Funny Calendars

The holidays are over and we’re getting into the swing of January. But January can seem rather cold and boring, can’t it? Here’s one suggestion of a way to add some fun to your days – buy a funny calendar! There are many goofy calendars out there but I found 2 that I am enjoying. The first one is Sandra Boynton’s Every Day’s a Fabulous Holiday calendar.

This calendar has a special day for every day of the year! And some of those holidays are pretty funny. For instance, did you know New Year’s Day is also Polar Bear Swim Day?

Or that January 2nd is World Introvert Day? The 3rd with a Festival of Sleep Day sounds great to all adults, I’m guessing. 😉

I love the adorable drawings too! I’m glad to learn that today is Whipped Cream Day. Who doesn’t love whipped cream?!

I bought mine on Amazon. (I’m not an affiliate.)

Another calendar that I’m having fun with is the Lego Minifigure a Day calendar.

This calendar has an individual page for each day and it features, you guessed it, a Lego minifigure each day. Well, I’m kinda crazy about Lego (especially minifigures), so this is right up my alley! Here’s a couple of fun days from this calendar…

I enjoy looking to see if today’s minifigure is one I already have or not. (I have 2 of them so far!) 😉

There are many, many fun calendars out these that you can purchase. It gives you something to look forward to each day. And if you peek ahead on the holiday calendar, you can plan a special day with the kids to celebrate. Like maybe having whipped cream on everything today! (Maybe not everything…) Spread some whipped cream on a plate and let your kids practice drawing letters or numbers or shapes in it before they lick their fingers off. ;)

Get yourself a funny calendar and brighten up your year! 🙂

Are You Eating Pork & Sauerkraut for New Year’s Day?

Hello again and welcome to 2024! Happy New Year! 🙂

What your New Year’s Day traditions are at your house? We are having a quiet day at home. One thing we usually do is eat pork and sauerkraut on New Year’s Day. It’s been a tradition in my family for as long as I remember. As a kid, I wasn’t all that impressed. 😉 I remember my mom adding some kind of dumplings on top of the sauerkraut. That was the only part I wanted to eat. But now I enjoy sauerkraut although I like mashed potatoes with my sauerkraut. There is a little bulk food store close to us that sells some yummy sausage so I put some of those in my crockpot with sauerkraut and let it cook on low most of the day. And then we need mashed potatoes, of course…and my sauerkraut goes on top of my mashed potatoes.

Did you ever wonder why people eat pork and sauerkraut on New Year’s Day? I looked it up so in case you are curious too, here’s why: It seems Germans have been eating sauerkraut and pork on New Year’s Day for many generations and its because they believed it would bring them good luck. The legend says that they ate pork because pigs look forward when they root for their food while chickens and turkeys scratch around backwards. In a similar way, the Germans were looking forward to the new year. They also wished each other as many riches as there are shreds of cabbage in sauerkraut. So when some Germans immigrated to Ohio and Pennsylvania in the 17th and 18th centuries, they brought their traditions with them. Some of my ancestors were German and we live in Ohio so I guess that’s why we enjoy pork and sauerkraut on New Year’s Day.

So whatever your traditions are at your house, I’m wishing you the very best as we begin 2024. Thanks for spending time with us in 2023 and I hope you’ll stay tuned for more fun ahead!

Love and hugs to you all! :)

New Year’s Eve Games

Wow, 2023 is almost over! Tomorrow is the last day so that means it’s almost time to stay up till midnight and welcome in the new year! Here are a few suggestions of fun games your family might enjoy playing together as you welcome in 2024. 🙂

#1.) Pit – This is seriously one of my all-time favorite games. It’s not hard to learn, but it’s a lively game of trading cards while you try to get the corner on one grain.

This is an older version that we’ve had for years so the new game probably looks a lot different. It’s a blast to play but its rather loud, so don’t play it when the baby is sleeping. 😉

#2.) Uno. This is another great game for families. The idea is to be the first player to run out of cards. It’s great fun to make someone “Draw Two” or “Skip” them. Even better is giving them a “Draw Four”. But just be sure that when you dish those cards out to someone else that you are prepared for paybacks! ha! 😉

#3.) Crazy Eights. This is a good game for younger kids that involves matching numbers or shapes.

#4.) Battleship. This is only a 2 player game but still lots of fun. See who can sink the other person’s ships first.

