Birthdays and Holidays

In celebration of Mother's Day, we'd like to give a shout-out to Nyaya Health, an amazing organization that one of our former staffers, Chase Yarbrough, is involved with. Happy Mother's Day to moms everywhere! — The Circle of Moms Editors

In Nepal, moms are nearly 100 times more likely to die in birth than moms in the United States. Nyaya Health is changing that by delivering data-driven health care in one of the most isolated regions of the world. For Mother's Day, Nyaya has partnered with crowd-funding platform Kangu to fund safe deliveries for mothers and their children-to-be.

You can crowd fund a safe birth for an expecting mother and have a personalized card sent to a mom you love this Mother's Day. Your gift to Nyaya will help them turn Mother's Day into a day with real impact. And if you can give $10 or more, they'll send your mom or loved one a personalized card this Sunday.

For more information, visit Nyaya Health. And to make a donation, visit Kangu.

My friend Barbara created this amazing, good old fashioned ladybug-themed party for her little girl's fifth birthday. It was really easy to throw, and included a craft activity, party games, and a stunning birthday cake.

As with all good parties, especially girls' parties, it started with the craft activity: making ladybug hats. All the pieces were pre-cut and ready to go (she used instructions found on YouTube.)

Then onto the party games! My favorite one was the bug & spoon race. She scrunched individual pieces of tissue paper in many different colors into balls and then glued on self adhesive eyes. The kids used large salad spoons to hold the bugs and then ran relay races with two teams. The kids loved it.

The party finished with a lovely ladybug cake. It was absolutely delicious, and needless to say, it didn't last long!

Image Source: Niamh Farnon

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, POPSUGAR.

Even with the abundance of creative blueprints for great kids' birthday parties out there, for some of us, planning a birthday party is always going to be anxiety-provoking. It's not necessarily because we don’t know how to do it; it's because we don’t want to be doing it at all!

If the thought of throwing a party for your child's approaching birthday makes you tense, here is some sage advice from Circle of Moms members on how to handle three common birthday party concerns.

1. Your Child Doesn't Have Friends to Invite

Julia P. worries about her kids not having friends to invite to a party. She’s a military mom who lives off-post and moves a lot, which means she and her preschoolers have yet to make friends in their new home.

If your child doesn't have many friends to invite to a party, for whatever reason, several moms suggest sparing your him the discomfort of a poorly attended event and making it a day just for him instead. After Kim H.’s family moved, they celebrated by picking an activity just for the birthday boy: "The entire day was for [him] and even though it was just family, the kids had a very special day," she shares.

2. Noone Will Come

Other moms worry whether anyone will come to their child’s party, and for some it’s a realistic fear. Kristin R. dreads throwing her son a birthday party. Although she invites his whole class, she knows attendance will be sparse and her son will have trouble getting along with the other kids. He has ADHD and Asperger Syndrome, which complicates his efforts to make friends. Another Circle of Moms member, Michelle M., invited all 22 of her son’s preschool classmates to his party and only one parent responded. When the day rolled around she was at a loss to ease his disappointment.

The lack of RSVPs is often more likely due to bad manners than bad intentions, say several of our members. Still, more than one suggests that moms in Michelle's situation give the parents a call or catch them in the school parking lot to check in before the party.

Beth G. also suggests a backup plan: invite cousins. Remember, too, she says, to emphasize that it’s not the number of kids who come, it’s the fun they have together.

3. Your Child's Birthday Falls on a Holiday or During Summer

Finally, some parents have to grapple with birthdays that fall at awkward times. A member named Laura has trouble getting responses for her son’s July birthday parties, even when she sends out the invitations before school breaks for the summer! Australian mom Lisa R. can relate. Her son’s birthday not only falls during their summer holiday, but right around Christmas, too, which makes birthday planning really hard.

Michelle L. points out you don’t have to stick with inviting school friends or even a traditional party. Her sons are content with inviting a couple of kids from the neighborhood to do something special, like go to the movies or a water park.

