Hobo Mama

Monday, December 25, 2017

A very merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Thursday, December 21, 2017

Choo choo! Conducting the Santa train

Up to Seattle Center to see the Christmas decorations at Winterfest,
hear the beautiful music from a high school orchestra,
and engineer the Santa train in the Armory:

Wrap your presents with pizzazz: Easy gift-wrapping ideas

Here are some simple ideas to jazz up your Christmas gifts this holiday season. They aren't professional-level wrapping techniques, which makes them doable for any of us mortals; they use materials that are easy to source; and they still add a snazzy touch to your presented presents.

The first and easiest way is to buy interesting ribbon.

Even a simple bow will look fancy if the ribbon is.

Try cloth, raffia, and patterns. Don't worry

about being too matchy-matchy to the paper

as long as the color scheme works together.

To tie a nice bow: Cross the ribbon strand you're using
right over left, then left over right.
Repeat as needed for knots or double knots,
always switching sides for what's on top.
I say this because I recently overheard some teen girls
who didn't know how to tie a bow that lies flat,
and I really, really wanted to help!

Another easy option is to use multiple colors of the same ribbon.

This works well if you have plain ribbon to make it look more interesting.

You can wrap all the colors around the entire gift,

or you can choose to tie the contrasting colors only around the knot at the end.

Curl the ends to make a nice poof of color.

I find you can get curly ribbon to stay put in a nice round shape

if you interweave the ringlets a bit, tucking any errant strands

under the ribbon crossing the package as needed.

If they aren't staying nicely, you can always affix parts in place.

Tiny bits of double-stick tape, glue dots, or other mini adhesives
would be easiest for such tasks.

Combine the two steps above by using multiple strands

of an interesting ribbon, such as this shimmering cloth variety.

Bonus: The recipient can reuse cloth ribbon if desired.

Growing with their trees: A height comparison through a decade

We bought a baby Christmas tree for Mikko's first Christmas, so we did the same for Alrik and Karsten. Here's how their measurements are keeping up over the years.

First, a look back: 6-month-old Mikko's baby tree.

2 and a half years old

3-and-a-half-year-old Mikko with his now bigger tree.

Wild Dill: 40% off natural, fair-trade baby clothes & toys {Hobo Mama's Gift Guide}

It's time for my annual roundup of coupons and deals sent to me by my affiliate partners. These are companies I support and recommend and whose savings I'd like to pass along to you for your holiday shopping! If you shop through my links, it costs you nothing extra and I get a little reward from the company to support my blogging. Thank you!

Wild Dill: Natural, fair-trade clothes & toys for babies & children

'Tis the season for Black Friday/Cyber Monday celebration! This year Wild Dill is going all out with a 40% off deal on some of our most popular toys and all clothing through this secret Black Friday sale link.

Wild Dill is an online boutique specializing in organic, fair-trade, natural and Made in USA gifts for babies & kids. Shop indie brands making beautiful heirloom items, perfect for holiday gift giving.

Shop here for all Black Friday Deals!

It's time for my annual roundup of coupons and deals sent to me by my affiliate partners. These are companies I support and recommend and whose savings I'd like to pass along to you for your holiday shopping! If you shop through my links, it costs you nothing extra and I get a little reward from the company to support my blogging. Thank you!

Truth in the Tinsel: Advent activity ebook for families

If your family practices the Christian faith and is looking for a kid-friendly guided Advent resource for December, try out Truth in the Tinsel!

This is "an Advent experience for little hands," because it offers a faith-based activity and Bible reading each day to reinforce the reason for the season and lead children into a celebration of Christmas and Jesus' birth.

Truth in the Tinsel is regularly only $9.99 as an ebook download (also available in German and Spanish if you're studying a language with your kids), and you can print out sweet ornaments for your kids to color for $4.99 or whimsical Advent Christmas trees designed for large-scale printing for $6. A bundle of the ebook, printable ornaments and Advent trees is a discounted $19. This year, you can also decorate a holiday party in style with these ornament-swap party decorations for $25. I love the charming designs!