that Sam’s little foot broke the chain off of one of bars – must get that fixed asap, which Jessica does!} I have the stamped custom name bars, but Jessica now does engraved bars and hand lettered bars, which is just incredible. I also love her hand lettered discs, her hand drawn rainbow, her teeny tiny dotty disc, and her custom signature / image engraved bar might be the most special keepsake ever.
Bottle None shampoo & conditioner bars – my go-to!!! Yup, this was the year I officially transitioned to bar shampoo and conditioner. If you told me this pre-pandemic, I might not have believed you… I had tried 3 different shampoo bars from 3 different companies previously and honestly, they were a waste of money. All three left my hair feeling like Barbie hair – not greasy, but sort of greasy – almost plastic-y and wet looking. Not what I was hoping for obviously. What I’ve learned from Ali and Jaye, the ladies behind Bottle None, is that many bar shampoo bars are really just expensive soap disguised as shampoo. No wonder it didn’t work. :/ These, on the other hand, are salon-grade and leave my hair feeling ridiculously soft and clean. They also last 50+ washes, are SLS & SCS free, vegan, PH balanced, and scented with essential oils. My set, be BRIGHT, is scented with blue tansy and lemon (drool!) and the be YOU set G uses is scented with lavender and lemongrass. The best part? Brad and his cousins went to school with Ali and Jaye back in the day and the sister duo now makes all of their bars right here in Vernon. They also turn all of the packaging their ingredients come in into travel cases for their bars, so their products are truly zero waste.
The High-End Hippie Wellness Company shampoo & conditioner bars – Not only did I successfully transition to bar shampoo and conditioner this year, but I also found TWO local companies that make bars that a) work and b) I love. The High-End Hippie Wellness Company is also based here in the Okanagan and after years of working in high-end hotels and spas, Amy, the owner, wanted to create bars that were both environmentally-concious and luxurious. I use the Awaken Set (with peppermint and rosemary oil – yum) and although I admittedly wash his hair very rarely (is that weird?), I use the 4-in-1 Cheer Bar on Sam. It doubles, triples, QUADRUPLES (!!) as shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and a shave bar, which is pretty awesome. Amy’s products are free from cruelty, SLS, parabens, phthalate, petroleum products, artificial fragrances and colours.
Modern Imagination Toys – gah!!! I can’t even with all of the gorgeous wooden things Modern Imagination Toys creates. They’re just stunning. Modern Imagination is owned and run by my friend Brigitte and her husband Geoff who are based in Squamish. He’s a carpenter, she’s a teacher, and they’re basically the *perfect* pair for creating beautiful quality toys that are well-crafted, clever, and open-ended. We have several of their items and I honestly love every single thing they make, but my top picks would have to be their custom name tracing boards, their letter tracing cards, their sorting / play dough tray, their deluxe ten frame, and their stacking bears. And if it were up to Sam? Well he’d undoubtedly pick his new bow and arrow set.
Back Country Blooms flower subscription – okay, prettiest flowers ever! They’re grown right in Lumby by flower farm owner, Amie and they’re my GO-TO for friends’ birthdays and special occasions. I usually pick them up at Nature’s Fare, but you can get a flower *subscription* where you get a new bouquet every other week. Brad’s mom got me a subscription as a birthday present this year and truly – it was the best gift ever. Your home is never without fresh flowers, it’s something to look forward to every second week, and it’s the gift that just keeps on giving! Highly recommend. You can now sign up for 2021 subscriptions here.
Kokom Scrunchies – okay, if this isn’t the sweetest little business, I don’t know what is. Kokom scrunchies are made from Kokom scarves, floral scarves traditionally worn as head coverings by Indigenous elders, and they’re just beautiful. But the best part? The business is owned and run by 9 year old Mya and her mother {and I believe Mya sews the scrunchies herself in her free time, if I’m not mistaken!} Many of Mya’s scrunchies are made in honour of Indigenous women she admires, which makes them even more special (if you follow @kokomscrunchies on Instagram, you often get to hear about the different women her scrunchies are named after). One of Grae’s Auntie’s {who is friends with Mya’s mom} gifted G the Kokom Dana earlier this year, a scrunchie named after Mya’s auntie! So special. Keep your eye out for Mya’s weekly “Sunday drops” and act fast to get your hands on one of your own.
