12 for Tuedsay: Holiday Activities You Don't Want to Miss

The holidays are almost over (can you believe it?). With the kids home from school (at least mine are, on a THREE week holiday!), you might find yourself looking for something to keep them entertained. Here's a list of holiday activities to keep you (& the kiddos) entertained this week. But better act fast, once the holidays are over, most of these activities will be too!

1. The Chance Theater presents Little Women
2. A Christmas with Scrooge at the Musical Theatre Village
3. Discovery Science Center Presents: Science of Gingerbread Holiday Festival
4. Disney on Ice at the Honda Center
5. HB Philharmonic Cruise of Lights Boat Tour
6. Holiday Christmas Light Displays
7. Holiday Time at Disneyland
8. Ice Skating at the Irvine Spectrum
9. Irvine Park Railroad's Christmas Train
10. The Chance Theater presents Little Women
11. The Glory of Christmas at the Crystal Cathedral
12. Nutcracker at the Barclay Theater or Maple Youth Ballet's Nutcracker

xoxo, K

It's Holiday Time at Disneyland

The holidays are coming to Disneyland, & I'm so excited, it's my most, favorite time of year there.... it definitely is magical! The entire park is decorated with ornaments, lights, glistening snow & sparkling icicles. (Be sure to pay special attention to Sleeping Beauty's Castle, I love how the snow "gathers on it" throughout the day! & As always, the Haunted Mansion & It's a Small World are always incredible.) Besides all the decorations, there is also a special Christmas Parade & Fireworks show, as well as lots of other holidays-inspired activities & yummy treats (only available this time of year!) You definitely don't want to miss all the fun, so mark your calendars.... Disneyland will be celebrating the holidays from now until January 3, 2010.

xoxo, K

p.s.  Want your very own sneak peek of all the Holiday Happenings at  Disneyland? View the Whrrl story documenting C & my recent Disneyland trip. (Yep! Yep! We are such Disney nerds, we braved the crowds, & headed out to view all the decorations, the very first day of the "holiday season" at Disneyland.)

Easter Crafts

Looking for a few quick & easy crafts for the little ones? Check out some of these projects & recipes...

Jelly Bean Carrots
Candy Bunny Racers
Easter Bunny Cupcakes
Pipe Cleaner Finger Puppets
Cadbury Creme Filled Cookies
Easter Egg Stitched Greeting Card
Spring Chick Cupcakes
Melted Crayon Eggs
Window Silhouettes
Fingerprint Bunny's

xoxo, K
image via Skip to my Lou

Easter in Orange County

Easter is approaching fast! Better stock up on those chocolate eggs & peeps. If you are looking for a community celebration, then your search has ended... here's a list of Orange County Easter Celebrations, there's sure to be one close by!

Thursday, April 9th
* Easter at the Anaheim Farmer's Market: 4-6pm, Downtown Anaheim (Center St. Promenade & Lemon). Easter activities, visit with the Easter Bunny, coloring contest & egg dying.
* Irvine Park Railroad Easter Eggstravaganza: Daily - Saturday, April 11th. Easter egg hunts, train rides, & lots of Easter Activities.

Friday, April 10th
* Fullerton's Eggstravaganza Easter Egg Hunt: 10am, Ford Park
* Laguna Hills Late Night Flashlight Egg Hunt
* Irvine Park Railroad Easter Eggstravaganza: Daily - Saturday, April 11th. Easter egg hunts, train rides, & lots of Easter Activities.

