kids Archives - Summer Adams

Kids Easter Table and Craft

Summer — Tue, 04 Apr 2017 13:00:38 +0000

The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, it feels like Spring and Easter is going to be here in less than 2 weeks! My kiddos and I decided to do something fun and have a few friends over. We are sharing with you our Kids Easter Table and Craft today! Joining me are some fabulous friends!

Thanks so much, to my regular readers, for joining me today and for coming back on a regular basis. I just love having you and LOVE your sweet comments and ideas! Welcome to those of you coming from one of my friend’s blogs that have shared today, or maybe you’re just here visiting for the first time. I’m so happy to have you and I hope you come back often! I’m so grateful that my friend, Annie from ZevyJoy organized and hosted this blog hop for all of us moms to share with you!

I love creating a tablescape. It’s one of my favorite things to do. And my kids, now that they’re a little older, have looked at it as something fun to help with now instead of it being a chore, which I’m grateful for. So I let them really get involved with this idea we discussed. They wanted to invite a few friends over to play and have lunch and create an Easter tablescape. Instead of sharing a craft alone today, our “craft” is actually the food that we created. It was too fun! I love getting my kids involved in baking, cooking, or entertaining on any level.

We used everything we already had, which included this wrapping paper, that we cut into 6 equal pieces and used as placemats, over a white tablecloth. Kids make a mess no matter how hard they try and these “placemats” are cute, inexpensive and can be tossed in the garbage afterwards. Winning! And you’d think out of all my ~~buying~~ hoarding of cute napkins (as a result of standing in a Home Goods line too long and throwing one of each in my cart, of every holiday and season), that I’d have some cute Easter ones to match. Nope. But these blush heart ones from Valentine’s work perfectly, I think.

I used clear mix ‘n match dessert pedestal dishes (for carrots and ranch dip), small beaded white plates for finger sandwiches and fruit, mix ‘n match blue and aqua egg plates for rolls and desserts….

…cute pink crown glasses, and then these darling little bunny straws from the Target Dollar Spot (aka the Sucker Spot, as my hubby calls it LOL!). I buy it all! These are irresistible though, don’t you think?!

I had just picked up lilies from the supermarket a few days prior, so those were our main centerpiece.

I did go and buy daisies at the store since I had forgotten more toilet paper the day before, but they were only $5 for a bunch. Daisies just seem so innocent and child-like, don’t they? And they’re so perfect for a kids Easter table at Spring. They looked cute here in a couple of milk bottles I had in my “stash”. (Please don’t think I’m a hoarder haha! I just love to entertain so I have stocked up on so many things over the years.)

We grabbed some cute bunny fwends and put them along the table…

…and please tell me you saw these cute bunny place card holders in the Target Dollar Spot too! I may have grabbed ~~every single one they had left~~ just a few when they first came out for an occasion such as this. So glad I did! (wink)

I made some quick bread dough and had the kids help me roll and twist it out and make these easy, cute bunny rolls.

I just love the little tail on them! The kids loved those!

We also made these pretzel chicks but mama forgot to get a picture of all of them finished {face palm} but you can see the very first one on the left to get an idea and we got the recipe and instructions from this recipe. My kids love anything with pretzels and did this all on their own. They really enjoyed it. They’re 9 and 11 so it was perfect for their age and skill level an didn’t need my help at all.

The third treat, or “food craft”, we made were these adorable bunny cupcakes. They baked them without my help, (just my supervision), frosted them, added the ears and face with marshmallows and candies…..

…and gave them a little tail. We chose to use strawberry boxed cake mix, since that’s what we had in the pantry. It didn’t occur to me until I “taste-tested” it, as every mom must do, that biting into this bunny and revealing its pink insides might be a little gruesome. Hmmmmmm…..at least it was strawberry cake mix and not red velvet, right?! Yes, they noticed and thought it was gross which meant it was hilarious and that conversation went on and on. Moving on….

Let it be known that I almost didn’t buy this ginormous glittery white bunny last year because I was trying to be good and convince myself that I had plenty of glitter bunnies. I’m so glad I dismissed that thought. He’s just so cute and perfectly sparkly in my dining room, especially during our little Kids Easter Lunch. Our last touch was…

…finding our glittery “Happy Easter” banner from PB Kids last year.

It’s like icing on the cake! And we were all ready to have our friends over. Or were we????

Beckham had one last fun idea… Just like we drew hearts with sidewalk chalk at Valentine’s, he wanted to draw Easter Bunny paw prints all up the walkway and up to the front door. Ummmmm….adorable! I love that kid!

