Books and Giggles
Seasonal and holiday ideas for kids
If your toddler or young preschooler loves The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, I have a fun, educational toddler Christmas activity for you. It will help them learn about numbers and one-to-one correspondence. It will also introduce them to Christmas and winter themes. (Books and Giggles is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program,…
Sometime you need a simple, quick holiday craft for kids. This candy cane ornament is just that. It’s a step up from the traditional twisted candy cane pipe cleaner craft, but not much harder to do. These decorations could also be used as a topper on a wrapped gift. If your child enjoys this little…
Open-ended toys make great gifts! They often can outlast other toys with more bells and whistles. You can’t always tell on Christmas day which toys will be the winners. Sometimes the toys that allow open-ended play are what get played with the most over the long haul. Toys that only do one thing can get boring quickly. That’s because kids…
I’m excited to share another children’s story and craft combo with you. This gingerbread house craft is made with popsicle sticks and decorated with easy-to-find embellishments. Yes, you can leave it up the entire holiday season. You can even save it to put up year after year. And, to make this gingerbread house craft more meaningful, I’ve found…
This cookie cutter ornament is pretty and durable – so you can pull them out again years from now and remember when little hands made them. To make it extra engaging now, I’m also suggesting a picture book to go with the craft. This morning I went shopping near the mall and ran into a whole lot of Christmas….
A book exchange party is a fun activity for kids at the holidays. You can do one as part of a classroom holiday celebration, with a scout troop, or for a play group. You can even throw a Christmas book exchange party at home just for friends. I love the unwritten message of giving books as…
I have one more Thanksgiving book and craft to share with you today. This one is about the pilgrims, and I’ve made simple toilet paper roll pilgrims to go with it. (Books and Giggles is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for…
This coffee filter turkey craft wobbles adorably and has a brightly colored tie-dyed look. Add this to your Thanksgiving craft list for sure! (Books and Giggles is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to…
Inside: a Thanksgiving placemats craft inspired by the story Bear Says Thanks by Karma Wilson My children didn’t use to like Thanksgiving. I remember being surprised a few years ago when Liam loudly expressed his disapproval of the holiday. “How could you not like Thanksgiving?” I asked him. “There’s all that yummy food, and we get to…
Halloween is coming up quickly! Wouldn’t it be fun to plan a last-minute kids Halloween party? If you keep your preparations simple, you can do it! I’ve got you covered with simple kids’ activities, easy Halloween food ideas, last-minute decorations, and no-fuss invitations. (Books and Giggles is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an…
I’m super-excited about the special Halloween sight word activities I have for you today. If you have a child who needs a little extra motivation to work on sight words, this may do the trick. I had to get pretty inventive to hold Liam’s interest back when he was working through his kindergarten word list,…
Today I’m sharing an easy craft to go with a much-loved picture book. You could also do it as a stand-alone Halloween craft, but it’s more fun with a book, don’t you think? You could even do this at another time of year and use a cat that’s less spooky. The Caldecott winning Kitten’s First…
My twins were too old for a stroller, and too young for any sane mom to take shopping. But there I was, walking in circles in a fabric store, trying to figure out how I was going to make Halloween costumes. Liam wanted to be a firefighter, and so I thought it would be cute…
My day was all planned out. Before lunch, we were going to run out to the toy store and pick up something for a birthday party that afternoon. I’d forgotten to order anything online, and my gift closet was pretty much empty. It all would’ve worked out fine, except I suddenly realized I hadn’t picked up…
Twenty minutes past bedtime, my daughter asked me to read her a story. We’d gotten home late from soccer practice, and I hurried everyone through their evening routines. Finally, I turned out the light and went to kiss Isabella goodnight. “Mommy, you have to read me a story,” she announced. I took a deep breath. …
My son has wanted to make a solar oven ever since he saw one on a Curious George episode a few years ago. This year, as we started planning our summer, the kids and I brainstormed a list of what we wanted to do. High on my son’s list: make a…
My twins love scissors! They can spend a really long time cutting, taping, and gluing. We started working on scissors skills when they were about two. I wish I’d had this awesome tutorial on how to hold scissors. It would have been so much more fun! Once they learned the proper grip, we had them…