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Sharing Saturday #50

Wow, once again I'm blown away by the amazing ideas shared last week! If you have not had a chance to visit them all, you should. I found it so inspiring and am definitely going to be trying some of them. I know this week I have not been on-line as much and thus not blogging as much and for that matter we haven't been doing as many crafts. This weekend I am taking some time to spend with my family and prepare for the holidays. Since Hazel's birthday is right after Christmas I always feel a bit stressed at this point. Plus I'm mostly handmaking all of her gifts for both Christmas and her birthday. What was I thinking? I will be sharing more soon.

Click picture to go to post!
Last week there were many along the same themes, but here are a few of my favorites (one is very similar to another one from 2 Big, 2 Little so I featured the other one since she already had the most clicked).

1) From Gift of Curiousity: DIY Christmas Snow Globes (Such an easy way to make it)
2) From Life with Moore Babies: D is for Dentist (I love this experiment and we will be trying it!)
3) From Little Wonders' Days: Gingerbread Playdough Activity (Great seasonal activity)
4) From Keitha's Chaos: Cutesy Elf Decorated the Bathroom (What a cute Elf on a Shelf)
5) From Vixen Made: Stamped Christmas T-Shirt (Love the ease of this!)
6) From Stay at Home Educator: A Felt Nativity Story (Definitely going to make this one!!)
7) From Housing a Forest: Stained Glass Nativity (Love this one as well!!)
8) From April's Homemaking: Easy Paper Angel (So sweet and simple!!)

Thank you to everyone who shared last week!! I hope you will join us and share again!! If you are featured here or earlier this week, please feel free to grab a featured button to display proudly on your blog.
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From Your Hostess:
Christmas in Kenya





Now for This Week's Party A Few Simple Guidelines:
1)  Please follow both hosts via GFC (or one of the other ways that work for you).  
Hosts are Crafty Moms Share and Mama Mia's Heart2Heart. A reminder: Mia is taking a blogging break. Hopefully she will be back soon to host again!!

2)  Link any kid-friendly, child-centered post. Please no etsy shops or giveaways, etc.  Remember to link to your actual post. 

3) Post the button on your sidebar or somewhere on your blog to help spread the word.
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4) We would love it if you would follow us on Facebook and Google+
Disclaimer: By sharing here, you are giving Crafty Moms Share and Mama Mia's Heart2Heart permission to use your photos for features and to pin your craft at Pinterest

Coffee Cup Angel

I know I've been a bit MIA lately. Sorry. I spent the day working on my resume. I am going to apply for a part time job at Hazel's school. We also have a bunch of family activities planned the next week or so, therefore I may be MIA a bit more. 

So I saw this great idea on Our Life in a Click using Starbucks cups. Now I have to admit I'm addicted to chai lattes and I love Starbucks, so we have a few cups floating around. In fact when Hazel first started speaking she called Starbucks "Chai". She also has several empty cups floating around so she can pretend to drink a chai as well. Therefore, this craft was right up our alley.
I made a few changes. I did not have the wooden discs so I used the plastic cover. I cut the circle and added the face. To make it stand I used one of the green drink sticks they now have so your drink does not spill in the car. I poked it through the bottom of the cup and put glue on it and around it and glued the cover circle on it. I blocked it in the back with some yarn hair. Then I used a glittery pipe cleaner for the halo.
I honestly did this craft with Hazel in about 10 minutes. Tomorrow we are going to use different size cups to make an angel family. I'm also thinking maybe a Christmas tree. I have an idea in my head. I'll share it tomorrow if we do it. Have you done any recycled crafts lately? Any other creative ideas for using your coffee cups and its various parts?

Happy Family Times #37--Zoo Lights and a Living Nativity

Have you done something fun with your family this week? Kelly at Happy Whimsical Hearts and I would love to hear about it. We are gathering different activities to inspire us all to have more fun together times with our families. Please share yours below!

This week I am going to share two family activities. Both are seasonal. The first thing we did was to go to our local zoo for their Zoo Lights exhibit. They literally have the zoo decorated with many Christmas lights. For parts of it it is like walking through the woods with Christmas lights on all the trees (and getting to see the occasional animal in a lit cage). We went to the Zoo Lights a couple of years ago when Hazel was almost two but the night was extremely cold. This year we picked a night that was unusually warm.  Much more fun to walk around in less layers.
Daddy and Hazel strolling along the path
We got to see the bald eagle, the arctic fox, an owl and reindeer as well as a river otter.
The reindeer comes to say hello
After strolling through the animals we went over towards the gift shop and found this photo prop.
Sorry, Steve is not great with the camera.

Then we headed to Santa's Castle for Hazel's third picture with Santa this year. And saw the many displays outside of it which included lights, dolls, a train and much more.

Then it was time for the rides. Hazel wanted to go on the carousel. The last time we had come to Zoo Lights was the first time she went on a carousel ever.
And of course a trip to the zoo is not complete without a ride on the train.
Then we stopped at the snack bar for some hot apple cider and popcorn and headed home for dinner.

Our other big activity this week was on Saturday we went to a living nativity. We invited Steve's mother to join us. We traveled just over half an hour to a church that hosts a Journey to Bethlehem for three nights. They literally have you pretend you are journeying from Nazareth to Bethlehem for the census. You get to see Roman soldiers, the wisemen, shepherds with live sheep and goats, the inn keeper, angels, and of course the holy family. It was an amazing experience. Hazel is hoping to go back every year.

