CLEVER MOM HACKS FOR CHRISTMAS

[@aprilhutchens2105]

I do the single paper for each person thing but I make it even more fun. We are a blended family of eight, and each of us gets five gifts, so that's a lot of gifts. What I do is, after wrapping each person's gifts in their paper, I rip off a piece of the paper and put it in the toe of their Christmas stocking. That way we have forty gifts under the tree and nobody knows whose they are! On Christmas morning we start with stockings and everyone finds their piece 😊

[@peggymarsh6569]

I did this exact same think year before last. Last year they each had their own shape of name tags this year I was thinking of their own ribbon??? Don’t know yet. When my kids were small to not have to label with my handwriting i got wrap w/ Santas picture on it, red paper for one & green for the other

[@JamieAdcockRUNNINGDIVAMOM]

Wow, that's fun!!!!

[@aprilhutchens2105]

@@JamieAdcockRUNNINGDIVAMOM thanks we love it ❤️

[@CandiceQH]

We do this too!😄❤️🎄

[@KelseyHayward]

This is what we do too!

[@tinalovesjulio]

As a mom of four adult children who never thought of the activity wall, I’m just saying you are a fun genius!

[@painwarriorprincess5120]

Totally! My kids are grown, but I'm saving this for when the grandkids come along!

[@ms.krueger2660]

My Mom did the perfect thing as far as gifts for my three sons. She bought them something that cost around 20 dollars and also put money in a college fund for them. She also did the same on their birthdays. By 18, there was about 10,000 for each of my sons. That was an amazing thing for her to do and the best 🎁 gift. 💜 💚❤️

[@shannonbrice8012]

Most kids get alot of presents and bdays and xmas. Putting money away seems to be a better idea.

[@ElectricAngel181]

I absolutely love that idea. My husband's granpa used to buy savings bonds . Those take a long time to mature but its really worth it.

[@bevp7838]

As a grandmother with all “double digit” grands, I absolutely love the “something they want,...need...” idea. I still have problems restraining myself, so this is also great advice for the grandmothers who have trouble knowing when to stop!

[@judysbakeryandtestkitchen1654]

That idea of having the child in a picture with the toy is genius! Will work for any holiday

[@renee356]

If you have more people decorating cookies than pans, the packs of the 1/4 sheet foil pans from the dollar tree work really well. I've used them for cookie decorating parties in the past. It not only contains the mess, guests can also use them to bring their cookie masterpieces home.

[@siren1706]

When my daughter was 2yrs old and under, I found the biggest boxes that she could play in and wrapped them like 3 or 4 times. Christmas morning was absolutely amazing for her, and it was super easy and cheap for me.... let's be honest, at that age kids barely care about the toys and just want the boxes and wrapping paper anyhow

[@jackfrosty4674]

2022 Lucky charms breakfast cereal is said by some to be causing stomach vomiting and diarrhea. The CDC is looking into it needing to be recalled. Said to still be on grocery shelves is a report being suppressed by big tech.

[@mamachicken1548]

I love how the doggy liked helping with the DIY Christmas wrap : ) That is awesome how you set up an area for your son to do activities all his own!! This was an excellent video with lots of great advice!

[@earringproject]

I’d love more Cricut tutorials & basic supplies needed to get started.

[@rebekahrhodes9512]

"get out of free, jail card" lol as a dyslexic I feel seen.

[@Jamie-zf9ep]

Lol I was going to comment that it’s hard to carry over the IG typo queen name so she had to her creative 🤣. I sat there saying it out loud to myself questioning if I’ve been saying it wrong forever for a minute

[@Jamie-zf9ep]

Get creative * loll

[@CaseyWidness]

Questioning if I've been saying it wrong all along 😳

[@Pixelporygon]

I do that all the time lol I totally felt it

[@jodeeclarklompa852]

I love the activity corner! what a great way to stop having to say, "No". We started using individual paper for each person after our little girl noticed that Santa used the same paper as mommy and daddy. From then on, Santa's gifts were differentiated by their own paper. So many great hacks. Thanks for sharing!

