Space Camp Family Reunion

Posted on February 12, 2020 by Aunt Mo

Name Badge Designing

My favorite part of planning a family reunion is designing the name badges, invitations, water bottle labels and anything else that gives me a chance to be creative. I decided to create my name badge first and hopefully, in the process, come up with some sort of logo for the entire reunion theme.

The challenge with this name badge is that I can’t use copywrited images. At some point I’ll add a Space Camp reunion theme to my store and I can’t do that if I use copywrited materials. That means I can’t use anything NASA and that really makes this space camp theme difficult.

I’ve been playing around with some ideas but haven’t settled on a favorite. Take a look at my rough drafts.

I like the simplicity of this name badge but I’m not sure it would be that exciting for the kids in our family. I don’t know if I like the “Space Camp” logo on the top or the bottom of the badge.

Here’s an example of the logo at the top with “space camp” on the planet- I really like that.

This is my attempt at adding an astronaut to the badge- since we’ll be “astronauts in training”. Just not sure I have the “right” astronaut.

I don’t think I’ve nailed down the right name badge yet. If you have a comment or a suggestion, let me know.

Out of This World Family Reunion

Posted on January 20, 2020 by Aunt Mo

Coming in 2020

Image result for planets

My family is in charge of our Stewart family reunion this year. It’s been 5 years since my family has had this responsibility. (The Stewarts rotate each year and now it’s rotated back to us!) I’m excited to take our turn again but already a little tired and yes, I’ve started planning.

I had an idea… how would you like to follow us along as we plan this new reunion. Check out our progress and maybe find a few good ideas for your reunion too.

The very first thing we did was choose a theme and the theme for this reunion is TA DA- Our Family is Out of This World, a space theme. We felt that a space theme would go along with the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11. Also; three family members worked on the Space Shuttle, when there was a Space Shuttle program, including the patriarch of our family. Besides the picture below, we also have a photo of Grandpa with an astronaut that we will enlarge for display at the reunion.

We already have the date for our reunion, Labor Day, and the location, a campground and we’ve told everyone to “save the date” so now it’s time to start gathering ideas.

I like to keep a file of all my ideas and a great way to do that is on Pinterest. I created a Space board and add every good idea I find to that board. I like to get as many quality ideas as I can for the next couple of months and then we’ll choose our favorite ideas and start putting together a schedule.

Take a look at these fun ideas:

This solar system necklace is so cool. It would be a great idea for an ice breaker activity as family members arrive or for some down time on a hot afternoon. The idea comes from https://www.handmadecharlotte.com/make-a-stellar-solar-system-necklace/

Make a Stellar Solar System Necklace

We also need to turn our name badges into “astronaut in training” badges.

NAME-BADGE-HALLOWEEN-COSTUME-PROP-NASA-ASTRONAUT-IN-TRAINING-MAGNETIC-BACK

I thought these signs would look cool on the bathroom doors. They’re from catchmyparty.com.

Family members have asked if we can do a murder mystery (I’ve written several for our reunions and they’re lots of fun) and a talent show, two activities I need to get to work on so I don’t have that last minute cram the month before our reunion. (I really don’t like that)

I hope you’ll check back often and see how the planning is going. I’ll keep posting our planning and progress and hey, if you have a fun “space” idea, let me know!

New Years Man- A Family Tradition

Posted on December 26, 2019 by Aunt Mo

You’ve probably never heard of the New Years Man but it’s a family tradition that has been part of our family for generations.

At midnight on New Year’s Eve, it’s customary in Spain to quickly eat 12 grapes, one at each stroke of the clock. Each grape supposedly signifies good luck for one month of the coming year. People around the world celebrate the coming of the new year in many different ways but our families’ New Years tradition is one you’ve probably never heard of.

Every New Years Eve, if we have cleaned our rooms and put away our Christmas gifts, the “New Years Man” will stop at our house and leave one last holiday gift. I have no idea how the New Years Man tradition in my family but it’s a tradition that goes back many generations.

My Mom remembers- “On New Years Eve, at bedtime we would make a “nest” out of our clothes. While we were sleeping the New Years man would come and put goodies in our nest—It was always something to eat, candy, fruit etc. Not toys. Never a lot but we could tell he had been there “checking ” up on us. We thought it was fun!”

The tradition continued when I was a child. My parents used the New Years Man as a bribe to motivate us to clean up and put our Christmas things away.

