Everyone’s favorite gift guide – what we’re actually giving our kids this Christmas! It’s been enjoyed since 2019, when we had a four-year-old girl and a one-year-old boy. Below, I’ve shared what each of our kids will be finding under the tree this year, along with a few suggestions I gave to relatives. I’ve also listed a few of the very favorite kid items we already own at the bottom if you’re looking for a few more suggestions!
(And if it’s helpful, I’ve linked everything here!)
First, the kids will be receiving one joint gift this year – the beautiful embroidered banner below for our loft/playroom, in honor of the Narnia books they’ve been reading with John. I love it so much, but the other designs are tempting, too!
June (who is almost 9) will be receiving:
— A side-by-side pottery wheel session with Mama. Pottery was her first elective choice at camp and she’s been eager to try her hand at the wheel. We’ll pair it with dinner after and I think she’ll be in heaven! — New bedding: the duvet, sham, and sheet set of her choice. I’ve selected some options I think she’ll love (including this, this, and this) and will wrap and print a little catalog for her to choose from. She’s been asking for a “fluffy” comforter for awhile (she has a quilt on her bed now), so I think this will be very exciting. — A dog rescue LEGO Friends set. She goes hot and cold on LEGOs but a “animal or bakery” themed set was at the top of her list this year. This one should do nicely. — Two winter watercolor workbooks – one from Emily Lex (I bought it in the cutest shop in our downtown, supporting two small businesses in one go!) and one from Brighter Day Press. I’m hoping she’ll let me paint alongside her!
— A ticket to Dude Perfect when they come to Greensboro next summer. We would have bought tickets for both kids, but June will be at camp on this date! — A Star Wars LEGO set. He’s seen the first movie and is obsessed. I think he also circled every set in the catalog, so we really can’t go wrong :) — A wooden paddleboat kit. We snagged this surreptitiously on our Bryson City trip after he clamored for it in a store. — An NC Courage tee to cheer on his favorite soccer ladies.
— Dog BINGO. I originally purchased this for June a few months ago, and she’s going to be very jealous when she sees Annie open it, but ultimately it will be played by everyone and I’m relieved to have another gift with the name of the hardest child to shop for under the tree :) — A giant box of chalk. This sidewalk chalk is incredible – bold and vibrant – and with 180 pieces, should satisfy our smallest artist for at least a few weeks. — A kimchi tee. All of our kids are nuts for fermented cabbage, much to John’s delight. They’ll get a kick out of this graphic tee, which I’ll wrap with a few consignment finds I held back from my fall haul. — A new bike helmet from our local shop, just like the big kids. — A little purse for all her treasures.
Other ideas I gave to relatives: panda slippers and a bunny light. Mostly, this girl is still just thrilled to be here and happy to open anything! :)
A FEW OF OUR TIME-TESTED, VERY FAVORITE TOYS AND GIFTS:
— The Nugget, a key component for hours of open-ended play. — This ice cream play set, which has provided hours and hours of entertainment. FIVE STARS. — A set of MagnaTiles, because yes, they’re as good as everyone says they are. Definitely add the cars, and remember MagnaTiles and PicassoTiles are interchangeable! — A big box of colorful Duplos (played with daily for many years). — America’s Test Kitchen Complete Baking Book for Young Chefs, which has some of the most delicious recipes I’ve ever tasted (those chocolate crinkle cookies!). — A box of letter writing supplies (cards and envelopes, postage stamps, a fancy pen, stickers, a return address stamp, maybe even pre-addressed labels printed with the addresses of grandparents and friends!). — The softest faux fur tie dye blanket in all of June’s favorite colors. — A wooden train track. We have a combo of the Hape and Ikea sets, which are interchangeable. — A Micro Kickboard scooter. These are hands-down the best scooters – we’ve gifted them to all of our kids around age 2, and 3-5 is the sweet spot. — A glow-in-the-dark soccer ball – perfect for street games after Daylight Savings Time! — A Priority Start bike. June started with the 16″ at age 4 3/4, graduated to the 20″ at age 6, and got the 24″ for her 8th birthday. Shep now rides the 20″ and Annie will get the 16″ on her 4th birthday. These bikes are SO well-made – they’ve been through several kids in our family and still look perfect! — An art case coloring set. One of Shep’s most beloved items, used daily! — A game you can play together: try Cover Your Assets, Ticket to Ride, or Sushi Go Party, all family favorites. (More ideas here!) — The cutest personalized notepads. BIG favorite with June.