Saturday, April 11th
* Buena Park's Spring Eggstravaganza: 8am, Henry Boisseranc Park. Easter Activities, games, petting zoo, breakfast & candy scramble.
* Cypress Spring Egg Hunt: 10:30 am, Oak Knoll Park. Crafts, activities, egg hunt.
* Cypress Flashlight Egg Hunt: 7 pm, Arnold/ Cypress Park. For ages 12-17 years old, don't forget your flashlight & basket!
* Dana Point Egg Hunt: 9 am, Sea Canyon Park
* Fountain Valley Annual Easter Egg Hunt: 8am, FV Recreation & Sports Park. Egg hunt, carnival games, crafts, face painters, & bounce house. Pancake breakfast also available ($5 per person).
* Huntington Beach Annual Easter Hunt: 9:30am, Huntington Beach Central Park. Easter hunt, game booths, & a Easter Bunny visit. Pancakes & other refreshments will be available for purchase.
* Irvine's Great Egg Hunt: 10am, Woodbridge Community Park. Games, crafts & lots of family activities. Registration fee is $12 per child.
* Irvine Park Railroad Easter Eggstravaganza: Daily - Saturday, April 11th. Easter egg hunts, train rides, & lots of Easter Activities.
* Laguna Niguel Bunny Blast: 9am, Chapparosa Park. Crafts, face painting, pony rides, bounce house & petting zoo. Cost is $7 for children (ages 2-12), & $2 (ages 13+)
* Newport Beach Easter Eggstravaganza: 9am, Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort & Marina. Easter egg hunt & Easter bunny.
* Placentia Easter Egg-citement: 8am, Kraemer Memorial Park. Pancake Breakfast, Egg Hunt at 10 am, face painting & family games.
* San Clemente Easter Eggstravaganza: 10am, San Gorgonio Park. Egg hunts, Little Bo Peep & all her sheep, face painters & pancake breakfast.
* Stanton Easter Egg Hunt & Pancake Breakfast: 12pm, Stanton Park.
* Tustin Easter Egg Hunt: 8:30am, Tustin Sports Park.


xoxo, K

Happy April Fool's!

Looking for a few last minute tricks & pranks to play on your loved ones? Well, you could always go with a few classics... short-sheeting the bed, whip up a big 'ole pitcher of "punch" by added a few drops of red food coloring to water (people will be suspecting a flavor, so the plain water is totally unexpected), or try one my girlfriend suggested - push a raisin into the end of the toothpaste tube, the recipient is sure to get a "sweet" surprise on their toothbrush. None of those quite what you are looking for? Check out some of these other ideas:


Martha Stewart's list of 13 pranks
Family Fun's mega list of pranks
& my personal favorite prank ever

Hope you get 'em good!

xoxo, K
image via martha stewart.

On this St. Paddy's Day...

photos circa July 2006, Ireland

xoxo, K

Heart-Shaped Pizza

Perfect for Valentine's Day! Available from your local First Class Pizza. Although, I bet your favorite pizza place would do it too... just ask!

xoxo, K

A Handmade Valentine's

With Valentine's Day just a little over a week away, we thought we'd compile a list of some of our favorite crafts & treats to make...

Hand-stitched Heart Card
Rice Krispie Kisses
Candy Cane Hearts
Candy iPod
Red Velvet Cake
Crayon Hearts
Felt Fortune Cookies
Woven Heart Basket
52 Reasons I Love You Book
Red Velvet Bonbons
Heart Shaped Soaps

xoxo, K

An Orange County New Year's Eve, Family Style.

Looking for a fabulous party or event to fill your calender this New Year's Eve? For an something catering towards adults, check out the Orange County Register's very complete list HERE, of things to do & places to go this New Year's Eve.

Interested in something a little more family oriented? Try one of these Orange County New Year's Eve celebrations...

Fullerton's First Night '09 Celebration: 7pm - 12 am, Downtown Fullerton. FREE admission, live musical entertainment, outdoor ice skating ($7 per session), food vendors, train rides ($3 per person), face painting, balloon artists, karaoke, fireworks show at midnight & for the kids... bungee run, obstacle course, robo surf, castle bounce house, gladiator joust, pirate ship bounce house & slide (rides are $2-3 per activity per person). For more information & directions go HERE.

Rancho Santa Margarita's Celebrating Family & Friends Event: 4:30pm - 9:30pm, at Rancho Santa Margarita's Civic Plaza on the corner of El Portal & El Paseo. It is "an alcohol-free community festival featuring roving entertainers, visual arts, musical entertainment on Celebration stage, and opportunities for interactive art activities with family and friends." The party kicks off with a FREE Magic Show at 4:30pm. A tot play area will be available with inflatables, a coloring station play-doh, bubbles & much much more. For the older teenagers & kids, many video games will be available, including Wii, Xbox, Dance Dance Revolution. For more information & directions go HERE.

Borders New Years Eve Kids Party: 2pm, at the South Coast Plaza Borders. Games, crafts & a special parade will help you & your family countdown to 2009. For more information go HERE.