[@angelawillis4789]

As a Mom of 4 now grown children, My Best TIP is, No matter what you do or what you have to deal with just SMILE and make it seem on purpose and make it fun!

[@1979rozinaali]

I seriously never wanted this video to end . Each and every hack was so unique just loved it . More Cricut tutorials please. Thank you !

[@RealOrganized]

Thanks for the good advice. I love the activity wall. What we do to help our Christmas run smoother is to do frequent "brain dumps". Simply keep a pen and paper by my bed and then every night I dump all my to-do's and worries down on paper. It's great for making sure you don't forget anything, but also for just working through your thoughts at a stressful time.

[@missyb.623]

I used to use the one wrapping paper per person, too. I still have bits of that paper in my wrapping paper box. When I pull it out, it's a fond memory.

[@shannonbrice8012]

I also had each child bring a laundry basket to the area where we were opening gifts. This way all presents can go into their baskets, things don't get lost or mixed up and when it is time to take everythign to their rooms it is all ready to go. We used to do this hack when going to grandparents homes as well. Made loading up so easy.

[@gretchenmaloyed9038]

Love making homemade cookies!! I take roll of sugar cookie dough put it in a bowl and add 1 tsp of almond extract and a tablespoon of flour for a homemade taste. Roll in balls and bake.

[@christinaobert5664]

Omg!! That wrapping hack for short pieces is life changing!!!! No more adding spare wrapping on the sides!!!

[@choosnau]

My tip is to open the kids toys ahead of time and add batteries /set it up/etc so it's ready to go! They don't care if it's in a box but they sure care when you can't open it and get it going right then and there

[@laurieg2436]

Just sent this to my daughter!! Wished I would have heard this as a young mom!!

[@paulaspeak4338]

On Christmas eve, I put out a garbage bag out by the tree for the next morning for the trash. I like the idea of the Santa's helper's bag because I usually have to run and get a knife or pair of scissors to open presents. I also make a couple of I call Christmas Quiche on Christmas eve to pop in the oven on Christmas morning for breakfast and have with my coffee or juice that way can focus on "being in the moment" on Christmas Day.

[@alyolsen]

Toddler Christmas area: GENIUS!!!! 🤯 Thank you!!!!

[@Gelime_]

Lol watching your dog be mesmerized by your son drawing was so cute

[@Gnominator]

Get out of free, jail card? 😅 love love love all the suggestions and ideas

[@TheThreeMavii]

I love her pregnancy brain! =D

[@ChrisiTine1605]

That was funny😂😂

[@Gnominator]

She said 3 or 4 times 😂 I was waiting for her to realize it was backwards

[@kathleenford6202]

I loved how many times she said it! 😂

[@jessicapraytor7560]

I laughed so hard! Her pregnancy brain is awesome! I think most of us have been there!😂😂

[@mckenzierasmussen]

My mom used to number our gifts so we didn’t accidentally spoil certain gifts. For example, if I got a doll for Christmas she’d number it 1 and the clothes 2 so I didn’t get the doll spoiled!

[@kennedisly8210]

Smart!

[@13LavenderRose]

My mom just had the memory of an elephant cuz she could remember everything she wrapped for us. Idk HOW she did it but it was amazing!

[@jenysanchez8215]

My son is 9 and we have been doing the “take a picture of the toys in the store” hack for years now! He actually LOVES doing that, and starts to ask to take pictures of his “wish list” starting in October. 😂

[@walkerkids5]

They sell Christmas tree scented sticks at Michaels (I think that's where they came from) that hang on your tree like an ornament. My living room smells like a real tree without all the care.

[@tep1962]

I got mine at Dollar General last year.

[@kathyclarke5899]

That’s awesome. I’m gonna look for those.

