Tag Archives: Christmas

5 Ways to Decrease Mom Guilt During the Holidays

Posted on by
20

Christmas is almost here and mom guilt is in full effect. There’s presents to be wrapped, the kids asked for a new toy from Santa, and the cookies haven’t been baked yet. All while you still have to parent, work, and everything else too.

Not thinking you can get everything off your Christmas Bucket List done or making the holiday season as magical as it can be, it makes you feel bad.

In efforts to be nice to myself, I wanted to share some ways to I decrease mom guilt during the holidays with you.

Take a Deep Breath

Whenever I feel myself spiraling into mom guilt, I try to calm myself. Usually, I just need to take a deep breath and realize my thoughts and emotions are getting the best of me.

Believe me, I get it. There’s a ton to do, but if you can calm yourself with a deep breath and taking things one step at a time, it will help. In that moment you can realize what’s really important and what you can handle in the next five minutes, hour, or day.

You are one person and it feels like the world is on your shoulders. Don’t forget to breathe and remember you’re doing your best.

Buy Premade Crafts/Baked Goods

I have a love/hate relationship with Instagram. It makes me feel creative and show other parents easy activities to do with your kids.

On the other hand, there are times I have NO idea how everyone’s getting things done… and so beautifully! It can make me feel guilty about where I am with the holidays or coming up with unique crafts or baking all kinds of cookies from scratch.

My big tip… buy premade crafts and baked goods. They don’t even need to be all the way done.

If you walk into Joann Fabrics or any craft store (even the dollar store), there are a ton of different fun Christmas crafts and activities. Mila and I have done quite a few this year and it was just as fun… with just as cute outcomes.

Plus, I am all for buying cake boxes so I don’t have to think about all the ingredients. Or they had premade cut outs that all you had to do was bake and decorate.

This is such a time saver for me while still giving me that feeling of doing jolly holiday activities.

Involve Your Child

Kids are seriously magical. They want to help whenever they can and what they do always turns out so precious… or hilarious.

Mila helps me out with so many different things during the holiday season:

  • Picking out/Making presents
  • Decorating cookies/cupcakes
  • Creating DIY wrapping paper
  • Picking up her toys
  • Practicing being patient
  • Voicing what activities she wants to do or not do

The root of the holidays and making traditions are the kids… so make them the center of it.

Cookies, presents, and all the other home things do not have to be perfect; especially during the holidays. I think it’s more special knowing a child helped with all of these things. It teaches them and helps you out too.

Another part of mom guilt and worry during the holidays is money. Mila and I always try to make gifts and they’re usually the ones most loved.

Involving children in the holiday hustle can really help with mom guilt and making memories too.

Take Care of You

If you’re anything like me, I put myself on the back burner. I constantly try to put others ahead of me and make sure the ones I love have everything they need… even if I don’t.

Whenever I’m in a bad mental place, I feel like my mom guilt is worse. I’m not at my best (or nicest) to Mila. It makes stressful times like the holidays way more intense. Not only do I feel bad on the inside, everyone else can feel it too.

Even when you have a million things to do, make space for you.

I know it’s hard, but you need and deserve it.

Personally, I love wrapping presents. It’s really relaxing to me and I make sure to put one of my favorite movies on with a big cup of peppermint hot chocolate. Honestly, it’s not much, but it gives myself space and takes care of my needs.

I would also suggest trying to get a babysitter so you can do things like that OR a self care day during this time.

The biggest message I’m trying to convey is to not forget about yourself. You are important and need to be taken care of just like everyone else, no matter the time of year.

Live in the Moment

Through the craziness of the holidays and trying to plan everything out, try to live in the moment.

Whenever I get so busy and planned out, I feel myself slip into autopilot or going through the motions. Honestly, the best parts of this past month is the moments not planned.

Mila and I went to the Akron Zoo’s Wild Lights on a whim. It wasn’t planned and we had so much fun. Another time, we were asked to go watch a play of The Grinch a couple hours before it started. Again, it was so much fun.

It’s easy to fall into checking things off your list, b it you can’t forget to live either.

