Greening Sam and Avery

homemade christmas wrapping paper

We have done this activity before but it worked out so well last year that we are doing it again!

And here is Sam to explain exactly what we did today.

 

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The Nitty Gritty!

Here is our post from last year on making wrapping paper.

Wanted to share a few other Holiday ideas -

gift of an activity for classmates or friends

recycled paper christmas ornaments

 

 

our christmas tree

Here is our adventure from today picking out, cutting down and hauling out our own Christmas tree.

Inspecting what might be OUR tree.

Yup, this is the one. Time to cut it down.

And then somehow we have to get it back to the car! Oh yeah, that is why we have dads!!!

Sam loves how the "tree monster" chases us out of the tree lot!  And it was a LONG hike to find that tree.

What a great way to spend our first day back in the states.

No photos of the finished product yet because, well, I have decided to make Christmas magic at my house tonight and have all the decorations (over the whole house) be out and done when the girls wake up tomorrow. Gonna be a LONG night people!!

BUT I am not decorating the tree over night by myself, so that will wait for the girls to help tomorrow night.

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The Nitty Gritty!

Some may think it is not very green to cut down a tree or to have to replace your Christmas tree each year. BUT the land that Christmas tree farms are on is wonderfully useful land. The trees, grasses and other plants that are on the tree lot provide great habitat for animals, birds and insects. Because the families' livilihood depends on their being lots of trees each year for costumers they have to be constantly replanting and tending to the trees. We love supporting a local family farm instead of buying a plastic tree made in some other country. Plus, our town has Christmas tree recycling programs that turn the trees into a number of things, such as mulch for sale, for town playgrounds and are sunk in lakes around here for fish nurseries.

So, even though it might not be the "greenest" option, we love every part of our HUGE, wonderful smelling, cut-it-down-ourselves, real Christmas tree. And we make it as green as we can!

homemade crayons

Crazy crayons got me motivated to try recycling our own crayons and making some new crayons.

Just the other day Sam was coloring and purposely broke a crayon in half, then handed it to me and said "this one is broken, I need new crayons". This ended her coloring session for the day and we had to have a long talk about why we need to be more careful with our things. But sometimes crayons do break on their own. We have a lot of little broken crayons that I insist to Sam are still usable but she refuses to color with.

Today I grabbed all those little pieces and tried out making our own crayons. I actually have a tree mold from making christmas candy, so I made tree crayons today!

Super simple stocking stuffer made entirely from stuff I already had! LOVE THAT!! 

Have a homemade Christmas (yes, I am now using the name. who are we kidding...Christmas will be here before we know it!) post up already that you would like to share? Please leave the link in the comment section, I would love to see what you are making and share some green christmas ideas on my facebook page as well.

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The Nitty Gritty!

This is a project that Sam could have helped with and if it weren't a stocking stuffer for her too I would have let her help. She would have loved peeling all the paper off the crayons and breaking them into even smaller pieces. I would have had to do the oven part of it but she could have helped me pop them out of the molds.

I can see this being a fun kid project that we will do again in the future!

it's beginning to look a lot like

Nope. I am not going to say it. I am not going to say the name of the Holiday that we are all already thinking about. I can't say the name because it is too early to start thinking about it but I just can't help myself!

Presents have already been bought and hidden. Thought maybe there were some other moms out there as crazy as me and getting things ready already. So, I will share a few of the things I have set aside. Mostly books but a fun little treasure that I picked up for all the little girls in my life!

Books first because every little explorer needs new books for Christmas.

A Garden of Opposites, Nancy Davis

This one is for Avery and it is super cute! I love the simple pictures that are all related to the garden. The colors are bright and fun. And even though the opposites are simple, like same versus different, there is room to expand with your child and have them think even more about the opposites and the pictures. (Like why are these the same? What is different about these two? How do we know they are awake? etc.)

Compost Stew: An A to Z Recipe for the Earth, Mary McKenna Siddals

Super fun, cut paper images that clearly describe all the things you can put into a compost pile in alphabetical order! The long list of things that can be put in a compost pile is presented in a rhyming way that is fun to read. And then at the end it provides simple instructions for how to tend to your compost and what you will get in the end.