He’s so clever and I just LOVED that idea so so much! The kids pulled up and immediately got excited over these paw prints and couldn’t wait to see what we had for them inside.

They all played and had a great time and had plenty of sugar to keep them full of energy for quite a while!

Here are some fun shopping links below of Easter tabletop or party items, for your convenience.
(You can read my full disclosure here.)

I’m so pleased you could join me today! I would love it if you subscribed at the top of the page in order to receive my weekly emails of all my latest posts and hear about your next month’s calendar and freebies. You can also follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook to see what I’m up to in creating a home and lifestyle of inspiration!

Now, please continue on to see my fabulous friends joining me today to see what they share! Don’t forget to pin away!

Kid’s Easter Table by Summer Adams

How To Dye Eggs With Food Coloring by TIDBITS | Easter Wreath by Shades of Blue Interiors | Easter Egg Decorating Idea – Mini Floral Bunny Ears by A Burst of Beautiful | DIY Easter Sign – Hello Peeps by My Sweet Savannah

DIY Bunny Napkin Rings by Craftberry Bush | A Kindred Easter with Kindred Vintage & Co. | DIY Metallic Easter Eggs with Maison de Pax | Spring Garden DIY Easter Centerpiece by Elliven Studio

Bunny Ears Bags and Free Printable by Ella Claire | Free Printable Easter Cards by Boxwood Avenue | Simple Modern Easter Tablescape by Cherished Bliss | DIY Vintage ‘Happy Easter’ Eggs by So Much Better With Age

Printable Watercolor Easter Banner by Nina Hendrick Design Co. | DIY Bunny Garden Easter Basket by Zevy Joy | Easter Cake – Paleo Coconut Pineapple Cake with Topper by Nesting With Grace | Moss Wrapped Candle by Design, Dining and Diapers

I hope you’re enjoying your Spring!

xoxo,

The post Kids Easter Table and Craft appeared first on Summer Adams.

Soda Shoppe Valentine’s Family Night

Summer — Thu, 26 Jan 2017 11:00:55 +0000

It’s almost February which means my next favorite holiday will arrive soon after…Valentine’s Day! I’ve said it for years….I love LOVE! I love celebrating those that I love and mean so much to me. Josh and I are really good about going out on dates regularly, meeting for lunch, and taking vacations alone (in between family vacations with our children). But on Valentine’s Day, we make sure to spend it with our children and celebrate as a family. So many parents I’ve talked to say that it sounds like a fun idea but are not sure how to make it a fun family tradition. Well, today I’m solving that problem and bringing together some of my favorite Interior & Lifestyle Bloggers, that also happen to be some of the sweetest and most talented mothers, to share with you 11 Kids Valentine’s Party Ideas to do at home. What a FUN tour, right?! Make sure to get your fingers ready to tap and pin each of these posts to Pinterest.

Welcome to my friends who regularly visit AND big welcome to those of you visiting for the first time and are coming from Erin at Sunny Side Up. Didn’t you just love Erin’s ideas? She is darling and always so creative and talented. I love the warmth and love that oozes out of each blog post of hers.

Today I’m sharing a fun idea we had to go a little retro and have a “Soda Shoppe Valentine’s Family Night”. I had something completely different to share with all of you and THEN my son, Beckham, said something about Mommy growing up in the old-fashioned days and wondered if we had colored TV’s. You should have seen the look on my face! I was born in the late 70’s so….yes, we had colored television. I told him that he was referring to the 50’s and since he clearly didn’t know much about the 50’s, one of my favorite eras ever, it was a no-brainer what this Valentine family night’s theme needed to be. You bet your bottom dollar that I turned on Grease and played the soundtrack as quickly as I could. It was swell! ;-p

I wanted to use everything we had and not spend much. I only purchased a few little fun things. We had poodle skirts (I’ve got them ready to go at all times ha ha), we had a vintage tea cart and soda glasses, and we had some vinyl records from another project I did. So we just needed food and music and games and we were set! And instead of using our Dining Room, I decided to keep it quaint and stay in our kitchen nook, on our little round white table. It seemed more fitting somehow.

Oh, I should point out that even though all 4 of us were present, my husband passed on the photo ops for this party and stayed with me behind the camera and, while I had my poodle skirt on, I opted out of being photographed because I’ve got a horrible cold and it shows. You’d thank me, if you could only see me ha!

