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Thank You Snow Much – FREE Printable!

21 Jan

Do you have great neighbors??

The Happy Hubby and I are always thanking God for surrounding our Happy Home with really sweet and honest people.

I am constantly calling the gal next door for a cup of this or an egg for a recipe or even just to hang out!

So when our neighbors watched over our house for a few days while we traveled recently, we thought we’d better do something special to show them our appreciation…

We took a box of White Fudge Oreos (these might be a seasonal Christmas-y item at your local grocery store, so if you can’t find them, simply dip regular Oreos in some melted white chocolate and let dry) and some gel decorating pens.

Then we transformed those cookies into grateful snowmen!

I added a little snowman note to the whole presentation.

I think they came out super cute!

And, in case you were wondering how the Happy Buddy’s Snowmen Oreos turned out…

A work of art!

If you’d like to print this little Snowman Thank You Note to share your gratitude with someone you know, feel free!

Simply click the link below the image. :-)

Click HERE for your FREE Thank You SNOW Much Printable!

Happy Snowman Oreo Thank-ing! :-)

For the Birds… Not the Ducks

18 Jan

See those guys?

Let me introduce you to our Happy Home’s ducks.

Every day we wake up to a flock of these birds hanging out on our front lawn, hoping to discover a Cheerio or pretzel bit that has fallen out of the Happy Buddy’s lap when I pull him out of the car.

At first I thought those ducks were charming and I rather relished that nurturing feeling of providing a midday snack for them.  The Happy Buddy and I frequently dropped scraps of bread and crackers for fun on a sunny day.

But then they just kept coming.

Pretty soon it wasn’t just a few ducks looking for a nibble, but instead there were suddenly 75 ravenous crazy beasts taking over our lawn and practically running us down whenever we stepped outside!

To make matters worse, they started leaving their thanks in a very ungrateful manner.The Happy Buddy has become quite skilled at identifying duck poop.

So, dear Happy Home friends, this Winter, may you choose to look after the birds (those sweet creatures that flitter and flutter about and sing pretty songs and wrap your scarf around your neck – ever seen Sleeping Beauty?) and not the ducks.

Your pavement will thank you.

Here are a few ideas to get you started…

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The Moffatt Girls made these super simple bird feeders using just peanut butter, birdseed and a toilet paper roll!

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My Blessed Life had fun with her Happy Buddy making these Pinecone Bird Feeders.

Your Happy Buddies will enjoy mashing the cereal and rolling everything in peanut butter – what messy fun!

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The Chocolate Muffin Tree strung together a simple Bird Feeder Garland that looks almost good enough for a human to eat.

Plus, she shares the title of a really neat children’s picture book that is the perfect read for after Christmas.

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Under the Table and Dreaming just grabbed a box of Cheerios and some floral wire for a really cute and Valentine’s Day-ish Heart-Shaped Bird Feeder.

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You could also use a heart-shaped cookie cutter and this easy peasy recipe from Alphamomfor an early Valentine’s Day lawn decoration!

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Look at this colorful display of unbelievably easy Play-Doh Lid Bird Feeders in the trees over at Meet the Dubiens!

What a dazzling sight!!  Those birds are going to think a party hit their neck of the woods. :-)

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And, finally, Red Ted Art featured this tasty-looking Bird Cake Recipe that will have any of your flying friends coming back for more.

When Winter is toughest, the birds in your backyard will be so blessed by your thoughtful provisions.

So, while you are feeding the birds, I am going to be shooing the ducks away so that we don’t have to worry about stepping in their giant doodoos any more. :-)

Happy Feeding the Birds-ing!

15 Ways to Celebrate Winter in Florida

17 Jan

I grew up in New Jersey.

Snow was a regular part of my little girl life!

We used to have a trampoline in our backyard and when it snowed, we would jump off the trampoline into the snow.

What a thrill!

We also had this sled that did not have the steel runners (it was basically just a flat board of wood with a rope to hold on to).  When it would snow we would carry the sled to the top of our backyard slide, hop on the sled and race it down the slide.

Some of the best memories I have were whizzing across the snowy lawn on that sled!

And then, of course, there was that unbelievable anticipation for a Snow Day – no school. :-)

When my family moved to South Florida in 1997 and it was 85 degrees in January, we had to get creative about how to preserve all that Winter Fun.

Here’s what we came up with…

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1.  Turn your air conditioning down to 65 degrees or lower and wear hats, mittens, and scarves around the house.

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2.  Have an indoor snowball fight with sock balls or cotton balls.

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3.  Drink hot chocolate as often as possible.

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4.  Go the beach and build a snowman out of sand.

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5.  Decorate your house with lots of paper snowflakes.

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6.  Plan a visit to an indoor ice skating rink.

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7.  Check out books at the library that have Winter themes.