Little Treehouses – okay, another incredibly sweet business! Little Treehouses is a combined effort of 9 year old Nathan and his Grandad. Together they make these INCREDIBLE handcrafted tree houses and tree vehicles and the little details are just beyond. I mean look at that itty bitty campfire! Nathan very generously gifted Grae and Sam his Beech tree house (there are several styles to choose from) a few weeks back and everything came perfectly packaged and ready to assemble. The package included detailed instructions on how to put the pieces together (it couldn’t have been easier) and an assortment of wooden peg people to complete the set. Little Treehouses is currently fully booked for the 2020 year, but if you pop over to their site, you can enter your email address to be the first notified when new treehouses are available.
Back to Earth – if you know me well, you know how much I love all things Back to Earth. It’s my very favourite one-stop-shop for all things health, wellness, and personal / home care. I’d venture to say that the majority of all of the products in our home – from cleaners to bath products to soaps to candles and sunscreens – are from Back to Earth. And it’s been that way for years. Even when space was at a premium and we were bringing many of our personal care and cooking items in our luggage to the Middle East, I made room for a year’s supply of my Back to Earth favourites! Back to Earth is based right here in the Okanagan and the founder, Kiley, has completed several certified herbalist and aromatherapy educational programs, so she really knows her stuff – plus works with a team of naturopaths, biochemists, herbalists, and aromatherapists to ensure that her products are as pure and safe and effective as possible. It’s hard to pick just a handful of favourites, but I LIVE for their Sacred Sage Hand & Body Wash (seriously makes me SO happy), we use the Sweet Pea Herbal Healing Balm for eeeeeeverything, I could bathe in their Bliss Body Lotion (it smells like creamsicles!), I can’t live without their Magi Blend Face Moisturizer, and their Pure Hand Sanitizer is the only sanitizer that doesn’t make my hands feel like they’re going to crack in half. Oh – and this essential oil blend couldn’t be more perfectly west coast. Love it.
Hello Good Juju – a brand new business I’m so, so excited for! Hello Good Juju is owned by Alexa, an old friend of mine, and her business partner, Lisa. Both ladies previously worked in the natural health industry for B-corp businesses and they’ve recently taken their expertise and poured it into Good Juju, a company focused on making all-natural, plastic-free, home and body products that are good for both humans and the planet. They currently have a line of shampoo and conditioner bars that are getting RAVE reviews and their line of waste-free laundry detergent strips is dropping very soon (I have some on the way and I can’t wait to try them). All Good Juju products are formulated with pure, clean, organic ingredients with scientifically proven benefits, and though I haven’t tried them yet, I have 100% confidence that anything Alexa’s hands have been on will be nothing short of incredible. All of their products are packaged and shipped using plastic-free, biodegradable, and sustainably-sourced materials, so you can feel good about that too. (Alexa and Lisa have generously offered everyone here 10% off their site with the code MAMAPAPABUBBA10 too.)
Whistle & Flute clothing – if you follow us on Instagram, you know how much my kiddos wear Whistle & Flute. It’s owned by Miranda and Ryan, a husband and wife / mama and papa duo based in Victoria. Their garments are fun, cool, and unisex, which I love – and even better? Every item they create is sweatshop free and made with safe inks and soft, comfy fabrics. I’m pretty sure we own one of everything they stock, but some of our favourites include their new raincoats and rain pants my kids lived in during our trip to Tofino (size up in these), their drawstring joggers (these fit my long and lean kiddos so well!), their Kawaii crewneck sweatshirts, and my personal fave – their zip-up rompers. (I could just eat Sam up in his!) Also, out of season and not currently on their site is their rash guard and swim short combos. We’re alllll about the sun protection in our fam and my kids live in theirs during summers.
Loulou Lollipop – if you’ve been here for a long while, you know how much I love Loulou Lollipop – since the day they launched! It’s owned and run by Eleanor and Angel – a twin sister power duo who are two of the most hardworking, kind, and generous people I know. (I remember several years ago I messaged Angel and asked if they’d be at all interested in helping me treat some NICU mamas and with zero questions asked, a HUGE box of Loulou Lollipop goodies showed up on my doorstep within days.) Their company launched the same year that Sam was born, so we had their teethers (this rainbow one – gah!), plus an extensive collection of their muslin swaddle blankets and muslin quilts which we actually still have and use today (they just get better and better with time). Their muslin quilts are my absolute favourite and I for real would love a king-size one for my bed. They’re all stunning, but I particularly love the mud cloth one and the city ones. More recently, Eleanor and Angel have branched out into the world of apparel, and I’ve heard nothing but rave reviews. I love the colours, the fabric looks buttery soft, and you could very easily create a capsule wardrobe for your little one using their pieces because they mix and match so well.
