December Daily | Day 20 & 21 Give Good

The 21st was a really traumatic day for me.  I don't know what I will ever say about it in my album, but I put this bag in it with the date on it.  I added a rubber charm to the back of the library card.  Comfort and joy.  Because what more could I really ask for right now?

I worked backwards from there a little bit.  This is the day before that, the 20th.  Just a 5x7 photo.  I used the other half of the 'wild and sweet' die cut that I made with the Silhouette.  It was a cookie party, so I thought it was apt. 

Finally used one of those half circle note papers from the main kit.  I stamped a sentiment under the star and wrote a little caption. 

More pictures from the 19th (Library Day).  We went to a Walkway of Lights outside of Austin in the evening.  I'm glad we did because we completely missed the Trail of Lights this year.  

You know I love to take those pics with blurry Christmas lights in the background. 

I went back and added a little more for the 21st.  The picture of myself is not from that actual day, but I wanted to include it.  Sometimes a one word sentiment is all the writing I can muster and that's okay. 

Thanks for checking out my pages again!

I hope your holidays are filled with love! 

XOXO,
Niru

ps. You can see all of my December Daily posts here

December Daily | Day 19 Read More

This day we went back to the library again. Yes. 

I used bright red AE letters and light teal KP ones together. So cute. Love that color combo. 

The joy chipboard circle is another tab to be opened. 

I cannot over the faces he makes. This was too perfect. 

I was thinking about journaling around the window but I loved it too much to change it. I added this red tag as a possible place for words but I wasn’t sure about that either. 

I added a library book plate with a tag inside it for journaling. 

I stitched white stars down the middle and stamped a red sentiment before hand. 

The full spread.  I love this one so so much! 

Thanks for checking out my pages again!

I hope your holidays are filled with love! 

XOXO,
Niru

ps. You can see all of my December Daily posts here

December Daily | Day 18 The Lion and Deer

On Monday, we took a trip to the Zoo for a birthday party. It turned out to be quite the eventful morning. 

Before the Zoo, we stopped by Nandini’s class to face paint all the kids for spirit week. I added in a few simple deer journaling cards. Had to add a red nose sticker of course. 

The facing page was made with patterned paper. I made a flip out with a few 4x6 photos washi taped together. 

On the first photo I added a wild die cut I created in the beginning of the month. The full sentiment I cut said “wild and sweet” but that last part didn’t really apply. If you look closely you can see the lion’s intent stare. He is looking right at Lakshman. 

I added a wood veneer circle with the cork date on it so you kind know to open it. 

I typed out the journaling and added a pull tab to it so I could tuck it behind the photos.  I used the digital files from Kelly Purkey and changed list to say lion. 

It's kind of like a real hidden pages book.  The insert slides in and out on a little track. 

I also snuck an extra picture behind there too. 

Thanks for checking out my pages again!

I hope your holidays are just a little bit wild too but maybe not this much! 

XOXO,
Niru

ps. You can see all of my December Daily posts here

December Daily | Day 17 We All Fall Down

Have I mentioned that the Christmas Tree fell down on me? The Christmas Tree fell down on me.  The giant extra tall one we got because the U-cut ones were all gone by the time we went to the farm.  It turned out it was probably way too big for us to handle.  

It fell, I was freaking out inside but it really wasn't that bad.  We got it back up.  Nobody was hurt and only one ornament broke.  I luckily I had already decided to put most of the breakable ornaments away in the master bedroom while we hosted a Daisy meeting at our house.  Good call. 

So today, I took a picture of our, for now, upright tree and wrote a little about how we all fall down. Holidays are not ever perfect.  We can have a bad moment but it doesn't have to turn into a bad day.  We pick ourselves back up and we continue to find joy.  

I fussy cut the TN tree paper from Kelly Purkey to make an insert.  I added a few dot stickers and stamped a sentiment along the top edge.  

Let your heart be light. 

I added large wood veneer numbers for the date on the back of the tree.  I love the abstract pattern. 

I left a large white border around my photo.  I added text before printing.  I was thinking about hand drawing grid lines, but I ended up stitching on the photo instead.  Definitely not perfectly straight, but that was kind of the point, right? 

I added a wood heart and a tree sticker.  I have so many embellishments with words on them.  I have been struggling a bit to find little things to add that are not stars all the time.  

Funnily enough our evening on Sunday was not one of those things with lots of ups and downs.  It was just relaxed and great.  

I wrote about Nandini a bit under this super cute picture of her.  I added a few more hearts and pasted this label over a stamped Paislee Press sentiment. 

I printed out a few extra pictures and added a 4 pocket page.  