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8.  Have friends over for a soup and cornbread party.

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9.  Drape a white sheet over a folding table to make an igloo, or build an igloo out of sugar cubes (go HERE for directions).

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10.  Lie on the ground and make pretend indoor snow angels, or make them out of cotton balls.

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11.  Make a snowman craft.

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12.  Build an indoor campfire to warm you up (go HERE for directions).  Don’t forget to roast some marshmallows!

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13.  Whip up a batch of Snow Playdough.

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14.  Squirt shaving cream on the table and play in it.  It’s ‘snow.’

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15.  Play Hot Potato with an ice cube.

What do you think?!

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That’s enough Winter Fun to make even the hottest day cool.

Happy Celebrate Winter in Florida-ing! :-)

Snowflakes

16 Jan

We recently had an opportunity to visit somewhere where snow falls.

Let me tell you!  This South Florida girl spent a lot of time in front of the fireplace!

One night, the Happy Hubby was driving back to the house where we were staying and he called me.

He said, “Babe, I can barely see a thing because there are all these white bugs covering the windshield!”

Turns out those white bugs were snow. :-)

Here are a few fun crafts to celebrate God’s unique and beautiful white bugs snowflakes.

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First things first.

It is a very helpful skill to know how to make paper snowflakes.

You can hang them everywhere – windows, from the chandelier, bathroom mirrors, etc.

Martha Stewart gives a really nice step-by-step guide that will allow you to decorate your Happy Home this month with snow!

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The Artful Parent prefers using Coffee Filters to paper for her Happy Home’s homemade snowflakes.

She even jazzed them up a bit with a dazzling coat of watercolor paints!

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Crafts-n-Things for Children did a neat Snowflake Watercolor Resist project.

Simply draw snowflakes onto a piece of white paper using a white crayon.  Then have your Happy Buddy paint over the page with watercolors.

Such magic!

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Almost Unschoolers made the neatest Snowflake Window Clings (y’all know how passionate I am about those things!) out of glue.

You MUST check out this neat Puffy Paint Snowflake Project from Frugal Family Fun.

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I love this simple Snowflake Craft made out of Honeycomb Cereal from All Kids Network!

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This sweet project from PreKinders uses only a paper plate, a doily, and some paint!  Lovely!

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Grab your popsicle sticks, glue, and buttons to make these adorable Popsicle Stick Snowflakes from Ramblings of a Crazy Woman.

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Mom in Madison did a really fun science experiment!

They created Homemade Snowflakes using pipe cleaners, hot water, and Borax.

And now for a few Snowflake Snacks…

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Motherhood on a Dime gave her Happy Buddies some pretzel sticks and marshmallows to create their own yummy Snowy Snack.

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Family Fun shares an easy peasy way to transform your flour tortillas into Sweet Tortilla Snowflakes.

But the best part about snowflakes, Happy Home Friends, is that they are a wonderful tool for teaching your Happy Buddies about the way God created them.

No two snowflakes are the same.

Likewise, God made people to be unique and special.  No one else is like you or your Happy Buddy.  Jesus had a specific and perfect plan for each person He has made.

What a glorious thought!  And oh, the creativity of our Lord!

So, grab your little one today in a big hug (after you finish one of these great snowflake ideas) and remind them that they are One of a Kind!

Is it snowing where you are yet?

Or do you have White Bugs?

Happy Snowflake-ing! :-)

A Happy Home Winter Challenge – FREE Printable!

14 Jan

Sharing God’s love with the people in our world is one of the BEST ways to teach our Happy Buddies about God’s greatest commands for us – To Love Him and To Love Others.

Part of my mission as the Happy Home Fairy is to equip you with magical ways to bring the Good News to others.

This Winter, I thought it would be neat to give you a Happy Home Challenge.

The challenge is easy!

Simply print the 8 Snowman Cards (download at bottom of post) that say, “Jesus Loves You Snow Much.”

Cut them up.

Now here’s the fun part!

Decide as a family how you want to share your 8 cards.

The goal is to hand out all 8 cards by the end of January.

Here are a few ideas of ways to use your cards…

When you have visitors to your home this month and they leave their shoes by the door, slip a card in their shoe.

What a delightful surprise to find as they are preparing to leave!

When you are visiting someone else’s Happy Home this month, tape a card to their toilet seat lid before you leave as a happy little reminder.

When you are returning checked out materials to the library, slip a card between the pages of one of the books.

Only God knows who the recipient of such a pleasant message will be. :-)

Whip together a batch of Snow Crunch (AMAZING), slip into bags, and tie cards on with some pretty ribbon for sweet gifts to give out to the people who work at your grocery store or church.My Happy Home friend made a whole family of these Oreo Sucker Snowmen and brought them to our January MOMs group.

She added the cards to the pops for an extra little blessing.

