Last Minute Quick DIY Gift Ideas

I don't know about you, but I'm done with shopping.  I mean it.  All of my holiday shopping is complete.  Well, mostly.  Note I didn't say my gifts are done.  I am working on making as many gifts as I can on my own this year.  One problem is that I'm not great at arts.  I'm not a fantastic sewer, I can't crochet, I don't really paint.  So I thought I would share a few of the things that I'm working on for gifts in the next 13 days.  If you are receiving one of these - act surprised and pretend you like it!

Cheap & Easy Toddler Sleeping Bag

 This is a toddler sized sleeping bag.  The material cost me $2.88 at Walmart.  The project took about 15 minutes to complete.  I made 2 more out of some slightly more expensive fleece from JoAnn Fabric.  They turned out beautifully, I can't wait to give them to my boys as part of their camping play set.

Felt Camp Fire & Logs

Along with the sleeping bags, I've made a felt campfire and logs.  (I'm not quite done with the logs).  I find that felt is extremely easy to work with and my felt projects are pretty rewarding.  My fire is poofier than this and I'll add pictures at a later date (after the logs are completed).  The total cost for this project was approximately $1 because I already had poly-fill on hand.  No money?  Don't limit yourself to poly-fill.  I used socks to fill a bean bag for the boys.

Tent Kit

Next is a tent kit (called a Fort Kit) in this link.  Mine is not even as complex as this.  A fabric bag with a couple of twin sized sheets (we have extra) and some clothespins.  This is all stuff we already have at home, it will just be repurposed into tent making supplies!

Easy Storage Canister

I'll come back to the boy stuff in a bit.  I'm working on a few fun things for some favorite adults in my life.  You may or may not be one of the people on my list.  I found these super easy, cheap repurposed canisters.  I also found some really cute knobs at Hobby Lobby on clearance.  I love clearance.  These will be filled with different things for the various people who receive them.


One will have a pancake mix as part of a breakfast set.  Another will have a salad topper mix as part of a salad kit.  One might have crayons as part of an art set.  There are others - I just have not exactly figured out what will go into them!

DIY Apron

Along with these crafty, kitcheny gifts, I am making aprons.  I have a pattern with several styles in it!  I also have some fun reclaimed fabric to use!  This is not my pattern.  There are so many cute tutorials and patterns.  I can't wait to try a few for my friends!

We are putting together a cookie kit for someone as well.  This will be complete with an apron, cookie cutters, hot pads, tray liner, and a few other trinkets.  It may also include the necessary supplies for a LARGE batch of sugar cookies and frosting.  It will not likely fit in these cute jars.

Another set we are putting together is an arts and crafts variety box.  Each kit has a variety of crafty odds and ends tucked into shoe box for hours of bonding fun with the families that will receive them.  No pictures or tutorials available on this one.

One final project: Knight costumes.  These will be for my older 2 boys and my middle 2 nephews.  They'll all get them when we celebrate Christmas together.  I anticipate an amazingly fun time (but isn't it always?).  These costumes were SO easy to make using old pillow cases and a little bit of felt.  The total cost for each was around $3.  The crowns are double sided, one side has 3 shapes, the other has 2 shapes and an initial.  Even a so-so sewer can do it!


What are your Christmas projects?  Share a link in the comments below!

Cheap & Super Easy Toddler Sleeping Bag

My "big" boys are getting new mama-made sleeping bags for Christmas as part of a camping play set that I'm putting together.  I got some incredibly cute fabrics the day after Thanksgiving at an amazing price and am looking forward to putting those together very soon.

We were at Walmart the other day and I got to thinking that the little guy is just starting to get to the point that he wants to do what his brothers are doing.  He will probably want his own sleeping bag for playing camping in the very near future as well.  We happened to walk past a big bin of cheapo, thin fleece blankets - they were something like $3 or $4 a piece.  I picked one out that I didn't think looked TOO girly, and had a fun print on it.

Seriously, this is how simple his sleeping bag is... I opened it up, found the halfway line, pinned some ribbons on the OUTSIDE of the fabric.  I made the pattern on the ribbon face outside, next time I'll reverse it so that when I tie the bag together the pattern shows easily.  I measured my ribbon by wrapping it around the rolled blanket and giving it enough slack to make bows.