Bugs for Lunch, Margery Facklam

This is a great rhyming book that talks about all different kinds of animals that eat bugs. The animals are from all over the world and live in very different habitats so it is neat that they are all connected because of what they eat. Even adults might be surprised by some of the animals that commonly eat bugs!

Where Would I Be in an Evergreen Tree?, Jennifer Blomgren

This one is for Sam because she has recently learned to climb the evergreen tree in our backyard and thinks it is so cool to be up in the tree off the ground. This book talks about all the animals, birds, insects and even plants that live on and around a large evergreen tree. I think Sam is really going to like this one and there are a ton of new animals, words and plants for us to learn about in this book.

And then there are these awesome hairclips!

They are made by an amazing company called The Eco Purse Project. They make hairclips, purses, wallets, bracelets, bags, floormats, bibs and even laptop cases all out of recycled plastic bags and bottles! They upcycle to make some of the most beautiful stuff! And their hairclips really hold up to toddler hands! I bought one for Sam and she is loving it, so I got a few more to share with the other little girls in my life. (Sorry to spoil the surprise Aunt Jojo!)

So, I have bows for the girls and books for each of them! What have you bought already for the holiday that shall remain nameless until after Thanksgiving? And what are you getting your little explorer this year?

guest post - Malama Aina

Real life friend turned blogging friend! I actually have quite a few of these and it has been really fun to get to know them even better through their blogs. My guest blogger today was a friend of mine in college. But several years after college I found she had a blog and started following her parenting journey. I envy her ability to make almost anything for her son and of course the fact that she lives in HAWAII!   She is an amazing green mama!! You can check her out at Malama Aina.

Green Birthday Party

• With my son's 1 year lu'au (party) rapidly approaching, I've been concerned with preventing this celebration from becoming an eco-disaster.  Even though tradition somehow mandates that we give out loads of sugar and plastic, I think a party should reflect the host's values.  If your values are green like mine, then here are a few simple tricks to incorporate at your next lu'au!  Party on!
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  Instead of hooking every kid up with a plastic bag full of plastic toys and candy, set up bulk-style tubs of healthy treats (yogurt covered raisins, fig cookies, pretzels, etc) and/or eco-friendlier playthings (sidewalk chalk, pads of paper with crayons, etc).  Give each child a brown paper bag and let them choose the things they truly want.
  Encourage guests to bring sippy cups and serve beverages from pitchers.  Not only will this prevent disposable cup waste, it will help the kids to remember which drink is theirs and avoid spills.  You can even go a step further and encourage adults to BYOC (bring your own cup).
  Finger foods as appetizers are an easy way to cut down on plates in the trash.  A bagel chip spread with hummus and topped with a cucumber is simple to make and always a hit!
  Make cupcakes instead of cake (no plate required) and bake them without the paper - just spray non-stick cooking spray into your muffin tins.
• Consider having a "NO GIFTS" party.  Personally, the reason I'm choosing no gifts is because I want my kids to see their birthday as a time to celebrate with their friends and family.  I want them to feel special, I want them to eat an amazing meal, and I want them to have fun.  What I don't want is for them to grow up with the expectation that just because they are a year older they deserve a pile of presents.  Also, IMO, gifts generate too much trash and potential for tantrums.
• If you must do gifts (my family likes to send gifts in the mail, which is understandable) then request second-hand or package-free toys.  Another great alternative is gifts of experience like a movie ticket or beach day (even better if friends go together).
  Focus on the food.  Baby parties are usually more for the adults (my son's lu'au should really be called Mom Survived the First Year)  This might be a cultural thing (in Hawaii, we love the grindz), but I would skip the matching plates and napkins, and focus my budget on serving the most amazing food possible.
  Focus on the fun.  For older kid's parties, which are more about the kids than the parents, focus on planning games and activities that they will enjoy.  Kids won't remember decorative details, they want to play!
• Consider a watermelon bowl for serving fruit.  There are countless tutorials online