5 Gifts NOT To Buy My Kids This Christmas

Please don't take this the wrong way.  I'm grateful for the people in my life that love my kids and want to buy them Christmas gifts. But please, for the love of god, just read this list and avoid the gifts below that make us parents want to rip our hair out.  

1) Noisy Toys.
Do you know what my kids are? Living, breathing noise machines. They make noise 24/7, it's like they take shifts keeping me up at night.  I'm sure they make a master plan as they brush their teeth to make sure I only get 20 mins of sleep straight. The last thing I need is a noisy toy.  Not only does that toy just add to my chaos but there is nothing creepier than hearing a toy say "Ma-Ma" from deep within the toy box. The general rule could be; If it has batteries, we don't want it. 

Better Option: Anything else. For real. Absolutely anything else.

Hint for moms: When that noisy toy gets unwrapped put duct tape on the speaker, it muffles the volume enough to tolerate it till the battery dies. 

2) Christmas Dresses
It's either Christmas day or 3 days before Christmas. Do you think I'm that unorganized that I haven't thought about getting an uncomfortable crinoline infused dress for my daughter? (Don't answer that.)  If you don't see it on her it's because I decided to...I don't know...buy something practical or maybe she'll wear it for 10 mins for photos before any food goes into her mouth and destroys it. Either way that ship has sailed and getting a dress that's only good for one occasion is basically like flushing your money down the toilet.

Better Option: Just buy her regular old clothes. I know they aren't as precious or fun to buy, but they'll get way more use out if it. (Please, for the love of god, just ask what size they are first - all 6 year olds are not size 6, contrary to popular belief.)

Hint for moms: When you inevitably get the frilly dress let them use it for dress up clothes. "Look now you can be a princess all year round!" We do this with every fancy dress my daughter's ever worn, flower girl dresses and all.  If I spent $100 on a dress it might as well get worn, right?

3) Stuffed Animals 

In my opinion stores should just stop selling these altogether.  I'm sure there are enough stuffed animals in the world to give one to every child for the next 50 years. Can you guess how many my child actually uses? One. Yet, I could fill an entire room with the stuffed animals we've received. The chances your stuffed animal will be the one they hand down to their children is so slim, I'm begging you not to try. Side note: If you get something insanely over-sized I refuse to even pretend to be happy, you'll see the rage all over my face.

Better Option: An age appropriate puzzle or game.  Something that will get my kids thinking and learning important skills like reasoning and taking turns. 

Hint for moms: Donate them to the hospital. Parents that lose babies need something to go home with.  My daughter has slept with Maya Bear for 4 years and it meant a lot to us after our loss. 

4) Anything That Hangs on the Wall.
I strongly urge you to rethink that giant canvas you're about to purchase.  Parents know that kid's interests change faster than you can say "ninja turtles". Every time a new movie is released my kids get obsessed, that doesn't mean that I want to cover their walls in Spongebob Squarepants paraphernalia.

Better Option: Buy the movie or book! If they like it that much I'm sure they'd love to watch or read it 1 million times, until the next big thing comes along, of course. 

Hint for moms: Hopefully you have a playroom where you can hide it. If not, try selling that piece of...umm..art on kijiji. Maybe someone is looking for an enormous Pokemon print?   

5) Instruments.

This is not a toy. It's a torture device.

This shouldn't need an explanation, but here it goes.  My kid may or may not be the next Mozart. But please know a plastic drum set or better yet, an entire box of plastic "instruments" (I use this term loosely) will not help them develop their gift. 

Better Option: How about some music classes? Much better way to spend your money. (Disclaimer: Please consult parents before adding said music classes into an already busy schedule.)

Hint for moms: Re-gift! Just don't make eye-contact with that poor mom in your kids class who is the lucky recipient. My apologies, in advance...

Although we appreciate that you the took time to get my kids a gift this Christmas my sanity would certainly thank you for sticking to experience gifts like passes to recreation centres, indoor playgrounds or the movie theatre. Better yet, give the gift of your time. They love you more than anything you can buy in a store - create some memories with the kids - they'll last a lot longer than that Santa Stuffy that sings jingle bells..because....I killed him. 

Santa has arrived at North Pole Place in West Edmonton Mall!

Santa is back! Have your photo taken with Santa through December 24, at North Pole Place, his home for the holiday season. North Pole Place is located on Level One, Phase I, in front of Hudson’s Bay. 

