Holiday Printable Activities for Kids 

These winter activity gift tickets have been such a hit! They are a really cute way to keep the kids busy, but they also give kids an opportunity to share a fun gift with friends and family. Printable Winter Activity Tickets  
Use this Christmas postcard to send to relatives! Just print, have your kids color everything and fill in the ‘to’ and ‘from’. Cut out each rectangle and glue them onto either side of a piece of card stock. It’s a great way to keep your kids busy AND get holiday mailing checked off your list. – Printable Christmas Postcard

This printable holiday-themed coloring sheet is a super quick and easy activity for children of any ages! – Holiday Colouring Sheet

Have your little one use their imagination and creativity to decorate and color this blank Christmas tree. – Decorate the Christmas Tree Colouring Sheet 

All kids love writing to Santa and it’s extra important in 2020, since they won’t be able to visit him and tell them their wish list in person! Using this printable letter is a great way to make the activity of writing a note feel a little more official and festive! – Printable Santa Letter Template 

Printable games for kids

Have a little problem solver in your family? This fun holiday maze is sure to keep them busy. So, when you need a little free time for gift wrapping, cookie baking, or that well-deserved glass of wine! – Holiday Maze Printable  

Send your kids on a Christmas-themed scavenger hunt around the house to see how many of these holiday items they can find. – Holiday Scavenger Hunt Printable

New readers and writers will love sitting down with this word search that’s full of festive wintery words. – Winter Wonderland Word Search

As parents we may be feeling the holiday crunch, if you’re looking for simple holiday gifts, tags, ornaments or more make sure to check out our Holiday Collection!  And if you’re feeling stressed, try these tips.

The post Free Holiday Printables For Kids appeared first on The Mabelhood.

When the zipper closes, it creates a damp, dark environment where bacteria will thrive, resulting in the pungent, unpleasant smell that hockey parents know so well. (Sorry to be the one to tell you, but as your young player enters the tween and teen years, it only gets worse!)

I play hockey myself and have many hockey-parent friends, so I’ve compiled their best tips for washing hockey gear and keeping it as clean and odor-free as possible.

Moisture is Your Opponent

The number one tip was unanimous: dry it out. Immediately following each game or practice, every piece of equipment should be removed from the bag and hung up (or at least spread out) to dry.

To facilitate this process, I purchased a metal “tree” style rack with rods that hold various pieces of equipment and allow air to circulate through them. Other families proudly shared their designs for do-it-yourself wooden versions they had built themselves and placed in the basement near a heating vent or fan. Parents of rep hockey players who travel to out-of-town tournaments favored a coat-hanger inspired system, noting that it was especially handy to air out wet gear in the hotel room between games.

To counteract the smell, some families experimented with mainstream laundry products such as fabric softener sheets (placed in the empty bag as a deodorizer) and household odor eliminator sprays (applied directly to the gear). A variety of sport-specific antimicrobial products also came highly recommended, including Norwex Sportzyme spray, Captodor Sport spray and GearHalo SilverACTIV deodorizer pods.

Cleaning Play-by-Play

When it comes to washing and disinfecting a typical set of player equipment, let’s work from the top down.

Helmet

Use an antibacterial wipe on the interior padding, the inner side of the mask or cage, and the chin pad. Dry with a towel or set aside to air-dry.

Neck guard, shoulder pads and elbow pads

Pull out any removable inserts, if applicable. To avoid snags and tangles, check that all the Velcro tabs are properly closed. Place in the washing machine and run a standard cycle with cold or warm water. Use regular detergent but do not add bleach. Remove the pieces from the washing machine as soon as it beeps and hang to dry.

Team jersey

This may be an expensive, difficult-to-replace item with a custom crested logo, so handle with care. Wash in cold water (to prevent the colors from bleeding) and hang to dry.

Undershirt and other “base layer” pieces

Washing hockey gear isn’t just about the gear- you need to consider the base layers too. This category includes any clothing that is worn underneath the gear and comes in direct contact with the skin: underwear, undershirt, tights, socks, jock or jill shorts, and so on. These should all be washed with the regular laundry after every session. For particularly “fragrant” clothing, consider using your machine’s pre-soak or extra rinse settings. Since these pieces are often made from technical fabrics to wick away moisture, check the manufacturer’s tag for any special washing or care instructions.

Gloves

By all accounts, these are often the stinkiest pieces of equipment. The sprays mentioned above were popular to help keep unwanted odors at bay. Gloves can be machine-washed, although they definitely can’t go in the dryer because of the leather material in the palms. Instead, place them upright on a boot or mitten drying rack, positioned over a heating vent.

