Pretend City: {December} Activities & Toy Drive

The Holidays are a blast at Pretend City!

We went to a lot of the celebrations last year and they were all so fun!

This year they have even more fun things to celebrate all the

holidays and special events from different cultures.

Don't miss out!

Last year at the holiday celebrations!

Sunday, December 9 – Saturday, December 15: Lil’ Me Mornings – Hooray for Hanukkah 

Time: Monday – Friday 11:00a.m.; Saturday & Sunday 10:30a.m.

Celebrate Hanukkah at Pretend City! These rich and diverse circle times will work to explain and teach your child about the Hanukkah miracle and the importance of many of the traditional symbols of the holiday. Games, finger play rhymes, art projects and activities will ensure that your child has fun in the process.  

Sunday, December 16 – Sunday, December 23: Engaging Afternoons – Las Posadas Fiesta! 

Time:  Tuesday – Friday 3:30p.m.; Saturday & Sunday 2:30p.m.

This week we partake in a Las Posadas Celebration! Every afternoon your child will engage in activities that will help them have an understanding of the cultures that celebrate Las Posadas and some of the regional traditions associated with the holiday. Activities include “Bunuelos” cookie art, piñata party, glitter poinsettia art and the traditional Mexican game of domino trains.

Sunday, December 16 – Sunday, December 23: Lil’ Me Mornings – Christmas Countdown

Time: Monday – Friday 11:00a.m.; Saturday & Sunday 10:30a.m.

The countdown to Christmas has begun! The week that leads up to Christmas is an exciting and magical time for young children. The wait for Christmas Day can seem endless! This week’s daily morning activities will help to channel your young child’s anticipation into simple activities that celebrate the holiday.

Wednesday, December 26 – Monday, December 31: Lil’ Me Mornings – Festival of Kwanzaa

Time: Monday – Friday 11:00a.m.; Saturday & Sunday 10:30a.m.

Kwanzaa is here, and there are so many fun things to do! Each day, children will have the opportunity to participate in lighting another candle on the Kinara. Then, we will celebrate the Kwanzaa principle of the day through a variety of activities, including: working at the family stand, making gifts for family and friends, playing African games, and even having a “feast”! These morning activities are a perfect way to begin teaching your children about the meaning and traditions of this joyous holiday.

Holiday Open/Close Schedule:

• Monday, December 17 – Pretend City Open Full Day
• Monday, December 24 – Pretend City Closed Full Day 
• Tuesday, December 25 – Pretend City Closed Full Day 

In addition to the above activities - Pretend City has a Toy Drive for CHOC going on right now.
Don't miss seeing Santa on his motorcycle - it's so cool!

Friday, December 14: CHOC Toy Drive Pick up by Orange Coast Harley Owners Group

Time: 12:00p.m

Join us for a special visit from hundreds of Harley Davidson riders as they come to Pretend City to pick up all of the toys we’ve collected for the children at CHOC Children’s Hospital. Watch your child’s eyes light up as Santa comes riding in on his motorcycle. The sound of hundreds of motorcycles cruising around the corner is one your child will surely remember! They’ll even have a chance to come out and look at the motorcycles up close. With parent supervision of course!

Free Printable: {STACHING} Through the Snow Chalkboard Print

You know I love mustaches, so when I saw this saying on an ornament,

I had to make a printable to hang up in my home.

Because I appreciate all my wonderful readers, I'm sharing it with you!

First I made one with a Santa hat that wasn't "chalkified" and I liked it.

You can download it HERE!!!!!

Then I tried "chalkifying" the hat and I liked it even more.

You can download it HERE!!!!!

Fine Print:
Please feel free to use this printable for your personal use. 

Please be kind and give credit where credit is due. 

Any questions or comments please do not hesitate to contact me.

Please do not remove the watermark.

Christmas at the OC Zoo

Don't forget that the OC Parks have several great things going on this weekend.

First is Christmas at the Zoo - come see the animals get their gifts!

And there is also the Candlelight Walk at Heritage Hill Historical park.

Don't miss out!

December 8 – Christmas at the Zoo

10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Location: OC Zoo (inside Irvine Regional Park)

1 Irvine Park Road, Orange, CA 92869

Cost: $2 per child over age 3 (includes 1 adult) Parking: $5 per vehicle

Contact: (714) 973-6847

http://www.ocparks.com/oczoo/

December 8, 9 – Candlelight Walk

5:30 - 8:30 p.m.

