Birthday Letter to my Middle Son on his 17th Birthday

Every year on my boys' birthdays, I write them letters. I'm hoping to created little "snapshots" of their personalities that they can look back on see how special they were to me at every stage of their lives. Today, I'm sharing the birthday letter I wrote for my middle son on his 17th birthday.

My sweet boy,

As you turn 17, I can't help but think about how close you are getting to adulthood. Before you reach your next birthday, you will graduate from high school, and start a whole new journey. For now, I will treasure every moment I have left with you living under my roof. You are a special boy, and I couldn't be more proud to be your mother.

• Hockey and golf are your passions, and you work hard to be the best you can be at both. I'm proud of your positive attitude, team mentality, and personal effort.
• You are one of the most empathetic and loyal people I know. I'm not surprised that you have so many great friends.
• A few weeks ago you got your licence, and you are enjoying the increased independence. It's stressful for me, but you are a really good driver.
• You are enjoying your job at the golf course with your brother, and you are an excellent employee.
• You love chicken broccoli pesto pasta, cereal, and gummy bears.

I love how close you and your brothers are, and I love when we all spend together together. I hope you enjoy our family movie nights and vacations as much as I do.

Continue to be the kind, strong-willed, hardworking, smart, active, loving boy that you are. 

I love you to the moon and back!

Mom xox

Birthday Letter for my Youngest Son on his 15th Birthday

Every year on my boys' birthdays, I write them a birthday letter. My hope is to create a "snapshot" of their personalities each year. Today, my youngest son turns 15, and here is his birthday letter.

To my Sweet Boy:

As I watch you and your brothers grow up, your birthdays seem to hit me the hardest. You are my "last" everything... the last boy to call me Mommy, the last boy to start school, the last boy to turn 15, etc... Time goes by too quickly, and I am trying to enjoy every moment.

As I reflect on the past year, I'm reminded of some of the things that make you the most special 15 year old boy on the planet:

• Your confidence is growing every day, and I'm so proud of how far you have come. The little boy who cried every day I dropped him off at preschool has been replaced by an independent young man that confidently headed off to live in residence at StFX last week.
• You love Crispers, multi-grain Wheat Thins, Froot Roll Ups (which you only get on your birthday and at Christmas) and Honey Bunches of Oats cereal. You also love pancakes... especially the first ones to come out of the pan.
• Hockey continues to be your passion, and you are working hard to become the best goalie you can be. Dad and I love to watch you play... even though it is stressful for your mother.
• You love hanging out with your brothers and cousins... especially on vacation, at the rink or on the golf course.
• You love being at home with your family (just like your mother). You are a big fan of playing board games, "fat bat" in the yard, watching movies, and listening to music in your room.

As you inch closer to independence and adulthood, you should know that you'll always be my "baby".

Love you to the moon and back,

Mom

xox

Simple DIY Retro Candy Bar... with FREE sign to download

I love a good party... and I truly believe that the small DIY details are what make a celebration special... and memorable. Last weekend, I had a 50th birthday party celebration for my sister, and created a "retro candy bar" for her. It was easy, inexpensive and fun. Today, I'm sharing the details and a FREE sign for you to download.

All I did was: buy a bunch of retro candy, put it in dollar store containers, and added a sign that I popped in a dollar store frame. It turned out sooooo cute, and the birthday girl and party gets LOVED it!

Check out all the details (and learn how to make your own sign) in the short video I made here:

To download the template I talked about in the video: Click on the picture below, right-click, save it, and print it like a regular 8x10 photo.

Here are a few more pictures from our party...

If you have any questions after watching the video, let me know. I think my DIY retro candy bar turned out super cute, don't you?

♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

EASY Bathroom update for LESS $350 / Outdated to Modern in ONE Day

Recently, I updated my bathroom, and I'm so happy with the result. It looks totally different, and it cost me LESS than $350. I'm absolutely in love with the results. Check out how I took my bathroom from drab to fab in ONE day... on a budget!

Here's a breakdown of what I spent:

Want to see how I transformed my bathroom? See all the details in the video I made here:

Doesn't it look so much better?