Kay K. solved the summer birthday problem in her house by having her son’s party on the last day of school and celebrating his actual birthday with family.

In the end, as Kristin R. concludes, a big birthday party isn't actually the best way to celebrate, as it just puts pressure on both mother and child. All that really matters is that your child feels special on his birthday.

Image Source: Getty/Darrin Klimek

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, POPSUGAR.

Valentine’s Day offers a great opportunity to explore crafts and fun learning activities with your children. Help make the day of love and friendship special by trying some new activities together.

Valentine's Day Fingerprint Card

Valentine's Day Fingerprint Cards make great homemade gifts and cherished memories for grandparents or friends on Valentine's Day!

Materials Needed

• One red sheet of cardstock or construction paper (folded in half) for each child
• A black marker
• Paint trays (or paper plates)
• Assorted Valentine's Day colors of washable tempera paint
• Paint smocks (or old T-shirts) to protect clothing
• Scissors
• Glue sticks
• One copy (free to download) of the Valentine's Fingerprint Card PDF file

To Make the Cards

1.  On the folded piece of cardstock, assist the children in drawing a basic "stick" tree. Older children can draw their own, but younger children will need assistance (see card photo).

2.  Have the children lightly dip one finger into a paint color. (For infants or very young children, the paint can be brushed onto a finger with a paintbrush and washed off after printing.) Children should make two fingerprints for each heart (one print slightly left and one printed slightly right to form a "heart").  Have the children make several fingerprint "hearts" all around the tree on the card. Allow the prints to dry thoroughly.

3.  Have the children draw a heart around each of the fingerprinted hearts on their trees (see photo). Younger children will need assistance.

4.  Help the children cut out the caption from the Valentine's Fingerprint Card PDF file (assist younger children with scissors skills). Next, kids can glue the square caption inside the card and write their names.

Valentine's Day Patterning

This craft is a fabulous craft for preschool and kindergarten-aged children.

1. Print one Valentine's Day Patterning Page (free to download) for each of your children.  

2. Discuss patterns with your children. Have the children look at colored hearts to see if they can recognize any pattern that exists in the choice of colors used for the hearts in each of the rows. Help your children determine exactly what color the last heart in each row should be to complete the pattern. The children can use markers or crayons to color the last heart. 

As your children get used to working with patterns, they will begin to point them out as they see patterns at the grocery store, during family travels, at school, etc. It is fun to watch new and emerging skills take hold!

For more Valentine's Day crafts and activities for young kids (including the "Tree of Love" Craft) visit: The Preschool Toolbox Blog!

Image Source: Darla Hutson

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, POPSUGAR.

I had this genius idea of making the 12 Days of Christmas from Jello. It turned out to not be my best idea. I think I had a plan for two of the 12 days, but after that it was a blank!

My first brilliant idea was to create a Jello pear (for a partridge in a pear tree) by making a mold out of a balloon and masking tape. It worked beautifully when I tested the shape with water from the tap, but when I tried to use a calpol syringe to force the Jello into the ballon it all back fired– I stood there with Jello spirting up my nose and all over my clothes! For lords a leaping I tried to make Jello mustache lollies, but they fell straight off the sticks.

In my attempt to photograph the Jello (quite difficult as the light really bounces off it), I decided to make a Jello plinth. (Well, I filled some tupperwear with Jello to use as a stand.) I placed it on a larger piece of tupperwear and lit it from underneath with a camping head lamp. It all seemed like a good plan until it all started to collapse. While I took the photo there was Jello everywhere!

At one stage, my days seemed consumed by making Jello. The fridge was full of different shapes and flavors... until Jellogate. One morning, the alarmed was raised when the Jello turtle doves and two of the four colly birds I made had gone missing. As I interrograted the kids, my husband wandered into the kitchen looking guilty. "It could well have been me," he confessed later. "I just can't really remember." Classic passive aggressive behavior, my friends diagnosed. 