[@MrsAshleyBear]

Walmart has them for much cheaper also!

[@lauratroxel6072]

My family personally loves sitting among the wrapping paper and tissue paper and ribbons from all the presents. The mess (to us) is part of the atmosphere! Although I like using your trash box idea as a trash can if you’re having a holiday or birthday party, for food trash. it’s so useful and way cute!

[@gailagilliland3268]

What a great bunch of Christmas hacks for moms! Although my four kids are grown and gone - a long time ago - I can definitely guarantee that many moms will appreciate this video. I especially love the “get out of jail free card!“ 🎄

[@samanthawoods615]

Yesss. We did the picture trick this year after seeing it on social media. It has helped immensely with my 6yr old who wants everything he sees. We also do the "Four gift rule." I saw a mom also do Something they want, something they need, something STEAM (science technically engineering art math) and something to read. I LOVED that idea so my son gets a science kit every year for Christmas.

[@nancymicklatcher117]

Olive following the crayon 😂❤️

[@elissabethparsons6082]

I’m not a mom but I love how creative these ideas are. I been doing the individual wrapping paper hack since I was in my late teens for family members, partners etc. it is a huge lifesaver. You can also express each person’s individual personalities with it too. I also do personalized gift tags as well. I really like the decorated gift wrapping collection box hack for Christmas morning. Normally my family just uses a trash bag. I think I’ll give that a try this year.

[@karenlawson4888]

Another quick clean up idea is to use the open dishwasher door as the kids cookie decorating table. Works great for dyeing Easter eggs, too!

[@youllthinkofme2011]

So many things I loved in your video! First of all, that activity center for your little guy! Kudos! I'm an pediatric OT and I could not have done it better. What a lucky little dude. Keep the same hooks and change into seasonal project with color and shape sorting etc. Second the cookie decorating, I learned that one the hard way, kids don't care that the cookie is homemade. One year, we use Graham crackers straight out of the box and went wild with frosting (from a can!) and all forms and shapes of candies. However, once my son was older and able to help roll and shape the cookies, then we had fun with that. We even made a gingerbread house from scratch.. I guess the point is to figure out what matters most at the time.

[@angelaperrin5909]

Loved seeing your little boy creating art! And he made me smile when he rolled over on the gift wrap to chase the dog out of the way! He had such a cute little head nod looking at the activity wall.sweet little guy.love your cookie decorating hacks.i always used a cookie dough mix because then they could help with all steps and felt like it was truely their whole project

[@mrscb5303]

You almost make me wish I had a kid sometimes, your kid activities are amazing!!! I think grandparents could use your ideas too. Thanks for sharing, your videos always put me in a happier mood!

[@EmpressSolstice]

I'm so happy that there was no real social media presence when my sons were small. No less pressure or overwhelm just different. Seeing constant "perfect" experiences online makes it rough.

[@rachelturner6129]

I ran an in home daycare for 10 years and my favorite cookie decorating for young children is mixing food color in evaporated milk and let them paint the cookie dough before you cook it. Also if they really like sprinkles you can use the colored sugar sprinkles and they bake into the cookie and leave a color too. My daycare kids loved this more then icing because they could control it better

[@paigebrooks1627]

I started following you after I found your Christmas wrapping video ! I’ve saved a ton of money over the past couple of years with home decor storage and everything else that you talk about in your videos! I love this so much. Thank you so much as always ❤️

[@Narbyful]

I've done the "everyone gets their own paper" thing and it's great. :) Excellent suggestion.

[@susanjaneleitner7670]

I just loved this video. You are a super mom. My children are in their 50’s. I enjoy all that you say and do. I never heard of the “Cricut “ and the Iron. Wow!! Thank you. See you next time! ❤️ Suzy

[@sarahbernhard4939]

The activity wall is great! I made a felt tree and ornaments for my 15 month old and she loves it. I can’t wait to add more advanced games as she gets older.

