10 Ways to Make Today Magical

Happy Monday!

Sorry for my long absence.  This has been a busy bunch of months for us, with lots of doctor visits and tests for me, along with lots of fun and activities for our whole family.

Here are a few ways to make some memories this week….

1.  Drape some blankets over a clothesline, tree, tent poles or other props in the back yard and make some impromptu forts.  Stock the insides with some fun books, games, snacks, a flashlight, whatever, and see what fun the kids dream up to have in their new fun space.

2.  Waste a box of birthday candles on repeated wishes.  You join in too!

3.  Make up a batch of homemade playdough (white) and then hide different colors inside.  Poke a hole in the middle and add a little bit of food coloring (we like the paste food coloring sold for cake decorating because it’s so intense and comes in lots of colors).  Encourage kids to knead their balls of playdough and watch as they discover there’s more to it than it first appeared!  You can also do color mixing this way (make yellow and add blue to the center of one and red to another, for instance).

4.  Write something random and silly halfway down the toilet paper roll and then roll it back up again.

5.  Get together with friends and take wacky photos around town.

6.  Make a vision board for the new school year together.  Gather up a bunch of old magazines, sheets of posterboard and scissors and glue.  Have your children cut out words and pictures that represent things they want for the new year, then glue them onto the board.  Encourage them to be optimistic and to dream big!

7.  Make fizzy cupcakes.  Bake and frost cupcakes and then sprinkle them with Pop Rocks.  We usually avoid junky stuff like that but every once in a while it’s pretty fun to have really crazy treats.

8.  Challenge the kids to make each other laugh as much as possible.  Try for all out belly laughs, snorts and the type of giggles where you can’t catch your breath.  If you can, catch it on tape to make you all laugh all over again later.

9.  Go on a joking spree!  Write out corny jokes on small pieces of paper and leave them for folks to find– on counters, in bathroom stalls, you name it.

10. Throw a dinner party just for your family.  Put out the good china and some delicious appetizers, set the table grandly and dress the part.  Put on some music, light some candles and take your time enjoying your own company together.

And with that, I’m off to tend to an injured boy, snuggle with a small girl, hang out with some bigger kids, figure out lunch, work on a family video message for a certain teenager and clean like crazy.  Or at least a bit of that…  We’ll see how it goes!

Have a magical week!

Advertisement

Happy Birthday, Hannah

Those who have been reading Magical Childhood for a long time may remember back when I used to send out newsletters back before the blog, full of ramblings and fun ideas and silly ways to make the day magical.  Those who have been around a really long time may remember when we lost our incredible family friend Hannah at age 9 to leukemia.

Today would be Hannah’s 18th birthday. 

Hannah is still a part of our lives, still part of our family conversations, and an incredibly big part of who our oldest daughters are.  Hannah’s life and death shaped them and she continues to shape them. 

She is in Victoria’s strength and acceptance. 

She is in Anna’s songs and poetry. 

She is in our memories.  She is in our stories.

She is in every fearless jump into every body of water that every one of my children take, since Hannah and her brother Hayden taught my girls to abandon their fear of water and jump wildly into water, and then my girls taught it to all of their younger siblings.

She is in our homeschooling, my parenting, all of it.

I wrote this in the Magical Childhood newsletter after her death:

 

Hannah’s life was far too short and we will all miss her very much.  One of the things that gives me comfort is the life she had, though.  She had so much love, laughter and life in those 9 and a half years.  She was treasured by her mother and all who knew her.  She was loved well.  She was happy.

 

Sometimes life gets hectic, stressful, chaotic and messy.  Sometimes we get caught up in the day to day mayhem and lose sight of the big stuff.  Today is a good day to remember the big stuff again.  Make every minute count.  Fill your life and your children’s lives with happiness and meaning.

 

Don’t forget to live.

 

Please hug your kiddos, count your blessings and do something magical today in memory of Hannah.

 

Hannah, thank you for being part of our lives.  We love you.

 

Love, Alicia

In honor of Hannah and her family, please go love the heck out of your kiddos.  Not just today, but every day…  Childhood is short.  Life is short.  Make it all magical and meaningful and real. 

If you’d like to read more about Hannah, you can see my original newsletter post here.