This is a fun Valentine’s project for older girls.

Materials:

• Food Coloring
• Water
• Oil
• Glitter
• Satin cord or any other kind of necklace cord
• Sealing Wax (or candle wax)
• Small bottle with cork stopper – available at many craft stores). Look for mini message bottles.
• Funnel

Instructions

Start by adding a couple of drops of food coloring to some water. Pour the colored water into the bottle, using your funnel, until it fills up to the halfway point.

Next, use the funnel to pour in oil until the bottle is almost full. You can use any type of cooking oil for this part. Sprinkle in a pinch of glitter and then stop up the bottle with the cork.

Tie the cord around the neck of the bottle and leave enough cord on either side to tie loosely around the neck.

Next, melt sealing (or candle) wax around the stopper to make sure that it will not fall out. Once the wax is dry, you can tie the cord together to make a necklace. When the bottle is shaken, it almost looks like a lava lamp as the colored water and oil swirl together with the glitter.

For even more flair, try making shrink-dink charms that say “Love Potion #9” or add pre-made heart charms from your local art store.

Simple Valentine’s Projects Your Kids Will Love

Materials

• White Crayon (or pastel)
• Water-Based Marker
• Watercolor Paint
• Paintbrush and water cup
• Watercolor Paper (or thick construction paper)
• Newspaper

Instructions

Start by folding your watercolor paper in half to make it into a card shape. Crease the fold and then open the paper back up and lay it down.

Next, take a white crayon and draw images onto the paper. The images can range from hearts and words to abstract swirls. Flip the paper and draw with white crayon on the back as well. If the white is too difficult to see, you can use a pastel crayon instead. Once all of the drawings are done, lay the paper on top of a stack of newspapers, to keep your workspace clean while you are watercolor painting.

Next comes the fun part.

Using your watercolor paint, brush streaks of color across the entire page. If children are too young to use watercolor paint, you can also use water-based. You will see that the parts covered in white crayon will stay white. Kids are amazed by how magical this process seems and it instantly turns the Valentine into a vibrant, one-of-a-kind card.

In light of the difficult economic and financial conditions facing us today, the choice of “Joy” as the focus of our Christmas celebrations this year may have seemed untimely at best. The bad news seems to keep coming, with little consensus as to when we may reach bottom and begin the upward climb. Yet, December is also the month when “Joy to the World” was sung all across our land, commemorating that centuries-old angelic proclamation: “Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.”

So, in the midst of all of today’s gloom and doom, is there a place for joy? Well, in the words of Mother Teresa: “Profound joy of the heart is like a magnet that indicates the path of life. One has to follow it, even though one enters into a way full of difficulties.” That theme was echoed by author Robert D. Foster, who wrote: “Joy is an inward singing which cannot be silenced by outward negative circumstances. Yes, even when life seemingly is falling apart.” No matter your current circumstances, hold joy and appreciation in your heart and you will get through these difficult times with a smile on your face.

Operation Letter to Santa and Santa’s blog wishes you great joy in your life and a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year!

New Years Eve is nigh and if you follow these tips you will have a safe and happy celebration!

1. If you are invited to a party, DO bring a date. It doesn’t have to be a real date if you are not currently involved with someone. Bring a friend, a relative or a office mate to celebrate the dawn of the New Year with you. However, don’t assume that the evening has to end with a kiss at midnight. If your escort is not somebody you know well or is a relative, a quick congratulatory hug will do!
2. This is the last night of the year and one where people typically feel comfortable letting their hair down. DO go out and have fun. Catch a live band. Join other people for street parties downtown. Make reservations at a restaurant that you normally would not go to because it is too fancy, too expensive…. the list goes on.  But be sure to eat something substantial if you are going to be drinking. Do plan on exercising patience and good will though. Remember that there will be a lot of people celebrating around you and lines for food, drinks and bathrooms will be long. Look around you while you are waiting and enjoy the revelers swirling around you. DON’T pitch a fit if you have to wait for a seat in a crowded restaurant or bar. DON’T constantly check your watch or sigh loudly. Even though you think you won’t be noticed in such a loud and lively crowd, you will! People do notice when you are being obnoxious. And they will do everything they can to avoid you and tend to the people who are being kind to them. It is just human nature.
3. DO tip your waiter and/or bartender. They are working hard on this night!
4. Before finalizing your New Years Eve plans, DO make sure that you have a way to get around and get back home without driving while under the influence. Find a friend who is willing to be the designated driver or check with your local cab company to see if they are offering free rides for inebriated revelers. Whatever you do, DON’T get behind the wheel if you are even just a little buzzed.
5. DO make sure you have some hidden cash on you for emergencies and that your cell phone is fully charged.
6. DO stick together during this fast-paced, crazy evening. Going out to parties and nightclubs means a fast-paced, crazy night; so be sure to travel in groups. Having a safety net around you in this environment, especially for women, is imperative.
7. DO drink sensibly if you are drinking.
8. DO have a happy and healthy New Years celebration!