[@judytrull8503]

Genius wrapping hack turning the gift on an angle.

[@ms.krueger2660]

Wish I had someone telling me this when i had kids at home. I thought if I did not do everything and do it right our Christmas would be ruined. I run myself ragged cleaning, cooking, decorating to the point I would be in tears and exhausted and then I did not not enjoy Christmas. I kinda dreaded it. Now as I am older (56) I just do what I can and let the rest go. Kids don’t care if everything is perfect. As long as you have presents under the tree and a few snacks for them they are 😃 happy. 🤗🎄☃️ Have fun and enjoy Christmas!!🤗🤪🌟🎁❄️

[@teenagedethgurl]

Miles so so stinking cute. My son has the same shoes he was wearing in the coloring video lol. Seriously adore your videos and hacks. So smart! I gotta do the activity center for my son. he's almost 2. And I was a kinda bummed we didn't get get matching pajamas but I'm over it. We'll reuse the ones we got last year lol.

[@Dexy83]

The wrapping hack is exactly how I found your channel! It's like our subscriber/creator anniversary! 🤣😁

[@Gelime_]

Same!

[@WrightFarmhouse]

Happy subscriber/creator anniversary! Ha ha!

[@cherylreed4377]

I watch all the kid vlogs cause I want to be a fun Grandma👍such wonderful ideas and motivation!!!

[@Lolisvlogs]

Wow! I’ve been doing this with my sandwiches to save foil paper for years and Christmas gifts too! Who knew?!?!! If only I had a camera back then!! Awesome!

[@mrsblackson1]

Wonderful Christmas gifts for all the moms I know!!!

[@WrightFarmhouse]

Love the tip of not saying "no", but taking a picture to send to Santa Claus. I have a 6mo. so he's too little to want anything yet. I remember my mom would always say "yes, you can have it...did you bring enough pocket money?" It was always an incentive for me to make enough pocket money to bring to the toy store and book store.

[@inspiteofbecauseof4745]

We’ve always done the photos at the store. It works! Since we browse more online now we take a screen shot instead.

[@corieglenn7832]

I’ve done the “want, need, wear, read” thing since my son was a baby (he’s now ten). I usually use it for my husband, too! It’s a lifesaver to rein in the amount of “stuff”, plus it helps me control my spending a bit more. You can also customize it a bit more if you want to! For example, we are fortunate enough that my kids rarely actually need anything, so they usually get two wants instead of a want and a need. My son is really into a few book series, and last year he started a new one right before Christmas so for the “read” category instead of just one book I finished out the series for him (it wound up being 3-4 books, I can’t remember exactly how many). For the “wear” category I’ve done thinks like a robe and slippers, or a couple of cute outfits for my daughter, or a few hoodies for my son. I just make sure to wrap everything that’s in the same category together, and I try to make sure that it’s balanced so they both get the same number of things in each category. It works out really well for us!

[@angelatipton1179]

I absolutely Love all of your mom hacks, especially the activities wall for your toddler!!

[@Soccer1577]

The cookie dough saved my life! Thank you!

[@ASTUTTS100]

awesome idea for the activity wall. As a grandma and mom of 4 grown kids, I was WOW, why didn't I think of that. Great advice for all hacks!! Loved the cricut info too. I received a silouette last year for christmas and it has not been easy learning to use. Projects still are not easy to me. I'm older though. I've thought about if a cricut would be easier.

[@melanipetty1910]

I love love love the Santas helper bag. What a fantastic idea.

[@mandiewood-donaldson5030]

Literally.. the BEST Christmas video I have seen. ❤ Thank you for reminding everyone that we don't all have to be perfect. Most of all, thank you for sharing! ❄

[@Malibustacy1982]

Cricut sponsors people?! Man, I'm jealous!!! That woulda saved me a buncha money through out the years. Lucky girl!

[@mmarex1622]

Awesome video with such great ideas. And to be totally transparent I just love watching your videos!! There is something about you that is so relatable and real. Oh and congrats on teaching Rachel Ray how to wrap gifts.:) So great!!

