31 Days to Bless Your Home, and How to Have Fun Doing It Too!
Week 3: The Glamorous Side of Homemaking: Cleaning, Organizing, and Decluttering
Day 18: Fall Family Fun, Bonding, and Making Memories
A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. Proverbs 17:22 ESV
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| photo by blog.winterkids.com |
I hope you understand that blessing our homes is so much more than the working on physical structure of the house. What makes the home is people. I am giving you a jump start on next week’s theme today, which is enjoying our families. Since Saturdays are fun days for our home challenge, I will have ideas for fall fun with our families. However, I will keep week 3 at the top for now as a reminder to continue working on that “one” project.
Enjoy these craft ideas and suggestions for fall fun for your family!
Project for Little Ones
Now that my children are grown and on their own, one of the most precious possessions I have is a collection of art work from their early childhood. I especially get misty when I see projects that have their tiny little hand impressions or finger prints to remind me how little and sweet they once were. (Sniff Sniff!)
One project they enjoyed was making a fall tree picture with their sweet little hands and fingers. Use brown tempera paint and cover their hands and forearm. Make an impression on a piece of paper to look like a tree branch. Spread the fingers to look like branches. Wash up and then using their little fingers, dip into fall colored tempera paints (oranges, yellow, red, brown, green) and make finger print leaves. Once it is dry, you can color or glue magazine pictures to make a fall scene. Be creative because you will treasure this one for years!
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| photo from sheknows.com |
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| photo from crafthubs.com |
Projects for older kids, or even just for you!
One of my favorite things about fall is to keep a scented candle lit in the house. The ambiance of the beauty and the fragrance really sets the mood! An easy idea would be to place a tall, thin votive or vase inside of a larger vase or hurricane candle holder. It works best if the outer holder is clear.
Fill in the area between the two vases, or candle holders, with something colorful, such as candy corn, M & M’s, Reece Pieces, or other candy, colored corn kernels, colored beads, sand, leaves and twigs, cranberries, small pine cones, or whatever your imagination can concoct! You can then place a wreath around the base, or just place it on a decorative plate or stand.
To make it more interesting, you can decoupage silk leaves, fabric scraps, pictures, colored tissue paper pieces, or flower petals to a vase or glass jar. The glow of the candle through the colored leaves or paper will be so pretty! You can tie a ribbon around the neck and place a twig or flower in the knot.
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| Making s’mores. Photo by blog.SanDiego.org |
Fall Activities to Enjoy with Your Family
Remember, it is all about bonding with your loved ones and creating memories that will last a life-time. It is those bonds and memories that make your home! Some of these ideas are just general ideas, but the list will help you enjoy the season without missing an opportunity to do something you would enjoy.
· Go to local church fall festivals, or if your kids are older, attend one of the local dramas, such as Hell Escape, Judgment Journey, or Final Approach. They come with many different names, but you get the idea!· Visit a pumpkin patch, corn maze, or other outdoor fall ventures.· Look in the paper or online for your community or nearby towns for fall special events. Mark them on your calendar.· Make a life-sized scarecrow. Be creative and display it in your yard.· Bon fires, hay rides, fire pits, weenie roast, marshmallows, and s’mores. OK, you know all of that, but I just couldn’t leave it out!· Nature walks. Collect interesting leaves, pine cones, and other beautiful gifts of nature. Take lots of pictures too!· Fall is a wonderful time for a trip to the zoo!· Visit an apple orchard and go picking.· Visit a working farm if you live in the city or the ‘burbs. Or, if you live on a farm, visit the city for fall fun.· Make caramel or candy apples and go apple bobbing. Tie apples to a string and hang them from a doorway or bar. Have them bob blindfolded. It’s a riot!· Make homemade apple sauce or apple butter.· Carve or paint pumpkins!· I saw this idea on a website, not sure where, but it is hilarious! Pumpkin Bowling. Drill finger holes in a pumpkin. Draw or glue black spots on rolls of toilet paper for eyes and a mouth so that they look like ghosts. Stack them like bowling pins. Roll the pumpkin at them!· Make fall desserts or drinks together. Try a new recipe. Enjoy!· Play outdoor games and enjoy this beautiful weather – football, Frisbee, kickball, ride bikes, soccer, corn hole, horse shoes, miniature golf, Hill Billy Golf, yard darts, badminton, volleyball, etc.· Explore craft ideas on Pinterest and have a blast!· Have a family fun night that includes a fire in the fireplace and some hot chocolate. Play games in your pj’s and enjoy just being together.· OK, I don’t especially like Halloween, but I have to share this idea with you – Fog Drinks, from kidsactivitiesblog. Give it a try! What a great party idea!
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| Photo by Quirky Momma |
Week Three Challenge: It is time to roll up our sleeves and give our homes some extra TLC this week. What have you been putting off? This is the week to tackle it!
Today’s Challenge: Get out your calendar and plan your favorite fall activities with your family. Choose at least one craft and one new recipe and get all the materials ready for a super-fun time of bonding!
Join me for a Bible study tomorrow about preparing our homes for the Master. You will be blessed!
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Thank you and God bless!
Shari Lewis