One of my kids was in seventh heaven with all the Jello testing, the other has vowed not to eat another mouthful of the stuff ever again. The Jello was becoming an issue, so I decided to step away from it... but not before I'd diversified to include chocolate and cookies.

It's all done now, and I haven't made Jello since. Maybe one day I'll be able to get back into Jello... small steps!

Image Source: courtesy of Niamh Farnon

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, POPSUGAR.

Toys, toys and more toys! How many toys do your kids really need? What rules can you put in place to keep the kids and the house from being overwhelmed? It's all part of "Toy Overload," and it's being discussed in many Circle of Moms communities. How do you avoid this explosion, especially around the holidays? Here are some options for reducing and decluttering the toys in your home.

Reducing The Amount Of Toys

1. Give Non-Toy Gifts

When a birthday or holiday is approaching, family members will likely hit you with the loaded question: "What does your child want?" If your house is already overflowing with toys, this is the perfect time to explain to them the kinds of gifts that would be better than toys. A member named Erin has plenty of responses to question, including gift cards to the zoo, passes to a local pool, donations towards ballet or gymnastics classes, or punch cards from a kids gym nearby, any of which wil enable a child "to have fun all year-long," and not just on her birthday or during the holidays.

The protest from grandparents and other well-meaning relatives usually involves having something for your kid to open and play with on their special day. Christy N. shares the perfect solution for making gift cards fun to open: "One year my daughter did get a gift card ... it was wrapped in a bunch of tissue paper and put in a Chuck e Cheese lidded cup with a straw. They tied a ribbon around the cup and wa-la, [my daughter] had a gift to open!"

2. Pre-Holiday Purge

A very popular Circle of Moms member suggestion is to get your kids involved in purging old toys a few weeks before the upcoming holiday. Crystal L. makes her children pick their favorites, which are usually the newest, and donate the rest. 

Holly, who has daughters, does toy purges with each of her girls before their birthdays, giving as many as possible away to make room for any new ones they might get.  But even when there's no birthday or holiday on the horizon, you can always do a purge of toys that are no longer played with, or that your kids have outgrown developmentally. Lydia F. has several systems and rules that she shares for keeping toys from getting out of control. Number one on her list is something you can do on a weekly or monthly routine: "Throw everything out that has missing pieces and is broken."

3. Donate To Charity

Kids can learn to appreciate what they have when they donate their gently used toys to a charity or shelter. Since having too many toys is very much a first world problem, many moms use the opportunity to teach their children about helping others. As Holly reports, "I figure having the girls go through all their toys with me and giving away a good portion of them teaches them the spirit of giving and also teaches them about moderation and sharing." And Emma B. has discovered that her daughter really enjoys seeing her toys go where they're really appreciated.

Maria P.'s kids were stubborn about not wanting to give away even the toys they weren't using, so she took them to a local orphanage so they could see the need first-hand: "After being there, they decided to donate the majority of their toys and felt really good about it too."

Reducing The Clutter Of Toys

1. Rotate Toys

One of the most popular suggestions by moms on how to cut down the clutter is to rotate toys on a regular basis. This keeps a majority of toys in storage most of the time, and makes them seem 'new again' every couple months. Chantal S. has a simple system that works well in her house: "I put all the toys in four containers and alternate monthly."

Rotating also helps Sharon M. evaluate which toys to get rid of: "Anything that doesn't get attention when it comes back out goes away for about six to eight weeks. If it still has no love, then it's gone.

2. Sorting And Storage

If the sentimental side of you can't bear to part with toys forever, a more permanent storage solution might be the best way to get them out of your way. Ellen D. found that boxing them up and putting them in storage helped with the clutter.

The first step is getting large bins for sorting toys, then figuring out which toys are really worth keeping out. Nannette L. suggests getting the kids involved in every step: "I purchased bins for toys that he always plays with and bins for toys that need to be disposed of. You could also add another bin for the toys that you wanted to keep. Put the 'keep bin' in storage, the 'play bin' in [your child's] room, and [donate] the dispose bin."

