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    Thanksgiving table ideas for kids

    Brittany
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    Thanksgiving table ideas for kids

    Thanksgiving table ideas for kids

    I’m a big fan of the kid’s table for Thanksgiving and I love the idea of making it a celebration and a memorable experience. You can achieve this with some cute decorations, games, and activities. And guess what? We’ve got them all! Plus, I’ll include some jazzy accessories to go with it all.

    Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Table idea

    This printable Thanksgiving Day parade theme by far our most popular for Thanksgiving. While I think it would be super fun for any table for Thanksgiving, it’s a pretty appropriate one for the kid’s table. Especially if you watch the parade that morning too–how fun would that be?!

    Bonus tip: You can either print off the NYC skyline in advance and make it yourself OR you can have the kids cover boxes and make the DIY version like this one below.

    We even have a printable taxi for name cards, which you can also use for the adult table.

    Thanksgiving activities for kids

    The focus of Thanksgiving is the meal, so let’s focus on the table! This Thanksgiving printable coloring placemat is a fun and decorative idea that also provides some entertainment. Set out some colored pencils or markers and let the kids go wild!

    Thanksgiving printable placemat coloring page from The House That Lars Built

    We also have this turkey dinner printable coloring placemat. So cute!

    Thanksgiving games for kids

    After the meal, provide some of the games for kids–they’ll have a ball! We have printable Bingo cards, Mad Libs, and Would you Rather?.

    bingo games on a blue background. It's very colorful.

     

    Would you rather printable games on a pink background.

    Thanksgiving garlands

    A festive idea for the kid’s table is to add in a boatload of Thanksgiving inspired paper garlands. We even added in some “gobble gobble” signs at the chairs! Use your craft cutting machine to speed up the time!

    Paper bag turkey centerpiece

    A fun craft project to make with the kids is this paper bag turkey that you can fill with popcorn. I mean…too cute!

    Pie Crust decorations

    Let the kids add some food coloring to the pie crust! I love these plant-based food coloring variety packs too, which make it that much safer!

    Here are some fun ideas to add to your table:

    I’d love to hear what your ideas are for the kid’s table for Thanksgiving! What has worked for you? 

    Halloween Pumpkin Ideas

    Brittany
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    0
    Halloween Pumpkin Ideas

    Pumpkin Decor for Halloween

    As much as I love the classic carved Jack-O-Lantern tradition, it’s definitely not the only option out there when it comes to Halloween-themed pumpkins. Plus, it’s nice to avoid covering your hands in pumpkin goop every now and then. Here’s our list of classic Halloween pumpkin ideas to get you thinking about Halloween. It’s only a month away, after all! 

    Painted Mini Pumpkins

    First on our list of Halloween pumpkin ideas are our Painted Mini Pumpkins. Inspired by our debut Casetify phone case collection, these are at the top of our list. We couldn’t get enough of those lovely phone case designs, designed by our fabulous designer, Garet, so we decided to paint them on some pumpkins. It turns out they look pretty cute on pumpkins, too!

    checkerboard painted pumpkin

    Pastel Pumpkin Faces

    Another adorable Halloween pumpkin idea, especially if you’re looking for another painting option, are these Pastel Pumpkin Faces. No need to carve faces here! These ones are delicate and lovely, featuring pastel hues of all kinds. They remind me of china dolls–I just want to pinch their cheeks, they’re so cute!

    4 Ways to Make Succulent Pumpkins

    If you’re looking for a more plant-based pumpkin idea, try these 4 Ways to Make Succulent Pumpkins. Not only are they adorable, but they’re eco-friendly and biodegradable! Can’t get much better than that.

    DIY Preserved Flower Pumpkins

    These DIY Preserved Flower Pumpkins are another great plant-based pumpkin idea. Classy and elegant, once you see these beauties you’ll be rushing to add them to your annual Halloween porch decor!