I grabbed some old vinyl records that I’d purchased at The Salvation Army a while ago for $1 each and used them as chargers. I’ve had red and heart plates that I’ve collected over the years and heart napkins as well. I kept this party simple and ran to Whataburger because I thought that the whataburger menu was better than most of the other fast food places around (it’s a Texas favorite but you can also choose In-N-Out). I grabbed some burgers and fries, just the way we like ’em.

I used a small cake stand from the Target Dollar Spot for the middle of my table to act as a pedestal for my retro diner menu and salt & pepper shakers.

I’m sharing this FREE PRINTABLE I created on Photoshop for this retro diner menu with you (for personal use only, copyright laws apply). I found the sign for less than $2 at IKEA and they always carry them.

One of the things I had to order (because they added so much and were just sooooo cute) were these Classic Pink Cadillac Party Food Boxes and placed a box of chocolates in them for each member of our family. You could also add cookies or popcorn or candy, etc. They are so fun, aren’t they?! Included is the cute checkered tissue paper.

No 50’s diner would be complete without Coca Cola bottles and milkshakes. While I had intended to make strawberry milkshakes, we had some strawberry Fanta soda and vanilla ice cream so I just made these yummy Strawberry Soda Floats. Easy peasy and sooooo yummy!

As far as milkshakes go, I grabbed some yummy cupcakes from my grocery bakery and added chocolate syrup, maraschino cherries, and cut off part of a red-striped paper straw to look like a milkshake. Milkshake cupcakes….that’s what we’re calling them and they were terrific.

This vintage tea cart has made an appearance over and over in our family parties and we use it often to entertain or to hold our hot cocoa bar (search hot cocoa bar or tea cart on my blog to see all the ways I’ve used it).

Iam so glad I had it for my Soda Shoppe Valentine’s Family Night. After dinner, we grabbed those chocolate graham crackers off the bottom shelf of the cart and all the fun candies and we made…..

….LOVE SHACKS!! (cue music) Oh, and of course our “jukebox” (a.k.a. Alexa, our Amazon Echo) was playing all of ~~our~~ my favorite 50’s music that I created on a playlist. Mixing a little water with powdered sugar until it’s really thick makes the perfect “cement” to put together your Love Shack.

While Brooklyn was trying for a more traditional look, Beckham had had enough and went for a more adobe-looking Love Shack….like something we’ve driven past on our drives through New Mexico. Ha! Let’s face it…all they care about is finishing it so that they can pick off the candy or eat the leftover candy. But it was so fun.

While the game Twister may have not been invented until the 60’s, it was a retro game that I know my kids love and laugh hysterically over, as they try to cheat and knock over the other person. We had to bring it out. Please tell me if this sounds familiar!

Of course, NO party is a successful party in The Adams’ Home without a dance party. The sun was setting too so it was the perfect time for a sock hop!

Aaaaaaand….they are gonna kill me one day for sharing this, I’m sure, but I can’t help myself.

Our playlist for the night included the soundtrack from Grease and also many songs from this list I found online. Oh! And “Love Shack” of course! These 50’s tunes are PERFECT for a retro Valentine’s Party!

Here are the items or similar items used that I’ve linked below for your shopping convenience and to help re-create this Soda Shoppe Valentine’s Family Night.

Thanks so much for joining me today! I would love it if you subscribed at the top of the page in order to receive my weekly emails of all my latest posts. You can also follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook to see what I’m up to in creating a home and lifestyle of inspiration! Hope to see you soon!

NEXT PARTY —> Head on over to see what my amazing friend Annie at Zevy Joy has in store for you! Every post of hers just melts my heart and I always look forward to the next!

Make sure not to miss a single party! Here are all of the hosts below:

Wishing you the Happiest Valentine’s Day, celebrated with the one(s) you love most!

xoxo,

The post Soda Shoppe Valentine’s Family Night appeared first on Summer Adams.

Winter Wonderland Party with Pottery Barn Kids

Summer — Thu, 01 Dec 2016 09:00:05 +0000

It has been said that I’m a fun mom. Maybe not all the time (of course, when it’s chore time), but it’s been said and I’ve recorded it in case either of my kids ever forget it. Ha! I love to do fun things with them and I NEVER miss an opportunity to throw some sort of party with them or for them. I look for any excuse to have a party and I want them to have lots of magical memories from their childhood. So, in moving back to Texas this spring, we are now living closer to some of our besties that we’ve missed so much and we really wanted to do something special with them since they live on the other end of the Metroplex and don’t get to see them as often as we’d like. I thought it would be fun to throw some sort of winter party, especially since we dream of getting snow here in Dallas but do not. And then the idea came! It would be a Winter Wonderland Kids Party with the help of my oh-so-gracious friends at Pottery Barn Kids.

