One of my favorite Christmas traditions

Every year around Thanksgiving I buy myself some free time by handing the kids some toy catalogues and having them circle what they want out of them. BIG MISTAKE! This year it has totally backfired! Ella circled every. single. thing. The girl literally wants everything. And if she doesn't want it for herself, she wants it for her friend Josh. She is constantly talking about EVERYTHING she is getting for Christmas. Spencer is more selective in his desires but has taken to reminding me 10 million times a day about what he should be getting for Christmas. Ugh. We definitely will not be doing the catalogue thing anymore. I realized last week that we need an intervention over here fast. I started to think about ways to make this year's Christmas season more meaningful when I remembered one of the Christmas traditions my mom always did with us which is absolutely perfect.

At the beginning of December, my mom would set out an empty manger sitting on top of a bed of hay. She would explain to us that the manger was empty and it was up to us to fill it with hay for baby Jesus before Christmas. She would put all of our names in a hat and we would each draw a name. Every time you did a secret act of service for your person, you got to place a piece of straw in the manger. The service had to be secret - if you got caught it didn't count. Every week we would draw new names.

I remember loving this as a kid. I'm not sure how many years we actually did it, but it left a strong impression on me. I remember the first year thinking the manger would never get filled and then excitedly trying to do my part to fill it. I remember how much love I felt when I realized someone in my family had made my bed for me or did one of my chores. One time I drew one of my siblings names who had particularly been getting on my nerves. I remember not wanting to do any thing at all for them. But as I looked for things I could do to make their life easier, I was granted a new perspective and was able to see that person in a completely different light.

We will be setting up an empty manger tomorrow night with the kids. My hope is that this Christmas instead of focusing on "what can I get," they will be more focused on "what can I give." I have high hopes that it will make the same impact here in our home. We have several other traditions we do every year, but this one will be new to us.

I would love to hear some of the things you do in your home to make the season more meaningful!

Christmas Kickoff

We took the kids tonight to see the annual tree lighting at Fairfax Corner. It is such a fun community celebration with free horse and carriage rides, Santa, hot chocolate and cookies, carolers, and entertainment. This soldier on stilts definitely stole the show. Any question he asked, Ella took very very seriously. I think she believes he works for Santa. The little boy bundled up in the back of the picture is my nephew Logan (visiting from Arizona). It was a great way to begin the Christmas season.

One more Advent idea

I am seriously in love with Christmas Advents. I would have one in every room in the house if I could get away with it. I'm trying to remind myself that having a lot would take away from the specialness of each one. In this case I think it definitely is quantity over quality.

But I just can't resist this Christmas Book and Activity Advent from The Crafty Crow. Every day for the month of December they will be listing one children's Christmas book to read to your kids plus a craft that goes along with it. How much fun is that? They have the list of books up right now so that you have time to go to the library or purchase them.

I don't know if this is one we will do every day of December but it will be fun to at least do some of them.

Anybody get any good deals shopping today? I ended up in my doctor's office all day with a migraine. Yucky for me - but happy for my bank account. :)

Online Black Friday Ads

I will be doing all my Black Friday shopping this year from the comfort of my home. Tons of online deals are listed here. Check it out!

Advent Calendar Inspiration

I love Advent Calendars. My next project after Thanksgiving is to hurry and get ours done. The Crafty Crow compiled a huge list of amazingly neat Advents. If you are looking for inspiration - check it out.

That's all for today. My sister and her two fun kids are in town for the Holidays. I am getting a ton of fun baby time in with my newest nephew. We are trying to give her a much needed break for a week (her husband is in Iraq). It is fun and BUSY having a houseful of people. I finally got my tables set for Thanksgiving tomorrow and am heading to bed.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

WFMW - Thanksgiving Macaroni

There really is nothing thanksgivingish about this macaroni recipe. Is macaroni and cheese even really a Thanksgiving dish? Or is it just in my family? As far as I'm concerned, pasta should be a part of any celebration. Anyway, I call this Thanksgiving macaroni because it is one of the only times of the year that I will allow myself to eat this delicious concoction that has 500,000+ calories in every bite. I kid you not. But once you take a bite of it, you will no longer care. It is that good.