    DIY Rainbow Pumpkins

    It wouldn’t be Lars without a good rainbow pumpkin. These DIY Rainbow Pumpkins are one of my favorite Halloween pumpkin ideas! They’re a classic, and one that deserves repeating year after year. Can’t pick a color? You don’t have to! Paint these pumpkins every color of the rainbow and brighten your porch.

    Rainbow pumpkins arranged on a porch.

    DIY Rainbow Pumpkin Arch

    A variation on our DIY rainbow pumpkins, this DIY Rainbow Pumpkin Arch is another classic. It’s such a show stopper and the perfect decoration to show guests where you live when they’re trying to find your Halloween party! Honestly, they’re cute enough to keep up all year long. In fact, it turns out you can, since they won’t rot!

    Rainbow Paper Pumpkin Tablescape

    I’m all about the rainbow theme, and this Rainbow Paper Pumpkin Tablescape is particularly lovely. Pair it with the rainbow arch or rainbow pumpkins and you have yourself a rainbow pumpkin-themed Halloween bash to be remembered!

    Printable Pumpkin Crown

    It turns out these Halloween pumpkin ideas don’t have to be decorations for your porch only. This Printable Pumpkin Crown is the perfect little accessory to add to your wardrobe. If you’re lacking a costume and need one last minute, you can easily don this crown and call it good!

    Printable Pumpkin Crown

    Pumpkin Patch Car and Spider Web Decals

    These Pumpkin Patch Car and Spider Web Decals are another amazing and unique Halloween decor idea. It’s simple, but is the perfect way to add some Halloween cheer to your car.

    Pumpkin Patch Car

    Pumpkin Leaf Favors

    If you’re having a Halloween party, these Pumpkin Leaf Favors are just the thing. Use them as party favors, thank you notes, or simply Halloween decor–they can do it all!

    pumpkin favors

    DIY Pumpkin Balloon Arch Backdrop

    Last but definitely not least is our DIY Pumpkin Balloon Arch Backdrop. You know I love a good balloon arch, and Halloween seems like one of the best holidays for just that. Festive, eye-catching, and fun, it’s the perfect way to incorporate pumpkins without having to get messy and carve.

    We hope these Halloween pumpkin ideas have given you the Halloween bug. Happy decorating!

    More Inspiration

    Loved all of these Halloween pumpkin ideas and want more? Stay tuned! We’ll be releasing a brand new pumpkin tutorial in a few weeks, so keep an eye out! And in the meantime, check out our Halloween shop for lots of ideas.

    3 DIY 4th of July Bunting Ideas

    Brittany
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    0
    3 DIY 4th of July Bunting Ideas

    1 – Draped Paper Bunting:

    This is the style of DIY Fourth of July bunting that I came up with last year and I love it. Most buntings are made out of draped fabric, and as a result are super expensive. This one is made out of butcher paper but it has the same fabulous drape – without the extravagant price tag! Follow this link for instructions.

    DIY Fourth of July Bunting with butcher paper

    2 – 2D Paper Bunting:

    Also made out of butcher paper, this bunting is budget-friendly and super quick to make! It is a 2D version of a traditional patriotic bunting, and I love the simple lines. If your home is more modern than traditional, this bunting makes for a great alternative to the ol’ faithful draped bunting. You can’t go wrong with clean design!

    DIY Fourth of July Bunting with paper

    Materials:
    • Red, white, and blue butcher paper (amount varies depending on your measurements, this can typically be purchased at your local party store).
    • Measuring tape
    • Pencil
    • Scissors
    • Hot glue gun
    • Tape
    Instructions:
    1. Measure the length of the desired location for bunting. Do a little math to figure out how long each individual section should be.
    2. Cut the red, white, and blue papers to the correct lengths and half circle widths. *An easy way to get a nice round shape & even width is to tie your pencil to a string that’s anchored to something heavy enough on the opposite end to hold its position as you draw. Pull the pencil to the end of the length of string and follow it in the natural circular shape, going around the anchored point. Then cut along the line you’ve drawn.*
    3. Glue the red, white and blue half circle shapes on top of each other, with the largest color on bottom, the smallest color on top, and the flat edges lined up.
    4. Double over pieces of tape and stick them to the back of the straight edge to attach the bunting to your desired location.