#5.) Scrabble. This game is all about making high scoring words so you need to be able to read and spell to play this one.

#6.) Yahtzee. Another of my favorite games while growing up that was played at our house quite often. It’s all about rolling dice and getting the right combination of numbers to fill up your score sheet. If you can roll the same number on all 5 dice within 3 rolls, then you make….you guessed it…a Yahtzee!

If you have younger children, you might like to try games like Chutes & Ladders, Candy Land or Memory. Our kids loved these games when they were growing up and I guess my husband and I did too! 😉

Whatever you do or whatever games your family plays on New Year’s Eve, I hope you have some great quality family time together! Hugs! 🙂

After Christmas Blues

*This post is a repeat from a couple years ago, but it is so applicable to today! I hope it helps! 🙂

When all the hustle and bustle and excitement leading up to Christmas has passed, do the After-Christmas Blues show up at your house? Sometimes taking a break from all the “new” toys and kits that arrived on Christmas Day, can be a help. Try going back to some of the “old” crafts they’ve done before but haven’t thought about in a while. New toys and things will seem more fun again after the kids have had a little break from them. There is comfort to be found in the tried-and-true. Here are a couple of suggestions of things we’ve done on here before but might be fun to pop out for the kids again.

#1.) Making paper snowflakes. It’s still obviously winter and cold outside so how about doing a craft with snowflakes that don’t make your fingers cold when you play with them. Follow the link to this project:

Do You Want to Make Snowflakes?

#2.) You can even make a snowman with your paper snowflakes.

Do You Wanna Build a Snowman from Paper Snowflakes?

#3.) Hide and Seek Snacks. Try making up a fun snack in little cups and hiding the cups for the kids to find. Look for that post here:

Hide and Seek Snacks

#4.) Make some craft stick snowflakes. These are easy and fun! Follow the link to see how they’re made:

https://wordpress.com/post/thekidsniche.com/3254

There are over 700 posts here on my blog so I hope you can find some fun things to do with your kids to help everyone get back on an even keel again. Those new gifts will look even better afterwards! Have fun! Hugs to all of you! 🙂

Merry Christmas!

Lego Advent Calendar – Day #24

Well, we have reached the last day of our Lego Friends Advent calendar.

This is the last door for this year’s advent calendar.

Today’s surprise is another pet! This time its a little handicapped puppy who uses wheels for his back legs. And he has some antlers! 😉

He’s joined his new friends inside our winter scene. They seem to be getting along just fine!

That’s a wrap for our 2023 Lego Friends Advent calendar! It’s been fun sharing each day’s surprise with you and I hope you’ve had fun too. Thanks for joining me! Hope you have a great Christmas Eve! 🙂

Lego Advent Calendar – Day #23

Today is December 23rd and we are ready to check out door #23 on our Lego Friends Advent calendar. 🙂

Let’s see what’s waiting for us…

It’s another train car! It’s super cute!

Our train has grown to 3 cars now. Some of our animal friends are ready for a ride on the train! 😉

Only 1 more day to go! Be sure to come back tomorrow when we open the last door of our Lego Advent calendar for 2023! 🙂

Lego Advent Calendar – Day #22

Are you ready to peek behind Door #22 of our Lego Friends Advent calendar?

Here we go!

Let’s look at the pieces for today.

Hey, it’s a train car to go along with the train engine we found yesterday! 🙂

Choo choo! There’s a train coming ’round the bend! 😉

That was fun! Only 2 more doors left on our advent calendar! Join us tomorrow for another peek! 🙂

Lego Advent Calendar – Day #21

It’s that time again! Time to open another door on our Lego Friends Advent calendar! 🙂

Let’s see what is waiting behind the door…

There are quite a few pieces in this set.

And those pieces make a little train engine! 🙂 Very cool!

It’s now ready to roll on down the railroad track! 😉

That’s a pretty neat set for today! Hope to see you tomorrow! 🙂

Lego Advent Calendar – Day #20

We’re back and ready for Day #20 of our Lego Friends Advent calendar!

I wonder what surprise we will find today? Let’s look and see!

It’s another new pet! Only 2 pieces of Lego this time.

It’s a very cute bunny! 🙂

And now we know who will be eating the carrot! 😉

Wow, that makes 7 pets in this year’s Lego Friends Advent calendar! 🙂 I’ll look forward to you popping in again tomorrow to check on Door #21! Only 4 doors left!