DIY Sparkly Reindeer Crunch!

This post is PERFECT for those of you with kids in your life, whether your a mommy, dad, babysitter, nanny, sibling, anything!

I remember doing this when I was a kid and it being so much fun! But this year, my mom had the great idea (gotta give credit where credit is due) to make a special "reindeer crunch" for the kids I work with.

Basically all this Reindeer Crunch is is smashed up cereal with glitter and a Jingle Bell. And let me tell you, yesterday I gave the kids a handful of small gifts including cookies and ornaments, but nothing compared to their special Reindeer Crunch!

So lets get started! The best part? You'll be done in 5 minutes!

Things You'll Need:

A few handfuls of Frosted Mini Wheat Cereal (or honestly, whatever you have on hand)

Some Red and Green Glitter

A Jingle Bell

A Plastic Bag

A Ribbon

Step 1: Take your plastic bag and crumble up some of the Cereal into the bag. You can crumble as much or as little as you want.

Step 2: Add in some glitter! We used red and green but feel free to use any colors you think your kids will enjoy!

Step 3: In the bag, add in the Jingle Bell. Mainly for Decoration, but of course there is a reason in the story (you'll see in a little bit!)

Step 4: Tie the bag tightly with a ribbon and tell your little "holiday helpers" this...

"To help Santa find his way to your house, sprinkle this special Sparkly Reindeer Crunch" on your front lawn on Christmas Eve Night, just before you go to bed. The glitter will sparkle so brightly that it will catch Santa's Reindeer's eyes while they're flying high in the sky. While Santa is giving you all your presents, they can crunch on their special Reindeer Crunch! The Jingle Bell is very important, it's to help you remember to put it on the lawn on Christmas eve. Santa is going to be so pleased that you were thoughtful enough to give his reindeer such a yummy snack that maybe he'll give you some extra special gifts!"

This could be fun to do with your kids, or just to give to them. We are keeping ours tucked into the Christmas tree so that we won't forget and so that we can tell everyone that looks at our tree what it is. Room moms: this is a super simple class gift to give each of the students! And if you're clever enough, you can even write a cute story on a little tag and tie it to the ribbons.

This is just a jumping off point, get creative with it! The kids in your life will love it and maybe it will even become a family tradition!

Hoping your Holiday Season has been bright thus far! 

Inspired By Beautiful Things #1

I'd like to start another series here on Beauty and Blogging. Something that is important to me outside of blogging about beauty, is blogging about other things that make me feel truly happy and inspired. So although these things may seem random, I think it will be fun to see if others are inspired by the same things or what does inspire other people. 

Harmonicas are my absolute favorite instrument. I grew up with a very strong music education within my household. My Dad is a huge Classic Rock fan and so I grew up listening to nothing but classic rock. I'm actually named after John Lennon's building that he lived and died in front of in New York, so the music taste sort of comes with the name. I am a huge John Lennon fan as well as a HUGE Beatles fanatic. I remember in my senior year of high school being able to skip a class period of Physiology because my English teacher thought I should come to his film studies class to watch "A Hard Day's Night" as I had never seen it before. This is a day I'll never forget because it really is not every day you get to watch a fantastic movie at school that stars your absolute favorite musicians. This scene has always stuck out to me where the boys are on the train and they are playing cards and flirting with ladies and jamming. Since the day I watched this film nearly 4 years ago, this song has been my ringtone on my phone. Anytime I hear that Harmonica, I just feel happy and alive.

Another one of my lifelong favorite musical artists was pretty much known for his lyrics, his piano, his guitar, and his harmonica. He sings one of my absolute favorite lyrics in one of his songs;  it just really speaks to me and I think that that is what music is really all about. 

"Yes, to dance beneath a diamond sky with one hand waving free. Silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands with all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves. Let me forget about today until tomorrow."

I mean, honestly, does it get more beautiful than that? I want that plastered all over my whole entire life to see in every direction that I turn. Is that excessive? Maybe just a little. 

And this little cutie is also really enjoying the beauty of the harmonica!

So I know this post may have seemed a little random and not exactly what you are looking for but, not to fear, because tomorrow I have a very exciting DIY/how to coming! I just feel like if you're feeling inspired, maybe you can inspire someone else. Life is all about what you love and what makes you happy.