Whew! I hope that’s helpful! I’ve rounded up a bunch of ideas, but remember, kids don’t need much to be happy – in our family, we’ve actually found that too many gifts can be overwhelming and dull the whole experience. So choose wisely, and with joy – giving our kids good gifts is a really fun part of being a parent! :)
Below, tell me what you’re getting your kiddos this year — I love hearing your shopping lists!
Previously: — 2023: A 7-year-old girl, a 5.5-year-old boy, and a 2.5-year-old girl — 2022: A 6-year-old girl, a 4.5-year-old boy, and a 1.5-year-old girl — 2021: A 5-year-old girl, a 3.5-year-old boy, and a six-months girl — 2020: A 4-year-old girl and a 2.5-year-old boy — 2019: A 3-year-old girl and a 1.5-year-old boy
Those who’ve been with me awhile likely remember one of our favorite family traditions: bringing apple cider scones to the kids’ teachers on the first day of fall (or thereabouts). It’s a tradition that dates from June’s first year of life, when I made and packaged pairs of buttery, cinnamon-flecked treats for her daycare teachers. As the kids and I tallied up our list of teachers to bake for this week, I realized that I’ll likely be tripling my recipe this year: there are three kids in the mix now, of course, and June loves to deliver this treat to each of her past elementary school teachers in addition to her current one. I’m not mad about it. Our teachers deserve to be celebrated, and so does the first day of fall :)
Over the years, many of you have joined me in this tradition. I’ve always pointed those who wanted in on the fun to Jenny Steffen Hobick’s website, where I first found the recipe many years ago. Since it no longer seems to be active on her site, I thought I’d share it here for those who are curious. Whether you make it for your teachers or yourself, enjoy! And happy (early) fall.
Apple Cider Scones
1 cup of apple cider
2 cups plus 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/4 cup sugar 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter 2 eggs, lightly beaten 1/4 cup cold heavy cream 1/4 cup of apple cider reduction 1 teaspoon of vanilla 1 teaspoon of cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
1/4 cup of apple cider reduction 2 tablespoons of butter 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
Reduce the apple cider in advance so it can cool. Pour the cider in a saucepan and simmer on medium until it reduces by half, to an almost maple-syrup consistency. It should take about 10 minutes. Pour it in a glass bowl and let it cool in the fridge for 20-30 minutes.
Note: In all my years of making this recipe, my apple cider has never reached what I’d call a “maple syrup consistency,” even though it does reduce. I faithfully simmer it for 10 minutes or so and call it good.
In a stand mixer, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut the cold butter into 1/2 inch pieces. Add the butter to the dry ingredients and mix on low until the butter is mixed in and is the size of peas.
In a separate bowl, mix together eggs, cider reduction, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and whipping cream with a fork. If you have a pourable measure, do it in that to make it easy to add to the flour/butter mixture.
Turn the mixer on low and slowly add the cream and egg mixture. You may not use it all. (Note: I have never used it all.) Turn off the mixer once the dough comes together.
Sprinkle some flour on the counter and turn the dough out onto the floured surface. Add some flour onto the top of the dough, then pat it out into a disk – about 8-9 inches in diameter.
Cut the disk into 6-8 pieces like a pie for standard size scones. For minis, cut each of the 6-8 pieces in half. (This is what I do!)
Separate the pieces and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees: for minis, 12-14 minutes, for standard, 15-17 minutes.
To make the glaze, heat the cider reduction and butter for 30 seconds to one minute, until the butter is melted. Add the powdered sugar and stir until smooth. Add more powdered sugar or more cider to reach the desired consistency – it should be drizzle-able, but not too runny. Enjoy!
A highlight of June: hosting a kindergarten breakfast in our neighborhood! This was a very, very low-key event – so low-key that it almost feels not worth detailing – but it’s been a sweet tradition in our neighborhood for many years and was a great comfort to me when June was a rising kindergartner. Today, I thought I could offer a few ideas (and lots of encouragement) if you, too, might like to host one!
The background on our neighborhood’s kindergarten breakfast:
Our neighborhood has been holding a breakfast for rising kindergarteners for at least as long as we’ve been here. (I remember thinking it sounded like the coziest tradition when we moved in ten years ago, sans children!)
