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Category: For kids

  • Elf On A Shelf Ideas

    Elf On A Shelf Ideas

    Elf on a shelf ideas

    We somehow got talked into introducing an Elf On a Shelf into our house, which means each night Oliver needs to come up with Elf On A Shelf ideas.

    After coming up with name ideas for our Elf On A Shelf, the girls settled on Oliver.

    Over the past few weeks Oliver has come up with the best Elf On A Shelf ideas, the naughty Elf On A Shelf ideas and the easy Elf On A Shelf ideas when he clearly just doesn’t have time.

    Here’s what he’s been up to.

    Day 1: Elf on a Shelf beheads teddy

    beheaded elf on a shelf

    To be fair, the teddy had already lost its head and was waiting for me to sew him back together. Oliver just decided to have some fun with it!

    Day 2: Revenge on Oliver

    elf on a shelf revenge

    The teddies formed a posse and put Oliver the Elf under house arrest. These cowboys are makin’ sure no teddies will fall victim to that mischievous elf…

    Day 3: Rice Bubbles Elf

    Rice bubbles elf

    Great to see Oliver is now less serial killer, more cereal thriller. 

    Day 4: Elf On A Shelf Goodnight

    elf on a shelf goodnight

    Booger Nights. Oh Oliver. Clearly being a naughty Elf On A Shelf.

    Day 5: Mischievous Elf

    naughty elf on a shelf ideas

    Oliver the Elf is into the Advent Calendar early. The kids are not gonna be happy. Naughty Oliver.

    Day 6: Casanova Elf

    casanova elf

    So Julian came to bed thinking about how he had to get up the next day and cut the grass, only to find Oliver the Elf thinking about cutting his. Naughty little Elf On A Shelf.

    Day 7: Going to School

    elf on a shelf school bag

    Looks like Oliver is off for his first day of school. Don’t be a bully Oliver. Play nice.

    Day 8: Teepee Christmas tree

    Teepee Christmas tree

    Oliver the Elf went to school and, while the kids were at lunch, he hooked up with the class lady elf. Nicely played Miss Facci 👏 Tonight he’s back to being naughty…. silly elf raiding the girls’ Advent calendar

    Day 9: Jenga madness

    Jenga elf

    It’s official. Oliver the Elf sucks at Jenga.

    Day 10: Elf going crackers

    Elf going crackers

    Oliver. I’m not even going to ask what’s going on here …

    Day 11: Elf at the beach

    elf at the beach

    Think Oliver has made his plans for this weekend perfectly clear. Also, clearly, an easy Elf on the Shelf idea when time is tight.

    Day 12: Elf on a Shelf newsworthy

    Elf newspaper

    Oliver catching up on the news of the week in the Illawarra Mercury. Again, he’s looking for easy ideas. Must be a busy week.

    Day 13: On a trip

    Simple elf shelf ideas

    Think Oliver is trying to say we need a holiday.

    Day 14: Creative Elf

    elf on a shelf creative ideas

    Nice drawing Oliver. Mad skills. I think we have an elf that’s now coming up with creative Elf on A Shelf ideas.

    Day 15: Creative Elf follow up

    creative elf on a shelf ideas

    And then he goes and does this…

    Day 16: Dog Poo Trick

    elf dog poo trick

    Oliver is a good 🐶 owner. He cleans up his doggo’s 💩

    Day 17: Elf in a Skull

    elf in skull head

    No bones about it. If you don’t feed your elf, this will happen.

    Day 18: Elf on a Shelf fart jokes

    Elf on a Shelf Fart jokes

    OLIVER!!! The power came back on and we caught Oliver trying to make the best of a bad situation. Naughty little elf.

    Day 19: Elf and Barbie

    Elf on a shelf and Barbie

    Oliver…

    Day 20: Sports fan Elf

    sports fan elf

    Think Oliver is hinting he wants to go watch the Illawarra Haws basketball.

