This post has been sponsored by Pinecrest. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Now that I’m a mom of three little kids, I’ve found that gift-giving to adults can be difficult, to say the least. We have two sets of grandparents to ‘buy’ for and, quite honestly, none of them need any more ‘stuff.’
But the act of gift-giving is still important. As is creating a magical holiday season for our children. So, as a family of 5, we are creating ways that our children can both have fun this season and make and create gifts that their relatives will enjoy for years to come.
Family-Friendly Events
There are so many opportunities for family fun at Pinecrest this holiday season.
Tomorrow, November 26th marks the beginning of Skate in Central Park and this event is open daily through January 5th, 2020! Bring your own skates, or rent at the rink!
If ice skating isn’t your thing, there are other events to check out. Mingle with Kringle while you’re out shopping, or check out the choreographed light show, Pinecrest Nights of Lights.
Check out the full holiday event schedule here.
Creative Gift-Giving
Gifts made with love are the best types of gifts, am I right? This year we decided to make all of our grandparents’ gifts at Pinecrest.
Color Me Mine
My kids ADORE painting. I, on the other hand, would prefer not to have them ruin my kitchen table. Color Me Mine brings both my desire for cleanliness and my children’s desire to paint together in perfect harmony!
Color Me Mine, a DIY paint-your-own pottery studio. Their options of pieces range from small to extra-large, and they offer over 60 colors.
My children took approximately five hundred minutes picking out their pieces to paint. But, where they lacked in decision making, they made up for in creativity.
I have to include major props to the employees of Pinecrest Color Me Mine. See, I had Mila with me and I was unable to be as hands-on with the big kids as I originally intended. But the employees helped my big littles bring their visions to fruition.
We picked up our finished pieces after the glazing process was complete (within just a few days). My kids are obsessed and they cannot wait to give them away as gifts to their grandparents.
The Candle Studio
Making candles is one of my favorite experiences. My kids have been dying to try their hand at it, so we decided to try The Candle Studio.
The employees at the Candle Studio were incredibly patient with my kids. They explained the steps from picking out their scents, to deciding on a container, and then mixing it all together. It was adorable to see them run back and forth to find scents they liked. It turns out they both like watermelon and bubble gum (shocker).
I sipped on a local craft beer as my kids decided the perfect watermelon to bubble gum ratio for each of their respective candles. Surprisingly, both of their candles smell different, despite both using the same two scents! Mixing is everything, friends!
I, on the other hand, mixed my own candle with a variation of hops and pine scent. Basically, it smells like Christmas beer.
I was surprised at how easy (and fun!) the Candle Studio was with young kids. I fully expected them to have zero interest and for me to be doing all of the work. But that wasn’t the case at all! They loved it. And just ninety-minutes later, we picked up our finished soy candles for the grandparents.
Making Memories Through Experiences
I know that these gifts aren’t extravagant, but they are perfect. Their grandparents will know full-well what kind of effort they put into these handcrafted presents. They will see the joy in the eyes of their grandchildren as they open up these gifts made by teeny hands.
The memories we’ve created will last a lifetime. Long after the soy candle has been burned down and well after the dust has settled on the unicorn tealight holder Remy made (sorry, Mimi — hope you like bright pink unicorn tealight holders! š ).
Make your own memories this holiday season and discover all of the holiday magic at Pinecrest.