[@tonyaburkey2270]

I love that you made me feel a little better!! I always go over the top with holidays and have been stressing over everything you mentioned! Also I plan to use the cookie tray with foil for my grandkids and myself! I made a bigger mess than they did!

[@novalolmanzero3]

I can’t believe you just got a cricut!! You’re gonna love it.

[@jfr7160]

As always a great video! Love the print ideas! Funny... I found you several years ago because of Christmas wrapping hacks!! “I knew her when”... ❤️. Seriously moms don’t stress and just relax more and enjoy more!!

[@natscrappersnotables]

I love that you have a cricut! So much better than the silhouette! Can't wait to see what you make with it!

[@MsSFashionLover]

I was stressing cause I couldn’t find family matching pajamas in everyone’s sizes and then I saw your post and it was like magic... I came to my senses and just got them for the kids and took that pressure off. Ty!

[@clrueter8854]

The activity wall - brilliant!!!

[@julietannOsfan1972]

Great tips. I especially like the activity wall. Brill idea. In the UK there’s a lot of pressure on the “perfect” Christmas dinner, mainly through various cooking programmes on the telly. Personally, I prefer ready made ones that you can put in the microwave. Ping, so much easier.😀

[@celestemoreno7330]

I looooove the santas helper bag idea!!!! I'm so excited for my kids!!!!

[@brendasherman3974]

Kallie I love your videos! Excellent ideas even for a mom like we with grown children. In just bought the circuit maker after pondering it for almost 6 months. I would love a video on more things you are learning with yours. Have a blessed Christmas and a happy pregnancy!!

[@jennyweisenbach2512]

Love all hacks!! I’ve always wanted a cricket, because all the things you can do with it are so cool!!

[@skarlett1973]

I love these ideas. I’ll be using some of them for our visiting grandkids. You are awesome! Thank you so much! Have a blessed day!

[@anaescalante2621]

Omgoodness! I love the activity corner...going to do that for my prince who is 2.5 years old. Thank you!

[@padyn4911]

The Santa's helper bag is GENIUS!! Im for sure using that hack at christmas

[@amandar3994]

I make my cookie dough ahead of time and freeze it. Make the dough portion out the dough by cookie scoop then flash freeze. Pull frozen dough balls off and place in a labeled freezer bag. Then when we want to bake it no extra dishes or waiting for the dough to chill. We pull them out, thaw, bake and then depending on the cookie type we decorate it.

[@everydaydeandablog]

The wrapping paper box is such a good idea. I have a Cricut so I’m going to definitely make one. The wrapping paper mess is one of the things I really don’t like about Christmas morning.

[@livingdivanized]

A stocking tip provide a gallon size zip top plastic bag for each stocking recipient with their name on it. It keeps everyone's stocking stuff contained and identified and easy to to take home or to the person's room.

[@sharamyers9686]

When my kids were little, we didn’t have a lot of money to spend at Christmas so they got one “Wow!”gift from Santa and the more practical gifts from Mom and Dad. Honestly, they just enjoyed the fun of opening the gifts 😆 I even included the pets in the gift giving so that they didn’t get everything “from Mom and Dad”. They thought it was hysterical that Rover went shopping with me ( not really😉)and helped pick out the gift.. When they got older, Santa passed the baton to mom and dad for the “Wow!”gift so he could focus on the younger ones😊

[@tamekahill2826]

Great tips I love the activity wall. I'm going to do this for my nephew.It very useful for all year long thanks.

[@AllTheButtons87]

We do the 4 gift rule + stocking, but we also have some santa gifts. It works so well. We ended up making the change after our second child came. It is so helpful!