The beauty of this recipe (besides the 3 yummy cheeses) is how easy it is to make, yet it seems very impressive to friends and family. It helps me continue with my masquerade of being a good cook. Just be careful about who you make it for - you will be asked to make it again and again and again :)

Ingredients:

Butter for greasing the dish
12 oz wide egg noodles
3 cups whipping cream
1-1/2 cups whole milk
1 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp salt - plus more for pasta
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 cups (packed) grated Fontina
3/4 cups (packed) finely grated parmesan
3/4 cups (packed) grated mozzarella
4 oz. cooked diced ham - optional (sometimes I throw in Trader Joe's prosciutto)
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves

Preheat oven to 450. Butter a 9 x 13 glass baking dish and set aside. Cook the noodles in a large pot of boiling salted water until firm - tender (about 5 minutes). Drain well but do not rinse. Whisk the cream, milk, flour, 1/2 tsp salt, and pepper in a bowl to blend. Stir in 1 cup Fontina, 1/2 cup parmesan, 1/2 cup mozzarella, ham, and parley. Add the noodles and toss to coat. Transfer the noodle mixture to the prepared baking dish. Toss the remaining 1 cup Fontina, 1/4 cup parmesan, and 1/4 cup mozzarella in a bowl. Sprinkle the cheese mixture over the noodle mixture. Bake until the sauce bubbles and the cheese melts and begins to brown on top. Takes about 20 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Serves 6.

Recipe from the Food Network a couple years ago - I can't remember which chef.


For more great tips and ideas head to Shannon's blog where she hosts Works for me Wednesday every week.

My previous WFMW posts:

Sweet Spinach Bread
Library Bags
Letterboxing
Curling Ribbon
Safe Plastics
5 Ingredients or Less
Laundry Tip
DIY Lip Gloss
Tips for Clothes Shopping with girls
How to teach a child to swallow pills
Removing old stickers, adhesive, etc.
Easy Hair Bow Instructions
Managing school papers
Fall Traditions
Coupon Binder
Toys Worth Buying - Board Games

Fun Ego Boost

What Your Home Says About You

You come across as very intellectual. People take your wisdom seriously. Your hygiene is passable, but you may be hiding some dirty secrets. You are a very domestic person. You enjoy decorating, cooking, and making things homey. You are not a nurturing person by nature, but you can easily take care of someone you truly love. You feel settled in your life. You have enough time to focus on little details. You are a very self sufficient person. You can get along well without much help. Your friends see you as honest, humble, and responsible.

What Does Your Home Say About You?

Thought this was a fun little quiz just in time for Holiday company. No dirty secrets here though. I have cleaned out every cupboard, closet, room in my house over the weekend. Just don't look in my attic :)

NaBloPoMo

Posting every single day for a month is HARD WORK! I'm beginning to think it was not so wise to try this challenge during the month of November. I have so many projects that need to be worked on for Christmas and not enough time.

My mom and I spent Saturday doing one of my all time favorite things - thrift store shopping! We found so many fun things I'm going to tweak and either give away or use in my house - I will post pics when finished. I haven't been to a thrift store in such a long time that I forgot how much I LOVE it. We ended the day by stopping at Anthropologie so my mom could pick up an early birthday present for me - a new gorgeous apron! Just in time for the Holidays. I heart aprons but somehow can't get my husband to understand that I need more than one. Thanks mom!

Thanksgiving Help

Due to a last minute change of plans on Thursday, I am now hosting Thanksgiving for between 20-30 people (the numbers keep shifting). I am really excited - I haven't hosted Thanksgiving since the year we were married. That was a disaster! A couple of friends came over, we cooked ALL DAY, and were too tired to eat when it was ready. But we did have a lot of fun.

Anyway, I came across this handy little Thanksgiving Guide by Pioneer Woman. She shows you what her day to day cooking schedule looks like for the next week while she gets ready for Thanksgiving. I love how she breaks everything down so a majority of the work is not done on the actual day of Thanksgiving - I wish someone would have clued my 19-year-old self into that idea. She also has some fun recipes that I think I am going to try out. I also LOVE the idea of making an extra pie crust to make turkey pot pie with leftover turkey. Yum!

I am now on the hunt for a great centerpiece for my table. Any ideas???

Bringing up Geeks

Bringing up Geeks: How to Protect Your Kid's Childhood in a Grow-Up-To-Fast World.

