Christmas Hunt: Toddler Matching Activity

Need something quick and easy for your toddler to do? Try this Christmas Hunt Matching activity!

Some days with toddlers are just plain long! One of the quickest ways to turn around a bad day (or help a long one move a little faster) is to go on a hunt.

Hunts are perfect for toddlers. They help kids get moving, using their brains, and learning new words too.

How can you make a hunt even more awesome? Make it Christmas themed! Anything with a Christmas theme just takes things up a notch. 

RELATED: Check out our 10 favorite Hands-on Christmas activities for toddlers HERE. 

How to Entertain a Toddler

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post for Little Tikes and I am compensated for my work. I received product free of charge, but all thoughts and opinions on the best ways to entertain an active toddler are mine.

How do you entertain an active toddler?

Toddlers are full of energy and curiosity. I am always trying to find ways to channel my toddler’s energy for good instead of destruction. 

Today we’ve partnered with Little Tikes to share some tips and strategies to help you. 

To keep a toddler busy, at minimum you need to have the following three things:

• Open-ended toys that foster creativity and imagination.
• Simple sensory activities.
• Opportunities to move in big and little ways.

Keep reading as we dive more into these three things in a bit and explain why they are critical for busy toddlers. 

Christmas Sink or Float: Toddler Science

Want to try an easy to set up toddler science activity? 

This Sink or Float science activity is popular year round with any materials you have on hand, but today we're giving it a Christmas twist! I always love a good theme. 

If you have a container, water, and a few Christmasy objects, you can do this Christmas Sink or Float activity right now with your toddler. This activity is always guaranteed to give me at least 15 minutes of peace (often more). 

Note: Make sure you are always supervising kids around water.

RELATED: Here are some of our hands down favorite simple science projects for toddlers!

Sticky Tree: Holiday Craft for Toddlers

Want a low-mess holiday craft to do with your toddler? 

This Sticky Christmas Tree Craft brings all the sparkles without wet paint or glue. It is also open-ended and simple. 

This Sticky tree is also a great way to introduce your child to their sense of touch while they explore STICKY. 

Your kids will love it! 

Christmas Wreaths Toddlers Can Make

Looking for a simple holiday art activity for your toddler? Try making one of these simple Christmas wreaths!

Each year we make Christmas wreaths at the beginning of the holiday season as part of our Christmas decorating! It is a fun way for the kids to get involved with preparing for Christmas and put their own creativity into action.

I guarantee these will be a hit!

Once kids made a wreath, they love finding the perfect place to display it! It is adorable to have wreaths on bedroom doors and bathroom doors and feel like the Christmas spirit is spreading all over our house!

One of our favorite wreaths to make are Christmas wreaths made using the salad spinner. 

Today we're sharing 10+ awesome Christmas Wreaths that toddlers can make!

These simple wreaths are quick to make and you probably already have everything at your house!

RELATED: Find 10 more amazing hands-on Christmas activities you toddler will love HERE.

Ornament Scooping | Holiday Sensory Ideas for Toddlers

Are you looking for Christmas sensory play activities? 

Make an Ornament Scooping bin! Your kids will thank you! Stick with me while I explain why.

RELATED: Did you know this ornament scooping bin is one of the activities in our 25 Days of Christmas Advent ebook? Check out the other activities and purchase the ebook here.

Christmas Brownie Houses | Easy Holiday Treat

These Christmas brownie houses are magical. Come see why!

Brownies are one of my favorite treats because they are simple to make and can be turned into all sorts of things! Do you remember our Spooky Halloween Brownie Houses?

Today we're going to try a new brownie house variation and share an easy holiday treat - Christmas Brownie Houses!

Easy Toddler Christmas Ornament

Looking for a simple toddler made Christmas ornament? 

Make these easy pipe cleaner Christmas tree ornaments as an adorable Christmas craft for kids! They only take a few minutes but are darling and a great fine motor activity for toddlers. 

It’s Day 1 of our #HandsOnChristmas series with Jenae from I Can Teach My Child! Today is all about fine-motor activities and this Christmas ornament craft is a great one that can be both an activity and a keepsake!

Homemade Christmas ornaments make decorating your Christmas tree so special! I love pulling out the different ornaments we've made and showing them to my kids! They have different memories that go along with each one. 

One of our favorite traditions is to have a special Christmas tree just for the kids where we put all of their homemade ornaments. Each year we try and make one or two new ornaments for the tree. 

RELATED: Check out our 15 favorite ornaments to make with kids.

