The Book Fairy

Now that Halloween is over, I know there are a lot of moms out there who are overwhelmed with all the Halloween Candy their little ones brought home.  Thought you might like to know what we did...

First, the kids sat in a circle and took turns choosing their favorites.  They each filled a ziploc bag with all their picks.

Then, we put the leftover candy in a bag, and put it by the front door for the "Book Fairy".  The next morning, the candy was gone, and the boys had new books and a new Spiderman costume for their dress up box (which was marked down by 75% after Halloween -- book fairies love good deals!)  ;-)

Here are some other ideas (from my awesome readers):

• donate the candy to a children's hospital... for the kids who were not able to trick or treat
• offer to buy the candy from the kids, and let them use the money to buy a new toy or book
• donate it to a food bank
• take it to work

Got another idea?  What do you do with your leftover candy?

♥ 

Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

Giveaway -- Reel Babies Movie Passes -- CLOSED

This contest is now CLOSED.  The winners of the movie passes are:  

Comment #14  (stephie322)   replaced by comment #17 (murphydawna@hotmail.com)

Comment #3    (Lindsay)

Comment #2    (Bree’s Mom)  replaced by comment #9 (crystalbrophy@hotmail.com)

Comment #5    (Aldona MacNeil)

Comment #11  (Margaret Langille)

As a new mom, it is common to feel isolated from the outside world.  When my first son was born, one of my favorite things to do (to keep myself sane) was go to "mom and baby" movies.  Empire Theatres has a great program called Reel Babies.  If there is one where you live, you should totally check it out.  :-)

Twice a month you can enjoy a new-release movie in a baby-friendly environment.  Each theatre is equipped with a change table, bottle warmer, play mat and swing... and they keep the lights on dim and lower the volume a bit.

Now, for the exciting part:  I have 10 tickets to give away,  and I am going to give them away in five pairs.  Fun, right?

All you have to do is leave a comment (below this post) telling me your favorite family movie.  If you don't have a Reel Babies near you, you can always enter and give them to a friend if you win.  

Contest closes November 9, 2011.  (If you aren't logged in when you comment, don't forget your email address.)

Thanks for sharing, and good luck!

♥

Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

Rules {I am a mom... I can't help it}:

1. The winner of the contest will be chosen by the Random Number Generator.
2. To enter the contest, you must leave me a comment telling me your favorite family movie.  Contest is open to Canadian residents only.
3. This contest is not being hosted or sanctioned in any way by facebook.
4. Contest closes on November 9, 2011 at 11:59pm.
5. Prize will be accepted as awarded.
6. Winners will be contacted via email and will have 48 hours to respond.  After 48 hours the prize will be forfeited, and another winner will be selected.

** For further information on Reel Babies, please visit www.empiretheatres.com/reelbabies.

** This is a sponsored post, but the opinions expressed are 100% my own.

Magic Pumpkin Seeds

I saw a post on Pinterest about planting "magic pumpkin seeds", and I knew it was something I wanted to do with my boys.  (I love that they all still believe in "magic".) 

In the version I saw (which you can find here), they plant seeds outside and grow baby pumpkins, but I came up with a fun "indoor" version.  Here it is:

First, we carved our pumpkins. 

Then, we roasted most of the pumpkin seeds, but set aside some "special" ones for planting.  (To roast pumpkin seeds: clean and pat them dry, spread on a cookie sheet, drizzle with melted butter, sprinkle with salt, and bake at 300 for approximately 45 minutes... stirring occasionally.) 

 

In order to make the "magic" seeds grow, we planted them in sugar and set them by the window so that the "night before Halloween moon" could shine on them while the boys were sleeping.

It totally worked... and tomorrow morning {Halloween Day}, the boys will see that the seeds have grown into cookie pop flowers.

I am so excited for the boys to see their cookie pops.  Would your little ones have fun waiting for magic pumpkin seeds to grow? 

♥ 

Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

PS (Look at what I just packed in my oldest son's lunch.  I wonder if he'll get the pun?  It doesn't really matter though... he'll only care about the Smarties anyway.  :-)

For MORE easy and inexpensive Halloween ideas, click here.