The first time I actually attended was in 2021, when June was getting ready to make her elementary school debut. Though I had nothing to compare it to, it felt like a bit of a muted event – which makes sense, since things were still opening back up after the pandemic. There were just a handful of families in attendance, but what we lacked in quantity was made up for by quality – including a pair of powerhouse moms with four kids each, all of whom attended June’s future school. Getting to chat with them and ask them questions went a long way toward putting me at ease.
It was my desire to pass that sense of ease onto another new kindergarten parent that made me say “yes” when a request went out for a breakfast coordinator earlier this year. After confirming a date with the head of the social committee, I was given a budget of $200 and carte blanche to do pretty much whatever I wanted… my ideal scenario, ha!
Planning a kindergarten breakfast:
In our neighborhood, the kindergarten breakfast is open to all rising kindergartners, no matter what school they’re planning on attending. Since our public and private options include year-round schools, we hold the breakfast in June. (This feels early for those on traditional calendars, but the year-round school year starts in July!)
We got the word out in a few ways: we included the details in our neighborhood’s email newsletter. We made a Facebook event and posted in the neighborhood Facebook group. We set yard signs at a couple of key intersections, and put a signboard out by our neighborhood clubhouse a few days before the event. Thankfully, this was all taken care of by the social committee!
We ended up with about 15-20 kindergarteners (and their parents and siblings) in attendance, which I was pleasantly surprised by!
Kindergarten breakfast ideas:
We hosted our kindergarten breakfast at our neighborhood’s clubhouse, which has a wide, covered porch and is right next to the neighborhood playground. The event was from 9:30-11am on a Saturday.
We did, indeed, keep things very simple. I set out tablecloths I already owned and added this paper ruler runner on top. We arranged the food on one table: juice boxes, chicken minis and coffee from Chick-fil-a, donut holes from Dunkin, and mini muffins from Publix. Simple, simple, simple!
The main activity for the adults was simply mingling (we set out name tag stickers!), chatting, and swapping information :) We also had a little bracelet making station, inspired by June’s and my kindergarten tradition. At just $9 (!), this bead kit was perfect and we still had plenty left over after the party.
We also printed copies of Whitney’s summer book BINGO card as a sort of parting favor. Aside from making bracelets and scarfing snacks, the kids pretty much just ran in a pack from the playground to the porch and back – and seemed to have a great time.
And that was pretty much it! I loved getting to meet other kindergarten parents, loved seeing Shep meet some kindergarten buddies, but I think my favorite part (rather selfishly) might have been knowing that I played a small part in keeping a beloved neighborhood tradition alive and well. In a world where a lot of people don’t know their neighbors or the families at their kids’ schools, I’m grateful for the tight-knit communities we get to be a part of – and willing to do what I can to strengthen those bonds.
And you can do the same! If you’re reading this with a bit of sadness because you wish your neighborhood had an event like this, you can be the one to make it happen! You don’t have to wait for someone else to create the kind of place you want to live!!
That’s just what my friend Bethany did, and to round out this post, I thought I’d share a bit from her perspective. After hearing me yap about my plans, she decided to put together a little celebration for the kindergarteners on her street (including her son!). Here she is with the details:
One of my big, dreamy adult hopes is to be the home where the kids hang out. So it feels like we hit the jackpot when we landed on a street with more than 50 kids in middle school or younger. My oldest and four other pals on our street are starting kindergarten this summer (year-round school!). Always looking for an excuse to gather friends with all the comings and goings of summer schedules, we threw a kindergarten ice cream party to celebrate their transition.
Most of the kinders will attend the same school, so we scheduled the party in the afternoon, following Meet the Teacher at our school. The logistics were simple: I texted the other parents to share the invite, and each family graciously asked what they could bring to the party. Our menu included ice cream, lots of fun toppings, fruit, a veggie tray, and crunchy snacks. Our only non-food purchases were a set of very popular color-change spoons and school-themed napkins. (We also bought these adorable ice cream plates, but I don’t think a single one was used.)
Most of the kinders have older siblings who pass our house on the walk home from their bus stop. We planned for the kinders and parents to arrive a bit before the bus dropped for some quieter time with just the younger kids, and then the older siblings and their friends joined a bit later for an ice cream bash for about 40 people. (Reader, you should know that when I bought extra ice cream because I was worried the three Bluebells tubs would not be enough for 40 people, I was very wrong. If you’d like to have ice cream tonight, please come to my house; we still have plenty!)