Busy Toddler Playing Preschool Curriculum – the most incredible resource by my dear friend, Susie. You know Susie, right?? OF COURSE YOU DO. Everyone knows Susie. Plus the parenting magazine I picked up last night says that she’s one of the most influential parents of 2020, so that’s just proof of her reach. Susie is a former teacher and mama of 3 who helps parents “make it to naps, one activity at a time”. If you love doing fun things with your kiddos but would like a little more structure or feel a bit overwhelmed about having to come up with or seek out activity ideas, Susie has done all of the work for you in her Playing Preschool play-based curriculum. If you know Susie, you know the ideas are doable, use things you most likely already have, and are really fun and engaging for little ones. Highly recommend. (At the beginning of the pandemic, Susie put out a 25% off code for her preschool curriculums and said that it would remain active so long as schools were closed, and she meant it. Use the code HOME25 for 25% one or both of her curriculums.) Also, I can’t talk about Susie and not mention that she has a brand new book. It’s called Busy Toddler’s Guide to Actual Parenting and I really can’t recommend it enough. If you can, buy it from your locally-owned book shop – otherwise I have it linked in both my Canadian Amazon shop and my American Amazon shop.
Imagination Tree Invitations to Play Cards – love these! You know my friend Anna of Imagination Tree, right?? She’s been doing this blogging thing for longer than I have been (I started in 2010 and I think she started in 2009) and she’s the QUEEN of easy-to-pull-together play and learning invitations. Well, she’s taken all of her amazing ideas and created this line of incredible activity cards that make setting something fun up for your kids a breeze. Her first set was sensory play themed and her newest set is literacy themed – which is so, so perfect for us with home learning currently! Not sure what to set out for your kiddo to enjoy tomorrow? Flip through the cards, find an idea you like, and follow the simple instructions on the back. They’re split up into 3 parts – find, make, and play – and couldn’t be easier to follow. The cards also come off of the rings (so perfect in a classroom setting, especially when setting up a sub folder) and are super thick, high-quality card stock that is WIPEABLE!! ALSO – wouldn’t this set would make an incredible gift for a little one when paired with some of the activity materials? I’m picturing a little bin filled with dyed rice, some dry beans with letters in them, some markers, chalk, salt, etc. and these cards front & centre (sort of like the DIY science kit we put together using The Curious Kid’s Science Book as a focal point.)
LanaBetty – the most GORGEOUS geometric contemporary jewelry! Lana and I have known each other through social media for several years and I just adore everything she creates. She uses a combination of traditional goldsmithing and 3D design to make quality pieces that last. She loves thoughtful shapes and angular lines, and uses ethically sourced gold and silver, beautifully hand-cut gemstones, and top quality brass, yet her pieces are really affordable. I have soooooo many faves, but on my current wish list are the Little Heart Post Earrings, the Cassiopeia Gemstone Ring, the set of three Andromeda Hammered Stacking Rings, the gold filled Heart Bead Ring, and the Necklace Spacer / Detangler. I also love that all of these pieces would also work for Miss G, though I think she might be partial to the Little Cat Post Earrings. SO cute!!
Oh my gosh… And that might be it for now! (She doesn’t blog all year long and then dumps out the most massive blog post in history a month before the end of the year… Haha! What can I say??) I’m certain I’m missing someone important, but I’ll add them when I remember them! In the meantime, if you’re looking for things you regularly see in our house, you most likely can find them in our Amazon shops: US Amazon Shop | Canadian Amazon Shop. I also have extensive kids’ gift guides broken down by age in my US shop, which I think many people found useful last year. I try to keep everything I get asked about most there just because it’s easily accessible to many and simple for me, but as always, if you have the means I encourage you to try and find the items locally if you’re able to. <3
See my ‘The Very Best Gifts for Kids’ blog post here.
Over the Christmas holidays, Miss G and I spent an afternoon together creating her very first dream board and we had SUCH a good time together. I mean what’s not to love? We flipped through magazines, found beautiful images and words, chatted non-stop about all of her hopes and dreams {if you know Grae you know that she’s a HUGE chatter}, and created something really special for her room. A perfect girls’ afternoon, really.
