Last Minute Christmas Gifts & Exciting Annoucement

Christmas is almost here and our household could not be more excited!
I just finished up a few fun, quick and easy gifts for the kiddos and thought I would share. I know, Christmas is only days away, but I promise that these are super easy and fast enough to make within the hour!

A tin of Altoids! Yes, it's that easy!
Okay, so that's not all of it, but it's almost that easy.

Look what's inside!
I saw this idea on Pinterest a few months ago and knew that this would have to be one of the little things my kids opened on Christmas morning. I simply love it!
My kids love little things they can carry with them or stick in their pocket. They all love "little people" to play with and my boys will love that this looks like a tin of mints but is really something much more.

I used piece of scrap material that I already had for this, making it even more affordable and easy to make.
I did some stitching around the blankets but you could really make it even easier by cutting a small piece of fleece and leaving it at that.
The Altoids are on sale for $1 at Kroger right now and I scored the little bears in the miniature dollhouse section at Hobby Lobby for $2-$3 each. So, the total cost for each adorable little tin was about $3-$4.

You need:
Altoid tin
scrap material for a little blanket and pillow
just a tad bit of stuffing for the pillow
little mini bears

*The tins I saw on Pinterest actually held a little creature/doll that was handmade, so you could do that too. I opted for the store bought version to make this even easier.

And this little guy is for my youngest son. I thought the miniature bear was too small for him. The poor little unsuspecting bear would probably end up in his mouth or something.
So, I opted for a slightly bigger bear, but still small and made him a little sleeping bag out of more scrap materials.


Another little project I just made is a baby doll sling for my little girl. This was almost too easy. I don't have a picture for you today because I was on a roll yesterday and before I knew it, I had already wrapped it up before even thinking to photograph it!
No worries though, here is the link I followed to make mine.

And last for the Christmas gift ideas for today, but certainly not least is our Christmas eve family gift. I also saw this on Pinterest a while ago and knew right away that I wanted to begin this tradition with our family.

(sorry about the orientation of this picture, but my computer is not cooperating today so the fact that this post is even happening is a miracle in itself! I shall not test it but trying to flip the photo!)
I really thought I pinned this but I guess this was one of those ideas I actually stored in my brain and not on my holiday Pinterest board because I cannot find it anywhere!

You will need:
 New pajamas for everyone in the family
treats (hot cocoa, popcorn, and/or candy)
new Christmas movie/s and/or new game

On Christmas eve, you all open the big box together, put on your new pj's, make some cocoa and enjoy a fun evening together watching movies and playing games. I am so excited to begin this fun new tradition!

And before I leave you, I want to share some exciting news. My husband is releasing his very first full album on cd today!!!
Yes, my husband is a rock star. (he would disagree entirely, but I know what's up)
Since he won't say these things himself, I will say them for him. He is a super talented musician and I have been waiting for this day to come. I could not be more proud of him and excited for him than I am right now.

We are celebrating tonight with a few close friends and family. After the cd is released tonight, then it will be available to you as well. I will share more details on that later.

You'll want to know, because it's good!

We are going to take a small break for Christmas and enjoy some time with our families. We will be back to posting after the first of the year.
Until then, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a super Happy New Year!
-Jenny