I picked up this book from the library last week and LOVE it. Here's a quick synopsis from the publisher (then I'll tell you what I like about it):

Marybeth Hicks suggests an alternative to the culture of cool: bringing up geeks. In this groundbreaking book, she redefines geeks as Genuine, Enthusiastic, Empowered Kids, and inspires parents to free themselves and their kids from cultural conditioning while instilling in their children truly important values.

I think my favorite part of this book is that the author has raised four children and has had kids at all different stages of parenting. I like that she has been in the trenches, so to speak. It gives her a lot more credibility in my opinion. She has ten rules for raising geeks:

1. Raise a braniac.
2. Raise a sheltered kid.
3. Raise an uncommon kid.
4. Raise a kid adults like.
5. Raise a late bloomer.
6. Raise a team player.
7. Raise a true friend.
8. Raise a homebody.
9. Raise a principled kid.
10. Raise a faithful kid.

In each of these sections she gives clear ways to implement these values into family life. She gives examples of how to do this at all different age levels and what challenges parents can expect. It is a fun easy read filled with examples from her own family. I love reading books that inspire me to do better and this one certainly did.

Area Honors Orchestra - He's in!!!

Tryouts for Area Honor Orchestra were this week. Spencer has been waiting all year to be old enough to try out. He was super nervous Monday and I was nervous for him. We have wondered all week when he would find out if he made it and have talked about it often. Tonight while we were driving home from a church activity Spencer casually said "Oh - I forgot to tell you. I made it into the Honor's Orchestra." Silly boy.

The honors orchestra is comprised of 5th and 6th graders from different schools in our area. There are a LOT of practices but luckily the schools arrange the whole carpool list if your kids get in. He loves playing the viola so we are really excited for him.

Yesterday

I had a million and one chores to do yesterday. Ella had other plans.

First on Ella's agenda:

Perfect leaf criteria: Red or yellow, never brown - unless it has a hole in it.

Next on Ella's agenda, Covering each other with leaves -

Mom's turn (a pictorial) -


Nothing better than running, jumping, and playing in leaves on a brisk fall day -



Unfortunately for one sad little girl, it must all come to an end -

But mom saves the day with hugs, kisses, and promises of hot chocolate -


One afternoon well spent!

WFMW - Super easy way to melt chocolate!

My MIL makes the best chocolates every year for the Holidays. She taught me this super easy way to melt chocolate - no double boiler required. Here it is broken down:

1. Turn on oven just until it clicks on. You want it on the lowest degree possible.

2. Chop up chocolate and put in glass baking pan. If I'm doing a small amount or a single batch, I use the Pyrex glass measuring cups.

3. Put pan in oven and check often to make sure the pan is not getting too hot. An easy way to test this is to touch the pan. If the pan is too hot to pick up without hot pads - IT IS TOO HOT. If this happens, take the chocolate out, cool it off, and then return to the oven.

4. Stir the chocolate often as it melts.

Yum . . . I'm ready to go make chocolates right now. I love the Holidays!


ALTERNATIVE METHOD: If you can't get your oven to a low enough temperature (I lived in one house where this was the case) turn the oven on just until it clicks on. Leave on for 5 minutes and then turn off right before you put the chocolate in.

For more great tips and ideas head to Shannon's blog where she hosts Works for me Wednesday every week.

My previous WFMW posts:

Sweet Spinach Bread
Library Bags
Letterboxing
Curling Ribbon
Safe Plastics
5 Ingredients or Less
Laundry Tip
DIY Lip Gloss
Tips for Clothes Shopping with girls
How to teach a child to swallow pills
Removing old stickers, adhesive, etc.
Easy Hair Bow Instructions
Managing school papers
Fall Traditions
Coupon Binder
Toys Worth Buying - Board Games

Fun Cake Decorations

Ella is our resident decorator. She LOVES looking through catalogues and telling me what we need for different rooms in our house. It's funny because I rarely look at catalogues. She is constantly telling me how she wants to redo her room and the other day asked if she could switch rooms with us. She very specifically told me to put all of her stuff in my room and take my stuff out and put it in hers. She said this is a "great idea." When we go to stores she will rearrange shelves to make sure everything is organized and in the right place (I so wish she would apply this skill to the playroom)! She loves to cook and at 4-years-old can whip up a pan of scrambled eggs from start to finish by herself (of course with an adult standing by). She is such a mini Martha Stewart.

