Operation Santa is all about the joy and the spirit of Christmas as you all know. So, today I have a guest post from Tracy at Having Fun Saving who has some fun hand-made ornaments on her tree this year. Be sure to stop by and visit her great blog.

This craft looks like an easy craft for the kids to do on their own, or to get the whole family involved. As you can see from the picture – there are a few ways to make them. Each one requires pipe cleaners, you can grab these at any dollar store.

• For the one that is green and red, you just twist them around each other to make your candy cane pattern.
• The ones with beads – well, you guessed it – just string beads onto the pipe cleaner and shape as you would like
• The smaller one is a Popsicle stick covered in glitter with a small pipe cleaner curved on top to make the top of the candy cane.

While you are at home decorating – I am hoping that you will watching Christmas movies too. Why not have a Hallmark movie night with Love’s Christmas Journey and Santa this Friday night? And don’t forget to check out the Twitter Party on December 14th.

Tweet Chat

Simply tweet @OperationSanta using the hashtags #ChristmasContest and #HallmarkMovieNight on December 14th between the hours of 4PM and 7PM PST. In addition to the Twitter chat, visit us right here on Operation Santa for your chance to win an iPad, iPad mini, Kindle Fire or other great prizes! Click here to register!

If you like to rent a movie, there are a few Redbox codes you can get when you text one of the keywords below to 727272. They will text you back with your code. All of these keywords are valid through 12-31-12.

• JUSTDANCE
• TRYITOUT
• TRYREDBOX

Click here to learn how you can make a child’s Christmas wish come true.

Does your little girl have a doll house? If so, tonight being Halloween, this is the perfect opportunity to create a spooky look for her bedroom. And if you are having a children’s party tonight, it will be be a great hit with the kids! They can admire it and play with it at the same time.

All you need is some cotton webbing or a bag of spider webs from the Dollar Store, a small plastic skeleton, some small plastic spiders and a witch. You and your daughter can have a lot of fun together creating a special Halloween decoration.

Enjoy!

Planning a Halloween party for a classroom or at home? This fun and easy craft from Better Homes and Gardens offers hours of fun from beginning the craft to playing the game.

What You’ll Need

• Clean, empty 1-gallon paint cans (available at crafts stores)
• Assorted scrapbooking papers, fabric ribbon, and trims
• Solid and textured wool felt (brown and yellow)
• Orange paper
• Mod Podge decoupage medium
• Glue gun and hotmelt adhesives
• Fabric glue
• 1-inch circle paper punch
• Circle paper punches or circle stencils
• Googly eyes in two different sizes
• Number stencils

How to Make It

Courtesy of Read Aloud

• Make a love of reading be your most important education goal for your children. Children who love to read will excel in everything they do.
• Show your children that you value reading, don’t just tell them. Let them see you reading.
• Make reading a daily activity.
• Take outings to the bookstore.
• Give books as gifts.
• Always have time to read with them or help them with their reading.
• Have a wide variety of books on hand, as well as newspapers, magazines and comics.
• Find books that your children are interested in.
• Surprise your children with books about their favorite animal, hobby or passion.
• Join the Book of the Month Club and let them receive a new book every month.
• Create their own little ‘library’ in their room on their own bookshelf. Give them a sense of ownership.

For Preschoolers

• Take your children o the library often while they are young and eager to go.
• On special occasions, take your children to the bookstore and let them pick their favorite book.
• Buy lots of cheap books at garage sales and flea markets.
• Spend more time (and money) on books than on Disney movies.
• Make read aloud time fun for your child.
• Read whatever books your child wants to read.
• Narrate the story with voices and action, get into it and have fun!
• Wrap up quickly when your child loses interest.
• Let your child participate as much as possible- let her finish the sentence, read the pictures, take turns reading, etc.
• Plan play activities that involve books- picnics, crafts, science projects, kits.
• Act out favorite stories and characters from books.
• Let them ‘read’ stories to their dolls or younger siblings.
• Play bookstore or library.
• Do projects, recipes, crafts and activities from books.
• Play reading games- cross of shopping lists, put name tags around the house, play school.
• Have a reading time after meals.
• Be aware of how your child learns best- visual, auditory, or hands on.
• Do a reading night with popcorn and blankets, instead of movie night.
• Don’t do any activities that your child doesn’t enjoy. Learning should be fun!
• Don’t buy books that your child isn’t interested in and make them read them.
• After your child learns to read continue to read books to them above their reading level.

Elementary School to Teenagers

• Encourage reading a book series.
• Continue to encourage and participate in library use.
• Don’t schedule so many activities that your children don’t have time to read.
• Continue to spend money on books as well as all their other activities.
• Try reading plays aloud (and acting them out).
• Have a quiet, comfortable reading area in your home. Make it the most comfortable room in the house.
• Fathers, spend time reading with your kids.
• Keep books and magazines in the car.
• Don’t make your kids turn the lights out at night, let them stay up and read!
• Only own one television, and never put it in your children’s room.
• Cancel your cable subscription and buy books instead.
• Don’t force them to read something they don’t like.
• Send teenagers to the bookstore with money to buy any book they like.
• Allow them to choose their own books from the Book of the Month Club.
• Read a book together at the same time and discuss it.
• Encourage them to write and share what they read about. Do ‘book reports’.
• Keep perspective. Reading should be the number one educational goal, but not the only goal.
• “It is impossible to sit down to write if you have not stood up to live”- Emerson.