Now that being said, I’m no dream board expert, but I’m learning… Thankfully my mom is a strong believer in dream boards, so I have some knowledge about what they are and how to make them from her, plus I have done them with students in the past. Here’s how we made ours this time around…
First off, what is a dream board?
A dream board, or vision board, is a collage of images, affirmations, and words that represent one’s goals – who they want to be, what they want to do, what they want to have in their life, among other things. They’re designed as a source of inspiration and motivation and can be a really powerful tool for both adults and children alike. For kids, dream boards can be a really positive and encouraging way to foster self-confidence as they serve as a source of inspiration and a regular reminder of their hopes and goals.
Here’s how to make one with your child…
Step 1: Gather your supplies. While dream boards are most often made using poster boards and glue, I think using a cork board and tacks is very clever when dream boarding with kids as they allow for more flexibility and can easily be changed and rearranged. You’ll also need a variety of magazines and a pair of scissors, and markers, washi tape, a notebook, and a pen or pencil are optional, but recommended.
Step 2: Do a visualization. As adults, we most often focus our vision boards on the coming year, but with kids I think it’s easier to open it up and focus on the future in general. Before beginning the visualization, talk about how the future can be next week, next year, or even when they’re an adult. Turn on some calm music and invite your child to get comfortable, close their eyes, and envision what they want their future to look like. You may want to gently prompt their visualization with some guiding questions.
Sample Guiding Questions
– What things do you want to do?
– Where do you want to be?
– What qualities do you want to have?
– How do you want to feel?
– Who do you want be with?
– What will you do for fun?
– What do you want to achieve?
– What do you want to do for work?
Step 3: Create a mind map. While this step is optional, I find it really valuable when dream boarding with kids. After the visualization exercise, take out a notebook and a pen or pencil and help your child jot down the key components they visualized for their future using a mind map format. I like to place the title “MY FUTURE” in the centre and have categories like “BE”, “DO”, “HAVE”, and “ACHIEVE” branching out from around it in order to give the child a starting point. This step helps solidify the visualization and serves as a guide when searching for images, words, and phrases to represent their dreams later.
Step 4: Find or create images, words, and phrases. Something you’ll want to be mindful of here is that your magazine selection reflects your child’s interests and includes people who look like them. Invite your child to flip through the magazines to find images and text to represent their future dreams. As they go, they can use their mind map as a checklist in order to ensure that all of their ideas are represented. Encourage them to use paper, markers, and washi tape to create their own images, affirmations, and words in order to fill in any gaps or to add to the images they found.
Step 5: Create your dream board. Ask your child to sort through their images and words and group them how they see fit. Next, help them play with placement and overlapping on their work surface to create mini layouts that are visually appealing to them. As they’re ready, have them tack their clippings and creations onto their cork board using the minimum number of tacks required. Encourage them to switch things up as needed, only fully tacking things down when everything is in place and they’re happy with how it looks.
Step 6: Display and discuss. The final step! Find a spot to proudly display your child’s dream board. Somewhere where it’ll be easily seen each day is best as it’ll serve as a point of inspiration, motivation, and reflection. Sit with your child and soak it all in. Talk about their goals and dreams and together, come up with some actionable steps they can take in order to make their dreams become a reality. Encourage your child to spend some time with their dream board each day and to add to it or switch it up as they feel necessary (goals and dreams do sometimes change over time, after all!) And that’s it! In the following months, come back to the dream board with your child every now and then and continue to foster them using it as a tool and source of positive inspiration.
Homemade fruit sauce… One of my go-to snack options for the kiddos! You’ll often find my freezer PILED high with little pots of it and for good reason. It’s super easy to make, it keeps well, it defrosts quickly, and it’s a healthful addition to lunches and snacks. Low on fresh fruits and veggies? Pull out some fruit sauce! Produce on its last legs? Turn it into fruit sauce!
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You can make fruit sauce with all kinds of different fruits, but apples and pears are my go-to ‘base’ fruits. Both are grown right here in the Okanagan and since both store pretty well, I can pretty much find locally grown varieties year round. That and when cooked and blended, they both have a good texture for fruit sauce. I add all kinds of other things to our fruit sauces, but I almost always start with apples and / or pears first.
I get so many questions about how to make fruit sauce at home and it really couldn’t be easier… No recipe required!