The New Years Man tradition has evolved to him bringing a small toy, treat or book etc. on New Years Eve for every girl or boy that has put away their Christmas presents and cleaned their room so that it is spotless. On New Years Eve we write our names on a paper plate and if our rooms are clean the New Years Man will leave us a special prize.

I don’t know what the New Years Man looks like and I don’t know where he comes from but I do know that as a child I was extremely motivated to get my room cleaned and my Christmas gifts put away so that the New Years man would leave me one more gift for the season. I’m sure that having the house clean and orderly for the first day of the new year was well the effort for my parents.

Log Slice Ice Breaker Craft

Posted on December 17, 2019 by Aunt Mo

Many families gather together during the holiday season for their traditional Christmas parties. To get the party started , I like to have a simple craft or activity that can be done as everyone arrives and these log slice ornaments are just the thing. They’re a fun ice breaker that keeps your guests busy and requires little supervision and they’re pretty inexpensive.

With just a few supplies, you can whip up LOTS of them. Wood slice ornaments are perfect for hanging on your Christmas tree, attaching to gifts, or giving to friends and family. If you don’t have access to tree logs you can purchase pre sliced packages at the craft store. The ones I found cost under $2.00 for a package of 4, but the least expensive option is to cut your own.

After cutting your wood slices, don’t forget to drill a small hole at the top so that you can hang it on your tree or tie to a package.

Purchase chalkboard paint at your favorite craft store. Paint the center of the wood slice.

It doesn’t take long for the paint to dry but if you’re really pressed for time, have a hand held hair dryer to speed up the process. After the paint dries, draw a simple picture or write your favorite Christmas word with chalk. And don’t forget some cute Christmas string for hanging on the tree.

If you don’t want the mess of painting your ornaments and you have a die cutting machine, you can cut a variety of shapes and words and family members can apply those onto their wood slices. You could add a layer of decoupage on top so it will last longer.

Pirate & MERMAID Family Reunion Theme

Posted on October 29, 2019 by Aunt Mo

Ahoy there, Pirates and Mermaids! We’ve just completed a major overhaul of our pirate family reunion package and now it’s a Pirate & MERMAID Family Reunion. This reunion theme package is now perfect for everyone that attends your family reunion.

The Pirate and Mermaid reunion is for everyone who has ever dreamed of sailing or swimming in the seven seas in search of excitement and adventure. This reunion includes everything the Pirate Themed reunion has plus tons of Mermaid printables and ideas. It’s a treasure chest full of step by step instructions, templates and printables to help you plan a family reunion.

Pirates and Mermaids are so popular right now and there is no shortage of swashbuckling fun with this family reunion theme. Use the over 50 pages of pirate games, decorations, activities and good things to eat to help your family set sail to their favorite Mermaid lagoon or Pirate cove. Your families’ eyes will be filled with visions of gold and jewels as they discover the real treasure in life is family.

You can find the Mermaid and Pirate family reunion theme package here

https://familyreunionhelper.com/products/products.php?ProductID=33

Our Favorite Halloween Treat

Posted on October 15, 2019 by Aunt Mo

Peanut butter Eyeballs!

We love peanut butter eyeballs. My daughter found the recipe several years ago and it has since been a Halloween family favorite. The little kids in our family like them because they’re kinda scary, Grandma likes them because they don’t look very realistic and everyone likes them because they’re delicious! The saying, “bet you can’t eat just one!” certainly applies to these delicious treats.

What you will need:

2 cups confectioners’ sugar, divided
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 pound white candy coating (in small pieces) or white chocolate chips
24 milk chocolate M&M’s
1 tablespoon water
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red food coloring

Directions

Mix together 1 cup of the confectioners’ sugar, peanut butter and butter. Roll into 1-in. balls; place on a waxed paper-lined pan. Chill for 30 minutes or until firm.
In a microwave, melt white candy coating; stir until smooth. Dip balls in coating; allow excess to drip off. Place on waxed paper. Immediately top of each eyeball with an M and M to make the pupil.

Make squiggly lines to make the eyeballs look “bloodshot”.

Makes about 2 dozen eyeballs.