Another member, Mel C. has a great idea on how to reduce the amount of toys at your house without getting rid of them completely: "Always keep a stack of toys at grandparents' or friends' houses [if] you visit often! Tell the child that it will stay at their house and you can play when you visit!"

Image Source: Upsilon Andromedae via Flickr/Creative Commons

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, POPSUGAR.

We put up our tree this afternoon during that delightful window between the afternoon naps and dinner. The tree is named Herbie the Fourth. We found him this morning at our local Boys and Girls Club. He is a perfect height for our apartment, and he has a nice, full shape. He is also perfectly scrappy - with more than a few dry needles.

Our Very First Tree

In 2008, we found Herbie the Original on Myrtle Avenue in Brooklyn. He was our first Christmas tree. I'm not sure why we waited until 2008 to get our first Christmas tree. My husband and I had been living together since 2004, and we got married in 2006. We had been trying to get pregnant for what felt like a long time by December 2008. So perhaps we had started to think of ourselves as family in a way that we had not before.

Because we had not ever put up a Christmas tree together, we had no ornaments to decorate the tree. My husband and I went to the Union Square Holiday Market to see what we could find there. It feels funny to buy Christmas ornaments, especially for your first Christmas tree. My husband and I both think of the ornaments you put on your tree as little homemade pieces of your family's past. They come from a box in your basement, not a store (or a tent in Union Square). But there we were, at the beginning of what would become our own family's "past," at the Holiday Market looking for ornaments that would feel right.

We decorated the tree that night, and when it was time to top the tree, we did not have a star. We had a taxi - which seemed right for our New York Christmas Tree, Herbie.

About a month later, we found out I was pregnant with our little Fraggle Bug. 

In 2009, we did not get a tree. We were completely immersed in first baby time, which meant I didn't know what month it was for several months.

(Here's another example: we were out for a beer with friends about five weeks after Bug was born. One of the friends mentioned wanting to watch the World Series. I asked who was playing. He asked if I was kidding. The Yankees had won the World Series that year.)

Herbie Returns

In 2010, we got a tree again: Herbie, Jr. We played Christmas music; we decorated; we made a video of decorating. The taxi topped the tree.

In 2011, we got Herbie, III. We found Herbie, III on Clinton Avenue in front of a church near Lafayette. We had Bug in the stroller, Squish in a carrier, and my husband walked Herbie, III several blocks home to our apartment. We played Christmas music. I tried to get Bug to make some ornaments with me. We made sparkly pipe-cleaner candy canes, a construction-paper-ring chain, and several snow flakes and Christmas tree cut-outs. Squish sat in a bouncy seat, and Bug helped me to decorate the tree, topped by our taxi. My husband took pictures. Squish had arrived only two and a half months before, but that night of decorating stands out in my memory as one of great peace, calm, and warmth.

A Family Tradition, Firmly Established

Today, we found Herbie the Fourth. When Bug woke up from his afternoon nap, my husband started the Christmas music and the boys and I started to decorate. We reached into the box (from the basement), unwrapped the ornaments, and started to hang them on the tree. After several false starts I realized we were going to need some snacks this year. After my husband supplied the crackers for Bug and Squish, the decorating went into full swing.  Soon enough it was time to top the tree, and Bug said he wanted to do it. My husband lifted Bug up to reach the top, and Bug (my little Bug!) put the taxi at the top of Herbie.

This morning, my husband and I pointed at our tree at the same time and asked each other, "What about that one?!?" We smiled and looked at the tree together, and I said, "Yes. That is our Herbie." I have thought to myself that perhaps I should give the tree a different name every year. After all, every year it is a different tree. But this year, when Bug topped Herbie with the taxi, I realized our tree will always be named Herbie.

Image Source: (my photo)

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, POPSUGAR.