Discovery Science Center's Noon Year's Eve Celebration: 10am - 3pm. Ring in the New Year just a bit early this year... "We'll celebrate at noon with a countdown, balloon drop, ginger ale toast, music, activities & more! Why should grown-ups have all the fun? Taco Bell Discovery Science Center is hosting a Noon Year's Eve party for all ages! Activities will include making seltzer rockets and constructing party hats!" FREE with paid admission & open to all ages. For more information, go HERE.

Rainforest Cafe's New Years Eve Party: 6-8pm, at the Rainforest Cafe located inside South Coast Plaza. For $5.99, kids 12 & under will enjoy a fabulous buffet, featuring nearly everything on their kid's menu (chicken nuggets, burgers, even ice cream sundaes), while parents can enjoy anything off the menu. Everyone will help ring in an early New Year with hats, noisemakers, a sparkling cider toast & balloon drop. For more information, or to make your reservation call (714)424-9200.

Happy New Year!

xoxo, K
image via HERE.

Track Santa on his Trip

Don't forget to track Santa on his trip around the world on Christmas Eve.

xoxo, C

Gift Guide: Friend & Neigbor Gifts

One of my favorite things to do, each & every holiday season, is delivering gifts to our friends & neighbors. They are never fancy, nor are they expensive, but just a little something to say, "We're thinking of you." Still need your something special for some friends, a neighbor, or maybe the gardener? Check out this list of fairly quick, fairly easy, & fairly inexpensive gift ideas...A cute box or jar filled with yummy Snickers Surprise cookies.
How about a 6-pack of Root beer Reindeer?
A plate of Nutter Butter Santa Cookies.
A handful of masonry nails, tied with a big red bow, with THIS poem attached.
Candy bar reindeer
Gather all the ornaments in THIS story, & deliver them with a small Christmas tree and the POEM.
A cute jar or bag filled M&Ms, with THIS poem attached.
Reindeer Dust

For another big 'ole list of quick & easy ideas check out HERE.

xoxo, K

Gift Guide: Last Minute Gifts

• If you are really running our of time try email delivered gift certificates from Amazon.com, Itunes, Netflix, Southwest Airlines, or a CalActive gift certificates (for everything from a romantic gondola ride in Newport to a helicopter tour).

• Pavilions has a great selection of gift cards and you can make it more personal by packaging up the gift card in creative ways. For example, get a Starbucks gift card and put in a Monogrammed mug or get a Barnes and Noble gift card and find a book by the recipients favorite author.

• Donate to their favorite charity. Charity Navigator can help you identify the perfect cause to donate to for that special someone this holiday season or you can just buy them a good card.

• Zappos has a great selection of clothing and shoes and they are offering free overnight shipping if you pay with Paypal.

xoxo, C

Holiday Pictures at Disneyland

images via flickr

Disneyland is a great place for holiday photo opportunities. My favorite places to take holiday pics are near the Candy Cane Letters as you enter California Adventure, in front of the Sleeping Beauty's Winter Castle, near the big Christmas tree at the entrance to Main Street, in front of Small World, and near the Santa's Reindeer Roundup in front of the big sleigh. You can also make almost any spot in Disneyland a festive photo by wearing a great holiday hat.

For those who would rather not take their own pictures you can find helpful professional photographers all over the Parks. The will take your picture and give you a Disney's Photopass card. You can use your re-use your card every time you have a photo taken at Disneyland. To view your photos go to DisneyPhotoPass.com within 30 days, register, log in and enter the number from your card.

Once you have an account you can edit your photos, share them, and even create fun products. Additionally, you can use your own photos to create products. For the holidays Disney is offering a free Photo Globe greeting, so try it out and send someone a holiday treat.

xoxo, C

Santa's NICE list is almost complete...

I'm sure your kids will get a kick out of this one, mine sure did! Make sure your child's name is on Santa's "Nice List" before he hitches up Rudolph & the other reindeer and takes off in his sleigh. You can upload a picture of your child & Santa will send them a personalized video message. To create your very own video go HERE.

xoxo, K
image via disney's family.com

It's a Small Word Holiday

My family adored the transformation of it's a small world for the holidays. There are over 300,00 lights that adorn the facade and make it a magical attraction for the season. Hundreds of international friends sing and dance to holiday favorites as you float by in brand new boats. As always it's a small world leaves a lasting impression because you will probably leave humming a holiday tune you heard on the ride. Don't forget that you can get a fast pass for it's a small world holiday.

xoxo, C

Making Wishes Come True, One Letter at a Time

Writing letters to Santa is an age-old tradition... this year Macy's is doing something special to encourage everyone to "believe". "At every Macy's across the country there is a mailbox to collect letters for Santa Claus. Bring your stamped letter to Macy's, addressed to Santa at the North Pole, and drop it into Santa's special letterbox. Macy's will count them up, and for each letter received, Macy's will donate $1 to the Make-a-Wish Foundation up to $1,000,000. They'll deliver them to the Post Office, and together, we'll collect a million reasons to believe."