    Day 21: Elf mirror writing

    Elf mirror writing

    So Julian made the mistake of picking up Oliver when the kids were watching. Don’t think he’s happy.

    Day 22: Naught Elf

    Naughty elf

    Julian to Oliver the Elf: “Oliver you might smile but it will be me laughing when you spend the next 11 months in a box in the garage.” Naughty elf!

    Day 23: Christmas cracker elf

    Christmas cracker elf

    Ella made homemade Christmas crackers complete with jokes and trinkets. She freaked when she found Oliver had added one.

    Day 24: Elf cooking up a storm

    elf cooking

    No, you silly boy. ROAST duck, not RUBBER duck. Sigh. His name is Oliver but clearly Jamie Oliver he is not.

    More ideas for Elf On A Shelf

    Here are some other things Oliver has been up to…

    Elf on a Shelf with shaving cream

    The addition of a girl elf on a shelf, whose name is Olivia.

    Our Elf On The Shelf accessories include ten pin bowling for Oliver and Olivia’s first date night!

    But Oliver doesn’t always buy things. Sometimes he uses what’s already in the house – like skiing down the stairs using candy canes.

    Don’t have your own Elf on A Shelf yet? This one is pretty good value. There is also a girl Elf On A Shelf.

    Please note: Some links may be affiliate links.

  • A back to school confession: Giveaway closed

    A back to school confession: Giveaway closed

    I have a little confession to make. It’ll make me sound horribly lazy. Maybe even a bit cheap.

    Holly has never had her own childcare name labels.

    The poor child has spent a year in childcare under the guise of “Ella’’. Her clothes, her drink bottle and even her bag all have “Ella’’ printed on them. It’s become so bad the child carer admitted to often accidentally calling Holly by her sister’s name. Time to make a change, I think.

    With some help from Stuck On You, Ella has scored the most beautiful school library bag as part of the Stuck on You Book Pack (discontinued, but you can get the new Kids Designer Book Labels instead).

    Stuck On You AustraliaAnd, more importantly, Holly has a whole selection of labels to make sure she doesn’t start calling herself Ella.

    Here’s what I went shopping for:

    Stuck On You Australia

    Pack 0-5: These gorgeous packs include various name labels and a bag tag. What I love is how personalised you can make each item from colour, font and image selection. You can also match across different products. ($49.95)

    Stuck On You Smock

    Art Smock: Made of 100% sturdy cotton canvas, the Art Smock for Kids is exactly what we need for messy painting. With cream curtains, lounge suites and carpet, I’ve been making the most of messy summer days. Waterproof smocks tend to be too light and, therefore, fly about in the wind – often ending up IN the paint. This one is thick enough to protect the clothing and includes long sleeves with elastic around the wrists. I adore the image (we selected the cute ballet slippers) on the handy front pocket. ($34.95)

    Stuck On You Apron

    Apron: One of the girls’ favourite activities is cooking with mum. Ella has long had her own little apron, but it’s getting a tad small these days. So Holly gains the old apron and Ella a new one. Again, they’re made of 100% cotton canvas to protect clothing. Similar to the smock, we’ve included the ballet slippers on the cute front pocket. ($29.95)

    It means we now have a happy household. And we’ve decided it might be nice for you to have a happy one too.

    We’re giving away a $150 Stuck On You voucher, which will get you an awful lot from the Stuck On You Australia site. All you need to do is tell us a favourite school tip – whether for lunch boxes, covering school books or getting organised in the mornings. Let us know in the comments below.

    Terms and conditions: The Stuck On You competition will be judged on creativity and originality. The competition opens Sunday, January 27, 2013 at 9pm AEST and closes on Monday, February 4, 2013 at 7.30pm AEST. One entry per person. Australian entries only. There is one prize winner. The winner will be notified via email and name published here. Entries remain the property of Three Li’l Princesses and may be republished.