[@brittanys.7191]

I just got an explore air 2 for Christmas from the hubs! I would love to hear what accessories I need. I’m overwhelmed by the options lol

[@jaimeetroutt6734]

Whenever we can have shared toys and spaces again, I want to implement some of the kid-wall activities in the children's section at the library where I work. I forget you were a preschool educator then you say things like scaffolding and number recognition! This is a great video!

[@johannalizarraga308]

Omg i do the picture thing with my kids all year. I use “next birthday, christmas” etc ... and it works every time. My son is 4 and my daughter is 2. I have never had a tantrum issue on toys with that trick.

[@kweenbee3]

I can’t believe I just found out you were the one who did that wrapping hack! I totally watched that and loved that video before I “knew” you 😊❤️

[@stefanieb7776]

I do the wrapping hack where you designate a certain wrap to a certain family member. My son gets blue and green wrapping papers and my daughter gets red and white variations of wrapping paper. Also I seem the original video of the wrapping diagonally hack and that literally blew my mind! This video was amazing and I learned a few things! Thanks for sharing ♥️💃🏻

[@CocoKiss2011]

I love your videos. I can always expect to learn something, create something, save money and laugh 😂. Thank you so much. Keep doing what you do. Congrats again on your upcoming bundle

[@angieb.4254]

We did the picture idea with my kids when they were young. It does work. 😊

[@jojo82580]

Love!! Thank you, you are amazing 🥰

[@dianemiller9063]

Love love alll your videos!!!!! 💞 thank you for all your Brilliant ideas, hacks & suggestions!!!!!!

[@calitexan6081]

Loved your video. Thanks for sharing. I will definitely do the toddler activity center. Brilliant idea love

[@angelanieuwenhuis6344]

Wish I knew all of this when my kids were younger. I did do the cookie decorating, but I never bought the dough...I didnt know I was allowed to do that.😉 Thanks for the tips I will use them when iam a Grandmother ❤🇨🇦

[@TechCristina]

I got a crocus about a year ago and I am obsessed too!

[@earringproject]

Were you an early childhood educator? Your activities for young children are developmentally perfect.❤️❤️❤️

[@Lolisvlogs]

To add to your wonderful tip on same wrapping paper per kid, I cut a piece of the paper and add it to their stocking. Reason for this is that I would forget whose paper is who’s. 😅

[@elizabetharaujo1323]

I have done the picture hack while in the store with my daughter and it works so well!! Also, 9 times out of 10 she doesn't even remember what she randomly found in the store.

[@dorothykovak4900]

How did you get to be so smart at such a young age? In my 60’s and never thought of these great ideas.

[@jarhead5974]

I know!!! Me, too, Dorothy.....I am 66 and I have never had such great ideas as Kallie does. She is amazing! Arlene

[@neusperis5336]

I really like your idea of having an activity wall for your kid!!! 🎉👏🏻👏🏻

[@widgetgirl1]

You're so adorable. i love the play area you created for your son

[@emmavargas486]

It’s just hilarious to me that you’re not saying “get out of jail FREE card” lol.

[@madelovinglycrochet]

3 times 😂🙈❤️

[@Sarahmae25]

It was killing me! Especially when she corrected when she made a different mistake when speaking but didn't notice that one! It happens to the best of us though. Too funny!

[@1771bubba]

Get out of free jail card!! I loved it!! Lol

[@tamaralikecamera]

The dog watching the boy color the wrapping paper was pretty funny!!

[@txkatiew]

These are great! I just got a cricut and I was a little intimidated but now I’m super excited to get started!

[@briannae7012]

First of all the activity wall is wonderful! But I was thinking as an added activity you could use wooden coins (or acorns, pine cones, rocks) to go inside the stockings. So he could put 1 in the #1 stocking, so on and so forth! Thank you for more awesome content and Happy Holidays from our family to yours 😊

[@NeuroGeek85]

Another cool hack is wrapping all your gifts in fabric bags so you have no trash to deal with. You can reuse the bags every year and it makes wrapping so easily. Plus if you don't sew it makes a good way to support a local business.