Pants and shin pads

These are bigger pieces that might not be practical to wash regularly during the season, as they take longer to air-dry. The good news is, wearing a base layer helps absorb sweat and keep moisture away from the pads themselves. If needed, these items can be washed in the machine as well – just keep the load small to give them adequate space.

Skates

These obviously can’t go in the washing machine, but you can speed up the drying process by removing the insoles at the bottom of each skate. Just remember to replace them when re-packing the bag!

Speaking of the bag, don’t forget to sanitize it, too. Wipe down the interior with an antibacterial wipe and dry thoroughly.

Game Strategy

Your role as equipment manager will require some proactive scheduling, since anything you wash will need an appropriate amount of time to dry. Of course, that might not be possible if your young all-star has a full schedule of practices and games. If you prefer to wait until the off-season for washing hockey gear in full, take advantage of the nicer weather and set it outside to dry in the sun.

If you have the desire (and budget) to delegate this task to someone else, do an online search for drop-off gear cleaning companies in your area. Your city’s hockey arena or community centre may offer this type of service or can direct you to a local business.

Ultimately, the goal is to prevent bacteria from checking in for a long-term stay in your child’s hockey bag. Even though it’s probably the last thing you feel like doing, you’ll be glad you took a few extra minutes to unpack and hang up the gear. And, if something doesn’t pass the “smell test,” you know what to do.

Another task of equipment manager (aka parents) is making sure that all your gear is properly labeled. Here are two great options from Mabel’s Labels that will ensure that your equipment gets back in the right hockey bag.

Kids’ Recreation Sports Label Pack: Waterproof, sweatproof and ideal for house league and rec sports! This label pack has 12 fun sports icons to choose from.

Kids’ Competitive Sports Label Pack: These are perfect for kids in competitive sports. It includes enough labels for uniforms, jerseys, equipment & more. In addition, this pack has new options for team colors and jersey numbers!

Good luck and have a great season!

If you’re new to the world of Hockey, check out this post for more tips

The post Washing Your Child’s Hockey Gear; A Head-to-Toe Guide appeared first on The Mabelhood.

Printables are a great resource for parents who are looking for free activities that their kids can do at home! Not only are they a fun activity for your kids, but they also require using a little brain power. Below are a selection of FREE printables for you to download and use right now!

Kids’ Printables

There are thousands of printables available online on various sites and blogs, but sometimes it’s hard to know which ones are age-appropriate for your child. To make it easy, we’ve categorized them.

All Ages:

Are your kids creating artwork to hang in the windows for passersby to enjoy? Here’s a sweet little thank you to frontline workers that can be coloured and placed in your window or on your front door – Thank You Frontline Workers Window Printable:

Preschool – Kindergarten:

This fun, spring-themed scavenger hunt will keep your kids busy while in the backyard or on a neighbourhood walk – Spring Scavenger Hunt Printable:

Have your kids follow the colour guide on this sweet picture – Color by Number Printable:

Early readers can practice their letter tracing and printing with these cute alphabet cards. Cut them out after they’ve filled them out for bonus sight word practice – Alphabet Cards Printable:

Grades 1 – 2:

Little ones can practice telling the time with this fun worksheet – Telling Time Printable:

This printable is a great visual way to practice early math skills – Adding to Ten Printable:

Send your kids off on an adventure through the house or the backyard with these scavenger hunt that involves writing practice – A to Z Scavenger Hunt:

Home Organization Printables

While they’re staying home, a lot of families are using the time to get organized, or check jobs off their to-do lists that they usually don’t have the time for. If you’re looking for some free home organization printables, here are a bunch we’ve created for you to print and use!

Want to declutter your home? Here’s an amazing 30-day challenge to help you do it! Choose one area each day and check it off once you’re done – 30 Day Declutter Challenge Printable:

Don’t forget those random to-dos or thoughts that pop into your head throughout the day by always keeping this awesome brain dump sheet out where you can access it – Brain Dump Printable:

Motivate your little ones to keep up with their chores by printing and posting this customizable chore chart – Kids’ Chore Chart Printable:

Is every member of your family talking about the things they wish they could do right now? Use this family bucket list to keep a record of it all! Once it’s safe to be out-and-about, you can reference the list – Family Bucket List Printable:

Print a bunch of these awesome grocery lists to use every time you need to go food shopping – Grocery List Printable:

Plan each of your meals every week with this handy meal planner. It takes all the guesswork out of meal time and makes grocery shopping easy – Weekly Meal Planner Printable:

Have bookworm in your house? Reading is a great activity while you’re spending so much time at home and this fun reading list lets you keep track of the books you’ve read and choose a favourite at the end! It’s great for readers of any age – Reading List Printable:

Didn’t find the printable or worksheet you were looking for? Here’s a list of more websites with some of the best free printables, worksheets and activities for kids:

www.education.com

www.createprintables.com

www.funlearningforkids.com

www.scholastic.com

www.activityvillage.co.uk

The post The Ultimate List of Free Printables For Kids appeared first on The Mabelhood.

As a professional organizer and mother of two active children, here are some tips that I use and recommend to clients for getting and staying organized with children:

Empower your kids

I’ve said it here on the Mabelhood and I’ll say it again: You can help teach your children about being organized, but they need to be an active participant in the process. Like many things in parenting, you can teach, guide, and support, but you cannot do it all for them. By helping them learn about being organized, you’re giving your children the gift of a sense of empowerment and responsibility for their living space and a deeper understanding of the consequences of their own actions. This will pay off in other areas of their lives.

One step at a time

Getting organized can be overwhelming for adults, so imagine how it feels for a kid! Start slow, one category at a time and build from there. Pick your biggest pain point – coats and shoes, clothing in their room, toys – and start there. Work for 15 minutes at a time and take a break. Pick it up later, the next day, or the next week. You know your child best and how they will best respond.

Get kids excited with bins and baskets that they love

A great way to get kids excited about getting organized is to get them involved with choosing how things will be organized from the very beginning. Take them to the store or have them look at websites with you to select bins, labels, and any other organizing products that you might need. For kids, I recommend clear bins whenever possible so kids can see what’s in them. It makes it much easier to put things away.

Have a specific place for coats, jackets, shoes, backpacks

One question parents often hear is “Mom, where’s my jacket?!” We can eliminate this question by having a specific place for your child’s coat/jacket and shoes. Have a place for them to put it away every time they walk in the door. Have them put their things there every time. If you don’t have closet or a mud room, just find a spot. Put up a hook and put down a little tray for their shoes. Problem solved! If coats and shoes aren’t your child’s issue, try this with whatever category challenges them.

Put it on their level

Place things at a level where kids can reach them and put them away. In the kitchen, clear out a space in a lower cabinet or drawer for kids’ plates, bowls, and cups. This way, they can put things away by themselves.

Make your kids a list of daily tasks

Make a list of tasks that your kids need to take care of each and every day. This can vary from child to child and needs to be age appropriate. I would recommend that you make the list concise so that it is not overwhelming. But things like “Put toys away in bins” and “empty school backpack” could be good items to put on the list. Make it a colorful, fun looking list! I have my kids’ lists hung on cute clip boards that they picked out and hung on the wall. Use your Mabel’s Labels on the list!

Create a memory box

I recommend regularly going though toys and clothing with kids and parting with things that are no longer used or needed. But your child will want to hang on to certain keepsakes and items that have special value. Start a memory box for each child in your house to hold these things. Remind your child that these bins are for select items of significance and not for everything. The memory box can help get your child into the habit of parting with things that are not being used, but still have a special place for things to keep.

Try the #Family15

Try this with your whole family: Set a timer on your phone or the stove for 15 minutes. Have everyone in the family do as much as cleaning up, putting away and decluttering as they can in 15 minutes. You will be amazed at how much you can accomplish! If you don’t get it all done in 15 minutes, no problem. If you want to keep going, set the timer for another 15 minutes. If not, you’ve gotten a lot done and can do it again the next day or another time. Make this a regular part of your family’s routine. My own kids respond well to the Family 15 – they like the team effort and don’t feel singled out. This definitely works in my house. (If you try this, post about it on social media and tag us at @neatnikdc and hashtag #family15. I’d love to see how it works for you!)

Katherine DiGiovanni is a professional organizer and principal at Neatnik in Washington, DC. When she’s not helping clients organize their homes and lives, she’s trying to keep up with it all and spend time with her husband and two children. You can find her on Instagram at @neatnikdc and at www.neatnikdc.com.

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The post 8 Kid-Friendly Organization Tips From a Pro appeared first on The Mabelhood.