    If you would like to learn about more of our giveaways, make sure you sign up to our eNewsletters. You’ll also find more giveaways in the Aussie Giveaway Linkup.

    DISCLAIMER: I received all the items mentioned above. I have not been paid to write this post. All opinions expressed are purely my own.

    PS. Kellogg’s has partnered with Stuck on You to offer parents a $5 voucher when they purchase a range of Kellogg’s products.

  • Ideas for decorating a girl’s bedroom + Bright Star Kids $150 giveaway CLOSED

    Ideas for decorating a girl’s bedroom + Bright Star Kids $150 giveaway CLOSED

    Stepping into Ella’s bedroom is like stepping into a toy jungle. Mostly it’s books and dolls, because she sits at night and reads to “all her children’’. She then falls asleep with all the books and “children’’ on her bed, which ultimately end up on the floor.

    The idea has always been to organise and decorate the girls’ bedrooms into a nice place to be. The organising needs work, despite having large built-in wardrobes.

    Decorating?

    Bright Star Kids

    Well, it’s been on the to-do list for a while. Problem is, the to-do list is rather long. We’d already ordered each of their names in wall art from Bright Star Kids. That was about the extent of it though.

    My motivation came when Bright Star Kids offered wall art from its new range. We chose the beautiful tree branch with owls. What do you think?

    Bright Star Kids

    I’m super keen to get the full tree now (an advantage of the set is the ability to buy each piece separately, if you wish).

    The beauty of the wall art is it’s easy to handle and can be peeled off and re-stuck  if placed incorrectly. And how can you resist those pastel colours. The ever-bossy Ella gave direction on where she’d like which dot or leaf, but in the end I played safe and kept close to what was in the picture supplied. Home decorator, I am not!

    Bright Star Kids

    Now it’s onto Holly’s bedroom…. She is about to move into a “big girl bed’’, so we’re now on the hunt for:

    • A new doona cover for her bed
    • Some more wall art – maybe something slightly different to what Ella has, like BSK’s Bird House Wall Sticker or Sun and Clouds Wall Sticker
    • Better organising solutions.

    Wish us luck!

    Learn more at the Bright Star Kids site.

    Bright Star Kids

    We’re giving away THREE packs, valued at $49.95, to help create sweet dreams in your child’s bedroom. To win, simply tell us: what theme would you like to have/do you have in your child’s bedroom?

    Terms and conditions: The Bright Star Kids competition will be judged on creativity and originality. The competition opens Friday, September 21, 2012 at 8pm AEST and closes on Monday, October 15, 2012 at 7.30pm AEST. One entry per person. Australian entries only. There is one prize winner. The winner will be notified via email and name published here. Entries remain the property of Three Li’l Princesses and may be republished.

    If you would like to learn about more of our giveaways, make sure you sign up to our eNewsletters. You’ll also find more giveaways in the Aussie Giveaway Linkup.

    DISCLAIMER: I received a Bright Star Kids wall art pack. I have not been paid to write this post. All opinions expressed are purely my own.

  • How to foster a child’s imagination + Pink Poppy giveaway CLOSED

    How to foster a child’s imagination + Pink Poppy giveaway CLOSED

    It’s not uncommon to witness a little person, decked out in full dress up, stomping down the hallway. And you’ve never seen a nearly five-year-old work those heels quite like Ella does. I didn’t even know she had hips!

    It appears Holly is following suit with her love of dress ups. This week she had on a PJ top, trackie pants, a sheep beanie, a pair of bathers, a mermaid outfit and matching mermaid bag – all at once. She thought she looked utterly gorgeous – and that’s all that matters. (Here she is partly dressed in the above mentioned)

     Pink Poppy

    To listen to the stories they create when they’re “made up’’ just reinforces how important it is to foster their imaginations – and capture some hilarious photos for their 18th birthdays.