So I wasn't too surprised when she came home from the library the other day with Matthew Mead's Cakes for Kids. I love Matthew Mead's site and used a lot of his Halloween ideas and free templates but I didn't know he had a kid's cake book out.

Tonight we looked through this book together for her bedtime story. She was so excited to look at each cake and try to figure out how each one was made. I LOVE having someone in the house who appreciates this stuff. So fun for me! We are going to try our hand at some of these cakes in the upcoming weeks. I'll let you know how they go.

Way to go Spencer!

Spencer's first big project for 5th grade was to write a 5-6 page research paper. The kids could choose any topic they wanted. Some chose sports, others animals, and I think some even chose people. Spencer chose, without hesitation, the atomic structure of the earth. He definitely takes after his father.

The first step of the project was to decide on a topic and turn it in to the teacher. He was excited but when he came home that day he told me his teacher didn't think there would be enough information available for him to write his paper. I tried to help him think of some alternatives (that were way more fascinating to me) but he wouldn't budge. He knew he could do it.

He worked very hard on this paper for quite awhile and was quite nervous when he turned it in. He was so excited when the report came back with an A+. His teacher wrote:

"Spencer - wonderful report full of important information that helped me understand a little better. Great job!"

Good grades and A's come very easily to Spencer but this one was different. He worked very hard on this project and was so proud of his accomplishment. I'm proud of him for sticking to what he wanted to do when his teacher (and mom) tried to talk him out of it. Way to go Spencer!

On my radar

1. Love, love, love this post from Shannon at Rocks in my Dryer.

2. I stumbled upon a new blog this week that I can't stay away from. MeckMom is a site full of "ideas to make life a little easier." I love that her tips are easy and cheap solutions to ordinary problems. You have to check this out - Must Have Tools for Easier Kid Hair Styling. She is absolutely brilliant!

3. Have you seen theStory of Stuff? I meant to just watch a few minutes the other day but then couldn't tear myself away - it's that interesting.

4. Derfwad Manor had me laughing out loud with her post about liberation from Spanx.

5. 13 Fixes for Tired Moms - Some of these tips look interesting. I am always in the market for ways to have more energy.

6. Finally, one more Nie Nie post. I am amazed at her talent of making the simplest moments extraordinary ones. Her post, Attention all Mothers, definitely captures this. She is constantly in my thoughts and prayers.

Rainbow Bath

Ella was going stir crazy this afternoon so I surprised her with a "rainbow bath." I used one of my older muffin tins and filled each well with shaving cream and then stirred in food coloring. I gathered up paint brushes, sponges, and rollers and let her have at it. She painted pictures on all the tile in surrounding the bathtub and covered herself head to toe in a rainbow. I made sure to tell her that "rainbow baths are very rare and only happen after rain" or else I knew it would be a daily request. It was so neat to see her face when I brought in the tray - she was so excited. It was a cheap fun way to brighten up a rainy day! (I originally saw this idea on WFMW but now can't find the link).

"I Can Make That" - One more easy gift!

Here's another super easy gift idea that I stole from my SIL Michelle. It is just a glass shower block (I think it was $4.00 at Home Depot last year) and vinyl lettering (from The Letter Cafe). Tie a big fat bow on top and you are done! I gave several of these out last year and some of my friends have kept them out year round. Couldn't get any easier.


Just a Girl's I Can Make That Party is still going on. Head to her site to see more easy homemade Christmas gifts. I have had so much fun seeing everyone's.

Free Snapfish photo book!

Did you see Oprah today??? Snapfish is giving away free custom cover photo books for the next 48 hours (regularly $29.99). These are the hardbound books. Can you believe it??? All you have to do is go to
Oprah's site to get the coupon. What a great Christmas present for someone. Remember to act fast!

WFMW - On the Go Meal

You know those days when you are never at home for more than 20 minutes at a time - when you are running nonstop from one thing to the next? We have a couple different meals that I make on those days to try and avoid fast food. This is my family's current favorite for hectic days.

My super talented friend Irene made these one day when she brought her son over to play with Ella. She came to my house and cooked us lunch - how great is that!! I was skeptical that my kids would eat it - they are super picky - but these are basically deluxe pigs in a blanket and the kids can't get enough of them (Neither can my hubby - they are so yummy)!