Make your own Bird Feeders

Recently, a good friend of mine told me about a cute bird feeder her daughter made at Preschool using a toilet paper roll, peanut butter (or shortening if you have nut allergies), and bird seed.  I thought it would be a fun activity to do with my boys... and it was!

In fact, it was such a success that we decided to make two other variations:  Cheerio bird feeders and bird feeders using pine cones we found in our yard. 

Here's how you can make three different kinds of bird feeders:

1)  Gather the supplies (pipe cleaners, pine cones, toilet paper rolls, string, bird seed, peanut butter, and Cheerios).

2)  To make the Cheerio feeders, all you need to do is bend one end of pipe cleaner (so the Cheerios don't fall off), and then thread the Cheerios on.  To finish, make a loop at the top to hang it on the tree.  {My two year old loved this one, and he was able to do it all by himself, which made him super-proud.}

3)  To make the Toilet Paper Roll feeder:

     a)  Use a hole punch to make two holes at the top of your toilet paper roll.  (This is where you will be attaching the pipe cleaner.)

     b)  Cover the toilet paper roll with peanut butter, and then roll it in bird seed until it is completely covered.  (This part is a bit messy.)

     c)  Attach a pipe cleaner, and you're done!

4)  To make the pine cone bird feeder, simply cover the pine cone in peanut butter, roll it in birdseed, and attach a string.  Easy!

We have already attracted a lot of birds with our bird feeders.  Let me know how it works for you.

♥ 

Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

You might also like this post.

New Halloween Tradition -- Booing!

As you have probably already guessed, I love holiday traditions.  I really believe they are the foundation for great childhood memories.

So.... when family friends introduced us to "Ghosting" this year, I could not have been more excited.  "Ghosting" or "Booing" is a tradition where you leave treats, a note, and a "You've been Booed/Ghosted" sign for your neighbours.... secretly.... kind of like a Secret Santa for Halloween.  :-)

It is a ton of fun!

You can find the printable that we used (from The TomKat Studio) here, but there are tons of versions out there in blog world if you do a search.  Find your favorite, and HAPPY BOOING!

♥
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)
 
** If you haven't already "liked" me on facebook, I would love to have you join me here.

Giving Back this Holiday Season

During a discussion about how we could help people this Christmas Season, my oldest son came up with the idea of having a party, charging people to come, and giving the profit to charity. We decided to host a "Writing a Letter to Santa" party.  If you are in the Antigonish area, we'd love to have you join us.  If not, maybe this will {inspire} you to plan one where you live.  :-)

Here are the details:

“Writing a Letter to Santa” Party

(All Profits going to Charity)

Location:          Community Room at Superstore

 (Antigonish)

Date:                 November 25, 2011 (6pm – 7pm) 

  (Note:  The Santa Claus Parade is the next day at 10am.)

Activities:       

· Kids will be given all the supplies they need to write a letter to Santa.  (Catalogues will be available for kids who haven’t quite decided what to ask for and for those that want to cut and glue pictures of toys to their letters because they are too young to write.)

· A snack will be provided (juice and a cookie).

· Kids will make Magic Reindeer Food to take home.

Cost:                $10 a child (and $5 for an additional child from the same family).  ALL the profit (after expenses) will be donated to the IWK Health Centre Foundation.

You MUST sign up in advance… (planning for the right number of people means more money raised for charity).  Email me at EastCoastMommy@gmail.com to sign up or ask any questions.

You can download a pdf poster (with all the details) here.

Update (after the party):  Click here to see how the party turned out.

Fall Tradition... a Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

For our family, one of the highlights of Fall is our annual trip to a pumpkin patch.  It is a great adventure for the boys, and they love running around trying to find the perfect pumpkin.

 

Not only is it a great family outing, it is a perfect photo op.  :-)  Check out some of our pics over the years:

2007

2008

  

2009

2010

2011

I highly recommend doing a "google" search and finding a pumpkin patch in your area.  I guarantee you'll have a great time, and make wonderful memories with your kids.

♥ 

Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)