    3 – Balloon Bunting

    We love balloon decor, and the Fourth of July is a holiday without enough balloons! Because of this, I decided to make a bunting with balloons. The third DIY Fourth of July bunting features red white and blue balloons of different shapes. Long balloons are reminiscent of the red and white stripes, while small blue ones decorate the bunting like stars! 

    DIY Fourth of July Bunting

    Materials:
    1. The same materials as the paper bunting
    2. Red, white, and blue balloons – each color in both 5 inch round balloons and 46 inch long balloons (amount varies depending on your measurements) 
      • A low-heat glue gun works best for gluing the balloons to the butcher paper
    Instructions:
    1. Follow the instructions above to create your paper buntings in the desired sizes
    2. Blow up enough 46 inch long balloons to create two side-by-side layers of each balloon color. Then hot glue each balloon to the butcher paper bunting, following the half circle arch of the balloons’ corresponding color. Red balloons will follow the arch of the red butcher paper, white balloons will follow the arch of the white butcher paper, and blue will follow the arch of the blue butcher paper.
    3. Blow up enough 5 inch round balloons of each color to fill in the space between the long balloon arches. Then hot glue a layer of round balloons to the corresponding color of butcher paper.
      • Balloon order: Two side-by-side layers of red long balloons, one layer of red round balloons. Two side-by-side layers of white long balloons, one layer of white round balloons. Two side-by-side layers of blue long balloons, fill in the remaining area with blue round balloons.
    4. Double over pieces of tape and stick them to the back of the straight edge to attach the bunting to your desired location.

    DIY Fourth of July Bunting with balloons

    Don’t Have the Time?

    Look, we get it! Sometimes you want the look without spending the time and effort to craft. We’ve still got you. Here are some of our favorite ready-made 4th of July buntings (for a range of budgets).

    Click here to see some of our other favorite patriotic projects! And you can find all of our holiday ideas on our Pinterest here.

    Friendship Bracelet Inspired Balloon Garland

    Brittany
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    0
    Friendship Bracelet Inspired Balloon Garland

    how to make a flower balloon garland

    Friendship Bracelet Inspired Balloon Garland

    This year, we turned to our friend Wendy who has the most charming old white house (we’ve talked about her before here), which is a dreamy setting for her preschool.  We had aspirations of flowers and we wanted it to be BIG.  That’s when our friends at Anagram stepped in and gave us a hand with some of their balloons. My favorites are the purple/pink ombre ones, how about you? We knew with Wendy’s house and Anagram’s balloons we could pull off something really fun.how to make a flower balloon garland

    Midsummer decor idea

    Now, Wendy used to live in Sweden, so she was very eager to hop on the idea of Midsummer balloons. Did I also mention that Wendy is a BIG time lover of balloons!  Match made!  With the idea of greenery (read more about Sweden’s Midsummer traditions HERE) and flowers abounding, we got to work making some flowers out of balloons.

    Beaded Flower bracelets

    We were reminded of these popular bracelets that our friends at HonestlyWTF made and knew what we had to do. With some extra white balloons, we were able to make a chain and string the flowers together making the perfect balloon friendship bracelet.how to make a flower balloon garland

    Here’s how to make them!

    Materials: 

    Make a flower balloon: 

    1. Start by using a gold/yellow balloon for the center.
    2. Blow up 6 “petals” to go around the center. Use packing tape to secure together and to the center.
    3. Blow up 5 white balloons for the garlands. Use balloon tape to hold them together. Use packing tape to secure if necessary.
    4. To adhere the garlands to your structure, use gaffer tape.

    Tip: We found that packing tape is AMAZING for balloon to balloon adhesion and gaffer tape is great for balloon to other surfaces.

    how to make a flower balloon garland

    Recycling foil balloons

    Did we mention recycling?  Yes!  Anagram foil balloons can be used year after year. Or you can gift them to friends like we did to give them a second life. It turned out so cute and we can’t wait for her kids to see!  how to make a flower balloon garland

    This post is sponsored by Anagram but all opinions are my own! 