Whenever I feel guilty as Mila watches a show while I’m rushing around, we hop in the car and go look at Christmas decorations and lights. It’s simple, but puts a smile on both of our faces.

Life is way too short to feel guilt and not soak up all these moments.

No matter what you need to do during this holiday season, remember you are doing your best. There’s no need to feel guilty. You are the best mom and parent to your child.

I promise they see your hard work and love you so much for it and for you just being their parent.

What ways do you decrease mom guilt during the holidays? Let us know in the comments.

Advertisement

Easy Reindeer Pretzel Bites

Posted on by
23

Christmas and baking go hand-in-hand. Cookies are great, but these Reindeer Pretzel Bites are easy into make and oh so tasty!

You only need three ingredients and I’ll guarantee Santa will be happy on Christmas Eve.

I actually made these Reindeer Pretzel Bites for Mila’s preschool class. They’re a perfect snack! I only had three reindeer bites per student and filled the rest of the bag with pretzels. It’s great since the kids don’t get all the sugar if they had a bag full of these.

Anyways, here’s all you need for this recipe:

  • Mini pretzels
  • Rollos
  • Red and brown m&m’s

These are a lot of fun to make and Mila got to help a lot!

First, preheat your oven to 250 F.

I would suggest taking the foil off of all the rollos before baking. When I was doing this, Mila picked out the red and brown m&m’s. This small activity that helped me was great for her motor skills and talking about all the colors.

Once the foil was off and colors were separated, we lined as many pretzels as we could on a lined baking sheet.

Then, put rollos on top of the pretzels and bake them for two minutes.

Once they’ve been in there for two minutes, press the m&m’s into them. This is a little tricky. I would suggest holding the pretzels while pushing them down.

Then, place the baking sheet in the freezer for 5 minutes to set them.

These were a lot of fun to make and were pretty tasty too. I stole a few of them after I knew her classmates were covered.

To make these super cute, I added a Christmas tag to the bag and sent them on their way.

I would definitely suggest making these and would be perfect for a holiday party. You could put them in a big bowl and they’d be a hit.

What do you leave out for Santa on Christmas Eve? Or what’s your favorite holiday dessert?

Preschool Activity: Nativity Popsicle Stick Craft

Posted on by
10

The Nativity is a story a lot of people know and learn about around Christmas time. If you’d like your toddler or preschool to know this story, doing this Nativity Popsicle Stick Craft is a way to help them remember it and make it fun too.

As you might know if you’ve been following along with our story is that Mila is in preschool. Her preschool talks a lot about Bible stories.

I don’t necessarily talk about one religion at home. We talk about how people believe in all kinds of different things and none of it is wrong. My personal beliefs stem from different religions and readings, I’ve written about them in previous posts.

No matter what I believe, I want Mila to be able to make her own decisions. Right now, she’s asked a lot of questions about Jesus and Bible stories. So, we’re reading and doing activities with what she’s curious about.

Mila loves baby Jesus. Every time she sees a Nativity set up she says, ‘awww. Look at the baby.’ Then she names everyone.

It definitely made me want to do this activity with her even more. After a trip to the store, we got everything to create our interpretation of her favorite scene.

Here’s what you’ll need to create this book and craft pairing.

To start this activity off, we read the book with each other. She let me know she knew all the characters and that Jesus was born in a manger.

After reading, it was time to start making the scene.

We first wanted to make the manger. All we used was popsicle sticks and glue. We ended up using big popsicle and it took five across for the base. We used a smaller popsicle stick to connect it together.

Then for the floor of the manger, we used one big popsicle stick across it on the bottom. For the roof, we just crisscrossed them on the top.

Next we made Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus.

Again, we used popsicle sticks. For Mary and Joseph we decided to use big ones and for Jesus we used a small one. To get the correct length, we just cut them with scissors.

To make them look like they had clothes, hair, and accessories, we used yarn. You could use any color, I think ours turned out really cute.

Then, glue them down on the manger.

After that, make a star out of pipe cleaner and attach with glue.

You could stop here, but we decided to make this an ornament. To do this, we just glued on another piece of yarn so we could hang it.

Mila was SO proud of her hard work on this piece. She loved seeing this family together and talking about what she learned at preschool. I am so happy she can always let me know what she’s learning about.

