childhood

Posts Tagged ‘childhood’

Christmas Gift Memories

Friday, December 10th, 2010

Tis the season! All month long we’re inviting guests to stop by to share some of their childhood holiday stories and what tops their gift list this year.

We’re super excited to have Claudia Towels, owner of one of my all time favorite toy stores aMuse, with us here today for a little holiday gifting Q & A.

(more…)

Tags: childhood, contest, holidays
Posted in Guest Posts | 20 Comments »

Chalkboard Wall

Friday, December 3rd, 2010

The other night our eight-year-old asked if Santa was real.

I was expecting this moment to arrive for a while. I wasn’t shocked. She is able to distinguish between fact and fantasy and she knew something wasn’t right. Still, it was a difficult conversation to have. We tried to side-step it. We tried to get her to draw her own conclusions. We even discussed the history of Santa and why legends survive long past the person they’re based on. Yet, through it all she continued to ask, “So, is he real?” We could side-step the answer no more. It was time to tell her.

There were some tears. My husband took our daughter aside and comforted her. She knew the truth and wanted us to confirm her suspicions, and yet, we watched as something seemed to slip away from her.

We told her, “But magic is real in a way. Our minds are able to create anything. You can create anything you want. That’s the real magic we’re all given—the gift of imagination. We make magic real through our stories, our song, and our art.”

Yesterday, when our kids came home from school, I told them there was a surprise. I had spent the day painting one of the walls in their room. Through the magic of a couple quarts of chalkboard paint, a brush and an afternoon spent watching paint dry, the wall had been transformed into one giant chalkboard.

I walked the kids into their room for the unveiling. They took a moment to gasp, offer their enthusiastic thanks and then they went straight to work. My son drew a picture of his sister and himself on a large magical racetrack that stretched from one wall to the other. And my daughter? Well, she chose to create a little magic of her own.

Tags: childhood, Parenting
Posted in Ideas and Inspiration | 7 Comments »

25 Days of Christmas

Wednesday, December 1st, 2010

As a kid, I knew Christmas was coming when my parents broke out the advent calendar. Each night before bed, my brothers, sister and I would rock, paper, scissors our way to find out which of us was the lucky one to open that night’s little window. We’d peel pack the cardboard to reveal some hidden picture: a fox, Santa’s boot, an angel. (more…)

Tags: childhood, holidays, Parenting
Posted in Parties & Celebrations | 13 Comments »

Gift Giving & Receiving with the Brothers Trimm

Wednesday, December 1st, 2010

Happy December Everyone! All month long we’re inviting guests to stop by to share some of their childhood holiday stories and what tops their gift list this year.

Today, we’re thrilled to have the very lovely Jennifer Murnaghan from the Brothers Trimm here for a little Q & A.

(more…)

Tags: childhood, holidays, Parenting
Posted in Guest Posts, Ideas and Inspiration | No Comments »

Moments in Childhood: Bundling Up

Monday, November 29th, 2010

This picture is our contribution to the series: Moments in Childhood.

“We only get one shot at childhood. As parents, we hope to be mindful of the many beautiful moments we find along the way. Every Monday, aMuse Toys honors one of these moments in their new series, Moments in Childhood.”

Please visit the aMuse blog to share a Moment in Childhood photo of your own.

Tags: childhood
Posted in Ideas and Inspiration | 2 Comments »

Wigwams and Puppets

Wednesday, November 24th, 2010

The other day, Willow asked if we had pictures of how we incorporated our children and our friends’ children into a party. Great request Willow!

Last weekend we celebrated a pre-Thanksgiving with friends and I was tasked with creating a few activities for the kids. I came up with a two activities: one was a team exercise where we asked the kids to build and decorate a wigwam, and the other was a less structured activity where kids were given blanks to draw on to make their own puppets. Here’s how it turned out…

Trouble viewing the video? Click here to watch on youtube.

For more info on these projects and other Thanksgiving themed activities click here.

Wishing you a Very Happy Thanksgiving!

Tags: Arts & Crafts, childhood, friends, parties, thanksgiving
Posted in Ideas and Inspiration, Parties & Celebrations | No Comments »

Rummikub

Wednesday, November 24th, 2010

All week long, we’ve invited our friends to stop by and share their Thanksgiving stories as part of our series: a Thanksgiving with Friends.

Today, my friend Lara is here to share with us a tradition that spans decades and generations in her family. Forget the turkey and the stuffing, for Lara and her family, Thanksgiving means drawing a seat up to the felt table and playing a game as rich in history—it was developed in Romania in the ’40s when card-playing was outlawed under the Communist regime—as her family. (more…)

Tags: childhood, games, thanksgiving
Posted in Guest Posts, Ideas and Inspiration | 2 Comments »