As you know, Santa has an enormous list of children who are expecting him to deliver Christmas goodies on Christmas Eve.

In order to track Santa’s progress around the world, NORAD has organized a global tracking system to help you determine when you can expect Santa to arrive in your neighborhood.

Remember to put out milk and cookies for Santa and even some reindeer food before saying your prayers and nodding off to sleep.

Click here to track Santa!

USPS carrier not allowed to deliver while wearing Santa suit.

By NAT LEVY
Bellevue Reporter Staff Writer

While dreams of Santa popping down the chimney on Christmas Eve to deliver presents were extinguished for most during childhood, a select few Bellevue residents have seen St. Nick trade in his sleigh for a mail truck.

Until now.

For more than a decade now, letter carrier Bob McLean has driven around Bellevue each holiday season, delivering a little Christmas cheer while wearing a full Santa getup for two or three days. But this year, a local grinch complained to the U.S. Postal Service, and McLean has been banned from bringing his alter ego to work this year.

“The government is shutting me down because it’s a non-postal regulation uniform,” said McLean, who has been with the postal service since 1971.

McLean began donning the red and white when a stranger at the mall told him he looked like Santa Claus. Always the crowd pleaser, McLean took to the comparison, went out and bought a suit, and then another.

When he first started delivering mail in full Santa garb, McLean immediately noticed the attention. He said he’s caused traffic jams on his route on Old Main as passing drivers attempted to catch a glimpse. Merchants along his route have watched for years as McLean has been the center of attention to tourists and residents alike.

“They stop him on the corner and want group pictures with him,” said Brenda Archuletta, manager of Amore Chocolates. “Little kids – they just stare because they wonder.”

They wonder because he fits the character. Every bit Kris Kringle, McLean sports a white beard and a tuft of long white hair. Looking the part is no easy effort, either. He dyes his blond hair, and keeps a careful eye on the calendar when he trims the beard.

The only part of the Santa look he lacks is the portly figure, after losing 95 pounds.

McLean has brought his alter ego to Bellevue’s most popular Christmas attraction, Snowflake Lane, where he took his family a few years ago. He said they were pushed aside as 50 people lined up to take pictures.

He’s also been a big hit at the Aegis Living of Bellevue senior center. He visits regularly as both Santa and mailman. The residents know him well, and  are always excited when Santa knows their name, he said.

But only a few days after Thanksgiving this year, he was pulled off his route by a supervisor saying someone had complained about the uniform. He didn’t know who he had upset, or why the complaint was filed.

“This was the first time; I don’t know what happened,” he said. “I don’t step on anyone’s toes. Being Santa isn’t religious to me; it’s secular. It’s about giving.”

USPS spokesman Ernie Swanson said the complaint came from a fellow carrier. Decked out in the full on Santa suit, McLean was not recognizable as a USPS employee.

McLean is still shocked over the outcome. He sees carriers wearing Christmas gear all the time. Either way, McLean said, he will bring the Christmas cheer, and he plans to don the Santa suit at work one last time: Christmas Eve.

Bob McLean delivers mail along his route while dressed as Santa Claus in 2009. CHAD COLEMAN, Bellevue Reporter File Photo

Contact Bellevue Reporter Staff Writer Nat Levy at nlevy@bellevuereporter.com or 425-453-4290.