This craft is so much fun for kids of all ages. I hope if you make it, you have as much fun as we did!

What’s your favorite Christmas book or story to read? Let me know in the comments.

Also, if you make this craft/ornament, tag me on Instagram or Facebook (@greyskies.rainbowhighs).

Christmas Activity: Tissue Paper Lantern

Posted on by
26

We love fun traditions in our house. Any time I can be transformed back into childhood, I’m all for it. Especially when I get to pass it on to Mila. One of my favorites crafts in elementary school were Tissue Paper Lanterns, so we made a Christmas themed one.

There are a ton of different skills in this DIY for Mila and now we have another tradition we can do every year.

Another part of this DIY that I love is it’s an upcycle project! Here’s what you’ll need:

  • Mason Jar or Recycled Glass Jar
  • Tissue Paper
  • Modge Podge or DIY Modge Podge (Glue and Water)
  • Paint or Foam Brush

To start off, I had Mila cut pieces of tissue paper into squares or smaller pieces. We’re always trying to work on scissor skills and she really enjoys it too. With a little help from me, we had more than enough pieces of tissue paper.

Then, we took our DIY modge podge to put it all together. To make DIY modge podge, just use regular, white glue and add water into it. It should mix into a modge podge consistency. You can see a picture of it down below too. It’s just a more watered down glue consistency that’s easy to spread with a paintbrush.

Mila and I worked in sections. We’d put paint on, then put a layer of tissue paper over top. After it was glued down, we put another thin layer of DIY modge podge on top.

After you fill in all the sections, just let it fully dry. It doesn’t take too long at all.

Once it’s dried, you can put a small candle in it and the light shines through beautifully. I absolutely loved how it turned out and it was easy to do with Mila. Hopefully we can keep making them every year with different patterned tissue paper. Just make sure to add the year on the lantern somewhere.

I ended up putting it as a centerpiece on our dining room table. It looks so cute and I love showcasing all her DIYs and crafts.

Do you ever make a craft over snd over again? If so, what do you make?

Preschool Craft: Christmas Process Art

Posted on by
20

Don’t get your tinsel in a tangle!

Christmas crafts don’t always have to be ‘perfect’ to be adorable. Toddlers and preschoolers love to learn by using the things around them, especially through art. This Christmas Process Art Mila created was a great reminder of that!

There’s a huge pressure to have the most perfect crafts online. It seems kids have to follow instructions step-by-step to create the best craft. When you give them the power to create on their own, they can create something even more spectacular.

I’m not going to say Mila and I haven’t been doing specific crafts together, but she needed this free project to showcase her creativity.

All we used to create this beautiful piece of art was from other Christmas items we had at home:

  • Canvas
  • Red and Green Washable Paint
  • Gold Acrylic Paint
  • Craft Pinecones
  • Bells
  • Fake Pine

To set up this activity, all I did was pour the paint and tell Mila to use these objects to paint.

She did ask for a paint brush and I did let her use it to push the bells around. Then she used it to paint after trying all the objects. She really went to work when she could use the brush at the end!

As much as it was a process art activity, I did not want to put a limit to her creativity. I think she had fun feeling the different textures and she loved shaking the bells too. It puzzles her why the items don’t paint as well as the brush… but that’s what it’s all about!

When she was finished, we talked about what her artwork symbolized and what we wanted to title it. She said it was just about Christmas and it didn’t need a name. So, it’s left untitled, but I did have her sign it and I dated it. I told her it reminded me of a Christmas tree, just REALLY close up. It honestly just makes me smile, like all of her artwork does.

We love making art as Christmas gifts… and will probably do it again this year! Let me know in the comments… What’s the best Christmas or holiday present you’ve received? Handmade or store bought?

DIY Christmas Ornament Garland

Posted on by
10

DIY’ing and Christmas go hand-in-hand. So, we’re adding a little sparkle and pink to this season with this DIY Christmas Ornament Garland.

Mila and I love glitter and all things girly. This garland felt like it belonged in our home.

The best part of this DIY is you can personalize a DIY Christmas Ornament Garland to your style and it’ll be just as cute! Plus, I spent around $25 dollars for everything you see here. I think that’s a great deal for something that was easy to make and perfect for our family.