Slip a card into your Happy Buddy’s lunchpail. :-)

Next time you fill your car with gas, leave a note on the nozzle for the next customer to enjoy.

I’ll bet your mail person will LOVE hearing the Good News!

And, yes, I am aware that our mailbox is in desperate need of a scrubbing. :-)

I just love sending notes of encouragement to the bank tellers through that magic little delivery tube.

Those bank employees must get tired of passing money and checks and deposit slips back and forth all day, so why not mix it up for them? :-)

And just the other day I slipped one of my cards into our water bill payment.

Oh, the possibilities are endless!

I can’t wait to hear about some of the fun ways your Happy Home shares Jesus’ love this month!

In the mean time, I’ll be praying for all the many recipients of the Best News EVER!

Have SNOW much fun!

Here’s a sneak peak at the cards… (link at bottom of post.)

Get your FREE Printable Jesus Loves You Snow Much Cards HERE!

Happy Happy Home Winter Challenge-ing! :-)

Mmmm… Hot Chocolate

13 Jan

When it gets chilly outside, there’s only one drink I can think of that will warm me right up…

Hot Chocolate.

Get ready, Happy Home Friends, for Hot Chocolate Overload.

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Let’s start things off with a recipe for the BEST Homemade Hot Cocoa.

You can find this cup of deliciousness over at the amazing i am baker.

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After you’ve poured a cup of the recipe above, don’t forget to toss in some Snowman Decorated Marshmallows.

Meet the Dubiens simply used some food markers to create these whimsical additions!

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Or, instead of cute marshmallows, Hot Chocolate Spoons from Alphamom are perfect for dipping into your steaming mug of wonder.

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OR…

You could make the homemade hot cocoa, decorate some marshmallows, make some hot chocolate spoons, AND a few other things to create a Hot Chocolate Bar for your Happy Home to enjoy!

I blogged about the Hot Chocolate Bar we did at our MOMs meeting last year, but it pales in comparison to this one I found at the Celebrations At Home blog.

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These yummy looking (and super simple to make) Hot Chocolate Cupcakes from Cupcakes for Party will also warm you up!

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Aren’t these Hot Chocolate Cup Cookie Treats from Lemon Drop the sweetest things EVER?!?

What a fun after school surprise!

And, of course I had to throw in a few hot chocolate-themed crafts…

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Creekside Learning had the brilliant idea to put together a Pretend Hot Chocolate Cafe for her Happy Buddies.

They spent an entire day creating make-believe cups of hot cocoa (brown foam pieces and white pom-poms) and selling it to friends and family.

You have to see the rest of the pictures from their sweet adventure HERE!

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Finally, Kiboomu featured this adorable Construction Paper Hot Cocoa Cup – complete with mini marshmallows glued to the top!

I hope you found just the right thing to keep your tummy warmed up all Winter long!

Happy Hot Chocolate-ing! :-)

P.S. If you are a fan of white chocolate, then check out Happy Home Fairy’s recipe for Snow Cocoa HERE.

Snowman Snacks

12 Jan

Yesterday we looked at a ton of fantastic and adorable Snowman Crafts to help your Happy Buddies beat those stuck-inside-all-day Winter Blahs.

Today we’re going to make things Snow(man) Scrumptious. :-)

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The best part of waking up is having Snowman Pancakes from Apartment Therapy to look forward to!

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Or these Snowman Donuts(piece of cake to make!) would make anyone’s morning a bright one.

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Doesn’t this Melted Snowman Toast Snack from Peonies and Poppyseeds make you chuckle?

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It won’t take long to transform your Happy Buddy’s sandwich into a snowman.

See full directions HERE.

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Delia Creates made a Snowman Pizza for her Happy Home’s dinner one Winter’s Eve.

You could totally do this with refrigerated pizza dough, or if your grocery store has it, pick up some fresh dough from the bakery.

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I love these Snowmen Marshmallow Stick Snacks from Random Thoughts of a Supermom!

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Family Fun has a healthier Snowman on a Stick Snack that will be a hit, snow doubt!

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The amazing Munchkin Munchies has the recipe for an unbelievably adorable Snowman Party Mix – complete with Snowman Cookie Hats thrown in.

Seriously.

If someone made that for me right now in my pregnant state, it would be gone in a matter of minutes!! :-)

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These Melted Snowman Cookies from Crazy Domestic just make me smile.

Go on – make a batch for your Happy Buddy’s class this month.

Or your Happy Hubby’s office. :-)   They’ll love it.

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The creative Jill Dubien sure knows how to make food fun!

These Snowman Cupcakes are no exception – and they couldn’t be easier to make.

You’re going to be snow full after trying these simple and yummy Snowman Snacks.

But that’s okay… Any snowman would tell you that it takes a few extra rolls to make a good midsection.

Happy Snowman Snack-ing! :-)

Snowman Crafts!!!!