I know ya'll know how to make these but I don't think I would have ever thought to do it with these ingredients. All you need are two things from Trader Joe's. I apologize in advance if you don't have a Trader Joe's - just look away now.

Ingredients:

One package of Trader Joe's pizza dough (super cheap - less than $1.00!)
One package of Trader Joe's Sun-Dried Tomato chicken sausage (pre-cooked).

Bless Trader Joe's for their convenience foods. I try to keep these on hand for crazy days. I took pictures of the process yesterday while talking on the phone - excuse the quality.

Step one: Break dough into five different pieces.

Step two: Flatten dough and wrap around sausages. Don't worry if they are not even or look ugly - they're meant to. Put on a cookie sheet and cook at 425 degrees for approx 15 minutes or until golden brown.


Here's what they look like done:


I like to wrap them each up individually in foil and take them with us. We almost always make these on baseball days. Probably not the healthiest of foods but it makes me feel better than having them buy a hot dog (although we do that too sometimes). I have also been known to throw these at the kids in the car while hurrying to some activity. It's great that they are self contained in the foil and the kids can eat them fast.

I would LOVE to hear what you make on crazy days, we seem to be having more and more of those lately.

For more great tips and ideas head to Shannon's blog where she hosts Works for me Wednesday every week.

My previous WFMW posts:

Sweet Spinach Bread
Library Bags
Letterboxing
Curling Ribbon
Safe Plastics
5 Ingredients or Less
Laundry Tip
DIY Lip Gloss
Tips for Clothes Shopping with girls
How to teach a child to swallow pills
Removing old stickers, adhesive, etc.
Easy Hair Bow Instructions
Managing school papers
Fall Traditions
Coupon Binder
Toys Worth Buying - Board Games

12 Days of Junkie

Have you checked out Tip Junkie? It is one of my favorite blogs. Laurie compiles the best tips from the internet and moms into one place. I have gotten birthday ideas, fall decorating tips, awesome recipes, etc. all in one place.



This Christmas, Tip Junkie is hosting the Mom-preneur Shopathon. You have to check it out. So many different sites full of awesome stuff to buy. I love the idea of supporting other moms this Holiday season instead of buying gifts from the store. It is one way we can all help each other.

In order to promote the Mom-preneur Shopathon, Tip Junkie is doing a 12 day giveaway! Every day for the next 12 days she will be giving amazing gifts to two lucky winners. I so hope I win! So head on over to her site, you've got to see all these cool stores. While you're there, check out all the Thanksgiving ideas this week. I love some of the centerpieces and placecards.

Happy Shopping!

"I Can Make That" - Teacher Gift

Just a Girl is hosting an "I Can Make That Party" just in time for the Holidays. Everyone is sharing ideas of fun projects to make this year for Christmas. Totally my kind of thing.

I somehow missed that this was happening and just stumbled upon it tonight. So I only have one thing to share that luckily I had pictures of. This is what I did for teachers gifts last year. I completely copied it from my SIL Michelle who always has such awesome ideas. I bought a 2 x 4 ($1.85) and had Home Depot cut it down for me. Out of that one piece of wood I covered the kids teachers, some other Christmas projects, and had some left over. I used paint I had on hand and ordered the vinyl from my SIL (The Letter Cafe). I believe the vinyl was just a couple dollars. I wrapped it up in cellophane with candy and ribbon. I liked that it was something different and not too pricey!



(I also had ribbon tied around the wood - this picture was taken before that step. But I think it looks fine like this also.)

Variations:

- Instead of using the teacher's name you could put "favorite" across so it would read "favorite teacher," or any other saying pertinent to the teacher "music teacher," etc.

- I also made some with only the word "Believe" across, distressed the wood, and gave it with a copy of this book.

- These are great to have on hand to give as last minute gifts. I made a couple extra last year with "Ho Ho Ho" across them. It was nice to have a gift ready to go when needed. I ended up giving them all away.