Here’s what we do… First, wash all of our apples and pears. Sometimes I soak them in a water and vinegar solution for a few minutes beforehand and sometimes I don’t, but I always run them under clean water and kind of rub them to help remove any residue that might be on them.
Once your apples and pears are clean, you’re ready to make your fruit sauce! I like to make big batches, but it doesn’t really matter how many apples and pears you have… Just use what you have on hand.
Okay, onto the pot… I really like using a thick-bottom pot like my Lodge cast iron dutch oven for fruit sauce because it means I can basically forget about it for an hour, but if you don’t have one – no worries. You’ll just maybe want to check in on your fruit now and then to make sure it doesn’t burn / stick to the bottom.
Alright, here it is… Remove the cores from all of your apples and pears, toss the fruit into your pot, add a tiny bit of water (for this giant pot full of fruit I add 1/4 cup of water – for a smaller pot I might only add a tablespoon or two), cover it, and turn your element onto the very lowest setting. Every stove is slightly different of course so you’ll definitely want to be more attentive on your first go, but we leave a big pot of fruit covered on low without touching it for about 45 minutes to an hour usually. A smaller pot of fruit will need less time of course.
When we come back at the 45 minute / hour mark, the fruit is soft all the way through. You basically want to be able to mash it with a fork and have it fall apart on you.
After our fruit has had a chance to cool, we transfer it, along with any liquid it’s produced, into our Vitamix blender and process it using the smoothie setting (50 seconds).
If your blender is having a hard time at any point, feel free to add little bits of water at a time to help it out. The goal is to have it turn out completely smooth, so don’t be afraid to run it for more than 45 seconds if needed either.
When you’re done, you should have a perfectly smooth fruit sauce that can be transferred into mini mason jars and put into the fridge or freezer for storage. (Just be sure to leave some space at the top of the jar if you plan on freezing yours.)
Plain apple and / or pear sauce is absolutely delicious all on its own, but we often mix in other fruits and veggies too! Grae and Sam love the different flavours and it’s a nice way to switch things up too. If we have fresh fruit outside of apples and pears that need to be used up, we’ll use that, but our go-to add-ins are largely frozen fruit (strawberries, mango, blueberries, or mixed berries) or fresh spinach.
When using almost any add-in, fresh or frozen, we add it to the pot of apples and pears and cook everything together. The one exception? Spinach. (Or other greens – I think kale would probably work great too.) With spinach, we always add it raw to the blender of cooked fruit and then blend. I like doing it this way because I feel like once you cook spinach it has a taste, but you can blend it into almost anything when fresh and it doesn’t change the flavour at all. (You can check out our hulk sauce recipe here – it’s a favourite of ours and includes spinach AND chia seeds!)
So a quick recap…
– wash and core apples and pears
– put them in a pot
– save spinach and kale, add any other fruits or veggies to the pot (berries, mango, even carrot!)
– add a little bit of water (1 tablespoon to 1/4 cup)
– cook covered on very low heat until fruit/veggies are fork soft
– allow cooked fruit/veggies to cool
– transfer the cooked fruit/veggies to a blender (including any liquid in the pot)
– add fresh spinach or kale if desired
– blend until completely smooth
– transfer into small jars for storage
These will keep in the fridge for about a week and for ages in the freezer. To defrost them, I simply take them out of the freezer and let them defrost on their own either on the counter at room temp or in the refrigerator (depending on how much time I have). You can also pop them into your kiddo’s lunch bag frozen and come lunchtime, the sauce will be thawed and ready to eat! Bonus? It serves as an ice pack in the meantime.
Oh, school lunches. I want them to be super nutritious and at least little bit different each day… And it’s a definite bonus if they’re simple and quick to make! But most of all, I just want to know that Miss G is going to like them and eat them and not come home at the end of the day staaaaarrrving. {Please say it’s not just me.}
The biggest game changer when it comes to making lunches that are simple, full of variety, and *easy* has undoubtedly been BENTO BOXES for us. I started using them even before Grae went to Kindergarten for outings and meals-on-the-go, and I don’t think I could ever switch over to packing traditional bagged lunches. I know I’ve said it before, but here’s the thing about bento boxes – filling several little compartments with bits of different foods feels so much easier and so much less intimidating than creating a packed lunch from scratch {and then having to find bags and containers to hold it all}. Thankfully Grae and Sam love snack-style meals (I find that most kids do), so that’s a bonus! Plus bentos make it super easy to pack zero-waste meals, so they’re a win all around in my opinion.