    DIY Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Tablescape

    Brittany
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    6
    DIY Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Tablescape

    We’ve loved using Anagram for other balloon projects, like our DIY Jingle Bell Balloons for Christmas, and more recently, our Halloween Ghost Installation. 

    Balloon projects are awesome because they don’t require a ton of skill (although they can be time-consuming depending on how big you go) but they always look impressive and joyful! They’re one of those projects that are hard to mess up. I am very excited to share this balloon installation because it has just as much impact, but needs significantly less time than our past balloon projects!

    The theme for this project is…(drumroll please)…The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade! If you’ve been a Lars reader for a while, you might recognize this project from four years ago. I love using the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade as a theme for Thanksgiving day parties. It’s so fun and makes for a clever twist on the normal turkeys and leaves everywhere this time of year. I am all for traditions, but this might be the perfect year to replace your mom’s ancient fall tablecloth with this unique theme (though I love that too!)

    Bring The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade To Your Own Feast

    As soon as the realization hit me that the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will not be the same this year, I immediately knew this was the year this project needed to be revamped. We still don’t know all the details for the actual parade, but like everything else this in 2020, it’s sure to be different. We do know that nobody will be watching the parade in person, including New Yorkers, but for most of us that doesn’t change that we can watch the parade on TV. Luckily my panicked googling confirmed at least that much. 

    My one consolation is that I can bring the parade to my very own Thanksgiving party this year! We partnered with Anagram to make this Thanksgiving theme bigger and better than ever. This year, create an entire balloon installation with the directions below. We even included printable versions of the cityscape to make your decorating as simple as possible, without sacrificing the wow factor.

    How To Make Your Own Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Tablescape

    Materials:

    Instructions:
    1. Figure out how long your table is and how much you want to fill of it with cityscape. One copy of our printable cityscape should fill about 3’.
    2. Cut out the buildings and attach them to foam core.
    3. Cut out the buildings with a craft knife.
    4. Use glasses to prop up the city scape (or make your own stands by creating a wing attached to each one)
    5. Blow up your balloons with a pump and seal shut. 
    6. Attach them to a balloon stick and then attach to the backs of the city scape with tape
    7. Set your table! We included these printable taxi cab place cards to complete the look.

    For our table, we used plates from Knot and Bow, cups from Knot and Bow, napkins from Oh Happy Day. 

    Creating this wonderful balloon centerpiece for your Thanksgiving holiday will bring some much-needed cheer. Plus, like all our balloon projects, you can reuse them every year! This balloon installation would go wonderfully with our Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Printables.

    This post is sponsored by Anagram. We love our sponsors who allow us to create beautiful original content!

     

    Holographic Ghost Halloween Balloon Installation

    Brittany
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    0
    Holographic Ghost Halloween Balloon Installation

    Ghost Balloon Decor

    A good balloon installation is our favorite go-to because not only do you just need a little bit of time (and a good balloon pump!) but the large scale look makes a major statement without needing a large scale budget.

    We are big fans of Anagram balloons. In fact, this Halloween balloon installation is one of many Holiday ideas they have helped us dream up over the past year. You can check out our tutorials for Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and even St Patrick’s Day here! Plus the massive foil balloon arch we made for my sister Caitlin’s baby shower.

    Foil balloons are re-useable!

    Much like our DIY Rainbow Lucky Charms Arch we made back in March, this one is big, fun, and the best part—the balloons are deflatable! Meaning you can recreate this look next Halloween with the same balloons! Just keep them in storage and bring them out year after year.

    I first fell in love with their holographic ghost balloons that come in a jumbo size and a mini size (too cute!). They also have this great circle balloon with a ghost face on it, which Jasper has dubbed “eggs” as the mouth is yes, in an egg shape. Anagram also has some beautiful solid color shapes so we added in some rose pinks, rust oranges, and some celestial shapes in matte black stars and crescent moons. It’s a beautiful take on a ghoulish theme you know?!