Everything you see here (minus the first ornament on the left) comes from Target. It consists of:

  • Ornaments
  • Flocked Garland
  • Tree Pick (Christmas Tree Filler)
  • Yarn/Ribbon

On Black Friday, I found most of these items at Target. They had most of their ornaments for $3, which are so cute! We love pink and have a ton of it in our home, so I knew it was a good purchase. The selection Target had was perfect. There were inclusive pieces and different textures that had to go home with us.

The flocked garland is probably 5 foot long. I wrapped it through these hooks and folded it back to make it look thicker. Then I put in the metallic tree pick for a fuller look too.

After it was up and placed how I liked it, I just started adding ornaments. To make some of them look longer, I used ribbon or yarn.

I love the layered look and how everything meshes together.

Not only do I love how it turned out, it only took me twenty minutes to make. It’s a simple, statement piece that I’m proud to have in my home.

I know that any person can something similar with ornaments that they love.

How do you decorate for Christmas? Classic reds or green? Or do you have your own style with it?

Christmas Sensory Bin

Posted on by
19

Happy December!

A new month means there’s new things to explore and discover. This month, we’re doing a Christmas Sensory Play. The most fun part of this sensory bin is everything is bought from the dollar store!

We love Christmas and all the joy it brings to us. I think Mila is mostly excited for snow and Santa to bring presents. To combine that happiness and interest, I thought this Christmas Sensory Play idea was the best of both worlds!

This sensory bin is filled with:

  • Different types of fake snow
  • Jingle bells
  • Chocolate Kisses
  • Santa stickers
  • Refrigerator organizer

As I said before, I got this entire bin at the dollar store! Everything was pretty cheap and easy to put together. All I did was dump the three different types of fake snow in the refrigerator organizer.

If I could give one fake snow suggestion, I’d tell everyone not to get the small foam balls. They get EVERYWHERE and stick to everything. We could have done with just the glitter snow and the medium sized foam balls. It would have worked just as well.

Anyways, then I hid chocolate kisses underneath so Mila could find surprises.

The next things I added were the jingle bells. I had a ton of different sized and colored bells. This is important for one of the activities that I’ll explain.

To make it a little more festive, I added five, felt Santa stickers. They’re so cute!

There’s seriously a ton of activities you can do with this Christmas Sensory Bin.

The first is just letting your child explore the sensory bin. There they can find the chocolate kisses, feel the different types of snow, or use their imaginations. Mila loves when I don’t give her directions and she just does whatever.

One activity that I directed her in was sorting the bells. You could have them sort by color or size. This provide a ton of different skills.

I also had her count the Santas too. There’s a ton of math that kids can do that will help!

In all, this Christmas Sensory Bin is festive and educational. Kids will love it and you’ll love that they’re learning and having fun.

Do you have any suggestions of Christmas play? I have a few, but I’m definitely up for more ideas. Also, what are you most excited for this Christmas season?

Christmas Activity: Letter to Santa

Posted on by
14

It’s officially time to start getting festive. Our Christmas tree is up and indoor decorations are done. With all these bucket list items getting crossed off, we had to do another… write a letter to Santa.

I mean.. there’s less than a month until Christmas, we HAD to make sure he knew what Mila wanted this year.

The letter to Santa is very important in the eyes of kids who believe in him. When Mila realized that Santa was going to see her letter, she had that look Ralphie did in A Christmas Story.

It was all very official business.

After brainstorming her thoughts for the letter out loud, she decided it was time to write. Since Mila only knows how to spell her name at the moment, I got to help her out a little in the writing and spelling part of this.

Her letter to Santa states:

“Dear Santa,

How do you do? Thank you for giving me Christmas presents. I would like a big doctor thing.

Thanks, Mila”

She’s a lady that knows what she want! Hopefully she’ll actually become a doctor one day since that’s the only thing she wants at the moment. Besides becoming a mommy like me… her words.

Marking an item off her bucket list.

Anyways, I wanted to share this big moment because there’s a lot of learning going on in this simple letter.