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First off – the bento boxes themselves… We’ve tried many over the years (too many), and hands down our favourite bento boxes are Yumboxes {the colourful ones you see above}. They’re great quality, they’ve lasted us YEARS, the inserts pop out for easy washing, they fit inside a regular insulated lunch bag, and most importantly – the compartments are individually sealed off and leak-proof when it comes to things like yogurt and fruit sauces. If we could have just one, I’d definitely choose the Yumbox Original which is the green 6-compartment box. This is our go-to and the bento we use most often and I love it because although it’s not massive or heavy, I can cram a really good amount of food into it. That being said, I do love our other Yumboxes too… Our aqua Yumbox Panino is fantastic when I want to send a larger item to school (especially something like a bagel or sandwich} and our Yumbox Tapas is perfect for days when a particularly big lunch is required as it’s a significantly larger. You can see a size comparison in this Instagram post {which also includes the MiniSnack size}. The last bento box in the photos, the stainless steel one, is our other go-to… It’s just a basic stainless steel bento put out by President’s Choice (our grocery store’s brand) and it’s crazy affordable (we’re talking in the range of $9 to $15 range – the price fluctuates) and great for packing really simple lunches. Unfortunately it can’t be purchased online as far as I can tell, but you can see it here and do watch the seasonal shelves of Superstore around back to school time as they’ve brought it out the last two years. I usually use a little stainless steel sauce cup in ours just to add an extra compartment, which works great.
So what to put in your little one’s bento box once you have one…
My go-to formula is a whole grain + a protein source + plenty of fruits and veggies + a little sweet or treat
I also try to include a source of good fat, but at the same time, I remind myself to look at what my kids are eating over the course of a day or a week and to not stress too much about what they’re getting in a single meal.
Here are some of my go-to bento box ideas for kids…
Pasta salad – Making pasta for dinner? Reserve some plain noodles for tomorrow’s lunch! Mix up a whole grain or veggie pasta with some black beans, corn, and peppers, a little drizzle of olive oil and some garlic, cumin, oregano, and chilli powder for a Mexican inspired pasta, or try a more Greek-inspired version with pasta, chickpeas, cucumbers, peppers, olive oil, and some oregano, garlic powder, and onion powder.
Breakfast for lunch – Leftover breakfast? Turn it into lunch! Anything goes here… Try chia pudding paired with your favourite granola or pancakes turned into sammies with the addition of pumpkin seed butter, a little pure maple syrup, and some hemp hearts and chia seeds. Things like leftover breakfast burritos usually pack up great, as do bagels!
(President’s Choice Stainless Steel Bento Box | berry fruit salad, cucumber lettuce cream cheese roll-ups on Silver Hills Bakery Turmeric Wraps, medjool dates stuffed with almond butter and mini dark chocolate chips, popcorn with vegan butter, nutritional yeast, and pink salt)
Roll-ups – Grab your favourite wrap or flat bread, fill it up, roll it, and then slice it into sushi-style chunks. Try pairing seed butter with chia jam, hummus with carrot matchsticks, or mini cucumbers and lettuce with a vegan cream cheese. Sprinkle the chunks with hemp hearts, sesame seeds, or a touch of sea salt and you’re done.
(Yumbox Tapas | watermelon hearts, cantaloupe hearts, chunky salad, strawberry apple chia kind fruit bar cut into bites, mini whole grain bagel pizzas)
Quick pizza – Turn a mini bagel, a sprouted grain english muffin, or a whole grain pita into pizza with the addition some tomato sauce, your favourite vegan cheese, some veggies, and a sprinkling of oregano. Broil it in the oven for just a couple of minutes to get the cheese bubbly and golden and you’ve got lunch!
(President’s Choice Stainless Steel Bento Box | peppers, carrots, cucumber, and pita bread with homemade hummus, rainbow fruit, pretzel / dried cranberry / mini dark chocolate chip mix)
Dip & dippers – Probably the most popular ‘main’ in our school bentos… Miss G LOVES hummus, so that’s our go-to, but a white bean dip, pesto, or seed butter with cinnamon are great options too. Pack your dip alongside whole grain pita bread, sprouted grain flatbread, pretzels, carrot and cucumber sticks, or apple slices and let your kiddo dip away.