You can see more fun Christmas projects here here.

the METHOD:



the ANTICIPATION:




the MOMENT:

The kids ganged up on us a couple of weeks ago and begged for a trip to the bowling alley. I'm so glad they did because we had such a good time. The funniest part was watching Ella during the long wait for her ball to make it down to the pins. She had so many dance moves that she treated the whole alley to. She is a born performer. Spencer, Ella, and I were neck to neck for most of the game (Lance sat out with a shoulder strain). Spencer ended up pulling a strike out of nowhere on the last frame and winning the game. We were happy to see that starting next month our bowling alley is offering $1 games on Monday nights. We will be back there again soon.

One last memory. Ella and her pink ball. There were far lighter balls for her to choose from but once she saw pink there was no going back. She fell to the floor right after this picture was taken because of the weight but she perservered and used the ball all night. Once Ella makes up her mind, there is no going back.!

One more hot deal

We just got back from a whirlwind shopping trip. In the past week both my kids have outgrown all their pants. Every. Single. Pair. For Ella this is the usual - she grows like a weed. For Spencer, this is monumental. He has been in the same size for 3 years now!

I was excited to find that Carter's is having a HUGE sale this weekend. 60% off all their fabulously cute jeans and cords, 60% off all their Christmas clothes, 50% off their fall jackets, it goes on and on. We stocked up on clothes for Ella.

Unfortunately, no such deals for Spencer. But at the rate he grows, we sure do get our moneys worth out of all his clothes.

I love finding good deals :)

On my radar

1. Have you seen these Thanks and Giving Trees? Not only is it a fabulous idea from Chocolate on my Cranium, but she also provides the PDF files so you can easily have them too! I printed some up and we are working on filling in our trees. I love how it promotes the service side of gratitude. I think this will be a new tradition in our house every November. She also has a FHE lesson to go along with this and the lessons on her site through the month of November will focus on thanks or giving.

2. Speaking of giving, are you looking for opportunities to help teach your kids about service? I was so excited to find this. This site lists volunteer opportunities by zip code. Couldn't get any easier.

3. I've been eyeing this USA art for Spencer's room from Pottery Barn but don't like the price tag. I then realized how easy it would be to make myself. I have the canvas and supplies and will be working on it this week. I'll post pics when I'm done.

4. BeanPlate is a brand new blog that focuses on "eating well on a tight budget." Sounds like my kind of place. I love the description on the site - "Using accessible whole ingredients and the thrifty tried and true methods our grandmothers, we're cooking through the recession one plate at a time." I'm excited to see more recipes.

5. This article in the Arizona Republic about Stephanie Nielson (Nie Nie Dialogues) and her sisters is beautiful. Read it if you get a chance but be sure to keep kleenex handy.

"Okey Dokey"

Ella: Mama, I need an okey dokey.
Me: What's an okey dokey?
Ella: You know an okey dokey (gesturing with hands).
Me: You mean the hokey pokey?
Ella: Mama you so silly!


Later on . . .

Ella: Spencer you get me okey dokey.
Spencer: What?
Ella: I need an okey dokey.
Spencer: Okey Dokey?
Ella: Yes, an okey dokey!
Spencer: I don't know what that is.


Much later at Trader Joe's . . .

Ella: Mama, we buy an okey dokey?
Me: Sweetie I don't know what that is.
Ella: I really really want one.
Me: Trader Joe's doesn't sell okey dokeys.
Ella: Oh, okay.

After dinner, Spencer sat down and starteed to work on a Sudoku puzzle. Ella jumped up, ran across the room and exclaimed "An Okey Dokey!!! You found one!!!"

Me: Oh! You want to do a sudoku!
Ella (exasperated): Yes, an okey dokey!

We were laughing so hard, I think sudoku has permanently been replaced by "okey dokey." I just love 4-year-olds.

WFMW - Toys Worth Buying (Board Games)

I have been so excited for WFMW this week. The theme is TOYS WORTH BUYING. I can't wait to read everyone's recommendations.

We are a family who loves board games. We have several cabinets full of them and are always on the hunt for more. One of the reasons I love consignment sales is to sell the games we haven't liked and try new games out cheap. Anyway, here are my top recommendations for board games. Because I'm lazy, I put the manufacturer's description with each game with my review following.

FOR YOUNGER KIDS:

Zingo Product Description from Manufacturer: Bingo with a Zing!
A fast-paced, simple variant of Bingo. Players try to fill their image cards with matching tiles from the"Zingo Master"; first player to fill his/her card wins! Rules can be adjusted to favor more or less competition among players, and to vary length of time that each game takes to play. Zingo teaches shape and pattern recognition, as well as observation, and short-term memory.