Here are a few tips and tricks you can use to help create your very own pantry makeover at home:

Clean It Out

Start by taking everything out. Give the shelves a good wiping down. Sort through all of the food and discard stale and expired items and donate or toss items you don’t eat or don’t want to be eating. Sort everything else into categories – pastas, rice, condiments, baking supplies, etc. This helps you start with a clean slate and you’re organizing what you’ll actually use and consume.

Use Clear and Accessible Bins

When possible, use bins that allow you to see the contents on the shelves in your pantry. This helps you easily see what you have and if you’re running low on anything. The bins can be plastic, but they can also be wire baskets. Look for risers or tiered organizers for cans and bottles that can get crammed onto a shelf. The risers will help you see the items in the back. Lastly, think about using a Lazy Susan for spices, oils, or other bottles and cans. This makes everything more visible, accessible, and easy to use.

Decant When Logical

To decant or not to decant – it’s always the question. This is a personal choice of whether or not to empty bags and boxes of food into matching or at least more substantial and sustainable containers in your pantry. On the positive side, decanting things like flour, sugar, rice, and grains into your own jars can make them easier to use, easier to see when you’re running low, and a uniform, matching set of labeled jars or canisters can make your shelves look very pleasing to the eye. Having your own containers makes it much easier to buy items like lentils or grains from the bulk bins, too. I recommend you take packaged bars and snacks out of the often large cardboard boxes they are sold in. Decanting them into a bin or basket can save a lot of space. On the negative side, decanting can be an extra, annoying step that busy people don’t always feel like they have time to do. I personally have found that decanting things like flours, sugars, rice, and lentils makes a lot of sense for me. But for things like breakfast cereal, decanting it just not worth it for my family. We go through it too quickly to make decanting cereal something we can keep up with.

Make Frequently-Used Items Most Accessible

When putting your pantry in order, place the things you use the most, in the most accessible spots. For example, if you don’t bake often, don’t put your baking supplies front and center. Perhaps your morning smoothie supplies and your kids’ snacks would be items you’d want to make easiest to access. It’s all a personal preference, but you’ll want to think through what you will need to access most often when placing your items. When you’re placing your bins and baskets, place like with like and make each bin or space on the shelf a different category of food.

Help Your Pantry Support Your Goals

If, like me, you’re someone who is always striving to eat healthier and eat less processed food, these sorts of goals should be central to your pantry organization. As a professional organizer, I love to see the #pantrygoals photos on social media with all of the beautifully sorted bins of colorful chips, bars, and other processed snacks. But while those processed food colors look great, those products are foods I try to make more of a “sometimes treat” for my family. I say this because more than any other single factor, your environment influences your choices. If you’re working to choose less packaged snacks, for example, you may not want to have them on display or front and center in your pantry. It’s putting a visual temptation in a prominent place. Opt to put the healthier choices where you can your family and see them and reach for them!

Don’t Stock for Armegeddon

While I know for some of us it can feel like the end of the world is coming, as a professional organizer, I’m here to tell you should not stock your pantry as if it is. You do not need to prepare and stock for a hurricane unless one is actually coming. When you buy things like paper towel or canned goods, think about how much you actually need in the near future and just buy that amount and store it. And then, as I like to say, “store the rest at the store!” Otherwise, you’re taking up valuable real estate in your home and cluttering up your pantry with unnecessary bulk. In most circumstances, you can buy more when you need it – I promise you!

Katherine DiGiovanni is a professional organizer and principal at Neatnik in Washington, DC. When she’s not helping clients organize their homes and lives, she’s trying to keep up with it all and spend time with her husband and two children. You can find her on Instagram at @neatnikdc and at www.neatnikdc.com.

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Your commitment to getting organized is to be commended, but we all know it is just the beginning. Not only do you need to follow through on cleaning up your own clutter, but, if you’re a parent, it’s going to require the entire family to join you on this journey. An organized household will improve the lives of everyone who lives there, but it will require their commitment and ownership, too. This does not mean mom or dad nagging everyone to clean up; it means everyone understands that each family member plays a vital role in creating an orderly, functional home.

As a professional organizer, I’ve seen this process play out many times. Over the years of working with both clients and my own family, I have developed some amazing tips and strategies to help the organized lifestyle take hold in a family and create lasting lifestyle changes.

Sit down for a family meeting

Set aside a time to sit down with your entire household together to discuss your new organizing endeavor. With everyone so busy these days, you may need to schedule it, but it’s important to do. Make it an event! Serve a special treat or meal or sit down in that never used living room of yours. Talk through why it’s important for your family to get organized and how each of them plays a crucial role. Remember this is not about mom or dad picking up after everyone and nagging, but is a group effort. Everyone needs to feel a sense of ownership and responsibility and their part in this team effort!