Not only did she practice her writing skills and can prove she can remember and write her name, she drafted and wrote a letter! That’s pretty big for a three year old. Just because she didn’t physically write it, doesn’t mean there wasn’t any thought or work put into it.

It also showed her emotional intelligence with the thank you’s and asking Santa how he was doing.

These are all social skills that are all important to learn… simply by just writing a fun letter to Santa! Learning really is everywhere you look.

Fingers crossed Santa gets her letter in time. She used special stamps to help it travel quickly.

I’ll keep you all updated on if he does.

You can find the ‘Letter to Santa’ template at The Letter Vee. Some of the other stamps come from Three Little Crumbsnatchers, she also has the cutest Christmas activities you can print out for free. I’ll be posting them this December, so keep your eyes peeled.

Does your child or did they write letters to Santa? I’m thinking of recording Mila too. I think it would be cute to look back on. Let me know in the comments if you think that’s a fun idea or not.

10 Gifts That Moms Really Want This Year

Posted on by
18

It’s the season of giving!

Moms do so much for their family and friends. Sometimes it can be hard to think of a gift to give them. Although this says what moms want, it’s more like a wish guide/things that I’ve been happy with in the last year that I wanted to share to give you ideas.

Every mom is as individual as any person in the world. I have a feeling the women in your life will love at least one of these items.

Hair Accessories

One of my favorite ways to switch up my looks are adding hair accessories. There are so many different options and they’re all so cute. I feel like I have a ton of scrunchies, but I’m always looking for more. I’ve been really into clips that can flip my hair all the way up. It changes the way my hair looks and they’re comfortable. My last favorite accessory lately is the other type of clip or barrette. Mila and I can share them and it gets the hair in front out of my face.

Here are some options and shops that I love. Seriously, my go to for my hair accessories.

Stitch Fix Subscription

I share and talk a lot about Mila’s Stitch Fix Subscription, but I have one too!

Honestly, I LOVE all the options my Stitch Fix gives me and my stylist hits what I like every time. I like that these clothes are a mix of trendy and classic styles. Any time I wear one of my fixes, I get so many compliments. It’s been a great way of keeping my wardrobe updated, especially when I’m teaching every day.

If you have a fashionista in your life or someone who needs clothes, a Stitch Fix subscription is a great option. When you use this link, you’ll get $25 off your first fix! Believe me, you’ll love it!

Skincare Products

I use skincare products twice a day, every day. You can imagine that I go through a decent amount of products. It’s always nice when I’m surprised with items that I have to buy a few times a year… especially because I’m going to use it and appreciate it so much.

Most people have their favorite skincare lines, but I listed the two I love to use below.

  • Eclectic Serenity – Local friends, I 100% recommend Kiersten’s products. They make my skin feel so good.
  • Little Seed Farm – I love their products too. Their goat’s milk moisturizer is one of my favorites. It keeps my skin feeling silky and refreshed.

Adore Me VIP Membership

My least favorite thing in the world to buy are bras. I feel like it’s hard to find the right size and trying them on can feel daunting. But all women deserve to feel comfortable in their skin and that starts with good undergarments.

I was gifted a few items from Adore Me and then signed up for the Adore Me VIP Membership. It’s a monthly membership that costs about $40. There’s all kinds of perks with it like a huge discount, free items, and you can skip months too. It sounds too good to be true, but I love the flexibility it gives it’s customers!

The best part about Adore Me is they have sizes and styles for everyone. Before I started shopping I looked up their fit guide that helped me figure out what size would be best for me there. After that, I easily found a ton of different sets that I needed to get! They also have the cutest lounge clothes and pajamas. There’s truly something for everyone at Adore Me. Their membership just is an added bonus.

To help the mom in your life feel their best about their body, an Adore Me VIP Membership will help them feel comfortable picking out the bras and panties that will work best for them and fit them perfectly too.

I promise, they’ll be feeling their best as well.

Organization Tools

Raise your hand if you’ve been personally victimized by ‘clean tok’ or any organizational videos on social media… *silently raises hand.*

I’m always in awe of how people share their organizational skills. It’s so satisfying to watch and I feel like their lives have to be less chaotic for it. The last few weeks, I’ve been trying to find good deals to help me out with my home organization too. There’s a ton more, but I linked three at the end of this section.