Location: Heritage Hill Historical Park

25151 Serrano Road, Lake Forest, CA 92630

Product Review: I See Me! Personalized Coloring Books

I had the opportunity to check out the I See Me! personalized coloring books

and placemats. I have to say that they are so cool!!!

The "My Very Own Name" coloring book has animals bring

your child's name letter-by-letter in a darling rhyme.

This activity book was perfect for my JT because he LOVES animals! 

So I know that when he receives this for Christmas he is going to love

how the animals are coming especially to celebrate him.

 

He will also love that he can color the pictures - he loves to color!

I love the rhyming for my emerging reader because he can start

reading it independently and enjoying the story about his name

whenever he'd like to.

For Isabella I got the "My Very Own Fairy Tale" coloring book.
She is currently fairy tale obsessed - princesses, fairies, magic - she loves it!
This book has the same premise, but instead of animals, fairies
bring each letter of your child's name.

The books are fun, include great pages for coloring, and also have fun
learning activity pages at the end of the coloring book for your child
to complete and practice with her name.
I know that both of my kids will love finding them under the tree on Christmas Day.

I See Me! also makes beautiful personalized placemats.
They also have the fairy and animal themes, as well as many other
themes that are desirable to children.

I chose the My Very Own Name placemat for JT because of the animals.

For Isabella, I chose the My Very Own Fairy Tale placemat.
I especially liked that the alphabet is on the placemat, along with her name.

I was impressed with all aspects of the I See Me! personalized products.

They coloring books are well made and will make excellent gifts for my children.

Right now I See Me! has a really adorable personalized  

Very Merry Christmas Coloring and Activity Book.

Darling!!!

Along with the coloring books and placemats, I See Me! also has personalized

story books, gift sets, and puzzles.

I think any of the options would make fabulous gifts for that special child in your life.

One of the nice things about I See Me! is that the more coloring books
and placemats you buy at one time - the more you save!
There are coupon codes on the front page of each of those items - depending
on how many you plan on purchasing.

Disclosure: I received product for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Irvine Park Railroad Christmas Train 2012

Although we are big fans of the Irvine Park Railroad and have taken

the kids to the train since JT was little, we've never been on the Christmas Train.

This weekend we had the chance to experience the train for the first time

and I have to say that it was magical!

There is something special about twinkle lights, trees, and a train that takes you to Santa.

I felt like I was a kid riding on the Polar Express.

The kids loved it too!

It was exciting to begin a new Christmas tradition and share

the experience with the kids and see how excited they were to visit

with Santa and share their Christmas wishes.

Irvine Park Railroad Christmas Train

1 Irvine Park Drive

Orange, CA 92869

2012 dates

December 7th through 9th

5:00 pm – 8:00 pm. 

activities open at 4:00 pm.

December 14th

5:00 pm – 8:00 pm. 

activities open at 4:00 pm.

December 14th & 16th

2:00 pm – 8:00 pm. 

activities open at 1:00 pm.

December 17th through 21st

4:00 pm – 9:00 pm. 

activities open at 3:00 pm.

December 22nd & 23rd

4:00 pm – 9:00 pm. 

activities open at 1:00 pm.

Tickets for the Christmas Train 2012

$10.00 per person — Children younger than 24 months ride free.

Activity tickets — $4 or 15 tickets for $50

(Parking is $3 on weekdays, $5 on weekends, and free after 5:00 p.m.)

Purchase your tickets online NOW - the event is known to sell out.

 

Activities during the Christmas Train include:

Story Time with Mrs. Claus
Christmas Cookie Decorating
Carnival Games
Santa Claus Moon Bounce
Christmas Coloring Corner
Picture Stands

One of my favorite parts of the evening is the twinkle lights tunnel.

It is so cool! I could drive through it over and over again.

Remember to bring your camera to snap pictures and jackets to keep warm.

Disclosure: I was given tickets for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

TOO Cute Tuesday: Link Par-Tay #122

Last week I made a pretty sparkly shirt with my Silhouette SD
and the Tulip Shimmer Sheets - you must check out the tutorial.

Now onto TOO Cute Tuesday!

What did you make this week that is TOO Cute??

Come link up!