Santa’s Hours:
Monday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 5 to 8 p.m.
Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Christmas Eve, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Photo Packages:
Single Package $22
Additional Packages (same pose) $17
USB $27
Single Package and USB $37

Santa took a tour of West Edmonton Mall before finally settling in at North Pole Place, my kids loved this video! Let your kids watch Santa exploring all of their favourite attractions and get excited about coming to visit North Pole Place!

Synergy Family Wellness Centre: Why our Bodies are Awesome!

momstown Edmonton learned all about kids' health this month! We gathered for our Little Scientists program with a fantastic talk from Dr. Karen Osburn from Synergy Family Wellness Centre. Dr Karen taught us all about 5 ways to keep our bodies awesome. She told us that we need to eat healthy foods liks meat and vegetables, move our body every day, get lots of sleep, get our power turned on (by getting chiropractic care), and believe that we are awesome. The kids loved seeing the model of the spine that Dr. Karen brought and they asked some great questions! 

We finished off our learning by making our own spine models with wagon wheel pasta, gummy life savers, and pipe cleaners!

 Thanks so much to Dr. Karen for joining our Little Scientist's program this month. If you don't follow Synergy Family Wellness Centre on Facebook, you should.  Dr. Karen's blogs shares her many blogs and insights and they are as thought provoking as they are entertaining to read.  

Here's are some our favourites!

• I Speak for the Kids
• Slow Down Mummy
• Let Them Be Kids
• I'm a mom again (Hint: you'll need tissues for this one)
• 7 Life Lesson from my toddler

Want to join the fun? Not a momstown member yet? Sign up here and until December 23rd we'll donate $10 from every membership bought to the Stollery Childrens Hospital! Contact us for more details! 

When Should Kids See an Optometrist - momstown field trip to eye-bar Sherwood Park!

This group of momstown kids had a great field trip to the eye-bar in Sherwood Park! Dr. Amy let all the kids take a ride in the chair and they all left with an adorable set of sunglasses!

When Should Kids See an Optometrist? 

Routine eye exams by an optometrist are important to ensure that your child is seeing and performing their best at school. Uncorrected vision problems can lead to headaches, excessive day dreaming, struggling to keep up at school and poor reading comprehension. 

Kids should have their first eye exam by the age of 3. If you or your child’s pediatrician has any concerns or there is a strong family history of eye problems, our optometrists will happily see patients of any age – even babies!If your child does require eyeglasses, eye-bar carries a complete line of eyewear for infants and toddlers. These indestructible, child proof frames are great for small active children. The larger sized frames within this collection are also a great option for older children and can be easily worn under hockey helmets, for improved safety, vision and comfort. 

How to Explain Cavities to Kids: Little Scientists at Brookview Dental

This month was all about keeping our kids healthy, so we stopped by Brookview Dental Clinic for our great Little Scientist program! We also talked Dr. Alexis Desrosiers (also a momstown member!) about the importance of brushing and seeing the dentist early on. 

We did this great experiment to explain how cavities are formed! This is an easy way to help kids understand the importance of brushing and flossing their teeth without all the nagging!

What you'll need:
-Ice Cubes

-Salt

Place the Ice Cubes on a plate, have your kids touch the smooth surface and explain how the ice cubes are the 'teeth' in your experiment. Sprinkle the teeth with salt and explain that this is like the sugar that you eat during the day. We put our teeth to 'sleep' on another counter and set a timer for 5 minutes.

 When the 5 minutes is up, have your kids feel the top of the 'teeth'and talk about what happened to them with the 'sugar' left sitting 'all night'. Point out the little holes (cavities) that have developed in the ice cube. 

Try this experiment with your kids to show them the importance of cleaning those sugar bugs off their teeth by brushing and flossing. Thanks so much to Dr. Alexis Desrosiers for opening up Brookview Dental Clinic to our Little Scientists program and providing our mamas with such amazing information to keep their kids healthy! 

Tales for Tots: Good Night, Sleep Tight

momstown Edmonton meets every month at Beaners in Sherwood Park for our kids' book club Tales for Tots sponsored by Scholastic Canada. This month, we got to read the fantastic book Good Night, Sleep Tight by Mem Fox. What a great read aloud bedtime book! In classic Mem Fox style, the story has a wonderful flow that just begs to be read aloud over and over again. There are several repeating phrases that the kids said with me as we read the story. They loved it! My son loved it so much, I have heard him "reading" it to his brother almost every day since. After reading, we did our draw and Erica was the lucky recipient who got to take it home!