This game has been very popular at our house. Spencer loved it when he was in preschool and now it is Ella's favorite. I brought it to preschool once for all the kids to play (up to 8 players can play at once) and afterwards every mom bought one for their kids. It is easy enough that the kids can play together without adult supervision and it is one that my kids will sit and play forever. It is a great first game because reading is not required - they can just match the pictures but it is still fun for older kids as well.

4 Way Countdown - Product Description from the Manufacturer:
Take the ultimate math challenge. Kids can practice their skills in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division skills by simply using the numbers on the dice. The first to flip over all 10 numbered keys wins the game. Game board includes sliding cover for easy storage. 2-4 players.
We bought this game in the clearance section one year after Christmas for $2. We were so surprised by how much fun it is. Each player has 10 numbered keys that they are trying to flip over. On your turn, you roll the dice and choose a function to make a number 1-10. For example, if you roll a 2 and 1, you could add to make 3, subtract to make 1, multiply to make 2, etc. So the kids are constantly thinking of different math solutions to get the numbers they need. To make it a little harder, if certain number's are rolled you have the option of turning all your opponent's keys back over so they are at the beginning of the game again. I have probably made this game sound a lot more complex than it actually is. We gave this as a class gift to Spencer's 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade classes.

Cranium Conga- Product description from manufacturer: Cranium Conga is the fast-paced "guess what I'm thinking" game that will get your whole family acting, sculpting, guesstimating, and picking hilarious words. Conga celebrates the fun facts and funny memories that only someone close to you would know. This delightful game offers giggles and laughs for everyone -- from 8-year-olds, to teenagers, to mom and dad -- so turn off the TV and share some high-flying fun.
This game focuses on how well you know the people around you. In typical Cranium fashion there is acting, sculpting, etc. We have played this often on family nights. The suggested age is 8+, I would disagree and say 5+ (as soon as they are reading and writing). Ella plays now with us with help from her parents :)

FOR OLDER KIDS (AND ADULTS!):

Ticket to Ride Product description from the manufacturer: October 2, 1900. 28 years to the day that noted London eccentric, Phileas Fogg accepted and then won a L20,000 bet that he could travel "Around the World in 80 Days". Now at the dawn of the century it was time for a new "impossible journey". Some old friends have gathered to celebrate Fogg's impetuous and lucrative gamble--and to propose a new wager of their own. The stakes: $1 Million in a winner-takes-all competition. The objective: to see which of them can travel by rail to the most cities in North America--in just 7 days. The journey begins immediately. Ticket to Ride is a cross-country train adventure where players collect cards of various types of train cars that enable them to claim railway routes connecting cities throughout North America. Included in this popular game made by Days of Wonder is a detailed board, game cards, help cards, rules, train miniatures, and more!
Ticket to Ride is one of my all time favorite games. We play this over and over and over and I am still not sick of it. The game involves a lot of strategy but it is easy enough for a kid 8+ to play as well. If you need a GREAT board game - this is it! One more nice thing, it doesn't take all night to play like Monopoly or Risk, typical game is about 45 minutes.

Carcassonne Product description from manufacturer: The southern French city of Carcassonne is famous for its unique Roman and Medieval fortification. In this clever tile-laying game, players develop the area around Carcassonne and deploy their followers on the roads, in the cities, in the cloisters and in the fields. The skill of the players to develop the area will determine the victor. For 2-5 players.
This is another strategy game. If you liked Settlers of Catan, chances are that you will LOVE this. You take turns laying tiles trying to build roles, cathedrals, monasteries, etc. The game has an element of both skill and luck. It is definitely not your standard board game and a lot of fun!

I would LOVE to hear your favorite games - we are always looking for more!

For more fun toy ideas head to Shannon's blog where she hosts Works for me Wednesday every week.

My previous WFMW posts:

Sweet Spinach Bread
Library Bags
Letterboxing
Curling Ribbon
Safe Plastics
5 Ingredients or Less
Laundry Tip
DIY Lip Gloss
Tips for Clothes Shopping with girls
How to teach a child to swallow pills
Removing old stickers, adhesive, etc.
Easy Hair Bow Instructions
Managing school papers
Fall Traditions
Coupon Binder