For more information about Macy's Believe Project go HERE. To download some Christmas inspired stationary to write a letter to Santa, go HERE. To locate your nearest mailbox go HERE.

Do you believe?

xoxo, K

Stuffing Your Stockings

Stuffing your stockings doesn't have to be difficult nor does it have to break the bank. I love Marta's ideas for stuffing your stocking at the grocery store. 20 quick & easy things... as she says " sometimes it's the really cheap frills that create a smile." So use THIS list as a jumping off point, & the next time your at the grocery store keep your eyes peeled, your bound to come across a few fun little items.

xoxo, K
image via sundance.

25 Days of Christmas

Don't forget to catch all the great holiday movies on ABC.

xoxo, C

Frosty the Snowman

Super quick, super easy, super yummy holiday snacks... Oreo cookie snowmen. The best part (other than eating the extra Oreos?) You don't even have to chocolate dip the cookies yourself, I told you it was easy. Directions can be found HERE.

xoxo, K

Orange County Christmas Tree Lightings

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, of all the trees most lovely... it's that time of year. The lights & trees are going up, & in some cities, a little snow may even fall! To ensure you don't miss any chance of celebrating, we've put together a short list of local Christmas Tree lightings & other city-wide celebrations. Have fun looking at all the pretty lights!

December 2nd:
* Garden Grove Tree Lighting Celebration at the Village Green/ Clock Tower. For more information call (714)741-5200.
December 3rd:
* City of La Palma Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony, 5:30 pm at the Central Park Amphitheater.
December 4th:
* City of Brea Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony, Brea Civic & Cultural Center. Admission is FREE. For more information call (714)990-7771
* City of Cypress Holiday Sing, 6pm, on the Civic Center Green
December 5th:
* Placentia Winter Holiday Celebration, 6:30pm, Placentia Civic Center: holiday music, caroling, refreshments, Christmas tree lighting.
* City of Tustin Christmas Tree Lighting, City Hall, 6pm
December 6th:
* City of Laguna Hills breakfast with Santa, 9-10:30am at the Laguna Hills Community Center.
* City of Buena Park 38th Annual Candy Caneland & Craft Faire: 10am-4pm, Ehlers Community Center.
* Downtown Fullerton's Annual Winter Festival, noon-6pm: bounce houses, face painting, craft & food booths, caroling, tree light ceremony at 5 pm.
* Newport Beach's 20th Annual Winter Wonderland, 10:30am-1pm, Bonita Creek Park: sledding, snowman building, holiday crafts & more.
* Holly Jolly Hoopla!, 1-5:30pm, San Clemente Community Center: live penguins & reindeer, sled rides, decorating cookies, Santa visits & story telling. For more information call (949)361-8264.
* San Juan Capistrano Tree Lighting Ceremony, 4:30-9pm, Historic Town Center Park. For more information call (949)493-5911.
* Christmas at the Casa, 5:30-9pm: tree lighting ceremony, story telling with Santa, caroling. $5/ adult, children 12 and under $2. For more information call (949)498-2139.
* City of Fountain Valley's Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony
December 7th:
* Laguna Niguel Christmas Tree Lighting at Crown Vally Community Park.
* Huntington Beach Pier Lighting & Holiday Parade, 1pm-7pm
December 13th:
* Dana Point's Winter Festival at La Plaza Park. For more information call (949)248-3530.
* City of Costa Mesa's Snow Hill: sledding, face painting, cookie decorating... 9am-12pm, Balearic Community Center. For more information call (714)54-5300.
* Laguna Niguel Holiday Parade, Crown Valley Parkway 10 am.
* City of Laguna Hills Holiday Hay Ride
December 21st:
* Fashion Island Menorah Lighting Ceremony, 3pm. For more information call (949)721-9800

xoxo, K