Rules:

• Must be made by you.
• Link up to the specific post - not your main blog.
• No Etsy shops or giveaways please :)
• Please post the button or link back here so more people can join in the fun.
• Visit some of the other participants and leave them some LOVE!

TOO Cute Tuesday will be open Tuesday-Saturday.
On Saturday or Monday I'll highlight some of my favorites
and then we'll start over on Tuesday!


<a border="0" href="http://funkypolkadotgiraffe.blogspot.com/search/label/Too%20Cute%20Tuesday" target="_blank"><img src="http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p12/mormishgirl/Blog/TooCuteTuesdayNEW.jpg" /></a>


This post brought to you by:

 I changed the linky party so that the most recently uploaded project will show up as number one. This way everyone gets a chance on top. So, look in the first spot for your project, not at the end. Thanks!!!

Easy DIY Holiday Sparkle Shirts with Tulip Shimmer Sheets

If anything says "Here comes Christmas!" it's GLITTER!
The sparkles, the twinkles, the glittery magic - it's my favorite!!!
Well, Tulip Shimmer Sheets make adding sparkle to your holiday clothes easy peasy!!!!
I recently got a box of shimmering Tulip goodness and I set to making
some gorgeous DIY shimmer shirts for Isabella and my new niece to wear this
Christmas season.
(You can see my entire haul of Tulip products HERE. Be kind - it's my first video.)



SUPPLIES:
Tulip Shimmer Transfer Sheets
Tulip Iron-on Glass Crystals
Tulip Cordless Heat Setting Tool
Plain t-shirt or onesie
Scissors and/or Personal Cutting Machine
Iron
Pressing cloth

Since this was a shirt for Isabella I had her help me pick out
a shirt for the project and she chose the gold Tulip Shimmer Sheet
to glam up her green Christmas t-shirt.
I decided to try out using my personal cutting machine to cut an intricate
snowflake shape for my shirts.

STEP ONE
Place the Shimmer Sheet with the "sticky" adhesive side down on your cutting mat.

STEP TWO
Load your design to be cut into your machine.
I had the best success with my cutting machine when I kept the design
away from the edges of the cut space.

STEP THREE
Load the Shimmer Sheet on the cut mat into your machine.
I did a few test cuts with the blue shimmer sheet I was using for my niece's
onesie to get the best setting.
On my machine I had the best success when I set the machine
to "flocked heat transfer material" and used my pink - deep cut blade.

STEP FOUR
Carefully remove the cut design from the cut mat.
I had my favorite pair of sharp scissors handy to snip any spots
that didn't cut all the way through. In cutting 4 snowflakes, I only had
one spot where I needed them.

STEP FIVE
Arrange your Shimmer Sheet pieces on your shirt in the desired pattern and
heat up your DRY iron to the setting appropriate for the fabric of your t-shirt.

As you can see my shirt is magically black because a certain 3.5 year old
decided she wanted a black shirt instead of a green one.

STEP SIX
Place a pressing cloth over the Shimmer Sheet pieces - being careful not to disturb your design.
Iron your design into place by pressing firmly for 40 seconds.
Check to make sure the pieces are set. Re-iron is necessary.

WOOHOO!
Now you have shimmering t-shirt awesomeness!

If you want to kick up the glam a few notches . . .
AND WHO DOESN'T???
. . . then read on.
Grab your Tulip Iron-on Glass Crystals and Cordless Heat Setting Tool.

STEP SEVEN
Arrange your iron-on glass crystals in the desired pattern.
Hold the button on your Heat Setting Tool for 5-10 seconds to heat the tip.
Be careful to only touch the plastic portion of the Heat Setting Tool.
Gently touch the tip to the top of the crystal - do not press too hard or the
heat setting tool will touch your t-shirt and scorch it just like an iron.
Hold for 5-10 seconds and allow crystal to cool and check that it is set.

Now you have a holiday shirt that is sufficiently shimmered!

Isabella insisted on putting her shirt on immediately,

which was perfect because I needed a model to take pictures

of my fantastic sparkly shirt.

To see other great holiday projects using Tulip Shimmer Sheets
be sure to check out these great sites!



You can find more Tulip products & projects on their website,
and find them on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

Disclosure: I wrote this post as part of a paid campaign with Tulip and Blueprint Social. The opinions in this post are my own.