    Pink Poppy

    Then there were the tea parties. I think the novelty lies in being able to pour water from the sweet little teapot into the dainty tea cups and drink from them. Water mess inside I can deal with. And who can’t resist having these little tea cups, saucers, teapot, sugar bowl and milk jug sitting on the kitchen bench against the kettle.

    Pink Poppy

    For me, it’s been a big educational experience. Like, did you know purple tea is the best kind of tea? That Rebecca* did something naughty at school and had to sit in the corner? That Holly (nearly 2) can’t pour the tea because she’s not big enough (according to nearly five-year-old Ella who is chief tea pourer)?

    tea party

    The latest creative play comes courtesy of Pink Poppy, who supplied us with:

    Pink Poppy

    The beautiful tea set, dainty jewellery box with drawers, old-style bedside clock, snow globe, notepad with mermaid stickers and 

    Pink Poppy

    sweet turquoise mermaid outfit with matching bag,

    Each embraced the mermaid theme. What stands out for me is the quality of the products, how beautifully designed they are and how they’re all traditional toys that fully developing the girls’ imaginations. More importantly, the girls haven’t tired of them, like they do so many of their “gadget’’ toys.

    The site allows you to search by “theme” (buzzy bee, dancing, dinosaur, dragon, ladybug and more), making it easy. The real issue is choosing what theme and THEN what products! To learn more about Pink Poppy visit the blog, Twitter and Facebook.

    We’re giving away the entire collection for your little people to foster their imaginations. To win, simply tell us: what is your child’s favourite game using their imagination?

    Terms and conditions: The Pink Poppy competition will be judged on creativity and originality. The competition opens Saturday, September 15, 2012 at 1pm AEST and closes on Monday, October 1, 2012 at 7.30pm AEST. One entry per person. Australian entries only. There is one prize winner. The winner will be notified via email and name published here. Entries remain the property of Three Li’l Princesses and may be republished.

    If you would like to learn about more of our giveaways, make sure you sign up to our eNewsletters. You’ll also find more giveaways in the Aussie Giveaway Linkup.

    DISCLAIMER: I received all the item above to try with the girls. I have not been paid to write this post. All opinions expressed are purely my own.

    *Not her real name

    ENTRIES NOW CLOSED

  • Gardening can be fun. Umm, are you sure?

    Gardening can be fun. Umm, are you sure?

    dirtgirl scrapbook

    You hear people who have a liking for terry towelling hats go on about the therapeutic wonders of gardening. Generally, it has the opposite effect on me, primarily because of the state of the seedlings after I’ve had my way with them. I did not inherit my mum’s green thumb.

    However, I still can’t help but have this desire to want a vegetable garden abundant with fresh produce for the kitchen – every Spring. And so the planning has begun. I’ve weeded out (pardon the pun) which plants won’t grow and which we have moderate success with here on the North West Coast of Tasmania.

    Here’s what works:
    Lettuces – usually more than we can manage
    Cucumbers – each year I vow I’ll use them to help the bags under my eyes, but somehow eat the lot.
    Zucchinis – Zucchini slice is eaten till we turn green.
    Corn – only if in a certain spot in the garden
    Peas – usually don’t make it to the kitchen
    Beans – as above, but not usually with the same degree of enjoyment from small children.
    Carrots – they don’t really look like carrots. The last lot looked more like deformed Barbie dolls.

    dirtgirl scrapbook

    With the weather soon to warm up, we’ve started to explore the new dirtgirl scrapbook. It can basically be used for whatever you wish, but we’ve decided to make it very much focused on gardening and the recipes we create from those veggies – if they grow, of course!

    dirtgirl scrapbook

    Ella has already drawn pictures of what she’d like in the garden (although, I’ve had to explain, we can’t grow chocolate) and used some of the cut outs of dirtgirl, pumpkins and flowers to glue onto one of the blank pages.