When you first get there you are taken into the sanctuary for a preview of the event and getting the important information before hand of the prophets and the history of Mary, etc. Plus you get to see the ruins of King Herrod's castle and all sorts of things. Then when it is your groups turn you are taken into another room which is set up as Joseph's Carpentry Shop and you are met with your leaders for the journey and are given your papers (and identity for the journey). Hazel's journey identity was Hazael! What a coincidence! The first stop was map maker who showed the journey on a map and explained why you do not take the direct route (it is not safe). Then you were stopped by beggars and stopped at a rabbi's encampment. Then the Roman soldiers stop you and ask to see papers and ask all sorts of questions of a few. Hazel was scared of the soldiers and was clinging to me, so they left us alone.

Then we met the wisemen who showed us their gifts and explained what each was. Then we saw the shepherds and sheep. There the angel came to give the good news and then more angels sang. Then we went to the inn to find a room and of course there was none and we were taken to the stable where we found Joseph and Mary and Jesus (a two-month-old baby well wrapped). After the shepherds left the children were allowed to move closer to the family and there was not much room for my shy little girl so the narrator lifted her onto a hay stack and held her there while he spoke to us. This is the one picture I took. You can see Hazel on the hay stack looking at the holy family.
Then we went back inside the church where they served cookies, coffee, hot cocoa and had a story corner for children and information on the church, etc. everywhere. We all agreed it was an amazing experience and we definitely want to go back again next year. If you get a chance to go to a living nativity I highly recommend it.


Now it is your turn to share how your family has spent some quality time lately.


~ please link up (family time oriented giveaways are ok, but please no Etsy shops)
~just crafts will be deleted since this is to share family times ~ use our button so others can join the fun


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~ we'd love for you to follow us Crafty Moms Share and Happy Whimsical Hearts
~ check out our Happy Family Times Pinterest board where we will be pinning some of our favorite ideas



Ok, now for our PARTY!! Please share your FUN Family Times!!

Christmas Around the World - Christmas in Kenya


I joined an amazing group of bloggers put together by Beth at Living Life Intentionally to present Christmas Around the World. Each blogger is presenting how Christmas or a winter holiday is celebrated in different countries around the world. Some will be writing from their own experiences and some, like me, will be writing based on research. Today I present Christmas in Kenya.
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Happy Hanukkah


Sharing Saturday is still open. Please stop by to see the features, share your child-oriented posts and be inspired by the amazing ideas shared!

With all my Christmas excitement, I thought it would be nice to include a Hanukkah post. I grew up in a town that had a large Jewish population, so I often think of the Jewish holidays. Since I am scheduled to do my Christmas in Kenya post for the Christmas Around the World series Monday, I will have two Multicultural Monday posts, but this one will be on Sunday.
Sharing Saturday Feature--from Boy Mama Teacher Mama: Clothespin Menorah

A little history about Hanukkah. I'll be honest, I did not know the story behind Hanukkah though I am sure I must have heard it at some point. I took some books out of the library to help me with it.

 
A World of Holidays: Hanukkah by Anne Clark, David Rose, and Gill Rose gives much information on the holiday historically as well as currently. So the story is a long time ago (more than 2000 years ago), a Syrian ruler of Israel, King Antiochus, demanded that everyone in his land believe in the Greek gods instead of the one Jewish God. He actually made it a crime to teach about one God and the punishment was death. He also sent his soldiers into the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem on their horses and put a statue of Zeus in there. He also ordered the soldiers to make pig sacrifices to Zeus in the temple. These acts made the Temple unholy for the Jewish people. Well a priest named Mattathias and his sons refused to give up their own beliefs. They fled to the hills and took the small number of Jews with them to remain loyal to their religion and to fight the Syrians. After Mattathias died, his son, Judah, led the Jews. Even though the Jews were outnumbered they continued to win battles and eventually defeated Antiochus and his men. They returned to their homes in Jerusalem and began to cleanse the temple so they could rededicate it to God. While cleaning it they found a jar of oil that had been used to keep the menorah lit. Antiochus had his men distinguish the flame since the light of the candles represented God's presence to the Jews. This jar of oil was enough to keep the candles lit for a day, but it would take much longer to get more oil. However they lit the candle using the oil (which was made from olives) and the miracle occurred--the lamp stayed lit for eight days!
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This is why Hanukkah lasts for eight days and is often called the Festival of Lights. Hanukkah means "rededication". The festival starts on the 25th day of the month of Kislev in the Jewish calendar. The candles are lit at sunset at each night of the eight nights. (The first night this year is/was Saturday the 8th.) The first candle is placed on the right side of the hanukiah (which many people refer to as the menorah), and each night after that a new candle is added to the left. An extra candle, the shamash or servant candle is used to light the other candles and then placed in the center of the hanukiah. Forty four candles are need in all to celebrate. The candles are lit left to right so the newest one is lit first.
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Latkes or potato pancakes and doughnuts are traditional foods for Hanukkah. The reason being the oil required to cook them. An easy way to introduce children to Hanukkah would be to make some latkes. There are recipes all over the web as well in many books. I have not made them since I was young so I will not attempt to share one with you.

Other ideas for introducing Hanukkah to children:
 
 Hanukkah by Miriam Chaikin tells the story of Hanukkah in great detail and explains how to celebrate it.






It's Hanukkah! by Jeanne Modesitt tells how a mouse family celebrates the holiday. This is a great book for young children to understand how families actually celebrate. At the end of the book there is the history of Hanukkah, how to light the menorah including blessings, how to play dreidel, as well as a recipe for latkes and the words and music to O Hanukkah words by A. Evronin.