Perfect Kid Stocking Stuffer {Guest Post}

 I’m so excited to introduce you to my friend Sydney!  If you’re a toddler mom you HAVE to make this for your kids!  Put it in their stocking and watch them mesmerize themselves while you finish Christmas dinner!

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Hi there Cook. Craft. Love. readers! My name is Sydney and I blog over at Tastefully Frugal. Our goal is to help you get more and do more with the money that you have. That is one reason why I was so excited when Meaghan asked me to create a gift for her 12 Days of Christmas; that and she’s freaking awesome and one of my best buds! Christmas time is one of my favorite times of year (it would rank up top if the weather was warmer!). It can also be one of the most stressful times of the year.

 

From planning parties to shopping, wrapping to decorating; it always seems like we are getting pulled in a million different ways. Not only that but then you have to have all the money for said parties, gifts and decorating. And have you noticed that things aren’t getting any cheaper?  Today I wanted to share with you a gift you can make (and give) before Christmas for less than your daily Starbucks! These quiet bottles are the perfect gift for little ones all through out the year. They really come in handy when you need that 15 minutes of un-interrupted time to finish that last batch of cookies, or (my favorite) when you have to brave the crowds and stop at Target for a couple of things. It’s much easier to pull these bad boys out of the diaper bag and have the kids ‘Ooh’ and ‘Aah’ over these than to have them want Every. Single. Toy. Can you tell I take my boys everywhere with me?!

 

 

Take a few minutes and make a few of these today, or better yet, have the kids help, and you’ll be thanking yourself later as things get crazier and crazier the closer to Christmas we get.

 

You’ll need:

Empty water bottle (I like using ones with rings around them. 1- Because it’s what I have on hand and 2- Because the extra texture adds another element of play for the kids).

Elmer’s Glitter glue. I bought mine at Michael’s and used a 50% off coupon. One bottle made enough for 4 bottles for us.

Small Christmas toys (small enough to fit in the water bottle) I used erasers from Dollar Tree.

Warm Water

Glitter glue pens and Extra glitter You can usually find these in the dollar spot at Target or the Dollar store. (not a necessity but come on who doesn’t love glitter?!)

 

 

Directions:

Pour about 1/4 cup of the Elmer’s glitter glue into the bottle (I used green).

Squeeze two pen-fuls of glitter glue on top of the Elmer’s glue (I used green and silver).

Pour extra glitter on top (you can use as much as you want, the more sparkle the better though!) I used red glitter.

Pour in 1 cup-1 1/2 cups warm water (enough to fill almost to the top).

Add 3 or 4 small toys.

Put the lid on tight and start shaking it up like crazy! You’ll want to shake it for a good 2-3 minutes for all the glue to release from the bottom.

If the color isn’t bright enough, you can add extra glitter and/or glue.

Once you have the color you are happy with take the lid back off and super glue it on (This step is vital if you have strong little ones who like to take caps off of things).

 

 

Tips:

Have your kids help you make these. It’s a great bonding time for you and they will love creating their own toy. Plus they can shake for a lot longer than I can.

Another bonus to having them help is they know that there are toys in there. Our bottles turned out dark bright green so you couldn’t see the erasers clearly. But because they put the toys in they are always “Looking for Santa”.

Store these somewhere where the kids can’t see them. Make it a “special toy” they get to play with when they are “helping mommy or daddy”. That way they don’t get bored playing with it after the first ten minutes.

 

 

I hope you have a very Merry Christmas and that these bottles can help you get those few last minutes things accomplished with a little more quiet time. For more frugal tips, tricks and ideas this holiday season check out Tastefully Frugal’s 12 Frugal Days of Christmas.

 

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Isn’t she just wonderful?  And those bottles are wonderful, too!  What do you guys use to keep your little ones occupied while you’re trying to get some grown up stuff accomplished?  Let me know in the comments!