Next I pinned the blanket sides together, leaving the ribbons on the outside of the fabric - which became the INSIDE of my pins, they were hidden while I sewed.  I used a quick straight stitch about 2/3 of the way around the folded blanket, leaving room to fold the top open for easy entrance/exit.

Here is the finished bag, ribbon closures in place.  I folded the corner down, which you cannot see at all in this picture.  One thing I like about using the blanket is that it already has finished edges, so it looks like I did a lot of work.

Rolled, tied, ready to wrap for a Christmas morning surprise.

If you were putting together a camping play set for preschool/kindergarten aged boys, what would you make sure to include?

Healthy Family Date: Review

Do you ever go on "Family Dates"?  We love to go out with our boys for fun activities.  They enjoy hiking, playgrounds, shopping (yes, weird boys), library visits, and so many other things that are going on around town.  We love it that they can get excited about healthy, cultural events!

Recently we decided to look for a different kind of healthy date.  The requirements for this "big event" were 1) healthy food (remember we are working on a vegan diet);  2) lots of movement that our 2 and 4 year old could enjoy together with us; and 3) a reasonable price.  You would never believe where we found it.  We found a restaurant with a salad bar and a LOT of fun games and play areas.  The best salad bar in Fort Wayne comes at a cost of about $7 per person for all you can eat (unfortunately there are not discounts for being a young child).

We decided that we would have the amazing salad bar for myself and Mr. Crum and let the boys slack a little on healthy eating, they shared a pizza.  The package for their pizza, drinks, and a handful of tokens was only about $20.  We could easily have shared this package with our whole family of 5 and had enough to eat.  The food was fantastic.  Side note: we ate here about a year ago and did not like the pizza very well at that time.  I think they have improved their formula over the last year.

Health: Chuck E Cheese offers a variety of food options varying from extremely healthy to not so much.  There are reasonably priced choices for the whole family.  They have also just begun offering gluten free pizza and cupcakes nation wide as an option for families who are facing gluten intolerance!  Way to go Chuck E Cheese!

Cassius getting his hand stamped.

Safety: Every person that enters the doors at Chuck E Cheese is given an invisible stamp on the hand.  This special ink glows in a black light to help the gate keepers make sure that all children leave with the adults they came in with.  There are also regular sweeps of the restaurant to keep it clean and free of debris that could be harmful for visitors.  Excellent job on safety!

The big climber/slide.

Entertainment:  Chuck E Cheese has always been high on entertainment, that's their thing.  They offer an excellent variety of activities to keep the whole family going.  Our 2 year old loved the climber & slide.  Our 4 year old loved the rides & games.  We enjoyed bouncing from activity to activity with them and helping them understand how different things worked.  On this visit, our children were not very interested in the show.  They did, however, participate in a costume parade with Chuck E Cheese and dance with him to earn extra prize tickets.

Mr. Crum teaching Manasseh about air hockey.

We happened to show up during "Chucktober", which is celebrated by inviting children to come in costumes and participate in extra ticket giveaway activities.

"Dr." Manasseh dreaming of his future car.

Take Away:  We left Chuck E Cheese with a few photos and a couple of plastic frogs.  More importantly, we left with children that have a fond memory of a great day interacting with their parents.  I LOVE that my boys have those memories.  I think that a few hours at Chuck E Cheese every once in a while is a great way to build some relationship with my boys (and stay healthy while doing it).

Azariah taking his first ride - this one snaps a picture.

Recommendation:  I think that if you're okay with crowds and enjoy high levels of activity, this is a fantastic family date.  The food is amazing (yep, I'm talking about Chuck E Cheese) and the games are a lot of fun.  All games and rides are 1 token (about a quarter each - less depending on how many tokens you buy) and they can promote family togetherness.  Consider taking a trip to Chuck E Cheese to shake off the winter blahs!

THANKS CHUCK E CHEESE FOR A FUN, HEALTHY FAMILY DATE!

***Disclaimer: I did receive a product or products in exchange for this review.  All opinions are my own.***