I hope our time together excited the kindergartners and maybe helped to quell some fears or uncertainties about their start at a new school. And, if I’m being my big, dreamy self, I hope it’s another moment the kids look back on when they remember the big team they had cheering them on as they moved through childhood.
Isn’t that the best? If nothing else, I hope this post inspired you to make a little community magic right where you live :)
Yipes! I truly cannot believe that it has been just over a year since I wrote the first installment of this series. At least I noted in that first post that this series would “stretch for many years into the future” and that it would be “occasional.” Can’t say I didn’t warn you :)
I’ll repeat my caveats from part one: there will likely be no groundbreaking ideas here. But if you’re anything like me, you need the regular and very simple reminder that family discipleship does not always have to be complicated. More than perhaps any other area of my life, I have the instinct here to build the big machine, to devise the elaborate practice – and still, more often than not, to worry that I’m not doing enough.
This is not all bad: I believe there is a direct relationship between how much creating a fertile environment for our children to know and trust Jesus matters to me (and John) and how much thought we put into how we are doing that. But I hope through this series I can encourage you (if it’s something that matters to you) AND MYSELF that little by little adds up.
Here are three more (very simple) family faith formation practices that we’ve been practicing with our 8-year-old, 5-year-old, and 2-year-old.
We say “great question!” a lot.
Basically any time any of my children ask me anything about faith, the first thing out of my mouth is “great question!” More than any individual answer I can give, I want them to know that their questions are valued, desired, and honored, and that I’m grateful and delighted they’d bring their questions to me.
“Great question!” also buys me a beat. Instead of rushing into an answer, it’s a pause that reminds me to slow down, calm down, and get curious. It leads naturally into follow-up questions, like “What made you ask that?” or “Can you tell me more about what you want to know?” This entry into the conversation helps me meet them where they are and figure out what kind of answer might serve them best.
Worth noting: I didn’t always feel this way! Questions used to make me nervous! But as I’ve grown more knowledgeable myself over the last few years, I’ve gotten more confident – both because I do know a bit more, but also because I know that I’ll never know it all. That’s okay. No one knows it all this side of heaven, but I now know where to go so we can try and figure things out together.
We read the Jesus Storybook Bible.
John and I were marveling the other day about how the idea of the Bible being one unified, overarching story with Jesus at the center is common these days – and yet was simply not a part of our upbringing. There are so many resources now to help connect the dots (The Bible Project, for one!), but I think the Jesus Storybook Bible, with over three million copies sold, deserves a ton of credit, too. Sally Lloyd Jones is raising up a generation of kids who understand that Jesus is at the center of both the Old and New Testament in a way that I never did.
And our kids love it! Our go-to reading time is while they’re splashing in the tub – we leave a copy on the half wall in our bathroom. At 8, June is beginning to add in other resources, but she still enjoys it – she and John have recently been going through the stories one-by-one together and talking about them in a deeper way.
Sally’s writing hits such a sweet spot – winsome and accessible for kids, but delightful for parents to read, too. Highly recommend.
We faithfully go to community group.
Community groups are a staple at many churches, and they are at our church, too. Our group, which is made up of young families (June is actually the oldest kid!) and some singles, is very precious to us.
It hasn’t always been that way. We’ve been a part of community groups that we lightly dreaded going to – that felt like an obligation – but our current group is truly a highlight of our week. Whether we’re meeting with the full group for dinner and Bible study or splitting off into guys and gals, it’s a chance to gather with people who care about us, our kids, our marriage, and our faith lives. It’s a place where we’re known, loved, and spurred on to grow. In a time in our country of great loneliness, isolation, and individualism, it’s a balm.
Our kids reap the benefits, too. They’re forming relationships with the other kids, yes, but also with adults who know and care about them. That’s important now, and it will be invaluable as they grow.
So there you have it! Three (relatively) simple faith formation practices our family has found helpful. I hope there’s something you can take away, whether fostering your kids’ faith also matters to you or if there’s something else you hope to grow in your kids (or the kids you love). If you’d like to share, I’d love to hear a practice that has been helpful in your family, or something that has stuck with you from your own upbringing!