Amazing Hands-On Christmas Activities for Toddlers

It's time to put down what you're doing and have fun doing some hands-on Christmas activities with your toddler this week!

With the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, sometimes it is hard to prioritize doing simple and festive activities with your kids! There is so much to do and so little time.

We want to challenge you to be hands-on this holiday season and take a little time each day to play and create with your kids!

RELATED: Some of our favorite connection activities at Christmas are inexpensive. Here are 20 hands-on activities for families to do this time of the year! 

How is that actually going to happen?

We have five days of simple hands-on Christmas activities planned for you. All you have to do is click on one of the activities below and try it out. Then come back and try a different one another day.

What does it mean to be "Hands-On"?

First, put down anything you're holding or distracted by (ie. your phone or the laundry). Put aside 20 minutes to be present with your child. 

That's it. 

If you have a tagalong sibling, help them participate too. Spend 20 minutes or so each day for 5 days, trying out some of these simple holiday ideas for toddlers.

Why is it important to be "Hands-on" with your kids?

Kids crave connection and they want time with YOU. You may think that they'd rather play with toys or friends, but at this young ages, your toddler thinks you are pretty much the coolest thing since sliced bread.

You need to eat it up and enjoy it. Even if it's exhausting.

I have a middle schooler now, and although he doesn't think I'm totally lame... he's definitely not the president of my fan club like my toddler is.

Be present.

These holiday seasons will be flying by soon and you'll turn into me... counting how many Christmases are left until my oldest goes to college. There are six. 

Take time each day (just for FIVE days) and connect with your kids, try one (or two) of our fun hands-on activities... and see how much more awesome it makes your holiday season this year.

I promise it will be awesome.

We are so excited to be partnering with Jenae at I Can Teach My Child for this awesome Christmas series! Jenae is a mom of three adorable kids and is always doing something fun and creative. We have been friends for years and love getting together to share awesome series with you!

Make sure to head over to her blog to see all of the fun ideas she shares this week!

5 Days of Awesome Hands-On Christmas Activities for Toddlers

Click on the title of the activity below to go to the full tutorial with more details!

DAY 1 - Christmas Fine Motor Fun

Make an easy toddler Christmas ornament

Fine Motor Color Matching Christmas Tree

DAY 2 - Christmas Snacktivity

Create some Christmas Brownie Houses

Christmas Tree Dirt Cups

DAY 3 - Christmas Sensory Ideas

Ornament Scooping - Holiday Sensory Ideas

Grinch Sensory Bin

DAY 4 - Christmas Crafts

Sticky Christmas Tree

Process Art Ornament for Toddlers

DAY 5 - Christmas Science!

Christmas Sink or Float

Playdough Christmas Tree Circuits

Follow along each day as we add more Hands-On Christmas activities!

Awesome Gifts for Toddlers & Preschoolers

What should I get my toddler or preschooler for Christmas?

What are the best gifts for toddlers that will last and be appreciated?

These are tough questions!

We've had almost twelve years of birthdays and Christmases where we have either been buying toys for toddlers or preschoolers... or both at the same time! 

That is a crazy amount of stuff when you think about it. 

Over time we realized that if we bought toys that kids in both stages could enjoy (both toddler and preschoolers), then we could have less stuff, save money, and enjoy the gifts more.

Toddler Christmas Advent: 25 Days of Easy Activities Ebook

Have you wondered, "What are some fun easy Christmas activities for kids?" 


Are you tired of feeling disorganized or frazzled during the holiday season?

Are you overwhelmed with how many Christmas ideas are out there?

Do you want a plan that is easy to follow this December?

I've designed a Toddler Christmas Advent ebook filled with kid friendly Christmas activities to help you solve these problems and more! 

These Christmas activities are simple ones you can do at home with your kids.

If you're ready to have your December planned for you, don't wait! Purchase our Toddler Christmas Advent ebook below.

What is the Toddler Christmas Advent Ebook?

The Toddler Christmas Advent ebook is an almost 50 page digital ebook that includes 25 Christmas activity tutorials along with 25+ more bonus enrichment activities to try. The Advent activities can be done anytime during the month in any order, or participants can follow the advent calendar included in the bonus materials.

I did all of the work of planning, so that you can spend your time being creative and having fun with your kids!

The activity plans are filled with easy to follow, hands-on art, science, and sensory activities.

The Christmas activities shared in the ebook are not only fun, but they are also educational as well.

What does the ebook include? 

