I’ve shouted from the mountaintops about my love for advent calendars for YEARS. And then I moved to New Zealand and *needed* a new one! So we tried something new last year- a Kindness Advent (an act of kindness for each day of December). This advent calendar looked great, and was so much fun to […]
cookie exchange idea- orange drop cookies
(Orange drop cookies are the perfect not-chocolate-chip holiday treat and my go-to recipe for holiday cookie exchanges!) So Cookie Exchange Parties are not really a thing in New Zealand, but I’m thinking about hosting one this year. When we lived in Colorado, we went to my mother-in-laws cookie party every year and LOVED trading yummies […]
guy gift idea- frozen cookie dough
I am going to let y’all in on a little secret- I give Adam homemade frozen cookie dough for *almost* every holiday (birthday, anniversary, Valentine’s Day, Father’s Day- cookie dough for all!). Since it is the biggest hit ever with Adam, I tucked a ‘tube’ of frozen cookie dough into a birthday gift for one […]
50+ tried-and-true ideas for the BEST favorite things gift basket
A couple weeks ago, it was a friend’s birthday here in NZ. And I had SO much fun putting together a “Favorite Things” gift basket for her. (It’s funny- I always make the mistake of assuming our kiwi friends have heard of/know about all our favorite things. But turns out, many of these items that […]
DIY moana Halloween costumes
When we moved to New Zealand, I thought our group Halloween costume days were over (we’ve done Star Wars, Wizard of Oz, Harry Potter group costumes for the last three years). But, happily, I was wrong! Instead of repeat Harry Potter costumes last year (which was my prediction), the kids requested a Moana costume theme […]
easy halloween party food ideas
If you’re putting together a Halloween party (or any sort of fall fete) and need a pile of EASY party food ideas, this is your post! Most of these were made by my kids (so EASY). I did include basic instructions for most of them, but almost all of them don’t even need those. And […]
fall snack mix- pumpkin munch recipe
This fall themed make-your-own snack mix was such a hit at our Halloween Party that I thought I’d put the recipe on here (ok, recipe seems a bit much… how to? DIY? Idea? Not sure what to call it?). We call this fall snack mix “Pumpkin Munch,” but I know other people who call it […]
pastel halloween party
Even though Halloween and trick-or-treating aren’t really a big thing in New Zealand, last year, we decided not to let that stop us from our usual fabulous, group costume-y, October 31st festivities. Enter the most fabulous pastel Halloween party ever! Since we don’t really do scary or gory (which was 99% of the ‘halloween party […]
a paris themed birthday party
It’s no secret that Pi has loved Paris since she was teeny (remember her Madeline themed birthday party when she turned three? And the accompanying macaron and lolly station?). So it’s only fitting that, as she enters the land of double digits, she’d have a Paris themed birthday party filled with berets, macarons, mini eiffel […]
‘flower market’ for a paris themed birthday party
The trend of ‘create your own bouquet’ stations and flower bars at parties and showers is one of my very favorites. Since Piper loves it as well, we decided to incorporate a ‘french flower market’ into her Paris themed birthday party this year. The only catch? In the southern hemisphere (aka- New Zealand, aka- where […]