I added chipboard and a little typed journaling underneath most of the photos. 

Thanks for checking out my pages again!

I hope your trees and spirits stay up or get back up again too! 

XOXO,
Niru

ps. You can see all of my December Daily posts here

December Daily | Day 16 Brunch and Ballet

Usually I take Avinash to see the Ballet Austin performance of the nutcracker. But this year he has been taking classes there himself. And I took a real ballet class myself for the firat time in years. 

I used stamps largely from the Paislee Press kit to make a little journaling template. I added a puffy sticker embellishment. I wanted to finish up the page and hand wrote my journaling. 

I made a little grid of photos. I cut the edge of the chipboard number to the size of the photos. The patterned paper is a gold foiled floral from Shimelle. 

Thanks for checking out my pages again!

I hope your holidays have exhilarating moments too! 

XOXO,
Niru

ps. You can see all of my December Daily posts here

Great Gift Giving Guide for the Kid who has Everything

A slightly less complicated guide than this. 

Sometimes it is easy to feel overwhelmed with all the toys the kids have.  After a few months it starts to seem like they could never need more toys than they already have and the mess starts to pile up.  

Even after you Kon-Mari the crap out of your crap, you really can't tell your kids that birthday and Christmas gifts don't give you joy anymore.  

Instead of getting more stuffed animals or dolls that pile up, I love to get gifts that we can use as a family.  Board games are something we can all do together, but I don't necessarily want to be refereeing the third hour of monopoly.  

Choosing wisely is important.  

1. Sushi Go



Pass the sushi! In this fast-playing card game, the goal is to grab the best combination of sushi dishes as they whiz by. Score points for making the most maki rolls or for collecting a full set of sashimi. 

This is just a cute and fun card game that all the kids can play.  I love the graphics and talking about sushi adventures while we play. 
Sushi Go! - The Pick and Pass Card Game

2. Tokaido



Each player is a traveler crossing the "East sea road", one of the most magnificent roads of Japan. While traveling, players will meet people, taste fine meals, collect beautiful items, discover great panoramas, and visit temples and wild places. At the end of the day, when everyone has arrived at the end of the road you'll have to be the most initiated traveler – which means that you'll have to be the one who discovered the most interesting and varied things.

This game is gorgeous and so fun to play.  I love all the rich details.  It is probably easiest for my 9 year old son to play, but my 6 year old daughter can keep up with a little help. 
Tokaido Board Game

3. Chickapig
Disclosure: I recieved a promotional copy of this game in exchange for this review.  Opinions are my own. 

A lighthearted, and interesting take on the classic game of chess, laden with chicken-pig hybrids, cows, hay bales, Chickapig offers a new approach to farm to table entertaining, with a strategic and fun board game aimed to serve as a social activity fit for all ages. 

Available online for $34.99, Chickapig is the perfect gift for anyone from a DMB music lover, to your favorite funny nephew, to your humorous best friend. Amazon has it on sale now just in time for Christmas!

We all played it together, even Lakshman.  The animals were enough to hold his attention while Avinash and I enjoyed the strategy of plotting out our moves.  I like that it encourages house rules because we removed the cow obstructions to make the game a little less complex starting out.
Chickapig

4. Garden Grow

This game is our new family favorite.  You get seeds, plant them in the ground and wait for them to "grow" by picking the matching color cards.  There are also garden pests and helpers. 

We do a little bit of planting in the backyard where Lakshman learned to eat green beans and peas, so it is really fun for us to do it in the game too.  Any reinforcing of food as fun is good for him.  

Garden Grow

5. Operation

This is a classic game and I could not resist the rustic edition.  We have been playing this a lot and it was a big hit with friends on Thanksgiving.  The kids had never seen it before and it was a fun challenge.  
Operation

6. Little Feminists Puzzle

Puzzles are such a cozy and fun winter activity to do together.  Why not find some that are beautiful and meaningful?

Little Feminists Puzzle

7. Mudpuppy Ocean Life Puzzle (1000 Piece)

Another gorgeously designed puzzle but with a lot more pieces.  Things get fun when you do a puzzle together over a few days and start seeing the pieces in your dreams.  Ha. 
Mudpuppy Ocean Life Puzzle (1000 Piece)

8. Zodiac Jigsaw Puzzle, 1008 pieces

Avinash loves all things mythology right now thanks to Percy Jackson, so this was another fun puzzle for us to all do together.  

Affiliate links are included in this post.  At no additional cost to you, I will receive a small commission for items purchased after clicking on the links provided. 

13 Gifts Perfect for Anyone Totally Obsessed With Board Games

Check out my other board game guide on She Knows!