Our Toddler Christmas Advent is an almost 50 page ebook filled with simple Christmas themed crafts and activities for kids ages two and older! When you purchase the ebook, you will receive a downloadable file (pdf) to save on your computer or print out and use.

Here are some printed out examples of what is included in the ebook. 

BONUS

In addition to the PDF file, our Toddler Christmas Advent also includes the following bonuses:

• 2 Printable Christmas tree poster files (prints to 16x20 at Costco or even bigger at Staples on Blueprint paper)
• Printable Christmas ornaments file 
• 5 Christmas Game Printables
• Printable Christmas Advent calendar (with suggested activities each day)
• Printable Christmas Book List
• Membership to our exclusive Toddler Christmas Advent Facebook group

Why should I purchase this Christmas advent for my toddler?

We save you time and brain power!

• We do all the planning and you get to have fun connecting, creating and playing with your kids.

• These advent activities were put together by me (an educator and a mom!). They are tried and tested by my kids and their friends. The activities are also educational!

• No more searching for ideas (or digging through Pinterest) to keep everyone happy!

 

What makes this advent special?

This advent is for perfectionists like me, who aspire to do something Christmasy every single day of December but fall short.

This year’s advent has no rules and no dates. You can do one activity per day, a few activities per week, or even just pick a handful to do during the month and skip the rest. I am not deciding which day you should do what because you know more about how much time you have each day than I do. I will however give you a sample schedule if you need one.

This is also a NO GUILT advent calendar... so do as much as you can/want and then don’t worry about it. No one is watching you!

I created a simple little Christmas tree that you can print out and decorate with an ornament as you complete each activity. The tree will look cute with five ornaments or 25, so don’t worry if you don’t fit every last one in during this busy time of year! The goal for this Toddler Christmas Advent is to have fun connecting with your family and creating together.

This year I am providing two Christmas Advent tree options for you to pick from. 

You can print it in a variety of sizes at Costco or Staples or other printing locations. We opted for a toddler life-sized version this year using blueprint paper and my kids are loving it!

Here's the 2018 version that is also still included in this year's advent. You can use whichever one you like best. 

Our Toddler Christmas Advent is also available to you several weeks before December starts, so you can get organized and start planning early!

How much does the ebook cost?

Our Toddler Christmas Advent ebook (+ bonus items) costs $6.99.

This is about as much as a stop at Starbucks OR one pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, OR a little more than a kid's Happy Meal at McDonalds. 

The value of this ebook and the bonus materials (including 1:1 help from me whenever you need it during December) is worth far more than $6.99, but I recognize that you have a lot of other expenses in December... so I kept the price down. 

Make sure you don't miss out on this great offer while it is at this low price!

DO YOU HAVE MORE QUESTIONS? Check out our sales page HERE with more information. 

Turkey Playdough Fine Motor Skills Activity

A Thanksgiving activity that is fun and helps kids work on their fine motor skills too? Awesome!

Our Thanksgiving turkey sensory bin is perfect to pull out as you get your kids ready for Turkey Day.


RELATED: Need more super easy Thanksgiving activities? Check out all 20+ Thanksgiving activities for toddlers that I've pulled together.

This Turkey fine motor activity uses playdough! We think playdough is one of the best sensory activities you can do with kids. We love making the Imagination Tree's homemade playdough or just buying colorful playdoh containers online. Either is great!

Simple Science Projects for Toddlers

What are some easy science projects for toddlers?

Science projects don't need to be hard or complicated. We start exploring science concepts when our kids are little and we don't even realize it!

Have you ever had a baby that drops their pacifier or food off a high chair?

Early on babies and toddlers begin exploring gravity and force as they drop and throw things. They also discover what can sink or float as they play in the bathtub.

Parents can use everyday experiences to teach science concepts.

There are also so many amazing toddler science experiments that aren't difficult. 

You are going to love these 25+ science projects that are perfect for toddlers (and even preschoolers)!

RELATED: If you only need a few ideas, these 7 favorite science activities are a great place to start.

Prepare Toddler to Trick or Treat

How do you prepare a toddler for trick or treating?

Do you want a fun and somewhat easy way to get your toddler ready and excited for trick or treating?

You need to make a simple life sized Halloween house!

Let me explain how this simple Halloween activity helps get kids ready for Halloween. 

Toddlers typically fall into two camps when it comes to trick or treating.