    First, I put together a board of the colors I was wanting to use from Anagram.

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    And luckily, they were just as pretty in person! Love the rose gold with the orange and iridescent!

    Halloween balloon installation

    You can use this ghost balloon decor to decorate your porch for All Hallow’s eve, a neighborhood (socially-distanced!) party or parade, or just to catch the eye of passers-by.

    Watch our video to see me put together the party with a snap of my fingers!

     

    Setting Up the Halloween Balloon Installation (no magic needed) 

    This is a fairly easy project skill-wise, but it does take a bit of time to blow up the balloons and set them up. Maybe you’re wondering if you can blow up some balloons in advance, perhaps the night before while you’re watching a scary movie (by “scary” I mean Hocus Pocus…that’s my threshold). We recommend blowing them up only 1-2 days in advance to avoid any premature deflating. ALSO, an important tip is blowing them up in the temperature of where they will be installed. If it’s going to be outside, we recommend blowing them up outside.

    Halloween balloon installation

    Another perk of these foil balloons is you don’t need helium to fill them up—just plain ol’ air works great. Most of our balloon projects are made so you don’t need helium at all. That is a major plus in my book and since there’s a helium shortage, we tend to steer clear!

    Look how cute these ghost balloons look! Special thanks to our sponsor Anagram for making this Halloween balloon decor possible!

    If you like this, you’ll love!

    Halloween Menu Printable
    DIY Rainbow Pumpkins
    DIY Pastel Pumpkins
    6 ways to celebrate halloween social distance style
    Tortured Halloween Artist Party

    DIY Rainbow Lucky Charms Balloon Arch

    Brittany
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    1
    DIY Rainbow Lucky Charms Balloon Arch

    In true Lars fashion, our balloon arch is BIG and COLORFUL, and made up of Anagram’s wonderful foil balloons. We said this before and we will say it again, we love these balloons because they are deflatable, and therefore reusable which we love, helps the environment and cuts cost since you can use them again!

    How to make the balloon arch frame for under $10

    We knew we wanted an arch that was much larger than anything we’ve ever done so we had to think BIG! For our pumpkin arch we made one small enough for our walkway and it worked so well. And this time we went double the size!

    Here’s what we did to make the balloon arch frame:

    • We used three 10′ PVC pipes connected with their little connectors (all under $10!).
    • We pounded a piece of rebar on either side of the pole into the ground with a hammer and the pipe slid on nicely over the rebar.

    Blowing up the Balloons for an arch

    This is one of the questions we get over and over again “How far in advance can you blow up the balloons?” Well, it depends on the type of balloon and the weather and if it will be indoors or outdoors. To ensure freshness, I’d recommend 1-2 days. Anything over that is probably fine but you just never know. Some of the balloons even have tiny holes in them and you don’t know that until a few hours when it’s in the arch and starts to shrivel up.

    It took us 5 people in one morning to blow up all the balloons for this arch. Mind you, we blew up waaaaay too many because we didn’t know exactly what shape we were going to build yet and we wanted to be sure. We used about 48 balloons here for this 30′ pole.

    How to add on balloons to the pole

    We know and love using balloon tape, but for something like this, we prefer to attach it to the pole directly with clear shipping tape. We take an 8″ piece and tie it around the end of the foil balloon and around the pole.

    We added on more balloons to the base so that they acted more like clouds.

    All the colors!

    We must have a soft spot for holiday-themed balloons (You may remember seeing them from our favorite Jingle Bell Balloon post?) since we undertook creating this huge Rainbow Balloon Arch! Despite the helium shortage, we were able to use these reusable balloons to make our BIGGEST balloon arch yet, a full 30 feet because they are all air-filled! Perhaps the real treasure at the end of our rainbow was the rainbow itself! We couldn’t believe how great it turned out, with all our favorite colors. We used a mix of pastels and bright, saturated colors because we love the mix together! 

