Hopefully, if you’re at home with kids during social distancing, the weather is nice where you are and you can get outside a little. But, if not, try some crafts! Ellen DeGeneres has teamed up with Laura from Scotch to teach kids how to make DIY puffy paint, a festive watermelon piñata, and an Ellen-themed gorilla bookmark.
Let’s get crafty!
As an adult, have you ever put your winter coat on a few minutes too early and wandered around your house looking for your keys only to have a mild panic attack because you’re so hot in your winter coat? Right? That is how kids are all the time in their fancy winter clothes and coats.
Recently, “Saturday Night Live” spoofed a Macy’s commercial and it’s just… gold.
Is it ever too early to start shopping for holiday gifts for your kids? Probably not, especially when Amazon has already released it’s hot picks for the season.
5 Toys Amazon Predicts Will Be Hot This Holiday Season:
1. LEGO Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire Hogwarts Clock Tower
As long as you don’t have to put it together before Christmas morning… right?
2. Hot Wheels id Smart Track Kit
If it has “smart” in the name, it’s also educational.
3. Monopoly Voice Banking
Just when you think the world’s most classic board game couldn’t get any better.
4. Wildluvs Juno My Baby Elephant
This elephant is so lifelike it responds to your touch. But, don’t worry– you don’t have to feed it like a real elephant.
5. Marble Race Track
Hours and hours of STEM fun, if you can get it put together.
Is it ever too early to get your holiday shopping done? If you’re a parent with more than one kid, the answer is probably– no, it’s never too early. That’s why Parents magazine has already tested hundreds of toys on the market and narrowed down the list to a few they think kids really will love to unwrap this holiday season.
7 Most Popular Holiday Toys for Kids (According to ‘Parents’ Magazine):
1. Skyrocket Blume Doll
Key feature: just add water and like magic, a new friend will blume before your eyes!
2. Pixie Belles Aurora Interactive Enchanted Electronic Pet with Bonus Tail
Key feature: comes with interchangeable, and wearable tails! Swap them between Pixie Belles, or wear them in your hair, on your wrist, or even as a keychain!
3. Jurassic World Destroy ‘n Devour Indominus Rex Dinosaur
Key feature: button on back to activate arm movement and realistic slashing sound effects!
4. American Girl Bowling Alley
Key feature: wooden lane, ten motorized bowling pins, and gutters that balls can roll down with adjustable bumpers for practicing. Push a button to start the game, complete with lights, bowling sounds, and score-keeping for up to two players. Pins are knocked back when a ball strikes, and automatically reset at the next turn, so dolls can really bowl a game.
5. Pinkfong Baby Shark OfficialSong Puppet with Tempo Control
Key feature: move the shark’s mouth faster or slower to change the speed of the song!
6. Treasure X Aliens Single Pack
Key feature: dissect the alien and save the hunter from the ooze filled belly.
7. Foam Alive Make & Melt Ice Cream Kit
Key feature: scoop, mold and melt to create your own magic melting ice cream.
We recently asked our Field Agents what financial principles they are trying to instill into their children, which led us to ask, “ what is one thing you learned from your parents about money?” Turns out, we learned a lot about money from our Agents’ parents too.
7 Helpful Things Field Agents Learned About Money From Their Parents:
1. “My parents taught us the importance of tithing to our local church. It’s a religious value that is super important to us. No matter how much or how little we always give our first to God.”
2. “My dad taught me to not buy the lowest-priced thing on the shelf immediately. Take time to do the calculations to get the best amount of the product for the adjusted price. Most store brands are just as good as the national, but sometimes the overall value drops a bit, so it’s a good idea to keep track of the products you like and don’t. Also if it’s something you want to keep awhile, like shoes, it’s good to shell out a bit more for higher quality. Usually, the cheap shoes wear out so much faster than the better-made ones are less expensive in the long run.”
3. “My parents sacrificed a lot of us three children to have a vacation every year and go to catholic schools and not have debt when we graduated college. My parents really taught me about sacrifice and a hard work ethic. If I wanted to do something, I had to work to do it. It’s something I’m passing on to my children as well.”
4. “I learned not to spend money on wasteful things or things that won’t last. It’s best to save and buy quality products.”
5. “I learned to be cautious with money. They taught me that money comes and goes, and to prepare for the times when it’s a bit short by having savings and a plan in place. Most importantly, they taught me to work hard for my money and to do it with pride.”
6. “I learned how not to spend money on anything and everything you want. Just because you want something, doesn’t mean you need it. You have responsibilities that come first, with time and saving your money then you can get it.”
7. “My parents taught me to save my money and not to spend it on frivolous things. They taught me to invest and opened a savings account for me when I was a young child. They also taught me to tithe 10-percent of my money to our church so that is one thing that I always do no matter what financial situation I am in.”
When it comes to money and personal finances, everyone seems to have a few rules they try to stick by and impart on their offspring. While my father like to tell me he wasn’t made of money, he also liked to discuss savings and the good and bad of credit cards. We recently asked our Field Agents, “what is one piece of financial advice you’re trying to teach your children?” and we got some really great answers. Adults could even benefit from some of these golden nuggets of financial wisdom.
9 Great Things Field Agents Are Trying to Teach Their Kids About Money:
1. “To save up money for big things you really want. We try and teach them not to spend money on everything they see but to walk away and really think about it. They can always go back if they’ve decided they really want to use their spending money on that item.”
2. “You should always tithe 10-percent of your earnings to the Lord. After that, separate what you want to save for future purchases and then keep the remaining in your checking account. Do not spend more than what you have or you will end up being in debt.”
3. “I try to teach my children to think about what they are wanting to purchase. Is it something they really want or will they just use it for a short time and not want it anymore. Also, we look at prices. If it is something that they decide to buy, where is the best price for the same item? We check in-store and online.”
4. “I want my children to understand the value of money and that you can’t just get everything you want with no work. I have my 4-year-old daughter do simple chores around the house and reward her for those chores. She has the ability to buy things with her chore money that she wants, such as toys and clothes. It would be easy for me to buy that small toy, but I want her to know what it’s like to earn the money and decide how she wants to spend that money, plus learn what it is like to know when you can’t afford something and work towards that.”
5. “We are trying to teach them that what you make is not what you bring home. We require them to pay a percentage of allowance to tithes as well as “rent”. The “rent” payments are out in their savings for when they are older (they are not aware).”
6. “I am trying to teach my children the value of hard work and saving a portion of everything they earn. Whenever they earn money I give them the option of how they would like to spend that money, be it saving, spending or investing. I have taught them the basics of stocks, principles for saving and what you can do with it and tried to show them that no amount of purchasing will make them happy.”
7. “I’m am trying to teach my children to invest in the stock market and make smart decisions on what to invest in. To get them more interested and see how their investments can grow I do make small investments for my kids in the stocks they tell me about and give me good reasons why they believe it is a good investment.”
8. “I’d love to teach my children to save more. It gets so hard as you get older, no matter how much money you make. Getting into good saving habits young is so important.”
9. “I want them to understand credit. I want them to know they shouldn’t frivolously charge things, if they do not intend to pay it as soon as possible in cash, otherwise, they can incur high interest and high debt.”