Jelly Bean Bracelets Ice Breaker

Posted on October 8, 2019 by Aunt Mo

Ice breakers for all kids

Whether planning a family reunion or party, I always like to provide an activity that gives family members an activity to do while waiting for the organized activities to begin. For instance, in the Caveman reunion, reunion goers decorated dinosaur sugar cookies. This is a great way to get family members reconnect with each other and shouldn’t require hands on attention from the reunion planner.

Here are fun idea that fit the bill-

Jelly Bean Bracelets

What could be better then jewelry you can eat?

Purchase lots of bags of Jelly beans (Try buying these at after Easter sales), sewing needles, Jewelry cord that is stretchy and scissors.

Cut the jewelry cord about 7″ long. Tie knots about 1 inch from the bottom of the cord. Thread the cord through the sewing needle. Tip- be sure the the cord you use will fit through the eye of the needle.

Push the needle through the center of each jelly bean to thread them, then push them down to the bottom of the cord. Continue to add jelly beans, about 15- 20 depending on your wrist size, until the bracelet is long enough. When your bracelet is long enough, tie the two ends together securely using several knots.

Tip: If the needle gets sticky give it a quick cleaning with baby wipes to clean off your needle.

Working on this project will kids talking and help them get reacquainted. I think you’ll be surprised at the fun color combination your family will come up with. Have I mentioned that this is a fun idea for your Easter celebration?

How to Light Up Your Family Reunion

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Aunt Mo

Or… how to say reunion thank yous with candy light bulbs

My son is an electrician and for his birthday my daughter came up with these cute light bulb favors for everyone that came to his party. It was the perfect idea for an electrician’s birthday but I couldn’t help but think about how to use these bulbs for a family reunion.

We purchased our “light bulbs” from Amazon. Follow this link- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00X66WJBI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1They are about a dollar a piece. We filled them with Skittles candies. It was kind of a pain separating the candy into different colors but it looked cute when we were done. I liked how the yellow ones looked best so if I ever did this again I would probably fill them with Lemonhead candies.

Although I haven’t used this idea for a family reunion, though I will, here are some ideas I came up with:

If you have a contest and want to give a prize to the person that gets the most answers correct, you could say, “You’re the BRIGHTEST bulb in the box”.

To say thank you-

Thanks for sharing your BRIGHT ideas.

Thanks for being a LIGHT to our family.

You LIGHT up my life! Thanks for all your help with our family reunion.

Thanks for making our family reunion BRIGHTER

Encouragement-

Be BRIGHT share your LIGHT

You’re future is looking BRIGHT

Let your LIGHT so SHINE

I’m sure there’s a lot of ideas out there- if you have one you’d like to share, please comment and let us know. SHINE on!

Pudding Painting

Posted on September 23, 2019 by Aunt Mo

The delicious way to paint.

What can I say- pudding painting is a very messy, very fun activity. It’s perfect for days that you have planned a water slide or sprinkle under the trampoline activity because it makes clean up super easy!

The first time I did pudding painting was in the 80’s when I had a cousins party for all my nieces and nephews and they still talk about how fun it was. Most recently, I had a pudding painting party with my grandkids and they had a ball.

There are a couple of ways you can do pudding painting. You can mix up your own pudding (vanilla is great because you can add food coloring to make different colors) or you can buy the already made puddings in the single serving containers.

This was an activity I did outside on a table covered with a plastic table cloth. I gave each child a large sheet of paper (like teachers use on their bulletin boards) and let them paint away.

Over the years I have found that some children do not like getting their hands messy so I like to provide other “tools” for them to use. Things like spatulas and larger paint brushes work well.

When kids are done painting you can let their paintings dry in the sun and if you have planned a water activity,they’ll be all cleaned up in a splish and a splash.

Campfire Cookies

Posted on September 9, 2019 by Aunt Mo

An Easy to Make Treat for Your Camping Family Reunion

One side of our family always goes camping for our family reunions and when I saw a photo of these campfire cookies I just knew we needed to add them to our reunion schedule.

Begin by frosting a sugar cookie with green frosting. Crush 2 snack size Oreo cookies on top of the frosting to resemble dirt.

Add 3 unwrapped Tootsie Roll candies for logs and cut up red, yellow and orange gummy candies to resemble fire.

Put 3 mini marshmallows on the ends of 3 pretzel sticks. Place sticks on each cookie in a pyramid shape over the campfire, making sure the marshmallows touch at the top.

For added fun, take a lighter and run it over the marshmallows to give them a roasted look!

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