    The Lucky Charms!

    We added a few smaller rainbow balloons in to make our arch extra charmed with flour-leaf clovers, an X to mark the spot, hearts, and rainbows! Because can you even have enough rainbows?! This arch is even luckier, since these balloons are made of foil we can make this arch again and again for holidays to come.

    Like I said, we sure feel lucky to be able to share this Rainbow Balloon Arch with you and even luckier to work with wonderful sponsors like Anagram who made this arch possible! 

    Birthday Printable Collection

    Brittany
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    2
    Birthday Printable Collection

    Printable Birthday Suite

    We love the colors, the sentiment and the craftiness. Here’s what we have!

    Printable Birthday Invitations

    You know what they say, first impressions are everything; so, let your guests know they are in for a great time with these invitations!

    Printable Birthday Banner

    Is a birthday party really a birthday party without a proper birthday banner?! We think not! Hang this up to set that party mood!

    Birthday Crown

    We heard you can only have a proper birthday if you are wearing a crown… so, we present you what might be the best birthday crown you have ever seen!

    Cake Toppers

    Lest the Birthday Queen or King forget how old they (yes, this has happened to me once or twice…) remind them with these cake toppers that are good for anyone ages 1-1,000!

    Thank you to Dahlia Bakes for the scrumptious and beautiful cake. If you’re local in Utah Valley, we highly recommend her work!

    Printable Birthday Decorations e-book

    You can find all the individual components in the shop OR you can find them all in our Birthday e-book here. Here are a few must haves for your next birthday Party!

    As always, we can’t wait to see how you make your birthday come to life with our printables. Tag us with #LarsMakes so we can see! 

    Give a (balloon) Heart Attack

    Brittany
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    0
    Give a (balloon) Heart Attack


    Now, I know what many of you are thinking, “Brittany, if that’s your absolute number one dream, why didn’t you dress up as Cupid for Halloween one year?” The answer is simple. Why would I use my one day of the year when it’s acceptable to dress up as whatever I want to be Cupid, when I can just dress up as Cupid on a day when it’s not acceptable to dress as anything else! Halloween or not, this is the season of love, and it would not be the end of the world if I started a trend of people dressing up on another holiday.

    Embarrassing as it might be, when I first envisioned myself as Cupid, I really did see myself in the most Cupid-esque costume I could think. You know, baby curls, rosy cheeks, and that small diaper he wears? I soon realized that the outfit might not be the most appropriate for the weather or the people that would have to see me in it. I settled on the next best thing; a Greek-inspired breezy toga, heart-embellished accessories, and of course, some fluttery wings!

    Give a Balloon Heart Attack for Valentine’s Day

    Donned in my Cupid attire and ready to put a little bit more love in the world, I set out to spread the enchantment far and wide. This is where I really got to shine, thanks to the many heart shaped foil balloons (which come in the most amazing Valentine’s color palettes) I had in my arsenal. Using these impressive foil balloons, I got to work heart attacking a few of my most beloved friends’ houses. Don’t worry, it’s a lot less drastic than it sounds, just the simple act of decorating an unsuspecting friend’s house with hearts of all sizes, shapes, and colors! We were so excited to team up with anagram because of how incredible we knew a house would look if it was absolutely covered in balloons. With the house decked out in hearts, we used foil letter balloons to spell out, “You’ve been hit by Cupid’s arrow” and left a box full of foil balloon goodies on their porch so they could pay it forward. 

    Tips:

    • Use an electric air pump (we use this one)
    • Use sticky Command strips to attach to the house
    • Heart string: You can create your own hanging tabs for the heart balloons hanging from the ceiling by using packing tape and a hole punch.

    Materials: 

    With my work done, and the dreary February skies filled with just a little more love (and mischief), I hung up my bow and arrow and took a well-deserved rest. I’m already missing my time as Cupid, but who knows, I may just have to pull out my wings next year. 

    This post is sponsored by Anagram. We love our sponsors who allow us to create unique content for you.

     

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