Category: Summer

DIY Pen Pal Kit

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Looking for a fun and meaningful way to keep your kids entertained (and off screens) this summer? I put together a Pen Pal Kit for my kids and it’s been a hit! With most kids still too young for phones, staying in touch with friends and family during summer break can be tricky. I wanted to make it easy and fun for my kids to write letters without scrambling for supplies or tracking down addresses every time.

What’s in the Kit?

  • Clipboard
    We picked one that opens and holds all the supplies inside. It’s a great way to keep everything in one place—no more lost stamps or missing pens! We chose a blank one so that we could decorate and personalize it.
  • Address Labels
    I printed out return address labels and pre-printed labels for their friends and family. It saves time and lets them send off letters on their own without needing to ask for help.
  • Stationery
    We found some colorful, fun stationery sets. Cute paper makes writing more exciting and receiving a cheerful, handwritten letter is a special treat!
  • Stickers (optional)
    Just a little extra something to decorate envelopes or letters. It adds personality and creativity to each note.
  • Pens & Pencils
    Keep it simple with standard supplies or let them pick out fun pens like glitter, neon, or multicolored ink!
  • Stamps
    Want to make it even more fun? Take a field trip to the post office and let your kids choose stamps with cool designs.

My kids are genuinely excited to write letters now—and even more excited to receive them back. The Pen Pal Kit has made it easy and enjoyable for them to stay connected with friends and family during the summer.

Pro tip: Keep everything stocked and stored in the clipboard so it’s grab-and-go ready for rainy days, quiet afternoons, or post-playdate reflections.

Have you made a Pen Pal Kit before? I’d love to hear what you included!

DIY Painted Frames with Charms – A Fun Summer Craft for Kids!

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Looking for a creative and meaningful activity to do with your kids this summer? These DIY Painted Frames with Charms are the perfect way to keep them busy and the end result is a sweet keepsake you’ll treasure for years to come.

This project is not only fun, but also a great way to reflect on your favorite summer memories together. All you need is a photo that captures a special moment, this can include a beach day, a picnic, or a backyard adventure, and a few simple craft supplies.

Why You’ll Love This Craft:

  • Kid-friendly
  • Encourages creativity and storytelling
  • Doubles as a personalized décor item or gift
  • Helps turn summer memories into lasting keepsakes

Here’s what you’ll need:

This is great way for you and your kids to use your creativity to make something special. Our daughter Riley had so much fun making one for herself, she wanted to make another one to share with someone special. Adding charms gives these frames a whole new level of fun and really brings out the personality from the photo. Share your finished frames with me on Instagram, just tag @shortstopdesigns so I can see and celebrate your creations!

Best Supplies for a Fun Lemonade Stand

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Looking for things to do while your kids are home for the summer? A lemonade stand is a great way to keep them busy and can be a great educational experience while they’re out of school! We have done three lemonade stands and learned the best times and best places to host a lemonade stand. Today, I’m sharing some of our tips, supplies, and our favorite cookie recipes to help you and your kiddos have a successful lemonade stand!

Lemonade Stand Tips

  1. We’ve discovered the best time to host a lemonade stand is when our neighborhood is having some type of event, like a neighborhood garage sale. These usually draw in shoppers who are already looking to spend some money, and are supportive in helping out kids with their small business venture!
  2. Location is key! We are in the back of the neighborhood, and we know that there’s going to be less “foot” traffic, which means less buyers. If it’s feasible for you, bring your lemonade stand to the front of the neighborhood for better visibility. We have brought all of our supplies in a wagon (or the car depending on how we’re feeling) with us so we don’t have to go back and forth between the house and the front of the neighborhood.
  3. Market to your friends and family to draw in a crowd! In case things get slow, it’s always a great idea to let friends and family know you’re hosting a lemonade stand. Plus, the kids also appreciate seeing familiar faces supporting them.
  4. Sell baked goods or treats! Funny enough, we’ve found that selling baked goods has brought in more money than selling lemonade.
  5. Stay hydrated and bring water with you! Depending on how long you and the kids are willing to stay out, it’s likely you’re going to be out there for 1-2 hours. Plus, you don’t want to drink up the inventory!

Cookie Recipes That We Love

As mentioned before, selling baked goods is key to making your lemonade stand successful! Remember, it’s going to be hot out there, so you’ll want to try to avoid anything that will melt and ruin the look of your treats. Here’s a few of our favorites:

Lemonade Stand Supplies

When it comes to the set up, you’ll want to create one that stands out so everyone can see it when they’re driving by! I like to add a cute table cloth, a tiered tray to hold the treats and farmhouse drink dispenser to draw some attention. You can also tie in cute cups, patterned straws and packaging for your treats. Can’t forget the lemonade! Depending on how much time I have (and effort I want to put into it) I sometimes like to make the from scratch. But this last time I decided to grab a lemonade mix and it made my life a little bit easier. Top it off with some fresh lemons and you’re all set!

There are so many ways to make your lemonade stand look fun! The biggest thing is to let your kids help out and give them a chance to see what it’s like to run a small little business for the day. It’s a memory that your kids will remember for the rest of their lives, even if you do it just once!

Summer Reading Log + Punch Card Printable

Reading is so important in your child’s lives and this Summer Reading Log + Punch Card Printable is the perfect way to keep your kids motivated with reading this summer. Reward them once they’ve completed a punch card, and have them record which books they’ve read and which ones have been their favorite to read.

Reading Log and Reading Punch Card Printables

During the summer, all my kids want to do is play video games and go on their iPad. They were definitely encouraged to do other things before they could use their electronics last year, but they always needed help coming up with things to do, it kind of drove me nuts. This summer, I’m going to help motivate them to read in a fun way with this Summer Reading Log + Punch Card Printable.

