Tag: KD Novelties

Easter Giveaway

Posted on | by KD Novelties

While the focus of gift-giving holidays may take place in winter, however the spring has its fair share of things to celebrate. For many people, Easter is the next major holiday and it can be a great time for parents to share stories with their children while also sharing something a little special as well.

Easter coincides with the beginning of spring, and with good reason. Parents can use this meaningful holiday to emphasize the circle of life and to relay other messages, but like many other holidays it can be a great opportunity to take advantage of storytelling.

Strapped for Easter gift ideas? KD Novelties is having an Easter Giveaway. Enter to win a variety of Easter gifts that are sure to make any Easter basket complete. In the giveaway, KD Novelties will include The Cottontail Mystery personalized book, an Easter Bunny plush and an Easter bucket as well. Not only do the prizes have your Easter gift-giving work cut out for you, but the giveaway helps to promote literacy as well. With personalized books like The Cottontail Mystery, kids can embark on their own adventure alongside the Easter Bunny himself. Full of springtime charm, this book uses puzzles and other sorts of clues to engage kids in a mystery surrounding the Easter Bunny. By personalizing the book, the story becomes more immersive and interesting, especially for kids who may not otherwise like reading or need a little extra push to do so.

Personalized books have proven to be a great gateway to reading other books and promoting a general interest in reading and learning, even among reluctant readers. With The Cottontail Mystery and a basketful of Easter goodies in tow, your child will be ready to take on the springtime weather and wait for the furry bunny of the hour to finally arrive on Easter morning!

Fun St. Patrick’s Day Crafts and Activities

Posted on | by KD Novelties

St. Patrick’s Day is the first holiday of the spring season, even if it just falls short of the spring equinox on March 20th. Whether you happen to be Irish or not, St. Patrick’s Day is all about what’s good and green, and there are plenty of spring-inspired activities to entertain children this time of year.

Arts and Crafts

There are two things that people associate with St. Patrick’s Day: the color green and shamrocks. Incorporating these features into any art activity can be easy, but to make things a little more fun, you can get creative and make DIY decorations, create your own games or even your own St. Patrick’s Day outfits and props.

Here are some cute crafts you can make easily with items from home:

Coffee Filter Shamrock Materials:

● Coffee filter

● 2 baby food jars

● Water

● Scissors

● Blue and yellow food coloring

● Q-tips

Instructions: Cut the coffee filter out into the shape of a shamrock. Put water in two baby food jars or similar containers. Add yellow food coloring to one jar and blue to the other. Give kids Q-tips or small cotton swabs and let them mix the colors on the coffee filter. You end up with a a cool tye-dyed green shamrock!

Shamrock Wands Materials:

● Green construction paper

● Scissors

● Glue

● Stapler

● Gold glitter

● Green straw

● Ribbon, Green and Gold

Instructions: Cut three heart shapes using the green paper. Then, glue the tips of the three hearts together to form a shamrock when combined. Staple the shamrock in the center to the end of the straw which will form your handle. Decorate the shamrock with gold glitter and other materials as desired. Cut ribbons into 3 foot strands. Gather ribbons together at one end, and staple them to the back of the shamrock at the center so that the ends hang down from the shamrock wand. If desired, cut several tiny shamrocks from the remainder of the paper and staple them along the ribbons as well.

Reading and Research

The word ‘research’ may not always inspire excitement, but learning more about the St. Patrick’s Day holiday and the Irish culture can be interesting, and fun too. There are plenty of traditional songs, poems, and dances that you can discover and try along with your kids. Put on a play or a performance including some of the stuff you and your children have learned!

Reading can also be exciting, too. There are fantastical tales of leprechauns and the luck of the Irish, but there are also plenty of children’s books and reference materials that can teach you and your kids more about the holiday, St. Patrick, and other Irish traditions.

Whip Up Some Treats

Around the end of March, corned beef and cabbage suddenly become very in-demand. Cooking with kids is a great way to introduce them to new foods, but it can also provide you with some memory-making bonding time, too. Whether you decide to make a traditional Irish dinner or simply want to indulge in some Irish Soda Bread, enlist your kids to help you gather ingredients, prepare the meal, and eat it as well!

There is always room for St. Patrick’s Day themed cakes and cookies, as well. Play around with the color green, mint or pistachio flavored treats, and go to town! Cut cookies out into shamrock shapes, add fun St. Patrick’s themed straws, sprinkles, and more. If you want to try and be a bit healthier, you can also try to create a dish like a healthy shake or smoothie using hearty, healthy greens like kale, spinach, and other fruits and veggies to keep with the spirit of the holiday.

How To Keep An Active Toddler Busy

Posted on | by KD Novelties

Taking care of toddlers is notoriously difficult. They’re called the “terrible twos” for a reason, right?

Between the ages of 1-3, children can be difficult, especially since they are still learning to speak and communicating with them effectively can prove to be a bit of a challenge. Kids are constantly on the move, and their overactive minds are alight with questions and general inquisitiveness that keeps their hands roaming, their feet moving, and their energy levels at full capacity. As a parent, it’s important that you encourage their inquisitive nature while also keeping them in line, making sure that they stay safe and that they are also preoccupied so you can get what you need done, too. Here are some ways you can keep active toddler’s busy when you cannot focus 100% of your attention on them.

Kinesthetic Activities

The more stimulation you can provide for your child, the better. Try giving them colored blocks, playdough and other similar items to keep them occupied but learning, too. Color matching games are great for teaching children colors, which seems obvious, but it can also teach them basic organizational and special skills as well. Same goes for shape matching games as well. Playdough is a unique substance, and similar goos and slimes can work just as well, but the texture and appearance of these types of toys can introduce kids to their innate sense of creativity while also providing them with a highly stimulating activity.

Finger-painting

Finger-painting seems like a cliché toddler activity but it is a great way to encourage kids to be creative and explore their own modes of expression and exploration. There are plenty of mess-proof finger-painting kits out there, too, and you can even make your own. Place different colored paints into freezer bags and lock them up tight while eliminating most of the air from the bag. Place them on a window or a white surface so kids can play around with the paint, creating images with the negative space without making a mess!

Puzzles

Puzzles provide great exercises in logic, allowing kids to solve problems while actively using their visual imagination at the same time. Personalized puzzles is an added benefit because not only will the puzzle itself provide many benefits to your child but they will also learn their letters and spelling of their name. You can find personalized puzzles for kids on our website. You can also create puzzles of your own by printing out pictures from movies or shows that your child loves, or even make a copy of a piece of work that your child has created themselves, and cut it into sections for them to rearrange and place back together.

Get Creative

When you’re out of toys, games, and are wary of turning to television or mobile games, there are plenty of DIY solutions that you can whip up within minutes to help keep your toddlers occupied and actively using their brains. Doing a search on Google on Toddler Activities can return a plethora of blog sites with creative and unique suggestions that can easily be implemented at home.