This month we've been looking at turkeys, so we decided to make pine cone turkeys. These are really easy, and fun for the kids! See below if you'd like to make your own! 

What you need:
-pine cones 
-white glue (or hot glue)
-feathers (with the stems cut off)
-googly eyes
-orange foam cut into triangles

What you do:
1. Glue the feathers into the pine cone. Make sure that the flat part of your pine cone is the front.
2. Glue the eyes and orange foam onto the flat part of the pine cone. 
3. Let dry! 

Did you know that Tales for Tots is one of 30+ events that are included in your membership? For only $45 for the whole year, you get all these events and more! Find out more and sign up here!

Alphabet Play: R is for Road

momstown Edmonton loves the alphabet, and every month we get together to have some letter fun at Alphabet Play. We started our alphabet fun by reading a favourite alphabet book Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault. After our circle time songs, we focused on the letter R. We talked about what sound R makes, and brainstormed some R words. After, we did a fun "R is for road" craft! The kids just loved making their own roads on their letter R's. With just a little glue, construction paper, and stickers, they made some fantastic roads! 

After our crafting fun, we looked in our snack cups to find different letters that were in there. It was fun to be able to do some learning while having a snack! It was a big hit! Thank you very much to our sponsor Alpha-Bits for the delicious and nutritious snack!  Check out the Post cereal website for great recipe ideas for Alpha-Bits cereal. 

Did you know that Alphabet Play is

one of the 30 great events we host

every month and is included in your

membership for only $45 a year? Sign up here!

The Power of Being All-In.

Entrepreneurs are a rare breed. We are determined, hardworking and probably a little bit insane.  It's hard for those around us to understand why we push so hard.  Why we pour our hearts and endless hours into our businesses.  Why we take risks that most wouldn't.  Why, even after all the struggle, we still love what we do. 

Joining the 19 other momstown owners as well as the HQ team in at the Courtyard Marriot Niagara Falls for 4 days makes me feel a little less insane. It grounds me.  Every 6 months I am blessed to be in a room of women that understand the WHY.  They take the same risks I do. They understand the toll running a business takes on your family. Even though they are across the country, they are my support.  

This conference was different than previous.  momstown has some amazing changes coming in the new year.  Big Changes.  The energy over these 4 days was incredible.  It was evident that this team is 100% invested and ready for the future. The entire team is all-in.  The vision and determination we see at every conference was 10 fold this year.  It was an invaluable way to spend four days and I came home even more positive and excited about this business.  

Thank you to the incredible sponsors who made this such a fantastic conference. We arrived to find personal notes in our rooms from the Niagara Falls Courtyard Marriott, beautiful 2014 Chevrolet Equinox's waiting for us when we deboarded the plane, had an incredible experience at a wine tasting at Chateau des Charmes and were treated to pampering by Ah Bella Luna Mobile Spa!

Art & Play: Thumbprint Turkeys

momstown Edmonton is full of little artists who just love to bounce and play. So, for Art & Play this month we headed back to one of our favourite locations, The Toy Hutch! We started off our time together with a little circle time and read the book "I'm a Turkey" by Jim Arnosky. The kids loved this book and helped with the "gobble, gobble" parts! After a little singing and crafting, the momstown kids got to the serious business of bouncing! 

 For our craft, we made thumbprint turkeys. Kids love to paint with their hands so they loved it! Want to make a thumbprint turkey with your own child? Here's how!

What you need:

-brown, yellow, red, and orange paint

-white cardstock

-orange and black marker

-googly eyes

-glue

What to do:

1. Dip your thumb into brown paint and make a thumbprint in the middle of your page. 

2. Dip your thumb in red paint, and make thumbprints along the back of the brown one, in a fan shape. Continue in the same fashion with orange and then yellow.

3. Let dry.

4. Glue on googly eyes.

5. Draw orange feet and a black beak.

Did you know that Art & Play is one of the 30 events a month that we hold and is included in your membership? Sign up here! 

Junior Chef: Apple Pie Bites

momstown Edmonton's Junior Chefs love The Pan Tree. Every month we head there to make something yummy together. This month was no exception! We got together to make some delicious Apple Pie Bites. The kids loved them! They were so easy, and delicious. And with the right tools, they are a perfect recipe to make with kids. We used this apple peeler and slicer to make it easier, and to allow the kids to participate more! 

Apple Pie Bites (adapted from here)

Ingredients:

1/2 C. sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 pkg puff pastry
3 tbsp melted butter, divided
2 medium tart apples (we used macintosh)

Directions:
1. Peel and slice apples into 16 pieces. Set aside.