Okay, now for fruits and veggies! Obviously you can pack all kinds of fruits and veggies just as is – washed and chopped – and they’re perfect just like that, but if you’re looking to switch things up a little, here are some ideas…
Fun Ways to Pack Fruit
Fruit salad – Chop up a little assortment of favourite fruits, mix it up, and you’ve got fruit salad.
Skewers – Everything is more fun on a stick! Thread berries and grapes onto reusable mini skewers to switch things up.
Sauce – Simmer seasonal fruit in a covered pot with just a touch of water and blend once soft. Apples and pears make a great fruit sauce base and you can even add spinach to them without changing the flavour… We call it hulk sauce!
Rainbow fruit – Arrange some freshly chopped fruit in rainbow order, and voila – rainbow fruit!
Fruit shapes – A little more finicky, but if you’ve got an extra couple of minutes, use a mini cookie cutter to chop things like watermelon, cantaloupe, and pineapple into fun shapes. (We have several of the mini Wilton cutter sets and they work great.)
Fun Ways to Pack Veggies
Chunky salad – Chop up your kiddos’ favourite veggies, drizzle them with a little olive oil and a sprinkling of Herbamare, and top with sesame seeds or hemp hearts.
Sticks & dip – A classic combo. Chop some veggies into sticks and pair them with a little pot of hummus or dip.
Chips – Turn kale, carrots, beets, turnips, and other thinly sliced veggies into crispy chips by tossing them in a tiny amount of avocado oil, sprinkling them with a little garlic powder and sea salt, and roasting them in a 400 degree oven until crisp. You’ll want to watch these closely and remove the chips as they become ready.
Rainbow veggies – As simple as arranging freshly chopped veggies in rainbow order in your kiddo’s bento box!
Veggie shapes – If you’ve got time, take a mini cookie cutter to your peppers, cucumbers, and carrot slices to switch things up.
Oh my goodness, guys. If I could only count the number of times I’ve been asked lately, “Do you have a gluten free play dough recipe??” I’ve lost track. I actually do have a tried, tested, and true gluten free play dough recipe – my baby play dough recipe! But it’s not a traditional play dough you’d keep on your shelf for days on end, so naturally I had to give creating one a try. Now here’s the thing… We’re not gluten free, nor do we have anyone in our day-to-day that’s gluten free, so I’ve never had to learn to properly use gluten free flours. That being said, I used our usual go-to play dough recipe as a jumping off point and I’m actually very pleased with how this gluten free version turned out. It’s soft, it’s squishy, it’s sort of heavy like my usual play dough is, and I actually really like it. And I’m a bit picky.
Now a few things to know…
I’ve only tested this recipe with this one particular flour – Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All-Purpose Baking Flour (CAN). You can certainly trying using a different brand / type of gluten free flour, but I can’t guarantee it’ll work. I did try creating a recipe with Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour, but I liked the All-Purpose Baking Flour better for this purpose.
With all of the gluten free play dough recipes I tested, I noticed that the finished doughs had a tiny bit of surface stickiness that our traditional play dough just doesn’t have. It’s not a ton of stickiness and it doesn’t make the dough any less fun to play with, but a couple of things to note… First off, when making and playing with this dough, make sure that your hands and work surface are completely dry. Just a tiny bit of extra moisture can add to that stickiness. Secondly, if you’re finding your dough a little too sticky at any point, add a little bit of cornstarch (probably no more than a teaspoon at a time) to your hands, your work surface, and/or the surface of your dough.
Lastly, I’m not quite sure how this dough will last long term just yet. While our regular play dough recipe lasts for months on end, I only made the dough a few days ago, so it’s too early to tell just yet. So far so good, though. I just checked on it and it’s as though we just made it. You’ll want to store this dough just as you would our regular play dough – in an air-tight bag or container at room temperature away from heat sources (so no top of the fridge).
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Okay, disclaimers out of the way… Let’s get on with it, shall we? Here’s what you’ll need:
And this is what your finished dough will look like… Pretty, right?
We went for soft, pastel-y colours this time around and only used a tiny bit of food dye, but if vibrant colours are what you’re after, you can do that too. Just follow the instructions in my recipe at the bottom of this post carefully.
One other thing to note? This dough does have a mild “smell” to it… Most likely thanks to the fact that the gluten free flour contains bean flours, I’m guessing. It’s not terrible and I’m sure you could probably add a tiny bit of extract or kiddo-friendly essential oil to eliminate it, but we didn’t and it doesn’t bother us.