My amazing and talented friend, Kate Jolliffe of TheEverydayHostess.com, and I recently had lunch here in Dallas and talked about working on a fun project together so, naturally, I turned to her for help. Kate is definitely the “hostess with the mostest” and knows better than anyone how to throw a fabulous party. She lives in Uptown Dallas and knows that area better than I do. With Kate’s suggestion, we decided to head over to the beautiful Reverchon Park to set up a party there. With hills and bridges and rock steps and lovely fall trees, it was the perfect location. I went over and met with the SWEETEST friends at our Pottery Barn Kids Store here in Dallas on Knox Street to get everything we needed to create this “Winter Wonderland” in our heads.

There were must-haves on my list to successfully create this Winter Wonderland Kids Party. First, we hung the beautiful FaLaLa Glitter Garland in the trees. I added some snowflakes from local craft and home stores and some of the PBK Large Felted Wool Snowflake Ornaments on different branches as well. It was a lovely backdrop.

Every party needs a “party table” to gather at for sweets and for crafts. I chose the Grey Kids Table but with White Kids Chairs. I only grabbed Brooklyn’s vanity chair from her room because I thought it would be fun with the fur on top (see more on Brooklyn’s Tween Bedroom Makeover HERE). PBK has one here that is just gorgeous.

I always love for my kids to create things and they love it because they are so artistic.

Beckham and his friend, Roman, started off our snowflake-making craft. We decided we could make a garland of them later or hang them from trees or around the home.

Of course, as 8 year-old boys, their attention span only lasted so long before the silliness got the best of them and they took snowflake-making to another level, ha!

There’s more of that but I’ll spare you all the pictures!

But I will show you a close-up of this White Felt Tree from PBK this year. It even has a glitter star on top!

And just when you think PBK has thought of everything, then they come out with this gorgeous Christmas Fur Runner for the kids tables. Yes please!! I need them for my adult Christmas table as well, thank you! Don’t they just make everything so fun?

During the snowflake-making with the boys, I look over to see the girls playing and talking in our little cozy spot to the left. Brooklyn thought it would be fun to read to Gemma and Carmella while they snuggled with some stuffed animals, like this sweet plush bear. This is as close as it gets to having little sisters so I’m grateful for these sweet friends of ours.

I think Gemma LOVED this book! How cute does she look on this new Faux Fur Lounge Chair?!

Carmella is sitting on one of my absolute favorite chairs, the Shimmer Velvet Dusty Blush Anywhere Chair. Oh how I wish it came in my size! (hint hint Pottery Barn haha)

These Green Flocked Trees in the background helped give us that element of a Winter Wonderland that we lack in this Dallas park…pine trees. They light up too and are battery-operated so that was perfect when the sun was going down. It was beautiful!

They ran around and played in this beautiful park. There was tag, hide and go seek, exploring…and then this happened. A cute brother-sister moment that I, of course, yelled “sit back down!” as they wanted to get up, so that I could take a picture and capture the moment. Any moms out there do this? Please {oh please} tell me I’m not the only one, ha! But when they’re getting along so well and having a “moment”, a mother has to capture it on camera. And speaking of precious, don’t you love those Glitter Houses next to Beckham? I decided I had to have them for my Winter Wonderland at home (stay tuned for that post coming next week). And the new PBK High-Low Faux Fur Throw is sooooo dreamy and soft! We are all obsessed! I want one in every room of my house this winter.

Kate and I also threw some of these gorgeous and soooooo soft Faux Fur Pillows in ivory and grey (and another Plush Polar Bear) to make this spot comfortable and relaxing. They are perfect to throw on a bed and I’d even throw them on a sofa.

As soon as Brooklyn and Beckham left this cozy little area, Gemma and Carmella saw this adorable pair of Plush Reindeer and ran over to make friends. Is that the cutest thing or what?

Gemma had no more patience for her new “friends” that weren’t talking back to her. Toddlers! However, Carmella stayed and we caught her asking them all sorts of questions. Just adorable! I love that girl and her sweet little personality. She’s so imaginative.

What’s a “Winter Wonderland” Party without music? The minute these kids heard Christmas music coming through the speakers, they were up and dancing. They are a hoot when they all get together!

And of course…..our “too cool for school” 8 year-old boys had to separate themselves to the other side of the party like a bunch of tween-age boys in middle school and show off their robot dance moves! LOL! Oh, Roman and Beckham! They have been such a funny and sweet pair of friends since they were small toddlers! I love those 2 so much!

“What was that? Did someone say hot cocoa?” Yes, Gemma. We did!