11 Jan

Snowmen.

Although a little flaky, snowmen are the coolest best friends you could ask for!

After all, they are well rounded, and come with their own broom. :-)

Here’s a round-up of Snowman Crafts that will melt your heart!

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Surprise your Happy Buddies this month with a Snowman Decorated Juice Box like one of these from Random Thoughts of a Supermom.

What a fun think to find nestled in their lunch bag right alongside their PB&J!

Plus, they are a cinch to make. :-)

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Speaking of lunch bags…

Busy Bees transformed a simple white lunch bag into an adorable snowman!

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Some construction paper, glue and cottonballs will keep your Happy Buddy busy as they put together this sweet Cottonball Snowman from Simple As That.

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You know I love anything that involves re-purposing toilet paper rolls!

Construction paper decorations are all you need to make these easy peasy Snowman Toilet Roll Friends from Squidoo.

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Grab your popsicle sticks and some paint and make a whole Popsicle Stick Snowman Family!

What a fun, personalized gift to bring your Happy Buddy’s teacher this month.

Army Wife Quilter has the directions HERE.

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This is a super clever Snowman Wintery Scene that was featured at From Dates to Diapers.

Your Happy Buddies will love using an old toothbrush and some white paint to create the snowy background!

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Whip up a batch of Happy Home Fairy’s yummy Snow Crunch and stick it in a decorated Snowman Baby Food Jar from All Kids Network.

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Babbling Abby set her Happy Buddies up with an equal mixture of Elmer’s Glue and Shaving Cream to create these Super Fluff Snowmen.

The cool thing is that the project will dry puffy!

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Hummingbirded also has a neat idea for painting a Snowman scene…

Paint a sheet of small bubble wrap with white paint.  Lay it on top of a piece of blue paper and press lightly.

When the paint is dry, add a snowman cut from another piece of paper.

What a neat medium and cool Winter effect!

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And, finally, you can magically turn a white trash bag into a Trash Bag Snowman courtesy of Busy Bee Kids Crafts!

Wouldn’t that be a fun thing to have in the entryway to your Happy Home as a special Winter greeting for any visitors??

Wasn’t that snow fabulous?!

Now, off you go in a flurry to make one!

Happy Snowman Craft-ing! :-)

A Blizzard’s Comin’!

10 Jan

Temperatures will be dropping this week at Happy Home Fairy!

Expect lots of snow flurries and some serious chill!!

You might need to make a snowman (or two).

Snow Angels are a must, as well.

Make sure you stock up on blizzard pantry staples like hot chocolate and mini marshmallows and plenty of ingredients for homemade soups.

Throw on a scarf and some gloves whenever you read a post this week because it’s going to be like Antarctica, people!!!!

See you tomorrow!!! Brrrrrrrrr!

Happy Blizzard-ing! :-)

Super Bowl Fun!

5 Feb

I couldn’t resist taking a quick detour from all the Love Fun to bring you a quick post about how to have a Happy Home during the Super Bowl!

Here are a few quick and easy ideas to celebrate the game…

1.  A football helmet makes a clever ice bucket or handy dip server!

2.  Food for the Fans – Throw some of this Hubby Loves It Chili or my Meatball Glory recipe in your slow cooker, fill bowls with chips and salsa, whip up some pigs in a blanket, and the snack mix below.  Oh, and don’t forget the Oreo Ball Footballs.

3.  A quick snack idea if you didn’t have time to make my recipe for THE GREATEST SNACK MIX EVER – Toss 1 bag of popped popcorn with a bunch of dried cranberries and a bunch of honey roasted peanuts.  Combine some powdered sugar with a couple of teaspoons of cinnamon and sift over the popcorn mixture.  This is ONE OF MY FAVORITE quick and easy snacks.  I think I ate this every night during my first trimester with the Happy Buddy. :-)

If you happen to be a Packers fan, call it Packers Popcorn and decorate like in the picture below!

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4.  An activity for the kids if they are not that into watching football – Give them a few products (bag of chips, toothpaste, a random sock, a rock, etc. – the more obscure the better) and tell them that they need to come up with their own amazing commercials featuring the random items to share during half time.  This will be hilarious.

5.  Play Wall Football – basically like Pin the Tail on the Donkey but trying to get the footballs inside the goal post.

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6.  Make copies of this printable Super Bowl Predictions Game.  Players fill in their predictions at the beginning of the game and then tally the points at the end to see who is the winner.  Super fun!

7.  Set up a paper football game on a card table!  Find directions to make the paper football HERE.  Then go HERE to find out how to play.

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The Happy Hubby, Happy Buddy and I are getting together with some friends for the game!  I’m so excited!  I love any excuse to celebrate something! :-)

I hope your favorite team wins!

Happy Super Bowl-ing! :-)

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