2. In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon and set aside 1 Tbsp. 

3. Place the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface. Roll out with rolling pin.

4. Brush with  2 Tbsp. melted butter, sprinkle with sugar mixture.

5. Cut into 8 strips, and then cut those in half horizontally. 

6. Wrap one strip around each apple wedge, placing sugared side of pastry against apple.

7. Place on parchment paper lined baking sheet. Brush tops with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar mixture. 

8. Bake at 400 for 15-17 minutes or until pastry is golden brown. Serve warm. Makes 16.

Tales for Tots sponsored by McDonald's Happy Meals!

momstown Edmonton and McDonald's Happy Meals teamed up for Tales for Tots this month to celebrate the Happy Meals Books available at McDonald's restaurants across Canada until November 15th!

The promotion includes four limited edition books, offered in sequence, which feature Happy Meal original characters with fun and playful themes, and a focus on nutrition and imagination. 

The books were developed to bring each character and their adventures to life, while delivering a nutritional message that’s relatable for children. The books include:

•        The Goat Who Ate Everything – Tells the story of a goat who has a big appetite and struggles to eat right, but when he does, he feels great and becomes the playful ‘kid’ everyone loves.

•        Deana’s Big Dreams – Shares how Deana, the world’s smallest dinosaur, grew tall by eating right. 

•        Ant, Can’t – Features Ant, a bite-sized bodybuilder who’s big on encouraging physical fitness through exercise and eating right.

•        Doddi the Dodo Goes to Orlando – Follows happy-go-lucky bird Doddi, who travels the world. She eats right because this dodo is always on the go-go.

Toddler Time: Creepy Crawly Water Beads

momstown Edmonton hosts a twice monthly Toddler Time event on Saturdays for working moms and families. Focusing on open-ended sensory activities, the toddlers get a chance to play while moms and dads get a chance to visit. It's a great opportunity to get out on the weekend for moms, dads, and kids! 

This month, the toddlers played in a tub full of water beads with some creepy crawly Halloween critters hidden inside. If you haven't yet had a chance to experience water beads, they are very cool! They start out as tiny beads and when soaked in water, they grow up to 100 times their size! Toddlers love digging in them and feeling them slip between their hands. It was great to see the toddlers experiment with the funnels and using them as both scoops and a place to store the creepy crawlies that they found!

Did you know that Toddler Time is one of 30 great events we host every month and is included in your membership for only $45 a year? Sign up here!

Tales for Tots: Fox and Squirrel

momstown kids love to read, and thanks to Scholastic we get to read a new book every month! This month we headed to Sherwood Park Beaners for a cute book and fun craft. We read Fox and Squirrel by Ruth Ohi. What a great book with a fantastic story that celebrates both similarities and differences! We loved how Squirrel learned that you don't have to be the same as someone to be the best of friends! It was a wonderful story of friendship that the kids loved.

For our craft, we continued our Pirates and Princess theme and made Treasure Discovery Bottles. We took a simple bottle and added beads, rhinestones, jewels, and water beads. Then, we filled it up with water and added some blue food coloring. The results were so neat! The kids loved watching the jewels as they bounced around the water beads. We also made sure to glue the lids shut just in case! 

Are you interested in our programming? We have over 30 events every month! Sign up here and come on out!

Rhyme, Rhythm and Read

This month momstown Edmonton kicked off our brand new program for little ones called Rhyme, Rhythm and Read. This program is designed for the youngest momstown members (0-24 months), but even our older ones that attended had a blast. Babies and toddlers love to sing and they love to listen to you read, so putting the two things together just makes sense! We read a few books, sang some songs, and played with some shakers! The babies loved the bouncing songs and we sang those ones a couple of times over just to hear the laughs and giggles fill the room. 

Want to teach your little ones a new song? Here are a couple that our babies loved!

Slowly, Slowly

Slowly, slowly, very slowly

Creeps the little snail.

Slowly, slowly, very slowly,

Up the wood rail.

Quickly, quickly, very quickly

Runs the little mouse

Quickly, quickly, very quickly

All around the house!

Going to Kentucky

Going to Kentucky, we’re going to the fair

To see the senorita with flowers in her hair

Shake it baby, shake it. Shake it if you can.

Shake it like a milkshake, and pour it in the can.

Shake it to the bottom. Shake it to the top.