    dirtgirl scrapbook

    As part of the Grow Garden Journal Expansion Pack (sold separately), there are dedicated “in my garden today’’ pages, which inspired our gardening focus, along with recipe pages and a sheet of weather stickers. As part of the scrapbook itself, we also have 64 blank pages and pretty craft pattern pages to use for dried leaves, to paste photos to and write in information we glean from the internet to help our gardening become a little more… fruitful. What I love most about the scrapbook is the fact it grows with you – you can add pages as you fill up the existing ones.

    dirtgirl scrapbook

    The scrapbook certainly oozes quality, style and will have longevity – this is something to treasure many years into the future. I can’t wait to look back on this journal and see what we produced together – with our bare hands and a bit of sun! Priced at $39.95, I think it’s going to be particularly popular with the grandmas out there. I see a lot of grandparent and grandchild projects happening over the coming months.

    Now go get grubby!

    The dirtgirlworld scrapbook is available through selected Stockists and online at shop.leafjournals.com.

    DISCLAIMER: Cath Connell from Leaf. Paper and Journals is a Mum PR client. However, I genuinely love this product. Hence the reason for feeling compelled to blog about it!

    How does your garden grow? What vegies do you have the most success with?

  • Katy Perry: Part of Me (giveaway)

    Katy Perry: Part of Me (giveaway)

    This post is sponsored by Nuffnang.

    A screenshot from Katy Perry: Part of Me
    A screenshot from Katy Perry: Part of Me

    If someone had told my 17-year-old self that one day I would be writing a book, I’d probably have gone red, cowered into a corner and felt generally embarrassed that someone was mocking me. Now, 18 years on, it doesn’t seem like such a bizarre concept. Here I am, finally living my dream.

    Princess Ella and I regularly have the “when I’m a big girl…’’ talk. Mostly she talks about singing and dancing on stage. That’s all she wants to do. She’s highly disappointed she hasn’t been able to achieve that already in life – at the tender age of FOUR!

    We stopped ballet lessons late last year. Although the elephant and giraffe dance live on, I assure you. We’re now on the hunt for some other form of dance for her, because there are only so many home concerts one mum can bear.

    I’m going to compare myself to Katy Perry here. I know, don’t cringe. Just be thankful I didn’t marry Russell Brand or I could be telling a really creepy kinda story right now.

    Katy’s new event movie, Katy Perry: Part of Me is a 3D backstage pass into the fun, heartbreaking, inspiring and crazy world she leads while on the road. You can only imagine, right? It includes these quotes:
    “She was not an overnight success’’.
    “People said she couldn’t do it.’’
    “I think Katy is a dreamer.’’
    And in Katy’s own words: “I feel a real connection to fairytales and I think in some ways I live in a fairytale’’.

    These all ring true for me. If I’d listened to the naysayers, I wouldn’t have become a journalist. In a community where it was expected you’d work on a farm pulling calves out of the back end of cows or in a factory sorting out chips from potatoes, it was odd to say you wanted to write for a living. It wasn’t a realistic dream. And yet, a decade and a half in journalism and half a book later…

    All I really want for Ella and Holly is to be happy and healthy. Whether they become singers, Zumba instructors or street sweepers is irrelevant. As long as they can jump out of bed each morning and love what it is they do. And if it helps look after their parents financially in their retirement, all the better. Just sayin’.

    Sure, it won’t be a perfect red carpet ride – and I certainly haven’t had one – but passion and a positive attitude will help get you there. Katy has proven that. I have proven that.

    Katy Perry: Part of Me, which is released in cinemas on July 2, is all about how Katy overcame obstacles to achieve her dreams. It’s a film I think young girls would take a lot from to show they can be whoever they want to be. Just make sure you’re happy with your version of YOU!

    “You don’t have to feel, like a waste of space, you’re original, cannot be replaced’’.

    Along with Paramount Pictures and Nuffnang, we’re offering five cinema passes to see Katy Perry: Part of Me in 3D. To go in the draw, simply answer the question:

    What are your dreams for your children?

    Please refer to the Terms and Conditions. Entries close July 9 at 5pm.