Be specific

As easy as it would be so say “we all need to be more organized,” you’ll probably need to be more specific. Identify the problem areas in your house – kitchen island, entry way, bedrooms, etc. – and be clear about what needs to be done. Specific actions like putting dirty clothing in a hamper, putting mail and school papers in a designated spot, and putting shoes away will be easier for your family, especially children, to actually carry out and sustain. Writing it down or making a little chart that everyone can refer to could be helpful in this regard, too.

Get bins and organizers that the kids like

A great way to get kids (and grownups!) excited about getting organized is to get them involved with choosing how things will be organized from the very beginning. Take them to the store or have them look at websites with you to select bins, labels, and any other organizing products that you might need. They will be more excited about using them if they helped pick them out and like them. And this does not need to be an expensive purchase – Target, IKEA, and even dollar stores have functional, cute, and inexpensive organizing products.

Start a family basket system

One thing that can help disorganized families get control of clutter is implementing a family basket system. Each member of the family gets a designated bin or basket that’s kept on the ground floor of the house. When things are left around the house, each person’s things can be placed in their basket. Then, that family member is responsible for periodically taking their basket and putting their things away and tossing unnecessary items. This system can reduce clutter drastically by creating an immediate home for everything that gets left around your house. It also fosters a sense of ownership and responsibility for each member of the family for helping to keep the house organized and tidy. Next time someone says “Mom, where’s my homework?” The answer can be, “Have you checked your basket?!”

Reward your kids!

There are many schools of thought on chores and rewards for children. Some parents choose to pay children allowance for helping to keep the family home organized, but if that’s not really your thing, get creative with ways to reward them and give them something to get excited about. You can reward them with a special meal or treat, a family movie night, or something else that will motivate them. Let them know what they’re working toward and it might be just what they need to help keep your house clutter-free!

Assign age-appropriate chores

It’s important to set every family member up for success by ensuring that their organizing tasks are developmentally appropriate. A five-year-old may not be ready for many of the things that need to be done, but they can put their books away and their toys into a bin. A teenager would be ready to help with tasks in the kitchen, garage, and more complex tasks around the house. Just be sure that everyone gets involved and give them a sense of empowerment and responsibility for the tidiness and functioning your home. It’s a team effort!

Start using ‘The Family 15’

One way for everyone to pull together as a team is to try the Family 15. Set a timer on your phone or the stove for 15 minutes. Then everyone in the family does as much as they can for 15 minutes cleaning up, putting away, and decluttering. You would be amazed at how much you can accomplish in 15 minutes! If you don’t get it all done in 15 minutes, no problem. If you want to keep going, set the timer for another 15 minutes. If not, you’ve gotten a lot done and can do it again the next day or another time. Make this a regular part of your family’s routine and your house will be blissfully organized in no time! (Share your Family 15 story on social media using #Family15 and tag me at @NeatnikDC!)

Take it one step at a time

Rome wasn’t built in a day and your house won’t be decluttered and organized in a day either. This is a process and a family lifestyle change that will take time, persistence, and, most of all, patience. Start with one area of the home or one category of things at a time. If you start to feel overwhelmed when working on a project, just stop and give yourself a break. Try again the next day. The same goes for your family. Take it one room, one category, one step at a time. And be gentle with yourselves – this can be a challenging process and change is not easy for everyone. But don’t get discouraged! Slow and steady wins the race for lasting change to take root in your family.

Getting organized isn’t always easy, but it’s always worth it. With your entire family involved, not only will the burden be easier on you, but you’re giving your children a gift of a sense of empowerment and responsibility for their living space and a deeper understanding of the consequences of their own actions. This could even pay-off in other areas of their lives. You’ve just got to start. Just pick a day, host your family meeting, and you’ll be on the road to an orderly household in no time!

I’d love to hear about your family’s organizing journey and how these tips are working for you! Please leave a comment here or tag us on Instagram at @NeatnikDC.

Katherine DiGiovanni is a professional organizer and principal at Neatnik in Washington, DC. When she’s not helping clients organize their homes and lives, she’s trying to keep up with it all and spend time with her husband and two children. You can find her on Instagram at @neatnikdc and at www.neatnikdc.com.

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The post A Professional Organizer’s Tips for Mastering Your Family’s Mess appeared first on The Mabelhood.