Shake and shake and shake and shake

Until I tell you STOP.

Did you know that this brand new program is one of 30 events a month that is included in your membership? All for only $45 a year! Sign up here!

Halloween Sensory Play with Pumpkins at Baby Basics

Each week at momstown Edmonton's Baby Basics program, moms and babies connect and share with other Edmonton moms. Through artwork and sensory play, like this Pumpkin Sensory activity, our babies get to explore the world around them!  Sensory play is such an important part of early fine motor and language development.  Using language when exploring; "does the pumpkin feel soft?  does the pumpkin feel wet?" helps baby learn new words to label their world.

Materials:

pumpkin

knife

spoons

plastic spiders

plastic worms

plastic pumpkins

various Halloween items (dollar store, party store or craft store)

Directions:

1.  Cut open up your pumpkin and put the "guts" in a bin for babies to explore.

2.  Place smallish items (but not too small for choking) into the open pumpkin and let kids put their hands all inside and reach around the items! 

3.  Don't forget to read some cute Halloween stories and do some adorable "Trick or Treat" artwork with baby too!

momstown has tons of great sensory ideas for you and your baby or toddler!

Thank you to our location sponsor Inflatable Fun - for the use of their fantastic space! The moms and babies absolutely love the Fun Place & Cafe! Delicious sandwiches, homemade treats and gourmet coffees for the moms and a fantastic play area complete with a life size dollhouse, gaming area, bouncy castles and ride on toys! 

3663 – 99 Street Edmonton, AB
780-709-7193
www.inflatablefun.ca

Little Scientists: Discovery Bottles

Each month, momstown Edmonton hosts a program dedicated to science and exploration. We always have a full house for this program! Kids just love to explore and learn about the world! This month, we decided to make Treasure Discovery Bottles similar to the ones we made at our Tales for Tots event with a little more of a science twist. 

Everyone got to choose from an array of rhinestones, beads, jewels, and glitter to add to their empty bottles. It was a great activity to develop fine motor skills! We had funnels available for the kids to use, and some of them quickly learned that only small items would fit through them. Once full of treasure, the kids added water beads. If you haven't used water beads before, they are a fantastic sensory item! Kids love them, and you can use them over and over again. You can usually find them in places that sell dried/fake flowers. After adding the water beads, we filled the bottles with water and glued on the lids. I highly recommend using hot glue to glue the lids on! The kids (and mamas) loved watching the beads bounce around in the bottle as they turned them upside down. My son quietly watched his for 20 minutes at bedtime that night before falling asleep!

Did you know that Little Scientists is one of the 30 great events we host every month and is included in your membership for only $45 a year? Sign up here!

Not What I Planned but Exactly What I Needed.

Liam wasn't planned. We always wanted 3 kids, but maybe not when Liam was actually conceived but there were those 2 pink lines, so the adventure began.  I wanted a little girl so desperately. I know another girl couldn't replace Maya but when I found out Liam was a boy I was so devastated. Guilt overrode my whole pregnancy. I don't think I ever came to terms with losing the little girl I thought belonged in our family. How could someone whose lost a sweet baby not be grateful for the one she is carrying.

It's been one year. One year since I woke up feeling contractions at 5 am. One year since my family and friends gathered at my home to witness the peaceful home water birth of our 4th baby. One year since my midwife uttered the words - cord prolapse.  One year since I was rushed to the hospital and put under general anesthesia.  One year since I woke up terrified and in pain as a mother of four. 


Liam didn't grow.  We nursed and nursed. We pumped and pumped. Being the confident mom of 2 children who nursed and grew without issues, I struggled to believe that I couldn't feed my baby enough so that he'd grow.  At 2 months old he was still at his birth weight.  We spent the next 2 months in and out of doctors from xrays and bloodwork to testing for Cystic Fibrosis. After 3 months he started growing and the testing finally stopped.  

Liam was different.  He's our only baby who wasn't planned.  He's our only baby that had to be delivered by a terrifying c-section.  He's our only baby who didn't grow properly.  

Today, on Thanksgiving our little Liam is 1 year old.  What a fitting day to celebrate a baby who easily could have not made it through his traumatic birth. Grateful doesn't begin to describe how I feel about Liam.  I can't express the deep and incredible connection I have with each of my kids but Liam is special. He's special because in his short life he's taught me what's important. He's taught me to embrace what I have no control over.  He's taught me that I'm stronger than I ever knew.  More than anything, he's taught me that no matter what I think I want, sometimes what you get is really what you need.