Personally, I would love to receive any organizational help. It would be a useful gift and in the long run it would start to feel amazing too. If you know any moms who are obsessed with watching these kinds of videos, I bet they’d love these too.

Photo Books

If you would look at my phone, you’d easily see that I have over 10,000 pictures on there. I’m constantly snapping pictures of what’s going on around me. The one thing I wish I would do more of is printing them out.

The first year of Mila’s life, I made a book a month to capture those moments. To this day, I still go back through them AND Mila loves being able to sit down and flip through the books too. They make such amazing keepsakes and I love how they hold up. For 2022, I’m going to make it a goal to start making photo books again.

I’d also love to receive one as a gift. If you’ve went on a trip with a mom in your life, it’d be fun to share those memories with her. Or fill it up with all your favorites. Either way, mom’s love photos and this would be a great gift.

  • Shutterfly – I used to make all my photo books here. They always turn out amazing and they have a free photo book every month if you have their app.
  • Chatbooks – I have not used this service yet, but I have been seeing amazing deals from them. I think it would be awesome to try out!
  • Mootsh – I haven’t used this service either but it prints out pictures each month for you to do as you please with them.

Spa Day

A day full of self care and pampering feels really nice. I love getting facials and my hair done, so any time it’s gifted to me, I feel extra special. All moms would love to have a spa day. There are a ton of local spas that have different specials. It’s a great way to give back to the local economy and you get to pick the best things that your loved one would want.

Another option would be for reiki sessions! It’s a different type of self care and relaxation that would be a great gift for moms. Need a reminder of what reiki is? Here’s my first experience with it.

Time to Themselves

As much as I love being around Mila and the craziness of our life… sometimes it’s just nice to have a break. Obviously, this could be paired up with a spa day, but sometimes alone time at home is all you need. Or maybe a movie out, a date night, or time with their friends. Whatever they need, it’s nice that they have that option.

I think asking for time alone is one of the hardest things for a mom to ask for. At least it is for me. If someone can offer that time or a night away, it could be a nice gift and you get to be around pretty cool kids too.

Candles

I don’t think there will EVER be a time that I’m disappointed about getting a candle for a present.

Not only does it make your house smell really good, they can be so relaxing. Any time I take a bath or just need a quiet minute, lighting a candle makes everything seem a little better.

Another awesome part about candles is being able to use the jars afterwards. I repurpose almost all of my candle jars to make plant propagation glasses or storage containers too. It’s sort of like two gifts in one!

Here are a few of my favorite candles.

Spend Time With Them

The best gift for moms is just spending time with their family. At the end of the day, that’s what makes everything feel special.

I love just being able to have the time to spend with Mila. No matter if that’s a day of play, cuddling, or going somewhere, my time with her is absolutely priceless.

Hopefully when she’s older and wanting to know what to gift me, she can find this and decide to just spend the day with me.

The little moments are the best presents. Promise.

If you’re holiday shopping online this year, try Rakuten. It’s a way to shop online and get cash back at different stores. Honestly, it’s a great way to get a little back. I use it whenever I can. Right now, if you use this link, you can get $40 for just signing up… and it’ll give it back to me too. Who couldn’t use $40 extra dollars during the holiday season?

Anyways…

What do you think of this gift guide? As a mom or woman, what items would you add to your gift list? Let me know in the comments.

Preschool Girl Gift Guide

Posted on by
20

Tis the season for gift giving.

This year Mila has been much more vocal about what she’d like to receive under the tree this year. It’s been so nice to have that feedback and assurance of what she’d actually like from me and Santa!

Instead of keeping these big secrets to myself, I figured I’d share with you my Preschool Girl Gift Guide.

Accessories

Mila has been obsessed with necklaces and bracelets. No matter if she’s accessorizing for preschool or just wanting to pretend to be a princess, she has to have them on! We have a huge range of ‘nice’ accessories and play ones that we keep separate. I plan on getting her a few more for Christmas too!

Right now, our favorite Etsy store to get accessories from are Sloane and Daisy.