If your kids do not enjoy reading, or need something else to do instead of playing video games, this will be a huge help! Use the reading log to help your child remember their favorite books by coloring in stars in the rating column. Depending on your child’s age, you can either have them read for a certain amount of time during the day, like 20 mins, before they get a hole in their punch card, or base it on the number of books they’ve read.

Summer Reading Log Printable

The punch cards can also be used as a bookmark for those older readers.

Before you begin, you should each agree on a prize together. Some ideas could include:

  • King sized candy bar
  • New toy
  • A special outing to a museum, Chuck E. Cheese, etc.
  • Going to the movies
  • New book
  • New game
  • Root Beer Float Night
  • S’mores Night

Whatever inspires you’re kids and something you don’t do very often.

Summer Reading Log and Punch Card

For those young readers who don’t enjoy reading, we’ve found that letting our kids pick their books, even if they are silly ones like Captain Underpants and Dog Man, have helped encourage our kids to read more. My kids also like reading books that have been made into movies and like comparing the two together. It might even be fun to create a fort (if you don’t already have one) where the kids have a designated space to read where it is comfy and cozy.

There are 2 different punch cards, one has 14 dots and the other has 10 dots to hopefully accommodate everyone’s needs.

Reading is great and I hope that you’re able to motivate your kids to read this summer!

Reading-Log-and-Reading-Punch-Card

Download the files below:

Reading Log Printable  | Punch Card Printable

 

Need more ideas to stay busy this summer? Try the Summer Bingo Challenge

Summer-Activity-Bingo

 

 

Ice Cream Birthday Party

Ice-Cream-Birthday-Party

Last weekend we celebrated out little girl’s 1st birthday! She is our 3rd kiddo and each time I am amazed at how quickly that first year goes by. She has definitely been my hardest since she is a lot more clingy to me, but for the most part she has generally been a pretty good baby.

First Birthday Party

My boys and I are all winter birthdays, so I was pretty excited that I was going to be able to celebrate a summer birthday! I kept racking my brain on what we should do, and I remembered making an invitation for my niece last year for an Ice Cream birthday party. I loved how it turned out and thought it would be awesome to use the same invitation and theme for her 1st birthday! Since we just got back from vacation, I kept it pretty mellow (for me that is) and kind of threw it all together. So, if you’re looking for a really simple and easy birthday party for your little one hopefully some of these ideas will help with your own party planning.

Ice Cream Bar Birthday Party

For Riley’s Ice Cream party, I created a simple Ice Cream Bar with different types of toppings and used “candy bowls” that I found from Michaels to hold the toppings in:

-Mini M&Ms

-Chocolate Chips

-Sprinkles

-Toffee Bits

-Crushed Oreos

-Gummy Bears

-Strawberries

-Cherries

-Hot Fudge

-Marshmallow Fluff

-Magic Shell Chocolate

-Whipped Cream

Toppings Ice Cream Party

You may see that blueberries are pictured above. Nobody used them, but if you were looking for a healthier alternative, you could make a little fruit salad with the strawberries and blueberries and top it with some whipped cream.

Ice Cream Party Bar

I used waffle bowls that I found at Walmart for guests to use for their bowls, and found these super cute napkins in the party section at Walmart. They fit the color scheme so perfectly, and I loved the gold in the napkins! Here’s a closer look (because I loved them so much). 🙂

Ice Cream Party Decorations

And for anyone that wasn’t feeling an ice cream sundae, you could make your own root beer float or in addition to your sundae.

Ice Cream Birthday Party 1st

Riley’s smash cake was the centerpiece of the Sundae Bar, and if you look closely you can see that the cake was starting to melt because it was so stinkin’ hot in our house (and sadly lots of homes in Washington do not have A/C… we are those unlikely individuals).

Ice Cream Cupcakes

And to tie it all together, I made some cupcakes that looked like ice cream sundaes. I frosted them with a super delicious buttercream frosting, topped it off with chocolate sauce (I used the magic shell chocolate) added sprinkles, a chocolate Hershey’s kiss and stuck the cupcakes in the refrigerator after they were decorated so the shell would harden.

Ice Cream Cupcake Party

It was so much fun putting this party together, and we all had a great time! So happy to have this little girl in my life and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for her.

Girl Cake Smash

1st Birthday Party for girls

1st Birthday Party Girl

Cake Smash Cake1st Cake SmashIce Cream Party

We were happy to have Auntie Connie to celebrate the special occasion too!

Printable Ice Cream Banner

Ice Cream Banner Printable

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Ice Cream Invitation

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Summer Activity Bingo

Summer-Activity-BingoIf your kids are active like mine, we are always out and about during the summer. I have at least 1-2 big activities planned during the week, and at least one outing a day, whether that be at the going to the playground, library, playing baseball, etc. My son’s school recently had a “Bingo for Books” night for all the families where they did 5 rounds of Bingo and won a book or a prize for each round and since then my kids have loved playing Bingo.

With that being said, I thought my kids would have some fun staying busy and playing Bingo at the same time with this Summer Activity Bingo. I’ve made one with a whole bunch of activities you can follow along with, and one that you can type in and make up your own activities!

Here’s how to edit your blank Bingo Card:

  • Open the file in Adobe Reader
  • Click “Sign” in the top right corner of the window
  • Begin typing in the boxes.
  • When you are done, click “Done Signing” to save a copy or “Signed. Proceed to Send” on the right tool bar. Save a copy and/or send to a friend.

I’d love to see how your Summer Activity Bingo is going, so feel free to tag me in your posts on Instagram! Have a fun and safe Summer!

Summer Activity Bingo Download

Editable Summer Activity Bingo Download