Alphabet Play PJ Party with Alpha-bits!

At momstown Edmonton, we love the alphabet. We love talking about the alphabet, doing alphabet crafts, playing with the alphabet, but most of all, we love eating the alphabet. And now at our Alphabet Play program, we get to do all things alphabet including eating it thanks to Post Alpha-Bits cereal! 

This month we have been playing with Princesses and Pirates, so we decided that the perfect way to kick off with Alpha-Bits was to have a pajama party and look at the letter P! We started off our alphabet fun with a great book called I Spy Letters by Jean Marzollo. The kids love the illustrations and rhymes in this book--it's always a lot of fun to read! Since we were looking at the letter P, we did a "P is for Parrot" craft. It was really simple, and turned out great! Each kid coloured a P, glued it down, and added a beak and feathers to complete it. They turned out great! As the kids were crafting, the fabulous ladies at Beaners gave them some fun hair, complete with spray colour, glitter, and bead braids! 

A pajama party just isn't a party without some snacks, and Alpha-Bits made sure we had plenty of cereal to snack on! The kids loved it! Post Alpha-Bits has the great taste and alphabet delight that kids and moms L-O-V-E. But Alpha-Bits cereal is more than fun and games. Post Alpha-Bits cereal provides a source of 9 essential nutrients plus is an excellent source of Iron and Thiamin.  Check out the Post cereal website for great recipe ideas for Alpha-Bits cereal. 

Did you know that Alphabet Play is one of the 30 great events we host every month and is included in your membership for only $45 a year? Sign up here!

Art and Play: Pirates and Princesses

October is the perfect time for dressing up, and momstown Edmonton loves to dress up! At Art and Play this month, all of the kids dressed up as either pirates or princesses. We started off our fun by decorating a cardboard play castle. The kids loved coloring and playing in the castle! Once all of our pirates and princesses arrived and got a chance to play in the castle, we read two fun books--Princess Sleepyhead by Kath Jewitt and Ahoy, Pirate Pete by Nick Sharratt. The kids loved how they got to choose parts of the story in Ahoy, Pirate Pete!

We made a great craft that uses something you likely have sitting around at home already--empty wipes containers! Just what did we make with these wipes containers that seem to multiply in the middle of the night, you ask? Treasure boxes! We spray painted them gold ahead of time to ensure they were dry for decorating. The day of, we had pirate and princess foam stickers, glitter glue, and sticker crystals for the kids to choose from to make their treasure box their own. We even had treasure for them to add to their boxes! A few bead necklaces and some "gold nuggets" (rocks spray painted gold) and we had treasure boxes fit for our princesses and pirates! 

Art and Play isn't complete without a little bit of parachute play, so we pulled out the parachute for some fun! The kids had a blast shaking the parachute, running underneath it, and pretending it was a blanket. Even the moms got in on the fun! 

Are you interested in our programs?  Check us out here!

Mattel Mommy & Me Game Day at The Toy Hutch!

momstown Edmonton mamas enjoyed a morning of preschooler friendly games courtesy of Mattel! It was a great opportunity to try out different games and get them added to those Christmas lists early! 

Here is a review of the fantastic games that were sent to us! If you're looking for game ideas for Preschoolers you can find them here!

Uno Moo!
Super easy and fun for even the youngest players! Players match their own animals with the animals in the barn. The first player to get all of their animals back in the barn wins!

Angry Birds Knock On Wood
This game will definitely be a favourite among the tech savvy toddlers - what is better than playing an online game in real life? Dad is guaranteed to love this one too! 

Parrot Pile-Up!
This game was popular and encouraged fine motor skills to carefully place items on the Parrot's raft and then carefully sliding the raft to the next player - try not to let anything take a tumble!

Chipmunk Chompers
This game has different levels of difficulty so it's perfect to buy for the youngest kids but will grow with them, start by using fine motor skills to pluck the chestnuts from the tree - as the kids get older there they can begin to match up patterns and even progress to spelling words with letters on the chestnuts!

Go Piggy Go!
The goal of this game is to get your Piggy from the mud pit to the yummy apples - you need to watch out for the tractor throwing hay bales and knocking you back to the mud pit! Great for working on number recognition, counting and taking turns!

Prize Winners! We drew five names and the kids chose their favourite games!
Mattel also sent us 10 Decks of Uno so all of our attendees will be able to start a family game night at home! 

 Check out the Mattel Game on Facebook Page for fantastic family game night ideas!