Okay, here’s the dough in action. I love seeing these kind of pictures because I feel like they give me good insight into the texture of the dough (holy #playdoughnerd alert). Anyways, it squishes…
1/2 cup of boiling water (measured in a dry measuring cup – as in the same type you’d measure flour in)
2(+) tablespoons of cornstarch
Measure out the flour, salt, cream of tartar, vegetable oil, and glycerine into a large mixing bowl. Give the mixture a really good whisk.
Add your food colouring to the measuring cup you’ll use to measure your water in. Top the cup up with boiling water. (By adding the food colouring to the water measurement, you prevent adding too much liquid to your play dough – especially in cases where you’re adding a good amount of dye to achieve a more vibrant play dough colour.)
Pour the coloured water into your dry mixture and mix it super well with a wooden spoon, banging it off every once and a while. You want to incorporate all of the dry mixture into the dough here, which may take a little bit of effort. You may feel like your dough seems too dry or too wet to become a good play dough here, but don’t worry – trust the process. :)
Leave your semi-mixed dough on the counter to cool for 5 or so minutes.
Afterwards, dump the mixture out onto the countertop and knead it really well. Probably a picky #playdoughnerd thing, but we have granite counter tops and I much prefer kneading our play dough on a wooden butcher block or cutting board. At this point your dough will feel too sticky, but not to worry. (I feel like the wooden work surface helps cut the stickiness a little bit, which is part of why I find it helpful.)
Once your dough is well-kneaded and uniform, remove any dough from your hands, give your hands a good wash, and dry them completely.
Now measure out your 2 tablespoons of cornstarch either onto your work surface or directly onto your dough, and knead some more. You want your play dough to eat this extra cornstarch up. This should take care of that stickiness, but add an additional tablespoon if you feel like you need it (we tested this recipe 5+ times and 2 was our magic number each time).
And that’s it! You’ve got gluten free play dough!!
When it’s not in use, keep it in an air-tight container or bag at room temperature (away from heat sources) and hopefully it’ll last a long time.
Last Christmas, I made the kids each one of these DIY LEGO kits and I’m so glad I did. They were a super easy project and they’ve been so great for taking along on our travels and vacations. We don’t use them in transit (too many small pieces to be used in a car or on a plane for me), but they’re perfect for down times once at our destination {usually in an airbnb}.
I wish I would have taken proper step-by-step photos of the process, but truly they’re not even needed – it’s so easy.
Of course if you’re making just one kit, you could get away with a single carry kit, a smaller base plate, and a smaller LEGO brick box. Or if you have a different carry case already on hand, you could easily use that and just refer to this material list and the following instructions as a basic guide. Whatever works! In the past, we’ve even made the most basic portable LEGO kits using old-school metal lunch kits.
Now to make the LEGO kit! Here’s what you’re going to do:
1. Start by measuring the inside of your carry case’s lid.
2. Measure out a piece of baseplate that will fit nicely inside the carry case’s lid and mark your cut points with a pencil. For this particular case, I made my base plate 16 centimetres by 23 centimetres.
3. Using regular scissors, carefully and slowly cut your baseplate down to size.
4. Using your scissors or a sanding block, round the edges of the baseplate piece so there at no sharp / pointy corners.
5. Apply several mounting squares to the bottom side of your baseplate and press them down firmly to ensure they’re well adhered.
6. Peel the sticker backings off of the mounting squares, position the baseplate inside the carry case’s lid, and press it down firmly. I like to take a few minutes and really ensure a good stick here.
7. Place the dividers into the carry case to make sections for the different LEGO colours. I chose to add only two dividers – one between the green and blue sections and one between the orange and red sections.
8. Fill the carry case with LEGO! I chose to separate mine by colour because I’m a total sucker for rainbow anything, but you could do by brick type / size too! Whatever floats your boat.
And that’s it! You’ve got a DIY LEGO kit that’s perfect for taking along on the go.
What I love about this particular carry case is that the clasps are crazy strong, so I don’t worry about them flying open as the kids carry them {and inevitably fling them around – especially in Sam’s case}. Also, I feel like two clasps are always better than just one… Just in case!
The other thing I love? The lids of these particular kits open completely flat, which is so, so helpful when building. (The lids on our metal lunchbox LEGO kits have never opened flat, which can be a little annoying, just fyi.)
And enjoying hot cocoa afterwards of course!
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