Can you guess who was first in line? Yep. Little Miss Gemma. And because she’s the littlest one, they waited on her, hand and foot.

PBK has the CUTEST little white Tea Cart and I knew I had to have it at our party for hot cocoa.

Kate had planned on bringing hot cocoa and I knew she’d bring some fun candies and marshmallows. Those funny kiddos acted like they’d never had hot cocoa before (they had), with all their excitement. The simple things, right? The topping may or may not have been eaten before we even had the hot cocoa ready.

And as if they didn’t need more sugar, they’re kids and it’s a party. So bring on the sugar! Can you tell Beckham is excited? LOL! That kid eats ALL day long and just grows, and grows, and grows.

Kate made the most delicious cupcakes with this marshmallow frosting!

You’ll have to go and ask her for the recipe because wow…it was so so good!

She even put the cutest cupcake toppers on them. The kids went nuts over them. I’m telling you….Kate knows what everyone likes…..kids or adults. She’s the best!

Those faces say it all, don’t they?

Can we talk about these gorgeous calligraphy signs?

What fun pieces to have at our party! Kate used them HERE in a blog post where she made her own Winter Wonderland at home and I absolutely adored them!

What a FUN DAY!!! I’m so grateful that Kate helped me throw this Winter Wonderland Party for the kids and their friends.

And, of course, a HUGE THANK YOU {from me AND these cute kiddos – Carmella, Brooklyn, Gemma, Roman and Beckham} to my friends at Pottery Barn Kids for working with me on this fun party! I’ve always loved them but my friends at the Dallas Knox Street store couldn’t have been more helpful, as they always are, in helping me put this together. We had a LOT of fun and made some great memories with these dear friends of ours.

We also want to give a special thanks to Photography by Katsi here in Dallas for capturing these moments for us and also to JBScript for the lovely Calligraphy Signage.

This Christmas, and every Christmas to come, we will always have these memories and pictures of our Winter Wonderland Party in the park and will look back and remember how magical it was! Isn’t that a wonderful gift? To create magical memories? I think so. I have so many from my childhood and it has meant so much to me that I want that for my children.

I hope I’ve inspired you to do something FUN and even MAGICAL during this holiday season. Make it a season to remember!

To help you create your own Winter Wonderland Party for Kids, I’m sharing all of my Pottery Barn Kids items here below for your shopping convenience.

Wishing you the Merriest Christmas & the most Magical Holidays,

*This post contains affiliate links but all opinions are my own. I only work with and support brands and products that my family and I love and use.

The post Winter Wonderland Party with Pottery Barn Kids appeared first on Summer Adams.

10 Halloween Treats & Movies For Kids

Summer — Mon, 31 Oct 2016 01:59:51 +0000

Halloween is upon us and I decided to surprise our kiddos tonight with our final Halloween Movie Night as a family with coordinating treats. We pick a handful of movies every year and I make matching treats that go with the film. It is so much fun! I’m putting all 10 that I’ve posted here in one blog post for you to pin and look to whenever you need a fun idea over the coming years.

Excuse the fuzzy pic but my husband took this for me and we were struggling to get a good photo before the kids came downstairs.

1. Jack Skellington Cake Pops and “The Nightmare Before Christmas”

Tonight, they had no idea what we were watching because I made these Jack Skellington Cake pops before church while they were in the shower and getting ready. I haven’t done this one in a couple of years. But we watch “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and bring out these treats, dressed in a striped skirt and a Jack Skellington shirt I found at Target a few years ago. They go CRAZY over this! I loooove their reaction!

This one is fun because you can use Rice Krispie Treats and make them into balls or brownies or cake pops. After you dip them in white candy melting chips, let them dry completely.

Use a knife to trim the bottom, like you would when peeling an apple or potato, to make it rounder.

Use a black bakery pen or black icing gel or even black candy melting chips (melted) with a toothpick to create the Jack Skellington face. I’ll admit, I think they turned out cuter a couple of years ago (I used Rice Krispie Treat balls at that time) because my hand was so shaky today when I did these. Then I just take a small black and white ribbon and make a sort of “bow tie” to some of them that you can make upside down, with the head on top and the straw on the bottom. HERE in the original post from a couple of years ago when my kiddos were little. So so fun!

2. Boogers on a stick for “Shrek Thrilling Tales”

I’m embarrassed to say it, but these are DELICIOUS and might be my favorite treat because they are salty and sweet lol! Sounds gross, so sorry. But just try them. HERE is the post.

3. Broom Treat Bags for “Halloween Town”