Courtesy of : SheKnows.com

Have you ever thought about hosting a block party? With these creative summer games your house will be the highlight of the neighborhood with these terrific family-friendly game ideas from Jamie Yahn of Glitzee Glee, Redplum personal finance expert Lisa Reynolds and Excited2Learn founder Amanda Carman.

Ice cream games

You supply the ice cream, each guest brings a different topping and everyone enjoys an afternoon of frosty fun:

• Banana split building contest: Set out ingredients, bowls and utensils and give each guest five minutes to create a banana split. The prettiest (and most complete) banana split wins!

• Ice cream eating contest: Use the banana splits you just made or provide each competitor with a big bowl of ice cream. Whoever can eat the most — without using their hands — wins!

Photo games

The best part of playing these games? You end up with fab photos that last a lifetime!

• Photo contest: Each family brings a digital camera and takes photos throughout the party. At the end of the gathering, share the photos and select winners: best nature shot, most creative, funniest, etc.

• Photo scavenger hunt: Provide each guest with a list of items to find. When the explorers find something on the list, they take a photo of it. Whoever finds the most items wins!

Water balloon games

The object of playing water balloon games: get wet!

• Toss game: Guests throw water balloons into containers of various sizes, earning one point for every balloon that makes it in without breaking! Most points wins.

• Hoops: Shoot basketball free throws with water balloons! For extra points, teammates stand under the hoop to prevent the balloons from breaking.

• Hot potato: While music plays, gently toss a water balloon from person to person. Whoever is holding the balloon when the music stops — or when the balloon pops — is out! Last one standing wins.

Lawn games

Whether partying in your lush backyard or tailgating on your favorite team’s parking lot, these outdoor games will put you in the competitive spirit!

• Rollors: While on active military duty, Matt Butler created Rollors, which he describes as a “combination of bocce ball, bowling and horseshoes.” Set up a family vs. family tournament using poster board to track the winners, bracket-style! It will become a yearly neighborhood event.

• Summer Olympics: Divide guests into teams and compete in backyard games such as volleyball, soccer, wheelbarrow races and an obstacle course. Buy medals from your local dollar store or make them at home to present to the winning teams!

Chalk activities

Sidewalk Chalk Games

Sidewalk chalk isn’t just for children — everyone can join in the fun!

• Body tracing art contest: Provide each competing artist with an array of colored sidewalk chalk and five minutes to trace party guests on the pavement. Best likeness wins!

• Sidewalk games: Use chalk to create old-fashioned games such as hopscotch, four-square and the long jump. Adults will want to join in too!

Fruit games

Fruit is aplenty in summer, so have some fun with it!

• Fruit roll: Each child tries to roll a sphere-shaped fruit (honeydew, grapefruit, orange, lime) across the yard. First to the finish line without destroying or picking up the fruit wins!

• Seed spitting contest: This game requires little explanation… whoever spits a watermelon seed the farthest wins! The prize: a watermelon!

Courtesy of:  Parenting.com 

If you are trying to beat the heat this summer, here are some great activities to cool you and your family off.

• Jump Water. Run a strong stream from a garden hose back and forth like a snake under your child’s feet, allowing him to jump over it. With more kids, turn it into a competition: Whoever’s feet don’t get drenched wins!

• Liquid limbo. Use the stream from a water hose as the stick for a high-stakes game of limbo. 

• Backyard Bath. Take advantage of a warm summer evening by bathing your baby (and older siblings if they’re game!) outdoors. Fill a kiddie pool with water, bath toys, and bubbles, and turn a chore into a delight.

• Sponge-worthy. Give each of your kids two buckets — one filled with water and one empty — and a sponge. Instruct them to transfer the water from one bucket to the other using only the sponge. Whoever does it the fastest gets first choice of ice-pops. Solo kids can also play by racing against the clock.

•  Spray of light. Little tykes can help you garden by watering plants with a spray bottle; give bigger guys the whole hose (and expect them to get wet!). If it’s a sunny day, show them how they can spot a rainbow in the mist.

•  Ball blast. Use ropes to create a circle or square on your lawn. Place balls of varying sizes and weights inside. Give your child a hose and challenge her to push the balls out with the water in less than a minute.

• Balloon babies. Fill up a water balloon and draw a face on it with a dark marker. Wrap it in a paper towel, then hand your child (ages 4 and up) his new “baby.” See how long he can take care of it before it breaks.

• Water-gun tag. This clever twist on a classic is pretty self-explanatory: Have everyone don bathing suits and play tag. Whoever is “It” gets the water gun and tries to tag the other players with a cold squirt!

• Freeze! Place plastic bugs, toy cars, or other small treasures in your cube tray, add water, and freeze. Then hand a piece of ice to your child (age 3 and up) and have her melt it in her hands until the prize emerges.

• Pool ping-pong. Float an inner tube in the center of the pool, then toss a bunch of ping-pong balls in the water. Kids who know how to swim unassisted can jump in, retrieve the balls, and try to toss them in the tube.

• Drink up. Encourage your child to try water flavored with different ingredients. Include slices of cucumber, lemon, lime, orange, and various berries (raspberry, strawberry, blueberry) — and see which one she likes best.