Let me know what you think. Do you like the DIY towel ring I made using a $1.50 piece of wood from Dollarama?

♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

The Perfect Canada Day Craft / Beaver Paper Bag Puppet

I love holiday crafts, and this one is perfect for Canada Day. All you need is a paper lunch bag, crayons, cardstock, glue, and googly eyes. This beaver paper bag puppet is just TOO ADORABLE!

To make this puppet:

1) Draw all the beaver parts pictured above, or get the template I designed here.

2) Colour and cut out all the parts.

3) Use glue to attach all the parts. Make sure you attach the parts in the folds so that it looks good when you insert your hand into the puppet. Take a peek at the video here to see what the puppet looks like when it's finished.

Happy Canada Day!!!

♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

You might also be interested in the fantastic Canada Day ideas here.

8 FREE Last Day of School Downloads

Recently, I made a video sharing my favourite easy and inexpensive Last Day of School Celebration Ideas. I think you are going to love them ALL! Below, you will find a video with all the ideas and all the free downloads included in the video.

🌞🌞🌞Here's the video...

And here are the FREE downloads mentioned in this video:

 

1) Adventure Awaits picture

To download: click on the picture below, save to your computer or phone, and print it like a regular 8x10 photo.

2) Camping and Road Trip TIC TAC TOE games

To download: click on the picture below, save to your computer or phone, and print it like a regular 4x6 photo.

To download: click on the picture below, save to your computer or phone, and print it like a regular 4x6 photo.

3) Summer Adventure Checklist

To download: click on the picture below, save to your computer or phone, and print it like a regular 8x10 photo.

4) Sip Sip Hooray / Straw treat gift tags

To download: click on the picture below, save to your computer or phone, and print it like a regular 4x6 photo.

5) “Have a BALL” gift tag

To download: click on the picture below, save to your computer or phone, and print it like a regular 4x6 photo.

6) “Sweet treat” gift tag

To download: click on the picture below, save to your computer or phone, and print it like a regular 4x6 photo.

7) Freezie gift tag

To download: click on the picture below, save to your computer or phone, and print it like a regular 4x6 photo.

8) Cookie teacher tags and recipe

To download: click on the picture below, save to your computer or phone, and print it like a regular 4x6 photo.

And you can get the cookie mix recipe here.

I hope you like these ideas and they help you have a fantastic last day of school. Cheers to a great summer!!!

♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

2024 Graduation Party Favors -- with FREE printable tags

***2023 post UPDATED with 2024 tags***

I love a good party favor... especially if it's budget-friendly. So, when my son graduated last year, I decided to create some inexpensive party favors using dollar store goodies. I came up with five party favor ideas (and free printable tags) that you are going to love! (And for a closer look, take a look at the video I made herehere.)

Here are the items I used to create the party favors.

1) The first tag is great to pair with mint gum or peppermints.

To download these tags: click on the photo below, right-click, save it to your computer, and print it like a regular 4x6 photo.

2) The second tag can be paired with store-bought or homemade cookies.

To download these tags: click on the photo below, right-click, save it to your computer, and print it like a regular 4x6 photo.

3) The third tag can be paired with bags of popped popcorn... or these unpopped bags of microwave popcorn.

To download these tags: click on the photo below, right-click, save it to your computer, and print it like a regular 4x6 photo.

4) The fourth tag can be used with any sweet treat. It works with candy AND chocolate. Just pick your favourite.

To download these tags: click on the photo below, right-click, save it to your computer, and print it like a regular 4x6 photo.

5) The last tag can be used with doughnuts or doughnut holes. I used store bought old fashioned doughnuts.

To download these tags: click on the photo below, right-click, save it to your computer, and print it like a regular 4x6 photo.

I love how they all look displayed on the tiered tray I made (in the video you can find here).

You can also get a closer look at how I put all the party favors together below...

PS - If you don't like the gold colored tagged I used, check out the more colorful options below...

Let me know in the comments which of these graduation party favors is YOUR favorite. I think they are all pretty cute!

♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)