1. They hear the word candy and they start running towards any house as fast as possible.

2. They stick close to mom and dad and feel a bit worried about the whole idea of going to unfamiliar houses, seeing possible scary things, and talking to strangers.

As a mom, I love finding simple ways to prep my kids for trick or treating in order to help us all have a successful and low stress Halloween.

How To Keep a Toddler Busy at a Sibling’s Sports Game

How do you keep a toddler busy at a big brother or sister’s sports game or practice?

Imagine you have a baby and a toddler… and you’re sitting at your six-year-old’s soccer game.

You desperately want to watch and cheer and maybe even chat with some other parents.

BUT... your toddler keeps trying to make a run for it across the field to try and play soccer too.

You need a plan to make this work and actually get to see your sports super star in action!

I've compiled a list of my favorite activities to occupy toddlers at sibling sports games- in no particular order- and I am sharing them with you.

The goal for these ideas is for you to teach them to your kids so that they can entertain themselves and you can sit back and watch little Jimmy get his first soccer goal.

You are going to love these activities! They are all simple and require very little effort on your part.

(This post contains Amazon affiliate links)

Toddler Halloween Party Guide Ebook

Can you believe Halloween is almost here?

Are you overwhelmed with how many Halloween party ideas are out there?

Do you want a plan that is easy to follow this Halloween as you get organized for a festive party or playdate?

I've designed a Toddler Halloween Party Guide ebook to help you solve these problems and more!

If you're ready to have your Halloween Party planned for you, don't wait! Purchase our Halloween Party Guide ebook below.

You can use the ebook on any device, or print it all out for easy access!

  

Pumpkin Squish Bag for Toddlers

Do you have a toddler that likes to squish and explore different textures, but not necessarily touch them at first?

Many toddlers get anxious about touching gooey things that might be squishy, cold, sticky, or wet. 

Halloween time is filled with so many different sensory experiences! Kids are exposed to different sights, sounds, and textures that are new to them. 

One way that I like to help my toddlers explore new textures and materials is through simple squish bags. Squish bags allow kids to touch the new materials and check them out, without fully committing to getting messy or sticky. This is a great first step to helping them be willing to explore something new. 

Have you ever tried out a squish bag? Scroll down to read more about how to make a Pumpkin Squish bag and how this Halloween Pumpkin squish bag works.

31+ Awesome Halloween Activities for Toddlers

Wow! There are so many fun ways you can play, explore, and create using Halloween themes like pumpkins, ghosts, bats, monsters, mummies, and more!

Here is a wonderful collection of some of our favorite Halloween themed activities for toddlers! Preschoolers and older kids will enjoy them too!

If you're not ready for Halloween yet, check out our 25+ Leaf Activities for toddlers and keep on having fun with Fall!

Surviving Parenting Challenges

Parenting is like riding a roller coaster. 

There are moments when everything is great and you’re up high and happy and you have a good perspective on things… and then there are moments when you just feel like you are falling and failing constantly at rapid speed. 

Sometimes there are even years where you feel like you’re wearing boots with cement and you’re trudging along going nowhere (or backwards).

Have you ever had weeks, months, or years like that?

What do I mean by parenting challenges?

It could be anything! Here are a few ideas…

• My child can’t seem to figure out potty training
• My child keeps hitting me and friends
• I haven’t slept a full night in 3 years and it is like torture
• My daughter was just diagnosed with special needs
• My kids throw a fit about what I cook at every meal
• My spouse and I can’t agree on anything related to discipline or parenting
• My son’s preschool keeps calling me and telling me he can’t listen
• My oldest daughter keeps drawing with Sharpie on the walls around the house
• My son is being bullied at school and I don’t know how to help
• My toddler has constant tantrums, all day long!

Today I’m going to share four simple tips that have helped me (and continue to help me) during these really hard times.

Paint the Alphabet- Toddler Matching Game

Paint... water... and painting on the wall? What more could a kid ask for in an activity!

See all of our simple toddler activities over on Instagram here or grab more fun ideas from our free monthly toddler activity calendar.

There is nothing I love better than finding an activity to help us pass the time between lunch and when my big kids get home from school! My littlest misses her big siblings and is always counting down the minutes till they will come play with her.

Each afternoon when we are home and not running errands, easy activities help keep the requests to watch Paw Patrol or another favorite show at bay. 

These simple activities serve as a transition activity to get kids thinking more creatively and ready for free play!

Today I'm sharing our Paint the Alphabet activity! This was a simple watercolor matching game for toddlers and preschoolers to help them explore the alphabet.