She has the most adorable bracelets and necklaces for any time of the year, seasonal ones, and PRINCESS ones. We are obsessed with the princess ones right now!

Make sure to check Sloane and Daisy out and use GREYSKIES15 for 15% off too!

Besides her preschool bracelets, we have a ton of different play bracelets too! It’s so much fun to watch her pretend to be a princess with them.

You can get these play bracelets from a ton of different places.

Amazon has a ton of different sets. My favorite one just for her to wear around the house are these. They’re cute, but if she loses them, it’s okay! We also love this princess set, to dress up with. Mila is obsessed with crowns and they’re cute too.

Clothes and Shoes

Mila is at the age where she thinks clothes are cool and always gets excited when she gets clothes in the mail! There are so many cute small shops and businesses that we love to shop from.

I usually try to link where we get Mila’s outfits in social media posts, but here are a few you should definitely check out if getting.

Adelynn Mae has the best holiday shirts, hair accessories, and buttons. You can use MILA10 for 10% off too!

Bailey’s Blossoms shop is full of boho outfits that every little girl needs!

Reverie Threads is another amazing shop that Mila and I shop from frequently. They have a wide range of outfits that are dressy and comfy for her.

Ten Little has the best fitting shoes for kids. They send you ways to measure your child’s feet and have the cutest styles too.

Stitch Fix is another option to get your little (or you) that you can continue getting throughout the year! There’s a ton of different styles that you can either keep or send back. We love getting out Stitch Fix box and if you follow this link, you can get $25 off your first fix and we’ll get $25 our next one too!

Pretend Play Items

The items Mila has asked for the most this year is pretend play items. Whether it’s baby dolls with accessories or something big like a doctor’s area, pretend play items are a hit!

First, I’d like to state that pretend play does not need to be expensive. There’s a ton of ways we use pretend play to get her engaged. I just splurged a little bit for Christmas this year to surprise her! Another big way I’ve saved in the past is by looking on Facebook Marketplace!

Anyways, here are some of the items Mila has asked for this year…

Hopefully with her wishlist, she’ll want to become a doctor one day!

Puzzles

Currently, Mila has been challenging herself with puzzles, matching games, and building blocks. I think she likes the brain work out!

Previously, I’ve shared different puzzles through Mila’s activity boxes. Some great puzzles you can get are name, alphabet, and number puzzles. They’re great for letter and number recognition. Mila also learns better when she can pick things up. I feel like when she actually can feel the letter, it helps her mentally grasp that information.

Another amazing business that Mila and I are working with is PicassoTiles.

They’re known for their magnetic building block tiles… their is so many different ways you can play and learn with these tiles.

We were able to get this Magnetic Face-Board Dress Up Puzzle Book, pictured above. Mila absolutely LOVED it! She played with this set for hours and loved following the cards to dress the characters up. She also went off script and made new outfits too. I loved how it gave us opportunities to talk about different cultures too.

PicassoTiles toys make great gifts for kids of all ages. Make sure to check them out!

Board Games

Mila is just now getting into board games. She’s at an age where she can follow the rules and loves to win. We play them most weeknights and sometimes all weekend afternoons.

Although we love her Frozen board game, we have to add a few more to get a better mix.

Here’s some on our list:

Books

My go to gifts for Mila since I’ve been pregnant are books! We love reading any time of the day.

Even though I could list a ton of different books, I’m only going to make one book box suggestion: Little Bookish Wardrobe.

Like Stitch Fix, a Little Bookish Wardrobe subscription can be a gift that continues throughout the year. This subscription is filled with books, and outfit, a craft, and either another craft or toy!

It’s such a great value and Mila loves getting her book box every month.

If you guys would like, I’ll do a holiday book recommendation list. This will be our favorite Christmas books that we’ve used for advent before. We might have to get a few more too!

This Preschool Girl Gift Guide is what works for our family. Of course other kids will have different interests, but this is a good starting point.

I can’t wait to see how magical this Christmas is! Now time to do some shopping. Fingers crossed everything gets here on time!

Let me know in the comments what other items would you add to this list? Do you have any other guides you’d like to see. I’m planning on a Mom Gift Guide and an Experience Gift Guide too.